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Eth (, uppercase: Ð, lowercase: ð; also spelled edh or eð), known as ðæt in Old English, is a letter used in Old English, Middle English, Icelandic, Faroese (in which it is called edd), and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with ⟨dh⟩, and later ⟨d⟩. It is often transliterated as ⟨d⟩. The lowercase version has been adopted to represent a voiced dental fricative in the International Phonetic Alphabet. Old English In Old English, ⟨ð⟩ (called ðæt) was used interchangeably with ⟨þ⟩ to represent the Old English dental fricative phoneme /θ/ or its allophone /ð/, which exist in modern English phonology as the voiced and voiceless dental fricatives both now spelled ⟨th⟩. Unlike the runic letter ⟨þ⟩, ⟨ð⟩ is a modified Roman letter. Neither ⟨ð⟩ nor ⟨þ⟩ was found in the earliest records of Old English. A study of Mercian royal diplomas found that ⟨ð⟩ (along with ⟨đ⟩) began to emerge in the early 8th century, with ⟨ð⟩ becoming strongly preferred by the 780s. Another source indicates that the letter is "derived from Irish writing".Under King Alfred the Great, ⟨þ⟩ grew greatly in popularity and started to overtake ⟨ð⟩. ⟨Þ⟩ completely overtook ⟨ð⟩ by Middle English, and ⟨þ⟩ died out by Early Modern English, mostly due to the rise of the printing press, and was replaced by the digraph th. Icelandic In Icelandic, ⟨ð⟩, called "eð", represents an alveolar non-sibilant fricative, voiced [ð̠] intervocalically and word-finally, and voiceless [θ̠] otherwise, which form one phoneme, /θ/. Generally, /θ/ is represented by thorn ⟨Þ⟩ at the beginning of words and by ⟨ð⟩ elsewhere. The ⟨ð⟩ in the name of the letter is devoiced in the nominative and accusative cases: [ɛθ̠]. In the Icelandic alphabet, ⟨ð⟩ follows ⟨d⟩. Faroese In Faroese, ⟨ð⟩ is not assigned to any particular phoneme and appears mostly for etymological reasons, but it indicates most glides. When ⟨ð⟩ appears before ⟨r⟩, it is in a few words pronounced [ɡ]. In the Faroese alphabet, ⟨ð⟩ follows ⟨d⟩. Norwegian In Olav Jakobsen Høyem's version of Nynorsk based on Trøndersk, ⟨ð⟩ was always silent, and was introduced for etymological reasons. Welsh ⟨Ð⟩ has also been used by some in written Welsh to represent /ð/, which is normally represented as dd. Khmer ⟨Ð⟩ is sometimes used in Khmer romanization to represent ឍ thô. Phonetic transcription U+00F0 ð LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH represents a voiced dental fricative in the International Phonetic Alphabet. U+1D9E ᶞ MODIFIER LETTER SMALL ETH is used in phonetic transcription.U+1D06 ᴆ LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL ETH is used in the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet. Computer input The Faroese and Icelandic keyboard layouts have a dedicated button for eth. On Microsoft Windows, eth can be typed using the alt code Alt+(0240) for lowercase or Alt+(0208) for uppercase, or by typing AltGr+d using the US International keyboard layout. On Windows 10, it can also be inserted into text via the symbol menu, presented by using Windows+;, then selecting Symbols, associated with the Omega (Ω) character, and then selecting Latin Symbols, associated with the C-cedilla (Ç) character. Using the compose key ("multi key") which is popular on Linux, eth can be typed by typing Compose D H for lowercase or Compose ⇧ Shift+D ⇧ Shift+H for capital letters. On ChromeOS with 'extended keyboard' Chrome extension, AltGr+D will result in ð being displayed; ⇧ Shift+AltGr+D will result in Ð. Other Modern uses The letter ð is sometimes used in mathematics and engineering textbooks, as a symbol for a spin-weighted partial derivative.This operator gives rise to spin-weighted spherical harmonics. A capital eth is used as the currency symbol for Dogecoin. See also African D D D with stroke Insular script T Thorn Further reading Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-19815-4. Pétursson, Magnus (1971), "Étude de la réalisation des consonnes islandaises þ, ð, s, dans la prononciation d'un sujet islandais à partir de la radiocinématographie" [Study of the realisation of Icelandic consonants þ, ð, s, in the pronunciation of an Icelandic subject from radiocinematography], Phonetica, 33 (4): 203–216, doi:10.1159/000259344, S2CID 145316121 "Thorn and eth: how to get them right", Operinan, Briem, archived from the original on 2019-07-26, retrieved 2010-08-22 "Älvdalsk ortografi", Förslag till en enhetlig stavning för älvdalska (PDF) (in Swedish), February 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2007.

Eddie Li Yu-yeung (traditional Chinese: 李雨陽; simplified Chinese: 李雨阳) is a Hong Kong model and actor. He made his first appearance in Hearts Of Fencing on TVB in 2003, in which he played a rich kid who thought he was all that because he had so much money, a character that resembles (or probably based on) Tsukasa Domyoji (Dao Ming Si) in Hana Yori Dango (Meteor Garden). In Hearts Of Fencing, his character had a crush on Race Wong, but throughout the series his character changes and he ends up in a couple with Natalie Tong. Television Hearts Of Fencing (2003) The Academy (2005) Revolving Doors of Vengeance (2005) Forensic Heroes (2006) Heart of Greed (2007) The Seventh Day (2008) Forensic Heroes II (2008) Your Class or Mine (2008) Last One Standing (2008) Burning Flame III (2009) In the Eye of the Beholder (2010) The Comeback Clan (2010) Dropping By Cloud Nine (2011) Only You (2011) Grace Under Fire (2011) Relic of an Emissary (2011) My Sister of Eternal Flower (2011) Ghetto Justice (2011) Lives of Omission (2011) Super Snoops (2011) Til Love Do Us Lie (2011) Daddy Good Deeds (2012) Sergeant Tabloid (2012) Tiger Cubs (2012) Witness Insecurity (2012) The Last Steep Ascent (2012) The Menu (2015) Sexpedia (2015) Karma (2015) IPCC Files 2015 (2015) Beyond the Rainbow (2015) Hidden Faces (2015) Film Infernal Affairs 3 Home Page at tvb.com (in Chinese)

Good Show, stylized as 9ood Show, (Chinese: 有我在; pinyin: yǒu wǒ zài) is Taiwanese Mandopop artist Show Lo's (Chinese: 羅志祥) ninth Mandarin studio album. It was released on 6 April 2012 by Gold Typhoon (Taiwan). The album was available for pre-order from 21 March 2012. The Japanese edition, Count on me/有我在(日本盤) was released on 20 June 2012 by Pony Canyon, which included a DVD with 6 music videos. Track listing Music videos & Short Film Charts Taiwanese Chart Japanese Chart (Japanese Edition) (in Chinese) Show Lo@Gold Typhoon Taiwan Show Lo - Bio, News, Images, Album releases (Gold Typhoon) 羅志祥官方專屬頻道 Show's Official Youtube Channel

Emme may refer to: People: Ivan Fyodorovich Emme (1763–1839), Russian lieutenant general in the Napoleonic Wars Otto J. Emme, American politician and World War I veteran Emme Gerhard (1872–1946), American photographer Emme Rylan, American actress born Marcy Faith Behrens in 1980 Emme (model), plus-size model born Melissa Miller in 1963 Edna L. Emme, American hair care expertOther uses: Emme (river), Canton of Berne, Switzerland Emme, versions of transportation forecasting software developed by INRO Software, later acquired by Bentley Systems See also Kleine Emme, a river in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland Emmen (disambiguation)

Wynn or wyn (Ƿ ƿ; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound /w/. History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph ⟨uu⟩, scribes soon borrowed the rune wynn ᚹ for this purpose. It remained a standard letter throughout the Anglo-Saxon era, eventually falling out of use during the Middle English period, circa 1300. In post-wynn texts it was sometimes replaced with ⟨u⟩ but often replaced with a ligature form of ⟨uu⟩, from which the modern letter ⟨w⟩ developed. Meaning The denotation of the rune is "joy, bliss" known from the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poems: ᚹ Ƿenne brūceþ, þe can ƿēana lẏtsāres and sorge and him sẏlfa hæfblǣd and blẏsse and eac bẏrga geniht. Who uses it knows no pain,sorrow nor anxiety, and he himself hasprosperity and bliss, and also enough shelter Miscellaneous It is not continued in the Younger Futhark, but in the Gothic alphabet the letter 𐍅 w is called winja, allowing a Proto-Germanic reconstruction of the rune's name as *wunjô "joy". It is one of the two runes (along with þ) to have been borrowed into the English alphabet (or any extension of the Latin alphabet). A modified version of the letter wynn called vend was used briefly in Old Norse for the sounds /u/, /v/, and /w/. As with þ, the letter wynn was revived in modern times for the printing of Old English texts, but since the early 20th century the usual practice has been to substitute the modern ⟨w⟩. Wynn in Unicode The following wynn and wynn-related characters are in Unicode: U+01F7 Ƿ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER WYNN U+01BF ƿ LATIN LETTER WYNN U+16B9 ᚹ RUNIC LETTER WUNJO WYNN W U+A768 Ꝩ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER VEND U+A769 ꝩ LATIN SMALL LETTER VEND U+A7D5 ꟕ LATIN SMALL LETTER DOUBLE WYNN Computing codes See also Digamma Eth Meldorf fibula Thorn (letter) Vend (letter) Yogh Ỽ

In German orthography, the letter ẞ (uppercase) and ß (lowercase), called Eszett (IPA: [ɛsˈtsɛt]) and scharfes S (IPA: [ˌʃaʁfəs ˈʔɛs], "sharp S"), represents the /s/ phoneme in Standard German when following long vowels and diphthongs. The letter-name Eszett combines the names of the letters of ⟨s⟩ (Es) and ⟨z⟩ (Zett) in German. The character's Unicode names in English are sharp s and eszett. The Eszett letter is used only in German, and can be typographically replaced with the double-s digraph ⟨ss⟩, if the ß-character is unavailable. In the 20th century, the ß-character was replaced with ss in the spelling of Swiss Standard German (Switzerland and Liechtenstein), while remaining Standard German spelling in other varieties of the German language.The letter originates as the ⟨sz⟩ digraph as used in late medieval and early modern German orthography, represented as a ligature of ⟨ſ⟩ (long s) and ⟨ʒ⟩ (tailed z) in blackletter typefaces, yielding ⟨ſʒ⟩. This developed from an earlier usage of ⟨z⟩ in Old and Middle High German to represent a separate sibilant sound from ⟨s⟩; when the difference between the two sounds was lost in the 13th century, the two symbols came to be combined as ⟨sz⟩ in some situations. Traditionally, ⟨ß⟩ did not have a capital form, although some type designers introduced de facto capitalized variants. In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially adopted a capital, ⟨ẞ⟩, into German orthography, ending a long orthographic debate.⟨ß⟩ was encoded by ECMA-94 (1985) at position 223 (hexadecimal DF), inherited by Latin-1 and Unicode (U+00DF ß LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S). The HTML entity ß was introduced with HTML 2.0 (1995). The capital (U+1E9E ẞ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER SHARP S) was encoded by ISO 10646 in 2008. Usage Current usage In standard German, three letters or combinations of letters commonly represent [s] (the voiceless alveolar fricative) depending on its position in a word: ⟨s⟩, ⟨ss⟩, and ⟨ß⟩. According to current German orthography, ⟨ß⟩ represents the sound [s]: when it is written after a diphthong or long vowel and is not followed by another consonant in the word stem: Straße, Maß, groß, heißen [Exceptions: aus and words with final devoicing (e.g., Haus)]; and when a word stem ending with ⟨ß⟩ takes an inflectional ending beginning with a consonant: heißt, größte.In verbs with roots where the vowel changes length, this means that some forms may be written with ⟨ß⟩, others with ⟨ss⟩: wissen, er weiß, er wusste.The use of ⟨ß⟩ distinguishes minimal pairs such as reißen (IPA: [ˈʁaɪsn̩], to rip) and reisen (IPA: [ˈʁaɪzn̩], to travel) on the one hand ([s] vs. [z]), and Buße (IPA: [ˈbuːsə], penance) and Busse (IPA: [ˈbʊsə], buses) on the other (long vowel before ⟨ß⟩, short vowel before ⟨ss⟩).: 123 Some proper names may use ⟨ß⟩ after a short vowel, following the old orthography; this is also true of some words derived from proper names (e.g., Litfaßsäule; advertising column, named after Ernst Litfaß).: 180 In pre-1996 orthography According to the orthography in use in German prior to the German orthography reform of 1996, ⟨ß⟩ was written to represent [s]: word internally following a long vowel or diphthong: Straße, reißen; and at the end of a syllable or before a consonant, so long as [s] is the end of the word stem: muß, faßt, wäßrig.: 176 In the old orthography, word stems spelled ⟨ss⟩ internally could thus be written ⟨ß⟩ in certain instances, without this reflecting a change in vowel length: küßt (from küssen), faßt (from fassen), verläßlich and Verlaß (from verlassen), kraß (comparative: krasser).: 121–23  In rare occasions, the difference between ⟨ß⟩ and ⟨ss⟩ could help differentiate words: Paßende (expiration of a pass) and passende (appropriate).: 178 Substitution and all caps If no ⟨ß⟩ is available, ⟨ss⟩ or ⟨sz⟩ is used instead (⟨sz⟩ especially in Hungarian-influenced eastern Austria). Until 2017, there was no official capital form of ⟨ß⟩; a capital form was nevertheless frequently used in advertising and government bureaucratic documents.: 211  In June of that year, the Council for German Orthography officially adopted a rule that ⟨ẞ⟩ would be an option for capitalizing ⟨ß⟩ besides the previous capitalization as ⟨SS⟩ (i.e., variants STRASSE and STRAẞE would be accepted as equally valid). Prior to this time, it was recommended to render ⟨ß⟩ as ⟨SS⟩ in allcaps except when there was ambiguity, in which case it should be rendered as ⟨SZ⟩. The common example for such a case was IN MASZEN (in Maßen "in moderate amounts") vs. IN MASSEN (in Massen "in massive amounts"); in this example the spelling difference between ⟨ß⟩ vs. ⟨ss⟩ produces completely different meanings. Switzerland and Liechtenstein In Swiss Standard German, ⟨ss⟩ usually replaces every ⟨ß⟩. This is officially sanctioned by the reformed German orthography rules, which state in §25 E2: "In der Schweiz kann man immer „ss“ schreiben" ("In Switzerland, one may always write 'ss'"). Liechtenstein follows the same practice. There are very few instances where the difference between spelling ⟨ß⟩ and ⟨ss⟩ affects the meaning of a word, and these can usually be told apart by context.: 230 Other uses Occasionally, ⟨ß⟩ has been used in unusual ways: As a surrogate for Greek lowercase ⟨β⟩ (beta), which looks fairly similar. This was used in older operating systems, the character encoding of which (notably Latin-1 and Windows-1252) did not support easy use of Greek letters. Additionally, the original IBM DOS code page, CP437 (aka OEM-US) conflates the two characters, with a glyph that minimizes their differences placed between the Greek letters ⟨α⟩ (alpha) and ⟨γ⟩ (gamma) but named "Sharp s Small". In Prussian Lithuanian, as in the first book published in Lithuanian, Martynas Mažvydas' Simple Words of Catechism, as well as in Sorbian (see example on the left). For sadhe in Akkadian glosses, in place of the standard ⟨ṣ⟩, when that character is unavailable due to limitations of HTML. The letter appeared in the alphabet made by Jan Kochanowski for the Polish language, that was used from the 16th until the 18th century. It represented the voiceless postalveolar fricative ([ʃ]) sound. It was for example used in the Jakub Wujek Bible. History Origin and development As a result of the High German consonant shift, Old High German developed a sound generally spelled ⟨zz⟩ or ⟨z⟩ that was probably pronounced [s] and was contrasted with a sound, probably pronounced [⁠s̠] (voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant) or [z̠] (voiced alveolar retracted sibilant), depending on the place in the word, and spelled ⟨s⟩. Given that ⟨z⟩ could also represent the affricate [ts], some attempts were made to differentiate the sounds by spelling [s] as ⟨zss⟩ or ⟨zs⟩: wazssar (German: Wasser), fuozssi (German: Füße), heizsit (German: heißt). In Middle High German, ⟨zz⟩ simplified to ⟨z⟩ at the end of a word or after a long vowel, but was retained word internally after a short vowel: wazzer (German: Wasser) vs. lâzen (German: lassen) and fuoz (German: Fuß). In the thirteenth century, the phonetic difference between ⟨z⟩ and ⟨s⟩ was lost at the beginning and end of words in all dialects except for Gottscheerish. Word-internally, Old and Middle High German ⟨s⟩ came to be pronounced [z] (the voiced alveolar sibilant), while Old and Middle High German ⟨z⟩ continued to be pronounced [s]. This produces the contrast between modern standard German reisen and reißen. The former is pronounced IPA: [ˈʁaɪzn̩] and comes from Middle High German: reisen, while the latter is pronounced IPA: [ˈʁaɪsn̩] and comes from Middle High German: reizen.In the late medieval and early modern periods, [s] was frequently spelled ⟨sz⟩ or ⟨ss⟩. The earliest appearance of ligature resembling the modern ⟨ß⟩ is in a fragment of a manuscript of the poem Wolfdietrich from around 1300.: 214  In the Gothic book hands and bastarda scripts of the late medieval period, ⟨sz⟩ is written with long s and the Blackletter "tailed z", as ⟨ſʒ⟩. A recognizable ligature representing the ⟨sz⟩ digraph develops in handwriting in the early 14th century.: 67–76  By the late 1400s, the choice of spelling between ⟨sz⟩ and ⟨ss⟩ was usually based on the sound's position in the word rather than etymology: ⟨sz⟩ (⟨ſz⟩) tended to be used in word final position: uſz (Middle High German: ûz, German: aus), -nüſz (Middle High German: -nüss(e), German: -nis); ⟨ss⟩ (⟨ſſ⟩) tended to be used when the sound occurred between vowels: groſſes (Middle High German: grôzes, German: großes).: 171  While Martin Luther's early 16th-century printings also contain spellings such as heyße (German: heiße), early modern printers mostly changed these to ⟨ſſ⟩: heiſſe. Around the same time, printers began to systematically distinguish between das (the, that [pronoun]) and daß (that [conjunction]).: 215 In modern German, the Old and Middle High German ⟨z⟩ is now represented by either ⟨ss⟩, ⟨ß⟩, or, if there are no related forms in which [s] occurs intervocalically, with ⟨s⟩: messen (Middle High German: mezzen), Straße (Middle High German: strâze), and was (Middle High German: waz). Standardization of use The pre-1996 German use of ⟨ß⟩ was codified by the eighteenth-century grammarians Johann Christoph Gottsched (1748) and Johann Christoph Adelung (1793) and made official for all German-speaking countries by the German Orthographic Conference of 1901. In this orthography, the use of ⟨ß⟩ was modeled after the use of long and "round"-s in Fraktur. ⟨ß⟩ appeared both word internally after long vowels and also in those positions where Fraktur required the second s to be a "round" or "final" s, namely the ends of syllables or the ends of words.: 217–18  In his Deutsches Wörterbuch (1854) Jacob Grimm called for ⟨ß⟩ or ⟨sz⟩ to be written for all instances of Middle and Old High German etymological ⟨z⟩ (e.g., eß instead of es from Middle High German: ez); however, his etymological proposal could not overcome established usage.: 269 In Austria-Hungary prior to the German Orthographic Conference of 1902, an alternative rule formulated by Johann Christian August Heyse in 1829 had been officially taught in the schools since 1879, although this spelling was not widely used. Heyse's rule matches current usage after the German orthography reform of 1996 in that ⟨ß⟩ was only used after long vowels.: 219 Use in Roman type Although there are early examples in Roman type (called Antiqua in a German context) of a ⟨ſs⟩-ligature that looks like the letter ⟨ß⟩, it was not commonly used for ⟨sz⟩. These forms generally fell out of use in the eighteenth century and were used in Italic text only;: 73  German works printed in Roman type in the late 18th and early 19th centuries such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre did not provide any equivalent to the ⟨ß⟩. Jacob Grimm began using ⟨ß⟩ in his Deutsche Grammatik (1819), however it varied with ⟨ſſ⟩ word internally.: 74  Grimm eventually rejected the use of the character; in their Deutsches Wörterbuch (1838), the Brothers Grimm favored writing it as ⟨sz⟩.: 2  The First Orthographic Conference in Berlin (1876) recommended that ß be represented as ⟨ſs⟩ - however, both suggestions were ultimately rejected.: 269 : 222  In 1879, a proposal for various letter forms was published in the Journal für Buchdruckerkunst. A committee of the Typographic Society of Leipzig chose the "Sulzbacher form". In 1903 it was proclaimed as the new standard for the Eszett in Roman type.: 3–5 Until the abolition of Fraktur in 1941, it was nevertheless common for family names to be written with ⟨ß⟩ in Fraktur and ⟨ss⟩ in Roman type. The formal abolition resulted in inconsistencies in how names such as Heuss/Heuß are written in modern German.: 176 Abolition and attempted abolitions The Swiss and Liechtensteiners ceased to use ⟨ß⟩ in the twentieth century. This has been explained variously by the early adoption of Roman type in Switzerland, the use of typewriters in Switzerland that did not include ⟨ß⟩ in favor of French and Italian characters, and peculiarities of Swiss German that cause words spelled with ⟨ß⟩ or ⟨ss⟩ to be pronounced with gemination.: 221–22  The Education Council of Zurich had decided to stop teaching the letter in 1935, whereas the Neue Zürcher Zeitung continued to write ⟨ß⟩ until 1971. Swiss newspapers continued to print in Fraktur until the end of the 1940s, and the abandonment of ß by most newspapers corresponded to them switching to Roman typesetting.When the Nazi German government abolished the use of blackletter typesetting in 1941, it was originally planned to also abolish the use of ⟨ß⟩. However, Hitler intervened to retain ⟨ß⟩, while deciding against the creation of a capital form. In 1954, a group of reformers in West Germany similarly proposed, among other changes to German spelling, the abolition of ⟨ß⟩; their proposals were publicly opposed by German-language writers Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, and Friedrich Dürrenmatt and were never implemented. Although the German Orthography Reform of 1996 reduced the use of ⟨ß⟩ in standard German, Adrienne Walder writes that an abolition outside of Switzerland appears unlikely.: 235 Development of a capital form Because ⟨ß⟩ had been treated as a ligature, rather than as a full letter of the German alphabet, it had no capital form in early modern typesetting. There were, however, proposals to introduce capital forms of ⟨ß⟩ for use in allcaps writing (where ⟨ß⟩ would otherwise usually be represented as either ⟨SS⟩ or ⟨SZ⟩). A capital was first seriously proposed in 1879, but did not enter official or widespread use. Historical typefaces offering a capitalized eszett mostly date to the time between 1905 and 1930. The first known typefaces to include capital eszett were produced by the Schelter & Giesecke foundry in Leipzig, in 1905/06. Schelter & Giesecke at the time widely advocated the use of this type, but its use nevertheless remained very limited. The preface to the 1925 edition of the Duden dictionary expressed the desirability of a separate glyph for capital ⟨ß⟩: Die Verwendung zweier Buchstaben für einen Laut ist nur ein Notbehelf, der aufhören muss, sobald ein geeigneter Druckbuchstabe für das große ß geschaffen ist. The use of two letters for a single phoneme is makeshift, to be abandoned as soon as a suitable type for the capital ß has been developed. The Duden was edited separately in East and West Germany during the 1950s to 1980s. The East German Duden of 1957 (15th ed.) introduced a capital ⟨ß⟩, in its typesetting without revising the rule for capitalization. The 16th edition of 1969 still announced that an uppercase ⟨ß⟩ was in development and would be introduced in the future. The 1984 edition again removed this announcement and simply stated that there is no capital version of ⟨ß⟩.In the 2000s, there were renewed efforts on the part of certain typographers to introduce a capital, ⟨ẞ⟩. A proposal to include a corresponding character in the Unicode set submitted in 2004 was rejected. A second proposal submitted in 2007 was successful, and the character was included in Unicode version 5.1.0 in April 2008 (U+1E9E ẞ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER SHARP S). The international standard associated with Unicode (UCS), ISO/IEC 10646, was updated to reflect the addition on 24 June 2008. The capital letter was finally adopted as an option in standard German orthography in 2017. Representation Graphical variants The recommendation of the Sulzbacher form (1903) was not followed universally in 20th-century printing. There were four distinct variants of ⟨ß⟩ in use in Antiqua fonts: ⟨ſs⟩ without ligature, but as a single type, with reduced spacing between the two letters; the ligature of ⟨ſ⟩ and ⟨s⟩ inherited from the 16th-century Antiqua typefaces; a ligature of ⟨ſ⟩ and ⟨ʒ⟩, adapting the blackletter ligature to Antiqua; and the Sulzbacher form.The first variant (no ligature) has become practically obsolete. Most modern typefaces follow either 2 or 4, with 3 retained in occasional usage, notably in street signs in Bonn and Berlin. The design of modern ⟨ß⟩ tends to follow either the Sulzbacher form, in which ⟨ʒ⟩ (tailed z) is clearly visible, or else be made up of a clear ligature of ⟨ſ⟩ and ⟨s⟩.: 2  Use of typographic variants in street signs: The inclusion of a capital ⟨ẞ⟩ in ISO 10646 in 2008 revived the century-old debate among font designers as to how such a character should be represented. The main difference in the shapes of ⟨ẞ⟩ in contemporary fonts is the depiction with a diagonal straight line vs. a curved line in its upper right part, reminiscent of the ligature of tailed z or of round s, respectively. The code chart published by the Unicode Consortium favours the former possibility, which has been adopted by Unicode capable fonts including Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Courier New, Dejavu Serif, Liberation Sans, Liberation Mono, Linux Libertine and Times New Roman; the second possibility is more rare, adopted by Dejavu Sans. Some fonts adopt a third possibility in representing ⟨ẞ⟩ following the Sulzbacher form of ⟨ß⟩, reminiscent of the Greek ⟨β⟩ (beta); such a shape has been adopted by FreeSans and FreeSerif, Liberation Serif and Verdana. Keyboards and encoding In Germany and Austria, a 'ß' key is present on computer and typewriter keyboards, normally to the right-hand end on the number row. The German typewriter keyboard layout was defined in DIN 2112, first issued in 1928.In other countries, the letter is not marked on the keyboard, but a combination of other keys can produce it. Often, the letter is input using a modifier and the 's' key. The details of the keyboard layout depend on the input language and operating system: on some keyboards with US-International (or local 'extended') setting, the symbol is created using AltGrs (or CtrlAlts) in Microsoft Windows, Linux and ChromeOS; in MacOS, one uses ⌥ Options on the US, US-Extended, and UK keyboards. In Windows, one can use Alt+0223. On Linux Composess works, and ComposeSS for uppercase. Some modern virtual keyboards show ß when the user presses and holds the 's' key. The HTML entity for ⟨ß⟩ is ß. Its code point in the ISO 8859 character encoding versions 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16 and identically in Unicode is 223, or DF in hexadecimal. In TeX and LaTeX, \ss produces ß. A German language support package for LaTeX exists in which ß is produced by "s (similar to umlauts, which are produced by "a, "o, and "u with this package).In modern browsers, "ß" will be converted to "SS" when the element containing it is set to uppercase using text-transform: uppercase in Cascading Style Sheets. The JavaScript in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will convert "ß" to "SS" when converted to uppercase (e.g., "ß".toUpperCase()). See also long s β – Second letter of the Greek alphabet 阝 – Element used in Chinese Kangxi writing Sz – Digraph of the Latin script

Born This Way may refer to: Music Born This Way (album), a 2011 album by Lady Gaga "Born This Way" (song), the title song Born This Way: The Remix, a 2011 remix album by Lady Gaga Born This Way: The Collection, a 2011 compilation album that includes the remix album Born This Way (Cookie Crew album), 1989, as well as a single on the album "Born This Way", a 2014 single by Thousand Foot Krutch from Oxygen: Inhale "Born This Way", a song by Dusty Springfield from Reputation "Born This Way", a song from the 1993 musical Whoop-Dee-Doo! Television Born This Way (TV series), 2015 "Born This Way" (Glee), an episode of Glee "Born This Way", an episode of Being Erica Other Born This Way, a fictional power in the manga JoJolion See also Born This Way Ball, a tour by Lady Gaga in support of her second studio album, Born This Way Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2011 by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta "I Was Born This Way", a 1946 song by Stubby Kaye "I Was Born This Way", a 1975 song by Valentino Born That Way, a 1995 album by Boy Howdy

Just Dance may refer to: Just Dance (video game series), developed and published by Ubisoft Just Dance (video game), the first game in the series, 2009 "Just Dance" (song), a 2008 song by Lady Gaga "Just Dance", a 2017 song by Lala Hsu from The Inner Me Just Dance, a 2023 album by Inna Just Dance (Indian TV series), a 2011 Indian dance-reality series Just Dance (South Korean TV series), a 2018 television series

The horizon is the line at which the sky and the Earth's surface appear to meet. Horizon or The Horizon may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films Horizon (1932 film), a Soviet film The Horizon (film), a 1961 Soviet film Horizon (1971 film), a Hungarian film The Horizon (地平線), a 1984 Japanese film by director Kaneto Shindo Horizon (1989 film), an Iranian film Horizon (2018 film), a Georgian film Horizon: An American Saga, an American epic Western Games Horizon (video game series), a series of action role-playing games developed by Guerrilla Games Horizon Zero Dawn, a 2017 video game for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows Horizon Forbidden West, a 2022 sequel for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 Horizons: Empire of Istaria, the original name of the MMORPG Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted Forza Horizon, a 2012 open world racing game for Xbox 360, which became a sub-series for the Forza racing game franchise Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a 2020 video game for the Nintendo Switch Horizon, a playable character in the game Apex Legends Music Horizons Gorwelion, an annual festival aimed at promoting independent contemporary new music in Wales Horizon (band), a German metal band Horizon (Filipino band), a South Korea-based Filipino boy band Horizon Records, an American record label Albums Horizon (Culture Beat album), 1991 Horizon (Eddie Rabbitt album), 1980 Horizon (Remioromen album), 2006 Horizon (Sun Ra album), 1972 Horizon (The Carpenters album), 1975 Horizon (McCoy Tyner album), 1979 Horizon, album by BZN Horizons (Kris Allen album), 2014 Horizons (Charles McPherson album), 1968 Horizons (Parkway Drive album), 2007 Horizons (Ira Sullivan album), 1987 Horizons (Starset album), 2021 Horizon (The Rocking Horse Winner album), 2002 Songs "Horizon" (Jessica Andersson song), Melodifestivalen 2021 entry "Horizon", a 2008 single by D'espairsRay "Horizon", a song by The Bats from the album At the National Grid "Horizon", a song by Diaura from the album Triangle "Horizon" (Daft Punk song), on the 2013 album Random Access Memories "Horizons" (Genesis song), a song by Genesis on the 1972 album Foxtrot "Horizons", a 1994 song by British DJ and drum and bass musician LTJ Bukem "Horizon", a song by American musician Cat Power from the 2018 album Wanderer "Horizons", a song by the 3rd and the Mortal from the 1996 album Painting on Glass "Horizon", a song by Akina Hakamori from the 1984 album Possibility "Horizon", a comedy song about the Chrysler Horizon by The Arrogant Worms from their 1995 album C'est Cheese "Horizon" (Jaehyun song), a 2023 single by South Korean singer and NCT member Jaehyun Periodicals Horizon (magazine), British magazine, 1940–1949, founded by Cyril Connolly, Stephen Spender and Peter Watson Horizon (online magazine), research and innovation magazine published by the European Commission Horizon (U.S. magazine), 1958–1989, originally published by American Heritage Horizon Weekly, Armenian-Canadian newspaper publication Horizons (magazine), research magazine of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society, a religious study journal The Horizon: A Journal of the Color Line, U.S. magazine, 1907–1919, edited by W.E.B. Du Bois Television and web series Horizon (British TV series), a long-running British programme on BBC television showing popular science documentaries Horizon (Canadian TV program), a 1963–1964 Canadian current affairs television program that aired on CBC Arizona Horizon, a current events television program that debuted Arizona-based KAET in 1981 The Horizon (web series), a web series which premiered on YouTube; it is the most watched online series made in Australia and the most watched gay web series in the world. "Horizon" (Star Trek: Enterprise), a 2003 second-season episode of Star Trek: Enterprise "The Horizon" (Alias), a 2005 episode Pokémon Horizons: the Series, the 26th season of the Pokémon anime series Other arts, entertainment, and media Horizon (novel), a 2009 fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold Horizontes (Horizons), 1913 painting by Francisco Antonio Cano Cardona Horizons (ballet), a modern dance work Horizons, a sculpture by Neil Dawson Companies and brands Horizon (camera), a swing-lens panoramic camera manufactured in Russia Horizon Fitness, a fitness equipment subsidiary of Johnson Health Tech Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a corporation specializing in fuel cell technology Horizon Nuclear Power, a British energy company Horizon Organic, an American company that produces dairy and egg products Horizon Pipeline, a small natural gas pipeline that moves gas in northern Illinois Horizon Power, a corporation owned by the Government of Western Australia Planning horizon, the amount of time an organisation will look into the future when preparing a strategic plan Horizons Satellite, a joint venture between Intelsat and SKY Perfect JSAT Group that owns a fleet of Horizons satellites Horizon (store), a discount department store Warner Horizon Television, Warner Bros Television’s division formed in 2006 Radio and television providers Horizont (radio station), or Horizon Radio, a state-owned Bulgarian Radio Station Heart 103.3, or Horizon Radio (UK), a UK radio station Horizon TV Asia, a television provider in India Events and organizations Horizon League, a collegiate athletic conference in the midwestern USA Horizons Regional Council, the regional authority for the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand Horizon 2020, a funding programme by the European Union for innovation and economic growth Horizon Europe, continuation of Horizon 2020 Horizons (political party), French center-right political party Orizzonti (Horizons), a parallel section of the Venice Film Festival Places Horizons Region, official name of Manawatū-Whanganui region in New Zealand Horizon, Saskatchewan, hamlet in Saskatchewan, Canada Rosemont Horizon, the former name of Allstate Arena, a multipurpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States Horizon City, a town in Texas, United States Horizons (Epcot), a former Epcot Center attraction at Walt Disney World Schools École secondaire l'Horizon, a French public secondary school in Quebec, Canada Horizon High School (disambiguation) Horizon Science Academy, a group of charter schools which is owned by Concept Schools in Ohio, United States Science Computers and computer science Horizon effect, in artificial intelligence: the computational limit beyond which conventional game-tree search algorithms make suboptimal decisions Horizons: Software Starter Pack, a 1982 software compilation for the ZX Spectrum North Star Horizon, an 8-bit computer system based on the ZiLOG Z80A microprocessor Split horizon route advertisement, one of the methods in computer networks used to prevent routing loops VMware Horizon, a commercial desktop-virtualisation product released in 2014 (formerly called Horizon View) Nintendo Switch system software, internally known as Horizon Horizon, a social platform being built by Meta Platforms, encompassing Horizon Home, Horizon Worlds, Horizon Workrooms, Horizon Venues and Horizon Marketplace Horizon, computer accounting system used in connection with the British Post Office scandal Geology, soil science and archeology Horizon (archaeology), a distinctive sediment, artefact, style or other cultural trait that is found at archaeological sites across a large geographical area Horizon (geology), a bedding plane or a thin bed of distinctive character within a stratigraphic sequence Marker horizon, a distinctive stratigraphic unit, of the same age across several locations Soil horizon, a specific and distinctive layer in a land area Physics Horizon (general relativity), that play a role in Einstein's theory of general relativity Absolute horizon, a boundary in spacetime in general relativity inside of which events cannot affect an external observer Apparent horizon, a surface defined in general relativity Cauchy horizon, a surface found in the study of Cauchy problems Celestial horizon, a great circle parallel to the horizon Cosmological horizon, a limit of observability: the maximum distance from which particles can have travelled to an observer in the age of the universe Event horizon, a boundary in spacetime beyond which events cannot affect the observer JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System, an interactive facility that computes the position of many solar system objects Killing horizon, a null surface on which there is a Killing vector field Radio horizon, the locus of points in telecommunication at which direct rays from an antenna are tangential to the surface of the Earth Transportation Horizon (railcar), an Amtrak passenger car used mostly in the Midwest Attitude indicator, or Artificial horizon, an instrument used in an aircraft to inform the pilot of the orientation of the airplane relative to the ground Carnival Horizon, a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line Chrysler Horizon, a car designed by Chrysler Europe Fisher Horizon, a kit aircraft Hawker Horizon, the original name of the Hawker 4000 business jet Halman Horizon, a Canadian sailboat design Horizon Air, a regional airline and subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group Horizon Airlines (Australia), an Australian airline based in Sydney Horizon-class frigate, a multi-national collaboration to produce a new generation of anti-air warfare frigates MV Horizon, a cruise ship operated by Pullmantur Cruises Other uses Fusion of horizons, understanding that results from the dynamic process of integrating the 'Other' and the familiar Project Horizon, a study to determine the feasibility of the construction of a military base on the moon conducted in 1959 All pages with titles containing horizon All pages with titles beginning with horizon Bring Me the Horizon, a British rock band "Over the Rainbow", a song written for the movie The Wizard of Oz Mirage, a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend to produce a displaced image of distant objects New Horizons (disambiguation) New Horizon (disambiguation)

Listen Up may refer to: Music Listen Up (album), an album by Hoku, 2008 Listen Up! (Haley Reinhart album), 2012 Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album Listen Up!, an album by Hot Action Cop Listen Up!, an album by The Mood Elevator featuring Brendan Benson "Listen Up!" (Gossip song), a single by the band the Gossip released in 2006 "Listen Up", a song by Oasis from "Cigarettes & Alcohol" Other Listen Up (TV series), a 2004–2005 American sitcom that aired on CBS Listen UP or 4 Guys 1UP, a gaming podcast on the 1UP Radio Network Listen Up!, a Canadian arts outreach program established by the Gryphon Trio Listen Up, an early MP3 player from Audio Highway ListenUp, consumer electronics company

Most Wanted may refer to: Law enforcement A most wanted list used by a law enforcement agency to alert the public, such as: FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives FBI Most Wanted Terrorists ICE Most Wanted List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords List of most wanted fugitives in Italy Saudi list of most wanted suspected terrorists NIA Most Wanted, India's National Investigation Agency U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis List of most-wanted Nazi war criminals, Simon Wiesenthal Center Most Wanted, successor to UK NCA Operation Captura in Spain Media Film Most Wanted (1997 film), US Most Wanted (2011 film), Indian Odia-language film Most Wanted (2020 film), Canada India's Most Wanted (film), 2019 Indian film Music Most Wanted (Hilary Duff album) Most Wanted (Kane & Abel album) Most Wanted (MOK album) Most Wanted: The Greatest Hits, an album by the Wanted Most Wanted, a mixtape by SpotemGottem The Most Wanted Person in the United States, by 100 gecs Television FBI: Most Wanted, 2020 "Most Wanted" (FBI), pilot MTV's Most Wanted, 1992 Most Wanted (1976 TV series), 1976–77 "Most Wanted" (Beavis and Butt-head), an episode Marvel's Most Wanted, a TV pilot India's Most Wanted, 1999 Indian crime television series Video games Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005 video game), a racing game Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012 video game), a racing game See also All pages with titles containing Most Wanted America's Most Wanted (disambiguation)

A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. Although in some cultures five human senses were traditionally identified as such (namely sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing), it is now recognized that there are many more. Senses used by non-human organisms are even greater in variety and number. During sensation, sense organs collect various stimuli (such as a sound or smell) for transduction, meaning transformation into a form that can be understood by the brain. Sensation and perception are fundamental to nearly every aspect of an organism's cognition, behavior and thought. In organisms, a sensory organ consists of a group of interrelated sensory cells that respond to a specific type of physical stimulus. Via cranial and spinal nerves (nerves of the Central and Peripheral nervous systems that relay sensory information to and from the brain and body), the different types of sensory receptor cells (such as mechanoreceptors, photoreceptors, chemoreceptors, thermoreceptors) in sensory organs transduct sensory information from these organs towards the central nervous system, finally arriving at the sensory cortices in the brain, where sensory signals are processed and interpreted (perceived). Sensory systems, or senses, are often divided into external (exteroception) and internal (interoception) sensory systems. Human external senses are based on the sensory organs of the eyes, ears, skin, nose, and mouth. Internal sensation detects stimuli from internal organs and tissues. Internal senses possessed by humans include the vestibular system (sense of balance) sensed by the inner ear, as well as others such as spatial orientation, proprioception (body position) and nociception (pain). Further internal senses lead to signals such as hunger, thirst, suffocation, and nausea, or different involuntary behaviors, such as vomiting. Some animals are able to detect electrical and magnetic fields, air moisture, or polarized light, while others sense and perceive through alternative systems, such as echolocation. Sensory modalities or sub modalities are different ways sensory information is encoded or transduced. Multimodality integrates different senses into one unified perceptual experience. For example, information from one sense has the potential to influence how information from another is perceived. Sensation and perception are studied by a variety of related fields, most notably psychophysics, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and cognitive science. Definitions Sensory organs Sensory organs are organs that sense and transduce stimuli. Humans have various sensory organs (i.e. eyes, ears, skin, nose, and mouth) that correspond to a respective visual system (sense of vision), auditory system (sense of hearing), somatosensory system (sense of touch), olfactory system (sense of smell), and gustatory system (sense of taste). Those systems, in turn, contribute to vision, hearing, touch, smell, and the ability to taste. Internal sensation, or interoception, detects stimuli from internal organs and tissues. Many internal sensory and perceptual systems exist in humans, including the vestibular system (sense of balance) sensed by the inner ear and providing the perception of spatial orientation; proprioception (body position); and nociception (pain). Further internal chemoreception- and osmoreception-based sensory systems lead to various perceptions, such as hunger, thirst, suffocation, and nausea, or different involuntary behaviors, such as vomiting.Nonhuman animals experience sensation and perception, with varying levels of similarity to and difference from humans and other animal species. For example, other mammals in general have a stronger sense of smell than humans. Some animal species lack one or more human sensory system analogues and some have sensory systems that are not found in humans, while others process and interpret the same sensory information in very different ways. For example, some animals are able to detect electrical fields and magnetic fields, air moisture, or polarized light. Others sense and perceive through alternative systems such as echolocation. Recent theory suggests that plants and artificial agents such as robots may be able to detect and interpret environmental information in an analogous manner to animals. Sensory modalities Sensory modality refers to the way that information is encoded, which is similar to the idea of transduction. The main sensory modalities can be described on the basis of how each is transduced. Listing all the different sensory modalities, which can number as many as 17, involves separating the major senses into more specific categories, or submodalities, of the larger sense. An individual sensory modality represents the sensation of a specific type of stimulus. For example, the general sensation and perception of touch, which is known as somatosensation, can be separated into light pressure, deep pressure, vibration, itch, pain, temperature, or hair movement, while the general sensation and perception of taste can be separated into submodalities of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy, and umami, all of which are based on different chemicals binding to sensory neurons. Receptors Sensory receptors are the cells or structures that detect sensations. Stimuli in the environment activate specialized receptor cells in the peripheral nervous system. During transduction, physical stimulus is converted into action potential by receptors and transmitted towards the central nervous system for processing. Different types of stimuli are sensed by different types of receptor cells. Receptor cells can be classified into types on the basis of three different criteria: cell type, position, and function. Receptors can be classified structurally on the basis of cell type and their position in relation to stimuli they sense. Receptors can further be classified functionally on the basis of the transduction of stimuli, or how the mechanical stimulus, light, or chemical changed the cell membrane potential. Structural receptor types Location One way to classify receptors is based on their location relative to the stimuli. An exteroceptor is a receptor that is located near a stimulus of the external environment, such as the somatosensory receptors that are located in the skin. An interoceptor is one that interprets stimuli from internal organs and tissues, such as the receptors that sense the increase in blood pressure in the aorta or carotid sinus. Cell type The cells that interpret information about the environment can be either (1) a neuron that has a free nerve ending, with dendrites embedded in tissue that would receive a sensation; (2) a neuron that has an encapsulated ending in which the sensory nerve endings are encapsulated in connective tissue that enhances their sensitivity; or (3) a specialized receptor cell, which has distinct structural components that interpret a specific type of stimulus. The pain and temperature receptors in the dermis of the skin are examples of neurons that have free nerve endings (1). Also located in the dermis of the skin are lamellated corpuscles, neurons with encapsulated nerve endings that respond to pressure and touch (2). The cells in the retina that respond to light stimuli are an example of a specialized receptor (3), a photoreceptor.A transmembrane protein receptor is a protein in the cell membrane that mediates a physiological change in a neuron, most often through the opening of ion channels or changes in the cell signaling processes. Transmembrane receptors are activated by chemicals called ligands. For example, a molecule in food can serve as a ligand for taste receptors. Other transmembrane proteins, which are not accurately called receptors, are sensitive to mechanical or thermal changes. Physical changes in these proteins increase ion flow across the membrane, and can generate an action potential or a graded potential in the sensory neurons. Functional receptor types A third classification of receptors is by how the receptor transduces stimuli into membrane potential changes. Stimuli are of three general types. Some stimuli are ions and macromolecules that affect transmembrane receptor proteins when these chemicals diffuse across the cell membrane. Some stimuli are physical variations in the environment that affect receptor cell membrane potentials. Other stimuli include the electromagnetic radiation from visible light. For humans, the only electromagnetic energy that is perceived by our eyes is visible light. Some other organisms have receptors that humans lack, such as the heat sensors of snakes, the ultraviolet light sensors of bees, or magnetic receptors in migratory birds.Receptor cells can be further categorized on the basis of the type of stimuli they transduce. The different types of functional receptor cell types are mechanoreceptors, photoreceptors, chemoreceptors (osmoreceptor), thermoreceptors, electroreceptors (in certain mammals and fish), and nociceptors. Physical stimuli, such as pressure and vibration, as well as the sensation of sound and body position (balance), are interpreted through a mechanoreceptor. Photoreceptors convert light (visible electromagnetic radiation) into signals. Chemical stimuli can be interpreted by a chemoreceptor that interprets chemical stimuli, such as an object's taste or smell, while osmoreceptors respond to a chemical solute concentrations of body fluids. Nociception (pain) interprets the presence of tissue damage, from sensory information from mechano-, chemo-, and thermoreceptors. Another physical stimulus that has its own type of receptor is temperature, which is sensed through a thermoreceptor that is either sensitive to temperatures above (heat) or below (cold) normal body temperature. Thresholds Absolute threshold Each sense organ (eyes or nose, for instance) requires a minimal amount of stimulation in order to detect a stimulus. This minimum amount of stimulus is called the absolute threshold. The absolute threshold is defined as the minimum amount of stimulation necessary for the detection of a stimulus 50% of the time. Absolute threshold is measured by using a method called signal detection. This process involves presenting stimuli of varying intensities to a subject in order to determine the level at which the subject can reliably detect stimulation in a given sense. Differential threshold Differential threshold or just noticeable difference (JDS) is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the smallest difference in stimuli that can be judged to be different from each other. Weber's Law is an empirical law that states that the difference threshold is a constant fraction of the comparison stimulus. According to Weber's Law, bigger stimuli require larger differences to be noticed. Magnitude estimation is a psychophysical method in which subjects assign perceived values of given stimuli. The relationship between stimulus intensity and perceptive intensity is described by Steven's power law. Signal detection theory Signal detection theory quantifies the experience of the subject to the presentation of a stimulus in the presence of noise. There is internal noise and there is external noise when it comes to signal detection. The internal noise originates from static in the nervous system. For example, an individual with closed eyes in a dark room still sees something—a blotchy pattern of grey with intermittent brighter flashes—this is internal noise. External noise is the result of noise in the environment that can interfere with the detection of the stimulus of interest. Noise is only a problem if the magnitude of the noise is large enough to interfere with signal collection. The nervous system calculates a criterion, or an internal threshold, for the detection of a signal in the presence of noise. If a signal is judged to be above the criterion, thus the signal is differentiated from the noise, the signal is sensed and perceived. Errors in signal detection can potentially lead to false positives and false negatives. The sensory criterion might be shifted based on the importance of the detecting the signal. Shifting of the criterion may influence the likelihood of false positives and false negatives. Private perceptive experience Subjective visual and auditory experiences appear to be similar across humans subjects. The same cannot be said about taste. For example, there is a molecule called propylthiouracil (PROP) that some humans experience as bitter, some as almost tasteless, while others experience it as somewhere between tasteless and bitter. There is a genetic basis for this difference between perception given the same sensory stimulus. This subjective difference in taste perception has implications for individuals' food preferences, and consequently, health. Sensory adaptation When a stimulus is constant and unchanging, perceptual sensory adaptation occurs. During this process, the subject becomes less sensitive to the stimulus. Fourier analysis Biological auditory (hearing), vestibular and spatial, and visual systems (vision) appear to break down real-world complex stimuli into sine wave components, through the mathematical process called Fourier analysis. Many neurons have a strong preference for certain sine frequency components in contrast to others. The way that simpler sounds and images are encoded during sensation can provide insight into how perception of real-world objects happens. Sensory neuroscience and the biology of perception Perception occurs when nerves that lead from the sensory organs (e.g. eye) to the brain are stimulated, even if that stimulation is unrelated to the target signal of the sensory organ. For example, in the case of the eye, it does not matter whether light or something else stimulates the optic nerve, that stimulation will results in visual perception, even if there was no visual stimulus to begin with. (To prove this point to yourself (and if you are a human), close your eyes (preferably in a dark room) and press gently on the outside corner of one eye through the eyelid. You will see a visual spot toward the inside of your visual field, near your nose.) Sensory nervous system All stimuli received by the receptors are transduced to an action potential, which is carried along one or more afferent neurons towards a specific area (cortex) of the brain. Just as different nerves are dedicated to sensory and motors tasks, different areas of the brain (cortices) are similarly dedicated to different sensory and perceptual tasks. More complex processing is accomplished across primary cortical regions that spread beyond the primary cortices. Every nerve, sensory or motor, has its own signal transmission speed. For example, nerves in the frog's legs have a 90 ft/s (99 km/h) signal transmission speed, while sensory nerves in humans, transmit sensory information at speeds between 165 ft/s (181 km/h) and 330 ft/s (362 km/h). Multimodal perception Perceptual experience is often multimodal. Multimodality integrates different senses into one unified perceptual experience. Information from one sense has the potential to influence how information from another is perceived. Multimodal perception is qualitatively different from unimodal perception. There has been a growing body of evidence since the mid-1990s on the neural correlates of multimodal perception. Philosophy The philosophy of perception is concerned with the nature of perceptual experience and the status of perceptual data, in particular how they relate to beliefs about, or knowledge of, the world. Historical inquiries into the underlying mechanisms of sensation and perception have led early researchers to subscribe to various philosophical interpretations of perception and the mind, including panpsychism, dualism, and materialism. The majority of modern scientists who study sensation and perception take on a materialistic view of the mind. Human sensation General Absolute threshold Some examples of human absolute thresholds for the nine to 21 external senses. Multimodal perception Humans respond more strongly to multimodal stimuli compared to the sum of each single modality together, an effect called the superadditive effect of multisensory integration. Neurons that respond to both visual and auditory stimuli have been identified in the superior temporal sulcus. Additionally, multimodal "what" and "where" pathways have been proposed for auditory and tactile stimuli. External External receptors that respond to stimuli from outside the body are called exteroceptors. Human external sensation is based on the sensory organs of the eyes, ears, skin, vestibular system, nose, and mouth, which contribute, respectively, to the sensory perceptions of vision, hearing, touch, spatial orientation, smell, and taste. Smell and taste are both responsible for identifying molecules and thus both are types of chemoreceptors. Both olfaction (smell) and gustation (taste) require the transduction of chemical stimuli into electrical potentials. Visual system (vision) The visual system, or sense of sight, is based on the transduction of light stimuli received through the eyes and contributes to visual perception. The visual system detects light on photoreceptors in the retina of each eye that generates electrical nerve impulses for the perception of varying colors and brightness. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. Rods are very sensitive to light but do not distinguish colors. Cones distinguish colors but are less sensitive to dim light.At the molecular level, visual stimuli cause changes in the photopigment molecule that lead to changes in membrane potential of the photoreceptor cell. A single unit of light is called a photon, which is described in physics as a packet of energy with properties of both a particle and a wave. The energy of a photon is represented by its wavelength, with each wavelength of visible light corresponding to a particular color. Visible light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between 380 and 720 nm. Wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation longer than 720 nm fall into the infrared range, whereas wavelengths shorter than 380 nm fall into the ultraviolet range. Light with a wavelength of 380 nm is blue whereas light with a wavelength of 720 nm is dark red. All other colors fall between red and blue at various points along the wavelength scale.The three types of cone opsins, being sensitive to different wavelengths of light, provide us with color vision. By comparing the activity of the three different cones, the brain can extract color information from visual stimuli. For example, a bright blue light that has a wavelength of approximately 450 nm would activate the "red" cones minimally, the "green" cones marginally, and the "blue" cones predominantly. The relative activation of the three different cones is calculated by the brain, which perceives the color as blue. However, cones cannot react to low-intensity light, and rods do not sense the color of light. Therefore, our low-light vision is—in essence—in grayscale. In other words, in a dark room, everything appears as a shade of gray. If you think that you can see colors in the dark, it is most likely because your brain knows what color something is and is relying on that memory.There is some disagreement as to whether the visual system consists of one, two, or three submodalities. Neuroanatomists generally regard it as two submodalities, given that different receptors are responsible for the perception of color and brightness. Some argue that stereopsis, the perception of depth using both eyes, also constitutes a sense, but it is generally regarded as a cognitive (that is, post-sensory) function of the visual cortex of the brain where patterns and objects in images are recognized and interpreted based on previously learned information. This is called visual memory. The inability to see is called blindness. Blindness may result from damage to the eyeball, especially to the retina, damage to the optic nerve that connects each eye to the brain, and/or from stroke (infarcts in the brain). Temporary or permanent blindness can be caused by poisons or medications. People who are blind from degradation or damage to the visual cortex, but still have functional eyes, are actually capable of some level of vision and reaction to visual stimuli but not a conscious perception; this is known as blindsight. People with blindsight are usually not aware that they are reacting to visual sources, and instead just unconsciously adapt their behavior to the stimulus. On February 14, 2013, researchers developed a neural implant that gives rats the ability to sense infrared light which for the first time provides living creatures with new abilities, instead of simply replacing or augmenting existing abilities. Visual perception in psychology According to Gestalt Psychology, people perceive the whole of something even if it is not there. The Gestalt's Law of Organization states that people have seven factors that help to group what is seen into patterns or groups: Common Fate, Similarity, Proximity, Closure, Symmetry, Continuity, and Past Experience.The Law of Common fate says that objects are led along the smoothest path. People follow the trend of motion as the lines/dots flow.The Law of Similarity refers to the grouping of images or objects that are similar to each other in some aspect. This could be due to shade, colour, size, shape, or other qualities you could distinguish.The Law of Proximity states that our minds like to group based on how close objects are to each other. We may see 42 objects in a group, but we can also perceive three groups of two lines with seven objects in each line.The Law of Closure is the idea that we as humans still see a full picture even if there are gaps within that picture. There could be gaps or parts missing from a section of a shape, but we would still perceive the shape as whole.The Law of Symmetry refers to a person's preference to see symmetry around a central point. An example would be when we use parentheses in writing. We tend to perceive all of the words in the parentheses as one section instead of individual words within the parentheses.The Law of Continuity tells us that objects are grouped together by their elements and then perceived as a whole. This usually happens when we see overlapping objects. We will see the overlapping objects with no interruptions.The Law of Past Experience refers to the tendency humans have to categorize objects according to past experiences under certain circumstances. If two objects are usually perceived together or within close proximity of each other the Law of Past Experience is usually seen. Auditory system (hearing) Hearing, or audition, is the transduction of sound waves into a neural signal that is made possible by the structures of the ear. The large, fleshy structure on the lateral aspect of the head is known as the auricle. At the end of the auditory canal is the tympanic membrane, or ear drum, which vibrates after it is struck by sound waves. The auricle, ear canal, and tympanic membrane are often referred to as the external ear. The middle ear consists of a space spanned by three small bones called the ossicles. The three ossicles are the malleus, incus, and stapes, which are Latin names that roughly translate to hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The malleus is attached to the tympanic membrane and articulates with the incus. The incus, in turn, articulates with the stapes. The stapes is then attached to the inner ear, where the sound waves will be transduced into a neural signal. The middle ear is connected to the pharynx through the Eustachian tube, which helps equilibrate air pressure across the tympanic membrane. The tube is normally closed but will pop open when the muscles of the pharynx contract during swallowing or yawning.Mechanoreceptors turn motion into electrical nerve pulses, which are located in the inner ear. Since sound is vibration, propagating through a medium such as air, the detection of these vibrations, that is the sense of the hearing, is a mechanical sense because these vibrations are mechanically conducted from the eardrum through a series of tiny bones to hair-like fibers in the inner ear, which detect mechanical motion of the fibers within a range of about 20 to 20,000 hertz, with substantial variation between individuals. Hearing at high frequencies declines with an increase in age. Inability to hear is called deafness or hearing impairment. Sound can also be detected as vibrations conducted through the body by tactition. Lower frequencies that can be heard are detected this way. Some deaf people are able to determine the direction and location of vibrations picked up through the feet.Studies pertaining to Audition started to increase in number towards the latter end of the nineteenth century. During this time, many laboratories in the United States began to create new models, diagrams, and instruments that all pertained to the ear.There is a branch of Cognitive Psychology dedicated strictly to Audition. They call it Auditory Cognitive Psychology. The main point is to understand why humans are able to use sound in thinking outside of actually saying it.Relating to Auditory Cognitive Psychology is Psychoacoustics. Psychoacoustics is more pointed to people interested in music. Haptics, a word used to refer to both taction and kinesthesia, has many parallels with psychoacoustics. Most research around these two are focused on the instrument, the listener, and the player of the instrument. Somatosensory system (touch) Somatosensation is considered a general sense, as opposed to the special senses discussed in this section. Somatosensation is the group of sensory modalities that are associated with touch and interoception. The modalities of somatosensation include pressure, vibration, light touch, tickle, itch, temperature, pain, kinesthesia. Somatosensation, also called tactition (adjectival form: tactile) is a perception resulting from activation of neural receptors, generally in the skin including hair follicles, but also in the tongue, throat, and mucosa. A variety of pressure receptors respond to variations in pressure (firm, brushing, sustained, etc.). The touch sense of itching caused by insect bites or allergies involves special itch-specific neurons in the skin and spinal cord. The loss or impairment of the ability to feel anything touched is called tactile anesthesia. Paresthesia is a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin that may result from nerve damage and may be permanent or temporary. Two types of somatosensory signals that are transduced by free nerve endings are pain and temperature. These two modalities use thermoreceptors and nociceptors to transduce temperature and pain stimuli, respectively. Temperature receptors are stimulated when local temperatures differ from body temperature. Some thermoreceptors are sensitive to just cold and others to just heat. Nociception is the sensation of potentially damaging stimuli. Mechanical, chemical, or thermal stimuli beyond a set threshold will elicit painful sensations. Stressed or damaged tissues release chemicals that activate receptor proteins in the nociceptors. For example, the sensation of heat associated with spicy foods involves capsaicin, the active molecule in hot peppers.Low frequency vibrations are sensed by mechanoreceptors called Merkel cells, also known as type I cutaneous mechanoreceptors. Merkel cells are located in the stratum basale of the epidermis. Deep pressure and vibration is transduced by lamellated (Pacinian) corpuscles, which are receptors with encapsulated endings found deep in the dermis, or subcutaneous tissue. Light touch is transduced by the encapsulated endings known as tactile (Meissner) corpuscles. Follicles are also wrapped in a plexus of nerve endings known as the hair follicle plexus. These nerve endings detect the movement of hair at the surface of the skin, such as when an insect may be walking along the skin. Stretching of the skin is transduced by stretch receptors known as bulbous corpuscles. Bulbous corpuscles are also known as Ruffini corpuscles, or type II cutaneous mechanoreceptors.The heat receptors are sensitive to infrared radiation and can occur in specialized organs, for instance in pit vipers. The thermoceptors in the skin are quite different from the homeostatic thermoceptors in the brain (hypothalamus), which provide feedback on internal body temperature. Gustatory system (taste) The gustatory system or the sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). A few recognized submodalities exist within taste: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Very recent research has suggested that there may also be a sixth taste submodality for fats, or lipids. The sense of taste is often confused with the perception of flavor, which is the results of the multimodal integration of gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) sensations. Within the structure of the lingual papillae are taste buds that contain specialized gustatory receptor cells for the transduction of taste stimuli. These receptor cells are sensitive to the chemicals contained within foods that are ingested, and they release neurotransmitters based on the amount of the chemical in the food. Neurotransmitters from the gustatory cells can activate sensory neurons in the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus cranial nerves.Salty and sour taste submodalities are triggered by the cations Na+ and H+, respectively. The other taste modalities result from food molecules binding to a G protein–coupled receptor. A G protein signal transduction system ultimately leads to depolarization of the gustatory cell. The sweet taste is the sensitivity of gustatory cells to the presence of glucose (or sugar substitutes) dissolved in the saliva. Bitter taste is similar to sweet in that food molecules bind to G protein–coupled receptors. The taste known as umami is often referred to as the savory taste. Like sweet and bitter, it is based on the activation of G protein–coupled receptors by a specific molecule.Once the gustatory cells are activated by the taste molecules, they release neurotransmitters onto the dendrites of sensory neurons. These neurons are part of the facial and glossopharyngeal cranial nerves, as well as a component within the vagus nerve dedicated to the gag reflex. The facial nerve connects to taste buds in the anterior third of the tongue. The glossopharyngeal nerve connects to taste buds in the posterior two thirds of the tongue. The vagus nerve connects to taste buds in the extreme posterior of the tongue, verging on the pharynx, which are more sensitive to noxious stimuli such as bitterness.Flavor depends on odor, texture, and temperature as well as on taste. Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called taste buds, or gustatory calyculi, concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. Other tastes such as calcium and free fatty acids may also be basic tastes but have yet to receive widespread acceptance. The inability to taste is called ageusia. There is a rare phenomenon when it comes to the Gustatory sense. It is called Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia. Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia is when people can "taste" words. They have reported having flavor sensations they are not actually eating. When they read words, hear words, or even imagine words. They have reported not only simple flavors, but textures, complex flavors, and temperatures as well. Olfactory system (smell) Like the sense of taste, the sense of smell, or the olfactory system, is also responsive to chemical stimuli. Unlike taste, there are hundreds of olfactory receptors (388 functional ones according to one 2003 study), each binding to a particular molecular feature. Odor molecules possess a variety of features and, thus, excite specific receptors more or less strongly. This combination of excitatory signals from different receptors makes up what humans perceive as the molecule's smell.The olfactory receptor neurons are located in a small region within the superior nasal cavity. This region is referred to as the olfactory epithelium and contains bipolar sensory neurons. Each olfactory sensory neuron has dendrites that extend from the apical surface of the epithelium into the mucus lining the cavity. As airborne molecules are inhaled through the nose, they pass over the olfactory epithelial region and dissolve into the mucus. These odorant molecules bind to proteins that keep them dissolved in the mucus and help transport them to the olfactory dendrites. The odorant–protein complex binds to a receptor protein within the cell membrane of an olfactory dendrite. These receptors are G protein–coupled, and will produce a graded membrane potential in the olfactory neurons. In the brain, olfaction is processed by the olfactory cortex. Olfactory receptor neurons in the nose differ from most other neurons in that they die and regenerate on a regular basis. The inability to smell is called anosmia. Some neurons in the nose are specialized to detect pheromones. Loss of the sense of smell can result in food tasting bland. A person with an impaired sense of smell may require additional spice and seasoning levels for food to be tasted. Anosmia may also be related to some presentations of mild depression, because the loss of enjoyment of food may lead to a general sense of despair. The ability of olfactory neurons to replace themselves decreases with age, leading to age-related anosmia. This explains why some elderly people salt their food more than younger people do. Internal Vestibular system (balance) The vestibular sense, or sense of balance (equilibrium), is the sense that contributes to the perception of balance (equilibrium), spatial orientation, direction, or acceleration (equilibrioception). Along with audition, the inner ear is responsible for encoding information about equilibrium. A similar mechanoreceptor—a hair cell with stereocilia—senses head position, head movement, and whether our bodies are in motion. These cells are located within the vestibule of the inner ear. Head position is sensed by the utricle and saccule, whereas head movement is sensed by the semicircular canals. The neural signals generated in the vestibular ganglion are transmitted through the vestibulocochlear nerve to the brain stem and cerebellum.The semicircular canals are three ring-like extensions of the vestibule. One is oriented in the horizontal plane, whereas the other two are oriented in the vertical plane. The anterior and posterior vertical canals are oriented at approximately 45 degrees relative to the sagittal plane. The base of each semicircular canal, where it meets with the vestibule, connects to an enlarged region known as the ampulla. The ampulla contains the hair cells that respond to rotational movement, such as turning the head while saying "no". The stereocilia of these hair cells extend into the cupula, a membrane that attaches to the top of the ampulla. As the head rotates in a plane parallel to the semicircular canal, the fluid lags, deflecting the cupula in the direction opposite to the head movement. The semicircular canals contain several ampullae, with some oriented horizontally and others oriented vertically. By comparing the relative movements of both the horizontal and vertical ampullae, the vestibular system can detect the direction of most head movements within three-dimensional (3D) space.The vestibular nerve conducts information from sensory receptors in three ampulla that sense motion of fluid in three semicircular canals caused by three-dimensional rotation of the head. The vestibular nerve also conducts information from the utricle and the saccule, which contain hair-like sensory receptors that bend under the weight of otoliths (which are small crystals of calcium carbonate) that provide the inertia needed to detect head rotation, linear acceleration, and the direction of gravitational force. Proprioception Proprioception, the kinesthetic sense, provides the parietal cortex of the brain with information on the movement and relative positions of the parts of the body. Neurologists test this sense by telling patients to close their eyes and touch their own nose with the tip of a finger. Assuming proper proprioceptive function, at no time will the person lose awareness of where the hand actually is, even though it is not being detected by any of the other senses. Proprioception and touch are related in subtle ways, and their impairment results in surprising and deep deficits in perception and action. Pain Nociception (physiological pain) signals nerve-damage or damage to tissue. The three types of pain receptors are cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs). It was previously believed that pain was simply the overloading of pressure receptors, but research in the first half of the 20th century indicated that pain is a distinct phenomenon that intertwines with all of the other senses, including touch. Pain was once considered an entirely subjective experience, but recent studies show that pain is registered in the anterior cingulate gyrus of the brain. The main function of pain is to attract our attention to dangers and motivate us to avoid them. For example, humans avoid touching a sharp needle, or hot object, or extending an arm beyond a safe limit because it is dangerous, and thus hurts. Without pain, people could do many dangerous things without being aware of the dangers. Other internal sensations and perceptions An internal sensation and perception also known as interoception is "any sense that is normally stimulated from within the body". These involve numerous sensory receptors in internal organs. Interoception is thought to be atypical in clinical conditions such as alexithymia. Specific receptors include: Hunger is governed by a set of brain structures (e.g., the hypothalamus) that are responsible for energy homeostasis. Pulmonary stretch receptors are found in the lungs and control the respiratory rate. Peripheral chemoreceptors in the brain monitor the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the brain to give a perception of suffocation if carbon dioxide levels get too high. The chemoreceptor trigger zone is an area of the medulla in the brain that receives inputs from blood-borne drugs or hormones, and communicates with the vomiting center. Chemoreceptors in the circulatory system also measure salt levels and prompt thirst if they get too high; they can also respond to high blood sugar levels in diabetics. Cutaneous receptors in the skin not only respond to touch, pressure, temperature and vibration, but also respond to vasodilation in the skin such as blushing. Stretch receptors in the gastrointestinal tract sense gas distension that may result in colic pain. Stimulation of sensory receptors in the esophagus result in sensations felt in the throat when swallowing, vomiting, or during acid reflux. Sensory receptors in pharynx mucosa, similar to touch receptors in the skin, sense foreign objects such as mucous and food that may result in a gag reflex and corresponding gagging sensation. Stimulation of sensory receptors in the urinary bladder and rectum may result in perceptions of fullness. Stimulation of stretch sensors that sense dilation of various blood vessels may result in pain, for example headache caused by vasodilation of brain arteries. Cardioception refers to the perception of the activity of the heart. Opsins and direct DNA damage in melanocytes and keratinocytes can sense ultraviolet radiation, which plays a role in pigmentation and sunburn. Baroreceptors relay blood pressure information to the brain and maintain proper homeostatic blood pressure.The perception of time is also sometimes called a sense, though not tied to a specific receptor. Nonhuman animal sensation and perception Human analogues Other living organisms have receptors to sense the world around them, including many of the senses listed above for humans. However, the mechanisms and capabilities vary widely. Smell An example of smell in non-mammals is that of sharks, which combine their keen sense of smell with timing to determine the direction of a smell. They follow the nostril that first detected the smell. Insects have olfactory receptors on their antennae. Although it is unknown to the degree and magnitude which non-human mammals can smell better than humans, humans are known to have far fewer olfactory receptors than mice, and humans have also accumulated more genetic mutations in their olfactory receptors than other primates. Vomeronasal organ Many animals (salamanders, reptiles, mammals) have a vomeronasal organ that is connected with the mouth cavity. In mammals it is mainly used to detect pheromones of marked territory, trails, and sexual state. Reptiles like snakes and monitor lizards make extensive use of it as a smelling organ by transferring scent molecules to the vomeronasal organ with the tips of the forked tongue. In reptiles the vomeronasal organ is commonly referred to as Jacobson's organ. In mammals, it is often associated with a special behavior called flehmen characterized by uplifting of the lips. The organ is vestigial in humans, because associated neurons have not been found that give any sensory input in humans. Taste Flies and butterflies have taste organs on their feet, allowing them to taste anything they land on. Catfish have taste organs across their entire bodies, and can taste anything they touch, including chemicals in the water. Vision Cats have the ability to see in low light, which is due to muscles surrounding their irides–which contract and expand their pupils–as well as to the tapetum lucidum, a reflective membrane that optimizes the image. Pit vipers, pythons and some boas have organs that allow them to detect infrared light, such that these snakes are able to sense the body heat of their prey. The common vampire bat may also have an infrared sensor on its nose. It has been found that birds and some other animals are tetrachromats and have the ability to see in the ultraviolet down to 300 nanometers. Bees and dragonflies are also able to see in the ultraviolet. Mantis shrimps can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images and have twelve distinct kinds of color receptors, unlike humans which have three kinds and most mammals which have two kinds.Cephalopods have the ability to change color using chromatophores in their skin. Researchers believe that opsins in the skin can sense different wavelengths of light and help the creatures choose a coloration that camouflages them, in addition to light input from the eyes. Other researchers hypothesize that cephalopod eyes in species which only have a single photoreceptor protein may use chromatic aberration to turn monochromatic vision into color vision, explaining pupils shaped like the letter U, the letter W, or a dumbbell, as well as explaining the need for colorful mating displays. Some cephalopods can distinguish the polarization of light. Spatial orientation Many invertebrates have a statocyst, which is a sensor for acceleration and orientation that works very differently from the mammalian's semi-circular canals. Not human analogues In addition, some animals have senses that humans do not, including the following: Magnetoception Magnetoception (or magnetoreception) is the ability to detect the direction one is facing based on the Earth's magnetic field. Directional awareness is most commonly observed in birds, which rely on their magnetic sense to navigate during migration. It has also been observed in insects such as bees. Cattle make use of magnetoception to align themselves in a north–south direction. Magnetotactic bacteria build miniature magnets inside themselves and use them to determine their orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field. There has been some recent (tentative) research suggesting that the Rhodopsin in the human eye, which responds particularly well to blue light, can facilitate magnetoception in humans. Echolocation Certain animals, including bats and cetaceans, have the ability to determine orientation to other objects through interpretation of reflected sound (like sonar). They most often use this to navigate through poor lighting conditions or to identify and track prey. There is currently an uncertainty whether this is simply an extremely developed post-sensory interpretation of auditory perceptions or it actually constitutes a separate sense. Resolution of the issue will require brain scans of animals while they actually perform echolocation, a task that has proven difficult in practice. Blind people report they are able to navigate and in some cases identify an object by interpreting reflected sounds (especially their own footsteps), a phenomenon known as human echolocation. Electroreception Electroreception (or electroception) is the ability to detect electric fields. Several species of fish, sharks, and rays have the capacity to sense changes in electric fields in their immediate vicinity. For cartilaginous fish this occurs through a specialized organ called the Ampullae of Lorenzini. Some fish passively sense changing nearby electric fields; some generate their own weak electric fields, and sense the pattern of field potentials over their body surface; and some use these electric field generating and sensing capacities for social communication. The mechanisms by which electroceptive fish construct a spatial representation from very small differences in field potentials involve comparisons of spike latencies from different parts of the fish's body. The only orders of mammals that are known to demonstrate electroception are the dolphin and monotreme orders. Among these mammals, the platypus has the most acute sense of electroception. A dolphin can detect electric fields in water using electroreceptors in vibrissal crypts arrayed in pairs on its snout and which evolved from whisker motion sensors. These electroreceptors can detect electric fields as weak as 4.6 microvolts per centimeter, such as those generated by contracting muscles and pumping gills of potential prey. This permits the dolphin to locate prey from the seafloor where sediment limits visibility and echolocation. Spiders have been shown to detect electric fields to determine a suitable time to extend web for 'ballooning'.Body modification enthusiasts have experimented with magnetic implants to attempt to replicate this sense. However, in general humans (and it is presumed other mammals) can detect electric fields only indirectly by detecting the effect they have on hairs. An electrically charged balloon, for instance, will exert a force on human arm hairs, which can be felt through tactition and identified as coming from a static charge (and not from wind or the like). This is not electroreception, as it is a post-sensory cognitive action. Hygroreception Hygroreception is the ability to detect changes in the moisture content of the environment. Infrared sensing The ability to sense infrared thermal radiation evolved independently in various families of snakes. Essentially, it allows these reptiles to "see" radiant heat at wavelengths between 5 and 30 μm to a degree of accuracy such that a blind rattlesnake can target vulnerable body parts of the prey at which it strikes. It was previously thought that the organs evolved primarily as prey detectors, but it is now believed that it may also be used in thermoregulatory decision making. The facial pit underwent parallel evolution in pitvipers and some boas and pythons, having evolved once in pitvipers and multiple times in boas and pythons. The electrophysiology of the structure is similar between the two lineages, but they differ in gross structural anatomy. Most superficially, pitvipers possess one large pit organ on either side of the head, between the eye and the nostril (Loreal pit), while boas and pythons have three or more comparatively smaller pits lining the upper and sometimes the lower lip, in or between the scales. Those of the pitvipers are the more advanced, having a suspended sensory membrane as opposed to a simple pit structure. Within the family Viperidae, the pit organ is seen only in the subfamily Crotalinae: the pitvipers. The organ is used extensively to detect and target endothermic prey such as rodents and birds, and it was previously assumed that the organ evolved specifically for that purpose. However, recent evidence shows that the pit organ may also be used for thermoregulation. According to Krochmal et al., pitvipers can use their pits for thermoregulatory decision-making while true vipers (vipers who do not contain heat-sensing pits) cannot. In spite of its detection of IR light, the pits' IR detection mechanism is not similar to photoreceptors – while photoreceptors detect light via photochemical reactions, the protein in the pits of snakes is in fact a temperature-sensitive ion channel. It senses infrared signals through a mechanism involving warming of the pit organ, rather than a chemical reaction to light. This is consistent with the thin pit membrane, which allows incoming IR radiation to quickly and precisely warm a given ion channel and trigger a nerve impulse, as well as vascularize the pit membrane in order to rapidly cool the ion channel back to its original "resting" or "inactive" temperature. Other Pressure detection uses the organ of Weber, a system consisting of three appendages of vertebrae transferring changes in shape of the gas bladder to the middle ear. It can be used to regulate the buoyancy of the fish. Fish like the weather fish and other loaches are also known to respond to low pressure areas but they lack a swim bladder. Current detection is a detection system of water currents, consisting mostly of vortices, found in the lateral line of fish and aquatic forms of amphibians. The lateral line is also sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. The mechanoreceptors are hair cells, the same mechanoreceptors for vestibular sense and hearing. It is used primarily for navigation, hunting, and schooling. The receptors of the electrical sense are modified hair cells of the lateral line system. Polarized light direction/detection is used by bees to orient themselves, especially on cloudy days. Cuttlefish, some beetles, and mantis shrimp can also perceive the polarization of light. Most sighted humans can in fact learn to roughly detect large areas of polarization by an effect called Haidinger's brush; however, this is considered an entoptic phenomenon rather than a separate sense. Slit sensillae of spiders detect mechanical strain in the exoskeleton, providing information on force and vibrations. Plant sensation By using a variety of sense receptors, plants sense light, temperature, humidity, chemical substances, chemical gradients, reorientation, magnetic fields, infections, tissue damage and mechanical pressure. The absence of a nervous system notwithstanding, plants interpret and respond to these stimuli by a variety of hormonal and cell-to-cell communication pathways that result in movement, morphological changes and physiological state alterations at the organism level, that is, result in plant behavior. Such physiological and cognitive functions are generally not believed to give rise to mental phenomena or qualia, however, as these are typically considered the product of nervous system activity. The emergence of mental phenomena from the activity of systems functionally or computationally analogous to that of nervous systems is, however, a hypothetical possibility explored by some schools of thought in the philosophy of mind field, such as functionalism and computationalism.However, plants can perceive the world around them, and might be able to emit airborne sounds similar to "screaming" when stressed. Those noises could not be detectable by human ears, but organisms with a hearing range that can hear ultrasonic frequencies—like mice, bats or perhaps other plants—could hear the plants' cries from as far as 15 feet (4.6 m) away. Artificial sensation and perception Machine perception is the capability of a computer system to interpret data in a manner that is similar to the way humans use their senses to relate to the world around them. Computers take in and respond to their environment through attached hardware. Until recently, input was limited to a keyboard, joystick or a mouse, but advances in technology, both in hardware and software, have allowed computers to take in sensory input in a way similar to humans. Culture In the time of William Shakespeare, there were commonly reckoned to be five wits or five senses. At that time, the words "sense" and "wit" were synonyms, so the senses were known as the five outward wits. This traditional concept of five senses is common today. The traditional five senses are enumerated as the "five material faculties" (pañcannaṃ indriyānaṃ avakanti) in Hindu literature. They appear in allegorical representation as early as in the Katha Upanishad (roughly 6th century BC), as five horses drawing the "chariot" of the body, guided by the mind as "chariot driver". Depictions of the five traditional senses as allegory became a popular subject for seventeenth-century artists, especially among Dutch and Flemish Baroque painters. A typical example is Gérard de Lairesse's Allegory of the Five Senses (1668), in which each of the figures in the main group alludes to a sense: Sight is the reclining boy with a convex mirror, hearing is the cupid-like boy with a triangle, smell is represented by the girl with flowers, taste is represented by the woman with the fruit, and touch is represented by the woman holding the bird. In Buddhist philosophy, Ayatana or "sense-base" includes the mind as a sense organ, in addition to the traditional five. This addition to the commonly acknowledged senses may arise from the psychological orientation involved in Buddhist thought and practice. The mind considered by itself is seen as the principal gateway to a different spectrum of phenomena that differ from the physical sense data. This way of viewing the human sense system indicates the importance of internal sources of sensation and perception that complements our experience of the external world. See also The 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (announced 4 October 2004) was won by Richard Axel and Linda Buck for their work explaining olfaction, published first in a joint paper in 1991 that described the very large family of about one thousand genes for odorant receptors and how the receptors link to the brain. Answers to several questions related to senses and human feeling from curious kids The Physiology of the Senses tutorial—12 animated chapters on vision, hearing, touch, balance and memory.

