Classical music.

Early instances in classical music.

The use of characteristic, short, recurring motifs in orchestral music can be traced back to the early seventeenth century, such as "L'Orfeo" by Monteverdi. In French opera of the late eighteenth century (such as the works of Gluck, Grétry and Méhul), "reminiscence motif" can be identified, which may recur at a significant juncture in the plot to establish an association with earlier events. Their use, however, is not extensive or systematic. The power of the technique was exploited early in the nineteenth century by composers of Romantic opera, such as Carl Maria von Weber, where recurring themes or ideas were sometimes used in association with specific characters (e.g. Samiel in "Der Freischütz" is coupled with the chord of a diminished seventh). The first use of the word "leitmotif" in print was by the critic Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns in describing Weber's work, although this was not until 1871.  Motifs also figured occasionally in purely instrumental music of the Romantic period. The related idea of the musical "idée fixe" was coined by Hector Berlioz in reference to his "Symphonie fantastique" (1830). This purely instrumental, programmatic work (subtitled "Episode in the Life of an Artist") features a recurring melody representing the object of the artist's obsessive affection and depicting her presence in various real and imagined situations.  Though perhaps not corresponding to the strict definition of leitmotif, several of Verdi's operas feature similar thematic tunes, often introduced in the overtures or preludes, and recurring to mark the presence of a character or to invoke a particular sentiment. In "La forza del destino", the