I'll Be Loving You or I'll Be Lovin' U may refer to: "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)", a 1989 single by New Kids on the Block, from the album Hangin' Tough "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time", a 2008 single by Mariah Carey, from the album E=MC² "Dove (I'll Be Loving You)", a 2002 single by Moony, from the album Lifestories "I'll Be Loving You", 1993 single by Collage

Amour is a latin word which is use in French and English language to define Love. Amour (French for love) may refer to: Amour (1970 film), a Danish film Amour (2012 film), a French-language film directed by Michael Haneke Amour (musical), a 1997 stage musical by Michel Legrand Amour (Stockhausen), a 1974–76 cycle of clarinet pieces by Karlheinz Stockhausen Amour (Vidhan Sabha constituency), an assembly constituency in Purnia district, Bihar, India Amour Abdenour (born 1952), Kabyle singer, songwriter, and composer Amour Patrick Tignyemb (born 1985), Cameroonian footballer "Amour", a song by Rammstein from Reise, Reise Kimora Amour, Canadian drag queen See also "Amour, Amour", a song by Plastic Bertrand D'Amour (surname) L'Amour (disambiguation) Saint-Amour (disambiguation) Amore (disambiguation) Armour (disambiguation) Love (disambiguation)

Butterfly Kisses may refer to: "Butterfly Kisses" (song), a 1997 country-pop song which has been recorded by Bob Carlisle, Jeff Carson, the Raybon Brothers, Westlife and Cliff Richard Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace), a 1997 album by Bob Carlisle Butterfly Kisses (Jeff Carson album), 1997 Butterfly Kisses (2017 film), a British-Polish drama film Butterfly Kisses (2018 film), an American horror film See also Butterfly Kiss, a 1995 British film Suicide and Butterfly Kisses, a 2002 album by American metalcore band Atreyu

Poker face may refer to: Blank expression or poker face Film and television Poker Face (film), a 2022 film directed by and starring Russell Crowe Poker Face (TV series), a 2023 American mystery drama series PokerFace, a 2006–2007 British game show PokerFace: Dil Sachcha Chehra Jhootha, the Indian version "Poker Face" (Grey's Anatomy), an episode of Grey's Anatomy "Poker Face", an episode of Talking Tom and Friends Poker-Face, a fictional villain in SilverHawks Music "Poker Face" (song), by Lady Gaga, 2008 "Poker Face" (Ayumi Hamasaki song), 1998 "Poker Face", a 1997 song from the album Déjà-vu by Hitomi "Poker Face", a 2001 song from Bad Dreams by Swollen Members "Poker Face", a 2013 song from Miss Monochrome by Yui Horie Nickname Ebbie Goodfellow (1906–1985), Canadian National Hockey League player Hanns Scharff (1907–1992), German World War II interrogator Other uses Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers, a 2003 memoir by Katy Lederer Pokerface, a 1977 poetry collection by Billy Collins

"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, from her debut album, The Fame (2008). It was released as the third single from the album in Australia, New Zealand and selected European countries, and the fourth single in France. The song is a calypso-styled, mid-tempo ballad, and is about breaking up with one's old partner and finding someone new. The song peaked at number fifteen on the Australian ARIA Charts and at number nine on the RIANZ charts of New Zealand. It proved to be even more successful in Sweden, where it managed to peak at number two on the Sverigetopplistan chart, as well as in the Czech Republic, France, and Hungary, where it reached the top-ten of their respective charts. "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" received Gold certifications for its sales in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States. The accompanying Italian-American 1950s-themed music video portrayed Gaga and her friends roaming around the streets of the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City, Gaga riding a Vespa and also singing the song while at home with her boyfriend. The video was noted for its contrasting portrayal of Gaga doing feminine work, as compared to her previous endeavours. She performed "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" on her first headlining concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, wearing a black-and-white leotard, and during the first legs of The Monster Ball Tour, while standing inside a giant gyroscope. Background and composition "Eh, Eh" was written by Gaga with Martin Kierszenbaum, who also produced the track. It was recorded at Cherrytree Recording Studios in Santa Monica, California. In 2005, Kierszenbaum founded Cherrytree Records along with Jimmy Iovine, then chairman of Interscope Records. After signing a number of artists, he worked with then-unknown Gaga on her debut album, The Fame, producing and writing four songs with her, including the title track. One of these songs was "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". During recording the track, Gaga fashioned a nickname for Kierszenbaum, called "Cherry Cherry Boom Boom". They kept the nickname in all the four songs they had worked on. Kierszenbaum later carried on the nickname in all his future projects. Other personnel working on the song included Tony Ugval, who did the audio engineering, Robert Orton for audio mixing and Gene Grimaldi, who mastered the song at Oasis Mastering Studios in Burbank, California. Musically, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is credited as a ballad compared to the rest of the dance-fuelled tracks from The Fame. It is a 1980s-influenced synth-pop and bubblegum pop song, while incorporating the "Eh, Eh" hook from Rihanna's single "Umbrella", according to Freedom du Lac from The Washington Post. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time with a moderate tempo of 94 beats per minute. Gaga's vocal range spans from B3 to C♯5 with the main key in which the song is set being E major. The song follows in the chord progression of E–B–F♯m–E–B–F♯m. Gaga stated that the lyrics of "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" are about love and she explained that "'Eh, Eh' is my simple pop song about finding someone new and breaking up with the old boyfriend." Writer James E. Perone mentioned in his book The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations that with the lyrics, Gaga maintained a focus on transitory relationships. Although the lyrics explain to her former lover that she has found someone new and does not mean to hurt him with the news, the continuous repetition of the phrase "nothing else I can say" solidifies the transient nature of the relationship portrayed. Critical reception Alexis Petridis from The Guardian noted that "Eh, Eh" bears the influence of early 1990s Europop and "is the first song in a long time that warrants comparison to the œuvre of Ace of Base. Matthew Chisling of AllMusic gave a negative review of the song saying "The Fame has it's [sic] 'ballad,' however the breezy 'Eh, Eh' doesn't hold water on this album; rather, it feels dry and lifeless, something which holds this album back". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "the breezy island vibe and soft demeanor of 'Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)' is hard to buy when sandwiched between songs like 'Poker Face' and 'Beautiful, Dirty, Rich.'" In another article analyzing Gaga's music video releases, Oscar Moralde from Slant Magazine noted that "Eh, Eh" as a track "is an intriguing case: rather than the tech-assisted sexy-androgynous dance pop that dominates a good chunk of The Fame, it and its sister tracks 'Brown Eyes' and 'Again Again' are evidence of a stripped-down, simpler, sincere Gaga."Evan Sawdey of PopMatters said that the song is the most embarrassing moment of the album and as a result makes the album come to an intermediate halt thus ruining the "bad-girl party atmosphere". Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle said that "Eh, Eh" is a bouncy standout with some vocal personality. He also added that "[It] would have made a killer Spice Girls single." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club called the track scaled-back and criticized Gaga's vocal abilities in the song. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called the song listless. Catherine P. Lewis from The Washington Post called the song a chirpy ballad. Christina Martin from The Meridian Star felt that the song, along with "Summerboy" from The Fame, is breezy and upbeat in nature. Matt Busekroos from Quinnipiac Chronicle said that the song seemed like filler. Release and chart performance "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" was first released in New Zealand on January 10, 2009, and later in Australia on January 30, 2009. "Eh, Eh" was the second most added song on Australian radio on the week beginning December 15, 2008. It first began to receive airplay on all Today Network stations. The song was confirmed as an Australian single on Lady Gaga's official website on January 15, 2009. An official remix was also posted on her website that day followed by another one featuring the official cover art. On March 5, 2009, a Pet Shop Boys remix—named as "Random Soul Synthetic Mix"—became available for free download on Gaga's Australian website. Synth-pop musician Frankmusik remixed the track for Gaga's 2010 album, The Remix, where he manipulated Gaga's vocals and created a dreamy quality with them, as noted by Nicki Escuedo from Phoenix New Times."Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 38 on the issue of January 18, 2009. The following week it climbed to number 32 and ultimately peaked at number 15, on the issue of March 1, 2009, making it Gaga's third single to hit the top twenty there. After thirteen weeks on the chart, "Eh, Eh" was certified gold for shipment of 35,000 copies by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In New Zealand, "Eh, Eh" debuted at number 40 on the issue dated January 19, 2009. The following weeks it continued its rise on the chart and ultimately peaked at number nine, spending three weeks there, and becoming her third consecutive top ten hit in New Zealand. The song was certified gold on May 24, 2009, by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), for shipment of 7,500 copies. The single reached a peak of number seven in France, and sold a total of 52,000 copies according to the SNEP.On the Billboard issue dated February 21, 2009, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 68, despite not being released as a single, but dropped off the chart the following week. It entered the chart again for two weeks in August 2010. Although "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" was not released in the United States, it received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 500,000 equivalent units. The song also debuted at number 20 on the Swedish Singles Chart for the issue dated April 2, 2009, and peaked at number two. On the Digital Songs chart of Sweden, it peaked at the top in its fourth week. The song debuted on the Danish Singles Chart at number 28 on May 15, 2009, and peaked at number 14. Due to the moderate chart performance in the European markets, "Eh, Eh" only reached a peak of number 40 on Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles chart. Music video Background and synopsis The Italian-American 1950s-inspired music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, was shot back to back with the video for the song "LoveGame" on the weekend of January 9–10, 2009 in Los Angeles. About the video, Gaga explained: "I wanted to show a different side of myself — perhaps a more domestic girly side. And I wanted to create beautiful, stunning '50s futuristic fashion imagery that would burn holes in everyone's brains." She further clarified that for the fashion aspects in the video she wanted to go in an opposite direction to her usual image. She wanted a yellow based wardrobe believing the color to become a big hit in the fashion world in 2009.The video starts out showing Little Italy, an icon of the Madonna and Child, and then Gaga riding a Vespa. The first twenty seconds are mainly full of camera shots of different men, Gaga, and the city. The singer roams around with some friends, laughing and joking in a restaurant, while she stands on the seat. Gaga then comes from around the block walking with her friends in pace and singing in the camera. Next, she is shown sleeping in a bed, and waking up to reveal pink high-heeled shoes. She sings and cooks for a man in a house while dancing. She irons clothes while the man is on the phone screaming at someone. The two harlequin Great Danes who appear at the start of her "Poker Face" music video, also appear in this one. Finally she lies on a sofa with her legs up on the man. One of the last scenes shows her in a yellow dress made of flowers and wearing a yellow watch while singing to the song with a unique hairstyle which shows her hair pulled up and folded over. Then the camera quickly goes back to her in bed. Reception David Balls from Digital Spy noted Gaga's homage to her Italian-American roots in the video, but wondered if Gaga would "overexpose herself" with the video. Like his review of the single, Moralde found the video to be complementing the simplistic composition of the song. He believed that with the videos for previous singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", Gaga's persona was established, but with the video for "Eh, Eh" she traversed her persona from the original Stefani Germanotta that she was born, to the character Lady Gaga. He explained: "What's striking about it is how much it feels like Lady Gaga is playacting: the video has a nostalgic, dreamlike tone. Set in a stylized pastel 1950s Little Italy, the video plays heavily with stereotypical and historical shorthand as it displays moustached chefs, macho men in wife beaters, cute Vespas, and spaghetti and meatballs." He noted that with all of these activities, Gaga created an essential fashion dollhouse, by playing feminine characters.But Gaga addressed the viewer directly in the video while singing the song, which led Moralde to deduce that "She's not in the moment, but is instead playing a feminized role in a dreamlike space; this quality is accentuated by the bright and blown-out color palette, and the numerous shots of Gaga in bed or sleeping. The cumulative effect is that it asserts the Lady Gaga of the previous videos to be the real one, and the Gaga in 'Eh, Eh' is a character that she is playing." His view was shared by Chris Kingston from The Harvard Crimson who noted during the release of the music video for Gaga's 2010 single "Telephone", that the video shows "the crazy party girl we know [...] actually has a weirdly girlish, domestic side." In The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media, author Carol Vernallis divided Gaga's persona into three categories. The personality portrayed in the "Eh, Eh" video was named as "Friendly Peer" archetype; someone with a girl-next-door image and approachable behavior. Live performances "Eh, Eh" was first performed in a beatbox version at the Cherrytree Studios and was released on Gaga's first EP, The Cherrytree Sessions. "Eh, Eh" was majorly performed at Gaga's The Fame Ball Tour in the second segment. Gaga was dressed in a white body plate leotard with black lightning shaped stripes and wore a hat made of toppled dominoes. As the performance of previous song "Money Honey" ended Gaga appeared on the stage beside Space Cowboy on a Vespa whence the music for "Eh, Eh" starts. The backdrops change to reveal lightning shapes in contrast to the sunny nature of the song. Gaga sang the song in its actual form backed by vocals from DJ Space Cowboy who spun the music from a corner of the stage. As the song reached the chorus Gaga asked the crowd to join her while singing and wave their arms. The New York Times called the live performance listless. However, The Hollywood Reporter said of the performance that, "In an age of too much information, one of the most refreshing things about Gaga is her mystery. She often hid behind shades, and her mostly incomprehensible, coy and semi-robotic stage patter did little to tell us who's that Lady."Gaga also performed the song at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival. Although the show was part of The Fame Ball Tour, many elements were different from usual tour dates. For "Eh Eh", Gaga wore a pyrotechnic bra that fired sparkle-flames from her breast area while singing the chorus. In September 2009, Gaga appeared in French television show Taratata, where she performed "Eh, Eh" on the piano, while wearing a red mask. "Eh, Eh" was also performed during the original version of The Monster Ball Tour, where the song signified the singer's rebirth as she descended from the top amidst white lights and mechanical fog. She wore a giant human sized gyroscope around her, which was developed by the Haus of Gaga and was named "The Orbit". The song was removed from the setlist in early 2010. Track listing and formats Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Fame. Lady Gaga – vocals, songwriting Martin Kierszenbaum – songwriting, production Tony Ugval – audio engineering Robert Orton – audio mixing Gene Grimaldi – audio mastering at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, California Recorded at Cherrytree Recording Studios, Santa Monica, California Charts Certifications Release history

"LoveGame" is a song released by American singer Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). Produced by RedOne, the track was released as the album's third single in North America and Europe and the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden after "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". "LoveGame" was also released as the fourth single in the United Kingdom, after "Paparazzi". Critics appreciated the song's rhythm and the "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" hook. Gaga had explained that the term "disco stick" is a euphemism for a penis and was inspired by her sexual attraction to a stranger at a night club. Musically carrying the vibe of underground New York discos, "LoveGame" talks about love, fame, and sexuality which was the central theme of the album. The song received a number of remixes, one of them featuring rock musician Marilyn Manson. "LoveGame" was a commercial success, charting within the top ten in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, and other European countries. It became Gaga's third consecutive number-one song on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart and achieved triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The New York underground-inspired music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn, and portrayed Gaga dancing at an underground subway station and in a parking lot. The music video was a tribute from the singer to the New York lifestyle including its glamour, fans and fashion. It was influenced by the music video for Michael Jackson's "Bad", which also took place in a subway station, and features Gaga wearing Nazi chic clothes. The music video was banned from broadcast at the PG-rated time slots in Australian television channels because of its sexual content. "LoveGame" has been performed live a number of times by Gaga, including television appearances, such as Dancing with the Stars and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards, and many of the singer's concert tours. She usually performs the song while holding her characteristic "disco stick" in one hand. Background and release Towards the end of 2007, Lady Gaga's management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. By 2008, Gaga relocated to Los Angeles in order to work extensively with her record label to complete her debut album, The Fame, and set up her own creative team called the Haus of Gaga. "LoveGame" was one of the songs written by Gaga and RedOne who also produced the track. With Rolling Stone, Gaga explained that she was at a nightclub and had a "sexual crush" on somebody. She went up to the person and uttered the line, "I wanna ride on your disco stick". Thinking it to be a thoughtful metaphor for penis, Gaga went to the recording studio the next day and wrote the song in roughly four minutes. Gaga also had ideas for the live performance of the song where she used "an actual stick—it looks like a giant rock-candy pleasuring tool—that lights up".While commenting in regards to the lyrical content of the song on Australian talk show, Rove, Gaga said that she was unrepentant about her "disco stick" metaphor, though it led to a banning of the music video on Network Ten in Australia. She added that the metaphor was not meant to be subtle and was clear what the lyrics constituted off. "If anything, I happen to think people are frivolously hard on me", Gaga generalized. She went on to relegate "lot of youth-oriented pop music" as much racier than hers with their sexually provocative lyrics, but Gaga felt that the whole context of her visuals alongside the music was what made people react. "It's the music in relation to the visual, in relation to the way I move and the way I articulate the lyrics. But if I wanted to make music to make people sing 'la di da' that would be very boring," she concluded."LoveGame" was released as the album's third single in North America and Europe and the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden after "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". In the US it was sent to Contemporary hit radio (CHR) formats for airplay from May 12, 2009. The track initially had been planned as the third single release in the United Kingdom, but deeming its lyrics and music video potentially controversial, it was decided that "Paparazzi" would be released instead. "LoveGame" has received a number of remix treatments, one of which featured vocals from rocker Marilyn Manson. Daniel Kreps from Rolling Stone reported that the remix was conceived during Gaga's photoshoot with the magazine in May 2009, when Manson arrived on the set. The rocker was impressed by the shoot and wanted to collaborate with Gaga on "LoveGame". Recording and composition "LoveGame" was recorded at Record Plant Studios and Chalice Recording Studios, both in Hollywood, California. Along with the production work of the track, RedOne also contributed to its background vocals, instrumentation, programming, audio engineering and recording. Other personnel involved in creating the final version of the song included Robert Orton who did the audio mixing, and Gene Grimaldi who mastered the song at Oasis Mastering in Burbank, California.Musically, "LoveGame" is an uptempo synth-pop and electro-R&B song. According to Kerri Mason of Billboard, the composition has a vibe of the New York downtown musical scene, but has a more mainstream appeal to it, making it perfect for radio, "without losing its smut and sass". The song does not have a massive sound like previous single "Poker Face", nor has a big melody like subsequent single, "Paparazzi". Instead the composition of the song is electro-R&B, consisting of big beats and a number of hooks, with Gaga repeating the word "huh!" from time to time.Gaga explained that the lyrics of "LoveGame" were clear about what the song is all about. She thought that the lyrics portrayed a powerful message about love, fame, and sexuality which was the central theme of The Fame. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "LoveGame" is set in the time signature of common time and is composed in the key of B minor with a moderate tempo of 104 beats per minute. Gaga's vocal range spans from B3 to G5. It follows in the chord progression of Bm–Em–D–Bm–Em–D in the first two verse and chorus while progressing as Bm–Em–Bm–Em in the intermediate verse before the final chorus. Critical reception The song received mostly positive reviews from critics. The Phoenix music editor Daniel Brockman said that "Gaga ups the ante in terms of catchy song writing and sheer high-in-the-club-banging-to-the-beat abandon." He also commented on the lyrics saying that "'Let's have some fun, this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick' might be the trashiest-yet-awesomest refrain I've heard on a major-label record this year." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine criticized the song for "cheap" lyrics and "painfully enunciat[ing] without any resemblance of actual sex appeal". While reviewing The Fame, BBC said that the song sounded robotic in the line "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick", though deemed it a brilliant track which "leaves us awarding Gaga the yearbook title of 'pop star most likely to kill'."Nick Levine from Digital Spy believed that lines like "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" was a direct reason of Gaga's commercial success. Although he felt that the song was "attention-seeking", he knew that it would provoke reaction from the masses, be it good or bad. Genevieve Koski from The A.V. Club called the song as a "propulsive club anthem" and complimented its synths and drum programming. She described it aurally as "a dizzying sonic trip that approximates the high point of a chemically enhanced night of club-hopping." Evan Sawdey from PopMatters complimented RedOne's production on the song, listing it as one of the best tracks on The Fame.Ben Hogwood from MusicOMH declared the song as "top notch, diamond-encrusted pop" along with other tracks like "Starstruck" and "Paparazzi". He found the lyrics to be sometimes odd, especially the statement, "I'm on a mission, and it involves some heavy touchin'." Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe said that the song "has a gutter level quippage with sinuous moves". Priya Elan from The Times was not impressed with the song and called it calculated. Billboard music editor Chris Williams gave the song a positive review, commenting that "It has all the winning ingredients of its predecessors: a radio-friendly, club/electropop feel; a provocative, yet silly enough catchphrase and hook; and a dash of '80s synth magic, so the adults can play along. On 'LoveGame' Gaga is in it to win it."While reviewing The Fame on its fifth anniversary, Bradley Stern from Idolator noted that "LoveGame" could "easily be erased from Gaga's back catalog with little consequence" since he felt it to be nothing more than an "electro-dance" track. But Stern believed that "LoveGame" was an important component of Gaga's career trajectory, since it was the last testament of her image as "that of the disco-stick wielding pop star from out of space"—the image was later deconstructed as the doomed starlet in the music video of "Paparazzi". He concluded by saying that the song "is a wonderful moment of pop frivolity which served to keep the upstart Lady Gaga machine chugging along at the beginning of her career." Chart performance Following its release, "LoveGame" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 96 for the week ending March 21, 2009, but fell off the chart the following week. After seven weeks it reached number ten on the Hot 100 by selling 107,000 digital downloads and becoming the week's greatest digital gainer. Two weeks later, "LoveGame" peaked at number five on the chart. It reached number-one on the Hot Dance Club Songs, and also became Gaga's third number-one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified "LoveGame" triple platinum for shipment of three million copies across United States. It has sold 2.67 million digital downloads in the United States as of February 2019, according to Nielsen Soundscan.In Canada, the song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 68 before its official release as a single. Its second appearance was on the chart of January 10, 2009, at number 87. After a few weeks, "LoveGame" entered the top ten of the Canadian Hot 100 and climbed to number five. After fluctuating down the chart for a few weeks "LoveGame" reached a new peak of two on the chart. The song was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in June 2009, for sales of 160,000 paid digital downloads.In Australia, the song debuted at number 92 on the ARIA Charts, and then moved up the charts to number 41 the next week. On the issue dated May 11, 2009, the song peaked at number four, becoming Gaga's third top five single there. "LoveGame" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 70,000 copies of the single. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 36 and moved up to a peak of number 12. The Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) certified it gold for shipment of 7,500 copies of the single. On the issue dated March 6, 2009, the song entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 49 and peaked at number 30, after eight weeks on the chart. It also debuted at number 19 in Finland and has since moved to a peak of number 12.In early 2009, the song charted on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 89 based on downloads only. It re-entered the chart at number 64 after the release of the single was announced, and peaked at 19, becoming her lowest-charting single in the UK at that time. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it gold, for sales and streams of 400,000 units. In the Netherlands the song debuted at number 28 and has peaked at number five. The song debuted at number six in France and moved to its peak of number five the next week. It debuted at numbers 19 and 38 on the Belgian Ultratop Flanders and Wallonia charts respectively. In Flanders it has reached a peak of six, while in Wallonia it moved to a peak of five. "LoveGame" also reached a peak of number seven on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart. Music video Background and development The music video of "LoveGame" was directed by Joseph Kahn and premiered on March 23, 2009, in Australia, and on August 13, 2009, in the UK on 4Music channel. The video mainly takes place in a subway station, hence several scenes are reminiscent to Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video, which was also shot in a similar location. The music video for "LoveGame" was shot back-to-back with the video for "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" on the weekend of January 9, 2009, inside a warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles. Although the video was filmed in Los Angeles, it nevertheless has a New York City setting.Gaga spoke to Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly during a "Behind the Scenes" episode of the shoot, about her inspirations for the video. She wanted to have a "giant" dance video with "LoveGame", describing it as "plastic, beautiful, gorgeous, sweaty, tar on the floor". There would be scary and dangerous looking men also in the video. Gaga had the idea of portraying herself and her co-actors as New York inhabitants taking on the role of designers, performance artists, dancers etc. She enlisted people from downtown New York as dancers, who normally would not get cast in a video.One of the props developed for the video was a pair of sunglasses made of wire. According to Gaga, she imagined "a downtown, bad-ass kid walking down the street with his buddies, grabbing a pair of pliers, and making a pair of sunglasses out of a fence on the street". She wore them on the opening shot of the music video along with a chain link hood garment, saying that "they look so hard. It looks like I plied them right out of the fence and put them on my face". Synopsis and reception The video starts with the heading "Streamline presents" and three men moving through Times Square. They open a manhole cover on which "Haus of Gaga" is written. Gaga is then shown naked with blue and purple paint and glitter on her body, frolicking with two men who have the words "Love" and "Fame" shaved into their heads. The scene shifts to a subway where Gaga starts singing in a grey-white leotard with a hood. She carries her characteristic disco stick and wears chain-linked glasses. The chorus starts with Gaga and her dancers progressing through the subway and dancing down a staircase. Two harlequin Great Danes, are also shown on top of the staircase.The video shifts to a train where the second verse takes place with choreographed dance routines and Gaga wearing a black jacket. During the intermediate music, Gaga is shown entering a ticket booth with an inspector while kissing and caressing. As the camera pans from right to left the inspector changes from a man to woman in each frame. According to Emma Hope Allwood of Dazed, in the clip Gaga wears Nazi chic fashion based on an outfit Charlotte Rampling wore in The Night Porter (1974); Allwood noted that the outfit had previously been appropriated in the videos for Madonna's "Justify My Love" (1990) and Marilyn Manson's "The Fight Song" (2001). The final scene shows Gaga doing a choreographed dance routine with her crew of backup dancers. The video comes to an end as Gaga and her dancers hold their groins, gesturing towards the camera. The music video was censored in many countries after its release in 2009. The video faced censorship troubles in Australia where it was rated M by Network Ten for the "suggestive video footage involving bondage and sexual acts". The channel demanded an edited version of the video which would not violate censorship rules. Video Hits refused to air the video in its G- and PG-rated time slots. They cited "numerous sexual references both visually and lyrically" as the reason they could not create a child-friendly edit without bleeping the repeated hook "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick". However, Australian programs like Rage and cable networks Channel V and MTV aired the video in its original form.The video also faced a ban from MTV Arabia citing the same reason as Australia. Since it was very rare to ban videos on MTV, head of MTV Arabia Samer al Marzouki commented, "We represent the young generation's mentality and culture so we can't play something that conflicts with that. If they can't watch something comfortably with their brother, sisters or friends then we will not play it." In the United States, VH1 and MTV played an edited version that removed the scenes showing Gaga naked, and blurred the label on a bottle of alcohol held by a dancer, but they did not change the lyrics. Live performances Gaga first performed "LoveGame" live in June 2008 on the Isle of Malta special of MTV Asia. She later performed it on the UK program, The Album Chart Show, on February 4, 2009, while promoting The Fame. On March 20, 2009, the song was performed live at the AOL Sessions along with Gaga's other singles such as "Just Dance", "Paparazzi", "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich", and an acoustic version of "Poker Face". An acoustic version of "LoveGame" was performed at the MTV Sessions in January 2009.The song was a major part of Gaga's The Fame Ball Tour as the second number of the set list, and was performed alongside album track, "Starstruck". Gaga wore a silver and black short skirt looking like a tutu and shaped like a peplum. She had a triangular piece attached on the dress on her right breast, and completed her look with high heeled ultra spike shoes. On May 17, 2009, Gaga performed the song live on Australian talk show, Rove. She also performed the song at the season finale of the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. A remixed version of "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" was performed at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVA), during the indoor-outdoor street-side show. The performance, which included Gaga being trapped in a fake subway car surrounded by fake police officers, was billed as a tribute to New York City. In 2014, Toronto Sun listed the performance as the fifth most "jaw-dropping" moment in the history of MMVAs, when Gaga introduced her characteristic "flaming bra" during the song. On September 8, 2009, Gaga performed "LoveGame" at the season seven premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. A version featuring a full live band was performed at the thirty-fifth season of American comedy show Saturday Night Live, while wearing a big gyroscope-like contraption that rotated around Gaga.In late 2009, "LoveGame" was added to the set list of Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour. In the original version of the tour, the singer wore an off-white costume with skeletal lighted headgear and breastplates shaped like ribs. On the revamped shows of The Monster Ball (2010–2011) "LoveGame" was introduced during the second act and featured a New York City subway car on stage from which Gaga and her dancers emerged. While wearing a revealing plastic dress and an exaggerated nun's habit, Gaga wielded the disco stick, which was modified to look like a torch. The song was also included on the set list of the Born This Way Ball tour (2012–2013), where it was shortened and the singer performed it wearing a Statue of Liberty styled head piece. Gaga ventured into the crowd during the song, through the extended pathways from the stage. Joey Guerra from the Houston Chronicle believed that the appearance of "LoveGame" during the tour proved it to be a far superior track than the ones from Gaga's second studio album, Born This Way (2011).In 2017, Gaga performed "LoveGame" during her headline performance at the Coachella Festival while wearing a black leotard. On the Joanne World Tour (2017–2018), Gaga performed the track decked in a light blue Swarovski-embellished bodysuit and knee-high boots, while holding a new disco stick in her hand. Gaga also performed the song on her 2018–2022 Las Vegas residency show, Enigma. At The Chromatica Ball stadium tour (2022), "LoveGame" featured "grinding guitars that transformed the tune into a hybrid of dance-pop and heavy metal". Track listing and formats Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Fame. Lady Gaga – vocals, songwriting, background vocals RedOne – songwriting, production, background vocals, instrumentation, programming, audio engineering, recording at Record Plant Studios, Hollywood and Chalice Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California Robert Orton – audio mixing Gene Grimaldi – audio mastering at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, California Charts Certifications and sales Release history See also List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2009 List of number-one dance singles of 2009 (U.S.)

Artpop (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on November 6, 2013, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga began planning the project in 2011, shortly after the launch of her second effort, Born This Way. Work continued until 2013 while Gaga was traveling for her Born This Way Ball tour and recovering from surgery for an injury she had sustained while touring. Gaga described Artpop as "a celebration and a poetic musical journey". It displays an intentional "lack of maturity and responsibility" by comparison to the darker and anthemic nature of Born This Way. Gaga collaborated with various producers on the record, including DJ White Shadow, Zedd, and Madeon. Musically, Artpop is an EDM and synth-pop album, with influences from R&B, techno, industrial, and dubstep, among other genres. The themes of the album revolve around Gaga's personal views of fame, sex and self-empowerment; references include Greek and Roman mythology. It also features guest vocals from T.I., Too Short, Twista, and R. Kelly. In 2019, as a reaction to the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, Kelly's featured song, "Do What U Want", was removed from all streaming and online versions and new vinyl and CD pressings of the album. The release of Artpop was prefaced by a two-day album release party dubbed ArtRave. The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics, although it was included in several year-end lists by critics and publications. It debuted atop on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 258,000 copies, becoming Gaga's second consecutive number one record in the country. It also topped the charts in Austria, Croatia, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, and the United Kingdom, while charting within the top five in many countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Artpop was the ninth global best-selling album of 2013 with 2.3 million copies worldwide. Despite this, the album was considered by some as a commercial failure compared to Gaga's previous albums. "Applause" was released as the lead single from Artpop on August 12, 2013, and was a critical and commercial success, charting within the top ten in more than 20 countries worldwide, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The second single, "Do What U Want", was made available on October 21, reaching number 13 in the US. It was followed by promotional singles "Venus" and "Dope" shortly before the album's release. "G.U.Y." was the third and last single released from the album. Gaga promoted Artpop with several television appearances and performances, including her second Thanksgiving Day special. After a short residency at Roseland Ballroom, she embarked on her fourth headlining concert tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball. Background Development of Artpop began shortly after the release of Lady Gaga's second studio album Born This Way (2011), and by the following year, its concepts were "beginning to flourish" as Gaga collaborated with producers Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow. Initial recording sessions for Artpop coincided with the Born This Way Ball tour (2012–2013), with up to 50 songs sketched out and considered for inclusion. By May 2012, the project was taking definite form, with co-manager Vincent Herbert promising "insane, great records" within its craft. Gaga said that she yearned to make audiences have "a really good time" with Artpop, engineering the album to mirror "a night at the club". "When you listen to it, it really flows nicely. It's really fun to pop in with your friends. I really wrote it for me and my friends to pop in from start to finish", she said in a 2013 interview for MTV. Meanwhile, Gaga began presenting tracks to her record company and hoped to reveal the album's working title by September, a revelation that instead was announced one month in advance. The artist later claimed that Artpop was her first "real" effort that emulated a "phoenix rising from the ashes", reflecting her heightened confidence in writing material for the album compared to her previous efforts.Gaga recruited Jeff Koons into the project in early 2013, with the two having previously met at a Metropolitan Museum of Art fashion event three years earlier, where Gaga provided a live performance. According to Koons, she "just kind of grabbed ahold of me and gave me a big hug around my waist " and replied, "You know, Jeff, I've been such a fan of yours, and when I was a kid just hanging out in Central Park I would talk to my friends about your work." Following her hip surgery in February 2013, Gaga was forced into a six-month hiatus, during which she studied literature and music with her creative team, the Haus of Gaga in addition to sharing "creative gifts". This stage allowed her to review and enhance her creative direction, which she admitted to be a meticulous "gazing process". "I have to gaze into the work for long periods of time for it to be good," adding that upon analyzing her ideas, she received "that wonderful feeling" which told her "that's the one". Conception Gaga described Artpop as "a celebration and a poetic musical journey" that displayed a "lack of maturity and responsibility", contrary to the dark, anthemic nature of Born This Way. In an August 2013 interview, she told V magazine that she underwent a "cosmetic experience with words" as she examined potential names for the project. "Popart" was initially favored and taken into consideration, but as Gaga questioned "the cultural implication of the words" and the title's evolution post-release, she soon found a "nice ring" to "Artpop". With Artpop, Gaga attempts to inject vulnerability into her work; she also cited Pierrot and Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486) painting as an influence. Gaga admitted to being increasingly self-conscious at the apex of the Born This Way era, and when asked about the decision to refine her image, she responded: For Artpop, I, in the most metaphorical explanation, stood in front of a mirror and I took off the wig and I took off the makeup and I unzipped the outfit and I put a black cap on my head and I covered my body in a black catsuit and I looked in the mirror and I said: 'OK, now you need to show them you can be brilliant without that.' And that's what Artpop is all about. Because I knew that if I wanted to grow, if I really wanted to innovate from the inside, I had to do something that was almost impossible for me. The album's themes primarily revolve around fame, sex, and empowerment, whilst briefly exploring gender roles and marijuana. Recording Gaga composed and produced all the songs on the album, and worked together with DJ White Shadow, Zedd, and Madeon, among other producers. White Shadow told MTV that Gaga texted him less than a week after the release of her previous album, Born This Way, telling him that she already "had the name and the general concept for the record". In his interview with Rolling Stone, he later talked more about their working process: "I was just trying to make something that pushed people's way of thinking a little bit... something a little off from the norm to get people thinking about possibilities. ...[Gaga] wrote this album as we were traveling around the world for the last two years, and we wrote so many songs together." He also recalled that on one occasion, they stayed up for around 20 hours to finish a song, adding: "We never work on one song and finish it and move on. They all get worked on in rotation until literally the day we have to turn it into Interscope."Gaga had been touring with Zedd during her Born This Way Ball tour. Zedd had previously done a remix of her 2011 single "Marry the Night" and worked on her remix album, Born This Way: The Remix, while Gaga had contributed vocals on an alternate version of Zedd's track, "Stache". Zedd told MTV News that they "both love nothing more than making music, so it was just kind of natural for us to just work on music." He later talked about finding it difficult to complete the project due to their busy schedules and that their work progressed mainly while being on the road during the tour. For French DJ Madeon, this was his first experience collaborating with a vocalist face-to-face, while adding that he "always wanted to work with pop artists and my #1 on my list was Lady Gaga. So when I had the opportunity to do that, I was really thrilled." Gaga praised Madeon's production skills saying, "He is so amazing. He has such an understanding of music at such a young age. He reminds me of myself so much. He's obsessed, so obsessed with music." Madeon also talked about how Gaga did not spare any free time for the song's recording and would usually start the sessions after the Born This Way Ball show performances were over. Artpop marks the first time she worked with will.i.am, on the track "Fashion!", with Gaga saying that they had been trying to work together for years, but they are both very "picky" and they had been waiting for the right song and the "right groove" to collaborate.In mid-2013, Gaga contacted rappers T.I., Too Short, and Twista to record a song, later revealed to be "Jewels n' Drugs". During an interview with MTV, they confirmed that they recorded their verses separately, mainly due to the tight schedule of the four. Twista further explained that Gaga wanted to "put a vibe of certain artists together" in order to "capture the essence" of what she wanted to do with the song. Gaga also worked with rapper Azealia Banks on two songs, titled "Red Flame" and "Ratchet", but the tracks remained unreleased as their collaboration ended in a dispute. DJ White Shadow explained to the Chicago Tribune that while he was working on "Do What U Want" with Gaga during the European leg of the Born This Way Ball tour, he came up with the idea of bringing Gaga and R. Kelly together for the song, saying that it "seemed logical" to him to put "two writing/singing geniuses on one track". Kelly told Billboard that he enjoyed the song recording process thanks to Gaga's professionalism. At a press conference in Japan in 2013, Gaga was asked why she worked together with Kelly, but she defended the collaboration, saying: "R. Kelly and I have sometimes had very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us." However, after the airing of the documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, in January 2019, which detailed sexual abuse allegations against Kelly, Gaga issued an apology for working with him. She said that her thinking was "explicitly twisted" and that she had "poor judgement" at that time. The song was subsequently removed from all digital versions, and new vinyl and CD pressings of Artpop. Music and lyrics Critical commentary has noted Artpop as an EDM and synth-pop album. It was further described as "coherently channeling R&B, techno, disco, and rock music" by Billboard. Its electronic landscape was initially tailored for Born This Way before Gaga and Fernando Garibay opted for a rock-influenced sound. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine claimed Gaga "continues to be a student" of Madonna as she mirrors Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and "Holiday" (1983) with songs such as "Applause" and "Fashion!", and further saw Artpop as a pastiche of Gaga's previous efforts. Adam Markovitz, writing for Entertainment Weekly, echoed this thought, writing that "most of the songs here would fit right in" with The Fame (2008) and Born This Way. Mof Gimmers from The Quietus noticed a "tremendous juggernaut of pop" within the album's frame, while Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph quipped "it's like wandering drunk around a vast, labyrinthine club, and peering into a disorienting series of darkened rooms in which she tries on various musical genres as if they were hats" in reference to the album's busy soundscape. Ben Kelly from Attitude described Artpop as a "relentless odyssey of electronic sounds" pierced by "strong melodic refrains". Aizlewood of the London Evening Standard said it was built to inspire "hair-waving, body-shaking routines at stadium shows", pinpointing "stentorian keyboards, clattering electro-percussion and thumping backbeats" as the bedrock of the album's production. Songs The album begins with "Aura", a mariachi and EDM song, that has influences from dubstep and Middle Eastern music. It opens with Western-style guitars, Gaga's distorted vocals, and a "maniacal laugh". Throbbing beats lead to the chorus, in which Gaga asks: "Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura?". She explained that in the song she expresses that just because she wears a lot of "visual fashion", "[it] doesn't mean that there is not sort of the same person underneath." These "veils" are protecting her creativity, and her "Aura" is the way that she deals with her "insanity". The album continues with "Venus", a track that shows "retro-futuristic themes", and presents Bowie-esque lyrics about a psychedelic journey. It mentions Venus, the Roman goddess of love, the eponymous planet, and sexual intercourse. It is a synth-pop and dance-pop song. Gaga said that the song is "about finding faith in other places, in the beyond", and also "about sex in the most mythological way.""G.U.Y." (an acronym for "Girl Under You") is an EDM song with industrial, R&B, and house elements, that was described as a "shuddering dance siren that makes the distinction between gender equality and willful sexual submission". The song involves the concept of new-wave feminism, it is "about being comfortable underneath, because you are strong enough to know that you don't have to be on top to know you're worth it". "Sexxx Dreams" is a synth-pop and R&B song, with inspiration from Prince/Vanity 6 in its production. Its lyrics propose a sexual encounter with a lover whose boyfriend is gone for the weekend. Throughout the song, Gaga alternates her vocal techniques between singing and speaking; the sung verses are addressed to her partner at her side and the spoken ones to the person in her fantasy. The fifth track on the album is "Jewels n' Drugs", a hip hop song with strong influences of trap music that tells a "tale of fame addiction". The lyrics are an "ode to the love of the drug trade" and they are of the "classic rap style".The next song, "Manicure" (stylized as "MANiCURE") includes handclapping, Gaga shouting "Man! Cure!" and funk guitar arrangements. Its ambiguous lyrics are an "ode to superficial perks”, and talk about physically and spiritually renewing oneself before "getting ready to go out and catch a man or catch a girl". The song is "a lot more rock based than the songs before it on the album" and has "a real pop vibe". "Do What U Want" is an electropop and R&B track, drawing influence from 1980s-inspired throbbing synths and an electronic beat. It has a "somewhat raunchy hook", with Gaga and Kelly alternate singing the lines "Do what u want/ What u want with my body/ Do what u want/ What u want with my body/ Write what you want, say what you want about me/ If you're wondering, know that I'm not sorry". The song's lyrics represent themes of sexual submissiveness, with Gaga telling off detractors and the press that her thoughts, dreams, and feelings are her own, no matter what one does with her body.The album's title track is a techno song, which has a beat similar to Selena Gomez's 2011 single "Love You like a Love Song" with its electronic composition, and a groove comparable to singer Kylie Minogue's 2001 hit single "Can't Get You Out of My Head". "Artpop"'s lyrics have been deduced to be a statement about "the subjectivity of art", and Gaga's virtual manifesto with the line "My artpop could mean anything”, telling the audience that she is "an artist that creates for the sake of creation". Gaga explained that the lyrics were a metaphor about love with the chorus line "We could belong together, Artpop". She believed that if her fans and herself could be together, that would probably mean a bonding for art and pop too. "Swine" is a dubstep and industrial song with slight rock and roll influences. It presents "synth washes, a ground-churning bass line, jittery keyboards, hiccuping vocal samples and crescendos leading to drops", with Gaga "screaming and squealing throughout the track." Gaga called "Swine" "very personal", as it is about "some of the more troubling and challenging sexual experiences" she had earlier in her life, alluding to her being raped at age 19 by a producer twenty years older than her. The tenth song is "Donatella", an "anthem for the outcasts" and an "ode to the head of the Versace fashion house", Gaga's friend, Donatella Versace. Gaga described it as "an incredible crazy fun pop song with really raising electronic beats" about being a fearless woman who is proud of herself. "Fashion!" is a dance song with Daft Punk-influenced instrumentals that portrays Gaga's love for haute couture clothing. Accompanied by a funky beat, the lyrics talk about "being able to get dressed up and feeling like you own the world". Gaga's vocal delivery in the song has been compared to David Bowie's. "Mary Jane Holland" is a dance and synth-pop song with "whirring beats" that talks about using marijuana and "having a great time". Gaga used the name Mary Jane Holland as an alter ego for herself when she got "stoned" in Amsterdam with her friends, who explained how smoking weed helped her putting away the pressure of being famous, and just being able to do whatever she wanted. "Dope" is an electronic rock lament, where Gaga's singing is the focal point of the song, with only piano sounds and distant synths accompanying her "intoxicated", "slur"-like vocals. In order to give the production an intimate feeling and make it emotional, no pitch correction was used to Gaga's voice. According to Gaga, the track is the "sad part" of the story of "Mary Jane Holland". It is about how she developed an addiction to marijuana, using it as a coping mechanism for anxiety, which eventually led to her feeling more "paranoid" and not being "so articulate anymore". Gaga intended the song to be an apology to everybody who dealt with her during this period."Gypsy" is a Europop and electropop song with classic rock and house influences, that contains "barroom ivory-tickling" and a "swooping hook". The composition is in a sing-along style, with Gaga belting out "I don't wanna be alone forever, but I can be tonight" during the chorus, talking about navigating an unknown road based only on her instincts. Gaga described the song as being about travelling the world and the loneliness associated with it. The song showcases Gaga's fans as being the people with whom she feels at home, therefore not feeling alone whenever she is in a different country. The lyrics also talk about falling in love while being true to oneself, which was the initial inspiration for the track. Artpop's last song is "Applause", which spans genres such as electropop and Eurodance. It features "pulsating synths" and "stuttering synthesizers", which return Gaga to her career roots by mirroring the sounds of her debut album, The Fame. Gaga's vocal acrobatics during the song's verses have been compared to those of Annie Lennox and Grace Jones. According to Gaga, the song's lyrics highlight the difference between an artist and a celebrity. She elaborated, "I live for the applause but I don't live for the attention in the way that people just love you because you're famous. I live for actually performing for people and then them applauding because they've been entertained." Gaga also take shots at those who attempt to analyze her work, with the line: "I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong/ To crash the critic saying 'Is it right or is it wrong?". Release In August 2012, after getting a matching tattoo, Gaga announced on her social media that the record would be titled Artpop, stating that she would prefer it capitalized for stylization. The album was originally expected to be released in early 2013, but was indefinitely postponed after Gaga developed synovitis and a labral tear to her hip that required surgical correction. This resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of her Born This Way Ball. In July 2013, Gaga confirmed that Artpop would be released on November 11, 2013 in the United States. The pre-order of the album was initially supposed to begin on September 1, 2013, but was moved up to August 19, 2013 "due to public anticipation". This was later changed to August 12 to coincide with the early release of "Applause".In addition to the traditional CD and digital mediums, Gaga announced plans for a multimedia application software which "combines music, art, fashion, and technology with a new interactive worldwide community". She expressed her goal to "bring ARTculture into POP in a reverse Warholian expedition." It was developed by the Haus of Gaga technology division, TechHaus. The app was made compatible with both Android and iOS-running mobile devices, and featured bonus content. It was the third album-app to be released in mainstream commercial markets after Björk's Biophilia (2011) and Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013). Relative Wave, the architects behind Björk's app, took nearly a year to develop the Artpop app. Some dismissed the project as an elaborate ploy to inflate album sales, under the assumption Billboard would count a downloaded track as a complete unit. Editorial director Bill Werde later addressed these concerns on in July 2013, "As we understand, Gaga fans will get [the] Artpop app for free and can buy the album [through the] app. Albums purchased this way would count on Billboard charts, however, [speculation that the purchase of a single track through the app would count as an album sold is not true]... [also], concerns about self-reported data by Gaga's [team] seem unfounded – sales will be fulfilled and reported by existing digital retailers... [and], for those who may ask: This is obviously different from Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail / Samsung [deal] which—via an app—gave [his album] for free [and] had no option for fans to buy." Gaga had also planned to release some of the songs that did not make the final album cut via the app, including a track called "Brooklyn Nights", as she "wanted to spend more time" on them, though this plan remained unfulfilled. Artwork On October 7, 2013, Gaga unveiled the album cover for Artpop on Clear Channel billboards around the world. Created by Jeff Koons, the image features a nude sculpture of Gaga with a blue gazing ball in front of her. The background consists of art works including The Birth of Venus, which inspired the music video for "Applause" and the VMA performance of the song. Koons explained the meaning of the cover to MTV: With the cover, I wanted to have Gaga there as a sculpture, as a three-dimensional type of form and with the gazing ball, because the gazing ball really does become kind of the symbol for everything — and this aspect of reflection that when you come across something like a gazing ball, it affirms you, it affirms your existence and then from that affirmation, you start to want more. There's a transcendence that takes place and eventually it really leads you to everything. So that aspect's there. But I didn't want Gaga there just kind of isolated, so in the background there's [Gian Lorenzo] Bernini's 'Apollo and Daphne' — and that's the work where Apollo chases Daphne and she turns into a tree. And so there's just glimpses of Daphne's face and of Apollo. Apollo is the god of music and whenever Apollo would perform music he would transcend, he would change; his being would become more feminine. And that's the transcendence that you can experience through art and life. Your being can change, your possibilities can change, your perimeters can change. And also in [these] triangular shapes that go out is Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, presenting Gaga of course in the role of Venus — of the nature of the continuation of life's energy and the pursuit and the enjoyment of aesthetics and of beauty. And of the desire to continually have transcendence. Will Gompertz from NME wrote that "this is a classic cover. When you're listing the 100 best covers of the 21st century, this will be right up there. Typographically it's an AA+, visually it's AAA". Later, Gaga also revealed on her Facebook page that "the first 500,000 physical copies of Artpop are crafted with LADY GAGA + ARTPOP cut out of hot pink metallic foil plus silver foil. The foiling represents the true design of the cover as imagined by Koons, who hand collaged the typography himself." Koons asked Japanese Psychology professor and artist Akiyoshi Kitaoka to provide visual illusions for the CD interior, including a version of his "Hatpin urchin" illusion that was also printed on the CD itself. The track listing was unveiled in a series of fan posts retweeted by Gaga with pictures of a painted mural made by fans outside of a recording studio in Los Angeles where Artpop was being completed on October 9, 2013. Originally, the track listing was scheduled to be unveiled on September 29, 2013. In a Twitter post, Gaga said it was late due to two songs fighting for the twelfth place on the album. In January 2014, China's Ministry of Culture approved the uncensored release of Artpop in the country, making the album her first to be released in the country after she was blacklisted by the government for inappropriate music in 2011. However, to avoid further controversy with the release, the cover art for the Chinese release was altered to feature Gaga's legs covered in fishnet stockings, with the blue gazing ball enlarged to cover her exposed breasts. Promotion Singles "Applause" was released as the first single from the album. Due to multiple leaks, it was released ahead of schedule, on August 12, 2013. The single went on to impact mainstream radio stations in the United States on August 19, 2013. It received favorable reviews from music critics, who found it "a return to Gaga's club-friendly Fame era". It charted in the top ten in a number of nations, with a number 4 peak position in the United States. An accompanying music video to "Applause" was premiered and broadcast on jumbotrons across Times Square after her interview on Good Morning America on August 19, 2013. It was shot in Los Angeles by Dutch photographer duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. It features Gaga in scenes such as being in a birdcage, transforming into a black swan/human hybrid, and dancing in a black-glove bra. The video received positive reviews from critics, saying that it was in "typical Gaga fashion", and noted references to German Expressionist cinema and Andy Warhol. On September 3, 2013, Gaga started polls on Twitter asking fans to help her choose the second single from Artpop, listing "Manicure", "Sexxx Dreams", "Aura" and "Swine" as options. Gaga revealed the next month that "Venus" had been chosen as the second single, though the popularity of the planned promotional single "Do What U Want" led to its single release instead. It received generally positive response from reviewers, who complimented its chorus and found it a potential radio hit. The song peaked within the top 10 in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and South Korea, as well as the top 20 in other nations, including Germany, Sweden, and the United States. An alternate studio version of "Do What U Want", where the original vocals by Kelly are replaced with new verses sang by Christina Aguilera, was released on January 1, 2014. Two promotional singles were made available from Artpop preceding the album's release: "Venus" on October 28, 2013, and "Dope" on November 4, 2013. The latter reached a top 10 position at the Billboard Hot 100 and some European countries, becoming her highest charting promotional single to date."G.U.Y.", the third and final single release impacted mainstream radio stations in the United States on April 8, 2014. It had a mixed reception from music critics; some found it catchy and one of the standout tracks from Artpop, while others criticized its production and the lyrics. The song debuted on the record charts of a few countries, but failed to enter the top ten in most of them. It was accompanied by a music video, shot at Hearst Castle and directed by Gaga, which also incorporated parts of the tracks "Artpop", "Venus", and "Manicure" besides "G.U.Y.". The video shows Gaga as a wounded fallen angel who takes revenge on the men who hunted her after being revived by her followers in a pool. Critics noted the video's "heavy dose of camp and pop culture" and references to Greek mythology. Live performances and other gigs On December 25, 2012, Gaga announced a documentary celebrating "life, the creation of Artpop + you", which she described as a gift to her fans. The documentary was directed by Terry Richardson, a previous collaborator on the photography book Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson, but remained unreleased. Gaga opened the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of "Applause", dissecting her career through a series of colorful costumes and wigs. She then headlined the iTunes Festival on September 1, 2013 and performed new material for a crowd of 5,000 people. Gaga dubbed her gig "SwineFest" after one of the songs, "Swine", that she debuted during the event. For the song "Jewels n' Drugs" Gaga was joined onstage by Too Short and Twista – T.I., initially a part of the show, was unable to participate in the festival after his entry in the United Kingdom was denied. While dismissing some of the performed songs, journalists had a mostly positive response to Gaga's set. The show was recorded and later included on a second disc with the deluxe edition of Artpop. On September 9, Gaga performed "Applause" on Good Morning America and appeared dressed as multiple characters from The Wizard of Oz.A trailer for Machete Kills, in which Gaga played La Chameleón, was released on October 4 and previewed an alternative studio version of "Aura". The song's lyric video, directed by Robert Rodriguez, was uploaded onto Gaga's Vevo account five days later, featuring scenes and dialogue from the film. Excerpts of "G.U.Y.", "Artpop", and "Mary Jane Holland" were released periodically over the course of two weeks from October 14 to 28. On October 24, promotional listening sessions of Artpop were organized in Berlin, with Gaga providing a live rendition of "Gypsy". She then made an unannounced appearance at London's G-A-Y nightclub two days later and performed "Venus", generating controversy when stripped naked during the show. On October 27, Gaga also played "Venus" alongside "Do What U Want" on the tenth series of The X Factor in the United Kingdom. The performance prompted a barrage of complaints to ITV and industry regulator Ofcom, although dismissed by the company. Gaga returned to the United States the following week for a performance of "Dope" at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards, and continued to play material from Artpop on The Howard Stern Show, Saturday Night Live, and at the American Music Awards.The night before the release of Artpop, Gaga hosted an album release party, dubbed "ArtRave". It took place in a large warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, and included a press conference and a live performance. During the press conference, Gaga unveiled "the world's first flying dress", and new works by Inez and Vinoodh, avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson, performance artist Marina Abramović and artist Jeff Koons. Gaga performed a concert consisting of nine songs from Artpop, which was streamed live on Vevo and later rebroadcast through the website's syndication partners. It received positive reviews from critics, who complimented Gaga's performance and enthusiasm. Gaga's second Thanksgiving Day television special, Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular, aired on November 28, and included performances of "Artpop" with Elton John, "Fashion!" with RuPaul, and "Gypsy" with Kermit the Frog. It had a mixed reception, with some critics praising Gaga for being relatable in the show, while others were highly critical of her for using the holiday special as a mere promotional vehicle for the album. Performances continued in December with an appearance at the British chat show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, a headlining concert at the Jingle Bell Ball, and a performance in the fifth-season finale of The Voice. On February 18, 2014, Gaga performed the title track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and on March 13, she headlined the SXSW festival and performed further songs from the album. The performance of "Swine" received backlash for its inclusion of performance artist Millie Brown, who vomited different colored goo on Gaga as a metaphor for rape. Residency and tour From March 28 to April 7, 2014, Gaga played the final shows at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom before its closure. Her residency, titled Lady Gaga Live at Roseland Ballroom, was originally announced with four shows, with three additional dates later added due to popular demand. As an homage to the venue, the stage was decorated with roses, and Gaga's wardrobe was also rose themed. The residency received positive reviews from music critics, who found it a better representation of Gaga's abilities as an entertainer than her previous campaigns for Artpop. The shows were sold out with ticket prices being above the average costs of tickets at the venue, and the seven dates had sold a total of 24,532 tickets while grossing a total of $1.5 million.On May 4, 2014, Gaga embarked on the ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour in support of the album, which had 79 dates overall, with the last show, in Paris, France, being livestreamed online. The show's costume designers and choreographers aspired to make a single, coherent show, and the lighting fixtures were designed and programmed to create "an immersive rave" experience. The tour garnered praise for its entertainment value and Gaga's vocal skills, although the setlist was criticized. It grossed $83 million from 920,088 sold tickets at the 74 reported performances to Billboard Boxscore. Critical reception Artpop received generally mixed response from music critics. Metacritic calculated an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 30 reviews from reviewers. Adam Markovitz from Entertainment Weekly stated that many of the album's songs were "enjoyable but well-worn", further commending the execution of the album and the "melodic lines" of the songs. However, he noted that Artpop generally failed to make an overall impression. Jerry Shriver, writing for USA Today, opined that the record was not "consistently entertaining", though admitted that the album was mostly intended for Gaga's fans and not for general listeners. Slant Magazine''s Sal Cinquemani provided a favorable review, praising its sounds and structures, while Jason Lipshutz from Billboard commended Gaga's effort to make "absolutely certain that every inch of her craft evolves and innovates". In a positive review, an editor of The Daily Beast declared that "there were moments of expected genius on it worthy of Grammy consideration."Robert Copsey from Digital Spy felt that several songs sounded "half-finished", though suggesting that the album had more good songs than bad tracks. Helen Brown, writing in The Daily Telegraph, criticized Gaga's choice to do another album "themed around her own stardom" (after The Fame and The Fame Monster), and commented that although Gaga approached different genres of music, "she doesn't do anything wildly original with them, but she has fun". Brown however praised the album as "great for dancing". Alexis Petridis from The Guardian suggested there was "some decent pop" on Artpop but thought the art was "rather harder to discern". The Independent's Andy Gill commented, "It's hard not to feel underwhelmed by Artpop", while Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone called it "a bizarre album of squelchy disco" and "sexual but not sexy".Some journalists felt that the more mixed response from critics in comparison to Gaga's previous work was unfair and stemmed from a focus on Gaga and not the album. Nick Messitte of Forbes criticized music critics, denouncing their reviews as being "incoherent" and focusing on the "artist over the art itself," accusing them of "bend[ing] over backwards to mention everything else before the music". He summarized that Artpop "delivers a welcome departure from standardized verse-chorus structures" and is ultimately a "bold" effort. Ed Potton of The Times concurred, stating that "It's a wonder you can hear Lady Gaga's third studio album over the sound of knives being sharpened" following her previous album Born This Way, a work he felt Artpop was far superior to. Robert Christgau, writing for The Barnes & Noble Review, claimed that the record's "critical reaction [was] clueless", ultimately naming Artpop "2013's most underrated album". In a positive retrospective review, Claire Lobenfeld of Pitchfork called it Gaga's "most divisive and conceptually ambitious album".Artpop was included in several year-end lists by music critics and publications. In their list of the "15 Best Albums of 2013", Billboard ranked it at 14th place, stating that it is the statement of a singer-songwriter who wants to be more than a pop artist" who "hasn't lost her touch for creating otherworldly hooks." Digital Spy similarly included Artpop in their "30 Best Albums of 2013" list at the 21st place. Popjustice ranked the album at sixth place on their "Top 33 Albums of 2013" list, claiming that it was "amazing", while Entertainmentwise included it in their unranked round-up of the top ten albums of the year, calling Artpop "original and innovative". Robert Christgau named Artpop the sixth best album of 2013 in his year-end list, writing in an accompanying essay for The Barnes & Noble Review, "since unlike the young I'm never bombarded by EDM synths at medically inadvisable volumes, this was not only the rawk album of the year for me, it sounded fresh. Really, who needs guitars?" Commercial performance Artpop debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 258,000 copies sold in its first week, earning Gaga her second consecutive number one album and becoming the fourth-largest sales week for a female artist in 2013, behind Beyoncé's self-titled album, Katy Perry's Prism, and Miley Cyrus' Bangerz, respectively. The following week, the record dropped to number eight on the Billboard 200 with sales of under 46,000 copies for an 82% sales decrease, making Gaga the first artist to have two albums in the top five list of all-time biggest second-week percentage drops in the Nielsen SoundScan era. On its third week, as part of promotions for Black Friday, Artpop was discounted at retailers such as Amazon MP3, Walmart, and Target, rising to number seven with 116,000 units sold. The album has sold 775,000 copies in the United States as of February 2018 (including 477,000 from physical CD and vinyl sales), and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for reaching over a million stream-equivalent units. Following Gaga's Super Bowl LI halftime show performance in 2017, Artpop re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 174, selling 5,000 total album-equivalent unitsIn Canada, the record entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number three with 25,000 copies sold, earning a Platinum certification from Music Canada in its first week of sales for shipment of 80,000 copies. On the first day of its availability in Japan, charts provider Oricon reported that Artpop sold 18,109 physical albums, reaching the number two position. This was 5,000 copies underneath Jin Akanishi's #Justjin, while outperforming Avril Lavigne's self-titled album by 4,000 copies. It went on to sell 58,493 copies to debut atop the Oricon Albums Chart.Artpop also entered the UK Albums Chart at number one with first-week sales of 65,608 copies, making Gaga the third female solo artist in chart history to top the chart with each of her first three studio albums, following Lavigne and Susan Boyle. It fell to number nine in its second week, selling 15,948 copies. The album has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), for registered units of 256,000. In Australia, Artpop opened at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart with sales of 15,685 copies. In France, Artpop has sold 65,000 copies.In 2013, the album brought worldwide sales of 2.3 million units according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), making it the ninth best-selling effort of the year. It went on to sell 2.5 million copies as of July 2014. The album's commercial performance has led numerous publications to suggest that it had fallen short of its sales expectations, while some called it as a commercial failure compared to Gaga's previous albums. Due to claims of Artpop's alleged underperformance, Gaga publicly addressed rumors that the album's sales had lost her label $25 million and had led to staff layoffs, calling them fake. Planned sequel In October 2012, Gaga considered Artpop "a bit more modern" and mentioned the possibility of splitting the project into a two-volume record; the first would contain the "commercial songs", while the second would feature the "experimental material". In October 2013, Gaga teased that she had "lots of songs for Act 2". The following month, she mentioned an "Act 2" again, commenting that it might be released before her tour as "it'll be nice to play both acts on the tour", and dismissed her previous ideas of splitting the album into two halves because "this was during the inception of the record and I wasn't even quite sure what Artpop meant yet". In her keynote interview at SXSW, Gaga confirmed that Artpop could potentially have more than two acts, further stating that the second act of Artpop was complete but not ready for release. In April 2014, Gaga stated that "there's a strong possibility" that she will release another volume of Artpop; however, this plan never materialized.In April 2021, after DJ White Shadow posted an April Fool's joke about the release of Artpop throw-away track "Tea", fans made a petition for Gaga to release the second volume of the album. Following the success of the initiative, he proposed getting the petition to 10,000 signatures and then he would send it to her. After getting over 20,000 signatures in just over a day, White Shadow posted on his Instagram talking about his experience during the era and how he has in fact shared it with Gaga, claiming "she has feelings (like any other normal person) and this 'era' was a hard time for her too. I am sure she will be okay with revisiting it one day and building on it when the time is right". He added, "continue to get your message to the people in charge. You have the power, don't give up". Gaga responded to the fan campaign on Twitter, saying the album's creation "was like heart surgery" and made during a time when she felt desperation as well as pain, and expressed gratitude for how fans celebrated "something that once felt like destruction".After Gaga's acknowledgment of the campaign and the #BuyARTPOPoniTunes trend, the petition reached 40,000 signatures on change.org. Artpop began climbing up the iTunes charts worldwide, reaching number one in 18 countries including France and Italy, number two in the US, and number three in the UK. Track listing Credits adapted from the liner notes of Artpop. ^[a] – co-producer ^[b] "Do What U Want" was removed from digital stores and streaming services on January 10, 2019 due to the sexual abuse allegations against R. Kelly. On November 11, 2019, when the album was re-issued on CD and vinyl, "Do What U Want" was excluded from the track list. "Venus" contains a publishing sample from "Rocket Number 9", written by Sun Ra, and a sample of "Rocket n°9" by Zombie Zombie. "Manicure" is stylized as "MANiCURE". "Artpop" is stylized in all caps i.e. "ARTPOP". On censored versions of the album, "Sexxx Dreams" is titled "X Dreams", and the title of "Jewels n' Drugs" is bowdlerized as "Jewels n' *****". Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Artpop. Performers Production and recording Design Frederic Aspiras – hair Sonja Durham – instructional voice (3); creative coordination Jeff Koons – album cover, package design Brandon Maxwell – fashion director Julian Peploe – text layout Tara Savelo – makeup Charts Certifications and sales Release history Artpop Archived January 4, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at LadyGaga.com

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, also branded as South Africa 2010, was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.The matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the opening and final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These 16 teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time losing finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first world title. Spain became the eighth nation to win the tournament and the first European nation to win a World Cup hosted outside its home continent: all previous World Cups held outside Europe had been won by South American nations. They are also the first national team since 1978 to win a World Cup after losing a game in the group stage. As a result of their win, Spain represented the World in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Host nation South Africa were eliminated in the group stage and both 2006 World Cup finalists Italy and France were also eliminated at the group stage. It was the first time that the hosts had been eliminated in the first stage. New Zealand, with their three draws, were the only undefeated team in the tournament, but they were also eliminated in the group stage. Host selection Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a short-lived rotation policy, abandoned in 2007, to rotate the event among football confederations. Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup: Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and a joint bid from Libya and Tunisia. Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements. The winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich; in the first round of voting, South Africa received 14 votes, Morocco received 10 votes and Egypt no votes. South Africa, which had narrowly failed to win the right to host the 2006 event, was thus awarded the right to host the tournament. Campaigning for South Africa to be granted host status, Nelson Mandela had previously spoken of the importance of football in his life, stating that while incarcerated in Robben Island prison playing football "made us feel alive and triumphant despite the situation we found ourselves in". With South Africa winning their bid, an emotional Mandela raised the FIFA World Cup Trophy.During 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country. Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt, and, reportedly, some FIFA executives expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa's preparations. FIFA officials repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, stating that a contingency plan existed only to cover natural catastrophes, as had been in place at previous FIFA World Cups. Bribery and corruption On 28 May 2015, media covering the 2015 FIFA corruption case reported that high-ranking officials from the South African bid committee had secured the right to host the World Cup by paying US$10 million in bribes to then-FIFA Vice President Jack Warner and to other FIFA Executive Committee members.On 4 June 2015, FIFA executive Chuck Blazer, having co-operated with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, confirmed that he and the other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed in order to promote the South African 1998 and 2010 World Cup bids. Blazer stated, "I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup."On 6 June 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Morocco had actually won the vote, but South Africa was awarded the tournament instead. Qualification The qualification draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban on 25 November 2007. As the host nation, South Africa qualified automatically for the tournament. As happened in the previous tournament, the defending champions were not given an automatic berth, and Italy had to participate in qualification. With a pool of entrants comprising 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams at the time, the 2010 World Cup shares with the 2008 Summer Olympics the record for most competing nations in a sporting event. Some controversies arose during the qualifications. In the second leg of the play-off between France and the Republic of Ireland, French captain Thierry Henry, unseen by the referee, handled the ball in the lead up to a late goal, which enabled France to qualify ahead of Ireland, sparking widespread comment and debate. FIFA rejected a request from the Football Association of Ireland to replay the match, and Ireland later withdrew a request to be included as an unprecedented 33rd World Cup entrant. As a result, FIFA announced a review into the use of technology or extra officials at the highest level, but decided against the widely expected fast-tracking of goal-line referee's assistants for the South African tournament. Costa Rica complained over Uruguay's winning goal in the CONMEBOL–CONCACAF playoff, while Egypt and Algeria's November 2009 matches were surrounded by reports of crowd trouble. On the subject of fair play, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: I appeal to all the players and coaches to observe this fair play. In 2010 we want to prove that football is more than just kicking a ball but has social and cultural value ... So we ask the players 'please observe fair play' so they will be an example to the rest of the world. Slovakia was making its first appearance as an independent nation but had previously been represented as part of the Czechoslovakia team that had last played in the 1990 tournament; North Korea qualified for the first time since 1966; Honduras and New Zealand were both making their first appearances since 1982; Algeria were at the finals for the first time since the 1986 competition; and Greece qualified for the first time since 1994. Serbia also made its first appearance as an independent nation, having previously been present as Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1930, as SFR Yugoslavia from 1950 to 1990, as FR Yugoslavia in 1998 and as Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. Teams that failed to qualify for this tournament included Saudi Arabia, which had qualified for the previous four tournaments; Tunisia and Croatia, both of whom had qualified for the previous three finals; Costa Rica, Ecuador, Poland and Sweden, who had qualified for the previous two editions; 2006 quarter-finalists Ukraine and Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia and Turkey. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Croatia (ranked 10th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was North Korea (ranked 105th). As of 2022, this was the last time South Africa, New Zealand, North Korea, Paraguay, Slovakia and Slovenia qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and the last time Costa Rica, Iran, Belgium, and Croatia (only time) failed to qualify. List of qualified teams The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament. Preparations Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and five of the existing venues were upgraded. Construction costs were expected to be R8.4 billion (just over US$1 billion or €950 million).South Africa also improved its public transport infrastructure within the host cities, including Johannesburg's Gautrain and other metro systems, and major road networks were improved. In March 2009, Danny Jordaan, the president of the 2010 World Cup organising committee, reported that all stadiums for the tournament were on schedule to be completed within six months.The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of spectators in accordance with standard FIFA requirements, including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums.At a ceremony to mark 100 days before the event, FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the readiness of the country for the event. Construction strike On 8 July 2009, 70,000 construction workers who were working on the new stadiums walked off their jobs. The majority of the workers receive R2500 per month (about £192, €224 or US$313), but the unions alleged that some workers were grossly underpaid. A spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers said to the SABC that the "no work no pay" strike would go on until FIFA assessed penalties on the organisers. Other unions threatened to strike into 2011. The strike was swiftly resolved and workers were back at work within a week of it starting. There were no further strikes and all stadiums and construction projects were completed in time for the kick off. Prize money The total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as US$420 million (including payments of US$40 million to domestic clubs), a 60 percent increase on the 2006 tournament. Before the tournament, each of the 32 entrants received US$1 million for preparation costs. Once at the tournament, the prize money was distributed as follows: US$8 million – To each team eliminated at the group stage (16 teams) ($10.74 million in 2023 US dollars) US$9 million – To each team eliminated in the round of 16 (8 teams) ($12.08 million in 2023 US dollars) US$14 million – To each team eliminated in the quarter-finals (4 teams) ($18.79 million in 2023 US dollars) US$18 million – Fourth placed team ($24.16 million in 2023 US dollars) US$20 million – Third placed team ($26.84 million in 2023 US dollars) US$24 million – Runner up ($32.21 million in 2023 US dollars) US$30 million – Winner ($40.26 million in 2023 US dollars)In a first for the World Cup, FIFA made payments to the domestic clubs of the players representing their national teams at the tournament. This saw a total of US$40 million paid to domestic clubs. This was the result of an agreement reached in 2008 between FIFA and European clubs to disband the G-14 group and drop their claims for compensation dating back to 2005 over the financial cost of injuries sustained to their players while on international duty, such as that from Belgian club Charleroi S.C. for injury to Morocco's Abdelmajid Oulmers in a friendly game in 2004, and from English club Newcastle United for an injury to England's Michael Owen in the 2006 World Cup. Venues In 2005, the organisers released a provisional list of 13 venues to be used for the World Cup: Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg (two venues), Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Nelspruit, Orkney, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, and Rustenburg. This was narrowed down to the ten venues that were officially announced by FIFA on 17 March 2006. The altitude of several venues affected the motion of the ball and player performance, although FIFA's medical chief downplayed this consideration. Six of the ten venues were over 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level, with the two Johannesburg venues—FNB Stadium (also known as Soccer City) and Ellis Park Stadium—the highest at approximately 1,750 m (5,740 ft).FNB Stadium, Cape Town Stadium, and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth were the most-used venues, each hosting eight matches. Ellis Park Stadium and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban hosted seven matches each, while Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg hosted six matches each. Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit hosted four matches each, but did not host any knockout-stage matches. The following stadiums were all upgraded to meet FIFA specifications: Team base camps The base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. In February 2010, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team. Fifteen teams were in Gauteng Province, while six teams were based in KwaZulu-Natal, four in the Western Cape, three in North West Province, and one each in Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, and the Northern Cape. Final draw The FIFA Organising Committee approved the procedure for the final draw on 2 December 2009. The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA World Ranking and seven squads joined hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the final draw. No two teams from the same confederation were to be drawn in the same group, except allowing a maximum of two European teams in a group. The group draw was staged in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The ceremony was presented by South African actress Charlize Theron, assisted by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. The balls were drawn by English football star David Beckham and African sporting figures Haile Gebrselassie, John Smit, Makhaya Ntini, Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu. Opening ceremony Referees FIFA's Referees' Committee selected 29 referees through its Refereeing Assistance Programme to officiate at the World Cup: four from the AFC, three from the CAF, six from CONMEBOL, four from CONCACAF, two from the OFC, and ten from UEFA. English referee Howard Webb was chosen to referee the final, making him the first person to referee both the UEFA Champions League final and the World Cup final in the same year. Squads As with the 2006 tournament, each team's squad for the 2010 World Cup consisted of 23 players. Each participating national association had to confirm their final 23-player squad by 1 June 2010. Teams were permitted to make late replacements in the event of serious injury, at any time up to 24 hours before their first game.Of the 736 players participating in the tournament, over half played their club football in five European domestic leagues; those in England (117 players), Germany (84), Italy (80), Spain (59) and France (46). The English, German and Italian squads were made up of entirely home based players, while only Nigeria had no players from clubs in their own league. In all, players from 52 national leagues entered the tournament. FC Barcelona of Spain was the club contributing the most players to the tournament, with 13 players of their side travelling, 7 with the Spanish team, while another 7 clubs contributed 10 players or more. In another first for South Africa 2010, one squad included three siblings. Jerry, Johnny, and Wilson Palacios made history thanks to their inclusion in Honduras's 23-man list. Unusually, the game between Germany and Ghana had two brothers playing for opposite nations, with Jérôme Boateng and Kevin-Prince Boateng playing respectively. Match summary The 32 national teams involved in the tournament together played a total of 64 matches starting from the group stage matches and progressing to the knockout stage matches, with teams eliminated through the various progressive stages. Rest days were allocated during the various stages to allow players recovery during the tournament. Preliminary events were also held in celebration of the World Cup event. All times listed in the table below are in South African Standard Time (UTC+02). Group stage All times are South Africa Standard Time (UTC+2). The tournament match schedule was announced in November 2007. In the first round, or group stage, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, with each team playing the other three teams in their group once. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The top two teams in each group advanced to the round of 16. The South American teams performed strongly, with all five advancing to the round of 16 (four as group winners), and four further advancing to the quarter-finals. However, only Uruguay advanced to the semi-finals. Of the six African teams, only Ghana advanced to the round of 16. South Africa became the first host nation in World Cup history to be eliminated in the first round, despite beating France and drawing with Mexico, while Ghana and Ivory Coast were the only other African teams to win a match. The overall performance of the African teams, in the first World Cup to be hosted on the continent, was judged as disappointing by observers such as Cameroon great Roger Milla.Only six out of the thirteen UEFA teams advanced to the round of 16, a record low since the introduction of this stage in 1986. Nonetheless, the final was contested by two European teams. In another World Cup first, the two finalists from the preceding tournament, Italy and France, were eliminated at the group stage, with Italy becoming the third defending champions to be eliminated in the first round after Brazil in 1966 and France in 2002. New Zealand, one of the lowest-ranked teams, surprised many by drawing all three of their group matches, ending the tournament as the only undefeated team. Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Knockout stage All times listed are South African Standard Time (UTC+02) The knockout stage comprised the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. There were four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds were the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. There was also a play-off to decide third and fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes was followed by thirty minutes of extra time; if scores were still level, there was a penalty shootout to determine who progressed to the next round. Round of 16 In this round, each group winner (A-H) was paired against the runner-up from another group. South American teams again performed strongly in the round of 16, with four teams advancing to the quarter-finals including Brazil who defeated fellow South Americans Chile. European teams performed even more strongly in the sense that all matches between a European and a non-European team were won by the European team. In the previous edition (2006), they had also achieved this. England's 4–1 loss to Germany was their biggest ever margin of defeat at a World Cup finals. It was also the first time that a World Cup finals match between these two traditional rivals had a decisive result in regulation time, their three previous meetings all being tied at 90 minutes, with two settled in extra time and one in a penalty shootout. Ghana defeated the United States to become the third African team to reach the last eight (after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002), and the only African team to have achieved both a top 8 finish and a separate top 16 finish (in 2006). Paraguay and Ghana reached the quarter-finals for the first time.The round was marked by some controversial referees' decisions, including: A disallowed goal by England in their 4–1 loss against Germany, where the shot by Frank Lampard was seen to cross substantially over the goal line when shown on television broadcast replays. An allowed goal by Argentina in their 3–1 win over Mexico, where Argentine striker Carlos Tevez was seen to be offside when shown on television broadcast replays, which were shown inside the stadium shortly after the incident.FIFA President Sepp Blatter took the unusual step of apologising to England and Mexico for the decisions that went against them, saying: "Yesterday I spoke to the two federations directly concerned by referees' mistakes [...] I apologised to England and Mexico. The English said thank you and accepted that you can win some and you lose some and the Mexicans bowed their head and accepted it." Blatter also promised to re-open the discussion regarding devices which monitor possible goals and make that information immediately available to match officials, saying: "We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have the first opportunity in July at the business meeting." Blatter's call came less than four months after FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said the door was closed on goal-line technology and video replays after a vote by the IFAB. Quarter-finals The three quarter-finals between European and South American teams all resulted in wins for Europeans. Germany had a 4–0 victory over Argentina, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Brazil 2–1, handing the Brazilians their first loss in a World Cup match held outside Europe (other than in a penalty shootout) since 1950 when Uruguay won the decisive match 2–1. Spain reached the final four for the first time since 1950 after a 1–0 win over Paraguay. Uruguay, the only South American team to reach the semi-finals, overcame Ghana in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw in which Ghana missed a penalty at the end of extra time after Luis Suárez controversially handled the ball on the line. Semi-finals The Netherlands qualified for the final for the third time with a 3–2 win over Uruguay. Spain reached their first ever final with a 1–0 victory over Germany. As a result, it was the first World Cup final not to feature at least one of Brazil, Italy, Germany or Argentina. Third place play-off Germany defeated Uruguay 3–2 to secure third place. Germany holds the record for most third-place finishes in the World Cup (4), while Uruguay holds the record for most fourth-place finishes (3). Final The final was held on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City, Johannesburg. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0, with an extra time goal from Andrés Iniesta. Iniesta scored the latest winning goal in a FIFA World Cup final (116'). The win gave Spain their first World Cup title, becoming the eighth team to win it. This made them the first new winner without home advantage since Brazil in 1958, and the first team to win the tournament after having lost their opening game.A large number of fouls were committed in the final match. Referee Howard Webb handed out 14 yellow cards, more than doubling the previous record for this fixture, set when Argentina and West Germany shared six cards in 1986, and John Heitinga of the Netherlands was sent off for receiving a second yellow card. The Netherlands had chances to score, most notably in the 60th minute when Arjen Robben was released by Wesley Sneijder to be one-on-one with Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas, only for Casillas to save the shot with an outstretched leg. For Spain, Sergio Ramos missed a free header from a corner kick when he was unmarked. Iniesta finally broke the deadlock in extra time, scoring a volleyed shot from a pass by Cesc Fàbregas.This result marked the first time that two teams from the same continent had won successive World Cups (following Italy in 2006), and saw Europe reaching 10 World Cup titles, surpassing South America's nine titles. Spain became the first team since West Germany in 1974 to win the World Cup as European champions. The result also marked the first time that a European nation had won a World Cup Finals that was not hosted on European soil. A closing ceremony was held before the final, featuring singer Shakira. Afterwards, the former South African President Nelson Mandela made a brief appearance on the pitch, wheeled in by a motorcart. Statistics Goalscorers South African winger Siphiwe Tshabalala was the first player to score a goal in the competition, in their 1–1 draw against Mexico, the opening game of the tournament. Danish defender Daniel Agger was credited with the first own goal of the tournament, in his side's 2–0 loss to the Netherlands. Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín was the only player to score a hat-trick in the tournament, in Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea. It was the 49th World Cup hat-trick in the history of the tournament. Spain set a new record for the fewest goals scored by a World Cup-winning team, with eight. The previous record low was 11, set by Brazil in 1994, England in 1966, and Italy in 1938. Spain had the fewest goalscorers for a champion as well (three – Villa with five goals, Iniesta with two and Puyol with one). They also had the fewest goals conceded for a champion (2), equal with Italy (2006) and France (1998). Spain's victory marked the first time that a team won the World Cup without conceding a goal in the knockout stage.The four top scorers in the tournament had five goals each. All of the four top scorers also came from the teams that finished in the top four, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Uruguay. The Golden Boot went to Thomas Müller of Germany who had three assists, compared to one for the three others. The Silver Boot went to David Villa of Spain, who played a total of 635 minutes, and the Bronze Boot to Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands, who played 652 minutes. Diego Forlán of Uruguay had five goals and one assist in 654 minutes. A further three players scored four goals.Only 145 goals were scored at South Africa 2010, the lowest of any FIFA World Cup since the tournament switched to a 64-game format. This continued a downward trend since the first 64-game finals were held 12 years earlier, with 171 goals at France 1998, 161 at Korea/Japan 2002 and 147 at Germany 2006.5 goals 4 goals 3 goals 2 goals 1 goal 1 own goal Discipline 28 players were suspended after being shown two consecutive yellow cards (13 players), a single red card (8 players), or a yellow card followed by a red card (7 players). Final standings Shortly after the final, FIFA issued a final ranking of every team in the tournament. The ranking was based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. All 32 teams are ranked based on criteria which have been used by FIFA. The final ranking was as follows: Awards Main awards Golden Boot: Thomas Müller Golden Glove: Iker Casillas Best Young Player: Thomas Müller FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Spain All-Star Team FIFA released an All-Star Team based on the Castrol performance index in its official website. Dream Team For the first time, FIFA published a Dream Team decided by an online public vote. People were invited to select a team (in a 4–4–2 formation) and best coach; voting was open until 23:59 on 11 July 2010, with entrants going into a draw to win a prize. Six of the eleven players came from the Spanish team, as did the coach. The remainder of the team comprised two players from Germany, and one each from Brazil, the Netherlands and Uruguay. Marketing Sponsorship The sponsors of the 2010 World Cup are divided into three categories: FIFA Partners, FIFA World Cup Sponsors and National Supporters. Vuvuzelas The 2010 finals amplified international public awareness of the vuvuzela, a long horn blown by fans throughout matches. Many World Cup competitors complained about the noise caused by the vuvuzela horns, including France's Patrice Evra, who blamed the horns for the team's poor performance. Other critics include Lionel Messi, who complained that the sound of the vuvuzelas hampered communication among players on the pitch, and broadcasting companies, which complained that commentators' voices were drowned out by the sound.Others watching on television complained that the ambient audio feed from the stadium contained only the sounds of the vuvuzelas with the usual sounds of people in the stands drowned out. A spokesperson for ESPN and other networks said that they were taking steps to minimise the ambient noise on their broadcasts. The BBC also investigated the possibility of offering broadcasts without vuvuzela noise. Symbols Mascot The official mascot for the 2010 World Cup was Zakumi, an anthropomorphised African leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name came from "ZA" (the international abbreviation for South Africa) and the term kumi, which means "ten" in various African languages. The mascot's colours reflected those of the host nation's playing strip – yellow and green. Match ball The match ball for the 2010 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas, was named the Jabulani, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in Zulu. It was the 11th World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker; it featured 11 colours, representing each player of a team on the pitch and the 11 official languages of South Africa. A special match ball with gold panels, called the Jo'bulani, was used at the final in Johannesburg. The ball was constructed using a new design, consisting of eight thermally bonded, three-dimensional panels. These were spherically moulded from ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The surface of the ball was textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called GripnGroove that was intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics. The design received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. The balls were made in China, using latex bladders made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, and glue and ink from China.Some football stars complained about the new ball, arguing that its movements were difficult to predict. Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César compared it to a "supermarket" ball that favored strikers and worked against goalkeepers. Argentinian coach Diego Maradona said: "We won't see any long passes in this World Cup because the ball doesn't fly straight." However, a number of Adidas-sponsored players responded favourably to the ball. Music The official song of the 2010 World Cup "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", was performed by the Colombian singer Shakira and the band Freshlyground from South Africa, and is sung in both English and Spanish. The song is based on a traditional African soldiers' song, "Zangalewa". Shakira and Freshlyground performed the song at the pre-tournament concert in Soweto on 10 June. It was also sung at the opening ceremony on 11 June and at the closing ceremony on 11 July. The official mascot song of the 2010 World Cup was "Game On". The official anthem of the 2010 World Cup was "Sign of a Victory" by R. Kelly with the Soweto Spiritual Singers, which was also performed at the opening ceremony. Event effects Social Tournament organiser Danny Jordaan dismissed concerns that the attack on the Togo national team which took place in Angola in January 2010 had any relevance to the security arrangements for the World Cup. There were also reports of thefts against visitors to the country for the World Cup. Tourists from China, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Japan and Colombia had become victims of crime. On 19 June after the match between England and Algeria, a fan was able to break through the FIFA-appointed security staff at Green Point stadium and gain access to the England team dressing room. The breach took place shortly after Prince William and Prince Harry had left the room. The trespasser was then released before he could be handed over to the Police. The Football Association lodged a formal complaint with FIFA and demanded that security be increased. Resettlement and eviction As with many "hallmark events" throughout the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been connected to evictions, which many claim are meant to 'beautify the city', impress visiting tourists, and hide shackdwellers. On 14 May 2009, the Durban-based shack-dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo took the KwaZulu-Natal government to court over their controversial Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Act, meant to eliminate slums in South Africa and put homeless shackdwellers in transit camps in time for the 2010 World Cup.Another prominent controversy surrounding preparations for the World Cup was the N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town, which planned to remove over 20,000 residents from the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement along the busy N2 Freeway and build rental flats and bond-houses in its place in time for the 2010 World Cup. NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and said that the camp has been used to accommodate poor families evicted to make way for the 2010 World Cup.However some have argued that evictions are ordinarily common in South Africa and that in the lead up to the tournament many evictions were erroneously ascribed to the World Cup. Economy Some groups experienced complications in regards to scheduled sporting events, advertising, or broadcasting, as FIFA attempted to maximise control of media rights during the Cup. Affected parties included an international rugby union Test match, a South African airline and some TV networks, all of whom were involved in various legal struggles with World Cup organisers.During the tournament, group ticket-holders who did not utilise all their allotted tickets led to some early-round matches having as many as 11,000 unoccupied seats.While the event did help to boost the image of South Africa, it turned out to be a major financial disappointment. Construction costs for venues and infrastructure amounted to £3 billion (€3.6 billion), and the government expected that increased tourism would help to offset these costs to the amount of £570 million (€680 million). However, only £323 million (€385 million) were actually taken in as 309,000 foreign fans came to South Africa, well below the expected number of 450,000.Local vendors were prohibited from selling food and merchandise within a 1.5 kilometre radius of any stadium hosting a World Cup match. For a vendor to operate within the radius, a registration fee of R60,000 (approximately US$7,888 or €6,200) had to be paid to FIFA. This fee was out of most local vendors' reach, as they are simple one-man-operated vendors. This prevented international visitors from experiencing local South African food. Some local vendors felt cheated out of an opportunity for financial gain and spreading South African culture in favour of multinational corporations.FIFA president Sepp Blatter declared the event "a huge financial success for everybody, for Africa, for South Africa and for FIFA," with revenue to FIFA of £2.24 billion (€2 billion). Quality In a December 2010 Quality Progress, FIFA President Blatter rated South Africa's organisational efforts a nine out of 10 scale, declaring that South Africa could be considered a plan B for all future competitions. The South African Quality Institute (SAQI) assisted in facility construction, event promotion, and organisations. The main issue listed in the article was lack of sufficient public transportation. Media Broadcasting The 2010 FIFA World Cup was expected to be the most-watched television event in history. Hundreds of broadcasters, representing about 70 countries, transmitted the Cup to a TV audience that FIFA officials expect to exceed a cumulative 26 billion people, an average of approximately 400 million viewers per match. FIFA estimated that around 700 million viewers would watch the World Cup final.New forms of digital media have also allowed viewers to watch coverage through alternative means. "With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet," said Jake Coyle of the Associated Press.In the United States, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 averaged a 2.1 rating, 2,288,000 households and 3,261,000 viewers for the 64 World Cup games. The rating was up 31 percent from a 1.6 in 2006, while households increased 32 percent from 1,735,000 and viewers rose from 2,316,000. The increases had been higher while the US remained in the tournament. Through the first 50 games, the rating was up 48 percent, households increased 54 percent and viewers rose 60 percent. Univision averaged 2,624,000 viewers for the tournament, up 17 percent, and 1,625,000 households, an increase of 11 percent. An executive of the Nielsen Company, a leading audience research firm in the US, described the aggregate numbers for both networks' coverage of the match between the United States and Ghana as "phenomenal". Live World Cup streaming on ESPN3.com pulled in some of the largest audiences in history, as 7.4 million unique viewers tuned in for matches. In total, ESPN3.com generated 942 million minutes of viewing or more than two hours per unique viewer. All 64 live matches were viewed by an average of 114,000 persons per minute. Most impressive were the numbers for the semi-final between Spain and Germany, which was viewed by 355,000 people per minute, making it ESPN3.com's largest average audience ever. Filming Sony technology was used to film the tournament. 25 of the matches were captured using 3D cameras. Footage was captured in 3D through Sony's proprietary multi-image MPE-200 processors, housed in specially designed 3D outside broadcast trucks. It supplied its flagship HDC-1500 cameras as well as its new HDC-P1 unit, a compact, point-of-view (POV)-type camera with 3, 2/3-inch CCD sensors. The 3D games were produced for FIFA by Host Broadcast Services. Video games In PlayStation Home, Sony released a virtual space based on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the Japanese version of Home on 3 December 2009. This virtual space is called the "FevaArena" and is a virtual stadium of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring different areas for events, a FIFA mini-game, and a shop with FIFA related content.On 27 April 2010, EA Sports released the official 2010 World Cup video game. FIFA Fan Fest FIFA expanded the FIFA Fan Fest, hosting in Sydney, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City, as well as several venues around South Africa. The Durban Fan Fest was the most popular in South Africa during the tournament followed by the Cape Town Fan Fest. See also July 2010 Kampala attacks, a series of terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda, timed to coincide with the final match Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album Paul the Octopus and Mani the parakeet, animals who predicted results of the matches 2010 FIFA World Cup Official Site (Archived) 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa , FIFA.com The official 2010 host country website Official Technical Report RSSSF Archive of finals

Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as United States) is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in American culture and a manifestation of patriotic emotion. Uncle Sam has also developed notoriety for his appearance in military propaganda, popularized by a famous 1917 World War I recruiting poster by J.M. Flagg.According to legend, the character came into use during the War of 1812 and may have been named for Samuel Wilson. The actual origin is obscure. The first reference to Uncle Sam in formal literature (as distinct from newspapers) was in the 1816 allegorical book The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search After His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq.While the figure of Uncle Sam specifically represents the government, the female figure of Columbia represents the United States as a nation. An archaic character, Brother Jonathan, was known to represent the American populace. Earlier personifications The earliest known personification of the United States was as a woman named Columbia, who first appeared in 1738 (pre-US) and sometimes was associated with another female personification, Lady Liberty. With the American Revolutionary War of 1775 came Brother Jonathan, a male personification. Uncle Sam finally appeared after the War of 1812. Columbia appeared with either Brother Jonathan or Uncle Sam, but her use declined as a national person in favor of Liberty, and she was effectively abandoned once she became the mascot of Columbia Pictures in the 1920s. A March 24, 1810, journal entry by Isaac Mayo (a midshipman in the US Navy) states: weighed anchor stood down the harbor, passed Sandy Hook, where there are two light-houses, and put to sea, first and the second day out most deadly seasick, oh could I have got onshore in the hight [sic] of it, I swear that uncle Sam, as they call him, would certainly forever have lost the services of at least one sailor. Evolution An 1810 edition of Niles' Weekly Register has a footnote defining Uncle Sam as "a cant term in the army for the United States." Presumably, it came from the abbreviation of the United States of America: U.S. Samuel Wilson legend The precise origin of the Uncle Sam character is unclear, but a popular legend is that the name "Uncle Sam" was derived from Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York, who supplied rations for American soldiers during the War of 1812. There was a requirement at the time for contractors to stamp their name and where the rations came from onto the food they were sending. Wilson's packages were labeled "E.A.—U.S." When someone asked what that stood for, a co-worker jokingly said, "Elbert Anderson [the contractor] and Uncle Sam," referring to Wilson, though the U.S. actually stood for "United States".Doubts have been raised as to the authenticity of this story, as the claim did not appear in print until 1842. Additionally, the earliest known mention definitely referring to the metaphorical Uncle Sam is from 1810, predating Wilson's contract with the government. Development of the character In 1835, Brother Jonathan made a reference to Uncle Sam, implying that they symbolized different things: Brother Jonathan was the country itself, while Uncle Sam was the government and its power.A clockmaker in an 1849 comedic novel explains "we call...the American public Uncle Sam, as you call the British John Bull."By the 1850s, the names Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were being used nearly interchangeably, to the point that images of what had previously been called "Brother Jonathan" were being called "Uncle Sam". Similarly, the appearance of both personifications varied wildly. For example, one depiction of Uncle Sam in 1860 showed him looking like Benjamin Franklin, while a contemporaneous depiction of Brother Jonathan looks more like the modern version of Uncle Sam, though without a goatee. An 1893 article in The Lutheran Witness claims Uncle Sam was simply another name for Brother Jonathan:When we meet him in politics we call him Uncle Sam; when we meet him in society we call him Brother Jonathan. Here of late Uncle Sam alias Brother Jonathan has been doing a powerful lot of complaining, hardly doing anything else. [sic] Uncle Sam did not get a standard appearance, even with the effective abandonment of Brother Jonathan near the end of the American Civil War, until the well-known recruitment image of Uncle Sam was first created by James Montgomery Flagg during World War I. The image was inspired by a British recruitment poster showing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose. It is this image more than any other that has influenced the modern appearance of Uncle Sam: an elderly white man with white hair and a goatee, wearing a white top hat with white stars on a blue band, a blue tail coat, and red-and-white-striped trousers. Flagg's depiction of Uncle Sam was shown publicly for the first time, according to some, on the cover of the magazine Leslie's Weekly on July 6, 1916, with the caption "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" More than four million copies of this image were printed between 1917 and 1918. Flagg's image was also used extensively during World War II, during which the US was codenamed "Samland" by the German intelligence agency Abwehr. The term was central in the song "The Yankee Doodle Boy", which was featured in 1942 in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy. There are two memorials to Uncle Sam, both of which commemorate the life of Samuel Wilson: the Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in Arlington, Massachusetts, his birthplace; and a memorial near his long-term residence in Riverfront Park, Troy, New York. Wilson's boyhood home can still be visited in Mason, New Hampshire. Samuel Wilson died on July 31, 1854, aged 87, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York. In 1976, Uncle Sam was depicted in "Our Nation's 200th Birthday, The Telephone's 100th Birthday" by Stanley Meltzoff for Bell System.In 1989, "Uncle Sam Day" became official. A Congressional joint resolution designated September 13, 1989, as "Uncle Sam Day", the birthday of Samuel Wilson. In 2015, the family history company MyHeritage researched Uncle Sam's family tree and claims to have tracked down his living relatives. See also Uncle Sam billboard Personification of the Americas Propaganda in the United States Further reading Bivins, Thomas H. "The body politic: the changing shape of Uncle Sam." Journalism Quarterly 64.1 (1987): 13-20. Dewey, Donald. The art of ill will: The story of American political cartoons (NYU Press, 2007). onlineGerson, Thomas I. The Story of Uncle Sam: Godfather of America (March 1959) West Sand Lake, NY: "Uncle Sam" Enterprises, Inc. Mouraux, Cecile, and Jean-Pierre Mouraux. Who Was "Uncle Sam": Illustrated Story of the Life of Our National Symbol. Sonoma, CA: Poster Collector (2006). OCLC 70129530 Jacques, George W. The Life and Times of Uncle Sam (2007). Troy, NY: IBT Global. ISBN 978-1933994178. Palczewski, Catherine H. "The male Madonna and the feminine Uncle Sam: Visual argument, icons, and ideographs in 1909 anti-woman suffrage postcards." Quarterly Journal of Speech 91.4 (2005): 365-394. onlineWilde, Lukas RA, and Shane Denson. "Historicizing and Theorizing Pre-Narrative Figures—Who is Uncle Sam?." Narrative 30.2 (2022): 152-168. onlineA collection of reviews of the book "Who Was Uncle Sam" by Jean-Pierre and Cecile Moreaux. Uncle Sam: The man and the meme by Natalie Elder (National Museum of American History) Historical Uncle Sam pictures James Montgomery Flagg's 1917 "I Want You" Poster and other works at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2004) What's the origin of Uncle Sam? The Straight Dope Uncle Sam online, links to 550 books

Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. In its religious context the word is used to mean a god, deity, or divine being in human or animal form on Earth. Abrahamic religions Christianity The incarnation of Christ is the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form of Jesus, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. This foundational Christian position holds that the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus, making him both truly God and truly human. The theological term for this is hypostatic union: the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, became flesh when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Biblical passages traditionally referenced in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation include John 3:1–21, Colossians 2:9, and Philippians 2:7–8. Islam Islam completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation (Mu'jassimā / (Tajseem) Tajsīm) of God in any form, as the concept is defined as shirk. In Islam, God is one and "neither begets nor is begotten". Judaism Mainstream Judaism totally rejects any doctrine of an incarnation of God and absolutely rejects any concept of an incarnation of God in any form. However, some Hasidim believe in a somewhat similar concept. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a prominent Hasidic leader, said that the Rebbe is God's essence itself put into the body of a tzadik. Druze faith Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze faith and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts, he proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important figure in the Druze faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018. Baháʼí Faith In the Baháʼí Faith, God is not seen to be incarnated into this world and is not seen to be part of creation as he cannot be divided and does not descend to the condition of his creatures. The Manifestations of God are also not seen as an incarnation of God, but are instead understood to be like a perfect mirror reflecting the attributes of God onto this material world. Buddhism Buddhism is a nontheistic religion: it denies the concept of a creator deity or any incarnation of a creator deity. However, Buddhism does teach the rebirth doctrine and asserts that living beings are reborn, endlessly, reincarnating as devas (gods), demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts or hellish beings, in a cycle of samsara that stops only for those who reach nirvana (nibbana).In Tibetan Buddhism, an enlightened spiritual teacher (lama) is believed to reincarnate, and is called a tulku. According to Tulku Thond, there are three main types of tulkus. They are the emanations of buddhas, the manifestations of highly accomplished adepts, and rebirths of highly virtuous teachers or spiritual friends. There are also authentic secondary types as well which include unrecognized tulkus, blessed tulkus, and tulkus fallen from the path. Hinduism In Hinduism, incarnation refers to its rebirth doctrine, and in its theistic traditions to avatar. Avatar literally means "descent, alight, to make one's appearance", and refers to the embodiment of the essence of a superhuman being or a deity in another form. The word also implies "to overcome, to remove, to bring down, to cross something". In Hindu traditions, the "crossing or coming down" is symbolism, states Daniel Bassuk, of the divine descent from "eternity into the temporal realm, from unconditioned to the conditioned, from infinitude to finitude". An avatar, states Justin Edwards Abbott, is a saguna (with form, attributes) embodiment of the nirguna Brahman or Atman (soul). Neither the Vedas nor the Principal Upanishads ever mentions the word avatar as a noun. The verb roots and form, such as avatarana, do appear in ancient post-Vedic Hindu texts, but as "action of descending", but not as an incarnated person (avatara). The related verb avatarana is, states Paul Hacker, used with double meaning, one as action of the divine descending, another as "laying down the burden of man" suffering from the forces of evil.The term is most commonly found in the context of the Hindu god Vishnu. The earliest mention of Vishnu manifested in a human form to empower the good and fight against evil, uses other terms such as the word sambhavāmi in verse 4.6 and the word tanu in verse 9.11 of the Bhagavad Gita, as well as other words such as akriti and rupa elsewhere. It is in medieval era texts, those composed after the sixth century CE, that the noun version of avatar appears, where it means embodiment of a deity. The incarnation idea proliferates thereafter, in the Puranic stories for many deities, and with ideas such as ansha-avatar or partial embodiments.While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional. The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism. Avatar versus incarnation The translation of avatar as "incarnation" has been questioned by Christian theologians, who state that an incarnation is in flesh and imperfect, while avatar is mythical and perfect. The theological concept of Christ as an Incarnation into the womb of the Virgin Mary and by work of the Holy Spirit God, as found in Christology, presents the Christian concept of incarnation. This, state Oduyoye and Vroom, is different from the Hindu concept of avatar because avatars in Hinduism are unreal and is similar to Docetism. Sheth disagrees and states that this claim is an incorrect understanding of the Hindu concept of avatar. Avatars are true embodiments of spiritual perfection, one driven by noble goals, in Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism. Serer religion The Serer religion of West Africa rejects any notions of incarnation or manifestation of the supreme deity Roog (also called Koox in the Cangin language). However, the reincarnation (ciiɗ) of the ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits, called Pangool, is a well-held principle in Serer religion. These Pangool (singular : Fangool) act as intermediaries between the living world and the divine. When the Serers speak of incarnation, it is these Pangool they refer to, who are themselves holy by virtue of their intercession with the divine. See also Arahitogami Kumari (goddess) List of people who have been considered deities Theophany Bibliography Daniélou, Alain (1991) [1964]. The myths and gods of India. Inner Traditions, Vermont, USA. ISBN 0-89281-354-7. pp. 164–187. Coleman, T. (2011). "Avatāra". Oxford Bibliographies Online: Hinduism. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0009. Short introduction and bibliography of sources about Avatāra (subscription required).: CS1 maint: postscript (link) Matchett, Freda (2001). Krishna, Lord or Avatara?: the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu. Routledge. ISBN 978-0700712816. Paul Hacker (1978). Lambert Schmithausen (ed.). Zur Entwicklung der Avataralehre (in German). Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447048606. Sheth, Noel (2002). "Hindu Avatāra and Christian Incarnation: A Comparison". Philosophy East and West. University of Hawai'i Press. 52 (1 (January)): 98–125. doi:10.1353/pew.2002.0005. JSTOR 1400135. S2CID 170278631. Further reading "Incarnation". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

kw, kW or KW may refer to: Businesses Kamera-Werkstätten, a German camera manufacturer Keller Williams Realty, an American real estate company Kenworth, an American truck manufacturer Kompania Węglowa, a Polish coal mining company KW – Das Heizkraftwerk, a former nightclub in Munich, Germany KW automotive, a German automobile parts and suspension manufacturer Computing .kw, the country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Kuwait Keyword (Internet search) Kiloword, a memory size increment Places Key West, Florida, United States KW postcode area, covering Kirkwall and Orkney, United Kingdom Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Kuwait (ISO 3166-1 country code KW) Other uses KW (album), 1998 album by Keith Washington Kilowatt (kW), a unit of power Cornish language Kw (digraph), in the Latin alphabet Kwangwoon University, in Seoul, South Korea Kw, the self-ionization constant of water; see self-ionization of water K.W., a character in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are KW, a short code for the National Herbarium of Ukraine

Pandemonium 2 is a platform game developed by Crystal Dynamics for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Pandemonium!. Gameplay Pandemonium 2 is a psychedelic 2.5D game; specifically, it renders characters and environments with polygons and uses a 3D camera to create the appearance of 3-D, while gameplay is actually on a 2-D plane. Players can choose to be either Nikki or Fargus - who each have different specialties - with the option to change for each level. The player characters' abilities have been expanded over those in Pandemonium! with the ability to climb ropes, crawl, and pull themselves up ledges. During the quest, players can earn extra lives by collecting treasure. Unique powers collected during gameplay may replace, extend or add to previous powers, depending on which character is in play and which power has been obtained. The characters handle the unique powers differently. For instance, collecting the "fire power" allows Nikki to shoot destructive fireballs, while it grants Fargus invincibility and a deadly touch, but requires him to constantly move forward. Machines and equipment are also available throughout the game, although they are tied to certain areas. There are four boss stages, set after a block of stages has been completed. Destroying the bosses usually involves small puzzles, such as catapulting fireballs at a flying boss, or surviving the onslaught of a giant mecha boss while balanced on the back of a large, fast-moving tank. Should the player collect +80% of treasure in a level, they will have access to the bonus level "Boarder Run", where they must slide along a course collecting treasure, while simultaneously keeping ahead of a pursuing vortex. Failure in "Boarder Run" does not cost the player lives; successfully completing "Boarder Run" will result in the player earning at least one extra life. The player begins with four hit points to represent health. Through bonuses, this can be expanded up to a maximum of 16. To achieve maximum hit points, the player must find one of several "life pieces" in hidden areas of the game. When all points are lost, the character loses a life and returns to the last checkpoint. When all lives are lost, the game is over. Plot When the magic-infused "Comet of Infinite Possibilities" is about to pass over Lyr for the first time in 300 years, the inhabitants race to reach the comet in order to make a wish on its powers. Nikki (voiced by Deborah Ben-Eliezer), a sassy sorceress, decides that stealing the source of its magic is a quicker way to reach power than study. Her bosom buddy, Fargus (voiced by Martin Ganapoler), a court jester, has gone insane over the years and has a simple plan to "touch pretty fire" upon reaching the comet. Sid (also voiced by Martin Ganapoler), a sharp-tongued head on a stick and Fargus's only other "friend", wishes to get rid of Fargus and get closer to Nikki. But the evil Goon Queen Zorrscha has her sights set on the comet as well. Nikki and Fargus must make it to the comet before she does, lest she fulfill her own morally questionable wishes. The ending of the game varies by which character defeats the final boss. If Nikki succeeds in the quest, she gains control of the universe. If Fargus does, he creates a world in which he is the flowers and the trees, as well as the sun, which makes Sid fume to the point where his head explodes. Reception Reviews for Pandemonium 2 ranged from mixed to positive. The PlayStation version received an average score of 77.11% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 9 reviews. Most reviewers found the game had more detailed graphics than the original Pandemonium!, as well as being generally more colorful. GameSpot's Lauren Fielder summarized that Pandemonium 2 is "a fun and mostly unpredictable platform game, in spite of not being fully 3D." GamePro was more critical of the 2D platforming gameplay, deeming it a niche subgenre which had become "very tiresome". The reviewer nonetheless praised the graphics and soundtrack, and said the game was recommended to the few remaining fans of 2D platformers. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly, by contrast, criticized the cinemas but unanimously applauded the gameplay due to its innovative stage design, balanced challenge, and exciting camera panning.The redesign of the characters was negatively received; in particular, the transformation of Nikki from the adolescent tomboy portrayed in the original Pandemonium! into a sultry seductress was seen as an embarrassing effort to appeal to the young male population which dominated the video game market. In their Buyer's Guide Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Nikki the 1997 "Worst Makeover" award, deriding the effort to make Nikki sexier as both transparent and ineffectual: "We're sorry, but we have a hard time getting excited about a heroine who looks as if she spends her Friday nights getting hit on by league bowlers." Pandemonium 2 at MobyGames

Frank or Franks may refer to: People Frank (given name) Frank (surname) Franks (surname) Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Currency Liechtenstein franc or frank, the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920 Swiss franc or frank, the currency of Switzerland since 1850 Westphalian frank, currency of the Kingdom of Westphalia between 1808 and 1813 The currencies of the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland (1803–1814): Appenzell frank Argovia frank Basel frank Berne frank Fribourg frank Glarus frank Graubünden frank Luzern frank Schaffhausen frank Schwyz frank Solothurn frank St. Gallen frank Thurgau frank Unterwalden frank Uri frank Zürich frank Places Frank, Alberta, Canada, an urban community, formerly a village Franks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community Franks, Missouri, United States, an unincorporated community Frank, North Carolina, United States, an unincorporated community Frank, West Virginia, United States, a census-designated place Arts and entertainment Fictional characters One of the title characters of Frank and Ernest (comic strip) Frank, from the 1993 American comedy-drama film Mrs. Doubtfire Frank, a character in the 2001 American made-for-television drama movie A Girl Thing Frank, a monstrous rabbit character in Donnie Darko Frank, Kevin's uncle in the Home Alone movies Frank Angelino, on the American television sitcom Three's Company Frank Armitage, in the 1988 American science-fiction action thriller movie They Live Frank Barone, from the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond Frank Bean, a main antagonist of Fantastic Mr. Fox Frank Bennett, in the 1991 American comedy-drama movie Fried Green Tomatoes Frank Burns, in the TV series M*A*S*H Frank Castle, a Marvel Comics vigilante also called the Punisher Frank Costanza, from the American sitcom Seinfeld Frank Craft, in the 1996 American action thriller disaster movie Daylight Frank Dawson, in the 1959–1960 syndicated TV series This Man Dawson Frank Dawson, in the 2013 American black comedy crime film Life of Crime Frank Drebin, main character of the action comedy film series The Naked Gun Frank/Franky, Chad's uncle in Double Impact Frank, Hank’s twin brother and one of the two beavers in the Jim Henson show Pajanimals Frank Gallagher (Shameless), from the series Shameless Frank Grimes, in The Simpsons Frank Heffley, in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Frank Honey, a character in the video game Lego City Undercover Frank Horrigan, the main antagonist of the video game Fallout 2 Frank Lambert, in the TV sitcom Step by Step Frank Mercer, the main antagonist from Need for Speed Heat Frank Milo, in the 1993 American crime comedy-drama movie Mad Dog and Glory, played by Bill Murray Frank Mitchell, father of the title character in Moesha Frank Murphy, in the 1983 film Blue Thunder Frank N. Furter, the main antagonist in the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show Frank the Pug, from the Men in Black franchise Frank Reynolds (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), from the FX TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, portrayed by Danny DeVito Frank Rock, DC comics character also known as Sgt. Rock Frank Rossitano, a character from the NBC satire sitcom 30 Rock Frank Rowan, in the 1951 novel Camilla Dickinson Frank Ryan, a character in the 1934 film The Man Who Changed His Name Frank Spencer (Michael Crawford), the main character of the BBC sitcom Some Mothers Do Ave Em Frank, a taxi driver from 28 Days Later Frank West (Dead Rising), in the Dead Rising video game series Frank White, lead character in the 1990 film King of New York Frank Woods, in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops Frank Zhang, one of the seven from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus TV's Frank, from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, named for Frank Lanham Music Frank (Amy Winehouse album), 2003 Frank (Yerin Baek EP), 2015 Frank (Squeeze album), 1989 Frank (Fly Anakin album), 2022 Frank (band), a four-piece girl band created for a Channel 4 comedy drama series Other arts and entertainment Frank (film), a 2014 comedy Frank (social network), an American social networking service Frank (comics), a series of experimental comic books by Jim Woodring Other uses FRANK (drugs), a UK government drugs awareness campaign Frank, a device or marking on mail - see Franking Nakajima Ki-84, Allied reporting name: Frank, a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft USS Franks (DD-554), a United States Navy warship Tropical Storm Frank, a name borne by several tropical cyclones worldwide Storm Frank, a windstorm in Britain and Ireland in December 2015 Frank (food), an alternate name for a hot dog or sausage Frank's Red Hot, a cayenne pepper hot sauce Frank's Nursery & Crafts, a defunct U.S. retailer Frank (magazine), a Canadian scandal sheet Frank: Academics for the Real World, a review published by the Clinton School of Public Service Frank, a student financial aid assistance company founded by Charlie Javice See also Francia, also known as the Kingdom of the Franks Franc Franck (disambiguation) Frankie (disambiguation)

Kelly Chan may refer to: Kelly Chan (windsurfer) (1956–1998), Singaporean windsurfer Kelly Chen (born 1972), or Chan, Hong Kong singer-actress

"Hasta la vista, baby" is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger's titular character from the 1991 science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Origin and use The term "Hasta la vista", literally "Until the view", is a Spanish farewell that can generally be understood as meaning "Until the (next) time we see each other" or "See you later" or "Goodbye". In 1970, Bob Hope comically delivered the "Hasta la vista, baby" saying to Raquel Welch in the beginning of their "Rocky Racoon" tribute on Raquel Welch's special Raquel. This term, with the added word "baby"—"Hasta la vista, baby"—was later used in a popular hit song from 1987, "Looking for a New Love" by Grammy Award winner Jody Watley. It was also used in the 1988 Tone Lōc single "Wild Thing". The phrase became a famous catchphrase when it was used in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The phrase is featured in an exchange between the film's characters John Connor (Edward Furlong) and The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), where the former teaches the latter the use of slang: John Connor: No, no, no, no. You gotta listen to the way people talk. You don't say "affirmative" or some shit like that. You say "no problemo". And if someone comes up to you with an attitude, you say "eat me". And if you want to shine them on, it's "hasta la vista, baby".T-800: Hasta la vista, baby. Later in the film, T-800 says the phrase again before shooting the frozen T-1000 with his gun. The phrase is once again uttered in the 2003 film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, by John Connor. See also Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live in Mexico City, U2's 1997 live album Hasta la Vista, Baby!, a 1998 album from Skin "Hasta la Vista", Ukraine's 2003 Eurovision entry by Oleksandr Ponomariov "Hasta la Vista", Belarus's 2008 Eurovision entry by Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta la vista", Serbia's 2020 Eurovision entry by Hurricane I'll be back – Another Schwarzenegger catchphrase from The Terminator.

3C may refer to: In astronomy: 3C, the Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Long March 3C, a 2008 Chinese orbital rocket 3C Records, a record label 3C (radio), a defunct digital radio station Team 3C Casalinghi Jet Androni Giocattoli, a defunct Italian professional cycling team 3C, the IATA code for defunct American airline RegionsAir Three-cent piece 3C (trade association) is an American trade association.In computing: Three Cs (Compulsory, Capacity, and Conflict), three categories of CPU cache misses 3C, or Computer Control Company, Inc., a pioneering minicomputer company (1953–1966) Agile model: 3C (Card, Conversation, Confirmation) 3C, an abbreviation often used in Taiwan for "computer, communication, and consumer electronics"In genetics: Alpha-tubulin 3C, a human gene 3C, or Chromosome conformation capture, a technique used in molecular biologySubstituted amphetamines (2C family analogues): 3C-G (Ganesha) with homologues 3C-BZ 3C-P 3C-EIn places: Stalag III-C, a German Army World War II POW camp for Allied soldiers near Alt-Drewitz See also C3 (disambiguation) List of pages with prefix 3C

Guanshan Township (Chinese: 關山鎮; pinyin: Guānshān Zhèn; Wade–Giles: Kuan1-shan1 Chen4) is an urban township in northern Taitung County, Taiwan. History Formerly called Lilong, which is from the Amis word meaning "red worms" and rendered in Hokkien as A-lí-lóng (阿里壟). By 1920, the town was called Kanzan Town under Kanzan District, Taitō Prefecture. Geography It is located in the Huatung Valley South segment. Beinan River flows through. In the east it is bordered by the Hai'an Range and in the west by the Central Mountain Range. Guanshan has a Tropical Monsoon Climate. Annual rainfall is 2,000 mm with an average temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius. Covering an area of 58.735 km2, Guanshan has a population of 8,160 people (as of February 2023). Administrative divisions Guanshan Township consists of 7 villages, namely Chungfu, Fengchuan, Hsinfu, Lilong, Tekao, Tienkuan and Yuemei, and 135 neighborhoods. Economy Rice is the most important crop in the township due to its relatively flat terrain suitable for paddy field. Tourist attractions Guanshan Bike Trail Guanshan Hongshi Trail Guanshan Waterfront Park Guanshan Tianho Temple Nanshan Temple Old Guanshan Rail Station Transportation Guanshan Township is accessible from Guanshan Station and Haiduan Station of the Taiwan Railways. Notable natives Donna Chiu, singer Kong Jaw-sheng, Chairperson of Financial Supervisory Commission (2004-2006) Lo Hsien-che, spy Tseng Li-cheng, taekwondo athlete Guanshan Township Office, Taitung County (in English)

The term "overseas service station" (Chinese: 海外服务站; pinyin: hǎiwài fúwù zhàn) and the associated phrase, "Overseas 110" or "110 Overseas" (Chinese: 海外110; pinyin: hǎiwài yībǎiyīshí; lit. 'abroad 110'; alluding to China's emergency number for the police, 110), refer to various extralegal offices established by China's Ministry of Public Security in other countries. In 2022, the human rights group Safeguard Defenders published a report finding that the Chinese government illegally used these offices to intimidate Chinese dissidents and criminal suspects abroad and to pressure them to return to China. The report led to investigations of the stations by the governments of several countries. History Safeguard Defenders report According to Matt Schrader, writing for the Jamestown Foundation, "overseas Chinese service stations" (Chinese: 华助中心; pinyin: huázhù zhōngxīn; lit. 'Chinese assistance center') were first established in 2014, with 45 centers in 39 countries having been opened by 2019. According to Schrader, the centers were mostly formed from existing united front organizations and did not have policing authority. Schrader further stated that the centers served several legitimate purposes despite criticism of them, such as assisting crime victims with dealing with the host country's police and integrating new immigrants. Schrader pointed to a lack of transparency around the relationship between the centers and the Chinese government, particularly personnel of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), and their political influence operations.The Nantong police department later set up the first "overseas service stations", associated with the phrase "110 Overseas" (Chinese: 海外110; pinyin: hǎiwài yībǎiyīshí; lit. 'abroad 110'), as part of a pilot project in 2016. The department set up offices in six countries and had solved at least 120 criminal cases that involved Chinese nationals, as well as detaining over 80 people in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Zambia. Dutch organizations RTL News and "Follow the Money" found that afterwards, Wenzhou's Public Security Department established a "contact point" in Sydney, Australia, and the Lishui bureau established two offices in the Netherlands (one in Amsterdam, another in Rotterdam) in 2018. The police agencies of Fuzhou and Qingtian counties would set up the most numerous of the offices, with the latter beginning their program in 2019. Radio Free Asia reported that as of October 2022, a total of 54 such stations had been established in 30 countries.Safeguard Defenders released an initial report in September 2022 and a follow-up in December 2022, alleging that the police stations were part of a program named Operation Fox Hunt, and were used to harass and coerce individuals wanted by the Chinese government, including dissidents, via threats to their families and themselves, pressuring them to return to China, where they would then be detained. Safeguard Defenders claimed that, between April 2021 and July 2022, the Chinese government recorded 230,000 "suspects of fraud" who were "persuaded to return". The group stated that the stations violated the sovereignty of host countries by allowing Chinese police to circumvent police cooperation rules and procedures. For instance, Wang Jingyu, a dissident who fled China after being targeted for social media posts and was granted asylum in the Netherlands, claimed he had been threatened and sent harassing messages by the Rotterdam station to make him return to China, with his parents who remained in China being targeted. A broader example was a notice issued by an overseas station operated by the government of Laiyang in Myanmar, which stated that Chinese nationals who were there illegally should return to China or "there would be consequences for their loved ones", such as cancellation of their state benefits. An anonymous official from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with El Correo, stated that the stations used "persuasion" tactics to convince those wanted by the government to return to China, pointing to the difficulties of getting European states to extradite to China. Reactions According to Yale legal scholar and China expert Jeremy Daum, the report contained several factual and context errors. Safeguard Defenders subsequently published a revised report which it said corrected some of the mistakes Daum had indicated.Chinese dissidents living outside of China found the overseas police service stations threatening. Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said that the stations needed registration regardless of their purpose, adding the controversy "raises doubts about the actuality of [China’s] commitment to rule of law and respect for sovereignty despite official statements otherwise." Investigations by other governments In response, some countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, announced they would investigate the stations. Canada In November 2022, Canada summoned the Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu and issued a "cease and desist" warning concerning the stations.In March 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced investigations into two police stations in Quebec. Germany In March 2023, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter stated that two police stations remain operational in Germany, in violation of the country's sovereignty. She stated that they are run by "people who have good contacts with the diplomatic missions of the People's Republic of China and who enjoy the trust of the Chinese security authorities. They are also involved in Chinese United Front organizations." Ireland The overseas service stations in Dublin were ordered to close by the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late October 2022, although one had already stopped operations and took down its sign earlier when electronic ID renewal procedures were introduced. Italy In December 2022, Italy announced that its police would cease joint patrols with Chinese police officers inside of Italian cities, with interior minister Matteo Piantedosi clarifying that the patrols in question had no relation to the overseas stations. In 2023, a ProPublica investigation found that the leaders of "Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station" in Prato had ties to organized crime. Netherlands The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that, as the Chinese government had failed to notify the country about the stations through diplomatic means, they had been operating illegally, with further investigation to be conducted into their conduct. Foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra later ordered both offices to close. The mayor of Amsterdam later announced in February 2023 that the Amsterdam police were unable to locate any police stations in the city. South Korea In June 2023, it was reported that South Korean authorities were investigating Chinese police overseas service stations in the country. Taiwan In March 2023, Taiwan's Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) announced that a Chinese overseas police station in France engaged in cyberattacks against an OCAC language school in France.In a May 2023 report to the Legislative Yuan Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) said that they had identified over 100 secret Chinese police stations around the world targeting the overseas Chinese community. The covert locations the stations operated from included restaurants, convenience stores, and private homes. The NSB said that it was collaborating with law enforcement in other countries on the issue. United Kingdom In June 2023, British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat stated that China had closed its police service stations in Britain and that an investigation found no illegal activity associated with the stations. United States FBI director Christopher A. Wray said in November 2022 that the FBI was monitoring reports of the Chinese government establishing unregistered police stations in the U.S., saying that the conduct was "outrageous"; violated U.S. sovereignty; and "circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes."In January 2023, The New York Times reported that according to anonymous tipsters, counterintelligence agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided a suspected station set up by Fuzhou municipal authorities, hosted in the offices of the American Changle Association (named after Changle District) in Chinatown, Manhattan, in late 2022. The station reportedly occupied an entire floor. It shuttered after an October 2022 FBI raid.In April 2023, the FBI arrested two American citizens: "Harry" Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping. They were charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn (the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York) with conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the Chinese government for operating the police outpost in Manhattan, and with obstruction of justice for deleting messages with an official of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) who had been directing their activities in the U.S. Prosecutors said that Lu began to aid China's attempts to repress dissidents living in the U.S. in 2015. On the same day, the Department of Justice unsealed charges against 34 MPS officers, charging them with "transnational repression offenses targeting U.S. residents" and alleging the use of fake social media accounts to harass and intimidate Chinese nationals in the U.S., with the intent to suppress free speech of Chinese dissidents living abroad. The 34 officers are believed to be living in China, and are all members of the "912 Special Project Working Group", an Internet-based government influencing effort to enhance global perceptions of China.U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the episode "reveals the Chinese government's flagrant violation of our nation's sovereignty"; Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division said that the Chinese government's actions "go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct" and were an attempt to extend "authoritarian repression" to the U.S.In July 2023, a group of U.S. senators asked the United States Department of Justice to investigate "Overseas Chinese Service Centers" with alleged ties to the UFWD that are operating in seven U.S. cities. Chinese government response According to the Chinese government, the centers had been set up to allow Chinese nationals to access administrative services such as driver's license and other document renewals without having to travel to China, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to confront transnational crime, especially fraud, affecting overseas Chinese communities. In May 2022, China Youth Daily claimed that the stations operated by Fuzhou authorities had received over 1,800 reports from 88 countries. Locations See also Chinese intelligence activity abroad Extraterritorial operation Long-arm jurisdiction Operation Fox Hunt

Tra or TRA may refer to: Biology TRA (gene), in humans encodes the protein T-cell receptor alpha locus Tra (gene), in Drosophila melanogaster encodes the protein female-specific protein transformer Tra gene, a transfer gene Triple releasing agent or serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent Organizations Taiwan Railways Administration, the main railway system in Taiwan Tanzania Revenue Authority Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Lebanon Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (UAE) Tennessee Regulatory Authority, for public utilities Theodore Roosevelt Association TRA, Inc., US ad measurement company Trinity River Authority, Texas, US Tripoli Rocketry Association, US People Tra Hoa Bo Dê, King of Champa (in what is now southern Vietnam) 1342−1360 Phạm Văn Trà (born 1935), Vietnamese general Trần Văn Trà (1918–1996), North Vietnamese general William Tra Thomas (born 1974), former US footballer Other tRA (baseball statistic) Taiwan Relations Act of the US, 1979 Tarama Airport, IATA code Tax Receivable Agreements, a type of legal contract Theory of reasoned action, a model of persuasion Threat and risk assessment Tirahi language of Afghanistan, ISO 639-3 code Constellation Triangulum Australe Transport Research Arena, European conference Trans Rights Activist "Tra", a song by Bad Gyal from her 2018 album Worldwide Angel "Tra", a song by Soto Asa featuring Bad Gyal

Benjamin Anthony Aguon Schulte (born December 22, 1995) is a Guamanian swimmer. Schulte entered the international stage at 15 years old when he won a silver medal at the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia. At the 2014 Micronesian Games, Schulte was awarded medals in all 11 of his events, nine of them gold, earning him the nickname 'Micro Phelps'. At the 2015 Pacific Games, he won gold in the 200m and 400m medley, silver in the 100m breaststroke, setting a Games record in the heats that was later broken by the gold medalist in the final, and bronze in the 200m breaststroke. At the 2016 Oceania Swimming Championships, Schulte earned a gold and a silver medal. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's 10 kilometer Open Water event at only 16 years old. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed for Guam in the 100 meter breaststroke, placing 43rd in the preliminary heats which did not qualify him for the semifinals. He was the flag bearer for Guam during the Parade of Nations. Early life and education Benjamin Schulte was born in the Guamanian city of Tamuning on December 22, 1995. He studied business at Bryant University.Schulte was taught to swim at the age of five. His family moved to Australia when he was 14 so he could better pursue his Olympic career. He attended Miami State High School in Queensland's Gold Coast. Olympic career Schulte competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at the age of 16. He discovered he had a chance to qualify for the Olympics in 2011, so he competed in a qualifying event. He failed to qualify, but a New Zealand swimmer declined a spot that was reserved for an Oceania swimmer, which he learned a month prior to the Olympics. He practiced by swimming for 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) ten times per week, going to the gym, and taking yoga classes. He finished the 10 km race with a time of 2:03:35, 14 minutes behind the winner. He was determined to finish, saying, "My goal was just to finish. Just being here, being given the opportunity to be here. I didn't want to let down my friends and family back home by not finishing." For his determination, Schulte was nominated for the Open Water Swimming Association's Swimming Man of the Year award in 2012, to which he was runner-up.Following the 2012 Summer Olympics, Schulte decided to refocus and switch from long distance swimming to short distance. He said, "I like the competition, but I don't like the training."Schulte competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Guamanian National Olympic Committee (NOC) president Ricardo Blas told Schulte, "You deserve the opportunity and right to carry the flag and lead Guam into the Olympic Games". Schulte broke his own national record during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, finishing the 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 1:03.29.He had planned to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the men's 100 meter breaststroke. International career Schulte started his international career with the 2011 Pacific Games, where he earned a silver medal in the men's 1500 meter freestyle. Schulte also competed in the 400 meter freestyle; 50 and 100 meter breaststroke; 400 meter individual medley; 400 meter freestyle relay; and 400 meter medley relay.Schulte set the Pacific Games and a Guamanian national record for the 100 meter breaststroke in the first heat of the 2015 Pacific Games with a time of 1:03.42. In the finals, he finished second and earned a silver medal. The winner of the race, Amini Fonua, broke the Pacific Games record he set six hours prior. He also earned two gold and one bronze medal, winning the most medals for Guam at the Games.During the 2016 Oceania Championships, Schulte swam in the 50 and 100 meter breaststroke. In the 100 meter, he won the preliminary round, but finished second in the finals with a time of 1:03.46, earning a silver medal. For the 50 meter breaststroke, he finished second in the preliminary round; however, he edged out New Zealand swimmer Jacob Garrod with a time of 29.26 seconds to win the gold medal.In the 2014 Micronesian Games, Schulte performed well. He earned a gold medal in 9 out of the 11 events he participated in, and was given the nickname "Micro Phelps". Schulte earned gold in the 50, 100, and 200 meter breaststroke; 4 × 100 freestyle relay; 4 × 50 medley relay; 1,500 freestyle; 200 and 400 meter individual medley; and 4 × 100 medley relay. He won a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter freestyle. Benjamin Schulte at World Aquatics Benjamin Schulte at Olympics.com Benjamin Schulte at Olympedia

She Shoots Straight (Chinese: 皇家女將, alternately Lethal Lady) is a 1990 Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Sammo Hung and Joyce Godenzi. Story She Shoots Straight turns on three plot axes. The first concerns the complications of a workplace romance and marriage between a dedicated policewoman “Mina Kao” (Joyce Godenzi) and her supervisor “Huang Tsung-pao” (Tony Leung). The second theme concerns opposition by the Huang family to the couple's impending union. Another policewoman, Mina's future sister-in-law “Chia Ling” (Carina Lau) is especially critical of apparent favoritism, and even makes a remark about her being Eurasian (this is not unique – a comparable epithet being made by Oshima's character to her guy opponent in “Close Escape”). The third axis provides a resolution as a gang of Vietnamese led by Yuan Hua (Yuen Wah) attempts a violent and risky robbery. After the gang is thwarted, a shootout ensues in which the police get the upper hand. Swearing revenge, Yuan Hua lays a counter-trap using Vietnamese jungle warfare devices. When Chia Ling – slighted over disciplinary action – impulsively investigates alone, she risks trouble. Mina and Tsung Po rescue her, but he is killed by a booby trap, dying in front of his sister and bride. United in their grief, the women must break the news to the Huang family at a celebration for their matriarch. This paves the way for a relatively straightforward vengeance sub-plot in which Mina and Chia Ling track the gang to a freighter in the harbor. In advance of reinforcements, they board the vessel to fight a life or death duel against gang members and crew wielding pistols, hatchets, knives or tools. Cast Joyce Godenzi - Inspector Mina Kao (as Joyce Mina Godenzi) Carina Lau - Huang Chia-Ling Sammo Hung - Supt. Officer Hung Tony Leung Ka-Fai - Insp. Huang Tsung-Pao Yuen Wah - Yuen Hua Agnes Aurelio - Yuen Ying Sarah Lee - Huang Chia-Lai Teddy Yip - Uncle Huang Tsung-Po Chung Fat - Hua David Lau - Superintendent Lau Stephen Chan - Arms dealer Corey Yuen - Boatman Cho Wing - Ship thug Anthony Carpio - Ship thug Hsu Hsia - Ship thug Michael Dinga - Kidnapping leader Jeff Falcon - Kidnapper Mark Houghton - Kidnapper Kam Kong Chow - Policeman She Shoots Straight at the Hong Kong Movie Database She Shoots Straight at Hong Kong Cinemagic She Shoots Straight at IMDb

Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle databases Voyager (library program), the integrated library system from Ex Libris Group Voyager (web browser), a web browser for Amiga computers HP Voyager series, code name for a Hewlett-Packard series of handheld programmable calculators Transport Air Airbus Voyager, Royal Air Force version of the Airbus A330 MRTT Frequent flyer program of South African Airways Egvoyager Voyager 203, an Italian ultralight aircraft Raj Hamsa Voyager, an Indian ultralight trike design Rutan Voyager, the first airplane to fly around the world nonstop without refuelling Land Bombardier Voyager, a high-speed train operated in the United Kingdom Bombardier Voyager (British Rail Class 220), a non-tilting train built 2000–2001 Bombardier Super Voyager (British Rail Class 221), a tilting train built 2001–2002 Chrysler Voyager, a minivan Kawasaki Voyager, two series of motorcycles Mercury Voyager, a station wagon Plymouth Voyager, two series of vans Water HMAS Voyager (D04), a Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMS Voyager (D31), a Royal Navy destroyer HSC Stena Voyager, a high-speed ferry USS Voyager (SP-361), a US Navy motorboat MS Voyager of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Space Voyager program, a NASA program of uncrewed space probes Voyager 1, an uncrewed spacecraft launched September 5, 1977 Voyager 2, an uncrewed spacecraft launched August 20, 1977 Voyager program (Mars), a cancelled series of space probes which would have traveled to the planet Mars VSS Voyager, the proposed second vessel of the Virgin Galactic suborbital tourism fleet Voyager (communications satellite), a series of American OSCAR satellites The Voyager, the first simulator constructed at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center Arts and entertainment Film Voyager, a 1991 German film V'Ger, or Voyager 6, a fictional NASA space probe in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Voyagers (film), a 2021 American science fiction film Music Voyager (English band), a British pop-rock group Voyager (Australian band), an Australian progressive metal band Voyager (Manilla Road album) Voyager (Mike Oldfield album) Voyager (Paul Epworth album) Voyager (Space Needle album) Voyager (Walter Meego album) Voyager (311 album) "Voyager" (song), by Pendulum "Voyager", a song from the Alan Parsons Project album Pyramid "Voyager", a song from the Daft Punk album Discovery Voyager, an album by Funk Trek Voyager, an album by The Jet Age of Tomorrow The Voyager 2014 album by Jenny Lewis Minimoog Voyager, an electronic musical instrument Voyager, a Japanese band. Television Voyagers!, an NBC television series, broadcast from 1982 to 1983 Earth Star Voyager, a 1988 television pilot that aired on Wonderful World of Disney Star Trek: Voyager, a UPN science fiction television series, produced from 1995 to 2001 USS Voyager (Star Trek), the titular starship of the series Voyager (submarine), the miniaturized flying submarine in the 1968–1970 animated TV series Fantastic Voyage "Voyager's Return", an episode of the ITV science fiction television series Space: 1999 featuring a fictional space probe "Voyager One" Books Voyager (novel), a 1992 time travel romance novel by Diana Gabaldon Voyager: A Life of Hart Crane, a 1969 biography of Hart Crane by John Unterecker Voyager: Seeking Newer Worlds in the Third Great Age of Discovery, a 2010 book about the NASA Voyager program by Stephen J. Pyne Voyagers, a 1981 novel by Ben Bova Voyager Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Other Voyager, a canceled video game by Looking Glass Technologies The Voyager Company, a laserdisc and multimedia CD-ROM publisher Voyager, a character in Xenosaga Voyager, a character appearing in Marvel Comics publications. Voyager, a proposed Ferris wheel project to be built in Las Vegas, Nevada See also Now, Voyager, a 1942 American film Long Distance Voyager, a 1981 album by the Moody Blues Voyager of the Seas, the first of Royal Caribbean International's five Voyager-class cruise ships Voyage (disambiguation) Voyageur (disambiguation)

Ker Chien-ming (Chinese: 柯建銘; pinyin: Kē Jiànmíng; born 8 September 1951) is a Taiwanese politician. Early life He obtained his bachelor's degree in dental science from Chung Shan Medical University and master's degree in management science from Tamkang University. Political career He is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party and has served in the Legislative Yuan since 1993, representing Hsinchu district from 1993 to 2008 and again starting in 2016. From 2008 to 2016, Ker was elected via proportional representation. For the 2020 legislative election, Ker returned to Democratic Progressive Party list.

Biotherm is a French skin care company owned by L'Oréal under the Luxury Products division. Biotherm was acquired by L'Oréal in 1970. Biotherm originated from mineral water. In the early 20th century, the French doctor Jos Jullien discovered mineral thermal spring waters under Pyrenees mountain in the southern part of France which contained thermal plankton, supposedly a key to healthy skin and a potent skin rejuvenator. In 1952, intellectual property rights were acquired and he used it in skin care products. Thus, therm in Biotherm comes from thermal plankton, an ingredient found in all Biotherm products. Bio comes from the profession of the founder biologist. History In the years 1940-50, Dr. Jos Jullien, from Joyeuse in Ardeche (France), noticed the presence of a particular substance on the surface of the thermal waters of Molitg-les-Bains. This substance is composed of thermal plankton. With Jeanine Marissal, he worked on the potentials of this substance that could be integrated towards creating a cosmetic formula. Biotherm was born from this work in 1952 · , under the leadership of Adrien Barthélémy, owner of the Molitg-les-Bains springs. In 1952, Biotherm launched 3 products: La Crème Triple-Usage, Biotherm Cure and Biomains. Biomains, a hand moisturizing cream, is still on the market today. In 1955, 3 years after the creation of Biotherm, The New York Times noticed this new French brand: "Plankton is used as aid an to beauty."During the 1960s the brand developed several targeted skincare solutions to address specific needs, including its first sun cream and its first "slimming cream". In 1968, Biotherm introduces Bio-Buste Suractive on the market, its first "breast firming cream".Biotherm was acquired by L'Oréal in 1970. In 1982 French skipper Florence Arthaud starts the Route du Rhum race with her trimaran BIOTHERM II, designed by Xavier Joubert.In 2006 Stanford University researchers support use of Pure Thermal Plankton in Biotherm formulas.In 2012, Biotherm created Biotherm Water Lover, a charity program to protect the world's water, in association with Sylvia Earle's Mission Blue organization.

Soochow University (Chinese: 東吳大學) is a private university in Taipei, Taiwan. Soochow University maintains a church and a Methodist minister in residence, though it may be considered a secular institution. The university is noted for studies in comparative law and accounting. History The original Soochow University was founded by Methodists in Suzhou, Jiangsu, Qing dynasty in 1900 as a merger of three institutions: the Buffington Institute and the Kung Hang School in the city of Soochow (now spelled Suzhou), in Jiangsu Province, and the Anglo-Chinese College in Shanghai. After the Chinese Civil War, members of the Soochow Alumni Association who fled to Taiwan established a new institution there in 1951. A law school was opened in 1954, and a full university was certified in 1971.Meanwhile in Suzhou, the original university merged with the Southern Jiangsu College of Culture and Education and the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Jiangnan University to form the Jiangsu Teacher's College in 1952, which revived the name Soochow University in 1982. However, while the English names are identical, the one in Suzhou uses the Chinese name 蘇州 (Soochow), not the original 東吳 (Tung-wu). The campus is home to the tomb of the prominent Chinese politician and diplomat Wang Ch'unghui, who fled to Taiwan after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In 2014, the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association listed Soochow University as one of the seven well-known Taiwanese universities. Academics Publications In 1981, the first joint-issued class-made magazine, completely founded by students, called Xu Ai, appeared in Soochow University. Students voiced political opinions as to temporal society, but the magazine was quickly banned by the strong commend of the college. However, the next year, the political students published another critical magazine, Monthly Political Magazine of Soochow University. It was banned, a result from publishing an advertisement of Shen Geng, which was a magazine of the Chinese Nationalist Party control.On 9 September 1982, the Academic Conference of Political Department organized an audit for second year students about Taipei City Council. But the lead teacher Huang Erxuan was charged by leading a group of students to the council to listen the interpolation produced by the outside party senator. He was fired the next year. Ranking Excellent Long-Established University Consortium of Taiwan Soochow University is a member of the Excellent Long-Established University Consortium of Taiwan (ELECT), which is an organization devoted to inter-school cooperation and sharing resources between schools. The twelve union universities were all founded over half a century with each of their own strengths covering professional fields of science and technology, commerce, agronomy, medicine, media, law, education, art and design, etc. These schools allow students to have multiple options, cross-domain learning and a broader adaptive development for their education. Campus Soochow University in Taiwan has two branches: a downtown branch near the Republic of China (ROC) presidential office in Taipei's Zhongzheng district and the main campus near the National Palace Museum in Taipei's Shilin district. The law and business colleges are in the downtown campus. All other colleges are located in the main campus. Shilin Campus The Shilin Campus is in the mountainous terrain of the Shilin District. Faculty and student housing are available on the main campus although they cannot meet demand. There are three female student dorms and two male student dorms with a total occupancy of 1,500. Many students commute to campus by bus and the subway system. Downtown Campus The Downtown Campus is in the Zhongzheng District. Organization Taiwan's first private university is headed by a president and a board of trustees. The University is divided into six schools or colleges, each having a variety of departments: School of Arts and Social Science Department of Chinese Literature Department of History Department of Philosophy Department of Political Science Department of Sociology Department of Social Work Department of Music Center for Teacher Education School of Foreign Language and Culture Department of English Language and Literature Department of Japanese Language and Literature Department of German Language and Literature Language Center School of Science Department of Mathematics Department of Physics Department of Chemistry Department of Microbiology Department of Psychology School of Law School of Business Department of Financial Engineering and Actuarial Mathematics Department of Economics Department of Accounting Department of Business Administration Department of International Business Department of Computer and Information Science Undergraduate Program of Business School of Big Data Management Sports Sports play an important role in campus life. The downtown campus has tennis and basketball courts. The main campus has indoor and outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, a race track, a mini rock climbing wall, and a field that is used for softball and soccer. Each year the university holds two major student athletic events. Much of the sports facilities on the main campus are on land owned by the Taipei city government rather than by the university. The city government has considered reclaiming the land to build an expressway but has decided to back off with this project. Clubs The university has 183 student clubs or societies, such as Association for Diplomacy Research (SCU A.D.R.). Traditions 24-hour International Ultramarathon: Runners from several countries, students, faculty, and celebrities such as Ryoichi Sekiya and Mami Kudo participate in this annual event. Only very few of the contestants venture running for the entire duration of the marathon. Portable toilets are set up near the race track with one or two toilets reserved for certain internationally renowned runners. Some spectators set up tents near the track and camp the entire night watching the marathon. Campus Christmas Carol: Students from the music department visit the faculty residential apartment complexes sing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. Having people singing carols in the neighborhood is a rare sight in Taiwan since Christians make up a small minority of the population. Notable alumni Chen Chih-ching, Minister of Council of Agriculture (2016) Han Kuo-yu, mayor of Kaohsiung Jeffrey Koo Sr. (1957), businessman John Chiang, Vice Chairperson of Kuomintang (2008-2014) John Deng, Minister of Economic Affairs (2014-2016) Kevin Chu, film director Mandy Wei, actress, model and host Shih Jun-ji, Vice Premier of the Republic of China Chiang Wei-kuo, Son of Chiang Kai-Shek Shyu Jong-shyong, Deputy Secretary-General of Executive Yuan (2015-2016) Sun Lih-chyun, spokesperson of Executive Yuan Tseng Chung-ming, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare (2013-2015) Winston Chang, President of the Soochow University (1992–1996) Bai Pei-ying, Minister of Finance (1992–1993); Board Chairman of the Chung Yuan Christian University Cheng Chung-mo, Taiwan Grand Justice and Vice President of the Judicial Yuan (1999–2006) Chou Chih-P'ing, Professor of East Asia Studies, Princeton University, U.S. Chang Chien-Chi, well-known photographer; Winner of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography (1999); member of the Magnum Photos agency, New York Lee Choa-hsiu, President of the Tainan National University of the Arts (2007–), and at the age of 42, was the country's youngest national university president. Frank C.J. Liu., Former Franklin Templeton Investments chief representative for China and President of Franklin Templeton Investments (Taiwan). Liu San-chi, President of the Yu Da College of Business; Former Minister of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of Executive Yuan, Taiwan Hsu Shu-hsiang, President of the Transworld Institute of Technology (2006–) Lu Reng-kong, Chairman of the Da An Commercial Bank; Former Taiwan Finance Minister (1984–1985) Shieh Jhy-wey, Taiwan's Representative to Germany (Taipeh Vertretung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland; 2005.5 –); Dean of the School of Foreign Languages of Soochow University (1996–2002) Tu Yin-tzyong, Chairman of the Citigroup Global Markets Taiwan Ltd; Executive Vice President of the Goldman Sachs Group, New York Members of the Legislative Yuan: Chang Hung-lu, Chang Show-foong, Hung Chao-nan; Chang Ching-fang; Hsu Chung-hsiung; Cheng Kuei-lien; Lin Hsu Shao-ping; Cheng San-yuan; Hsu Yuan-kuo School presidents David L. Anderson (1901–1911) John W. Cline (1911–1922) Walter B. Nance (1922–1927) Yang Yongqing (1927–1949) Qiu Hanping (1951–1952) Shih Jiyan (1952–1954) Chen Ting-ruei (1954–1955) Tsao Wen-yen (1955–1957) Shih Chao-yung (1957–1968) Kuei Chung-gee (1968–1969) Joseph K. Twanmoh (1969–1983) Edward Yang (1983–1992) Winston Chang (1992–1996) Liu Yuan-tsun (1996–2004) Liu Chao-shiuan (2004–2008) Huang Chen-tai (2008–2011) Pan Wei-ta (since 2012) Noted faculty Winston Chang Liu Chao-shiuan: former president of the university and former Premier of the Republic of China See also List of universities in Taiwan U12 Consortium Official site

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU; Chinese: 國立陽明交通大學) is a public research university in Taiwan. It was created in 2021 through the merger of National Yang-Ming University and National Chiao Tung University. At present, there are 19 colleges, 74 university/college level research centers, and 1 hospital in Yilan. NYCU is one of six national universities in research selected by the Ministry of Education. The university is also one of four universities selected by the Ministry of Education to participate in the Global Taiwan Program.It is consistently ranked among the top three or four best universities in Taiwan in world university rankings. In the 2022 QS World University Rankings, it is ranked in the top 300 universities in the world and the top 50 universities in Asia. In the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it is ranked in the top 350 universities in the world. History The university's merger history dates back to as early as the 1990s, but the most important step was in 2001, when the presidents of the two universities Dr. Yan-Hwa Wu and Dr. Chun-Yen Chang signed a Letter of Intent. In 2015, the university assembly of National Chiao Tung University approved the agreement but it failed at the National Yang-Ming University. The merger of the two universities was suspended until 2018 when President Hsu-Sung "Steve" Kuo of National Yang-Ming University relaunched the discussions. At the beginning, both National Chiao Tung University and National Tsing Hua University all showed strong motivations to negotiate merger proposal with National Yang-Ming University. The university assembly of National Yang-Ming University finally decided to discuss the merger proposal with National Chiao Tung University under the new name of "National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University". The two universities then agreed to the merger plan in September 2019, which was then approved by the Ministry of Education in June 2020. The National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University was then founded on 1 February 2021. This is the first university merger case that adopted a "bottom-up" approach in Taiwan. Academic Colleges College of Artificial Intelligence and Green Energy College of Biological Science and Technology College of Biomedical Science and Engineering College of Computer Science College of Dentistry College of Electrical and Computer Engineering College of Engineering College of Humanity and Social Science College of Humanities and Social Sciences College of Hakka Studies School of Law College of Life Sciences College of Management College of Medicine College of Nursing College of Photonics College of Pharmaceutical Sciences College of Science International College of Semiconductor Technology General Education Committee Center for General Education Interdisciplinary Program for Undergraduates Master Program in Transdisciplinary Long-term Care and Management University System of Taiwan Cross-Disciplinary Programs Rankings and reputation The National Chiao Tung University (the predecessor of the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University) was considered one of the top-tier universities in Taiwan. Overall rankings In the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 401st – 500th in the world and 3rd - 6th in Taiwan. The 2023 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 202nd in the world, 47th in Asia, and 3rd in Taiwan. The 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the university 501st – 600th in the world. The 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked the university 587th in the world, and 3rd in Taiwan. Rankings by Subject/Area QS rankings by subject 2023: QS rankings by broad subject area 2023: Times Higher Education subject rankings 2023: Campuses Yangming Campus in Beitou District, TaipeiAddress: No. 155, Sec. 2, Lignon Street, Beitou District, Taipei City Beimen Campus in Zhongzheng District, TaipeiAddress: 4F, No. 118, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao West Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei Guangfu Campus in East District, Hsinchu CityAddress: No. 1001, University Road, East District, Hsinchu City Bo'ai Campus in East District, Hsinchu CityAddress: No. 75, Boai Street, East District, Hsinchu City Liujia Campus in Zhubei, Hsinchu CountyAddress: No. 1, Sec. 1, Liujia 5th Road, Zhubei City, Hsinchu County Guiren Campus in Guiren District, TainanAddress: No. 301, Section 2, Gaofa 3rd Road, Guiren District, Tainan City Partners health care system In cooperation with the Taipei City Hospital System and National Chengchi University, the three institutions formed a health care system which covers medical education, healthcare, and management. See also List of universities in Taiwan Education in Taiwan Official website

Island Nation 2 (Chinese: 國際橋牌社2) is the second season of the Taiwanese political drama, Island Nation, based on Taiwan's transition from an authoritarian state to a democracy in the 1990s. The second season debuted on September 12, 2021. Synopsis Island Nation 2 presents a fictionalized account of Taiwan from 1995 to 1996 amidst Taiwan's arrival at its first-ever direct presidential election, featuring political infighting, rise of criminal elements in politics, and soldiers fighting for their lives under the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. They all represent Taiwan's spirit of “One island, one destiny.” Episodes www.islandnation.tw Island Nation 2 at IMDb in.asiania.me - Season 2 English subtitled episodes

You Si-kun (Chinese: 游錫堃; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician serving as a member and the president of the Legislative Yuan. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known to be a strong advocate of Taiwan independence. He led the DPP as chairman from 2006 to 2007 and served as Premier from 2002 to 2005. Personal background Born in Taihe Village (太和村), Dongshan Township, Yilan County, You was raised in a poor tenant farming family. While he was a 13 year-old student at Taiwan Provincial Yilan High School, his house was destroyed by flood waters during typhoon Pamela and his father died of tuberculosis in the same year. As a result, he quit junior high school to work full-time on his family farm.At 19, he enrolled in supplementary night school at Lotung Commercial and Vocational High School. He moved to Taipei to enroll in the supplementary Hsihu Commercial and Industrial High School. He studied international commerce at the Chihlee Institute of Technology (致理商專) and public administration at the National Chung Hsing University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in politics in Tunghai University in 1985 at the age of 37. Rise in politics In 1981, he was elected a member of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly for Yilan County. You, Su Tseng-chang, and Hsieh San-sheng made the so-called "iron triangle" in the Assembly. The three were the only members ever to resign from the Assembly.From 1983 to 1984 he was the Tangwai Secretary-General. He became Convener of Tangwai National Election Backing Committee in 1986. As a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party, he was a member of its Central Committee from 1984 to 1986 and its Central Standing Committee from 1986 to 1990 when he was elected the Magistrate of Yilan County, during which he was a member of the Educational Reform Committee of the Executive Yuan from 1994 to 1996. In his second term as magistrate, Environmental Protection (環保立縣), Tourism (觀光立縣), Information Promotion (資訊立縣), and Culture (文化立縣) were his four main goals in administration. After the completion of his two terms as magistrate in 1997, he was in 1998 appointed Chairman of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation by then Mayor Chen Shui-bian. He resigned in 1999 to become Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party.He was the chief spokesman for the DPP campaign in the 2000 presidential election. With Chen Shui-bian's election to the presidency, he was appointed Vice Premier under Premier Tang Fei.In July 2000, four construction workers were trapped by the rising floodwaters of Pachang Creek. As local and central government authorities squabbled for three hours over who would send out a rescue helicopter, the men drowned. In the public outrage that ensued, officials up the chain of command, including Premier Tang, tendered their resignations. Vice Premier You, who was also chairman of the Committee of Disaster Relief and Prevention, had his resignation accepted.Six months later, You rejoined the administration as Secretary-General to the Office of the President and served until his promotion to the premiership on 1 February 2002. Premiership As premier, You defended the administration's position on the peace referendum and promoted a NT$610.8 billion arms procurement package in 2004. He caused some minor controversy when he used the designation "Taiwan, ROC" on an official visit to Honduras. Chen later said he preferred "Taiwan." In September 2004, he directed the government to refer to the People's Republic of China in official documents as simply "China" as opposed to "mainland China" or "Communist China" as was previously done in order to highlight a "separate Taiwanese identity." This move was not endorsed by the Presidential Office and the Mainland Affairs Council clarified that it would only apply to internal documents.You and his cabinet resigned en masse following the pan-Green Coalition failure to gain a majority in the 2004 legislative elections. In the ensuing cabinet shuffle, You was returned to the presidential office as secretary-general and succeeded as premier by Frank Hsieh.On 15 January 2006 he was elected chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party with 54% of the vote.You was a candidate for the DPP nomination for the 2008 presidential election, competing against Frank Hsieh, Su Tseng-chang, and Annette Lu. He finished third in the first round of the primary and subsequently withdrew along with the other trailing candidates, paving the way for the leading candidate Hsieh to win the nomination without a need for a second round which would have been based on opinion polling. Corruption charges and acquittal On 21 September 2007, You, along with Vice President Annette Lu and National Security Office secretary-general Mark Chen, were separately indicted on charges of corruption by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Taiwan. You was accused of embezzlement and special fund abuse of about US$70,000. He resigned his post as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party later that day. On 2 July 2012, all three were acquitted of all charges. 2014 New Taipei City mayoralty election On 29 November 2014, You lost the New Taipei City mayoralty election to his opponent Eric Chu of the Kuomintang. Later political career You was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 2020, securing an at-large seat on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party. He was elected President of the Legislative Yuan on February 1, 2020, defeating Kuomintang lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao and succeeding Su Jia-chyuan. Speaking at the 2020 Taipei Traditional Chinese Medicine International Forum on July 5, 2020, You Si-kun suggested renaming Chinese medicine as "Taiwanese". Personal life You is the founder of Kavalan Journal (噶瑪蘭雜誌), which is named after the Kavalan Taiwanese aborigines.He married Yang Pao-yu in 1978, with whom he has two sons. His mother, Huang Shou-chu, died in December 2002.

Formosa Television (Chinese: 民間全民電視公司; pinyin: Mínjiān Quánmín Diànshì Gōngsī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bîn-kan Chôan-bîn Tiān-sī Kong-si) is a television station based in New Taipei, Taiwan. Established on March 27, 1996, FTV began broadcasting on June 11, 1997. Formosa Television is also the first free-to-air television station which was established without direct relationship with any political party and department of Taiwan government. Because of the location of its headquarters, which is in an area where Taiwanese Hokkien speakers are populous, it also earned the reputation for being the first station in Taiwan to use that tongue in a majority of its programs, especially on its prime time newscasts. On May 24, 2004, FTV was among the first free-to-air channels in Taiwan to switch from terrestrial analog signal to digital television.One of its more popular broadcasts are the coverage of live matches of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Around-the-clock broadcasting Midnight on January 1, 2018 marked Formosa Television's first day of 24-hour broadcasting, as Uni-President Enterprises Corporation celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a New Year's Eve countdown broadcast. FTV Channels FTV HD FTV News FTV One (formerly known as Follow Me TV) FTV Taiwan FTV Drama (Online-only; aired local drama series, mainly weeknight soaps) FTV Variety (Online-only; aired local entertainment shows) FTV Travel (Online-only; aired Travel and some Living shows) See also List of Taiwanese television series Democratic Progressive Party Official website (in Chinese)

Hara Takashi (原 敬, 15 March 1856 – 4 November 1921) was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1918 to 1921. Hara held several minor ambassadorial roles before rising through the ranks of the Rikken Seiyūkai and being elected to the House of Representatives. Hara served as Home Minister in several cabinets under Saionji Kinmochi and Yamamoto Gonnohyōe between 1906 and 1913. Hara was appointed Prime Minister following the Rice Riots of 1918 and positioned himself as a moderate, participating in the Paris Peace Conference, founding the League of Nations, and relaxing oppressive policies in Japanese Korea. Hara's premiership oversaw the Siberian intervention and the March 1st Movement. Hara was assassinated by Nakaoka Kon'ichi on 4 November 1921. Hara was the first commoner and first Christian appointed to be Prime Minister of Japan, informally known as Hara Kei, and given the moniker of "commoner prime minister" (平民宰相, heimin saishō). Early life Hara Takashi was born on 15 March 1856 in Motomiya, a village near Morioka, Mutsu Province, into a samurai family in service of the Nanbu Domain. Hara's family had resisted the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and fought against the establishment of the very government which Hara himself would one day lead. Hara was an outsider in Japanese politics due to his association with a former enemy clan of the new Imperial Government, which at the time was dominated by the former clans of Chōshū and Satsuma domains. Hara left home at the age of 15 and moved to Tokyo by boat. Hara failed the entrance examination of the prestigious Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, and instead joined the Marin Seminary, a free parochial school established by the French. It was here that he learned to speak French language fluently. Soon after that, Hara joined the law school of the Ministry of Justice (later University of Tokyo), but left without graduating to take responsibility for a student protest against the school's room and board policy. At the age of 17, Hara was baptized as a Catholic, taking on "David" as his baptismal name. Even though it was speculated that Hara became Christian for personal gain at the time, he remained a Christian in public life until the day he died. At the age of 19, Hara chose to classify himself as a commoner (平民, heimin) rather than his family's status as shizoku (士族), a distinction for former samurai families who were not made into kazoku (華族, aristocratic peers). At various times later in his political career, offers were made to raise his rank, but Hara refused them every time on the basis that it would alienate himself from the common men and limit his ability to gain entrance to the House of Representatives. Beginning in 1879, Hara worked as a newspaper reporter for three years, but quit his job in protest over efforts of his editors to make the newspaper a mouthpiece for the Rikken Kaishintō, a political party led by Ōkuma Shigenobu. In 1882, Hara took a position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the request of Inoue Kaoru, the Foreign Minister at the time. Based on discussions Hara had with him on his views for the future of Japanese politics during a trip both men took to Korea in 1884, Inoue appointed Hara to become consul-general in Tianjin, and the first secretary to the embassy of Japan in Paris. Hara served as Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs and as ambassador to Korea under Mutsu Munemitsu. He then left the Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist for several years, and became the manager of a newspaper company, the Mainichi Shimbun based in Osaka. Political career In 1900, Hara returned to politics and joined Itō Hirobumi's newly founded Rikken Seiyūkai, becoming the first secretary-general of the party. Hara ran successfully for the House of Representatives as a representative from his native Iwate Prefecture and was appointed Minister of Communications in the Fourth Ito Administration. Hara later served as Home Minister in several cabinets between 1906 and 1913, a powerful position that made it able for him to effect many reforms. Hara realized that a fundamental political issue in Japan was the tension between the elected government and the appointed bureaucracy, and his career was dedicated to weakening the power of the non-elected bureaucrats. As Home Minister, Hara tried to implement meritocracy by systematically dismissing local bureaucrats in local governments in every capacity from governors down to high school principals. Any public employee who fell under his power would be replaced by someone in whom he saw real ability instead of a mere useful recipient of a favor or nepotism. Thus, Hara created a system in which people with talent could rise to the top of the bureaucracy, regardless of their background or rank. Hara also understood that maintenance of the supremacy of the elected leaders depended on the government's ability to develop the Japanese national infrastructure and on a long-term economic plan that would address regional as well as national interests. In 1914, after heated debate, Hara was appointed the president of the Rikken Seiyūkai to replace the outgoing leader, Saionji Kinmochi. Under Hara's leadership, Rikken Seiyūkai first lost its majority control of the Diet in the 1915 general elections, but regained its majority in the 1917 general elections. Prime Minister In 1918, Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake fell from office due to the Rice Riots of 1918, and Hara was appointed as his successor on 28 September. It was the first cabinet headed by a commoner. Also, Hara was the first civilian in Japanese history to become the administrative chief of any of the armed services, when he temporarily took charge of the Navy Ministry, in absence of the Navy Minister, Admiral Katō Tomosaburō, who was serving as the Japanese representative at the Washington Naval Conference. As prime minister, Hara suffered in terms of popularity, because he refused to use his majority in the lower house to force through universal suffrage legislation. Hara's cautious approach disappointed liberals and socialists, who accused him of delaying universal suffrage as it would endanger his position in power. As a party politician, Hara had never been the favorite of the conservatives, bureaucrats and military, and he was widely despised by the ultranationalists. During his term of office, Japan participated in the Paris Peace Conference, and joined the League of Nations as a founding member. In Korea, Japan used military force to suppress the Samil Rebellion, but later began more lenient policies aimed at reducing opposition to Japanese rule. Particularly following the Samil Uprising, Hara pursued a conciliatory policy towards colonies, particularly Korea. Hara arranged for his political ally, Saitō Makoto, a political moderate, to take over as Governor-General of Korea; he instituted a colonial administration consisting mainly of civilians rather than military; and he permitted a degree of cultural freedom for Koreans, including (for the first time) a school curriculum that featured Korean language and history. Hara also sought to encourage a limited amount of self-rule in Korea – provided that, ultimately, Koreans remained under Japanese imperial control. His overtures, however, won few supporters either among Koreans or Japanese; the former considered them inadequate, the latter considered them excessive. Hara oversaw most of the Siberian intervention, which led to growing antagonism between the government and the military. Of Hara's supposedly proactive policies, most were directed toward politicians, merchants, and conglomerates. In addition, there are some differences in the evaluation of Hara's policies before and after his inauguration, such as the repeated incidents of jail charges and his negative attitude toward the implementation of the universal suffrage law, which was the people's great desire. Assassination On 4 November 1921, Hara was stabbed to death by Nakaoka Kon'ichi, a right-wing railroad switchman, at Tōkyō Station while catching a train to Kyoto for a party conference. Nakaoka's motives for assassinating Hara were his beliefs that Hara was corrupt, involving the zaibatsu in Japanese politics, going to pass universal suffrage, and his handling of the Nikolayevsk incident during the Siberian intervention a year earlier. Nakaoka was also influenced by his boss, who was a vocal opponent of Hara. Nakaoka was found guilty of murder. Prosecutors sought a death sentence, albeit Nakaoka was instead sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was released from prison in 1934 after serving only 13 years.Hara was replaced by Uchida Kōsai as acting Prime Minister until Uchida was replaced a week later by Takahashi Korekiyo. As opposed to many of his contemporaries, Hara lived a relatively simple lifestyle in a rented home near Shiba Park in downtown Tokyo. In his will, he left very few assets behind but among these was his diary, stating that "After a period of some years my diary must be made public. It is the most valuable of all my possessions, so it must be protected." According to the will, Hara's diary was made public and what came to be called the Hara Diary (原日記, Hara Nikki) turned out to be one of the most valuable first hand accounts of the political scene in that era. Most of his daily activities are written along with opinions and thoughts regarding the political figures of the time. Hara's diary itself is thousands of pages long but reveals, in depth, a broad range of information previously unknown to historians. Honors From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fifth Class (28 December 1893) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (4 April 1914; Third Class: 16 June 1896) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (7 September 1920) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (4 November 1921; posthumous) Foreign Belgium: Commander of the Order of Leopold (7 July 1888) Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (26 October 1896) Bibliography Najita, Tetsuo: Hara Kei in the Politics of Compromise 1905–1915. Harvard Univ. Press, 1967. Olson, L. A.: Hara Kei – A Political Biography. Ph.D.diss. Harvard University, 1954. Duus, Peter: Party Rivalry and Political Change in Taisho Japan. Cambridge/Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968. Hara Kei Memorial Hall Tsuyoshi Masuda, Takashi Hara and China, part 1 Tsuyoshi Masuda, Takashi Hara and China, part 2 Newspaper clippings about Hara Takashi in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Count Itagaki Taisuke (板垣 退助, 21 May 1837 – 16 July 1919) was a Japanese politician. He was a leader of the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement" and founded Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party. Biography Early life Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain, (present day Kōchi Prefecture), After studies in Kōchi and in Edo, he was appointed as sobayonin (councillor) to Tosa daimyō Yamauchi Toyoshige, and was in charge of accounts and military matters at the domain's Edo residence in 1861. He disagreed with the domain's official policy of kōbu gattai (reconciliation between the Imperial Court and the Tokugawa shogunate), and in 1867–1868, he met with Saigō Takamori of the Satsuma Domain, and agreed to pledge Tosa's forces in the effort to overthrow the shōgun in the upcoming Meiji Restoration. During the Boshin War, he emerged as the principal political figure from Tosa domain as a leader of the Jinshotai assault force, and claimed a place in the new Meiji government after the Tokugawa defeat. Meiji statesman to liberal agitator Itagaki was appointed a Councilor of State in 1869, and was involved in several key reforms, such as the abolition of the han system in 1871. As a sangi (councillor), he ran the government temporarily during the absence of the Iwakura Mission. However, Itagaki resigned from the Meiji government in 1873 over disagreement with the government's policy of restraint toward Korea (Seikanron) and, more generally, in opposition to the Chōshū-Satsuma domination of the new government. In 1874, together with Gotō Shōjirō of Tosa and Etō Shinpei and Soejima Taneomi of Hizen, he formed the Aikoku Kōtō (Public Party of Patriots), declaring, "We, the thirty millions of people in Japan are all equally endowed with certain definite rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring and possessing property, and obtaining a livelihood and pursuing happiness. These rights are by Nature bestowed upon all men, and, therefore, cannot be taken away by the power of any man." This anti-government stance appealed to the discontented remnants of the samurai class and the rural aristocracy (who resented centralized taxation) and peasants (who were discontented with high prices and low wages). Itagaki's involvement in liberalism lent it political legitimacy in Japan, and he became a leader of the push for democratic reform.Itagaki and his associations created a variety of organizations to fuse samurai ethos with western liberalism and to agitate for a national assembly, written constitution and limits to arbitrary exercise of power by the government. These included the Risshisha (Self-Help Movement) and the Aikokusha (Society of Patriots) in 1875. After funding issues led to initial stagnation, the Aikokusha was revived in 1878 and agitated with increasing success as part of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. The Movement drew the ire of the government and its supporters. Leadership of the Liberal Party Government leaders met at the Osaka Conference of 1875, to which seven schools created under Itagaki's influence sent delegations, and the various delegates entered into an agreement by which they pledged themselves to the principle of a constitutional monarchy and a legislative assembly. They enticed Itagaki to return as a sangi (councilor): however, he resigned after a couple of months to oppose what he viewed as excessive concentration of power in the Genrōin. Itagaki criticized the government at the same time as it was under threat by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, which turned the cabinet against him. Legislation was then created restraining free speech and association.In response, Itagaki created the Liberal Party (Jiyuto) together with Numa Morikazu in 1881, which, along with the Rikken Kaishintō, led the nationwide popular discontent of 1880–1884. During this period, a rift developed in the movement between the lower class members and the aristocratic leadership of the party. Itagaki became embroiled in controversy when he took a trip to Europe believed by many to have been funded by the government. The trip turned out to have been provided by the Mitsui Company, but suspicions that Itagaki was being won over to the government side persisted. Consequently, radical splinter groups proliferated, undermining the unity of the party and the Movement. Itagaki was offered the title of Count (Hakushaku) in 1884, as the new peerage system known as kazoku was formed, but he accepted only on the condition that the title not be passed on to his heirs. In 1882, Itagaki was almost assassinated by a right-wing militant, to whom he allegedly said, "Itagaki may die, but liberty never!"The Liberal Party dissolved itself on 29 October 1884. It was reestablished shortly before the opening of the Imperial Diet in 1890 as the Rikken Jiyūtō. In April 1896, Itagaki joined the second Itō administration as Home Minister. In 1898, Itagaki joined with Ōkuma Shigenobu of the Shimpotō to form the Kenseitō, and Japan's first party government. Ōkuma became Prime Minister, and Itagaki continued serving as Home Minister. The Cabinet collapsed after four months of squabbling between the factions, demonstrating the immaturity of parliamentary democracy at the time in Japan. Itagaki retired from public life in 1900 and spent the rest of his days writing. He died of natural causes in 1919. After Liberal Party In the Freedom and People's Rights Movement in Okinawa, Itagaki supported Jahana Noboru. In the Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament, Itagaki and Lin Hsien-tang established The Taiwan Assimilation Society in 1914. Legacy Itagaki is credited as being the first Japanese party leader and an important force for liberalism in Meiji Japan. His portrait has appeared on the 50-sen and 100-yen banknotes issued by the Bank of Japan. Honors From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia Peerages Count (9 May 1887; life peerage) Decorations Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (29 September 1896) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (16 July 1919; posthumous) Family crest of Itagaki clan Genealogy Inui family　Their clan name　is Minamoto(Seiwa-Genji).In this house, Edo period was a samurai in the Tosa clan from generation to generation. Knight (senior samurai). Original Itagaki used "Jiguro-bishi (Kage-hanabishi)" for the family crest with Takeda of the effect for the same family. However, Inui used "Kayanouchi Jumonji" (Azuchi Period to Meiji Period), "Tosa Kiri" (Meiji Period to now). Source "Kai Kokushi". Matsudaira Sadayoshi. 1814. Japan.(Aduchi-Momoyama period part) "Kwansei-choshu Shokafu". Hotta Masaatsu, Hayashi jyussai. 1799. Japan.(Aduchi-Momoyama period part) "Osamuraichu Senzogaki-keizucho"(Edo period part) Family Wife 1:(daughter of Tosa domain samurai) Hayashi Masunojo Masamori's younger sister. (Name unknown) Wife 2:(2nd daughter of Tosa domain samurai Nakayama Yaheiji Hidemasa) (Name unknown) Wife 3: Rin (daughter of Tosa domain samurai Kotani Zengoro) Born on September 10, 1840. Marriage in 1859. Died on June 28, 1885. Wife 4: Kinuko, adopted daughter of Viscount Fukuoka Takachika. Araki Isoji's 7th daughter. (Born on June 8, 1859. Married on March 6, 1889. Died on April 13, 1938. Eldest son:Itagaki Hokotaro - Born on July 4, 1868. His mother's family name is Kotani. 2nd son :Inui Seishi - Born on April 18, 1868. His mother was Doctor Hagiwara Fukusai's daughter, Yaku. 3rd son :Araki Magozaburo - Born on October 6, 1885. His mother was Araki Isoji's 7th daughter Kinu. (He was born before his mother married Itagaki.) 4th son:Itagaki Masami - Born on April 4, 1889. His mother's family name was Fukuoka. (He had same mother as Magozaburo.) 5th son:Inui Muichi - Born on November 14, 1897. His mother's family name was Fukuoka. Eldest daughter:Hyo - She married Kataoka Kumanosuke. Born on August 4, 1860. Her mother's family name was Kotani. 2nd daughter:Gun - She married Miyaji Shigeharu. Born on April 20, 1864. Her mother's family name was Kotani. 3rd daughter:Yen - She divorced the first Yasukawa Jinichi. After that, she remarried to photographer Ogawa Kazuma. Born on May 16, 1872. Her mother's family name was Kotani. 4th daughter:Chiyoko - She married Asano Taijiro (Asano Souichiro Jr.). Born on April 12, 1893. Her mother's family name was Fukuoka. 5th daughter:Ryoko - She married Oyama Tomoe. Born on January 1, 1895. Her mother's family name was Fukuoka. Beasley, William G. (1995). The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850. New York: Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-12751-0 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Itagaki, Taisuke, Count" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 887–888. Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. (1986). Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691054599; OCLC 12311985 Totten, George O. (compiled by). (1966). Democracy in Prewar Japan: Groundwork or Facade?. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company. OCLC 255863 Itagaki Taisuke Honouring Association (2019). The Mind of Count Itagaki Taisuke. ISBN 978-4-86522-183 1 C0023 Draft letter of resignation from the Cabinet by Itagaki in 1898 Archived 2013-02-12 at the Wayback Machine National Diet Library biography & photo

Wang Fuzhi (Chinese: 王夫之; pinyin: Wáng Fūzhī; Wade–Giles: Wang2 Fu1-chih1; 1619–1692), courtesy name Ernong (而農), pseudonym Chuanshan (船山), was a Chinese essayist, historian, and philosopher of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties. Life Born to a scholarly family in Hengyang in Hunan province in 1619, Wang Fuzhi began his education in the Chinese classic texts when very young. He passed his civil-service examination at the age of twenty-four, but his projected career was diverted by the invasion of China by the Manchus, the founders of the Qing (or Ch'ing) dynasty. Staying loyal to the Ming emperors, Wang first fought against the invaders, and then spent the rest of his life in hiding from them. His refuge was at the foot of the mountain Chuanshan, from which he gained his alternative name). He died in 1693, though it is not known for certain where or how. Philosophical work Wang Fuzhi is said to have written over a hundred books, but many of them have been lost. The rest of his works have been collected in the Chuanshan yishu quanji (船山遺書全集). He also wrote a commentary on Zizhi Tongjian, titled "Comments after reading the Tongjian" (讀通鑒論, "Du Tongjian Lun"). Wang was a follower of Confucius, but he believed that the neo-Confucian philosophy which dominated China at the time had distorted Confucius's teachings. He wrote his own commentaries on the Confucian classics (including five on the Yijing or Book of Changes), and gradually developed his own philosophical system. He wrote on many topics, including metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, poetry, and politics. Apart from Confucius, he was also influenced by the prominent early Song dynasty neo-Confucians Zhang Zai and Zhu Xi. Metaphysics Wang's metaphysics is a version of materialism. He argued that only qi (氣 or ch'i; energy or material force) exists; li (理, principle, form, or idea), which was the central concept in the orthodox neo-Confucian thought of Zhu Xi, for example, doesn't exist independently, being simply the principle of qi. In this his metaphysics represents a continuation and development of that of Zhang Zai, as expressed most clearly in his Commentary on Master Zhang's Correcting Ignorance, and has also been highly regarded as 'proto-materialist' in the Marxist period in the PRC after 1949. Ethics Wang's metaphysical ideas led him to a naturalist moral philosophy (precipitating a revival of interest in his teachings in modern China). In particular, he believed that human desires are not inherently evil, but in fact unavoidable and an essential part of our nature. Indeed, he believed that desires are potentially beneficial, the moral nature of human beings being grounded in our feelings for others, and that problems only arise through lack of moderation. Wang believed that human desires are the main evidence of our relationship with the material world as material beings, and that human nature develops out of our initial material nature together with the changes that we undergo as a result of our interactions with the world we live in. Epistemology Wang laid great stress on the need for both experience and reason: we must study the world using our senses, and reason carefully about it. Knowledge and action are intertwined, and acting is the ground of knowing. The gaining of knowledge is a slow and laborious process, there are no instances of sudden enlightenment. Politics & history Even more than his materialism, Wang's views on politics and history brought him popularity in modern China. Government, he argued, should benefit the people, not those in power. History is a continuous cycle of renewal, involving the gradual progress of human society. There are periods of chaos and want as well as of stability and prosperity, depending on the degree of virtue of the emperor and of the people as a whole, but the underlying direction is upwards. It's the result of the natural laws that govern human beings and society. Wang believed that the power of the feudal landlords was evil, and should be weakened by higher taxation, which would also lead to an increase in numbers of land-owning peasants. Wang adopted a strong anti-Manchu stance in his writings and was remarkable for his systematic attempt to express his anti-Manchuism in a broad historical and philosophical context. He also insisted that the Chinese be distinguished from the non-Chinese, as both should stay in their own territories and respect the sovereignty of one another, in order to avoid the possibility of invasion or integration.Along with his Confucian thought, he also recognized a "need to operate the system", associated with Chinese Legalism. See also Chinese philosophy Confucianism Anti-Qing sentiment Brian Carr & Indira Mahalingam [edd] Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (1997: London, Routledge) ISBN 0-415-24038-7 Peter J. King One Hundred Philosophers (2004: Hove, Apple Press) ISBN 1-84092-462-4 Jacques Gernet "Philosophie et sagesse chez Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)", in: Gernet L'intelligence de la Chine. Le social et le mental (1994: Paris, Gallimard) ISBN 2-07-073569-9 Tang, Kailin, "Wang Fuzi". Encyclopedia of China (Philosophy Edition), 1st ed. Further reading Black, Alison H. (1989). Man and Nature in the Philosophical Thought of Wang Fu-chih. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295963389 Chan, Wing-tsit (trans.), 1963, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). "Wang Fu-chih" . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office. McMorran, Ian (1992) The passionate realist: An introduction to the life and political thought of Wang Fuzhi, 1619-1692 (Hong Kong: Sunshine Book Company, 1991). Wang Fu-chih — lecture notes by JeeLee Liu (SUNY Geneseo) Wang Fuzhi on ctext.org

Jianzhen (Chinese: 鑒真; Wade–Giles: Chien-chen; 688–763), or Ganjin in Japanese, was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times. Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and founded Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journey. Jianzhen's life story and voyage are described in the scroll, "The Sea Journey to the East of a Great Bonze from the Tang Dynasty." Life Jianzhen was born in Jiangyin county in Guangling Prefecture (present day Yangzhou, Jiangsu) China, with the surname of Chunyu (淳于). At the age of fourteen, he became a disciple of Dayun Temple (大云寺). At twenty he travelled to Chang'an for study and returned six years later, eventually becoming abbot of Daming Temple. Besides his learning in the Tripiṭaka, Jianzhen is also said to have been an expert in medicine. He opened the Buddhist temple as a place of healing, creating the Beitian Court (悲田院)—a hospital within Daming Temple. In autumn 742, an emissary from Japan invited Jianzhen to lecture in Japan. Despite protests from his disciples, Jianzhen made preparations and in spring 743 was ready for the long voyage across the East China Sea to Japan. The crossing failed and in the following years, Jianzhen made three more attempts but was thwarted by unfavourable conditions or government intervention. In summer 748, Jianzhen made his fifth attempt to reach Japan. Leaving from Yangzhou, he made it to the Zhoushan Archipelago off the coast of modern Zhejiang. But the ship was blown off course and ended up in the Yande (延德) commandery on Hainan Island. Jianzhen was then forced to make his way back to Yangzhou by land, lecturing at a number of monasteries on the way. Jianzhen travelled along the Gan River to Jiujiang, and then down the Yangtze River. The entire failed enterprise took him close to three years. By the time Jianzhen returned to Yangzhou, he was blind from an infection. In the autumn of 753, the blind Jianzhen decided to join a Japanese emissary ship returning to its home country. After an eventful sea journey of several months, the group finally landed at Kagoshima, Kyūshū, on December 20. They reached Nara in the spring of the next year and were welcomed by the Emperor. At Nara, Jianzhen presided over Tōdai-ji. The Chinese monks who travelled with him introduced Chinese religious sculpture to the Japanese. In 755, the first ordination platform in Japan was constructed at Tōdai-ji, on the place where including former Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō received ordination by Jianzhen a year earlier. In 759 he retired to a piece of land granted to him by the imperial court in the western part of Nara. There he founded a school and also set up a private temple, Tōshōdai-ji. In the ten years until his death in Japan, Jianzhen not only propagated the Buddhist faith among the aristocracy, but also served as an important conductor of Chinese culture. Jianzhen died on the 6th day of the 5th month of 763. A dry-lacquer statue of him made shortly after his death can still be seen at Tōshōdai-ji. Recognised as one of the greatest of its type, it has been postulated by statue restoration experts that the statue incorporates linen clothing originally worn by Ganjin. The statue was temporarily brought to Jianzhen's original temple in Yangzhou in 1980 as part of a friendship exchange between Japan and China. Jianzhen is credited with the introduction of the Ritsu school of Buddhism to Japan, which focused on the vinaya, or Buddhist monastic rules. In May 2010, the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Tzu Chi organized and produced an animated drama on Jianzhen's life and journey to Japan. and references Bibliography Bingenheimer, Marcus (2003). "A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳." (Part 1)," The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 4, 168-189 Bingenheimer, Marcus (2004). "A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳. (Part 2)", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 5, 142-181 Buswell, Robert Jr; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2013). "Ganjin", in Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691157863. Genkai, Aomi-no Mabito; Takakusu J., trans. (1928). Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient (742-754), Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 28 (1), 1-41 Genkai, Aomi-no Mabito; Takakusu J., trans. (1929). Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient (742-754), Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 29 (1), 47-62 Zhou, Yuzhi (2016). Ganjin: From Vinaya Master to Ritsu School Founder, Journal of Asian Humanities at kyushu University 1, 47-52 Tōdai-ji Homepage

Lsjbot is an automated Wikipedia article-creating program, or Wikipedia bot, developed by Sverker Johansson for the Swedish Wikipedia. The bot primarily focuses on articles about living organisms and geographical entities (such as rivers, dams, and mountains). According to its description page on the Swedish Wikipedia, Lsjbot was active in the Swedish and Waray Wikipedias and is currently active in the Cebuano Wikipedia, and has created most Wikipedia articles in those languages (between 80% and 99% of the total).During 2020, Lsjbot was only performing maintenance on the Cebuano Wikipedia, with no major article creation projects underway. History The program was responsible for 2.7 million articles as of 2014 (at a rate of 10,000 articles per day), and 9.5 million articles as of January 2019 (at a rate of 4,000 per day), two-thirds of which appear in the Cebuano language Wikipedia (the native language of Johansson's wife); the other third appear in the Swedish Wikipedia. On June 15, 2013, the Swedish Wikipedia hit one million articles, the eighth language on Wikipedia to reach that goal. The millionth article was created by Lsjbot – which at that point had created 454,000 articles, almost half of the entire article count of the Swedish Wikipedia. Lsjbot was also responsible for helping the Swedish Wikipedia become the second edition of Wikipedia to reach 2 million articles, which as of 2022 is the fourth largest edition of Wikipedia behind English, Cebuano and German. In February 2020, Vice reported that Lsjbot was responsible for over 24 million of 29.5 million edits at Cebuano Wikipedia, now the world's second largest Wikipedia, with bots comprising all but five of the site's top 35 editors and no human editors in the top 10. However, Lsjbot is no longer creating new articles at the Swedish and Waray-Waray Wikipedias. Sverker Johansson explained that "opinions shifted" within the Swedish Wikipedia community and Waray-Waray editors were unable to form a consensus about the automatic creation of articles.On the Swedish Wikipedia, since early 2017, around 900,000 articles written by Lsjbot have been deleted, due to a lack of adequate documentation or because of other reasons. Apart from these already-deleted articles, as of 26 December 2021, a further number of approximately 200,000 articles await deletion. Overall, starting in 2017, there was an initial pace of approximately 20,000 to 40,000 deletions of Lsjbot-made articles per year, but since July 2020 the pace of deletions has greatly accelerated. In just one year, from July 2020 to December 2021, Swedish Wikipedia fell from 3.72 million articles to 2.79 million articles. Furthermore, since July 2020, the deletion rate has occasionally exceeded 5,000 per day. Media coverage Its operation has generated some criticism, from those who suggest the stub articles lack meaningful content and a human touch. The Sydney Morning Herald compared the bot to Phil Parker, allegedly the most published author in human history, who has published over 200,000 books, each of which is completed in less than an hour using computers. Popular Science compared the bot to the announcement in July 2014 by the Associated Press that it planned to use bots to write articles. Johansson countered attacks on his methods by appealing to problems of gender bias on Wikipedia, noting that if the bot does not write articles, "otherwise they're mainly written by young, white, male nerds and reflect male interests." Source code of Lsjbot Official website

Google AdSense is a program run by Google through which website publishers in the Google Network of content sites serve text, images, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted to the site content and audience. These advertisements are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google. They can generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. Google beta-tested a cost-per-action service, but discontinued it in October 2008 in favor of a DoubleClick offering (also owned by Google). In Q1 2014, Google earned US$3.4 billion ($13.6 billion annualized), or 22% of total revenue, through Google AdSense. AdSense is a participant in the AdChoices program, so AdSense ads typically include the triangle-shaped AdChoices icon. This program also operates on HTTP cookies. In 2021, over 38.3 million websites use AdSense. Overview Google uses its technology to serve advertisements based on website content, the user's geographical location, and other factors. Those wanting to advertise with Google's targeted advertisement system may enroll through Google Ads. AdSense has become one of the most popular programs specializing in creating and placing banner and responsive ads on websites and blogs. Responsive ads adjust themselves based upon user's device size. These advertisements are less intrusive and the content of the advertisements is often relevant to the website. Many websites use AdSense to make revenue from their web content (website, online videos, online audio content, etc.), and it is the most popular advertising network. AdSense has proved particularly useful for generating advertising revenue for small websites that do not have sufficient resources or other major sources of revenue. To display contextually relevant advertisements on a website, webmasters place a brief JavaScript code on the website's pages. that are content-rich have been very successful with this advertising program, as noted in a number of publisher case studies on the AdSense website. Google has removed the policy of limiting AdSense ads to three ads per page. Now, AdSense publishers can place several AdSense ads on a page given there is sufficient content on a webpage. According to Google guidelines on ensuring proper ad placement, advertising and promotional material should not exceed page content. Some webmasters put significant effort into maximizing their AdSense income. They do this mainly by following best practices: They produce good quality content that attracts and engages users and provides a good user experience. They follow webmaster guidelines. They avoid flooding their website with advertisements. They do not try methods that encourage users to click ads. Google prohibits webmasters from using phrases like "Click on my AdSense ads" to increase click rates. The phrases accepted are "Sponsored Links" and "Advertisements". They do not link or redirect to websites with a poor reputation.The source of all AdSense income is the Ads program, which in turn has a complex pricing model based on a Vickrey second price auction. AdSense requires an advertiser to submit a sealed bid (i.e., a bid not observable by competitors). Additionally, for any given click received, advertisers only pay one bid increment above the second-highest bid. Google currently shares 68% of revenue generated by AdSense with content network partners, and 51% of revenue generated by AdSense with AdSense for Search partners. On June 18, 2015, Google announced rebranding of AdSense with a new logo. History Google launched its AdSense program, originally named "Content targeting advertising" in March 2003. The AdSense name was originally used by Applied Semantics, a competitive offering to AdSense. The name was adopted by Google after Google acquired Applied Semantics in April 2003. Some advertisers complained that AdSense yielded worse results than Google Ads, since it served ads that related contextually to the content on a web page and that content was less likely to be related to a user's commercial desires than search results. For example, someone browsing a blog dedicated to flowers was less likely to be interested in ordering flowers than someone searching for terms related to flowers. As a result, in 2004 Google allowed its advertisers to opt-out of the AdSense network.Paul Buchheit, the founder of Gmail, had the idea to run ads within Google's e-mail service. But he and others say it was Susan Wojcicki, with the backing of Sergey Brin, who organized the team that adapted that idea into an enormously successful product. By early 2005 AdSense accounted for an estimated 15 percent of Google's total revenues. In 2009, Google AdSense announced that it would now be offering new features, including the ability to "enable multiple networks to display ads". In February 2010, Google AdSense started using search history in contextual matching to offer more relevant ads. On January 21, 2014, Google AdSense launched Direct Campaigns, a tool where publishers may directly sell ads. This feature was retired on February 10, 2015. Types Content The content-based advertisements can be targeted at users with certain interests or contexts. The targeting can be CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per thousand impressions) based, the only significant difference in CPC and CPM is that with CPC targeting, earnings are based on clicks while CPM earnings recently are actually based not just per views/impression but on a larger scale, per thousand impressions, therefore driving it from the market, which makes CPC ads more common. There are various ad sizes available for content ads. The ads can be simple text, image, animated image, flash video, video, or rich media ads. At most ad sizes, users can change whether to show both text and multimedia ads or just one of them. As of November 2012, a grey arrow appears beneath AdSense text ads for easier identification. Google made a policy update regarding the number of ads per page, the three ads per page limit has been removed. Search AdSense for search allows publishers to display ads relating to search terms on their site and receive 51% of the revenue generated from those ads. AdSense custom search ads can be displayed either alongside the results from an AdSense Custom Search Engine or alongside internal search results through the use of Custom Search Ads. Custom Search Ads are only available to "white-listed" publishers. Although the revenue share from AdSense for Search (51%) is lower than from AdSense for Content (68%) higher returns can be achieved due to the potential for higher Click Through Rates. Video AdSense for video allows publishers with video content (e.g., video hosting websites) to generate revenue using ad placements from Google's extensive advertising network. The publisher is able to decide what type of ads are shown with their video inventory. Formats available include linear video ads (pre-roll or post-roll), overlay ads that display AdSense text and display ads over the video content, and the TrueView format. Publishers can also display companion ads - display ads that run alongside video content outside the player. AdSense for video is for publishers running video content within a player and not for YouTube publishers. Link units Link units are closely targeted to the interests of users. Because users directly interact with the ad unit, they may be more interested in the ads they eventually see. AdSense publishers are paid for clicks on the ads that are linked from link unit topics, not for clicks on the initial topics themselves. The ads on the linked page are pay-per-click Google ads similar to those shown in regular AdSense ad units. Link Units Discontinued types Mobile content AdSense for mobile content allowed publishers to generate earnings from their mobile websites using targeted Google advertisements. Just like AdSense for content, Google matches advertisements to the content of a website — in this case, a mobile website. Instead of traditional JavaScript code, technologies such as Java and Objective-C are used. As of February 2012, AdSense for Mobile Content was rolled into the core AdSense for Content offering to better reflect the lessening separation between desktop and mobile content. Domains AdSense for domains allows advertisements to be placed on domain names that have not been developed. This offers domain name owners a way to monetize (make money from) domain names that are otherwise dormant or not in use. AdSense for domains is currently being offered to all AdSense publishers, but it wasn't always available to all. On December 12, 2008, TechCrunch reported that AdSense for Domains is available for all US publishers. On February 22, 2012, Google announced that it was shutting down its Hosted AdSense for Domains program. Feeds In May 2005, Google announced a limited-participation beta version of AdSense for Feeds, a version of AdSense that runs on RSS and Atom feeds that have more than 100 active subscribers. According to the Official Google Blog, "advertisers have their ads placed in the most appropriate feed articles; publishers are paid for their original content; readers see relevant advertising—and in the long run, more quality feeds to choose from." AdSense for Feeds works by inserting images into a feed. When the image is displayed by a RSS reader or Web browser, Google writes the advertising content into the image that it returns. The advertisement content is chosen based on the content of the feed surrounding the image. When the user clicks the image, he or she is redirected to the advertiser's website in the same way as regular AdSense advertisements. AdSense for Feeds remained in its beta state until August 15, 2008, when it became available to all AdSense users. On December 3, 2012, Google discontinued AdSense For Feeds program. How it works The webmaster who wishes to participate in AdSense inserts the AdSense JavaScript code into a webpage. Each time this page is visited by an end user (e.g., a person surfing the Internet), the JavaScript code uses inlined JSON to display content fetched from Google's servers. For contextual advertisements, Google's servers use a web cache of the page created by its Mediabot "crawler" to determine a set of high-value keywords. If keywords have been cached already, advertisements are served for those keywords based on the Ads bidding system. For website-targeted advertisements, the advertiser chooses the page(s) on which to display advertisements, and pays based on cost per mille (CPM), or the price advertisers choose to pay for every thousand advertisements displayed. For referrals, Google adds money to the advertiser's account when visitors either download the referred software or subscribe to the referred service. The referral program was retired in August 2008. Search advertisements are added to the list of results after the visitor/user performs a search. Because the JavaScript is sent to the Web browser when the page is requested, it is possible for other website owners to copy the JavaScript code into their own webpages. To protect against this type of fraud, AdSense publishers can specify the pages on which advertisements should be shown. AdSense then ignores clicks from pages other than those specified. (see Click fraud for more information). Reception Some webmasters create websites tailored to lure searchers from Google and other engines onto their AdSense website to make money from clicks. Such websites often contain nothing but a large amount of interconnected, automated content (e.g., a directory with content from the Open Directory Project, or "scraper" websites relying on RSS feeds for content). Possibly the most popular form of such "AdSense farms" are splogs (spam blogs), which are poorly written content centered around known high-paying keywords. Many of these websites reuse content from other websites, such as Wikipedia, to attract visitors. These and related approaches are considered to be search engine spam and can be reported to Google. A Made for AdSense (MFA) website or webpage has little or no content, but is filled with advertisements so that users have no choice but to click on advertisements. Such pages were tolerated in the past, but due to complaints, Google now disables such accounts. There have also been reports of Trojan horses engineered to produce counterfeit Google advertisements that are formatted looking like legitimate ones. The Trojan uploads itself onto an unsuspecting user's computer through a webpage and then replaces the original advertisements with its own set of malicious advertisements.In May 2014, Hagens Berman law firm filed a national class-action lawsuit against Google, claiming the company unlawfully denies payments to thousands of website owners and operators who place ads on their sites sold through Google AdWords.There were numerous complaints in online discussion forums about a difference in treatment for publishers from China and India, namely that sites from those locations are required to be active for six months before being eligible for AdSense. Due to alleged concerns about click fraud, Google AdSense has been criticized by some search engine optimization firms as a large source of what Google calls "invalid clicks", in which one company clicks on a rival's search engine advertisements to drive up the other company's costs. The payment terms for webmasters have also been criticized. Google withholds payment until an account reaches US$100,Google came under fire when the official Google AdSense Blog showcased the French video website Imineo.com. This website violated Google's AdSense Program Policies by displaying AdSense alongside sexually explicit material. Typically, websites displaying AdSense have been banned from showing such content. Using both AdSense and Google Ads may cause a website to pay Google a commission when the website advertises itself. In some cases, AdSense displays inappropriate or offensive ads. For example, in a news story about a terrorist attack in India, an advert was generated for a (presumably non-existent) educational qualification in terrorism. AdSense uses tracking cookies that are viewed by some users as a threat to privacy. AdSense terms of service require that sites using AdSense explain the use of these cookies in their privacy policy. See also Ad blocking Google Ads List of Google products Pay per play DoubleClick Native advertising Official website Google AdSense patent application

Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, and videos to web users. It can place ads in the results of search engines like Google Search (the Google Search Network), mobile apps, videos, and on non-search websites. Services are offered under a pay-per-click (PPC) pricing model. Google Ads is the main source of revenue for Alphabet Inc., contributing US$224.47 billion in revenue in 2022. History Google launched AdWords in the year 2000. Initially, Google itself would set up and manage advertisers' campaigns. Google soon introduced the AdWords self-service portal to accommodate small businesses and those who wanted to manage their own campaigns. In 2005, Google started a campaign management service known as 'Jumpstart'.In 2008, Google launched the Google Online Marketing Challenge, an in-class academic exercise for tertiary students.In April 2013, Google announced plans to add enhanced campaigns for AdWords to aid with campaign management catered to multiple-device users. The enhanced campaigns aimed to include advanced reports about conversions.In July 2016, Google unveiled "Showcase Shopping" ads. With this format, retailers can choose to have a series of images that appear in search results related to various search queries and keywords.In October 2017, Google revised AdWords' daily budget caps to a maximum of 200% of preset daily budget, instead of the previous 120%. This change was rolled out on the same day it was announced, prompting criticism from paid search professionals. However, Google later clarified that this change would only apply to short-term campaigns of less than 30 days and that for campaigns running more than 30 days, overage charges would be refunded.Google retired the DoubleClick and AdWords brands in 2018 to simplify entry points for advertisers and ad sellers. The core product was renamed Google Ads, providing access to inventory on Google Search, its YouTube video service, the Google Play app store, and AdSense website publisher partners. Functionality Google Ads' system is based partly on cookies and partly on keywords determined by advertisers. Google uses these characteristics to place advertising copy on pages that they think might be relevant. In 2023, Google introduced Topics API, which allows to target ads based on browsing history stored in browser, to Google Chrome. Advertisers pay when users divert their browsing to click on the advertising copy. Adverts can be implemented locally, nationally, or internationally. Google's text advertisements mimic what the average search result looks like on Google. Image ads can be one of the several different standardized sizes as designated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). In May 2016, Google announced Expanded Text Ads, allowing 23% more text.Besides the Google search engine, advertisers also have the option of enabling their ads to show on Google's partner network, members of which receive a portion of the generated income. Restrictions on ad content The "Family status" of an ad ("family safe", "non-family safe", or "adult") is set by a Google reviewer and indicates what "audiences the ad and website are appropriate for". This will change at what time, on which page, and in which country an ad can appear.As of December 2010, Google AdWords decreased restrictions on sales of hard alcohol. It now allows ads that promote the sale of hard alcohol and liquor. This is an extension of a policy change that was made in December 2008, which permitted ads that promote the branding of hard alcohol and liquor. Some keywords, such as those related to hacking, are not allowed at all. From June 2007, Google banned AdWords adverts for student essay-writing services, a move which received positive feedback from universities. Google has a variety of specific keywords and categories that it prohibits that vary by type and country. For example, use of keywords for alcohol related products are prohibited in Thailand and Turkey; keywords for gambling and casinos are prohibited in Poland; keywords for abortion services are prohibited in Russia and Ukraine; and keywords for adult related services or products are prohibited worldwide as of June 2014. In Early 2022, Google has additionally paused all ad sales in Russia in response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.In March 2020, at the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, Google blocked all face masks keywords from being eligible for ad targeting as part of a policy to prevent companies from attempting to capitalize on the pandemic. Cost Every time a user conducts a search on Google, Google Ads runs an auction in real time to determine which search ads are displayed on the search results page as well as the ad's position. The cost of a Google Ads campaign therefore depends on a variety of factors, including the maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay-per-click of the keyword, and the quality score of the ad (based on its relevance and click frequency and ad extensions). Although an advanced bidding strategy can be used to automatically reach a predefined Cost per action (CPA), this should not be confused with a fixed CPA pricing model. Conversion tracking In addition to tracking clicks, Google Ads provides advertisers an ability to track and report other conversions that happen after the click such as purchases, sign ups or calls. Conversion tracking is implemented by sending an identifier to the advertiser's website as a URL parameter, which is then used by advertiser to send conversions to Google Ads, allowing Google Ads to trace conversion back to the original click for reporting. Google also allows advertisers to install a pixel on their website that sends conversions to the Adwords account. This allows advertisers to target their ads to drive conversions more effectively. For most traffic, Google sends a unique identifier for each click (in a gclid parameter), allowing to determine source of conversion precisely. To comply with tracking restrictions on Apple devices, anonymized identifiers that aren't associated with specific person are used (called wbraid and gbraid). Google Ads provides ability to report many of such anonymous conversions by using "modeled conversions" that combine additional customer details to deduce, which user to attribute the conversion to.Google Ads introduced enhanced conversions to make conversion measurement more accurate.In 2018, Bloomberg News reported that Google had paid millions of dollars to Mastercard for its users' credit card data for offline conversion tracking purposes. The deal had not been publicly announced. Technology The AdWords system was initially implemented on top of the MySQL database engine. After the system had been launched, management decided to use Oracle instead but was eventually reverted to MySQL after the system became much slower. Eventually, Google developed a custom distributed Relational database (RD) known as Gooogle Spanner specifically for the needs of the ad business. The interface offers Spreadsheet Editing, Search Query Reports, and conversion metrics. Lawsuits Google Ads have been the subject of lawsuits relating to Trademark Law (Google, Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc. and Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc.), fraud (Goddard v. Google, Inc.), and click fraud. Overture Services, Inc. sued Google for patent infringement in April 2002 in relation to the AdWords service. The suit was settled in 2004 after Yahoo! acquired Overture; Google agreed to issue 2.7 million shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license under the patent.In 2006, Google settled a click fraud lawsuit for US$90 million.In May 2011, Google cancelled the AdWords advertisement purchased by a Dublin sex worker rights group named "Turn Off the Blue Light" (TOBL), claiming that it represented an "egregious violation" of company ad policy by "selling adult sexual services". However, TOBL is a nonprofit campaign for sex worker rights and is not advertising or selling adult sexual services. After TOBL members held a protest outside Google's European headquarters in Dublin and sent in written complaints, Google reviewed the group's website. Google found the website content to be advocating a political position and restored the AdWords advertisement.In June 2012, Google rejected the Australian Sex Party's ads for AdWords and sponsored search results for the July 12 by-election for the state seat of Melbourne, saying the Australian Sex Party breached its rules which prevent solicitation of donations by a website that did not display tax exempt status. Although the Australian Sex Party amended its website to display tax deductibility information, Google continued to ban the ads. The ads were reinstated on election eve after it was reported in the media that the Australian Sex Party was considering suing Google. On September 13, 2012, the Australian Sex Party lodged formal complaints against Google with the US Department of Justice and the Australian competition watchdog, accusing Google of "unlawful interference in the conduct of a state election in Victoria with corrupt intent" in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.In December 2019, France fined Google €150 million for advertiser suspensions on Google Ads, arguing it had "abused its dominant position by adopting opaque and difficult to understand rules" which it was then free to "interpret and modify" at its own discretion. Controversies Trademarked keywords Google has come under fire for allowing AdWords advertisers to bid on trademarked keywords. In 2004, Google started allowing advertisers to bid on a wide variety of search terms in the US and Canada, including trademarks of their competitors and in May 2008 expanded this policy to the UK and Ireland. Advertisers are restricted from using other companies' trademarks in their advertisement text if the trademark has been registered with Advertising Legal Support team. In March 2010, Google was involved with a trademark infringement case involving three French companies that own Louis Vuitton trademarks. The lawsuit concerned if Google was responsible for advertisers purchasing keywords that violate trademark infringement. Ultimately, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Google AdWords were "not a breach of EU trademark law, but that the content of some advertisements that are linked by Google keywords may well be in breach depending upon the particular facts of the case." Additionally, in some American jurisdictions, the use of a person's name as a keyword for advertising or trade purposes without the person's consent has raised Right to Privacy concerns.In 2013, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. Lens.com, Inc. that online contact lens seller Lens.com did not commit trademark infringement when it purchased AdWords and other search advertisements using competitor 1-800 Contacts' federally registered 1800 CONTACTS trademark as a keyword. In August 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against 1-800 Contacts alleging that its search advertising trademark enforcement practices have unreasonably restrained competition in violation of the FTC Act. 1-800 Contacts has denied all wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear before an FTC administrative law judge in April 2017. IT support ban In 2018, Google implemented a policy change which restricts the advertising of consumer technical support, including, "troubleshooting, security, virus removal, internet connectivity, online accounts (for example, password resets or login support), or software installation", Google's Director of Global Product Policy, David Graff stated that the policy was intended to "address abuse" and "fraudulent activity" from third-party technical support providers, and that a verification program for legitimate providers would be rolled out "in the coming months". This is yet to manifest, resulting in an effective ban on all IT support and repair related services on the Google Ads platform. Commentators have expressed concerns that this is an attempt by Google to stifle consumers' right to repair electronic devices. Use by fossil fuel companies for greenwashing Fossil fuel companies, funders and public relations agencies including ExxonMobil, Shell, Aramco, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs are among the largest customers of Google Ads. One in five Google Ads for climate-related terms (e.g. net zero, carbon storage, carbon capture and energy transition) were paid by fossil fuel companies. A study by The Guardian and InfluenceMap found that Shell's ads appeared on 86% of searches for "net zero". Over half of users in a 2020 survey could not tell the difference between a normal Google result and a Google Ad. One of the study's authors, InfluenceMap stated "Google is letting groups with a vested interest in the continued use of fossil fuels pay to influence the resources people receive when they are trying to educate themselves. The oil and gas sector has moved away from contesting the science of climate change and now instead seeks to influence public discussions about decarbonization in its favor." Anti-abortion clinics A report conducted by the Tech Transparency Project found that women from low-income parts of the cities in the US are more likely to be targeted with anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers than women in wealthier parts of the city. Many of these crisis centers have portrayed themselves as abortion clinics while advocating the anti-abortion measures for pregnant women.The research was conducted in Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix with women from three different income brackets and using the phrases "abortion clinic near me" and "I want an abortion". According to the results. Phoenix showed a 16% increase in crisis center recommendations from low to middle income, while there was a 49% difference when compared to high-income accounts. See also Google AdSense List of Google products Click fraud Search engine marketing Advertising network Performance-based advertising Pay-per-click Digital marketing Official website

Google Meet (formerly known as Google Duo) is a video communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. It replaced the consumer-facing Google Duo in late 2022, with the Duo mobile app being renamed Meet and the original Meet app set to be phased out.In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google announced Meet was to be made available to all users, not just Google Workspace users, in which it previously was. The use of Meet grew by a factor of 30 between January and April 2020, with 100 million users a day accessing Meet, compared to 200 million daily users for Zoom as of the last week of April 2020. History After being invite-only and quietly releasing an iOS app in February 2017, Google formally launched Meet in March 2017. The service was unveiled as a video conferencing app for up to 30 participants, described as an enterprise-friendly version of Hangouts. It was available through applications for desktop, Android, and iOS.While Google Meet introduced the above features to upgrade the original Hangouts application, some standard Hangouts features were deprecated, including viewing attendees and chat simultaneously. The number of video feeds allowed at one time was also reduced to 8 (while up to 4 feeds can be shown in the "tiles" layout), prioritizing those attendees who most recently used their microphone. Additionally, features such as the chatbox were changed to overlay the video feeds, rather than resizing the latter to fit. In November 2022, Hangouts was officially converted and no longer available. Google suspended its usual 60-minute limit for unpaid accounts.In August 2020, it was reported that Google was planning to eventually merge Google Duo with the business-oriented Google Meet. In December 2021 this objective had been dropped, but Duo continued to be available and updated. In June 2022, Google reversed course and announced that Duo would, in fact, be merged into Meet. The merger began in August, with the Duo mobile app being renamed Meet. The Google Duo web app now also redirects to the Google Meet web app. The original Meet app is intended to be phased out over the next months. Features Features of Google Meet include: Two-way and multi-way audio-video calls Video resolution up to 720p or 1080p, depending on the license An accompanying chat Call encryption between all users Noise-canceling audio filter (depending on the license) Low-light video filter Call features: shared whiteboard, reactions, polls, voting, Q&A (depending on the license) Google document sharing (documents, spreadsheets, presentations) Screen-sharing, browser tab sharing Team activities – shared YouTube and Spotify watching, playing mini games like UNO! Mobile, Kahoot! and Heads Up! Integration with Google ecosystem, including Google Calendar and Google Contacts for one-click meeting calls A live preview of the caller before the recipient picks up, which Google says is to "make calls feel more like an invitation rather than an interruption". Ability to call into meetings using a dial-in number (US numbers always; international numbers when included in Workspace license) Hosts being able to deny a user's entry to, remove a user from, and control microphone and video access in a call. Video filters, effects, backgrounds and augmented reality masks. Ability to join meetings through a web browser or through Android or iOS apps Google Workspace accounts Features for users who use Google Workspace accounts include: Up to 100 members per call for Google Workspace Starter users, up to 150 for Google Workspace Business users, and up to 250 for Google Workspace Enterprise users. Ability to call into meetings with a dial-in number from selected countries. Ability to record the meeting. Password-protected dial-in numbers for Google Workspace Enterprise edition users. Real-time closed captioning based on speech recognition. Background blurring and virtual backgrounds. Real-time translations of the automatically generated closed captionsIn March 2020, Google temporarily extended advanced features present in the enterprise edition to anyone using Google Workspace or G Suite for Education editions. In January 2022, these features were removed for educators and workspace users unless they subscribed. Personal accounts In March 2020, Google rolled out Meet to personal (free) Google accounts.Free Meet calls can only have a single host and up to 100 participants, compared to the 250-caller limit for Google Workspace users and the 25-participant limit for Hangouts. Unlike business calls with Meet, consumer calls are not recorded and stored, and Google states that consumer data from Meet will not be used for advertisement targeting. While call data is reportedly not being used for advertising purposes, based on an analysis of Meet's privacy policy, Google reserves the right to collect data on call duration, who is participating, and participants' IP addresses.Users need a Google account to initiate calls and like Google Workspace users, anyone with a Google account is able to start a Meet call from within Gmail. Technologies In accordance with the WebRTC standard, Google Meet uses VP8 and VP9 video codecs for video stream compression and Opus audio codec for voice stream compression. In April 2020, Google announced plans to support the AV1 video codec. In February 2021, Google announced a new very low-bitrate codec for speech compression called "Lyra", that can operate with network speeds as low as 3kbps that avoids robotic voice audio. Google trained machine learning models on thousands of hours of data in order to create the method used by Lyra on compression and transmittion of voice signals.Google Meet uses proprietary protocols for audio and video stream control. Interoperability between Google Meet and SIP/H.323-based conferencing equipment and software is available for Google Workspace customers through third-party services.Google Meet is optimized for low-bandwidth mobile networks through WebRTC and uses QUIC over UDP. Optimization is further achieved through the degradation of video quality through monitoring network quality. For packet loss concealment Meet uses WaveNetEQ. Hardware In May 2020, Asus unveiled videoconferencing hardware designed for use with Google Meet in conference room settings, which includes a "Meet Compute System" mini PC, and a dedicated camera and microphone.On September 15, 2020, Google unveiled Meet Series One, in partnership with Lenovo, which includes a Meet Compute System with Edge TPU, "Smart Camera", "Smart Audio Bar" with noise reduction, and a choice of remote control or touchscreen that supports the Google Assistant. See also Microsoft Teams Zoom

Wa State is an autonomous self-governing polity in Myanmar (Burma). It is de facto independent from the rest of the country and has its own political system, administrative divisions and army. However, the Wa State government recognises Myanmar's sovereignty over all of its territory, and the Burmese government does not consider Wa State's political institutions to be legitimate. The 2008 Constitution of Myanmar officially recognises the northern part of Wa State as the Wa Self-Administered Division of Shan State. As a one-party socialist state ruled by the United Wa State Party (UWSP), which split from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989, Wa State is divided into three counties, two special districts, and one economic development zone. The administrative capital is Pangkham, formerly known as Pangsang. The name Wa is derived from the Wa ethnic group, who speak an Austroasiatic language. Politics, society and law Wa State is divided into northern and southern regions which are separated from one another, with the 13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi) southern region bordering Thailand and consisting of 200,000 people. The total area of the region controlled by Wa State is approximately 27,000 kilometers.: 4  The political leaders of Wa State are mostly ethnic Wa people. The Wa State government emulates many political features of the government of the People's Republic of China, having a central committee and a central party known as the United Wa State Party. Whilst Wa State is highly autonomous from the control of the central government in Naypyidaw, their relationship is based on peaceful coexistence and Wa State recognises the sovereignty of the central government over all of Myanmar.The working language of the Wa State government is Mandarin Chinese. Southwest Mandarin and Wa are widely spoken by the population, with the language of education being Standard Chinese. Television broadcasts within Wa State are broadcast in both Mandarin and Wa. Commodities within Wa State are brought over from China, and the renminbi is commonly used for exchanges. China Mobile has cellular coverage over some parts of Wa State.The legal system in Wa State is based on the civil law system, with reference to the laws of China. As of at least 2015, Wa State imposes the death penalty (which is abolished at the national level in Myanmar) for armed assault, rape, murder, and child abuse.: 53  After being sentenced to death, prisoners are sent directly to the execution ground.Labour camps exist in Wa State and relatives of those who are imprisoned or conscripted are often taken hostage by the state. The state is governed by a network of Maoist insurgents, traditional leaders such as headmen, businessmen, and traders, without democratic elections or the rule of law.Most people do not have Chinese or Myanmar ID cards, but Wa State ID cards are often recognised in those countries. It is easy for citizens to enter them if they avoid the official border crossings.The most-practiced religion, outnumbering Islam, Buddhism and folk religions, is Christianity, even though there are frequent crackdowns on it conducted by the secular government. An example for this is a campaign against churches built after 1992 in September 2018.There used to be up to 100,000 Chinese nationals residing in Wa State, many of them engaging in business. In 2021, the Chinese government ordered them to return to their homeland to combat online fraud allegedly committed by many of them. The Chinese exodus has had a negative impact on the Wa economy. History For a long time, headman tribes were dispersed around the Wa mountainous area, with no unified governance. During the Qing dynasty, the region became separated from the tribal military control of the Dai people. British rule in Burma did not administer the Wa States and the border with China was left undefined.From the late 1940s, during the Chinese Civil War, remnants of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army retreated to territory within Burma as the communists took over mainland China. Within the mountain region Kuomintang forces of the Eighth Army 237 division and 26th Army 93 division held their position for two decades in preparation for a counterattack towards mainland China. Under pressure from the United Nations, the counterattack was cancelled and the army was recalled to northern Thailand and later back to Taiwan; however, some troops decided to remain within Burma. East of the Salween river, indigenous tribal guerrilla groups exercised control with the support of the Communist Party of Burma. During the 1960s, the Communist Party of Burma lost its base of operations within central Burma, and with the assistance of the Chinese communists, expanded within the border regions in the northeast. Many intellectual youths from China joined the Communist Party of Burma, and these forces also absorbed many local guerrillas. The Burmese communists gained control over Pangkham, which became their base of operations. At the end of the 1980s, the ethnic minorities of northeast Burma became politically separated from the Communist Party of Burma. On 17 April 1989, Bao Youxiang's armed forces announced their separation from the Communist Party of Burma, and formed the United Myanmar Ethnicities Party, which later became the United Wa State Party. On 18 May, the United Wa State Army signed a ceasefire agreement with the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which replaced Ne Win's military regime following the 8888 Uprising.In 1990s, Wa State obtained Southern area by force. From 1999 to 2002, 80,000 former opium farmers from the northern area of Wa State were forcefully resettled into the more fertile south for food production, improving food security and laying the groundwork for a ban on drug production in Wa State. Some groups report that thousands died as a result of resettlement.Tensions between the central government and Wa State were heightened in 2009. During this time, peace initiative proposals by Wa State were rejected by the Myanmar government. The government warned on 27 April 2010 that the WHP program could push Myanmar and Wa State into further conflict.In 2012, Wa State began a major road construction program to link all townships with asphalt roads.: 60  By 2014, asphalt roads ran through the northern townships of Wa State and connected the Wa townships of Kunma, Nam Tit, and Mengmao to the Chinese towns of Cangyuan and Ximeng.: 60 After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état the Wa began to oppose the Myanmar government more directly, shifting away from their strategy of "forward defense" of supporting smaller anti-government forces militarily which was supposed to keep the Tatmadaw from violating ceasefires, with the goal of extending their political and military influence towards Central Myanmar. Administrative divisions Wa State is divided into counties (Wa: gaeng; Mandarin: 县), special districts (Wa: lūm; Mandarin: 特区), an economic development zone and an administrative affairs committee. Each county is further divided into districts (Wa: vēing; Mandarin: 区). Below these are township-level administrations: townships (Wa: ndaex eeng / yaong; Mandarin: 乡) and streets (Wa: laih; Mandarin: 街). In the table above, names in apostrophe are in Wa/Dai/Mandarin order. Avenue (ndaex laih / 街道) is found only once in Mong Maoe County; town (镇 / "jēng") is found only once in Mōung Ping EDZ. Avenues and streets are metaphorical urban-type division name analogical to subdistricts of China and should not be understood literally. They are further subdivided into groups. Villages are rural counterparts of groups and are below townships. In southern Wa, townships are given the township identity (乡) according to their Mandarin name yet not subdivided into villages with their Wa names indicate they are natural settlements (yaong / 寨), but might be a part of compound like ndaex eeng yaong XX (XX-settlement township / XX寨乡). In general, the Wa names of divisions follow the Romance naming order. For example, Vēing Yaong Lēen means Yaong Lēen District and is a vēing (district) instead of a yaong (natural settlement). That of the town of Mōung Ping in Mōung Ping EDZ is an exception – it follows the Germanic naming order as "Mōung Ping Jēng" instead of "Jēng Mōung Ping". In the Wa language, x at the end of a syllable represents a glottal stop. In the sections below, names in bold indicate county seats. Names with "quotation marks" are pinyin transcriptions of Mandarin while names in italics are Burmese transcriptions of Mandarin. Although Mandarin is one of the four working languages of Wa State, some Mandarin administrative names are non-canonical. For example, 班阳区 and 邦洋区 are two different transcriptions of the same official Wa or Dai name of Pang Yang District. Northern area Wa State's northern area is divided into three counties, two special districts, and one economic development zone. Each county is further divided into districts; there are 21 districts in total. CountiesMong Maoe County: Nax Vī (Nawi) District, Mōuig Nū District ("Gongmingshan"/Kaung Ming Sang District) and Mēng Hmae Avenue Bang Vāi District ("Shaopa" District), Dāoh Mīe District ("Gemai"/"Kunma" District), Yaong Lēen District, Ndūng Ngid ("Longtan") District, Qeng Mīang ("Yancheng"/Yiang Chen) District, Gon Māe("Yingpan"/Yin Pan) District, Man Doun District, Mōuig Raix ("Lianhe") District, Glong Ba District Mōung Nēng County, formerly Vēing Gāo County: 12. Man Sīang District, 13. Noung Kied District, 13.1 Noung Kied Township, 6 villages 13.2 Si Lōg Township, 4 villages 13.3 Ndaex Gaeng (Vēing Gāo, Weng Kao, Wein) Township, 8 villages 13.4 Noung Lai Sing Township, 8 villages 14. Ba Lēen (Nāng Kang Vū) District, 15. Nax Gāo District, 16. Bāng Yāng (Pang Yang) District Mōung Bōg County: 17. Nām Pad District, 18. Mōung Bōg District 19. Mōung Ning District, 20. Mōung Ga District, 21. Houx Dao (Hotao) DistrictSpecial districtsPangkham Special District (Lūm Bāng Kam): "Guanghong" (Guang Houng) Township, Na Lod Township, Man Pad ("Nanpa") Township, Dōng O Township, Yaong Dīng Township, Man Mao Township Nām Dēeg Special District: Mgōng Lang (Nām Dēeg) Township and Nām Dēeg Street, Yaong Mox Township, Bīang Krom ("Bangkong") Township, Da Ai Township, "Lufang" Township, Nām Vēing Kam TownshipEconomic development zoneMōung Ping Economic Development Zone, formerly Mōung Ping District of Mōung Bōg County: Mōung Ping Town, Mōung Ping Brim Township, "Donglong" (Dōung Lōung) Township, Yaong Krom ("Tuanjie") Township, Bāng Sax Jax Township, Kox Song TownshipWa State overlaps with seven de jure townships designated by the Burmese government. The geographic relationship between districts (second level) and special districts (first level) of Wa State and districts of Shan State are listed below: Southern area Wa State's southern area is administered by the Fourth Theater Command as the "171st military region" and enjoys a high degree of local autonomy. For example, the UWSP allowed it to implement its own COVID-19 policies. The region is not part of traditional Wa territory, but was granted in 1989 by the then-ruling Burmese military junta for the UWSA's cooperation in their efforts against drug warlord Khun Sa. These territories were originally inhabited by the Austroasiatic Tai Loi peoples, but now include significant Lahu and Shan communities as well as Wa settlers. It is administrated by the Southern Administrative Affairs Committee (Wa: Mēng Vax Blag Jō): Wan Hoong (Mgōng Sam Soung) District, Huix Ox District, Yaong Kraox ("Kailong", Yaong Mgōng) District, Yaong Bang District, Mōung Jōd District, Yaong Mōuig ("Menggang"/ Num Mōuig) District, Kax Nax ("Huyue") District. Kax Nax ("Huyue") District seems to have been merged into Wan Hoong (Mgōng Sam Soung) District. Treatment of original inhabitants In recent years tens of thousands of people (according to the Lahu National Development Organization claims 125,933 from 1999 to 2001 alone) have resettled from northern Wa State and central Shan State to the southern area, often due to pressure by the Wa government. These actions were intended to strengthen the Wa government's position there, especially the Mong Yawn valley which is surrounded by mountains on all sides is a strategically important location. Wa people were also relocated from villages on mountain peaks to the surrounding valleys, officially to offer the residents an alternative to the cultivation of opium. After the resettlement, the Wa government allowed ethnic Wa settlers to grow opium for three more years and sell it freely. Serious human rights violations were reported during the resettlement and many people have died, around 10,000 alone during the rains of 2000 since the Wa settlers were not accustomed to tropical diseases like malaria in the warmer southern area.The original inhabitants of the area have been discriminated against by the settlers; their belongings were seized by them without compensation. Many abuses occur, including enslaving of the ones who complain about the Wa government. They have to work in the fields with chained-up legs. When a minority person cannot give enough money to the rulers, they can sell children seven years or older as soldiers to the United Wa State Army. Due to these harsh living conditions, many had no other choice but to leave their hometowns. Geography and economy The region is mainly mountainous, with deep valleys. The lowest points are approximately 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level, with the highest mountains over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Initially Wa State was heavily reliant on opium production. With Chinese assistance, there has been a move towards growing rubber and tea plantations. Wa State cultivates 220,000 acres of rubber. Due to the resettlement of residents from mountainous areas to fertile valleys, there is also cultivation of wet rice, corn and vegetables. Dozens died during the resettlement due to disease and road accidents. One of the main income sources of Wa State is the mining of resources like tin, zinc, lead and smaller amounts of gold. The proven tin ore reserves of Wa State amount to more than 50 million tons, currently 95% of the tin mine production of Myanmar comes from there, around one sixth of the world production.Additionally, there is also a thriving industry around sectors like prostitution and gambling in the capital Pangkham that are related to tourism from China which was thriving before the COVID-19 pandemic. The region was able to vaccinate nearly all of its population against the virus by July 2021, one of the earliest dates in the world. In general, the state of development of Wa State is considerably higher than in the government-controlled areas of Myanmar, which is especially true for its capital. Wa State is economically dependent on China, which supports it financially and provides military and civilian advisors and weapons. It shares 82 miles (133 km) of frontier with China.The Myanmar kyat is not legal tender anywhere in the Wa State. In the north, the Chinese yuan is legal tender, whilst the baht is legal tender in the south. Illicit drug trade The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is among the largest narcotics trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia.The UWSA cultivated vast areas of land for the opium poppy, which was later refined to heroin. Methamphetamine trafficking was also important to the economy of Wa State. The money from the opium was primarily used for purchasing weapons which continues to be the case to some extent. At the same time, while opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had declined year-on-year since 2015, cultivation area increased by 33% totalling 40,100 hectares alongside an 88% increase in yield potential to 790 metric tonnes in 2022 according to latest data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Myanmar Opium Survey 2022 With that said, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has also warned that opium production in Myanmar may rise again if the economic crunch brought on by COVID-19 and the country's February 1 military coup persists, with significant public health and security consequences for much of Asia.In August 1990, government officials began drafting a plan to end drug production and trafficking in Wa State. According to an interview with Wa officials in 1994, Bao Youyi (Tax Kuad Rang; also known as Bao Youyu) became wanted by the Chinese police for his involvement in drug trafficking. As a result, Bao Youxiang and Zhao Nyi-Lai went to Cangyuan Va Autonomous County of China and signed the Cangyuan Agreement with local officials, which stated that, "No drugs will go into the international society (from Wa State); no drugs will go into China (from Wa State); no drugs will go into Burmese government-controlled areas (from Wa State)." However, the agreement did not mention whether or not Wa State could sell drugs to insurgent groups. In 1997, the United Wa State Party officially proclaimed that Wa State would be drug-free by the end of 2005. In 2005, Wa State authorities banned opium, and thereafter launched yearly drug crackdown campaigns.: 54  With the help of the United Nations (which began opium-substitution programs in 1998): 174  and the Chinese government, many opium farmers in Wa State shifted to the production of rubber and tea. However, some poppy farmers continued to cultivate the flower outside of Wa State. Anti-drug strategies involved opium substitution programs for farmers, seeking alternative revenue sources in the area, roadbuilding to improve access to the hills, strict enforcement, and a population resettlement program.: 54  Between 1999 and 2006, the United Wa State Army began both voluntary resettlement and forced resettlement of between 50,000 and 100,000 villagers from the northern Wa State territory to the non-contiguous southern Wa State territory.: 54  Malaria and travel-related deaths were significant among the relocated population.: 54 Although opium cultivation in Myanmar declined from 1997 to 2006 on the whole, the opium ban in Wa State eventually led to increased production elsewhere in Myanmar as opium producers sought to benefit from rising opium prices following the ban.: 174  From 2006 to 2012, overall opium cultivation in Myanmar doubled as production shifted to non-Wa State areas.: 174 This population resettlement strategy relieved population pressures in the north Wa State hills and increased opportunities for the cultivation of rubber as an alternative cash crop to opium.: 55  However, international commodity prices for rubber decreased radically by December 2012, fell to a low in November 2015, and remained low from 2015 to 2018.: 56  Low rubber prices severely hampered Wa State's legitimate revenue and the income of rural people.: 56 A BBC presentation aired on 19 November 2016 showed the burning of methamphetamine, as well as a thriving trade in illegal animal parts.The production of crystal meth of high quality as well as heroin is still thriving and worth billions of dollars as of 2021. Cheaper ya ba tablets are made by neighboring rebel groups which depend on the Wa for raw materials - namely precursor chemicals sourced from the chemical industry in China and chemical industry in India which enter Myanmar directly or by transit through the Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia) and specifically Lao PDR via Viet Nam and Thailand. See also Mang Lon Coordinates: 22°10′N 99°00′E Television news broadcast from Wa State (in Chinese) 佤邦新闻 Wa State News's channel on YouTube (in Chinese) (in Tai languages)

白山 may refer to the following locations in East Asia: Baishan (白山市), prefecture-level city in Jilin, China Hakusan, Ishikawa (白山市), a city in Ishikawa, Japan Paektu Mountain (长白山/長白山 in Chinese), a stratovolcano on the China-North Korea border, and the tallest mountain in the latter nation Mount Haku (白山), an inactive volcano on the borders of Gifu, Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures in Japan See also 白山市 (disambiguation)

FIFA 23 is a football video game published by EA Sports. It is the 30th installment in the FIFA series that is developed by EA Sports, the final installment under the FIFA banner, and released worldwide on 30 September 2022 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.Kylian Mbappé is the cover athlete for the standard and legacy editions. Mbappé shares the cover of the ultimate edition with Sam Kerr. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the game is the final under the 30-year partnership between EA and FIFA. Future football games by EA are set to be named under the banner of EA Sports FC (alternatively just "EAFC"). Features Crossplay FIFA 23 features a degree of crossplay. Crossplay is available in FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Division Rivals (excluding co-op), FUT Champions, FUT Ultimate Online Draft, FUT Online Friendlies (excluding Co-Op), FUT Play a Friend, Online Friendlies, Online Seasons (excluding Co-Op Seasons) and the Virtual representation of the Bundesliga. However, crossplay is limited to consoles that fall within the same console generation. For example, those on the PlayStation 4 are able to play with and against players on Xbox One, but not the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S and vice versa. Pro Clubs will not support crossplay.The decision to omit Pro Clubs from crossplay has received criticism from the FIFA community.Furthermore, the option to delete Ultimate Team data has been removed due to most players not using that option, while an option to rename the club's name outside of the Objectives screen has been added instead. In previous FIFA titles, players can only use the Delete Club option 4 times, as they are allowed to create a club 5 times. HyperMotion2 and Technical Dribbling The game features what's being dubbed as "HyperMotion2", a system of match capture with machine learning from real life football matches to create over 6,000 in-game animations. "Technical Dribbling" uses what is being called the "Active Touch" system to improve the footballer's path to the ball and improve a player's turning and dribbling with more responsiveness. Both systems are exclusive to current-generation versions (i.e. PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia and PC).The machine learning algorithms used in HyperMotion2 are based on deep learning neural networks , which are designed to simulate the behavior of the human brain. These neural networks consist of layers of interconnected nodes that process and analyze data, allowing the system to identify patterns and make predictions based on past experience. To train the machine learning algorithms used in HyperMotion2, EA Sports used a large dataset of football matches captured with advanced motion-capture technology. The dataset includes thousands of hours of footage, which was carefully analyzed and labeled by a team of experts to ensure the accuracy of the data. A technique called backpropagation was used by EA Sports. Backpropagation is a technique used to adjust the parameters of a neural network to minimize the difference between the network's predictions and the actual output. In the case of HyperMotion2, backpropagation is used to adjust the parameters of the neural network to ensure that the in-game animations accurately replicate the movements of real-life players. The machine learning algorithms used in HyperMotion2 are able to identify patterns in the data and use these patterns to create new animations that accurately replicate the movements of real-life players. The system is able to generate over 6,000 unique animations, each with its own set of variables and parameters that determine how the animation will be executed in-game. World Cup game modes FIFA 23 features the men's World Cup game mode and the women's World Cup game mode, replicating the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.The 2022 FIFA World Cup mode was released on 9 November for all platforms except for the Nintendo Switch Legacy Edition. The mode contains only two out of eight stadiums: Al Bayt and Lusail Iconic Stadium. The mode also contains each of the 32 teams that qualified for the 2022 tournament, along with fifteen other national teams that did not qualify: Austria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Scotland, Sweden, and Ukraine. The World Cup mode in FIFA 23 is the last World Cup mode since the new generation of FIFA games will go under the name of EA Sports FC; therefore will not get licensing from FIFA. On 19 June 2023, it was announced that the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup mode has been released around the end of June 2023. The update was released on 27 June 2023, replicating the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament and featuring the 32 qualified teams. New icons and removed icons FIFA 23 features three new icons to its ICON Collection with the addition of Gerd Müller, Xabi Alonso and Jairzinho. With new addition to these three, 8 of the previously added icons are missing from the Icons List released by EA Sports. Diego Maradona, Ryan Giggs, Pep Guardiola, Deco, Marc Overmars and Filippo Inzaghi have been removed as icons for FIFA 23. Jay-Jay Okocha and Hidetoshi Nakata have been removed as icons for FIFA 23, but are now featured as heroes. New Heroes FIFA 23, in an exclusive deal with Marvel, features 21 new heroes to the existing heroes collection from FIFA 22 with the additions of: Lúcio, Jean-Pierre Papin, Rudi Völler, Diego Forlán, Rafael Márquez, Javier Mascherano, Ricardo Carvalho, Tomas Brolin, Harry Kewell, Yaya Touré, Claudio Marchisio, Landon Donovan, Joan Capdevila, Sidney Govou, Dirk Kuyt, Park Ji-sung, Włodzimierz Smolarek, Saeed Al-Owairan and Peter Crouch, with the late addition of Ledley King after the game's release. Women's club football This entry in the FIFA video game series is the first to introduce women's club football. England's FA Women's Super League and the French Division 1 Féminine are included at launch, with more women's football leagues planned to be added later on. This comes alongside Sam Kerr, who plays for Chelsea Women, becoming the first female footballer to feature on the global front cover of the game. On 18 October 2022, EA Sports announced the inclusion of the UEFA Women's Champions League in the game for early 2023. On 6 March 2023, EA announced the addition of the UEFA Women's Champions League and the National Women's Soccer League beginning on 15 March 2023. On 14 March, EA announced the UWCL and NWSL update would be available by 23 March due to issues encountered during testing. Licences FIFA 23 contains over 30 licensed leagues, over 100 licensed stadiums, over 700 clubs and more than 19,000 players. Roma, Atalanta, Lazio and Napoli are not featured in FIFA 23 due to their exclusivity agreements with rival game eFootball, and are instead known as Roma FC, Bergamo Calcio, Latium, and Napoli FC respectively. The game retains the players' likenesses, but the official badge, kits and stadiums are replaced with custom designs and generic stadiums created by EA Sports. Juventus, having been similarly absent for the past three entries and thus known as Piemonte Calcio, are featured in the game however.The game no longer feature the teams of the J1 League, due to EA and J.League's six-year partnership coming to an end. Almost all Latin American leagues were also removed from the game, with only the Argentine Primera División remaining; the teams that contend the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana are also still present. The Russian Premier League remained absent from the game as well, due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. New stadiums added to the game include the Philips Stadion, home of PSV Eindhoven, the Europa-Park Stadion, home of SC Freiburg, the Banc of California Stadium, home of Los Angeles FC, and the Academy Stadium, home of Manchester City Women. The Juventus Stadium, home of Juventus, is also added, having been absent from the past few entries due to licence issues. Nottingham Forest's home ground, the City Ground, was added post-launch via an update, thus ensuring all 20 Premier League clubs have their respective stadiums. Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also featured in the game with licensed players and kits, but do not have their stadium licenses and thus play in generic stadiums. The game features fictional club AFC Richmond and their stadium Nelson Road from the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. Soundtrack Alongside the game's main soundtrack, 40 of the 100 popular tracks from previous FIFA titles - collectively known as the "Ultimate FIFA Soundtrack" - were added to the game in November 2022. These songs included "Song 2" by Blur (FIFA: Road to World Cup 98), "Love Me Again" by John Newman (FIFA 14) and "The Nights" by Avicii (FIFA 15). As a result of these additions, FIFA 23's soundtrack is the largest in the series. Reception FIFA 23 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The Nintendo Switch version was widely panned, with critics deriding EA for not adding any significant improvements over previous versions of the game. Writing for GamesRadar+, Ben Wilson criticized the gameplay, citing the game's pay-to-win aspects, along with moments where "player control felt sabotaged"; though stated that the series bowed out on a high and expressed encouragement for EA Sports FC scheduled for next year. Game Informer praised the title, stating that it’s “flashy, fun to play and has a lot of modes”, but criticized its similarity to previous installments of the series.IGN game reviewer gave it a 7/10 and said "FIFA 23’s slick and dramatic virtual football is fitting for the series’ last hurrah under its long-time name, but familiar frustrations abound, and it still greatly undervalues some of its most beloved modes."It was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Multiplayer at the 19th British Academy Games Awards as well as for Sports Game of the Year and Online Game of the Year at the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

Kontoor Brands is an American clothing company. It was a spin off from the VF Corporation in May 2019, and markets denim clothing under the Lee, Wrangler and Rock & Republic brand names. Kontoor Brands also operates the VF Outlet chain of factory outlet stores. Its head office is in Greensboro, North Carolina.Stock in the company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KTB; market capitalisation in 2020 was about $2.2 billion.

Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Its media services include streaming media, TV Everywhere-based services, local media sources, and sports journalism and broadcasts. Second-generation and later models function only when connected via HDMI to an enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen television. Since the fourth-generation model, Apple TV runs tvOS with multiple pre-installed apps. In November 2019, Apple released Apple TV+ and Apple TV app a la carte. Apple TV lacks integrated controls and can only be controlled remotely, either through an Apple Remote, Siri Remote, iOS device, or some third-party infrared remotes. Background In 1993, Apple released the Macintosh TV in an attempt to enter the home-entertainment industry. The device had a 14-inch CRT screen and a TV tuner card. It was not a commercial success, with only 10,000 sold before its discontinuation in 1994. That year, the company developed the Apple Interactive Television Box, a collaboration with BT Group and Proximus Group that was never released to the public. Apple's final major attempt before the Apple TV was the Apple Pippin in 1990s, a combination home game console and networked computer. Models First generation At a September 2006 Apple special event, Apple announced the first-generation Apple TV. It was originally announced as "iTV" to fit into their "i"-based product naming convention, but was renamed "Apple TV" before launch due to a trademark dispute with British broadcasting network ITV, which threatened legal action against Apple. Pre-orders began in January 2007 and it was released in March 2007. It is based on a Pentium M processor and ran a variant of Mac OS X Tiger, and included a 40 GB hard disk for storing content. It supported output up to 720p on HDTVs via HDMI, and supported some standard definition televisions via component video. At launch, Apple TV required a Mac or Windows-based PC running iTunes on the same network to sync or stream content to it.A model with a 160 GB hard drive was released in May 2007. The 40 GB version was discontinued in September 2009. In January 2008, it became a stand-alone device through a software update, which removed the requirement of iTunes syncing from separate computer, and allowed for media from services such as iTunes Store, MobileMe, and Flickr to be rented or purchased directly on the Apple TV.In July 2008, Apple released the software 2.1 update which added external recognition of iPhones and iPod Touches as alternative remote control devices to the Apple Remote. In September 2015, Apple discontinued iTunes support for the first-generation Apple TV, with accessibility being obstructed from such devices due to obsolete security standards. Second generation Apple released the second-generation Apple TV in September 2010. Based on the ARM-based Apple A4 chip instead of an Intel x86 processor, it runs a variant of iOS. It is housed in a black enclosure and is one-quarter the size of the first-generation model. The device has 8 GB of flash storage for buffering, replacing the internal hard drive in the first-generation model. It supports output up to 720p via HDMI and does not support standard definition televisions. In conjunction with its release, Apple renamed AirTunes as AirPlay, with support for streaming video from iPhones, iPads, and Macs to Apple TV. Third generation At a March 2012 Apple special event, Apple announced the third-generation Apple TV. Externally identical to its predecessor, it includes an A5 chip with one core deactivated and supports 1080p video output. It also allows remote access to HomeKit devices.Apple quietly released an updated "Rev A" in January 2013. It added support for peer-to-peer AirPlay, and it uses a single-core variant of the A5 chip. The device also draws less power than the original third-generation model. It was discontinued in October 2016. In December 2017, Apple added support for Amazon Prime Video. The Apple TV app, bundled with Apple TV Software 7.3, was released in May 2019. HD (originally fourth generation) On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the fourth-generation Apple TV at an Apple special event. The fourth-generation model uses a new operating system, tvOS, with an app store, allowing downloads of third-party apps for video, audio, games and other content. It uses a 64-bit Apple A8 chip, and adds support for Dolby Digital Plus audio. It is taller but otherwise resembles the second- and third-generation models. The remote replaced the arrow button with swipe-to-select features, Siri support, a built-in microphone, volume control over HDMI CEC and IR, and an accelerometer (IMU).Upon release, the third-party apps were available from a limited range of providers, with new APIs providing opportunities for more apps. New apps and games were initially required to interface with the new touchpad-enabled Siri remote, a requirement later relaxed for games.The fourth-generation Apple TV started shipping in October 2015. Several unexpected problems, such as incompatibility with iTunes Remote app for iOS and watchOS, were fixed by Apple in tvOS 9.1 on December 8, 2015.On September 13, 2016, Apple released tvOS 10, bringing an updated remote app, single-sign on, and light-on-dark color scheme. tvOS 10 also introduced HomeKit support and allows it to function as a home hub, supporting controlling appliances remotely, granting guest access, and setting up automations.After newer 4K versions of the Apple TV were released, Apple continued to sell the fourth-generation model as an entry-level option, rebranding it as the Apple TV HD in March 2019. On October 18, 2022, the Apple TV HD was discontinued after seven years on the market after the release of the 4K third-generation model. 4K (first generation) At an Apple special event on September 12, 2017, Apple announced the Apple TV 4K, which supports 2160p output, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and includes a faster Apple A10X chip supporting HEVC hardware decoding. Dolby Atmos support was added in tvOS 12. Following the announcement of the new models, the 64 GB version of the Apple TV HD was discontinued. Changes to the 4th-generation case include the addition of vents on the base, the removal of the USB-C port, and the addition of a tactile white ring around the Menu button on the included Siri Remote. 4K (second generation) On April 20, 2021, Apple announced an updated Apple TV 4K with the A12 Bionic chip, support for high frame rate HDR, HDMI 2.1, and Wi-Fi 6. Its HDMI port supports ARC and eARC, which allows other sources plugged into the television to output audio through Apple TV, including to AirPlay speakers like HomePod. Like the HomePod mini, it has a Thread radio. It can pair with the ambient light sensor on iPhones with Face ID to optimize its color output, a feature that was also extended to older Apple TVs with tvOS 14.5. AirPlay supports high frame rate HDR playback, allowing videos shot on the iPhone 12 Pro in Dolby Vision 4K 60fps to be mirrored in full resolution. Following the announcement, the previous Apple TV 4K with an A10X chip was discontinued.The model also comes with a thicker, redesigned Siri Remote with a circular touchpad with navigational buttons, as well as power and mute buttons. The remote does not include an accelerometer and gyroscope, which were present in the previous Siri Remote, making it incompatible with some games. The remote is compatible with previous generation tvOS-based Apple TVs and ships with an updated SKU of the Apple TV HD. 4K (third generation) On October 18, 2022, Apple announced an updated Apple TV 4K with the A15 Bionic chip with a 5-core CPU (one high efficiency core disabled) and 5-core GPU, reduced weight and dimensions, and support for HDR10+. It comes in two configurations, a Wi-Fi-only model with 64 GB of storage, and a more expensive 128 GB model with Wi-Fi, Ethernet and a Thread radio. The included Siri Remote charges via USB-C instead of Lightning. Features Apple TV allows consumers to use an HDTV with any Apple TV or a UHDTV with Apple TV 4K or later, to stream video, music, and podcasts as well as downloading apps and games from the tvOS App Store. The first, second, and third generations offered limited content which Apple had provisioned to work with Apple TV. These have now been discontinued in favor of the fourth generation Apple TV, with an OS based on iOS called tvOS which lets developers create their own apps with their own interface that run on Apple TV. These include multimedia, music apps, and games. Features of Apple TV include: Video streaming Users of Apple TV can rent or buy movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store, or stream video from a variety of services found in the tvOS App Store. Users can stream live and on-demand content from apps that support login through a cable provider by way of one universal app also called Apple TV. The single-sign on feature in tvOS 10.1 and later allows users to log in to all of these apps at once, bypassing the need to authenticate each individually.Music and Podcasts streaming Users can access their music and podcasts libraries that they purchased in iTunes through iCloud through the Music and Podcasts apps, respectively. In addition, users can also subscribe to music streaming services and access content that way.Photos The built in Photos app syncs user photos from iCloud Photo Library and displays them on TV. In addition, users can download third-party apps like Adobe Lightroom to view, edit and share them.Apps and games With the fourth generation Apple TV and later, users can download apps and games from the tvOS App Store. This app store is similar to the one found on the Apple iPhone and iPad. Apps can now be ported from iOS easily by developers since tvOS and iOS share a common codebase and kernel. Examples include the Papa John's and Grubhub apps which allows for users to order food right from Apple TV and Zillow which allows users to search for homes right on their TV. A NASA app for Apple TV includes live streaming of NASA TV content, including International Space Station missions. Games use the Accelerometer and Gyroscope along with the touchpad found on the Siri Remote for control. External Bluetooth game controllers can also be paired. Examples include Asphalt 8, which can be played using the Siri Remote.Casting and mirroring With AirPlay, users can stream or mirror content wirelessly from an iOS device or Mac. AirPlay can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen (swipe down from top right on newer models) in Control Center on iOS or in the Menu Bar on a Mac. Its functions include:Casting, which allows users to wirelessly send video or audio from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac to the Apple TV. Mirroring, which allows users to wirelessly mirror their Mac screen or AirPlay device which to the TV, using it as a second monitor. Peer-to-Peer AirPlay, which uses Bluetooth to connect if the Apple TV and the iOS Device/Mac are not on the same Wi-Fi network.Siri Siri is built into the fourth generation and later Apple TV. It enables voice dictation in text fields, including usernames and passwords. Universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes and Netflix in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, universal search supports movies and TV shows in iTunes, Netflix, and Stan. Apple has been expanding the feature to encompass additional channels worldwide. A Live Tune-In feature that allows the viewer to ask Siri to tune to live streams.HomeKit The third-generation Apple TV and later can also be used as a home hub to control HomeKit devices, such as locks, thermostats, or garage doors either locally or over the Internet. HomeKit Automation, such as automatic implementation of scenes, multiple user support, and using Siri to control devices, and remote access for shared users or HomeKit-enabled cameras is only possible with a fourth generation Apple TV or later.General HDMI CEC to control other devices in a user's home theater setup. App Switcher which enables users to switch apps. Aerial Screensaver which allows the TV to display a flyover view of a city when Apple TV is inactive. Screensavers can also be invoked from the home screen by pressing menu on the Siri Remote once. App Store With the fourth-generation Apple TV (Apple TV HD) and tvOS, Apple announced an App Store which allows any developer to make apps, using the APIs available specifically tailored towards the TV. Also, since tvOS is based on iOS, any developer can port over apps from iOS and with a few modifications, as Apple stated on stage, and can make them available for all tvOS users with the App Store. The App Store is not available to previous Apple TVs and is a feature of the fourth generation Apple TV onward. Accessibility Since tvOS and watchOS are based on iOS, they have inherited many of the accessibility features of iOS and macOS and are compatible with Apple's entire product line including the Apple Watch as a remote controller for the Apple TV. tvOS includes the Apple technologies of VoiceOver, Zoom, and Siri to help the blind and those with low vision. Pairing a Wireless keyboard with the tvOS on the Apple TV enables another accessibility feature that also is an incorporation of VoiceOver. When typing, VoiceOver mirrors with an audio voice, each character pressed on the keyboard and repeated again when it is entered. The Apple TV is designed to work with the Apple Wireless Keyboard or the Apple Magic Keyboard.Apple TV with and without tvOS supports closed captioning, so the deaf or hard of hearing can properly watch TV episodes and feature-length movies. Compatible episodes and movies are denoted with a CC (closed captioning) or SDH (Descriptive Audio) icon in the iTunes Store either on the Apple TV or in iTunes itself. The viewer can customize the captions in episodes or movies with styles and fonts that are more conducive to their hearing and/or visual impairment. Apple's Remote app on iOS devices allows control of the Apple TV from an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Restrictions Similar to Google's redesign of YouTube, Apple has restricted access to most viewed charts on movies and podcasts. They are replaced by "Top Movies", "Top Podcasts", and "Editor's Picks". Parental controls allow consumers to limit access to Internet media service content via "Restrictions" settings; individual services can be turned off (e.g., to reduce clutter), icons can be rearranged via the tap-and-hold technique à la iOS. Internet media is split into four categories: "Internet Photos", "YouTube", "Podcasts", and "Purchase and Rental". Each of the categories is configured by a parental control of "Show", "Hide" or "Ask" to prompt for a 4-digit PIN. In addition, movies, TV shows, music and podcasts can be restricted by rating. Streaming video sources Apps available for Apple TV can stream video from a variety of sources, although some are only available in certain countries. Local sources Apple TV allows users on a computer running iTunes to sync or stream photos, music and videos. A user can connect a computer on a local network to maintain a central home media library of digitized CD, DVD or HD content, provide direct connectivity to photo organization software such as iPhoto, limit home video access to a local network only, play Internet radio, or preload content on Apple TV to be used later as a non-networked video player. For users who wish to connect the Apple TV to a computer, synchronization and streaming modes are supported. Apple TV in synchronization mode works in a way similar to the iPod. It is paired with an iTunes library on a single computer and can synchronize with that library, copying all or selected content to its own storage. Apple TV need not remain connected to the network after syncing. Photos can be synced from iPhoto, Aperture, or from a folder on a Mac, or Adobe Photoshop Album, Adobe Photoshop, or from a hard disk folder in Windows.Apple TV can also function as a peer-to-peer digital media player, streaming content from iTunes libraries and playing the content over the network. First-generation Apple TVs can stream content from up to five computers or iTunes libraries. Also, five Apple TVs can be linked to the same iTunes library. The second-generation Apple TV onwards allows users to stream content from more than one iTunes library: these additional iTunes libraries can be on the same or on different computers. This is possible when Apple TV and every iTunes library from which you want to stream content meet all of the following conditions: (1) the Apple TV and the iTunes library you are streaming from are both on the same local network, (2) each uses the iTunes "Home Sharing" feature, and (3) each are using the same "Home Sharing" Apple ID. Apple TV HD and newer can also stream content locally using third-party apps such as Plex, Kodi, VLC media player, Emby and MrMC. Supported formats Apple TV natively supports the following audio, video, and picture formats (although with the Apple TV HD and later, apps may use alternative built-in software in order to play other codecs and formats, e.g. Emby, MrMC, VLC media player, Kodi and Plex): Others Attempts to sync unsupported content to Apple TV will draw an error message from iTunes. The first- and second-generation Apple TV video output can be set to either 1080i or 1080p; however, this resolution is limited to the user interface and the viewing of photographs – all other content is simply upscaled to those resolutions. Those models cannot play 1080i or 1080p video content (e.g., HD camera video). The third- and fourth-generation Apple TV support 1080p video content. The Apple TV 4K, as the name suggests, supports 4K resolutions and HDR, including Dolby Vision. 4K content from sources such as iTunes can be played on a compatible 4K television set. Apple offers AVC 1080p movies and video podcasts on iTunes. In comparison, Blu-ray films are 1080p H.264 or VC-1 video encoded at rates of up to 40 Mbit/s. Apple TV's audio chip supports 7.1 surround sound, and some high definition rentals from iTunes are offered with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. There is an Apple TV export option in QuickTime which allows content in some formats that the device does not support to be easily re-encoded. Applications that use QuickTime to export media can use this; e.g., iMovie's Share menu, iTunes' advanced menu, and some third-party content conversion tools. Connectivity Apple TV streams video through an HDMI cable (Type A) connected to the TV's HDMI port. Audio is supported through the optical or HDMI ports. The device also has a Micro-USB port, which is reserved for service and diagnostics. The device connects through Ethernet or Wi-Fi to the computer for digital content from the Internet and local networks. Apple TV does not come with audio, video or other cables, which must be acquired additionally as required. On the previous Apple TV, media files could be transferred directly onto the device by syncing with another computer. Once content was stored on the device's hard drive, Internet connectivity was no longer needed to view content. This is not the case with the later models, which do not have a hard drive for storing media. The first-generation Apple TV had component video and RCA connector audio ports, both removed in the 2nd generation. The device does not have RCA/composite video or F/RF connectors, but can be tricked into outputting color via composite. Starting with the Apple TV HD, Apple removed the optical audio port. Apple also enhanced the HDMI port by adding support for HDMI. The 4th generation also removed the USB hardware port in favor of the reversible USB-C port and the 5th generation removed USB entirely. AirPlay AirPlay allows iOS devices or an AirPort-enabled computer with the iTunes music player to send a stream of music to multiple (three to six, in typical conditions) stereos connected to an AirPort Express (the audio-only antecedent of Apple TV) or Apple TV. The AirPort Express' streaming media capabilities use Apple's Remote Audio Output Protocol (RAOP), a proprietary variant of RTSP/RTP. Using WDS-bridging, the AirPort Express can allow AirPlay functionality (as well as Internet access, file and print sharing, etc.) across a larger distance in a mixed environment of wired and up to 10 wireless clients. Speakers attached to an AirPort Express or Apple TV can be selected from within the "Remote" iPhone/iPod Touch program, allowing full AirPlay compatibility (see "Remote control" section below). A compatible Mac running OS X Mountain Lion or later can wirelessly mirror its screen to an Apple TV through AirPlay Mirroring while one running OS X Mavericks or later can also extend its display with AirPlay Display. Remote control Apple TV can be controlled by many infrared remote controls or paired with the included Apple Remote to prevent interference from other remotes. Either kind of remote can control playback volume, but for music only. The Apple Wireless Keyboard is supported on the second-generation Apple TV and later using the built-in Bluetooth. The consumer has the ability to control media playback, navigate menus and input text and other information. Third-party keyboards that use the Apple layout may also be compatible. On July 10, 2008, Apple released ITunes Remote, a free iOS application that allows the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad to control the iTunes library on the Apple TV via Wi-Fi. The Apple Watch also has a remote app to control Apple TV. The Remote App was updated on September 13, 2016, to take advantage of all the features of the Apple TV 4. This includes Siri, Touchpad, and Home Buttons, along with a now playing screen.On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the new Siri Remote for the fourth-generation Apple TV (Apple TV HD) (although in some territories, Apple have kept the name Apple TV Remote, due to Siri functionality not being enabled on it in that territory). It is a completely redesigned remote that features dual microphones for Siri support and a glass touch surface for navigation around the interface by swiping or tapping and scrubbing to fast forward or rewind. Also, it has a menu and home button, a Siri button to invoke Siri, a Play/Pause button, and a Volume Up/Down button to control the volume on the TV. The Siri Remote communicates with the Apple TV via Bluetooth rather than infrared, removing the requirement of a line-of-sight with the device. This new remote is only supported by the Apple TV HD and later and will not work with earlier generations. Siri Beginning with the Apple TV HD, the remote includes two microphones and a button to activate Siri. Siri on the Apple TV has all of the functions of Siri on iOS 9; it can also respond to requests specifically for the TV. For instance, the viewer can ask Siri to search for a TV show or movie and it will search across multiple different sources to tell the user where the content is available to watch. It can also do things such as Play/Pause, Rewind/Fast Forward, skip back 15 seconds and temporarily turn on captioning when asked "what did he say?" or "what did she say?", open a specific app, and more. Software First generation The original Apple TV ran a modified build of Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger. Apple TV Software 1.0 Apple TV software 1.0 presented the user with an interface similar to that of Front Row. Like Front Row on the Mac, it presents the user with seven options for consuming content. Movies, TV Shows, Music, Podcasts, Photos, Settings, and Apple TV Software 2.0 In February 2008, Apple released a major and free upgrade to the Apple TV, labelled "Take Two" (2.0). This update did away with Front Row and introduced a new interface in which content was organized into six categories, all of which appeared in a large square box on the screen upon startup (movies, TV shows, music, YouTube, podcasts, and photos) and presented in the initial menu, along with a "Settings" option for configuration, including software updates. Apple TV Software 3.0 In October 2009, Apple released a minor upgrade for the Apple TV called "Apple TV Software 3.0". This update replaced the interface in version 2.0 with a new interface which presented seven horizontal columns across the top of the screen for the different categories of content (Movies, TV Shows, Music, Podcasts, Photos, Internet, and Settings). This update also added features such as content filtering, iTunes Extras, new fonts, and a new Internet radio app. One new feature in particular was the 'Genius' playlist option allowing for easier and more user friendly playlist creating. Second and third generation The 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs run a version of iOS, rather than the modified Mac OS X of the original model. The interface on Apple TV Software 4 is similar to that of previous versions, with only minor changes and feature additions throughout. In March 2012, Apple released a major new software update, with the Apple TV 3rd generation, labeled as Apple TV Software 5 (iOS 5.1), which shipped with the new 3rd generation Apple TV. This update completely revised the look of the home screen to make it resemble the icon grid seen on iOS. Instead of 7 columns, content and third-party channels are shown in a tiled grid format, which can be rearranged. Throughout the years, for Apple TV Software 5–6, Apple released minor revisions, content additions, and feature updates. The Apple TV Software 7.0 features a flat look similar to iOS 7 and OS X Yosemite and adds features such as Peer-To-Peer AirPlay. Version 8.0 was skipped. Apple TV Software 7.2.2 (iOS 8) is currently available for the Apple TV (3rd generation), as of March 2019. It does not support tvOS 9.0 or later. However, it does support Amazon Video, which was automatically added to those Apple TVs running 7.2.2 on December 6, 2017. In May 2019 Apple TV Software 7.3 (iOS 8.4.2) was released to the public. This update was the first update for the 3rd generation Apple TV since 2016. This update adds the new Apple TV app to the home screen. The Apple TV app brings compatibility to the Apple TV Channels service. This update also fixes some security flaws found in Apple TV Software 7.2.2 and earlier. On September 24, 2019, Apple TV Software 7.4 (iOS 8.4.3) was released to the public. On March 24, 2020, Apple TV Software 7.5 (iOS 8.4.4) was released to the public. HD and 4K The Apple TV HD and later run an operating system called tvOS which does not support the earlier generations of Apple TV. It features an app store, allowing third-party app developers to release their own apps on the platform. The new software also features support for Siri voice control. The tvOS software development kit (SDK) for developing tvOS apps is included in Xcode 7.1 and later. A new development feature, App Thinning, is used in the Apple TV, running on tvOS, due to the storage restrictions of the device (as little as 32 GB) and the dual-use of the NAND Flash Memory to precache movies from Apple's content servers as well as storage for downloaded applications from the tvOS App Store. Apple's aim is to limit the size of application downloads and steering users toward downloading individual segments of apps in order to better manage storage space. Developers have reacted with criticism toward the download size limits, arguing that it leads to situations where game data is purged and has to be re-downloaded. Technical specifications Supported Unsupported Limitations Functionality Apple TV contains neither a TV tuner nor a personal video recorder. Both capabilities can be applied to the connected home computer through various third-party products, such as allowing PVR software to connect to iTunes and enable scheduled HDTV recordings to play automatically via Apple TV for playback. Apple TV HD and newer can be linked with Wi-Fi-based tuners such as HDHomeRun.The Front Row interface lacks some iTunes functionality, including rating items, checking the account balance, adding funds to the account, synchronizing from more than one computer, full Internet radio support, and games.The Movies search box only searches the iTunes Store, not local hard drives and networks.Movies rented on Apple TV must be watched on Apple TV, unlike iTunes rentals, which can be transferred to any video-enabled iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. Movies purchased on Apple TV can be moved to a video-enabled iPod or iPhone via iTunes.Apple TV prior to 4th generation (Apple TV HD) does not support the HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI CEC) protocol. On the Apple TV (2nd generation), digital output audio is up-sampled to 48 kHz, including lossless CD rips at 44.1 kHz. Although this is a higher frequency and the difference is not audible, it is seen by some as falling short of digital transmission of data standards due to the audio not being 'bit perfect'. Sales 1st generation Within the first week of presales in January 2007, Apple TV was the top pre-selling item at the Apple Store. Orders exceeded 100,000 units by the end of January and Apple began ramping-up to sell over a million units before the 2007 holiday season. Analysts began calling it a "DVD killer" that could enable multiple services. Analysts also predicted that Apple could sell up to 1.5 million units in the first year. Besides the Apple Store, Best Buy was one of the first retailers to carry the device; Target and Costco followed shortly thereafter. Two months into sales, Forrester Research predicted at the time that Apple would only sell a million Apple TV units, because consumers prefer advertisement-supported content over paid content. Forrester predicted that cable companies would be the clear winners over content providers such as the iTunes Store. Shortly after, Apple released YouTube functionality and Jobs stated that Apple TV was a "DVD player for the Internet". Some market analysts predicted that YouTube on Apple TV "provides a glimpse of this product's potential and its future evolution", but overall, analysts had mixed reactions regarding the future of Apple TV. Some negative reactions followed after Jobs referred to the device as a "hobby", implying it was less significant than the Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone.In the fourth quarter of 2008, sales were triple that of the fourth quarter of 2007.In Apple's first-quarter 2009 financial results conference call, acting chief executive Tim Cook stated that Apple TV sales increased three times over the same quarter a year ago. Cook mentioned that the movie rental business was working well for Apple, Apple would continue investment in movie rentals and Apple TV, but Apple TV is still considered a hobby for the company. Due to the growth of digital TV and consumers turning to Internet media services, an analyst at the time predicted sales of 6.6 million Apple TVs by the end of 2009. 2nd generation The second generation sold 250,000 units in the first two weeks it was available. On December 21, 2010, Apple announced that they had sold 1 million units. In the second fiscal quarter of 2011, it had topped 2 million in total sales, with 820,000 sold in that quarter alone.On January 24, 2012, Apple announced they had sold 1.4 million units in the first fiscal quarter of 2012, and 2.8 million units in all of fiscal year 2011. (4.2 million units through January 1, 2012). 3rd generation Tim Cook announced at the All Things Digital conference in May 2012 that Apple had sold 2.7 million of the 3rd generation model in 2012.In the Q4 FY2012 earnings call, Engadget reported comments from Tim Cook that Apple had shipped 1.3 million Apple TV units in the 4th Quarter (presumed to be 3rd generation).MacObserver reported statements by Tim Cook in the Q1 FY2013 earnings call that Apple sold over 2 million Apple TV units in the December Quarter (presumed to be 3rd generation).These reports lead to a cumulative volume of the 3rd generation device of 6 million units, as of January 1, 2013.On February 28, 2014, at Apple's shareholders meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that in 2013 Apple TV brought in 1 billion dollars of revenue for Apple.A market survey published by Parks Associates in December 2014 found that Apple TV has lost consumer traction to Google Chromecast, garnering only a 17% market share.Tim Cook announced at the Apple Watch conference on March 9, 2015, that Apple had sold a total of 25 million Apple TVs up to that point. HD, 4K and later During an Apple earnings call on January 27, 2016, CEO Tim Cook stated that the Apple TV had record sales. However, no specific sales figures were mentioned; Apple TV is included in an "Other products" category, which also includes the Apple Watch, iPods, and Beats products, and is not broken down by individual products. In June 2019 it was estimated that there are 53 million units of all generations in use worldwide.In 2019, Apple analyst John Gruber stated the Apple TV sells at a low profit margin or a loss, saying units are effectively sold at cost. See also Comparison of digital media players Mac Mini, which originally featured the Front Row application, a similar remote 10-foot user interface as the Apple TV Footnotes Quotations related to Apple TV at Wikiquote Media related to Apple TV at Wikimedia Commons Apple TV – official site

Freebase may refer to: Free base or freebase, the pure basic form of an amine, as opposed to its salt form Freebase (database), a former online database service Freebase (mixtape), 2014 mixtape by 2 Chainz An original song by the Mike Flowers Pops on their 1996 LP "A Groovy Place" See also Freebass, a musical supergroup Free-bass accordion, a bellows instrument

VB often refers to volleyball, a team sport. VB, Vb, and variants may refer to: Places Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (ISO code VB), Italy Vero Beach, a city in Florida, USA Virginia Beach, a city in Virginia, USA Companies and organizations VB, stock symbol for the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund VB Pictures, Indian film production company VB Rocks, fashion line designed by Victoria Beckham for Rock and Republic Veřejná bezpečnost, a Communist-era Czechoslovak police force Verkehrsbetriebe Biel, public transport operator in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland Villeroy & Boch, producer of ceramics from Germany; abbreviated VB VivaAerobús (IATA code VB), Mexican airline Vlaams Belang, Belgian political party Vlaams Blok, former Belgian political party Volksbank, bank in Vienna, Austria Vojvođanska banka a.d., active bank in Serbia Vojvođanska banka, defunct bank in Serbia Science and technology VB speed, aircraft design speed for maximum gust intensity Valence band of the electrons in a (semiconducting) solid Valence bond theory, a theory that uses quantum methods to explain chemical bonding Van Biesbroeck's star catalog (VB) Visual Basic (classic), a legacy computer programming language from Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, a modern object-oriented programming language from Microsoft for .NET VirtualBox, an x86-virtualization package from Sun Microsystems Vitamin B, a kind of vitamin vBulletin, a forum software Group 5 element in the periodic table according to CAS group numbering Group 15 element in the periodic table according to old group numbering Sport Vágs Bóltfelag, a Faroese football club VB Sports Club, a Maldivian football club Vejle Boldklub, a Danish football club Other uses Holden VB Commodore, a car produced by the former Australian subsidiary of General Motors, Holden Varun Badola an Indian Actor Vickers-Berthier, a light machine gun manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong Virtual Boy, a video game system by Nintendo Victoria Bitter, a beer produced in Victoria, Australia .vb, Sony Playstation Wave Bank Body, a type of audio file readable by said console

My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe My (album), by Edyta Górniak My (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business Marketing year, variable period Model year, product identifier Transport Motoryacht Motor Yacht, a name prefix for merchant vessels Midwest Airlines (Egypt), IATA airline designation MAXjet Airways, United States, defunct IATA airline designation Other uses My, the genitive form of the English pronoun I Malaysia, ISO 3166-1 country code .my, the country-code top level domain (ccTLD) Burmese language (ISO 639 alpha-2) Megalithic Yard, a hypothesised, prehistoric unit of length Million years See also MyTV (disambiguation) µ ("mu"), a letter of the Greek alphabet Mi (disambiguation) Me (disambiguation) Myself (disambiguation)

CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:Civilian soldier CS Job titles Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public sector organisation Culinary Specialist, a US Navy occupational rating Language Czech language (ISO 639-1 language code) Hungarian cs, a digraph in the Hungarian alphabet Organizations Christian Social Party (Austria), a major conservative political party in the Cisleithania, part of Austria-Hungary, and in the First Republic of Austria Citizens (Spanish political party), a post-nationalist political party in Spain Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, a Catholic religious congregation, also called Scalabrinians Confederate States of America, an unrecognized confederation of secessionist North American slave states existing from 1861 to 1865 Companies Colorado and Southern Railway, a railroad company in the western United States Comlux Aruba NV (IATA airline code: CS) Copenhagen Suborbitals, a Danish non-profit rocket group working on the HEAT1X-TYCHO BRAHE rocket CouchSurfing, a hospitality service Credit Suisse, a Swiss financial services company Comp-Sultants, a defunct microcomputer company Places Cannon Street station, London, UK, abbreviated CS in UK railway slang Czechoslovakia (former ISO 3166-1 country code) Serbia and Montenegro (former ISO 3166-1 country code) Science and technology Biology and medicine Cardiogenic shock, a medical emergency where heart fails to pump properly to push blood forward. Caesarean section, a surgical procedure to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus Cockayne syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive, congenital disorder Conditioned stimulus, in the psychological procedure of classical conditioning Corticosteroids, a class of hormones produced in vertebrates, and their synthetic analogues Cowden syndrome, a rare autosomal dominant inherited disorder (-)-camphene synthase, an enzyme CS (gene), which encodes the enzyme citrate synthase Chemistry Caesium or Cesium, symbol Cs, a chemical symbol Carbon monosulfide, chemical formula CS Computing Computer science, the scientific and practical approach to computation and its applications CS register, or code segment register, in X86 computer architecture Cable select, an ATA device setting for automatic master/slave configuration Checkstyle, a Java static code analysis tool Chip select, a control line in digital electronics ChanServ, an IRC network service Construction Set, a program for creating or editing PC games (i.e. The Elder Scrolls Construction Set) Adobe Creative Suite, a design and development software suite by Adobe Systems C#, a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language. Mathematics cs (elliptic function), one of Jacobi's elliptic functions Other uses in science and technology Carbon steel Cirrostratus cloud Citizen science Compressed sensing, a signal processing technique for reconstructing a signal using underdetermined linear systems Control segment, part of the structure of the Global Positioning System Counter-scanning, a scanning method that allows correcting raster distortions cS, another form for cSt, for centistokes, a unit of viscosity CS gas, a riot control agent Other uses Controlled substance, generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use is regulated by a government Cable Ship, in civilian ship names Calgary Stampede, a rodeo Caught stealing, a statistic in baseball Chhatrapati Shivaji, c. 1627/1630 – 1680), Indian warrior king and member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan Christian Science, a religion Cities: Skylines, 2015 city-building simulation video game Coke Studio (disambiguation), several musical television shows Counter-Strike, a series of video game first released as a 1999 modification for Half-Life Cum Suis (Latin: "and associates"); see List of Latin phrases Customer service, the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase and sale Bombardier-Airbus C-Series, small jetliner Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale See also C's (disambiguation) C/s (disambiguation)

EM, Em or em may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music EM, the E major musical scale Em, the E minor musical scale Electronic music, music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production Encyclopedia Metallum, an online metal music database Eminem, American rapper Other uses in arts and entertainment Em (comic strip), a comic strip by Maria Smedstad Companies and organizations Aero Benin (IATA code), a defunct airline Empire Airlines (IATA code), a charter and cargo airline based in Idaho, US Erasmus Mundus, an international student-exchange program Estado de Minas, a Brazilian newspaper European Movement, an international lobbying association ExxonMobil, a large oil company formed from the merger of Exxon and Mobil in 1999 La République En Marche! (sometimes shortened to "En Marche!"), a major French political party Economics Emerging markets, nations undergoing rapid industrialization Language and typography Language M, a letter of the modern Latin alphabet, in English and other languages Em (Cyrillic) (М / м), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet Em (digraph), a digraph in Portuguese Em, the third-person singular oblique Spivak pronoun Typography em (typography), a unit of measurement em dash, a dash that is one em wide em space or mutton, a space that is one em wide Management Emergency management, a discipline that studies dealing with and avoiding risks Energy management, planning and operation of energy production and energy consumption units Environmental management, the management of the interaction of human societies with the environment Places El Monte, California, a city in the United States El Monte, Chile, a city in Chile Science Biology Effective microorganisms, a series of products intended to improve soil quality and plant growth Extracellular matrix, the connective tissue supporting cells in multicellular organisms Membrane potential (Em), of a cell Computing ..., emphasis HTML element End of medium, ISO C0 control code ^Y Empirical modelling em (typography), a unit of measurement in Web design eM Client E-Mail client Medicine Emergency medicine, a medical specialty dealing with acute illnesses and injuries that require immediate attention Erythema multiforme, a skin condition that usually follows an antecedent infection or drug exposure Erythromelalgia, a disorder that typically affects the skin of the feet and/or hands, causing redness, heat and pain Extensive metabolizer, a term used in pharmacogenomics to refer to individuals with normal metabolic activity Physics Exametre or exameter (Em), an SI unit of length equal to 1018 metres Electromagnetic spectrum, the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation Electromigration, the transport of conducting solid material caused by electric current through it Electromagnetism, one of the fundamental physical forces Electromechanics, combines electrical engineering and mechanical engineering Other uses in science and technology Nikon EM, an SLR camera made by the Nikon Corporation in the late 1970s Electron microscope, a type of microscope that uses electrons to "illuminate" a specimen and create an enlarged image Electron multiplier, a vacuum-tube structure that multiplies incident charges by means of secondary emission Electronic monitoring, a form of surveillance used in criminal justice Atlantic Equatorial mode, a climate pattern of the Atlantic Ocean Expectation–maximization algorithm, an algorithm for finding maximum likelihood estimates of parameters in probabilistic models Other uses Electrician's mate, an occupational rating in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard David Em (born 1952), an American computer art pioneer EM gauge, a scale used in model railways Etymologicum Magnum, in the bibliography of the largest Byzantine lexicon

Hunan Normal University (Chinese: 湖南师范大学), founded in 1938, is a public university in Changsha, Hunan Province. The university is the 211 Project university, one of the country's top 100 national key universities in the 21st century that enjoy priority in obtaining national funds. It is also a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university, a major government initiative to comprehensively develop a group of elite universities into "world-first-class universities" by 2050. It is particularly reputable for its concentration on teachers' education and training, foreign language studies, Chinese literature and history. History National Normal College Hunan Normal University was built on the first independent teachers' college in China, named "National Normal College," established in 1938. Its historic origin can be traced back to Yuelu Academy in the Northern Song Dynasty, one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1000 years in China. It was integrated into Hunan University in 1949. Structure and departments Consisting of five campuses, the university covers a total area of 1.78 km2, with one million square meters of floor space. Most of the campuses are located near the Yuelu Mountain. The university is divided into 23 colleges, 3 teaching departments, 51 research institutions. The university offers 74 undergraduate programs, 147 master programs, and 55 Ph.D. programs. There are 10 postdoctoral scientific research stations, 13 State Training and Research Bases or Centers and 7 key laboratories, jointly constructed by the Ministry of Education and Hunan Province, on the campus. Since its founding, the university has educated nearly 300,000 students, including about 4,000 international students and students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Currently, over 24,000 undergraduates, 8,000 graduates and 300 international students are studying on campus. There are 1091 professors and associate professors at the university; among them are one academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The university has invited about 600 scholars and experts to give lectures or conduct scientific research on campus from more than 20 countries since 2000, and has established relations with over 80 foreign institutions of higher learning for academic exchanges. Rankings and reputation Hunan Normal University is consistently ranked among the top 5th in Hunan province and the top 100th nationwide. In 2023, Hunan Normal University was ranked 501-600 globally by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The university was ranked 880th in the world by the Center for World University Rankings 2023. The university ranked # 704 in the world out of nearly 30,000 universities worldwide by the University Rankings by Academic Performance 2022-2023. The 2023 CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked Hunan Normal University 577th in the world based on their publications for the period 2018–2021. The Nature Index 2023 Annual Tables by Nature Research ranked the university among the top 350 leading universities globally for the high quality of research publications in natural science. Library The library of the university has a collection of 3.4 million volumes, including 200,000 volumes of traditional thread binding books, and subscribes 4,700 kinds of Chinese and foreign periodicals. There are 12 academic periodicals published and distributed by the university. The university has its own publishing house called Hunan Normal University Press. See also High School Attached to Hunan Normal University Official web site Official website in English

Lanzhou University (Chinese: 兰州大学) is a public research university in Lanzhou, Gansu, China. Founded in 1909, it is one of the key universities under China's Ministry of Education (Double First Class University Plan, former Project 985 and Project 211). It is a Chinese state Class A Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China.It provides programs for undergraduate, graduate students on four campuses—three in Lanzhou city centre and one in Yuzhong County, about 30 miles away from the main campus. Total enrolment compromises of approximately 20,000 undergraduates, 10,572 graduates, 2,559 doctoral students, and about 700 registered international students from 64 countries and regions across 5 continents. Undergraduate students study at the Yuzhong campus. History Lanzhou University's history traces back to 1909 when its predecessor, the Gansu School of Law and Politics, was founded. The School of Law and Politics became the Sun Yat-sen University of Lanzhou in 1928 and from 1945, the National Lanzhou University. After 1949, it went by the name Lanzhou University. It was designated one of China's 14 key universities.In 1932 the Lanzhou Medical College and its affiliated hospital were founded.In 2002 the Gansu Grassland Ecology Research Institute, and in 2004 the Lanzhou Medical College were incorporated into Lanzhou University.Lanzhou University is noted for being one of China's premier institutions of higher learning with its position as the best university in Northwestern China.Lanzhou University was one of the first universities entitled to enroll Bachelor Master’s and Doctoral degree candidates in 1981. In 2017, Lanzhou University was designated as a class A university in the Double First Class University Plan.Lanzhou University maintains one of China's top ten Ph.D. programs in physics, chemistry, atmospheric sciences and geography and highly ranked programs in information science, biology, botany, mathematics, history, media, ecology and Chinese literature. It is especially noted in fundamental science, ranked in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators index.The landing system of China's Chang'e 4 lunar lander was thanks to a Lanzhou University developed gamma shutdown sensor. Primary laboratories Lanzhou University has three primary laboratories and analytical testing facility sanctioned by the Chinese Ministry of Education and deemed as high importance to the state. Laboratory of Arid Agroecology The laboratory was founded in 1991 under ratification of the Planning Commission of China and engaged in arid agriculture ecology research. The Laboratory of Arid Agroecology is the only lab engaged in arid agriculture ecology research under the Chinese Ministry of Education. The lab has been highly developed on the basis of the authorization to confer bachelor, masters, doctorate and post-doctoral degrees through the financial aid of the World Bank loan. Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry The Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry was one of the first state key laboratories ratified by Planning Commission of China. It was founded in December 1987, open to visiting scholars and scientists from both within China and abroad. It is one primary laboratories to cultivate talents for organic chemistry. The researches of the laboratory focus on organic molecular chemistry of special function, especially in the field of basic research on active organic molecules. Open Laboratory of Applied Magnetism Created in 1993 by the Chinese Ministry of Education, this is an open laboratory conducting research in the field of Applied Magnetism. The lab is chiefly engaged in studies on applications of perpendicular magnetic recording. The laboratory also conducts research and development on new applied magnetic materials which can be used for commercial applications. Mossbauer spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resource spin echo spectroscopy and general magnetic testing media are used to study magnetic materials' microscopic structure and general magnetic behavior. The laboratory is equipped with major facilities including a vibrating sample magnetometer, high pressure mossbauer spectroscope and magnetron sputtering system, along with many others. The lab also serves as a key resource for research in materials science and condensed matter physics. The laboratory has 24 professional researchers and technicians, among who are 4 doctoral advisers. Analytical Testing Center Financed by the first loan issued by the World Bank to develop universities, construction on this center began in 1982. It contains more than 20 major instruments and devices including a High-Resolution Mass Spectrometer, Infrared Spectrometer, X-Ray Quadrupole Diffractometer, Laser Raman Spectrometer, FT-IR Spectrometer, and others. The center is primarily engaged in the determination and analysis of the structure of matter. It also conducts graduate students' experiments which leads to the conferring of Master's and Ph.D. degrees. A testing service is available to the public. Established by the State Technology Superintendency in 1992, it is the approved lab for the inspection of imported and exported chemical and mining products. Campus Lanzhou University has two campuses. The oldest campus is located in the center of Lanzhou (Chengguan District), whereas the main campus is located in Yuzhong County. The One Belt and One Road campus, north of Lanzhou is under construction. There are 6 National Bases for the Training of Researching and Teaching personnel for Fundamental Disciplines. The University operates an additional 35 institutes along with 1 national key Laboratory of the Applied Organic and 3 key laboratories of Arid and Grassland Ecology, West China Environment, Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, a key laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem of the Ministry of Agriculture. Rankings and reputation Lanzhou University was one of the Project 985 universities in China to appear in the world’s top 500 universities in the global university ranking in 2007, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Lanzhou University is one of the top universities in China in terms of contributions to academic publications in international journals frequently cited by ongoing research from around the world, ranking the 26th among all Chinese Universities in number of citations per paper from from 2008 to 2017.In 2023, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Lanzhou University at 201-300th globally. From the same rankings by subjects, "Chemistry" and "Atmospheric Science" subjects were ranked in the global top 100.The U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking 2022-2023 ranked Lanzhou as 540th in the world, 112nd in Asia and 54th in China. It also ranks globally at 188th in "Agricultural Science", at 123rd in "Chemical Engineering", at 150th in "Chemistry", at 157th in "Energy and Fuels", at 403rd in "Engineering", at 304th in "Environment/Ecology", at 167th in "Geoscience", at 150th in "Material Science", 164th in "Mathematics", at 131st in "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology", at 404th in "Physics", and at 244th in "Plant and Animal Science" according to the same ranking.In 2020, the QS World University Ranking ranked the university within the 751-800th band globally. Schools and Colleges of Lanzhou University Notable faculty and alumni Hu Qing - Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT, Graduated from LZU Physics Shui Junyi - top 10 Distinguished young people, Celebrated TV program host, Graduated from LZU foreign language Li Yang - founder of Crazy English, Graduated from LZU mechanics Lu Hao - Governor of Gansu Province, Graduated from LZU Chemistry Yang Liming - Vice Secretary of Inner Mongolia, Graduated from LZU Philosophy Zhang Xuezhong - Vice Secretary of Sichuan Province, Graduated from LZU Chinese Language Cang Hui - Theoretical ecologist, Stellenbosch University, SARChI Chair in Mathematical and Theoretical Physical Biosciences Huang Bo - CEO at CHINAEDU CORP, a NASDAQ listed company, Class of 1985, Biology, LZU Wu Yundong, theoretical organic chemist Shu Hongbing, biologist, academician of Chinese Academy of Science, B.S. of LZU Ren Jianxin, entrepreneur , founding president of ChemChina, M.S. of LZU Zhang Dongju, PhD 2010, faculty Zhang Chunyuan student, rightist, founder of the Lanzhou University Rightist Counter-Revolutionary Clique Official Lanzhou University Website (in English) Official Lanzhou University Website (in Chinese)

Zhengzhou University (Chinese: 郑州大学), colloquially known in Chinese as Zhèngdà (郑大) and abbreviated as ZZU is a public university located in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. Zhengzhou University is the largest university in China in terms of number of students (around 73,000 students). The Campus size is the tenth largest in PR China with 433 hectares (1,070 acres).Zhengzhou University was co-constructed by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Government of Henan Province under the initiative of "One Province, One University". It has been recognized for receipt of huge development spending given its potential to become a reputed seat of higher learning. ZZU was included in "Project 211" by the Chinese Ministry of Education which aimed at transforming promising universities into "Key National Universities". The "Project 211" was later on replaced with a more ambitious and comprehensive initiative of tertiary education "Double First-Class University Plan" with an intent to develop elite Chinese universities and their disciplines as topmost institutions of the world by the end of 2050. ZZU is included in this project as well.Zhengzhou University has been ranked among top 300 global universities by Academic Ranking of World Universities 2022, and 385th globally and 75th in Asia as of 2022 by the US News & World Report Best Global University Ranking. History Merger of three universities Originally established in 1956, Zhengzhou University was restructured by the merger of three universities i.e., Zhengzhou University, Henan Medical University, and Zhengzhou University of Technology on July 10, 2000. The purpose of this re-establishment was to create a center of top-notch learning covering a huge range of academic disciplines, equipped with excellent research facilities so as to revolutionize higher education in Central China in general and Henan Province in particular. Since its re-establishment, Zhengzhou University has received more attention by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the People's Government of Henan Province in terms of governmental support, finances, inter institutional cooperation and research collaboration. History before merger Henan Medical University dates back to the medical education in National Fifth Sun Yat-Sen University built in 1928 (the predecessor of National Henan University founded in 1942). This national university moved into Zhengzhou in 1952 and established Henan Medical College (the first batch authorized to confer doctoral degrees) which was the fore running of the higher medical education in Henan province. Zhengzhou University is the first comprehensive university established by the State Council of Chinese Government in 1954. According to the State Council, a group of faculty members from Shandong University, Peking University, Jilin University and Northeast University moved to Zhengzhou. The Zhengzhou University was established by these professors in 1954. The university was admitted into Project 211 in 1996. Zhengzhou University of Technology as a National Key University under the direct administration of the Ministry of Chemical Industry of China, it was founded in 1963. Campus Zhengzhou University now has four campuses covering 1070 acres land across Zhengzhou City. The main campus covers 799 acres of land on Science Avenue and Changchun Road in North-West section of Zhengzhou City. It is one of the most beautiful campuses in China with a construction cost of more than two billion Yuan. Majority of schools and faculties are located at main campus. The east campus is the campus of previous Henan Medical University in the city center between Zhongyuan Road and Jianshe Road. The clinical stage of medical education is held on this campus. The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, with more than 10,000 sickbeds, is the largest hospital in the world.The south campus is the campus of previous Zhengzhou University in the city center area of Daxue Road, while the north campus is the campus of previous Zhengzhou University of Technology in the city center of Wenhua Road. Staff, Programs, Students After years of balanced development, Zhengzhou University now is a multi-discipline institution with 12 fields, such as science, engineering, medicine, literature, history, philosophy, law, economics, management science, pedagogy, agriculture and arts. Currently there are six national key disciplines, condensed matter physics, materials processing engineering, history of ancient China, organic chemistry, chemical technology, pathology and pathophysiology; 7 disciplines ranked top 1% in ESI globally; 21 first-level disciplines are authorized to confer doctoral degrees, 3 independent second-level disciplines to confer doctoral degrees, 55 first-level disciplines to confer master's degrees, as well as 24 post-doctoral research stations. There are 51 Schools and departments as well as 9 affiliated hospitals in Zhengzhou University. The number of staff is over 6,000, 4000 academic members, 37 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Science and Engineering (15 full-time, 22 part-time and 4 oversea), 747 professors, and 1,600 associate professors. In year 2020, there are around 51,000 undergraduate students, 19,000 graduate students and 2,600 international students studying in Zhengzhou University. Schools There exist 51 schools or departments in Zhengzhou University, ranging from art and literature to social and natural science and engineering. Medicine Schools and Departments Humanities and Social Science Schools and Departments Science and Engineering Schools Rankings Zhengzhou University has been ranked among top 300 global universities by Academic Ranking of World Universities 2022, and 385th globally and 75th in Asia as of 2022 by the US News & World Report Best Global University Ranking. Times Higher Education 2023 has ranked ZZU in 601-800 best global universities, while the QS World University Rankings 2024 ranked it 621-630 globally. The CWTS Ranking 2023 of Leiden University ranked ZZU as 50th best global university whereas NTU World Universities Ranking 2021 ranked it 134. The QS Asia Top Universities 2022 ranked it among 220 best universities of Asia. Research Featured with a solid scientific research foundation, Zhengzhou University now owns more than 330 scientific research institutions of all levels/kinds, among which are 1 National Engineering Research Center, 1 National Technology Research Promotion Center, 1 National Chemical Safety Engineering Technology Center, 1 National Research Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, 2 National Drug Clinical Research Bases, 3 MOE Key Labs, 2 MOE Engineering Research Center, 1 Key Research Base of College Humanities and Social Sciences sponsored by the MOE and the Province, 1 Sports Culture Research Base under the Sports Culture Development Research Center of the State Sports General Administration, 1 National Intellectual Property Training Base, 6 Henan Provincial Collaborative Innovation Centers; Provincial Key Labs, Engineering Technology Research Centers, International United Labs, Key Humanities and Social Science Research Bases, Provincial Universities and Colleges Key Principles Open Labs, Engineering Technology Research Centers, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Bases total up to 104, and provincial key scientific and research institutions total up to 125, which indicates a strong capability on basic research, application research and development of science and technology. With a total construction area of 84,000sqm, its library contains a collection of books of more than 7.971 million. The university has its own publishing house and issues 14 academic journals. Scholarship programs As the largest university in China, Zhengzhou University provides millions of US dollars to sponsor hundreds of applicants with full scholarship and partial scholarship to pursue their degree non-degree study in Zhengzhou University each year. This is the only Chinese university with so many scholarship seats. In 2018, about 500 newly recruited students were sponsored by various types of scholarship, such as President Scholarship, Henan Government Scholarship, Chinese Government Scholarship, Confucius Scholarship. These scholarships usually covers: Majority part of tuition for bachelor program. Whole tuition for master program. Tuition, accommodation and living allowance for doctor program. School of International Education The School of International Education (SIE) is in charge of international education of Zhengzhou University. There are approximately 1,700 overseas students from 70 countries/areas, among them 80% are degree students, more than 10% are supported by full scholarship. SIE also houses a Chinese language education base (accredited by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of State Council) and a Chinese international promotion base of Henan Province offering a number of Chinese language programs from short term training to bachelor's and master's degree. SIE runs a Confucius School jointly with Indian Vellore Institute of Technology and a Confucius class with St Mary School in USA. Zhengzhou university in collaboration with MEDVIZZ - CEO, Dr G Bhanu Prakash to train all medical fraternities for USMLE, PLAB AND FMGE in the campus itself.Zhengzhou University is dedicated to conducting various forms cooperation and exchanges with famous universities abroad, absorbing advanced education programs and striving to achieve the objective of internationalization. Notable alumni Zhang Hongjiang, a Chinese computer scientist, international member of National Academy of Engineering, and executive. He served as CEO of Kingsoft, managing director of Microsoft Advanced Technology Center (ATC) and chief technology officer (CTO) of Microsoft China Research and Development Group (CRD). Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang and the former Party Committee Secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region Notable faculty Liang Jun, teacher and women's rights activist See also Shengda College Sias International University Official website of Zhengzhou University (in Chinese) Official website of School of International Education Zhengzhou University A Brief Introduction to Zhengzhou University

Tōyako (洞爺湖町, Tōyako-chō) is a town in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It was formed on March 23, 2006, through the merger of the town of Abuta and the village of Tōya. As of 30 September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 9,231, and a population density of 51 persons per km². The total area is 180.54 km².The name of the town was derived from the nearby Lake Tōya (Tōya-ko). G8 summit On April 23, 2007, the town and its surrounding area was announced as the site of the 2008 summer G8 summit. Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly chose the area because of its proximity to many famous sightseeing grounds, such as Lake Tōya and Tōyako Onsen. Famous sights Shikotsu-Tōya National Park Lake Tōya Mount Usu The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa, the main conference site of 34th G8 summit Notable people from Tōyako Mashiro Ayano, singer Official Website (in Japanese)

VA, Va and variants may refer to: Places Vä, Sweden, a village Vatican City (ISO 3166-1 country code VA) Virginia, United States postal abbreviation Businesses and organizations Businesses VA Software (also known as "VA Research" and "VA Linux Systems") a company that eventually became Geeknet VA Tech Wabag, a company with headquarters in Austria and India Virgin Atlantic, a worldwide airline owned by Richard Branson of the Virgin group Virgin Australia (IATA code since 2011) V Australia (IATA code 2009–2011) Viasa (IATA code 1960–1997) Organizations United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a department of the US government VA (Public & Science), Swedish scientific organisation Vermont Academy, boarding and day high school in Saxtons River, VT VA, post nominal letters of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert VA, nickname for the French association football club Valenciennes FC Virtual airline (hobby), flight simulation hobby organization Voluntary aided school, type of state-funded school in England and Wales Media and entertainment Va (film), a 2010 Tamil-language movie Vampire Academy, series of 6 best-selling books Victoria & Albert Museum, more usually given as "V&A" Violent Apathy, punk rock band from Kalamazoo, MI Virtual Adepts, a "tradition" in the role-playing game Mage: The Ascension Virtual Analog, musical instruments that emulate analog synthesizers Visual arts Voice actor, actor who provides voices for animated characters or non-visual media Science, technology, and mathematics Biology and medicine Valproic acid, an often-used anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug Vascular anomaly, in medicine Ventral anterior nucleus, a component of the thalamus in the central nervous system Ventricular arrhythmia Visual acuity, a quantitative measure of visual perception Computing and systems .va, the country code top level domain (ccTLD) for the State of the Vatican City Validation Authority, in public key infrastructure Virtual address, a computer memory location in virtual address space Vertical alignment, a technology used in a modern liquid-crystal display Visual analytics, business intelligence visualization tools Vulnerability assessment, the process of identifying and quantifying vulnerabilities in a system Mathematics and physics Vertex algebra Vertical asymptote, in mathematics Volt-ampere, the SI unit of apparent power measurement, equivalent to the watt Space and aviation VA, the design maneuvering speed of an aircraft Vozvraschaemyi Apparat or VA spacecraft, a Soviet reentry vehicle Other uses Various Artists, used in the description of a music album which contains tracks that have been compiled from several different artists Va people, an ethnic group in China and Myanmar Value added, in economics Variable annuity, a financial instrument Vice admiral, a military rank Virtual assistant, an independent contractor providing assistance to clients via the internet Volatile acidity or vinegar taint, high acetic acidity in wine Amateur radio callsign prefix for Canada, e.g. as in "VA1BOB" Vá (footballer), Angolan footballer

ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment Stanza, in poetry Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy and theology by St. Thomas Aquinas St or St., abbreviation of "State", especially in the name of a college or university Businesses and organizations Transportation Germania (airline) (IATA airline designator ST) Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, abbreviated as State Transport Sound Transit, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, Washington state, US Springfield Terminal Railway (Vermont) (railroad reporting mark ST) Suffolk County Transit, or Suffolk Transit, the bus system serving Suffolk County, New York Other businesses and organizations Statstjänstemannaförbundet, or Swedish Union of Civil Servants, a trade union STMicroelectronics, a worldwide manufacturer of semiconductors Geography São Tomé and Príncipe (ISO 3166-1 country code ST) .st, Internet country code top-level domain for São Tomé and Príncipe Saxony-Anhalt, a state of Germany Split, Croatia (vehicle plate code ST) Stoke-on-Trent postcode area, United Kingdom St or St., abbreviation of Saint St or St., abbreviation of Street St or St., abbreviation of Strait Language and typography Sesotho language (ISO 639-1 language code "st") ſt, or st, a typographic ligature Standard Theory in generative grammar Science and technology Computing ST connector, a type of optical fiber connector Atari ST, a personal computer Prefix of hard disk drives made by Seagate Technology, e.g. ST-506 Internet Stream Protocol, an experimental Internet protocol Structured text, a high-level programming language that syntactically resembles Pascal and is designed for programmable logic controllers (PLC) .st, the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for São Tomé and Príncipe St (terminal emulator), minimalist terminal emulator by suckless.org Mathematics Standard part function, a term used in non-standard analysis Physics Stanton number St, used in physics Strouhal number St, used in fluid mechanics String theory Units of measurement Stokes (unit) (St), a CGS unit of kinematic viscosity Stone (weight) (st.), a unit of mass used in the British Isles and other countries Medicine ST segment, the part of an electrocardiogram connecting the QRS complex and the T wave Sulfotransferase, enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a sulfo group Heat-stable enterotoxin, secretory peptides produced by some bacterial strains, such as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Other uses -st, a suffix for an ordinal number, such as 1st or 21st Saint (St or St.), especially in Christianity Scheduled Tribes, in India Ship prefix for a steam tug Sine tempore (s.t.), Latin term indicating that a lecture will begin at the exact time; see Academic quarter (class timing) Striker (association football), a position in association football ST, a type of London bus See also STST (disambiguation) STFC (disambiguation) for uses of ST F.C.

PQ may refer to: Places Province of Quebec, the largest province of Canada by area Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, informally Politics and law Parti Québécois, a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada Parliamentary question, a question posed during Question time in a Westminster system legislature Previous question, a motion in Robert's Rules of Order to close debate Computing and electronics Perceptual Quantizer, a transfer function for video display Picture quality; see video quality Power quality, the set of limits of electrical properties Priority queue, an abstract data structure Software PowerQuest, a producer of computer HDD software tools for the DOS/Windows platform Priority queuing, a data packet scheduling technique libpq, a C library for the PostgreSQL database Videogames Police Quest, a video game series Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (1987 video game), first game in the series PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient (2005 video game), first game in the series Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a 2014 video game Science, technology, and mathematics Psychology Play Quotient, a theory in child development developed by Stevanne Auerbach Precision questioning, an intellectual toolkit for critical thinking and for problem solving Chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology Performance qualification, in pharmaceutics, part of verification and validation Plastoquinone, a molecule involved in photosynthesis Other uses PQ International, a polo magazine PQ, outbound Arctic convoys of World War II See also PQ1 (disambiguation) PQ2 (disambiguation) PQ3 (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with PQ

Ty is an American multinational corporation and the owner of the Beanie Babies franchise. TY or Ty may also refer to: People Ty (given name) Zheng (surname), spelled Ty in the Philippines Ty (rapper) (1972–2020), Nigerian-British hip-hop artist George Ty (1932–2018), Chinese Filipino billionaire banker Ty Dolla Sign, stage name of American rapper Tyrone Griffin, Jr (born 1982) Fictional characters Ty Rux, a T-Trux in the TV series Dinotrux The main character in the video game Ty the Tasmanian Tiger A character in the arcade game Pit Fighter Ty Lee, a recurring character in the television series Avatar: The Last Airbender Ty Webb, a character in the film Caddyshack Tiberius "Ty" Blackthorn, a character from the media franchise The Shadowhunter Chronicles Other uses Ty (digraph) Týr or Ty, a god in Norse mythology Tahitian language (ISO 639-1 code "ty") Transition Year, an academic year in secondary education in Ireland Camp Tel Yehudah, a Jewish summer camp in New York Air Calédonie (IATA airline code TY) See also Ty Ty, Georgia, an American city Tyson (disambiguation) Tyler Tyrone (disambiguation)

SJ or S.J. may refer to: Postnominal A member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) Places Saint John, New Brunswick, a city located in New Brunswick, Canada San Jose, California, a city located in Northern California, United States South Jersey, the southern half of the state of New Jersey St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, the capital city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Subang Jaya, a residential hub in Klang Valley, Malaysia Suure-Jaani, Estonia Svalbard and Jan Mayen (ISO 3166-1 country code: SJ), two northern territories of Norway Government, law, and politics Solicitors Journal Summary judgment, a legal motion Social justice, movement for equality Military Sitara-e-Jurat, Pakistan's third highest military award SJ radar, a type of S band (10-cm) radar set used on American submarines during the Second World War Sports San Jose Sharks, a National Hockey League (NHL) team, based in San Jose, California Show Jumping, a sport on horseback Strafe-jumping, a trickjumping technique Transportation Jeep Cherokee (SJ) 1974-1983 Jeep SJ platform SJ, the Swedish State Railways 1887–2000 SJ AB, the Swedish national railway passenger operator 2001— Sriwijaya Air (ICAO code: SJY), an Indonesia-based low-cost airline Freedom Air (ICAO code: FOM), an defunct Air New Zealand Group low-cost airline. Statens järnvägar (English: Swedish State Railways), the government agency from which SJ AB was formed SuperJet, a personal water craft produced by Yamaha Motors Suzuki SJ 410 or 413, part of the Suzuki Jimny series The tail code for aircraft from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Linguistics Sj-sound, a sound in northern Germanic languages with disputed articulation location Literature S.J., initials used by Samuel Johnson In arts and entertainment SJ (singer), American folk-pop singer Super Junior, a famous South Korean boyband Samurai Jack, an American animated television series Superjail!, an American animated television series SJ (rapper), British rapper and member of the UK drill group OFB Other uses Shijian, series of satellites built and operated by China ScratchJr, a programming language for children ages 5–7 ==

UT, Ut or ut may refer to: Arts and media Music Ut, a musical note in Solfège which was replaced by do Ut (band), a 1980s No Wave rock band Ugly Things, a music magazine Unbelievable Truth, a 1990s indie-pop band Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band Other media UT (comics), a series of adult humour comic strips published in the UK The San Diego Union-Tribune, a U.S. newspaper Universal translator, in science fiction Unreal Tournament, a first-person shooter video game by Epic Games Undertale, a role-playing video game Places Utah, a United States state identified by postal abbreviation Union territory, an administrative division in India Unorganized territory (disambiguation), a country subdivision Universities Asia University of Taipei, Taiwan University of Tehran, Iran Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia University of Tokushima, Japan University of Tokyo, Japan University of Toyama, Japan University of Tsukuba, Japan Europe University of Tartu, Estonia University of Tirana, Albania University of Twente, Netherlands North America University of Tampa, U.S. University of Tennessee, U.S. University of Texas at Austin, U.S. University of Texas System (UT System), U.S. University of Toledo, U.S. University of Toronto, Canada Universidad del Turabo, Puerto Rico, U.S. University of Utah, U.S. Utah Tech University, U.S. Other uses Nick Ut, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer known for The Terror of War UTair Aviation (IATA code: UT), a Russian airline Union de Transports Aériens, IATA code UT until 1992 Ultrasonic testing, testing based on the propagation of ultrasonic waves Unity Technologies, developer of the Unity game engine Universal Time, a standard time scale Utilitiesman (United States Navy), a Seabee occupational rating Urea transporter, a membrane transport protein transporting urea

UW, U.W., Uw, or uw may refer to: Universities Canada University of Waterloo University of Windsor University of Winnipeg United States University of Washington University of Wisconsin System University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Wyoming Other countries University of Warsaw, Poland University of Wuppertal, Germany University of Würzburg, Germany Other uses uw (digraph) Uw, the international symbol for relative humidity Unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (United States), a US-specific definition of unconventional warfare used by its Department of Defense Unia Wolnosci (Freedom Union), a Polish political party See also WU (disambiguation) U of W (disambiguation) Uwu (disambiguation)

SK may refer to: Businesses and organizations SK Foods, an American agribusiness company SK Hand Tools, an American tool manufacturer Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippines youth councils SK Group, South Korean conglomerate Scandinavian Airlines (IATA code SK) Silicon Knights, a Canadian video game developer Places Slovakia Slovakia (ISO country code) ISO 3166-2:SK, codes for the regions of Slovakia .sk, the internet country code top-level domain for Slovakia Slovak koruna, a former currency of Slovakia Slovak language (ISO 639-1 language code "sk") Other places sk. sokak, Turkish postal abbreviation South Korea, an Asian country Saskatchewan, a Canadian province by postal abbreviation Sikkim, a state in India (ISO 3166 code) Svidník, Slovakia, vehicle plates Sisak, vehicle plate for city in Croatia South Kingstown, Rhode Island, a United States town Science and technology sk (unit) (Skot), an old and deprecated unit of measurement for dark luminance SK (people mover), a vehicle Silent key, an amateur radio operator who has died "Stop keying", a prosign used in Morse code Super-Kamiokande, a Japanese neutrino detector Biology SK channel, small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, a family of ion channels Medicine Solar keratosis or senile keratosis (these are synonyms) Streptokinase, a bacterial enzyme used in the treatment of blood clots Sport SK Gaming, an electronic sports team Other uses Regulation S-K, regarding financial statements in the United States SK (actor) or Sivakarthikeyan, Indian actor Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, known by the initialism SK Sekolah Kebangsaan, a type of school in Malaysia Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian Storekeeper, a naval rating in the United States Navy Shahram Kashani (SK), an Iranian-American singer Senran Kagura (SK), video game series SK radar, an American made air-search radar used during World War II

On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews On (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin On (Echobelly album), 1995 On (Gary Glitter album), 2001 On (Imperial Teen album), 2002 On (Elisa album), 2006 On (Jean album), 2006 On (Boom Boom Satellites album), 2006 On (Tau album), 2017 "On" (song), a 2020 song by BTS "On", a song by Bloc Party from the 2006 album A Weekend in the City Other media Ön, a 1966 Swedish film On (Japanese prosody), the counting of sound units in Japanese poetry On (novel), by Adam Roberts ONdigital, a failed British digital television service, later called ITV Digital Overmyer Network, a former US television network Places On (Ancient Egypt), a Hebrew form of the ancient Egyptian name of Heliopolis On, Wallonia, a district of the municipality of Marche-en-Famenne Ahn, Luxembourg, known in Luxembourgish as On Ontario, a Canadian province Science, technology, and mathematics Biology and medicine Operative note, documentation of care relating to an operation Optic neuritis, especially relevant in multiple sclerosis Osteonecrosis, death of bone tissue Osteonectin, a glycoprotein Other uses in science, technology, and mathematics ON Semiconductor, a semiconductor manufacturing company O'Nan group, a mathematical group OS/Net, the OpenSolaris Community On, the proper class of all ordinal numbers Other uses On (biblical figure), son of Peleth On (company), a Swiss athletic shoe and sportswear company On Kawara, Japanese artist Nauru Airlines (IATA airline designator ON)Ollio Old Norse, a North Germanic language commonly referenced in etymology Ontology, a branch of philosophy that deals with the concept of being On'yomi, reading of Japanese kanji characters Order of the Nation, a Jamaican honour Overground Network, a railway scheme in South London ON convoys, a series of WWII trade convoys Orka náttúrunnar (ON Power), Icelandic geothermal power company On, a Basque-language honorific equivalent to Spanish Don (honorific) See also Yōon

Nu or NU may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Nu metal, a heavy metal fusion genre Nu jazz, a jazz fusion genre Nu-disco, a genre of dance music Nu gaze, a shoegaze fusion genre Nu prog, a subgenre of progressive rock Nu-funk, a genre of dance music Other media Nu-13, a fictional character from the BlazBlue video game series Nu (Chrono Trigger), a fictional species from the video game Chrono Trigger N.U. (film), 1948 documentary film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni Mr. Nu, a fictional character from the novel Hitman: Enemy Within Nu Gundam from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor theme park at Mall of America Nu, a 1934 collection of essays written in Romanian by Eugène Ionesco Businesses and organizations Universities United States National University (California), a private nonprofit university in La Jolla, California, United States Niagara University, a Roman Catholic university in Niagara County, New York, United States Northeastern University, a research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States Northwest University (Washington), a private university in Kirkland, Washington, United States Northwestern University, a research institution in Evanston, Illinois, United States Norwich University, a private military and traditional university in Northfield, Vermont, United States University of Nebraska–Lincoln, United States Japan Nagoya University, a national research university Niigata University, a national university Nihon University, a private university in Tokyo Other countries Nazarbayev University, an international research university based in Astana, Kazakhstan Nanjing University, a national university in China Naresuan University, a public university in Phitsanulok, Thailand Nile University, a private research university in Egypt National University (Philippines), a private, non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines NU Bulldogs, the intercollegiate athletic program of the above school Nkumba University, a private university near Entebbe, Uganda Nirma University, a private university in Ahmedabad, India Northern University, Nowshera, a private university in Nowshera, Pakistan Other businesses and organizations Nahdatul Ulama, an Islamic group in Indonesia Northeast Utilities, a gas and electric company in the northeastern United States Northern Union, an early name of the Rugby Football League NU.nl, a Dutch online newspaper Nubank (NYSE: NU), a Brazilian bank Japan Transocean Air (IATA airline designator NU) Language Nu (cuneiform), a cuneiform sign Nu (letter), a letter in the Greek alphabet: lowercase ν, uppercase Ν Nu (kana), the Japanese characters ぬ and ヌ Nu (Yiddish), a Yiddish interjection meaning "so what" or "hurry up" Nǀu language, a moribund Tuu (Khoisan) language spoken by the Nǁnǂe people in South Africa People Burmese people Nga Nu, a pretender to the Ava throne (1367) Saya Gyi U Nu, a writer famous during King Bodawpaya's reign (r. 1782–1819) Me Nu, chief queen of King Bagyidaw (r. 1819–1837) U Nu, prime minister of the Union of Burma (1948–1958; 1960–1962) Other peoples Nu people, a Chinese ethnic group Places Nu river or Salween River, in China, Burma, and Thailand Nicaragua (NATO country code NU) Niue, (ISO 3166 country code NU) .nu, the Internet top-level domain for Niue Nunavut, the largest and newest of the territories of Canada North Uist, an island in the Scottish Hebrides Science and technology .nu, the Internet top-level domain for Niue Nu (programming language), an interpreted object-oriented programming language NuMachine, a computer architecture developed at MIT Nucellar embryony (Nu+), a form of seed reproduction that occurs in certain plant species Nusselt number (Nu), a dimensionless heat transfer ratio Nanodalton, a unit of mass; see dalton (unit) NU, the abbreviation for natural uranium, referring to uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature Not used (N.U.), indicating not populated parts in schematics and BOMs Poisson's ratio, a dimensionless ratio relating strain on element along one axis to the strain in an orthogonal axis, is symbolized by the Greek letter Nu, ν Other uses Nu (mythology), the male form of the Egyptian goddess Naunet The Chinese term for crossbow, as in the chu-ko-nu or repeating crossbow Bhutanese ngultrum (Nu.), the official currency of Bhutan The IATA airline code for Japan Transocean Air NU, designation used for the Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies biblical texts in the New King James Version See also Nus (disambiguation) Gnu, GNU New (disambiguation)

NV, nv, nV or Nv may refer to: Places Nevada, a state in the United States of America North Vietnam North Vancouver (disambiguation) Businesses and organizations Naamloze vennootschap (NV), a Dutch term for a public limited-liability company Iranian Naft Airlines, Iranian airline (IATA code) Air Central NV, Japanese airline (former IATA code) North Vista Secondary School, Singapore NV (Portland, Oregon), a residential tower in Oregon NV Homes, a real estate development company now part of NVR, Inc. Abbreviation used by Team EnVyUs, an international eSports organization based in the United States Language Navajo language, ISO 639-1 code nv Radical 38 (女), "nü" in pinyin but often typed as "nv" as "v" is an alternate way to express "ü" Music nv (album), 1995 album by Battery NV (album), a 2015 collaborative album by Dragged Into Sunlight and Gnaw Their Tongues Science and technology Nv neuron, an artificial neuron Nv network, a term used in BEAM robotics Nitrogen-vacancy center, a color center in diamond nv, a unit of neutron flux equal to one thermal neutron per square centimeter per second Near vision, an acronym used in eyeglass prescriptions An abbreviation for NVIDIA, a graphics card company Vehicles Nissan NV (disambiguation), the prefix of Nissan's commercial vans Nissan NV (North America), a 2011–2021 Japanese full-size van for the North American market Nissan NV Pickup, a 1993–1999 Japanese compact pickup truck for the Thai market Niutron NV, a 2022–present Chinese electric mid-size SUV Tacoma NV, a 2022–present Chinese electric mid-size SUV

NF may refer to: Music NF (rapper), American hip hop musician NF (EP), 2014 Medicine Neurofibromatosis, a medical disorder in which nerve tissues grow tumors Necrotizing fasciitis, a type of bacterial infection National Formulary, a manual of medicines Computing and technology .nf, the internet country code top-level domain for Norfolk Island NF file format, used by TRUMPF machines Noise figure, in radio and radar signal processing Normal forms, criteria for determining a table's degree of vulnerability to logical inconsistencies and anomalies Companies and organizations Air Vanuatu (IATA airline designator NF), the national airline of Vanuatu National Front (disambiguation), the name of many political parties N.F.-Board, a defunct international football association Nuestra Familia, a Mexican American criminal organization National Forum (Croatia), a political party in Croatia Northwest Front, an American white nationalist group founded by Harold Covington Netflix, a US-based worldwide entertainment media provider Places Newfoundland and Labrador, a Canadian province, former postal code NF Norfolk Island, part of the Commonwealth of Australia Other uses New Foundations, a theory in mathematical logic Nitrogen monofluoride, a chemical compound Nod factor, a kind of molecule produced by soil bacteria NF mark, certification mark by the French AFNOR standards organization Night Fighter, a fighter aircraft adapted for use in times of bad visibility No Funds, used on bank statements, sometimes written as N/F. See also NF-κB, a protein complex that controls transcription of DNA, cytokine production and cell survival

DW may refer to: News media Deutsche Welle, a Germany-based, international news publisher DW News DW-TV DW (Español) Duowei News, or "DW News", an American Chinese-language news website The Daily Wire, an American conservative news website Businesses and organizations Daniel Wellington, a Swedish watch company Development Workshop, a non-profit organization Drum Workshop, or "DW Drums", an American drum kit and hardware manufacturer DW Sports Fitness, a defunct British sports and fitness retailer Dollywood, a theme park in Tennessee, United States Art and entertainment Film and television Darkwing Duck, a cartoon character Deadliest Warrior, an American factual television program Doctor Who, a British science fiction television programme Dora Winifred Read (D.W.), a character in the Arthur TV show and book series Other media Discworld, a series of books by Terry Pratchett Digimon World, a video game Dynasty Warriors, a hack and slash video game series People Dwyane Wade (born 1982), American professional basketball player Darrell Waltrip (born 1947), American race car driver Don West (educator) (1906–1992), American educator Don West (sportscaster) (born 1963), American sportscaster DW Winnicott (1896–1971), English paediatrician and psychoanalyst Software Data warehouse, a software reporting provision Adobe Dreamweaver, a software application for Web development DirectWrite, a text layout and glyph rendering API Other uses Deadweight tonnage, a ship measurement for capacity Dry weight, a weight measurement excluding water weight DW Stadium, a stadium in England Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race, a canoe race in England Double-wide, a large mobile home Durbin–Watson statistic, a test statistic Dust wrapper, an outer cover for books See also DreamWorks (disambiguation)

To, TO, or T.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television To (film), a 1964 Danish film To (anime), a 2009 anime Other media To (play), a Polish-language play by Czesław Miłosz Theatre of the Oppressed, originated by Augusto Boal "T.O.", a song by Lil Wayne from the album Funeral People To (surname), including To, Tô, and Tō, a group of surnames of east-Asian origin Tó, Portuguese nickname Tô, Vietnamese surname Terrell Owens, a retired American football wide receiver alternately known as "T.O." Places Thousand Oaks, California Tô Department, in Sissili Province of Burkina Faso, and the capital, Tô Tonga (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code TO) Toronto, Ontario, Canada Province of Turin, Italy (sometimes abbreviated as TO—for example, on vehicle registration plates) Military use Officer in tactical command, or tactical officer Territorial Defense Forces (TO), a part of the armed forces of the former SFR Yugoslavia Tet Offensive, a campaign waged during the Vietnam War Science and technology Electronics and computing .to, Tonga's Internet country code top-level domain Teraoctet (To), a unit of digital information equal to 1012 octets Other uses in science and technology Takeoff, the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle or an animal goes from the ground to flying in the air Thermal oxidizer, a processing unit for air pollution control in many chemical plants Transportation President Airlines (IATA code TO), a former airline based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia transavia.com France (IATA code TO), a low-cost airline operating as an independent part of the Air France-KLM group Other uses To language To (kana), a Japanese syllabic character Tō, a Japanese pagoda Talk.Origins, a moderated Usenet discussion forum concerning the origins of life, and evolution Tongan language ISO 639 alpha-2 language code Tornado Outbreak, an action-adventure video game Tanki Online, a browser MMO game "To", a song by Sakanaction from Adapt (2022) In English The grammatical particle to used to form for example the infinitive To, a preposition See also All pages with titles beginning with TO T/O (disambiguation) Telephone operator (disambiguation) T and O map (orbis terrae), a type of medieval world map

Fe or FE may refer to: Arts and entertainment Carolyn Fe, Filipina singer and actress Fe (Reyli album) Fe (singer), a British singer-songwriter "Fe" (song), a song by Jorge González Fe (Souled American album) Fe (video game), a video game developed by Zoink Games and published by Electronic Arts Fallen Earth, a computer game Fire Emblem, a series of video games developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo Education FE exam or Fundamentals of Engineering exam Further education, post-16, non-university education in the UK Organizations Falange Española (Spanish Phalanx), a former Spanish political organization Fe (baseball), a Cuban League baseball team Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service Fuji Electric, a Japanese company Primaris Airlines (IATA code FE) Science and technology Mathematics Fixed effects model, a statistical model parameter which is fixed or non-random Physics and chemistry Iron, symbol Fe, a chemical element Field emission, an emission of electrons induced by external electromagnetic fields Faraday efficiency, the efficiency of a catalyst in electrochemistry Technology Ford FE engine, a Ford V8 motor hydrocarbon engine FE, part of Mazda's F engine family Nikon FE, a 35 mm SLR camera Flight engineer, aircraft crew member that monitor and operate the aircraft systems Front end, the user interaction interface, usually in web-based applications Fast Ethernet Other uses the Hebrew letter fe Fe (rune), the f-rune ᚠ of the Younger Futhark FE-Schrift, a typeface used on vehicle registration plates in Germany Province of Ferrara (ISO 3166-2:IT code) Flat Earth, a pseudoscientific theory Formula E, a class of auto racing using electrically powered cars Dominical letter FE, for a leap year starting on Tuesday Extraverted feeling, in the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator José María Pérez, Cuba, formerly known as El Fe

Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia Master of Arts, a degree award Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California Minnehaha Academy, a private high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota Arts and entertainment Music Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives, a website devoted to heavy metal bands Ma (Anjan Dutt album) (1998) Ma (Rare Earth album) (1973) Ma (Sagarika album) (1998) Ma (Zubeen Garg album) (2019) Massive Attack, a British trip hop band In music instructions, "but", especially in the phrase ma non troppo (see Glossary of musical terminology#M) In tonic sol-fa, a flattened me Other media Ma (2019 film), a horror film starring Octavia Spencer and Luke Evans Ma (2023 film), an upcoming Bangladeshi film Ma (negative space), a word of Japanese origin used in art and design "Mature audience", a U.S. television rating system category, abbreviated TV-MA "MA15+", a classification of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification, meaning "Not suitable for ages under 15" Memory Alpha, a Star Trek-oriented wiki Miss America, a beauty pageant, and the title awarded at said pageant MA (journal), a Hungarian art magazine Fictional characters Ma (The Lion King), a main character in the animated film Lion King 1½ Ma and Pa Kettle, 1940s and 1950s comic film characters Businesses and organizations Malév Hungarian Airlines (IATA designator: MA) Mastercard (NYSE stock symbol: MA) Motorcycling Australia Motorsport Australia Orange Movement (Movimento Arancione), an Italian political party Market America, a product brokerage and internet marketing company Museums Association, UK Musicians Australia, a trade union run by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance Ethnic groups Mạ people, a Vietnamese ethnic group Meshwesh (Ma), an ancient Libyan (i.e., Berber) tribe from Cyrenaica Human names and individuals Ma (surname), a common Chinese family name Maria (Mª or Ma.), according to Spanish naming customs Ma Barker (1873–1935), American criminal and mother of criminals Ma Rainey, stage name of early American blues singer Gertrude Pridgett (1886–1939) Ma Anand Sheela, Osho movement leader convicted of multiple attempted murders Language Má, a Chinese word for cannabis Ma (cuneiform), a cuneiform sign Ma (Javanese) (ꦩ), a letter in the Javanese script Ma (kana), a Japanese kana Ma (negative space), a Japanese reading of a Sino-Japanese character Ma language, a language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo Ma language (Papuan), a language of Papua New Guinea Mythology Ma (Sumerian mythology), in Sumerian mythology, that from which the "primeval land" was formed Ma (goddess), an Anatolian goddess Ma, a mythohistoric entrepreneur for whom the Malaysian town of Marang, Terengganu was purportedly named Places Ma River, a river in Vietnam and Laos Ma, Tibet, a village and township in Tibet Morocco (ISO 3166-1 country code) .ma, the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Morocco FIPS 10-4 country code of Madagascar Maranhão, a state of Brazil, postal code MA Maluku, a province of Indonesia (ISO 3166-2:ID subdivisions) Massachusetts, a state of the United States Science, technology, and mathematics Chemistry Methyl anthranilate, used as a bird repellent Minor actinides, the actinide elements in used nuclear fuel other than uranium and plutonium Monomethyl aniline, a solvent, chemical intermediate, and gasoline additive Methylammonium (CH3NH3), e.g., in methylammonium lead halides Health and medicine MA (chemotherapy) is an acronym for Mitoxantrone + standard-dose Ara-C (cytarabine) chemotherapy regimen Marijuana Anonymous, a group recovery program aimed at marijuana addiction Marketing authorisation, an authorisation granted by a regulatory authority to market a new drug Medical assistant, a type of health care worker Metabolic acidosis, a medical condition in which the pH of body is decreased beyond the normal range Metabolic alkalosis, a medical condition in which the pH of body is elevated beyond the normal range Methamphetamine, a psychostimulant Mathematics MA (complexity), a set of decision problems that can be decided by an Arthur–Merlin protocol Martin's axiom, an axiom in mathematical logic Moving-average model (MA), in statistics Measurements Mach number (Ma), a measure of speed compared to the speed of sound Megaampere (MA), a multiple of the SI unit of electric current, the ampere Megaannum (Ma), one million years Milliampere (mA), a multiple of the SI unit of electric current, the ampere Myr, Mya, or Ma, meaning "million years ago" Other uses in science and technology Mechanical advantage (MA), mechanical multiplier of input force Mechanical alloying (MA), a technique to produce alloys Marketing automation (MA), technology designed to automate marketing-related tasks Ma, a type of interface in an IP Multimedia Subsystem Other uses Ma (mom), a synonym for Mother Ma clique, a group of warlords from 1919 until 1928 Martial arts Master-at-arms (United States Navy) (MA), an enlisted rating in the US Navy Metropolitan area Middle Ages, a period of European history Motorcycle accident Motorsport Australia See also Maa (disambiguation) Mother (disambiguation) Mommy (disambiguation) Mama (disambiguation) Mom (disambiguation) Mum (disambiguation)

JN or Jn may refer to: Excel Airways (1994-2008, IATA airline designator) Livingston Compagnia Aerea (2012-2014, IATA airline designator), an Italian airline Jan Mayen (FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code), an island in the Arctic Ocean Gospel of John, in Christian scripture Johnson–Nyquist noise, electrical noise generated by random thermal motion in a conductor Jornal de Notícias, a Portuguese newspaper Jornal Nacional, a Brazilian flagship news program broadcast by Rede Globo Jornal Nacional, former title of the Portuguese news program Jornal da 8 that is broadcast by TVI al-Nusra Front, a Syrian militant group in the Syrian Civil War JN, the official symbol for the Nambu Line in Japan

JL or Jl may refer to: Businesses and brands JL Audio, a manufacturer of consumer audio products Jeep Wrangler (JL) model, beginning production in 2018 Jefferson Lines, an intercity bus company in the Midwestern United States People JL Skinner (born 2001), American football player Justin Langer (born 1970), former Australian cricket player Places Jubaland, a Somali regional state south of Koofur Orsi Mount Lebanon Governorate (ISO 3166-2:LB code) Jilin, a province of China (Guobiao abbreviation JL) Other uses Japan Airlines (IATA airline designator) Jaunais laiks, or New Era Party, a Latvian political party Justice League, superheroes in DC Comics Chinese military technology: JL-2 (missile) JL-8 (aircraft) JL-10A (radar system) JL, local trains on the Jōban Line in Japan Popular Unity (Poland) (Polish: Jedność Ludowa, JL), a defunct agrarian party in Poland, that operated in 1923, and in 1926

Oc, OC or O.C. may refer to: Arts and entertainment The O.C., an American television show set in Orange County, California The O.C. (professional wrestling), a professional wrestling stable in WWE Opus clavicembalisticum, a piece for piano by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Brands, businesses, and organizations OC Transpo, a public transit company in Ottawa and Carleton in Ontario, Canada Organisation Consul, a former terrorist organization active in Germany from 1920 to 1922 Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, a Drum Corps International group commonly abbreviated as "OC" Ornithological Council Owens Corning, NYSE ticker symbol Oxi Clean, a cleaning product PGA Express (IATA code "OC" 2001–2015) Air California (IATA Code "OC" 1967–1987) Education Oaklands College, a further education in central Hertfordshire, UK Oakwood College, a college in northern Alabama, USA, affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church Oberlin College, a liberal arts college in Ohio Oklahoma Christian University Old Carthusian, one who attended Charterhouse School Old Colchestrian, one who attended Colchester Royal Grammar School Old Chigwellian, one who attended Chigwell School Orewa College, a college in the North Island, New Zealand Places Oak Cliff, a community in Dallas, Texas Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, a stadium in Oakland, California and the home of the Oakland Raiders Oakland County, Michigan Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean County, New Jersey Oceanside, California Oconee County, Georgia Oconee County, South Carolina Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Old Colwyn, Wales Osceola, Indiana Orange County, California Orange County, Florida Orange County, Indiana Orange County, New York Orange County, North Carolina Orange County, Texas Orange County, Vermont Orange County, Virginia Oregon City, Oregon Ottawa—Carleton, a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada Roles and titles Officer of the Order of Canada, post-nominal letters for a grade within the Canadian order Offensive coordinator, a coaching position in American and Canadian football Officer candidate Officer in charge (police) Officer commanding, in military use Technology Oleoresin capsaicin or oleoresin capsicum, the active ingredient in pepper spray and OC gas OC spray, also known as pepper spray Open collector, electrical interface. Used in data communication openCanvas, a raster graphics software Optical Carrier levels in the SONET fiber-optic network specification Oral contraceptive, usually referring to the combined oral contraceptive pill Organ-on-a-chip, microfluidic device that simulates whole physiological and mechanical organ responses Overclocking, the process of forcing a computer component to run at a higher clock rate than it was designed for Overcurrent, an excessive value of electric current Languages Occitan language (ISO 639 alpha-2 oc) Old Chinese, the earliest attested stage of the Chinese language Other uses o.c. or op. cit., opere citato O.C. (rapper) (born 1971), American rapper Offering circular, in finance, for a bond offering Order of Carmelites, a Roman Catholic order Organized crime, in law On-center, in construction, indicating that the distance quoted is between the centers of neighboring wall studs, joists, or other members Original content, original character, or original contribution, used to assert one's authorship of a given subject matter Outrigger canoe Other Caste or Open Category, a caste designation used in governmental forms in India, usually referring to Forward Castes See also °C 0C (disambiguation), the number–letter combination Orange County (disambiguation)

Ev or EV may refer to: Businesses Electro-Voice, a United States manufacturer of amplifiers, microphones, other audio equipment and speakers Expressjet Airlines (IATA designator) Atlantic Southeast Airlines (IATA designator) EV Direct, exclusive distributor of BYD in Australia In economics Embedded value, the present value of future profits for a life insurance company Enterprise value, an economic measure reflecting the market value of a whole business Equivalent variation, a measure of how much more money a consumer would pay before a price increase to avert the price increase People Ev (given name) Science, technology, and mathematics Electric vehicle, a vehicle using an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine Electric car, a type of electric vehicle Electronvolt (eV), in physics, a unit of energy Estradiol valerate, an estrogen medication Evolution-Data Optimized, a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals Expected value, the mean of a random variable's probability distribution Exposure value, a combination of shutter speed and aperture in photography Extended Validation Certificate, a type of X.509 Certificate used in securing computer communications Extracellular vesicle, a membrane-bound vesicle Stereo-4, also known as EV (Electro-Voice), a quadraphonic sound system developed in 1970 Exploration vessel (E/V), a type of marine vessel Other uses Land of Ev, a fictional country in the Oz books of L. Frank Baum and his successors Eesti Vabariik, Estonian for Republic of Estonia eingetragener Verein ('registered association'; e.V.), a legal status for a registered voluntary association in Germany and Austria Enterprise Village, an educational program co-managed by the Stavros Institute in Pinellas County, Florida Era vulgaris, pseudo-Latin for the Common Era EuroVelo, a network of long-distance cycling routes in Europe All pages with titles beginning with EV All pages with titles containing EV EV1 (disambiguation) EVS (disambiguation) VE (disambiguation) V (disambiguation) E (disambiguation)

EW, Ew, or ew may refer to: In arts and entertainment "Ew!", a 2014 song by Jimmy Fallon and will.i.am "Ew", a 2020 song by Joji eBaum's World, an entertainment website Electric Wizard, a metal band from Dorset, England Eggplant Wizard, a character in the Kid Icarus video games Entertainment Weekly, an American magazine, published by Meredith Eugene Weekly, an alternative weekly newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon Extreme Warfare, a series of computer games Eddsworld, a British animated web series In science and technology Electronic warfare, the use of electromagnetic energy in warfare Electroweak interaction, in physics Electrowinning, an electro-chemical process Entomological warfare, a type of biological warfare that uses insects to attack the enemy Equivalent weight, in chemistry Exawatt, an SI unit of power Extinct in the wild, a conservation status level Transport NZR EW Class Electric Locomotive, Electric locomotive used in the Wellington region of New Zealand Other uses Eww (disambiguation) Ew (digraph), in the English language Each-way (bet), a wager consisting of a win bet and a place bet East West (disambiguation), comparable to "NS" for North-South or "UD" for Up-Down Emergency ward, a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine Eurowings (IATA airline designator), a German airline Disgust

EJ may refer to: Businesses and brands EJ (company), formerly East Jordan Iron Works eJay, a music software program New England Airlines (IATA code EJ) E & J Gallo Winery Holden EJ, an early Holden car Subaru EJ engine series, manufactured by Subaru Media Encyclopaedia Judaica The Economic Journal, the journal of the Royal Economic Society Edmonton Journal English Journal, the official publication of the Secondary Education section of the American National Council of Teachers of English Other uses East Jerusalem Electronic journalism, an old name for electronic news gathering Electro jockey, an individual who uses computers and MIDI devices to mix music as opposed to using records or CDs Environmental justice Exajoule (EJ), an SI unit of energy equal to 1018 joules External jugular vein Expansion joint, in architecture and structural mechanics E. J. (given name), a page for people with the given name "E. J." All pages with titles beginning with E. J. All pages with titles beginning with EJ All pages with titles beginning with ej All pages with titles containing E-J All pages with titles containing ej

EK, Ek or ek may refer to: Businesses and organizations Eastern Kentucky Railway (with reporting mark EK), now-defunct railway Eastman Kodak (formerly with NYSE ticker symbol EK), US-based photography company, formerly Ek Commando Knife Co., US knife manufacturer Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto, Confederation of Finnish Industries Emirates (airline) (IATA airline designator EK) European Kindred, prison and street gang Eğitim Konuşalım, private lesson company People Anders Ek (1916–1979), Swedish film actor Daniel Ek (born 1983), Swedish businessman, creator and CEO of Spotify Malin Ek (born 1945), Swedish actress, daughter of Anders Ek Mats Ek (born 1945), dancer, choreographer and stage director Phil Ek, American record producer, engineer, and mixer Torbjörn Ek (1949-2010), Swedish bandy & football player and manager Eknath (ca.533-ca.1599), Ek Nāth, or Eka Nātha, Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, and poet Ek Boonsawad (born 1988), Thai windsurfer Ek Rangsiroj (born 1974), Thai actor Ix Ek' Naah, Maya queen of the Kaan kingdom in Campeche, Mexico Places East Kilbride, town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland Ek Park, cricket ground in Kitwe, Zambia Enchanted Kingdom, theme park in the Philippines Science Exakelvin, unit of temperature, abbreviated as EK Kinetic Energy, in physics, abbreviated as Ek Other uses ek, the number 'one' in Hindi (Devanagari numerals) Ektara, ek tar, or ik tar, "One String," Indian musical instrument Mitsubishi eK, Japanese kei car See also Eric Kirkham Cole Limited (EKCO), a British electronics company ECC (disambiguation) Eck (disambiguation) Ekk (disambiguation) EC (disambiguation) EQ (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with EK All pages with titles beginning with Ek All pages with titles containing ek

NR, Nr or nr may refer to: Arts and media National Review, an American political magazine Newsround, a British news programme for children Nollywood Reinvented, a Nigerian cinematic review website Numerical Recipes, a series of books on numerical computation Not Rated, referring to a work without a content rating in North America Places NR postcode area, UK, for the area surrounding Norwich, England Nauru (ISO 3166-1 country code) .nr, the country code top-level domain for Nauru North Riding of Yorkshire, England Northern Rhodesia New Rockford, North Dakota, US Businesses and organizations Military bodies National Resources Division, the domestic division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency Naval Reserve (disambiguation), various bodies Naval Reactors, the governing body of the United States Navy Nuclear Power Program Rail bodies in Great Britain National Rail, a generic term for passenger services Network Rail, the state-owned track owner (2002–2023) Northern Rail, a train operating company (2004–2016) Northern Railway (India) Other businesses and organizations Northern Rock, a defunct British bank (1965–2012) Norwegian Computing Center (NR, in Norwegian: Norsk Regnesentral) Networked Robotics Corporation New Right (Netherlands), a former Dutch political party Language Nr., a numero sign in some languages Southern Ndebele language, a Bantu language spoken in South Africa (ISO 639-1 code: NR) Science and technology Biochemistry Nuclear receptor, a class of receptor proteins in the cell Nicotinamide riboside, a form of Vitamin B3 Reactive nitrogen (Nr) Computing and telecommunications .nr, the top-level domain for Nauru New Radio, a fifth generation (5G) wireless technology Noise reduction, the process of removing noise from a signal Numerical Recipes, a series of books on numerical computation Other uses in science and technology Nanorod, in nanotechnology and materials science Non-redundant sequence clustering, in genetics and bioinformatics NR Vulpeculae, a red supergiant star Other uses NR class, an Australian diesel locomotive Non Resident Nepali (NRN)

NB, Nb, or nb may refer to: Arts and entertainment N.B. (album), an album by Natasha Bedingfield NB (TV programme), a Scottish arts television programme that aired 1989–1997 Businesses NB Global, a British investment company New Balance, a shoe company Niesenbahn, a funicular railway in Switzerland Nigerian Breweries, a beverage company Sterling Airlines, a defunct Danish airline (IATA designator) National bank (disambiguation) several banks Language Nota bene, often abbreviated as NB or n.b., a Latin phrase meaning "note well" nb, ISO 639-1 code for Bokmål, the written standard of the Norwegian language 牛屄 (niúbī), a common word in Mandarin Chinese profanity Places New Brunswick, a province of Canada, (postal abbreviation: NB) Nebraska, US, (former postal abbreviation: NB; changed to NE) Science and technology Niobium, symbol Nb, a chemical element NB class, Australian steam locomotives Boeing NB, a 1923 training aircraft Naive Bayes classifier, in statistics Neuroblastoma, a type of cancer Nominal bore or nominal pipe size, a set of standard sizes for pipes Nanobarn (nb), a unit of cross-sectional area Mazda MX-5 (NB), the second generation of the Mazda MX-5 NB (programming language), an intermediate-stage language known as "New B" that evolved from the "B" language and then further evolved into the "C" language Sports Teams NB Esports, Bangladeshi professional esports organization Other uses Narrowboat ship prefix National Battlefield, a protected area in the United States No-ball in cricket Non-binary, a term used by people who identify as neither male nor female. NB, an abbreviation for North Britain used in addresses in Scotland in the nineteenth century e.g " 'The Sporran' Fifeshire, NB" (Used in The Importance of being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. See also All pages with titles beginning with NB All pages with titles beginning with Nb All pages with titles beginning with N B All pages with titles beginning with N b All pages with titles beginning with Nb. All pages with titles beginning with N.B All pages with titles beginning with N.b All pages with titles containing NB All pages with titles containing Nb All pages with titles containing N B All pages with titles containing N b All pages with titles containing Nb. All pages with titles containing N.B All pages with titles containing N.b All pages with titles containing nb All pages with titles containing nb. All pages with titles containing n.b All pages with titles containing n b

NK may refer to: Businesses Imerys (Euronext ticker code NK) Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, Sweden Northrup-King Seed Company Spirit Airlines (IATA code NK) NK.pl, a Polish school-based social networking service Places Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto state in the Nagorno-Karabakh region Nikšić, Montenegro (license plate code NK) North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States North Kingstown High School North Korea, a common name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Other uses Naik (military rank), rank in certain South Asian armies Natural killer cell, in medicine Neturei Karta, a group of anti-zionist orthodox Jews Neue Kerze aka new candle, an old photometric unit of luminous intensity Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, a classification society Norwegian krone, a currency NK (singer), a Ukrainian singer NK, nogomentni klub, a football club in Croatian and Slovenian (e. g. NK Osijek, NK Maribor)

New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which in its English version declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.1 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with the local dialect of English being dominant. A developed country, it was the first to introduce a minimum wage, and the first to give women the right to vote. It ranks highly in international measures of quality of life, human rights, and it has low levels of perceived corruption. It retains visible levels of inequality, having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the prime minister, currently Chris Hipkins. Charles III is the country's king and is represented by the governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, UKUSA, OECD, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. Etymology The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, named the islands Staten Land, believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted off the southern end of South America. Hendrik Brouwer proved that the South American land was a small island in 1643, and Dutch cartographers subsequently renamed Tasman's discovery Nova Zeelandia from Latin, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. This name was later anglicised to New Zealand.This was written as Nu Tireni in the Māori language. In 1834 a document written in Māori and entitled "He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni" was translated into English and became the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. It was prepared by Te W(h)akaminenga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni, the United Tribes of New Zealand, and a copy was sent to King William IV who had already acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and who recognised the declaration in a letter from Lord Glenelg.Aotearoa (pronounced [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] in Māori and in English; often translated as 'land of the long white cloud') is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans; Aotearoa originally referred to just the North Island. Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui ("the fish of Māui") for the North Island and Te Waipounamu ("the waters of greenstone") or Te Waka o Aoraki ("the canoe of Aoraki") for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island), and South (Stewart Island / Rakiura). In 1830, mapmakers began to use "North" and "South" on their maps to distinguish the two largest islands, and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu. For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together. Similarly the Māori and English names for the whole country are sometimes used together (Aotearoa New Zealand); however, this has no official recognition.In Moriori, the indigenous language of the Chatham Islands, the words Aote and Aotea are terms thought to refer to mainland New Zealand. History New Zealand was the last major landmass settled by humans. The story of Kupe as the first human to set foot on the New Zealand archipelago, accredited to by most Māori iwi, is considered credible by historians; he is generally believed to have existed historically. Most histories claim that this occurred approximately 40 generations ago (between 900 and 1200 AD). The more specific reasons for Kupe's semi-legendary journey, and the migration of Māori in general, are contested. It is thought by some historians that Hawaiki and other Polynesian islands were experiencing considerable internal conflict at that time, which is thought to have caused an exodus from them. Some historians contend that this was because of the fallout from the 1257 Samalas eruption, which caused crop devastation globally and possibly helped trigger the Little Ice Age.Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within Māori populations suggest that Eastern Polynesians first settled the New Zealand archipelago between 1250 and 1300, although newer archaeological and genetic research points to a date no earlier than about 1280, with at least the main settlement period between about 1320 and 1350, consistent with evidence based on genealogical traditions. This represented a culmination in a long series of voyages through the Pacific islands. It is the broad consensus of historians that the settlement of New Zealand by Eastern Polynesians was planned and deliberate. Over the centuries that followed, the Polynesian settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population formed different iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) which would sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other. At some point, a group of Māori migrated to Rēkohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, where they developed their distinct Moriori culture. The Moriori population was all but wiped out between 1835 and 1862 in the Moriori genocide, largely because of Taranaki Māori invasion and enslavement in the 1830s, although European diseases also contributed. In 1862, only 101 survived, and the last known full-blooded Moriori died in 1933. In a hostile 1642 encounter between Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri and Dutch explorer Abel Tasman's crew, four of Tasman's crew members were killed, and at least one Māori was hit by canister shot. Europeans did not revisit New Zealand until 1769, when British explorer James Cook mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing, and trading ships. They traded European food, metal tools, weapons, and other goods for timber, Māori food, artefacts, and water. The introduction of the potato and the musket transformed Māori agriculture and warfare. Potatoes provided a reliable food surplus, which enabled longer and more sustained military campaigns. The resulting intertribal Musket Wars encompassed over 600 battles between 1801 and 1840, killing 30,000–40,000 Māori. From the early 19th century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population. The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor. The British Government appointed James Busby as British Resident to New Zealand in 1832. His duties, given to him by Governor Bourke in Sydney, were to protect settlers and traders "of good standing", prevent "outrages" against Māori, and apprehend escaped convicts. In 1835, following an announcement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry, the nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent a Declaration of Independence to King William IV of the United Kingdom asking for protection. Ongoing unrest, the proposed settlement of New Zealand by the New Zealand Company (which had already sent its first ship of surveyors to buy land from Māori) and the dubious legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson to claim sovereignty for the United Kingdom and negotiate a treaty with the Māori. The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. In response to the New Zealand Company's attempts to establish an independent settlement in Wellington, Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, even though copies of the treaty were still circulating throughout the country for Māori to sign. With the signing of the treaty and declaration of sovereignty, the number of immigrants, particularly from the United Kingdom, began to increase.New Zealand was administered as a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales until becoming a separate Crown colony, the Colony of New Zealand, on 3 May 1841. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty. These conflicts, mainly in the North Island, saw thousands of imperial troops and the Royal Navy come to New Zealand and became known as the New Zealand Wars. Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government to meet settler demands. The colony gained a representative government in 1852, and the first Parliament met in 1854. In 1856 the colony effectively became self-governing, gaining responsibility over all domestic matters (except native policy, which was granted in the mid-1860s). Following concerns that the South Island might form a separate colony, premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution to transfer the capital from Auckland to a locality near Cook Strait. Wellington was chosen for its central location, with Parliament officially sitting there for the first time in 1865.In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands, about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Since 1937, the islands are uninhabited except for about six people at Raoul Island station. These islands put the northern border of New Zealand at 29 degrees South latitude. After the 1982 UNCLOS, the islands contributed significantly to New Zealand's exclusive economic zone.In 1891 the Liberal Party came to power as the first organised political party. The Liberal Government, led by Richard Seddon for most of its period in office, passed many important social and economic measures. In 1893 New Zealand was the first nation in the world to grant all women the right to vote and in 1894 pioneered the adoption of compulsory arbitration between employers and unions. The Liberals also guaranteed a minimum wage in 1894, a world first.In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion within the British Empire, reflecting its self-governing status. In 1947 the country adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for New Zealand without the consent of New Zealand. The British government's residual legislative powers were later removed by the Constitution Act 1986, and final rights of appeal to British courts were abolished in 2003.Early in the 20th century, New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars and suffering through the Great Depression. The depression led to the election of the first Labour Government and the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy. New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following the Second World War, and Māori began to leave their traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work. A Māori protest movement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greater recognition of Māori culture and of the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985. The government has negotiated settlements of these grievances with many iwi, although Māori claims to the foreshore and seabed proved controversial in the 2000s. Government and politics New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, although its constitution is not codified. Charles III is the king of New Zealand and thus the head of state. The king is represented by the governor-general, whom he appoints on the advice of the prime minister. The governor-general can exercise the Crown's prerogative powers, such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers, ambassadors, and other key public officials, and in rare situations, the reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve Parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law). The powers of the monarch and the governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints, and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of ministers.The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives. It also included an upper house, the Legislative Council, until this was abolished in 1950. The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand. The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. If no majority is formed, a minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured. The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. Cabinet, formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions. Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively and are therefore collectively responsible for the consequences of these decisions. The 41st and current prime minister, since 25 January 2023, is Chris Hipkins. A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election. Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Since the 1996 election, a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used. Under the MMP system, each person has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate, and the other is for a party. Based on the 2018 census data, there are 72 electorates (which include seven Māori electorates in which only Māori can optionally vote), and the remaining 48 of the 120 seats are assigned so that representation in Parliament reflects the party vote, with the threshold that a party must win at least one electorate or 5% of the total party vote before it is eligible for a seat. Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties, National and Labour. More parties have been represented in Parliament since the introdution of MMP.New Zealand's judiciary, headed by the chief justice, includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts. Judges and judicial officers are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence. This theoretically allows the judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions.New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states. As of 2017, the country was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions, and first in government transparency and lack of corruption. LGBT rights in the nation are also recognised as among the most tolerant in Oceania. New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%. However, this is untrue for local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections, compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019. A 2017 human rights report by the United States Department of State noted that the New Zealand government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population. In terms of structural discrimination, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that it is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue. One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in the criminal justice system. According to the Ministry of Justice, Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned. Foreign relations and military During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. On 3 September 1939, New Zealand allied itself with Britain and declared war on Germany with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaiming, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".In 1951 the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests, while New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty. The influence of the United States on New Zealand weakened following protests over the Vietnam War, the refusal of the United States to admonish France after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues, and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy. Despite the United States's suspension of ANZUS obligations, the treaty remained in effect between New Zealand and Australia, whose foreign policy has followed a similar historical trend. Close political contact is maintained between the two countries, with free trade agreements and travel arrangements that allow citizens to visit, live and work in both countries without restrictions. In 2013 there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand.New Zealand has a strong presence among the Pacific Island countries. A large proportion of New Zealand's aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. Permanent migration is regulated under the 1970 Samoan Quota Scheme and the 2002 Pacific Access Category, which allow up to 1,100 Samoan nationals and up to 750 other Pacific Islanders respectively to become permanent New Zealand residents each year. A seasonal workers scheme for temporary migration was introduced in 2007, and in 2009 about 8,000 Pacific Islanders were employed under it. New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit). New Zealand has been described as a middle power in the Asia-Pacific region, and an emerging power. The country is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements. New Zealand's military services—the Defence Force—comprise the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Navy. New Zealand's national defence needs are modest since a direct attack is unlikely. However, its military has had a global presence. The country fought in both world wars, with notable campaigns in Gallipoli, Crete, El Alamein, and Cassino. The Gallipoli campaign played an important part in fostering New Zealand's national identity and strengthened the ANZAC tradition it shares with Australia.In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, New Zealand fought in the Second Boer War, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, the Gulf War, and the Afghanistan War. It has contributed forces to several regional and global peacekeeping missions, such as those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia, the Iran–Iraq border, Bougainville, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands.New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement. The five members of this agreement are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangement with NATO under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative. Local government and external territories The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces, which had a degree of autonomy. Because of financial pressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, and other policies, government was centralised and the provinces were abolished in 1876. The provinces are remembered in regional public holidays and sporting rivalries.Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government. In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities. The 249 municipalities that existed in 1975 have now been consolidated into 67 territorial authorities and 11 regional councils. The regional councils' role is to regulate "the natural environment with particular emphasis on resource management", while territorial authorities are responsible for sewage, water, local roads, building consents, and other local matters. Five of the territorial councils are unitary authorities and also act as regional councils. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council. While officially the Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council.The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms, is the entire area over which the king of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises New Zealand, Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands, and Niue. The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. The New Zealand Parliament cannot pass legislation for these countries, but with their consent can act on behalf of them in foreign affairs and defence. Tokelau is classified as a non-self-governing territory, but is administered by a council of three elders (one from each Tokelauan atoll). The Ross Dependency is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica, where it operates the Scott Base research facility. New Zealand nationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so most people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency are New Zealand citizens. Geography and environment New Zealand is located near the centre of the water hemisphere and is made up of two main islands and more than 700 smaller islands. The two main islands (the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu) are separated by Cook Strait, 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point. Besides the North and South Islands, the five largest inhabited islands are Stewart Island (across the Foveaux Strait), Chatham Island, Great Barrier Island (in the Hauraki Gulf), D'Urville Island (in the Marlborough Sounds) and Waiheke Island (about 22 km (14 mi) from central Auckland).New Zealand is long and narrow—over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400 kilometres (250 mi)—with about 15,000 km (9,300 mi) of coastline and a total land area of 268,000 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline, the country has extensive marine resources. Its exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps. There are 18 peaks over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), the highest of which is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). Fiordland's steep mountains and deep fiords record the extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanism. The highly active Taupō Volcanic Zone has formed a large volcanic plateau, punctuated by the North Island's highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft)). The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō, nestled in the caldera of one of the world's most active supervolcanoes. New Zealand is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates. New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwanan supercontinent. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to contort and crumple the region. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the crust beside the Alpine Fault. Elsewhere, the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trench east of the North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches further north.New Zealand, together with Australia, is part of a region known as Australasia. It also forms the southwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia. Oceania is a wider region encompassing the Australian continent, New Zealand, and various island countries in the Pacific Ocean that are not included in the seven-continent model. Landscapes of New Zealand Climate New Zealand's climate is predominantly temperate maritime (Köppen: Cfb), with mean annual temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in the south to 16 °C (61 °F) in the north. Historical maxima and minima are 42.4 °C (108.32 °F) in Rangiora, Canterbury and −25.6 °C (−14.08 °F) in Ranfurly, Otago. Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on the West Coast of the South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland. Of the seven largest cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rain per year and Wellington the wettest, receiving almost twice that amount. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours; the northern and northeastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive about 2,400–2,500 hours. The general snow season is early June until early October, though cold snaps can occur outside this season. Snowfall is common in the eastern and southern parts of the South Island and mountain areas across the country. Biodiversity New Zealand's geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country's species of animals, fungi and plants. Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. The flora and fauna of New Zealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand's fragmentation off from Gondwana, however more recent evidence postulates species resulted from dispersal. About 82% of New Zealand's indigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,944 species across 65 genera. The number of fungi recorded from New Zealand, including lichen-forming species, is not known, nor is the proportion of those fungi which are endemic, but one estimate suggests there are about 2,300 species of lichen-forming fungi in New Zealand and 40% of these are endemic. The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps, or by southern beech in cooler climates. The remaining vegetation types consist of grasslands, the majority of which are tussock.Before the arrival of humans, an estimated 80% of the land was covered in forest, with only high alpine, wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived, with around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian settlement. Much of the remaining forest fell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 23% of the land. The forests were dominated by birds, and the lack of mammalian predators led to some like the kiwi, kākāpō, weka and takahē evolving flightlessness. The arrival of humans, associated changes to habitat, and the introduction of rats, ferrets and other mammals led to the extinction of many bird species, including large birds like the moa and Haast's eagle.Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles (tuatara, skinks and geckos), frogs, such as the protected endangered Hamilton's Frog, spiders, insects (wētā), and snails. Some, such as the tuatara, are so unique that they have been called living fossils. Three species of bats (one since extinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand until the 2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sized land mammal at least 16 million years old. Marine mammals, however, are abundant, with almost half the world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters. Many seabirds breed in New Zealand, a third of them unique to the country. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country, with 13 of the world's 18 penguin species.Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty-one birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. However, New Zealand conservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation, fostering and ecological restoration of islands and other protected areas. Economy New Zealand has an advanced market economy, ranked 13th in the 2021 Human Development Index, and fourth in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom. It is a high-income economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$36,254. The currency is the New Zealand dollar, informally known as the "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in the Cook Islands (see Cook Islands dollar), Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands.Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to New Zealand's economy, focusing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax, gold, kauri gum, and native timber. The first shipment of refrigerated meat on the Dunedin in 1882 led to the establishment of meat and dairy exports to Britain, a trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Zealand. High demand for agricultural products from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Zealanders achieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, New Zealand's export market was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community and other compounding factors, such as the 1973 oil and 1979 energy crises, led to a severe economic depression. Living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank. In the mid-1980s New Zealand deregulated its agricultural sector by phasing out subsidies over a three-year period. Since 1984, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known first as Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia), rapidly transforming New Zealand from a protectionist and highly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. Unemployment peaked just above 10% in 1991 and 1992, following the 1987 share market crash, but eventually fell to a record low (since 1986) of 3.7% in 2007 (ranking third from twenty-seven comparable OECD nations). However, the global financial crisis that followed had a major effect on New Zealand, with the GDP shrinking for five consecutive quarters, the longest recession in over thirty years, and unemployment rising back to 7% in late 2009. Unemployment rates for different age groups follow similar trends but are consistently higher among youth. In the December 2014 quarter, the general unemployment rate was around 5.8%, while the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 21 was 15.6%. New Zealand has experienced a series of "brain drains" since the 1970s that still continue today. Nearly one-quarter of highly skilled workers live overseas, mostly in Australia and Britain, which is the largest proportion from any developed nation. In recent decades, however, a "brain gain" has brought in educated professionals from Europe and less developed countries. Today New Zealand's economy benefits from a high level of innovation.Poverty in New Zealand is characterised by growing income inequality; wealth in New Zealand is highly concentrated, with the top 1% of the population owning 16% of the country's wealth, and the richest 5% owning 38%, leaving a stark contrast where half the population, including state beneficiaries and pensioners, receive less than $24,000. Moreover, child poverty in New Zealand has been identified by the Government as a major societal issue; the country has 12.0% of children living in low-income households that had less than 50 percent of the median equivalised disposable household income as of June 2022. Poverty has a disproportionately high effect in ethnic-minority households, with a quarter (23.3%) of Māori children and almost a third (28.6%) of Pacific Islander children living in poverty as of 2020. Trade New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade, particularly in agricultural products. Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns. Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country's exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). New Zealand's main trading partners, as at June 2018, are China (NZ$27.8b), Australia ($26.2b), the European Union ($22.9b), the United States ($17.6b), and Japan ($8.4b). On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. The service sector is the largest sector in the economy, followed by manufacturing and construction and then farming and raw material extraction. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy, contributing $12.9 billion (or 5.6%) to New Zealand's total GDP and supporting 7.5% of the total workforce in 2016. In 2017, international visitor arrivals were expected to increase at a rate of 5.4% annually up to 2022. Wool was New Zealand's major agricultural export during the late 19th century. Even as late as the 1960s it made up over a third of all export revenues, but since then its price has steadily dropped relative to other commodities, and wool is no longer profitable for many farmers. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with the number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand's largest export earner. In the year to June 2018, dairy products accounted for 17.7% ($14.1 billion) of total exports, and the country's largest company, Fonterra, controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade. Other exports in 2017–18 were meat (8.8%), wood and wood products (6.2%), fruit (3.6%), machinery (2.2%) and wine (2.1%). New Zealand's wine industry has followed a similar trend to dairy, the number of vineyards doubling over the same period, overtaking wool exports for the first time in 2007. Infrastructure In 2015, renewable energy generated 40.1% of New Zealand's gross energy supply. The majority of the country's electricity supply is generated from hydroelectric power, with major schemes on the Waikato, Waitaki and Clutha / Mata-Au rivers, as well as at Manapouri. Geothermal power is also a significant generator of electricity, with several large stations located across the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the North Island. The four main companies in the generation and retail market are Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Mercury Energy and Meridian Energy. State-owned Transpower operates the high-voltage transmission grids in the North and South Islands, as well as the Inter-Island HVDC link connecting the two together.The provision of water supply and sanitation is generally of good quality. Regional authorities provide water abstraction, treatment and distribution infrastructure to most developed areas. New Zealand's transport network comprises 94,000 kilometres (58,410 mi) of roads, including 199 kilometres (124 mi) of motorways, and 4,128 kilometres (2,565 mi) of railway lines. Most major cities and towns are linked by bus services, although the private car is the predominant mode of transport. The railways were privatised in 1993 but were re-nationalised by the government in stages between 2004 and 2008. The state-owned enterprise KiwiRail now operates the railways, with the exception of commuter services in Auckland and Wellington, which are operated by Auckland One Rail and Transdev Wellington respectively. Railways run the length of the country, although most lines now carry freight rather than passengers. The road and rail networks in the two main islands are linked by roll-on/roll-off ferries between Wellington and Picton, operated by Interislander (part of KiwiRail) and Bluebridge. Most international visitors arrive via air. New Zealand has four international airports: Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington; however, only Auckland and Christchurch offer non-stop flights to countries other than Australia or Fiji.The New Zealand Post Office had a monopoly over telecommunications in New Zealand until 1987 when Telecom New Zealand was formed, initially as a state-owned enterprise and then privatised in 1990. Chorus, which was split from Telecom (now Spark) in 2011, still owns the majority of the telecommunications infrastructure, but competition from other providers has increased. A large-scale rollout of gigabit-capable fibre to the premises, branded as Ultra-Fast Broadband, began in 2009 with a target of being available to 87% of the population by 2022. As of 2017, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union ranks New Zealand 13th in the development of information and communications infrastructure. Science and technology Early indigenous contribution to science in New Zealand was by Māori tohunga accumulating knowledge of agricultural practice and the effects of herbal remedies in the treatment of illness and disease. Cook's voyages in the 1700s and Darwin's in 1835 had important scientific botanical and zoological objectives. The establishment of universities in the 19th century fostered scientific discoveries by notable New Zealanders including Ernest Rutherford for splitting the atom, William Pickering for rocket science, Maurice Wilkins for helping discover DNA, Beatrice Tinsley for galaxy formation, Archibald McIndoe for plastic surgery, and Alan MacDiarmid for conducting polymers.Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) were formed in 1992 from existing government-owned research organisations. Their role is to research and develop new science, knowledge, products and services across the economic, environmental, social and cultural spectrum for the benefit of New Zealand. The total gross expenditure on research and development (R&D) as a proportion of GDP rose to 1.37% in 2018, up from 1.23% in 2015. New Zealand ranks 21st in the OECD for its gross R&D spending as a percentage of GDP. New Zealand was ranked 24th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022.The New Zealand Space Agency was created by the government in 2016 for space policy, regulation and sector development. Rocket Lab was the notable first commercial rocket launcher in the country. Demography The 2018 New Zealand census enumerated a resident population of 4,699,755, an increase of 10.8% over the 2013 census figure. As of September 2023, the total population has risen to an estimated 5,240,160. New Zealand's population increased at a rate of 1.9% per year in the seven years ended June 2020. In September 2020 Statistics New Zealand reported that the population had climbed above 5 million people in September 2019, according to population estimates based on the 2018 census.New Zealand's population today is concentrated to the north of the country, with around 76.5% of the population living in the North Island and 23.4% in the South Island as of June 2022. During the 20th century, New Zealand's population drifted north. In 1921, the country's median centre of population was located in the Tasman Sea west of Levin in Manawatū-Whanganui; by 2017, it had moved 280 km (170 mi) north to near Kawhia in Waikato.New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 83.6% of the population living in urban areas, and 50.4% of the population living in the seven cities with populations exceeding 100,000. Auckland, with over 1.4 million residents, is by far the largest city. New Zealand cities generally rank highly on international livability measures. For instance, in 2016, Auckland was ranked the world's third most liveable city and Wellington the twelfth by the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.The median age of the New Zealand population at the 2018 census was 37.4 years, with life expectancy in 2017–2019 being 80.0 years for males and 83.5 years for females. While New Zealand is experiencing sub-replacement fertility, with a total fertility rate of 1.6 in 2020, the fertility rate is above the OECD average. By 2050, the median age is projected to rise to 43 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age and older to rise from 18% to 29%. In 2016 the leading cause of death was cancer at 30.3%, followed by ischaemic heart disease (14.9%) and cerebrovascular disease (7.4%). As of 2016, total expenditure on health care (including private sector spending) is 9.2% of GDP. Ethnicity and immigration In the 2018 census, 71.8% of New Zealand residents identified ethnically as European, and 16.5% as Māori. Other major ethnic groups include Asian (15.3%) and Pacific peoples (9.0%), two-thirds of whom live in the Auckland Region. The population has become more multicultural and diverse in recent decades: in 1961, the census reported that the population of New Zealand was 92% European and 7% Māori, with Asian and Pacific minorities sharing the remaining 1%.While the demonym for a New Zealand citizen is New Zealander, the informal "Kiwi" is commonly used both internationally and by locals. The Māori loanword Pākehā has been used to refer to New Zealanders of European descent, although some reject this name. The word today is increasingly used to refer to all non-Polynesian New Zealanders.The Māori were the first people to reach New Zealand, followed by the early European settlers. Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland and Australia because of restrictive policies similar to the White Australia policy. There was also significant Dutch, Dalmatian, German, and Italian immigration, together with indirect European immigration through Australia, North America, South America and South Africa. Net migration increased after the Second World War; in the 1970s and 1980s policies on immigration were relaxed, and immigration from Asia was promoted. In 2009–10, an annual target of 45,000–50,000 permanent residence approvals was set by the New Zealand Immigration Service—more than one new migrant for every 100 New Zealand residents. In the 2018 census, 27.4% of people counted were not born in New Zealand, up from 25.2% in the 2013 census. Over half (52.4%) of New Zealand's overseas-born population lives in the Auckland Region. The United Kingdom remains the largest source of New Zealand's immigrant population, with around a quarter of all overseas-born New Zealanders born there; other major sources of New Zealand's overseas-born population are China, India, Australia, South Africa, Fiji and Samoa. The number of fee-paying international students increased sharply in the late 1990s, with more than 20,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in 2002. Language English is the predominant language in New Zealand, spoken by 95.4% of the population. New Zealand English is a variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon. It is similar to Australian English, and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell the accents apart. The most prominent differences between the New Zealand English dialect and other English dialects are the shifts in the short front vowels: the short-i sound (as in kit) has centralised towards the schwa sound (the a in comma and about); the short-e sound (as in dress) has moved towards the short-i sound; and the short-a sound (as in trap) has moved to the short-e sound.After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged or forced from speaking their own language (te reo Māori) in schools and workplaces, and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas. The Native Schools Act 1867 required instruction in English in all schools, and while there was no official policy banning children from speaking Māori, many suffered from physical abuse if they did so. The Māori language has recently undergone a process of revitalisation, being declared one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987, and is spoken by 4.0% of the population. There are now Māori language-immersion schools and two television channels that broadcast predominantly in Māori. Many places have both their Māori and English names officially recognised.As recorded in the 2018 census, Samoan is the most widely spoken non-official language (2.2%), followed by "Northern Chinese" (including Mandarin, 2.0%), Hindi (1.5%), and French (1.2%). New Zealand Sign Language was reported to be understood by 22,986 people (0.5%); it became one of New Zealand's official languages in 2006. Religion Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although its society is among the most secular in the world. In the 2018 census, 44.7% of respondents identified with one or more religions, including 37.0% identifying as Christians. Another 48.5% indicated that they had no religion. Of those who affiliate with a particular Christian denomination, the main responses are Anglicanism (6.7%), Roman Catholicism (6.3%), and Presbyterianism (4.7%). The Māori-based Ringatū and Rātana religions (1.2%) are also Christian in origin. Immigration and demographic change in recent decades have contributed to the growth of minority religions, such as Hinduism (2.6%), Islam (1.3%), Buddhism (1.1%), and Sikhism (0.9%). The Auckland Region exhibited the greatest religious diversity. Education Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16, with the majority of children attending from the age of 5. There are 13 school years and attending state (public) schools is free to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents from a person's 5th birthday to the end of the calendar year following their 19th birthday. New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99%, and over half of the population aged 15 to 29 hold a tertiary qualification. There are five types of government-owned tertiary institutions: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, specialist colleges, and wānanga, in addition to private training establishments. In the adult population, 14.2% have a bachelor's degree or higher, 30.4% have some form of secondary qualification as their highest qualification, and 22.4% have no formal qualification. The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's education system as the seventh-best in the world, with students performing exceptionally well in reading, mathematics and science. Culture Early Māori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture in line with the challenges associated with a larger and more diverse environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organisation was largely communal with families (whānau), subtribes (hapū) and tribes (iwi) ruled by a chief (rangatira), whose position was subject to the community's approval. The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Zealand and also influenced Māori culture, particularly with the introduction of Christianity. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples. More recently, American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Zealand. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland.The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem solvers. Modesty was expected and enforced through the "tall poppy syndrome", where high achievers received harsh criticism. At the time, New Zealand was not known as an intellectual country. From the early 20th century until the late 1960s, Māori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation of Māori into British New Zealanders. In the 1960s, as tertiary education became more available, and cities expanded urban culture began to dominate. However, rural imagery and themes are common in New Zealand's art, literature and media.New Zealand's national symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and Māori sources. The silver fern is an emblem appearing on army insignia and sporting team uniforms. Certain items of popular culture thought to be unique to New Zealand are called "Kiwiana". Art As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised, and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. Most Māori carvings feature human figures, generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking, detailed head or a grotesque head. Surface patterns consisting of spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings. The pre-eminent Māori architecture consisted of carved meeting houses (wharenui) decorated with symbolic carvings and illustrations. These buildings were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs.Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red ochre and shark fat) and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls. Māori tattoos (moko) consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand. Portraits of Māori were also common, with early painters often portraying them as an ideal race untainted by civilisation. The country's isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to develop their own distinctive style of regionalism. During the 1960s and 1970s, many artists combined traditional Māori and Western techniques, creating unique art forms. New Zealand art and craft has gradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the Venice Biennale in 2001 and the "Paradise Now" exhibition in New York in 2004.Māori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patterned with black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other geometric shapes. Greenstone was fashioned into earrings and necklaces, with the most well-known design being the hei-tiki, a distorted human figure sitting cross-legged with its head tilted to the side. Europeans brought English fashion etiquette to New Zealand, and until the 1950s most people dressed up for social occasions. Standards have since relaxed and New Zealand fashion has received a reputation for being casual, practical and lacklustre. However, the local fashion industry has grown significantly since 2000, doubling exports and increasing from a handful to about 50 established labels, with some labels gaining international recognition. Literature Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain, and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known. Although still largely influenced by global trends (modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period, literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished. Dunedin is a UNESCO City of Literature. Media and entertainment New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. Māori developed traditional chants and songs from their ancient Southeast Asian origins, and after centuries of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful" sound. Flutes and trumpets were used as musical instruments or as signalling devices during war or special occasions. Early settlers brought over their ethnic music, with brass bands and choral music being popular, and musicians began touring New Zealand in the 1860s. Pipe bands became widespread during the early 20th century. The New Zealand recording industry began to develop from 1940 onwards, and many New Zealand musicians have obtained success in Britain and the United States. Some artists release Māori language songs, and the Māori tradition-based art of kapa haka (song and dance) has made a resurgence. The New Zealand Music Awards are held annually by Recorded Music NZ; the awards were first held in 1965 by Reckitt & Colman as the Loxene Golden Disc awards. Recorded Music NZ also publishes the country's official weekly record charts. Public radio was introduced in New Zealand in 1922. A state-owned television service began in 1960. Deregulation in the 1980s saw a sudden increase in the numbers of radio and television stations. New Zealand television primarily broadcasts American and British programming, along with many Australian and local shows. The number of New Zealand films significantly increased during the 1970s. In 1978 the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers, and many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement. The highest-grossing New Zealand films are Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, The World's Fastest Indian, Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors, Heavenly Creatures and The Piano. The country's diverse scenery and compact size, plus government incentives, have encouraged some producers to shoot very big-budget and well known productions in New Zealand, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Wolverine, The Last Samurai and The Power of the Dog. The New Zealand media industry is dominated by a small number of companies, most of which are foreign-owned, although the state retains ownership of some television and radio stations. Since 1994, Freedom House has consistently ranked New Zealand's press freedom in the top twenty, with the 19th freest media as of 2015. Sport Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins. Rugby union is considered the national sport and attracts the most spectators. Golf, netball, tennis and cricket have the highest rates of adult participation, while netball, rugby union and football (soccer) are particularly popular among young people. Horse racing is one of the most popular spectator sports in New Zealand and was part of the "rugby, racing, and beer" subculture during the 1960s. Around 54% of New Zealand adolescents participate in sports for their school. Victorious rugby tours to Australia and the United Kingdom in the late 1880s and the early 1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity. Māori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby, and the country's team performs a haka, a traditional Māori challenge, before international matches. New Zealand is known for its extreme sports, adventure tourism and strong mountaineering tradition, as seen in the success of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary. Other outdoor pursuits such as cycling, fishing, swimming, running, tramping, canoeing, hunting, snowsports, surfing and sailing are also popular. New Zealand has seen regular sailing success in the America's Cup regatta since 1995. The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has experienced a resurgence of interest in New Zealand since the 1980s.New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugby union, rugby league, netball, cricket, softball, and sailing. New Zealand participated at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as a joint team with Australia, before first participating on its own in 1920. The country has ranked highly on a medals-to-population ratio at recent Games. The All Blacks, the national rugby union team, are the most successful in the history of international rugby and have won the World Cup three times. Cuisine The national cuisine has been described as Pacific Rim, incorporating the native Māori cuisine and diverse culinary traditions introduced by settlers and immigrants from Europe, Polynesia, and Asia. New Zealand yields produce from land and sea—most crops and livestock, such as maize, potatoes and pigs, were gradually introduced by the early European settlers. Distinctive ingredients or dishes include lamb, salmon, kōura (crayfish), Bluff oysters, whitebait, pāua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipi and tuatua (types of New Zealand shellfish), kūmara (sweet potato), kiwifruit, tamarillo, and pavlova (considered a national dessert). A hāngī is a traditional Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven; still used for large groups on special occasions, such as tangihanga. See also List of New Zealand-related topics Outline of New Zealand Footnotes Further reading Government Official website of the New Zealand Government New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage – includes information on flag, anthems and coat of arms Statistics New ZealandTravel Official website of New Zealand TourismGeneral information "New Zealand". The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency. New Zealand at Curlie New Zealand country profile from BBC News Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand New Zealand. OECD. New Zealand. Directory from UCB Libraries GovPubs. Archived 7 June 2008. Key Development Forecasts for New Zealand from International Futures Wikimedia Atlas of New Zealand Geographic data related to New Zealand at OpenStreetMap

WP or wp may refer to: Organisations Warsaw Pact, a disbanded organization of Central and Eastern European communist states WP Suspension, a manufacturer of motorcycle suspension components, former name White Power Suspension Wirtschaftspartei, the Reich Party of the German Middle Class, a political party of Weimar Germany Wojsko Polskie, the Polish Armed Forces Workers' Party (Singapore), a political party Workers Party (United States), a defunct political party Science and technology Watt-peak (Wp), the nominal power of a photovoltaic Wilting point, in soil moisture determination Computing Weakest precondition (wp), in computer science Windows Phone, a smartphone operating system WordPerfect, a word processor Word processor, software used for the production of printable material WordPress (wp.org), a content management system Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia Wirtualna Polska, a Polish web portal WordPress.com, a blog hosting provider powered by WordPress Transportation Indian locomotive class WP Western Pacific Railroad (reporting mark), a former American railroad Island Air (Hawaii) (IATA code), an airline Other uses WP (Polish TV channel), a television channel owned by Wirtualna Polska Holding White phosphorus munitions Widening participation, in higher education Wild pitch, in baseball Work Programme, a UK welfare to work scheme Wettable powder, a powder Western Province (rugby union), a South African professional rugby union team nickname WP Western Province Ice Hockey Association, is a non-profit organization, more commonly known as WP Ice Hockey See also The Washington Post (WaPo), an American newspaper All pages with titles beginning with WP All pages with titles containing WP

TX, T-X, or Tx may refer to: Texas, abbreviated as TX Companies Consumer product companies Tianxiang TX, a Chinese brand of drones and UAVs by Tianxiang Aerospace Science and Technology Co. TX Watch Company, a former watch company by the Timex Group Media and telecommunication companies TX Digital Illusions, a former American video game developer TX Group, a Swiss media company TV Tokyo, a Japanese commercial broadcaster TX Network, a Japanese television network which flagship station is TV Tokyo Transportation companies Air Caraïbes (IATA airline designator TX) Electronics and machines Canon TX, a 35mm single-lens reflex camera Palm TX, a personal digital assistant Sony Xperia TX, a smartphone Media Fenix TX, a pop punk band from Houston, Texas, formerly known as Riverfenix Fenix TX, the band's first album after their name change T-X (Terminatrix), the antagonist in the movie Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Science and technology Astronomy TX Camelopardalis, a star in the Camelopardalis constellation TX Piscium, a carbon star in the Pisces constellation Linguistics Tx (digraph) Medicine Caspase 4, an enzyme Therapy, Tx or Tx in medical shorthand Treatment group, in an experiment, such as basic research or clinical trials Traction (orthopedics) Transplant, in the context of organ transplantation In the TNM staging system for cancer: Size or extent of tumor cannot be evaluated Wildcard for any T stage (for example, a chemotherapy regimen prescribed for any T, any N, M1 = TxNxM1) Telecommunications Transmission (telecommunications), generally Tx, the transmit signal in the RS-232 serial communication protocol Transportation Aircraft and airlines Boeing T-7 Red Hawk, known as the T-X until 2019 T-X program Sperwill TX, a British paramotor Automobiles Exeed TX, a 2019–present Chinese mid-size SUV Fairthrope TX, a 1967 British sports coupe Howmet TX, a 1968 American sports prototype racing car LEVC TX, a 2017–present British electric taxi cab Lexus TX, a 2023–present luxury full-size crossover SUV Buses TX series, a line of coaches manufactured by Vanhool Rail Tsukuba Express, a Japanese railway line abbreviated as TX

Rx (sometimes written ℞) is a common abbreviation for medical prescriptions derived from the Latin verb recipere, "take / receive". RX, Rx, ℞, or rx may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media ℞ or Rx, a young adult novel by Elizabeth J. Braswell published in 2005 under the pseudonym Tracy Lynn Rx (band), an industrial rock band formed by Nivek Ogre and Martin Atkins Rx, an album by Ryan Beaver (2016) "Rx (Medicate)", a song by Canadian rock band Theory of a Deadman Rx (mixtape), an upcoming mixtape by Rico Nasty "rX" (The Gifted), an episode of the television series The Gifted Kamen Rider Black RX, a Japanese superhero television series Rx (film), a 2005 romantic thriller film Science and technology Computing and electronics Rx, "Receive", "receiver" or "reception", in various telecommunications applications Rx, the receive signal in the RS-232 serial communication standard Rx, the remote procedure call mechanism used by the Andrew File System Radeon RX series, a series of graphics products from AMD Reactive extensions, originally for .NET, later ported to other languages and environments Rx bridge, a device for measuring the characteristic resistance and impedance of antenna or feedline system Rx meters, a term used in electrical engineering RX microcontroller family, by Renesas Electronics Vehicles Lexus RX, a series of luxury crossover SUV Mazda RX, a series of sport cars South Australian Railways R class (Rx class locomotive), of the South Australian Railways Yamaha RX 100, a 2-stroke Yamaha motorcycle Other uses in science and technology Retinal homeobox protein Rx, a transcription factor in vertebrate eye development Roket Eksperimental, an Indonesian experimental rocket series Other uses Apparent retrograde motion of planets in astrology Rallycross, a motor sport Regent Airways, a Bangladeshi airline (IATA code RX) Rye, East Sussex, UK, in fishing boat registrations ℞, a numismatic abbreviation for reverse RX, formerly Reed Exhibitions, an exhibition company now part of RELX Controlled burn, in forest management

Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight, and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from the Sun. It is also produced by electric arcs; Cherenkov radiation; and specialized lights; such as mercury-vapor lamps, tanning lamps, and black lights. Although long-wavelength ultraviolet is not considered an ionizing radiation because its photons lack the energy to ionize atoms, it can cause chemical reactions and causes many substances to glow or fluoresce. Many practical applications, including chemical and biological effects, derive from the way that UV radiation can interact with organic molecules. These interactions can involve absorption or adjusting energy states in molecules, but do not necessarily involve heating.Short-wave ultraviolet light damages DNA and sterilizes surfaces with which it comes into contact. For humans, suntan and sunburn are familiar effects of exposure of the skin to UV light, along with an increased risk of skin cancer. The amount of UV light produced by the Sun means that the Earth would not be able to sustain life on dry land if most of that light were not filtered out by the atmosphere. More energetic, shorter-wavelength "extreme" UV below 121 nm ionizes air so strongly that it is absorbed before it reaches the ground. However, ultraviolet light (specifically, UVB) is also responsible for the formation of vitamin D in most land vertebrates, including humans. The UV spectrum, thus, has effects both beneficial and harmful to life. The lower wavelength limit of human vision is conventionally taken as 400 nm, so ultraviolet rays are invisible to humans, although people can sometimes perceive light at shorter wavelengths than this. Insects, birds, and some mammals can see near-UV (NUV) ,i.e., slightly shorter wavelengths than what humans can see. Visibility Ultraviolet rays are invisible to most humans. The lens of the human eye blocks most radiation in the wavelength range of 300–400 nm; shorter wavelengths are blocked by the cornea. Humans also lack color receptor adaptations for ultraviolet rays. Nevertheless, the photoreceptors of the retina are sensitive to near-UV, and people lacking a lens (a condition known as aphakia) perceive near-UV as whitish-blue or whitish-violet. Under some conditions, children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths around 310 nm. Near-UV radiation is visible to insects, some mammals, and some birds. Birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays; this, coupled with eye structures that transmit more UV gives smaller birds "true" UV vision. History and discovery "Ultraviolet" means "beyond violet" (from Latin ultra, "beyond"), violet being the color of the highest frequencies of visible light. Ultraviolet has a higher frequency (thus a shorter wavelength) than violet light. UV radiation was discovered in 1801 when the German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter observed that invisible rays just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum darkened silver chloride-soaked paper more quickly than violet light itself. He called them "(de-)oxidizing rays" (German: de-oxidierende Strahlen) to emphasize chemical reactivity and to distinguish them from "heat rays", discovered the previous year at the other end of the visible spectrum. The simpler term "chemical rays" was adopted soon afterwards, and remained popular throughout the 19th century, although some said that this radiation was entirely different from light (notably John William Draper, who named them "tithonic rays"). The terms "chemical rays" and "heat rays" were eventually dropped in favor of ultraviolet and infrared radiation, respectively. In 1878, the sterilizing effect of short-wavelength light by killing bacteria was discovered. By 1903, the most effective wavelengths were known to be around 250 nm. In 1960, the effect of ultraviolet radiation on DNA was established.The discovery of the ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths below 200 nm, named "vacuum ultraviolet" because it is strongly absorbed by the oxygen in air, was made in 1893 by German physicist Victor Schumann. Subtypes The electromagnetic spectrum of ultraviolet radiation (UVR), defined most broadly as 10–400 nanometers, can be subdivided into a number of ranges recommended by the ISO standard ISO 21348: Several solid-state and vacuum devices have been explored for use in different parts of the UV spectrum. Many approaches seek to adapt visible light-sensing devices, but these can suffer from unwanted response to visible light and various instabilities. Ultraviolet can be detected by suitable photodiodes and photocathodes, which can be tailored to be sensitive to different parts of the UV spectrum. Sensitive UV photomultipliers are available. Spectrometers and radiometers are made for measurement of UV radiation. Silicon detectors are used across the spectrum.Vacuum UV, or VUV, wavelengths (shorter than 200 nm) are strongly absorbed by molecular oxygen in the air, though the longer wavelengths around 150–200 nm can propagate through nitrogen. Scientific instruments can, therefore, use this spectral range by operating in an oxygen-free atmosphere (commonly pure nitrogen), without the need for costly vacuum chambers. Significant examples include 193-nm photolithography equipment (for semiconductor manufacturing) and circular dichroism spectrometers. Technology for VUV instrumentation was largely driven by solar astronomy for many decades. While optics can be used to remove unwanted visible light that contaminates the VUV, in general; detectors can be limited by their response to non-VUV radiation, and the development of solar-blind devices has been an important area of research. Wide-gap solid-state devices or vacuum devices with high-cutoff photocathodes can be attractive compared to silicon diodes. Extreme UV (EUV or sometimes XUV) is characterized by a transition in the physics of interaction with matter. Wavelengths longer than about 30 nm interact mainly with the outer valence electrons of atoms, while wavelengths shorter than that interact mainly with inner-shell electrons and nuclei. The long end of the EUV spectrum is set by a prominent He+ spectral line at 30.4 nm. EUV is strongly absorbed by most known materials, but synthesizing multilayer optics that reflect up to about 50% of EUV radiation at normal incidence is possible. This technology was pioneered by the NIXT and MSSTA sounding rockets in the 1990s, and it has been used to make telescopes for solar imaging. the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite. Some sources use the distinction of "hard UV" and "soft UV". For instance, in the case of astrophysics, the boundary may be at the Lyman limit (wavelength 91.2 nm), with "hard UV" being more energetic; the same terms may also be used in other fields, such as cosmetology, optoelectronic, etc. The numerical values of the boundary between hard/soft, even within similar scientific fields, do not necessarily coincide; for example, one applied-physics publication used a boundary of 190 nm between hard and soft UV regions. Solar ultraviolet Very hot objects emit UV radiation (see black-body radiation). The Sun emits ultraviolet radiation at all wavelengths, including the extreme ultraviolet where it crosses into X-rays at 10 nm. Extremely hot stars (such as O- and B-type) emit proportionally more UV radiation than the Sun. Sunlight in space at the top of Earth's atmosphere (see solar constant) is composed of about 50% infrared light, 40% visible light, and 10% ultraviolet light, for a total intensity of about 1400 W/m2 in vacuum.The atmosphere blocks about 77% of the Sun's UV, when the Sun is highest in the sky (at zenith), with absorption increasing at shorter UV wavelengths. At ground level with the sun at zenith, sunlight is 44% visible light, 3% ultraviolet, and the remainder infrared. Of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface, more than 95% is the longer wavelengths of UVA, with the small remainder UVB. Almost no UVC reaches the Earth's surface. The fraction of UVB which remains in UV radiation after passing through the atmosphere is heavily dependent on cloud cover and atmospheric conditions. On "partly cloudy" days, patches of blue sky showing between clouds are also sources of (scattered) UVA and UVB, which are produced by Rayleigh scattering in the same way as the visible blue light from those parts of the sky. UVB also plays a major role in plant development, as it affects most of the plant hormones. During total overcast, the amount of absorption due to clouds is heavily dependent on the thickness of the clouds and latitude, with no clear measurements correlating specific thickness and absorption of UVB.The shorter bands of UVC, as well as even more-energetic UV radiation produced by the Sun, are absorbed by oxygen and generate the ozone in the ozone layer when single oxygen atoms produced by UV photolysis of dioxygen react with more dioxygen. The ozone layer is especially important in blocking most UVB and the remaining part of UVC not already blocked by ordinary oxygen in air. Blockers, absorbers, and windows Ultraviolet absorbers are molecules used in organic materials (polymers, paints, etc.) to absorb UV radiation to reduce the UV degradation (photo-oxidation) of a material. The absorbers can themselves degrade over time, so monitoring of absorber levels in weathered materials is necessary. In sunscreen, ingredients that absorb UVA/UVB rays, such as avobenzone, oxybenzone and octyl methoxycinnamate, are organic chemical absorbers or "blockers". They are contrasted with inorganic absorbers/"blockers" of UV radiation such as carbon black, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide. For clothing, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) represents the ratio of sunburn-causing UV without and with the protection of the fabric, similar to sun protection factor (SPF) ratings for sunscreen. Standard summer fabrics have UPFs around 6, which means that about 20% of UV will pass through.Suspended nanoparticles in stained-glass prevent UV rays from causing chemical reactions that change image colors. A set of stained-glass color-reference chips is planned to be used to calibrate the color cameras for the 2019 ESA Mars rover mission, since they will remain unfaded by the high level of UV present at the surface of Mars.Common soda–lime glass, such as window glass, is partially transparent to UVA, but is opaque to shorter wavelengths, passing about 90% of the light above 350 nm, but blocking over 90% of the light below 300 nm. A study found that car windows allow 3-4% of ambient UV to pass through, especially if the UV was greater than 380 nm. Other types of car windows can reduce transmission of UV that is greater than 335 nm. Fused quartz, depending on quality, can be transparent even to vacuum UV wavelengths. Crystalline quartz and some crystals such as CaF2 and MgF2 transmit well down to 150 nm or 160 nm wavelengths.Wood's glass is a deep violet-blue barium-sodium silicate glass with about 9% nickel oxide developed during World War I to block visible light for covert communications. It allows both infrared daylight and ultraviolet night-time communications by being transparent between 320 nm and 400 nm and also the longer infrared and just-barely-visible red wavelengths. Its maximum UV transmission is at 365 nm, one of the wavelengths of mercury lamps. Artificial sources "Black lights" A black light lamp emits long-wave UV‑A radiation and little visible light. Fluorescent black light lamps work similarly to other fluorescent lamps, but use a phosphor on the inner tube surface which emits UV‑A radiation instead of visible light. Some lamps use a deep-bluish-purple Wood's glass optical filter that blocks almost all visible light with wavelengths longer than 400 nanometers. The purple glow given off by these tubes is not the ultraviolet itself, but visible purple light from mercury’s 404 nm spectral line which escapes being filtered out by the coating. Other black lights use plain glass instead of the more expensive Wood's glass, so they appear light-blue to the eye when operating. Incandescent black lights are also produced, using a filter coating on the envelope of an incandescent bulb that absorbs visible light (see section below). These are cheaper but very inefficient, emitting only a small fraction of a percent of their power as UV. Mercury-vapor black lights in ratings up to 1 kW with UV-emitting phosphor and an envelope of Wood's glass are used for theatrical and concert displays. Black lights are used in applications in which extraneous visible light must be minimized; mainly to observe fluorescence, the colored glow that many substances give off when exposed to UV light. UV‑A / UV‑B emitting bulbs are also sold for other special purposes, such as tanning lamps and reptile-husbandry. Short-wave ultraviolet lamps Shortwave UV lamps are made using a fluorescent lamp tube with no phosphor coating, composed of fused quartz or vycor, since ordinary glass absorbs UV‑C. These lamps emit ultraviolet light with two peaks in the UV‑C band at 253.7 nm and 185 nm due to the mercury within the lamp, as well as some visible light. From 85% to 90% of the UV produced by these lamps is at 253.7 nm, whereas only 5–10% is at 185 nm. The fused quartz tube passes the 253.7 nm radiation but blocks the 185 nm wavelength. Such tubes have two or three times the UV‑C power of a regular fluorescent lamp tube. These low-pressure lamps have a typical efficiency of approximately 30–40%, meaning that for every 100 watts of electricity consumed by the lamp, they will produce approximately 30–40 watts of total UV output. They also emit bluish-white visible light, due to mercury's other spectral lines. These "germicidal" lamps are used extensively for disinfection of surfaces in laboratories and food-processing industries, and for disinfecting water supplies. Incandescent lamps 'Black light' incandescent lamps are also made from an incandescent light bulb with a filter coating which absorbs most visible light. Halogen lamps with fused quartz envelopes are used as inexpensive UV light sources in the near UV range, from 400 to 300 nm, in some scientific instruments. Due to its black-body spectrum a filament light bulb is a very inefficient ultraviolet source, emitting only a fraction of a percent of its energy as UV. Gas-discharge lamps Specialized UV gas-discharge lamps containing different gases produce UV radiation at particular spectral lines for scientific purposes. Argon and deuterium arc lamps are often used as stable sources, either windowless or with various windows such as magnesium fluoride. These are often the emitting sources in UV spectroscopy equipment for chemical analysis. Other UV sources with more continuous emission spectra include xenon arc lamps (commonly used as sunlight simulators), deuterium arc lamps, mercury-xenon arc lamps, and metal-halide arc lamps. The excimer lamp, a UV source developed in the early 2000s, is seeing increasing use in scientific fields. It has the advantages of high-intensity, high efficiency, and operation at a variety of wavelength bands into the vacuum ultraviolet. Ultraviolet LEDs Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be manufactured to emit radiation in the ultraviolet range. In 2019, following significant advances over the preceding five years, UV‑A LEDs of 365 nm and longer wavelength were available, with efficiencies of 50% at 1.0 W output. Currently, the most common types of UV LEDs are in 395 nm and 365 nm wavelengths, both of which are in the UV‑A spectrum. The rated wavelength is the peak wavelength that the LEDs put out, but light at both higher and lower wavelengths are present. The cheaper and more common 395 nm UV LEDs are much closer to the visible spectrum, and give off a purple color. Other UV LEDs deeper into the spectrum do not emit as much visible light LEDs are used for applications such as UV curing applications, charging glow-in-the-dark objects such as paintings or toys, and lights for detecting counterfeit money and bodily fluids. UV LEDs are also used in digital print applications and inert UV curing environments. Power densities approaching 3 W/cm2 (30 kW/m2) are now possible, and this, coupled with recent developments by photo-initiator and resin formulators, makes the expansion of LED cured UV materials likely. UV‑C LEDs are developing rapidly, but may require testing to verify effective disinfection. Ultraviolet lasers Gas lasers, laser diodes, and solid-state lasers can be manufactured to emit ultraviolet rays, and lasers are available that cover the entire UV range. The nitrogen gas laser uses electronic excitation of nitrogen molecules to emit a beam that is mostly UV. The strongest ultraviolet lines are at 337.1 nm and 357.6 nm in wavelength. Another type of high-power gas lasers are excimer lasers. They are widely used lasers emitting in ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet wavelength ranges. Presently, UV argon-fluoride excimer lasers operating at 193 nm are routinely used in integrated circuit production by photolithography. The current wavelength limit of production of coherent UV is about 126 nm, characteristic of the Ar2* excimer laser. Direct UV-emitting laser diodes are available at 375 nm. UV diode-pumped solid state lasers have been demonstrated using cerium-doped lithium strontium aluminum fluoride crystals (Ce:LiSAF), a process developed in the 1990s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Wavelengths shorter than 325 nm are commercially generated in diode-pumped solid-state lasers. Ultraviolet lasers can also be made by applying frequency conversion to lower-frequency lasers. Ultraviolet lasers have applications in industry (laser engraving), medicine (dermatology, and keratectomy), chemistry (MALDI), free-air secure communications, computing (optical storage), and manufacture of integrated circuits. Tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) The vacuum ultraviolet (V‑UV) band (100–200 nm) can be generated by non-linear 4 wave mixing in gases by sum or difference frequency mixing of 2 or more longer wavelength lasers. The generation is generally done in gasses (e.g. krypton, hydrogen which are two-photon resonant near 193 nm) or metal vapors (e.g. magnesium). By making one of the lasers tunable, the V‑UV can be tuned. If one of the lasers is resonant with a transition in the gas or vapor then the V‑UV production is intensified. However, resonances also generate wavelength dispersion, and thus the phase matching can limit the tunable range of the 4 wave mixing. Difference frequency mixing (i.e., f1 + f2 − f3) as an advantage over sum frequency mixing because the phase matching can provide greater tuning.In particular, difference frequency mixing two photons of an ArF (193 nm) excimer laser with a tunable visible or near IR laser in hydrogen or krypton provides resonantly enhanced tunable V‑UV covering from 100 nm to 200 nm. Practically, the lack of suitable gas / vapor cell window materials above the lithium fluoride cut-off wavelength limit the tuning range to longer than about 110 nm. Tunable V‑UV wavelengths down to 75 nm was achieved using window-free configurations. Plasma and synchrotron sources of extreme UV Lasers have been used to indirectly generate non-coherent extreme UV (E‑UV) radiation at 13.5 nm for extreme ultraviolet lithography. The E‑UV is not emitted by the laser, but rather by electron transitions in an extremely hot tin or xenon plasma, which is excited by an excimer laser. This technique does not require a synchrotron, yet can produce UV at the edge of the X‑ray spectrum. Synchrotron light sources can also produce all wavelengths of UV, including those at the boundary of the UV and X‑ray spectra at 10 nm. Human health-related effects The impact of ultraviolet radiation on human health has implications for the risks and benefits of sun exposure and is also implicated in issues such as fluorescent lamps and health. Getting too much sun exposure can be harmful, but in moderation, sun exposure is beneficial. Beneficial effects UV light (specifically, UV‑B) causes the body to produce vitamin D, which is essential for life. Humans need some UV radiation to maintain adequate vitamin D levels. According to the World Health Organization: There is no doubt that a little sunlight is good for you! But 5–15 minutes of casual sun exposure of hands, face and arms two to three times a week during the summer months is sufficient to keep your vitamin D levels high. Vitamin D can also be obtained from food and supplementation. Excess sun exposure produces harmful effects, however.Vitamin D promotes the creation of serotonin. The production of serotonin is in direct proportion to the degree of bright sunlight the body receives. Serotonin is thought to provide sensations of happiness, well-being and serenity to human beings. Skin conditions UV rays also treat certain skin conditions. Modern phototherapy has been used to successfully treat psoriasis, eczema, jaundice, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and localized scleroderma. In addition, UV light, in particular UV‑B radiation, has been shown to induce cell cycle arrest in keratinocytes, the most common type of skin cell. As such, sunlight therapy can be a candidate for treatment of conditions such as psoriasis and exfoliative cheilitis, conditions in which skin cells divide more rapidly than usual or necessary. Harmful effects In humans, excessive exposure to UV radiation can result in acute and chronic harmful effects on the eye's dioptric system and retina. The risk is elevated at high altitudes and people living in high latitude areas where snow covers the ground right into early summer and sun positions even at zenith are low, are particularly at risk. Skin, the circadian system, and the immune system can also be affected.The differential effects of various wavelengths of light on the human cornea and skin are sometimes called the "erythemal action spectrum". The action spectrum shows that UVA does not cause immediate reaction, but rather UV begins to cause photokeratitis and skin redness (with lighter skinned individuals being more sensitive) at wavelengths starting near the beginning of the UVB band at 315 nm, and rapidly increasing to 300 nm. The skin and eyes are most sensitive to damage by UV at 265–275 nm, which is in the lower UV‑C band. At still shorter wavelengths of UV, damage continues to happen, but the overt effects are not as great with so little penetrating the atmosphere. The WHO-standard ultraviolet index is a widely publicized measurement of total strength of UV wavelengths that cause sunburn on human skin, by weighting UV exposure for action spectrum effects at a given time and location. This standard shows that most sunburn happens due to UV at wavelengths near the boundary of the UV‑A and UV‑B bands. Skin damage Overexposure to UV‑B radiation not only can cause sunburn but also some forms of skin cancer. However, the degree of redness and eye irritation (which are largely not caused by UV‑A) do not predict the long-term effects of UV, although they do mirror the direct damage of DNA by ultraviolet.All bands of UV radiation damage collagen fibers and accelerate aging of the skin. Both UV‑A and UV‑B destroy vitamin A in skin, which may cause further damage.UVB radiation can cause direct DNA damage. This cancer connection is one reason for concern about ozone depletion and the ozone hole. The most deadly form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, is mostly caused by DNA damage independent from UV‑A radiation. This can be seen from the absence of a direct UV signature mutation in 92% of all melanoma. Occasional overexposure and sunburn are probably greater risk factors for melanoma than long-term moderate exposure. UV‑C is the highest-energy, most-dangerous type of ultraviolet radiation, and causes adverse effects that can variously be mutagenic or carcinogenic.In the past, UV‑A was considered not harmful or less harmful than UV‑B, but today it is known to contribute to skin cancer via indirect DNA damage (free radicals such as reactive oxygen species). UV‑A can generate highly reactive chemical intermediates, such as hydroxyl and oxygen radicals, which in turn can damage DNA. The DNA damage caused indirectly to skin by UV‑A consists mostly of single-strand breaks in DNA, while the damage caused by UV‑B includes direct formation of thymine dimers or cytosine dimers and double-strand DNA breakage. UV‑A is immunosuppressive for the entire body (accounting for a large part of the immunosuppressive effects of sunlight exposure), and is mutagenic for basal cell keratinocytes in skin.UVB photons can cause direct DNA damage. UV‑B radiation excites DNA molecules in skin cells, causing aberrant covalent bonds to form between adjacent pyrimidine bases, producing a dimer. Most UV-induced pyrimidine dimers in DNA are removed by the process known as nucleotide excision repair that employs about 30 different proteins. Those pyrimidine dimers that escape this repair process can induce a form of programmed cell death (apoptosis) or can cause DNA replication errors leading to mutation. As a defense against UV radiation, the amount of the brown pigment melanin in the skin increases when exposed to moderate (depending on skin type) levels of radiation; this is commonly known as a sun tan. The purpose of melanin is to absorb UV radiation and dissipate the energy as harmless heat, protecting the skin against both direct and indirect DNA damage from the UV. UV‑A gives a quick tan that lasts for days by oxidizing melanin that was already present and triggers the release of the melanin from melanocytes. UV‑B yields a tan that takes roughly 2 days to develop because it stimulates the body to produce more melanin. Sunscreen safety debate Medical organizations recommend that patients protect themselves from UV radiation by using sunscreen. Five sunscreen ingredients have been shown to protect mice against skin tumors. However, some sunscreen chemicals produce potentially harmful substances if they are illuminated while in contact with living cells. The amount of sunscreen that penetrates into the lower layers of the skin may be large enough to cause damage.Sunscreen reduces the direct DNA damage that causes sunburn, by blocking UV‑B, and the usual SPF rating indicates how effectively this radiation is blocked. SPF is, therefore, also called UVB-PF, for "UV‑B protection factor". This rating, however, offers no data about important protection against UVA, which does not primarily cause sunburn but is still harmful, since it causes indirect DNA damage and is also considered carcinogenic. Several studies suggest that the absence of UV‑A filters may be the cause of the higher incidence of melanoma found in sunscreen users compared to non-users. Some sunscreen lotions contain titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and avobenzone, which help protect against UV‑A rays. The photochemical properties of melanin make it an excellent photoprotectant. However, sunscreen chemicals cannot dissipate the energy of the excited state as efficiently as melanin and therefore, if sunscreen ingredients penetrate into the lower layers of the skin, the amount of reactive oxygen species may be increased. The amount of sunscreen that penetrates through the stratum corneum may or may not be large enough to cause damage. In an experiment by Hanson et al. that was published in 2006, the amount of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured in untreated and in sunscreen treated skin. In the first 20 minutes, the film of sunscreen had a protective effect and the number of ROS species was smaller. After 60 minutes, however, the amount of absorbed sunscreen was so high that the amount of ROS was higher in the sunscreen-treated skin than in the untreated skin. The study indicates that sunscreen must be reapplied within 2 hours in order to prevent UV light from penetrating to sunscreen-infused live skin cells. Aggravation of certain skin conditions Ultraviolet radiation can aggravate several skin conditions and diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, Sinear Usher syndrome, rosacea, dermatomyositis, Darier's disease, Kindler–Weary syndrome and Porokeratosis. Eye damage The eye is most sensitive to damage by UV in the lower UV‑C band at 265–275 nm. Radiation of this wavelength is almost absent from sunlight but is emitted by artificial sources such as the electrical arcs employed in arc welding. Unprotected exposure to these sources can cause "welder's flash" or "arc eye" (photokeratitis) and can lead to cataracts, pterygium and pinguecula formation. To a lesser extent, UV‑B in sunlight from 310 to 280 nm also causes photokeratitis ("snow blindness"), and the cornea, the lens, and the retina can be damaged.Protective eyewear is beneficial to those exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Since light can reach the eyes from the sides, full-coverage eye protection is usually warranted if there is an increased risk of exposure, as in high-altitude mountaineering. Mountaineers are exposed to higher-than-ordinary levels of UV radiation, both because there is less atmospheric filtering and because of reflection from snow and ice. Ordinary, untreated eyeglasses give some protection. Most plastic lenses give more protection than glass lenses, because, as noted above, glass is transparent to UV‑A and the common acrylic plastic used for lenses is less so. Some plastic lens materials, such as polycarbonate, inherently block most UV. Degradation of polymers, pigments and dyes UV degradation is one form of polymer degradation that affects plastics exposed to sunlight. The problem appears as discoloration or fading, cracking, loss of strength or disintegration. The effects of attack increase with exposure time and sunlight intensity. The addition of UV absorbers inhibits the effect. Sensitive polymers include thermoplastics and speciality fibers like aramids. UV absorption leads to chain degradation and loss of strength at sensitive points in the chain structure. Aramid rope must be shielded with a sheath of thermoplastic if it is to retain its strength. Many pigments and dyes absorb UV and change colour, so paintings and textiles may need extra protection both from sunlight and fluorescent lamps, two common sources of UV radiation. Window glass absorbs some harmful UV, but valuable artifacts need extra shielding. Many museums place black curtains over watercolour paintings and ancient textiles, for example. Since watercolours can have very low pigment levels, they need extra protection from UV. Various forms of picture framing glass, including acrylics (plexiglass), laminates, and coatings, offer different degrees of UV (and visible light) protection. Applications Because of its ability to cause chemical reactions and excite fluorescence in materials, ultraviolet radiation has a number of applications. The following table gives some uses of specific wavelength bands in the UV spectrum. 13.5 nm: Extreme ultraviolet lithography 30–200 nm: Photoionization, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, standard integrated circuit manufacture by photolithography 230–365 nm: UV-ID, label tracking, barcodes 230–400 nm: Optical sensors, various instrumentation 240–280 nm: Disinfection, decontamination of surfaces and water (DNA absorption has a peak at 260 nm), germicidal lamps 200–400 nm: Forensic analysis, drug detection 270–360 nm: Protein analysis, DNA sequencing, drug discovery 280–400 nm: Medical imaging of cells 300–320 nm: Light therapy in medicine 300–365 nm: Curing of polymers and printer inks 350–370 nm: Bug zappers (flies are most attracted to light at 365 nm) Photography Photographic film responds to ultraviolet radiation but the glass lenses of cameras usually block radiation shorter than 350 nm. Slightly yellow UV-blocking filters are often used for outdoor photography to prevent unwanted bluing and overexposure by UV rays. For photography in the near UV, special filters may be used. Photography with wavelengths shorter than 350 nm requires special quartz lenses which do not absorb the radiation. Digital cameras sensors may have internal filters that block UV to improve color rendition accuracy. Sometimes these internal filters can be removed, or they may be absent, and an external visible-light filter prepares the camera for near-UV photography. A few cameras are designed for use in the UV. Photography by reflected ultraviolet radiation is useful for medical, scientific, and forensic investigations, in applications as widespread as detecting bruising of skin, alterations of documents, or restoration work on paintings. Photography of the fluorescence produced by ultraviolet illumination uses visible wavelengths of light. In ultraviolet astronomy, measurements are used to discern the chemical composition of the interstellar medium, and the temperature and composition of stars. Because the ozone layer blocks many UV frequencies from reaching telescopes on the surface of the Earth, most UV observations are made from space. Electrical and electronics industry Corona discharge on electrical apparatus can be detected by its ultraviolet emissions. Corona causes degradation of electrical insulation and emission of ozone and nitrogen oxide.EPROMs (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) are erased by exposure to UV radiation. These modules have a transparent (quartz) window on the top of the chip that allows the UV radiation in. Fluorescent dye uses Colorless fluorescent dyes that emit blue light under UV are added as optical brighteners to paper and fabrics. The blue light emitted by these agents counteracts yellow tints that may be present and causes the colors and whites to appear whiter or more brightly colored. UV fluorescent dyes that glow in the primary colors are used in paints, papers, and textiles either to enhance color under daylight illumination or to provide special effects when lit with UV lamps. Blacklight paints that contain dyes that glow under UV are used in a number of art and aesthetic applications. Amusement parks often use UV lighting to fluoresce ride artwork and backdrops. This often has the side effect of causing rider's white clothing to glow light-purple. To help prevent counterfeiting of currency, or forgery of important documents such as driver's licenses and passports, the paper may include a UV watermark or fluorescent multicolor fibers that are visible under ultraviolet light. Postage stamps are tagged with a phosphor that glows under UV rays to permit automatic detection of the stamp and facing of the letter. UV fluorescent dyes are used in many applications (for example, biochemistry and forensics). Some brands of pepper spray will leave an invisible chemical (UV dye) that is not easily washed off on a pepper-sprayed attacker, which would help police identify the attacker later. In some types of nondestructive testing UV stimulates fluorescent dyes to highlight defects in a broad range of materials. These dyes may be carried into surface-breaking defects by capillary action (liquid penetrant inspection) or they may be bound to ferrite particles caught in magnetic leakage fields in ferrous materials (magnetic particle inspection). Analytic uses Forensics UV is an investigative tool at the crime scene helpful in locating and identifying bodily fluids such as semen, blood, and saliva. For example, ejaculated fluids or saliva can be detected by high-power UV sources, irrespective of the structure or colour of the surface the fluid is deposited upon. UV–vis microspectroscopy is also used to analyze trace evidence, such as textile fibers and paint chips, as well as questioned documents. Other applications include the authentication of various collectibles and art, and detecting counterfeit currency. Even materials not specially marked with UV sensitive dyes may have distinctive fluorescence under UV exposure or may fluoresce differently under short-wave versus long-wave ultraviolet. Enhancing contrast of ink Using multi-spectral imaging it is possible to read illegible papyrus, such as the burned papyri of the Villa of the Papyri or of Oxyrhynchus, or the Archimedes palimpsest. The technique involves taking pictures of the illegible document using different filters in the infrared or ultraviolet range, finely tuned to capture certain wavelengths of light. Thus, the optimum spectral portion can be found for distinguishing ink from paper on the papyrus surface. Simple NUV sources can be used to highlight faded iron-based ink on vellum. Sanitary compliance Ultraviolet helps detect organic material deposits that remain on surfaces where periodic cleaning and sanitizing may have failed. It is used in the hotel industry, manufacturing, and other industries where levels of cleanliness or contamination are inspected.Perennial news features for many television news organizations involve an investigative reporter using a similar device to reveal unsanitary conditions in hotels, public toilets, hand rails, and such. Chemistry UV/Vis spectroscopy is widely used as a technique in chemistry to analyze chemical structure, the most notable one being conjugated systems. UV radiation is often used to excite a given sample where the fluorescent emission is measured with a spectrofluorometer. In biological research, UV radiation is used for quantification of nucleic acids or proteins. In environmental chemistry, UV radiation could also be used to detect Contaminants of emerging concern in water samples.In pollution control applications, ultraviolet analyzers are used to detect emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur compounds, mercury, and ammonia, for example in the flue gas of fossil-fired power plants. Ultraviolet radiation can detect thin sheens of spilled oil on water, either by the high reflectivity of oil films at UV wavelengths, fluorescence of compounds in oil, or by absorbing of UV created by Raman scattering in water. UV absorbance can also be uesd to quantify contaminants in wastewater. Most commonly used 254 nm UV absorbance is genrally used as a surrogate parameters to quantify NOM. Another form of light-based detection method uses a wide spectrum of excitation emission matrix (EEM) to detect and identify contaminants based on their flourense properties. EEM could be used to discriminate different groups of NOM based on the difference in light emission and excitation of fluorophores. NOMs with certain molecular structures are reported to have fluorescent properties in a wide range of excitation/emission wavelengths. Ultraviolet lamps are also used as part of the analysis of some minerals and gems. Material science uses Fire detection In general, ultraviolet detectors use either a solid-state device, such as one based on silicon carbide or aluminium nitride, or a gas-filled tube as the sensing element. UV detectors that are sensitive to UV in any part of the spectrum respond to irradiation by sunlight and artificial light. A burning hydrogen flame, for instance, radiates strongly in the 185- to 260-nanometer range and only very weakly in the IR region, whereas a coal fire emits very weakly in the UV band yet very strongly at IR wavelengths; thus, a fire detector that operates using both UV and IR detectors is more reliable than one with a UV detector alone. Virtually all fires emit some radiation in the UVC band, whereas the Sun's radiation at this band is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. The result is that the UV detector is "solar blind", meaning it will not cause an alarm in response to radiation from the Sun, so it can easily be used both indoors and outdoors. UV detectors are sensitive to most fires, including hydrocarbons, metals, sulfur, hydrogen, hydrazine, and ammonia. Arc welding, electrical arcs, lightning, X-rays used in nondestructive metal testing equipment (though this is highly unlikely), and radioactive materials can produce levels that will activate a UV detection system. The presence of UV-absorbing gases and vapors will attenuate the UV radiation from a fire, adversely affecting the ability of the detector to detect flames. Likewise, the presence of an oil mist in the air or an oil film on the detector window will have the same effect. Photolithography Ultraviolet radiation is used for very fine resolution photolithography, a procedure wherein a chemical called a photoresist is exposed to UV radiation that has passed through a mask. The exposure causes chemical reactions to occur in the photoresist. After removal of unwanted photoresist, a pattern determined by the mask remains on the sample. Steps may then be taken to "etch" away, deposit on or otherwise modify areas of the sample where no photoresist remains. Photolithography is used in the manufacture of semiconductors, integrated circuit components, and printed circuit boards. Photolithography processes used to fabricate electronic integrated circuits presently use 193 nm UV and are experimentally using 13.5 nm UV for extreme ultraviolet lithography. Polymers Electronic components that require clear transparency for light to exit or enter (photovoltaic panels and sensors) can be potted using acrylic resins that are cured using UV energy. The advantages are low VOC emissions and rapid curing. Certain inks, coatings, and adhesives are formulated with photoinitiators and resins. When exposed to UV light, polymerization occurs, and so the adhesives harden or cure, usually within a few seconds. Applications include glass and plastic bonding, optical fiber coatings, the coating of flooring, UV coating and paper finishes in offset printing, dental fillings, and decorative fingernail "gels". UV sources for UV curing applications include UV lamps, UV LEDs, and excimer flash lamps. Fast processes such as flexo or offset printing require high-intensity light focused via reflectors onto a moving substrate and medium so high-pressure Hg (mercury) or Fe (iron, doped)-based bulbs are used, energized with electric arcs or microwaves. Lower-power fluorescent lamps and LEDs can be used for static applications. Small high-pressure lamps can have light focused and transmitted to the work area via liquid-filled or fiber-optic light guides. The impact of UV on polymers is used for modification of the (roughness and hydrophobicity) of polymer surfaces. For example, a poly(methyl methacrylate) surface can be smoothed by vacuum ultraviolet.UV radiation is useful in preparing low-surface-energy polymers for adhesives. Polymers exposed to UV will oxidize, thus raising the surface energy of the polymer. Once the surface energy of the polymer has been raised, the bond between the adhesive and the polymer is stronger. Biology-related uses Air purification Using a catalytic chemical reaction from titanium dioxide and UVC exposure, oxidation of organic matter converts pathogens, pollens, and mold spores into harmless inert byproducts. However, the reaction of titanium dioxide and UVC is not a straight path. Several hundreds of reactions occur prior to the inert byproducts stage and can hinder the resulting reaction creating formaldehyde, aldehyde, and other VOC's en route to a final stage. Thus, the use of titanium dioxide and UVC requires very specific parameters for a successful outcome. The cleansing mechanism of UV is a photochemical process. Contaminants in the indoor environment are almost entirely organic carbon-based compounds, which break down when exposed to high-intensity UV at 240 to 280 nm. Short-wave ultraviolet radiation can destroy DNA in living microorganisms. UVC's effectiveness is directly related to intensity and exposure time. UV has also been shown to reduce gaseous contaminants such as carbon monoxide and VOCs. UV lamps radiating at 184 and 254 nm can remove low concentrations of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide if the air is recycled between the room and the lamp chamber. This arrangement prevents the introduction of ozone into the treated air. Likewise, air may be treated by passing by a single UV source operating at 184 nm and passed over iron pentaoxide to remove the ozone produced by the UV lamp. Sterilization and disinfection Ultraviolet lamps are used to sterilize workspaces and tools used in biology laboratories and medical facilities. Commercially available low-pressure mercury-vapor lamps emit about 86% of their radiation at 254 nanometers (nm), with 265 nm being the peak germicidal effectiveness curve. UV at these germicidal wavelengths damage a microorganism's DNA/RNA so that it cannot reproduce, making it harmless, (even though the organism may not be killed). Since microorganisms can be shielded from ultraviolet rays in small cracks and other shaded areas, these lamps are used only as a supplement to other sterilization techniques. UV-C LEDs are relatively new to the commercial market and are gaining in popularity. Due to their monochromatic nature (±5 nm) these LEDs can target a specific wavelength needed for disinfection. This is especially important knowing that pathogens vary in their sensitivity to specific UV wavelengths. LEDs are mercury free, instant on/off, and have unlimited cycling throughout the day.Disinfection using UV radiation is commonly used in wastewater treatment applications and is finding an increased usage in municipal drinking water treatment. Many bottlers of spring water use UV disinfection equipment to sterilize their water. Solar water disinfection has been researched for cheaply treating contaminated water using natural sunlight. The UV-A irradiation and increased water temperature kill organisms in the water. Ultraviolet radiation is used in several food processes to kill unwanted microorganisms. UV can be used to pasteurize fruit juices by flowing the juice over a high-intensity ultraviolet source. The effectiveness of such a process depends on the UV absorbance of the juice. Pulsed light (PL) is a technique of killing microorganisms on surfaces using pulses of an intense broad spectrum, rich in UV-C between 200 and 280 nm. Pulsed light works with xenon flash lamps that can produce flashes several times per second. Disinfection robots use pulsed UV. Biological Some animals, including birds, reptiles, and insects such as bees, can see near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Many fruits, flowers, and seeds stand out more strongly from the background in ultraviolet wavelengths as compared to human color vision. Scorpions glow or take on a yellow to green color under UV illumination, thus assisting in the control of these arachnids. Many birds have patterns in their plumage that are invisible at usual wavelengths but observable in ultraviolet, and the urine and other secretions of some animals, including dogs, cats, and human beings, are much easier to spot with ultraviolet. Urine trails of rodents can be detected by pest control technicians for proper treatment of infested dwellings. Butterflies use ultraviolet as a communication system for sex recognition and mating behavior. For example, in the Colias eurytheme butterfly, males rely on visual cues to locate and identify females. Instead of using chemical stimuli to find mates, males are attracted to the ultraviolet-reflecting color of female hind wings. In Pieris napi butterflies it was shown that females in northern Finland with less UV-radiation present in the environment possessed stronger UV signals to attract their males than those occurring further south. This suggested that it was evolutionarily more difficult to increase the UV-sensitivity of the eyes of the males than to increase the UV-signals emitted by the females.Many insects use the ultraviolet wavelength emissions from celestial objects as references for flight navigation. A local ultraviolet emitter will normally disrupt the navigation process and will eventually attract the flying insect. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is often used in genetics as a marker. Many substances, such as proteins, have significant light absorption bands in the ultraviolet that are of interest in biochemistry and related fields. UV-capable spectrophotometers are common in such laboratories. Ultraviolet traps called bug zappers are used to eliminate various small flying insects. They are attracted to the UV and are killed using an electric shock, or trapped once they come into contact with the device. Different designs of ultraviolet radiation traps are also used by entomologists for collecting nocturnal insects during faunistic survey studies. Therapy Ultraviolet radiation is helpful in the treatment of skin conditions such as psoriasis and vitiligo. Exposure to UVA, while the skin is hyper-photosensitive, by taking psoralens is an effective treatment for psoriasis. Due to the potential of psoralens to cause damage to the liver, PUVA therapy may be used only a limited number of times over a patient's lifetime. UVB phototherapy does not require additional medications or topical preparations for the therapeutic benefit; only the exposure is needed. However, phototherapy can be effective when used in conjunction with certain topical treatments such as anthralin, coal tar, and vitamin A and D derivatives, or systemic treatments such as methotrexate and Soriatane. Herpetology Reptiles need UVB for biosynthesis of vitamin D, and other metabolic processes. Specifically cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), which is needed for basic cellular / neural functioning as well as the utilization of calcium for bone and egg production. The UVA wavelength is also visible to many reptiles and might play a significant role in their ability survive in the wild as well as in visual communication between individuals. Therefore, in a typical reptile enclosure, a fluorescent UV a/b source (at the proper strength / spectrum for the species), must be available for many captive species to survive. Simple supplementation with cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) will not be enough as there's a complete biosynthetic pathway that is "leapfrogged" (risks of possible overdoses), the intermediate molecules and metabolites also play important functions in the animals health. Natural sunlight in the right levels is always going to be superior to artificial sources, but this might not be possible for keepers in different parts of the world.It is a known problem that high levels of output of the UVa part of the spectrum can both cause cellular and DNA damage to sensitive parts of their bodies – especially the eyes where blindness is the result of an improper UVa/b source use and placement photokeratitis. For many keepers there must also be a provision for an adequate heat source this has resulted in the marketing of heat and light "combination" products. Keepers should be careful of these "combination" light/ heat and UVa/b generators, they typically emit high levels of UVa with lower levels of UVb that are set and difficult to control so that animals can have their needs met. A better strategy is to use individual sources of these elements and so they can be placed and controlled by the keepers for the max benefit of the animals. Evolutionary significance The evolution of early reproductive proteins and enzymes is attributed in modern models of evolutionary theory to ultraviolet radiation. UVB causes thymine base pairs next to each other in genetic sequences to bond together into thymine dimers, a disruption in the strand that reproductive enzymes cannot copy. This leads to frameshifting during genetic replication and protein synthesis, usually killing the cell. Before formation of the UV-blocking ozone layer, when early prokaryotes approached the surface of the ocean, they almost invariably died out. The few that survived had developed enzymes that monitored the genetic material and removed thymine dimers by nucleotide excision repair enzymes. Many enzymes and proteins involved in modern mitosis and meiosis are similar to repair enzymes, and are believed to be evolved modifications of the enzymes originally used to overcome DNA damages caused by UV. Photobiology Photobiology is the scientific study of the beneficial and harmful interactions of non-ionizing radiation in living organisms, conventionally demarcated around 10 eV, the first ionization energy of oxygen. UV ranges roughly from 3 to 30 eV in energy. Hence photobiology entertains some, but not all, of the UV spectrum. See also Further reading Hu, S; Ma, F; Collado-Mesa, F; Kirsner, R. S. (July 2004). "UV radiation, latitude, and melanoma in US Hispanics and blacks". Arch. Dermatol. 140 (7): 819–824. doi:10.1001/archderm.140.7.819. PMID 15262692. Strauss, CEM; Funk, DJ (1991). "Broadly tunable difference-frequency generation of VUV using two-photon resonances in H2 and Kr". Optics Letters. 16 (15): 1192–4. Bibcode:1991OptL...16.1192S. doi:10.1364/ol.16.001192. PMID 19776917. Hockberger, Philip E. (2002). "A History of Ultraviolet Photobiology for Humans, Animals and Microorganisms". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 76 (6): 561–569. doi:10.1562/0031-8655(2002)0760561AHOUPF2.0.CO2. PMID 12511035. S2CID 222100404. Allen, Jeannie (6 September 2001). Ultraviolet Radiation: How it Affects Life on Earth. Earth Observatory. NASA, USA. Media related to Ultraviolet light at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of ultraviolet at Wiktionary

FA, Fa or fa may refer to: People Fa of Xia, King of China 1747–1728 BC Fa Ngum (1316–1393), founder and ruler of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang Fa Ziying (1964–1999), Chinese serial killer Places Fa, Aude, a commune of the Aude département in France Friends Academy, Locust Valley, New York, USA Arts and entertainment Fa (musical note) Fa Yuiry, a fictional character in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Fantasy Advertiser, later FA, UK fanzine Firearms (video game), 1998 Government, law and politics Fa (philosophy), a Chinese concept Falange Auténtica, a Spanish political party Fisheries Agency, Taiwan Languages and alphabets Fa (letter) of the Arabic abjad Faʼ language, Bantu language of Cameroon fa, ISO 639-1 code of the Persian language Mathematics, science, and technology Factor analysis, a statistical method Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease Fayalite, an olivine mineral Femtoampere (fA) Fluorescein angiography, for eye examination Folic acid, a B vitamin Fractional anisotropy, degree of anisotropy Friedreich's ataxia, a genetic disease Nikon FA, a camera Military Forschungsamt, Nazi German intelligence agency Frontal Aviation, Soviet Air Forces battlefield air defence Sport The Football Association, regulatory body, England First ascent, of a mountain Football association, a governing body for an association football Transport ALCO FA, a US locomotive Toyota FA, a truck Area forecast, in aviation Ferrocarriles Argentinos, Argentine railways Safair, a South African airline, IATA code NZR FA Class, New Zealand locomotive class Other uses F.A. or Intermediate of Arts, an academic diploma Fa (brand), of personal care products fa’ or Fall (unit), obsolete Scottish length unit Financial adviser Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) See also Sweet F.A., UK slang meaning "nothing at all"

FB, Fb, or fb may refer to: Arts and media F♭ (musical note) FB (band), an electronic music collaboration of Benny Benassi and Ferry Corsten Facebook, a social networking website, also known as FB.com Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook Inc (Nasdaq: FB), parent company of Facebook Friendship book, a booklet swapped amongst pen pals Frostbite (game engine), a video game engine FB, known as Trucksy in the US, an old green pickup truck from Roary the Racing Car Science and technology Computing Framebuffer, in computer technology FreeBASIC, a 32-bit compiler using BASIC syntax for DOS, Windows, and Linux FictionBook, an open XML-based e-book format hailing from Russia Other uses in science and technology F B swamp vehicle, a Japanese military vehicle used for crossing difficult swampy terrain Fast busy, or reorder tone, a type of telephone signal Feedback, in signaling systems Femtobarn, a small unit of area used in high energy physics Fluidized bed, a special technology used in energy, reactor, chemical engineering etc. Hyundai FB, a series of buses manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company Foreign body, any object originating outside the body Sport Fenerbahçe, a Turkish sports club Fly ball, a type of batted ball or a pitching stat in baseball Football Fullback (American football), a position in American football Full-back (association football), a position in association football Other uses Bulgaria Air (Bulgarian: България еър, IATA code FB), the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria Firebase or Fire support base, an artillery encampment Footbridge (fb on some maps), a bridge designed for pedestrians Fremont Bank, a US based retail and commercial bank FB "Łucznik" Radom, a Polish defence industry enterprise from Radom that produces firearms All pages with titles containing FB BF (disambiguation)

DR, Dr, dr, or variation, may refer to: Doctor (title), a person who has obtained a doctoral degree or a courtesy title for a medical or dental practitioner Businesses DR Handmade Strings, a manufacturer of guitar strings DR (broadcaster), a Danish government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company D/R or Design Research, a retail lifestyle store chain (1953–1978) DR Motor Company, an Italian automobile company Depositary receipt, negotiable financial instrument issued by a bank to represent a foreign company's publicly traded securities Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany), former German railway company Digital Research, a defunct software company Duane Reade, a New York pharmacy chain Ruili Airlines (IATA code DR), a Chinese airline Places Dominican Republic, a country on the eastern portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India (Central railway station code) Science and technology Dead reckoning, the process of estimating a global position Demand response, a method of managing consumer consumption of electricity Disaster recovery, secondary site to switchover or failover to if the primary site does not survive Designated Router, a concept used in routing protocol OSPF Design rationale, an explicit documentation of the reasons behind decisions made when designing a system or artifact Digital radiography, a form of x-ray imaging, where digital X-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film Dram, a unit of mass and volume Dynamic range, the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as ind sound and light Dose–response relationship, describes the change in effect on an organism caused by differing levels of exposure Dreieckrechner, a German flight computer manufactured as of the 1930s (model DR2) and the 1940s (model DR3) Other uses Dalereckoning, a fictional numbering of years in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons game Data Room, a space used for housing data, usually of a secure or privileged nature Death row, a prison or section of a prison that houses prisoners awaiting execution Democratic Republic, designating a country that is both a democracy and a republic Derealization, an alteration in the perception of the external world such that it seems unreal Diário da República, the official gazette of the government of Portugal Disaster recovery, policies, tools and procedures for recovering IT or technology systems supporting critical business functions Douay–Rheims Bible, a translation of the Christian Bible Danganronpa, a video game series and anime commonly known by this name by fans. Dress rehearsal (disambiguation), a full-scale rehearsal where the actors and/or musicians perform every detail of the performance prior to its first public performance Diminishing returns Deltarune, a game by Toby Fox Digital recorder (disambiguation) Doctor (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with dr All pages with titles beginning with DR All pages with titles containing DR RD (disambiguation)

FS, fS or fs may refer to: Arts and entertainment FS (musician) (real name Fred Sargolini), American dubstep producer and DJ from New York FS Catalogue, a numbered list of all compositions by Carl Nielsen FS Film, a Finnish film distributor Flight simulator, a professional simulator of planes Amateur flight simulation, a video game version of simulators Microsoft Flight Simulator, an amateur flight simulator series Microsoft Flight Simulator X, the 2006 edition, commonly referred to as FSX Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 video game), the 2020 edition, commonly referred to as FS Businesses and organizations In transportation Ferrocarril de Sóller, a railway on Majorca Ferrovie dello Stato, Italian state railways Trenitalia, its subsidiary for operating passenger rail transport First ScotRail, a British rail train operator ItAli Airlines, an Italian airline (IATA airline designator FS, 2003-2011) Flyr (airline), a Norwegian airline (IATA airline designator FS, 2020-2023) Other businesses and organizations Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, a Business School in Frankfurt, Germany FS Investments, a fund management firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FS Services, now Growmark, an agricultural supply cooperative Full Sail Real World Education, a university in Florida dedicated to real world education in the entertainment industry Future Shop, a defunct Canadian consumer electronics retailer Mathematics, science, and technology Computing FS register, in X86fs computer architecture File Separator, a character in the C0 and C1 control codes File server, a form of disk storage File system, in computer science and database theory Flipnote Studio, a DSi animation software Forward secrecy, a property of cryptographic systems Fullscreen, a picture format in 4:3 aspect ratio, as opposed to widescreen IBM Future Systems project a failed IBM project to develop a computer line to replace System/360 Feature structure, a set of attribute–value pairs Health and medicine Felty's syndrome, autoimmune disease, with rheumatoid arthritis, enlargement of the spleen and too few neutrophils in the blood Fibrin sealant, a type of surgical tissue adhesive used during surgery to control bleeding Flight Surgeon, a physician who is responsible for the medical evaluation, certification and treatment of aviation personnel Fractional shortening of the heart Formularium Slovenicum, Slovenian addendum to the European Pharmacopoeia Mathematics Fourier series, a mathematical tool used for analyzing periodic functions Sampling rate (symbol f s {\displaystyle f_{s}} ), in communications theory Other uses in science and technology Feldspar, a group of silicate minerals Femtosecond, an SI unit of time Femtosiemens, an SI unit of electric conductance Fin-stabilized projectile, such as the APFSDS or HEAT-FS Fine structure, in atomic physics Flank speed, a ship's true maximum speed Flight Simulator, a machine that tries to replicate the experience of flying Formula Student, a student engineering competition held annually in the UK Frameshift mutation, a genetic mutation Fujita scale (F-Scale), or Fujita-Pearson scale, a scale for rating tornado intensity Full scale, in electronics and signal processing, the maximum amplitude a system can present Marine flooding surface, a sharp contact between deep-water and shallow-water facies in sequence stratigraphy Military Fire support, artillery or close air support for combat operations Flight Sergeant, a non-commissioned officer in some air forces Flight Surgeon, physician primarily responsible for the medical evaluation, certification and treatment of aviation personnel French Ship, a NATO prefix for ships of the French Navy Sport Fox Sports (United States) FS1, Fox Sports 1 FS2, Fox Sports 2 Free safety, one variation of the defensive back position in American football Free skating, the second part of a figure skating competition Other uses Federal Standard 595, a United States federal standard defining color shades Financial Secretary (Hong Kong) For Sale (disambiguation) Foundation Stage, term used for early childhood education in the United Kingdom Franco's Spain, Spain under the leadership of Francisco Franco French Southern Territories (FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code); excludes the Terre Adélie portion of Antarctica Full service (disambiguation)

MP, Mp, mp or .mp may refer to: Arts and entertainment M.P. (opera), an 1811 comic opera by Thomas Moore and Charles Edward Horn Magic point, or mana point, in role-playing games Mezzo-piano (mp), a musical dynamic meaning "medium-quiet" or "moderately-quiet" Multiplayer, in gaming Multipremier, a Mexican television network MusiquePlus, whose station identification is "mp" Mario Party, a series of vídeo games by Nintendo MP signature on works by Australian artist Margaret Preston Businesses and organizations Government Member of parliament Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Management (Brazil), a cabinet-level federal ministry in Brazil Public Ministry (Portugal) (Portuguese: Ministério Público), the body of the Judiciary of Portugal Public Prosecutor's Office (Brazil) (Portuguese: Ministério Público), the Brazilian body of independent public prosecutors Police Military police, law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state Mumbai Police, the police force of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra Municipal police, law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government Metropolitan police, municipal police of major metropolitan areas Politics Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Member of Parliament (Canada), individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada Member of Parliament (Australia), individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of Australia Member of Parliament (New Zealand), individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of New Zealand Member of Parliament (South Africa), individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of the Parliament of South Africa Progressive Movement (Cameroon) (French: Mouvement Progressiste), a minor opposition political party in Cameroon Green Party (Sweden) (Swedish: Miljöpartiet), a political party in Sweden based upon green politics Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka), individual elected to serve in the Parliament of Sri Lanka Other businesses and organizations Martinair (IATA airline designator MP), Dutch cargo airline Mikkelin Palloilijat, a Finnish football (soccer) club Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper Missouri Pacific Railroad (reporting mark MP), one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River Mueller and Pfleger, a subsidiary of aquarium suppliers Eheim Law Manu propria, a Latin expression meaning by one's own hand Provisory measure, in Brazilian law (Portuguese: medida provisória) Missing person Linguistics Mp (digraph), in many African languages Malayo-Polynesian languages of Southeast Asia Minimalist program, a syntactic theory in linguistics Places Madhya Pradesh, a state in India Manipur Pradesh, a term used to refer to Manipur by various political parties Mandatory Palestine, a former British protectorate Northern Mariana Islands (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code and U.S. postal abbreviation MP), an insular area and commonwealth of the United States Science and technology Computing .mp, Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Northern Mariana Islands Management Point, in the Advanced Client of Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager Massive parallelism (disambiguation) Media player (disambiguation) Media processor, a type of digital signal processor designed to deal with streaming data in real-time Megapixel, a unit of a million pixels Merge Point, in the MPLS local protection approach to network resiliency Microprocessor, a computer processor with a minimal number of integrated circuits Microsoft Project, project-management software Multilink Protocol (or Multilink PPP), a method for spreading traffic across multiple point-to-point protocol connections Multi-platform, describing software that is implemented on multiple computer platforms Multiprocessing, the use of two or more central processing units within a single computer system Mathematics Maximum parsimony (phylogenetics), in statistical analysis Modus ponens, in propositional logic, a Latin expression meaning "mode that affirms" Physics Megapond (Mp), a non-SI Metric unit of force, also known as a tonne-force Melting point, the temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid mp, the mass of a proton Other uses in science and technology Machine pistol, typically a handgun-style machine gun, capable of fully automatic or burst fire Macrophage, a type of white blood cell that engulfs and digests cellular debris, foreign substances, microbes and cancer cells Mammal Paleogene zone, a system of biostratigraphic zones in the stratigraphic record used to correlate mammal-bearing fossil localities of the Paleogene period of Europe Meralgia paraesthetica (MP), a sensation of numbness in the outer thigh Methylphenidate, a stimulant medication Microprinting (MP), a method of printing very finely as an anti-counterfeiting mechanism Møller–Plesset perturbation theory, a post-Hartree–Fock method used in computational chemistry Monoprinting (M/P), a type of printmaking producing a single print Movement protein, proteins encoded by plant viruses to facilitate cell-to-cell transmission Sport Mikkelin Palloilijat (MP), a Finnish football club MP Motorsport, a Dutch auto racing team Other uses Marka polska, a historical Polish money unit Masterpoints, awarded for successful performance at contract bridge; see Glossary of contract bridge terms Matchpoints, a method of scoring in contract bridge; see Glossary of contract bridge terms Mile post Roman mile (Latin: mille passuum) See also MP, a brand of Russian firearms by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, including: MP-71 MP-412 REX MP-443 Grach, (Pistolet Yarygina) MP-444 (Bagira) MP-445 (Varyag) MP-446 Viking MP-448 Skyph MP, one of several models of rubber-tyred rolling stock on the Paris Métro, notably: MP 59 MP 73 MP 89 MP 05 File formats developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG): MP1 MP2 MP3 MP4 MPS (disambiguation) Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the police force of Greater London Metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP), situated between the metacarpal bones and the proximal phalanges of the digits

MF or mf may refer to: Biology Mossy fiber (disambiguation), in neuroscience Mycosis fungoides, a type of skin disease Myelofibrosis, a chronic clonal malignant disease Microfibril rosettes, the sites of cellulose microfibril synthesis in plants Companies and organizations MF Dow Jones News, an Italian financial news agency MF Milano Finanza, an Italian business newspaper MF Global (also Man Financial), a former finance company NYSE listed as MF MF Norwegian School of Theology Massey Ferguson, an agricultural equipment company Methuselah Foundation, a non-profit volunteer organization devoted to anti-aging research Micro Focus, a software company Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of trucks and buses Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc., a North American subsidiary Mladá fronta DNES, a Czech newspaper Musical Fidelity, a British high-end audio equipment manufacturer Xiamen Airlines (IATA airline designator MF) Muslims of France, a religious organization in France Computing MF and .mf, the country code and Internet top level domain for Saint Martin Mainframe computer MediaFire, a file hosting, file synchronization, and cloud storage service Metafont, a font-definition programming language Mozilla Firefox, a web browser Multi-frequency, in telephony Entertainment Music Mezzo forte (musical notation), a dynamic marking Maynard Ferguson (1928–2006), trumpeter and bandleader Melodifestivalen, the Swedish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest MF Doom (Daniel Dumile, born 1974), British-born hip hop recording artist MF Grimm (born 1970), hip-hop artist Mylène Farmer (born 1961), Canadian-born French singer and songwriter Television Making Fiends (TV series), an American animated horror comedy Modern Family, an American sitcom Monster Force, a 1994 animated television series "Murder Family", the 2020 premiere episode of Helluva Boss Video games Metroid Fusion Other uses M/F, a novel by Anthony Burgess M/F (journal), British feminist journal MF or M/F, ship prefix for a motor ferry Megafarad (MF), an SI unit of electric capacitance Millifarad (mF), an SI unit of electric capacitance The prefix for steel-wheel rolling stock on the Paris Métro Mandatory frequency airport, a non-towered airport that requires aircraft to communicate on a published frequency Manual focus Master of forestry Mayotte, France (FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code MF) Medium format (film), a size of camera Medium frequency, radio transmissions between the frequencies of 300 kHz and 3000 kHz Membership function, in control engineering, in fuzzy sets Midfielder, a playing position in association football Milk fat, on dairy product labels in Canada Motherfucker, an insult Mutual fund, in finance Member of the Folketing See also Miss Fortune (disambiguation) My Friend (disambiguation)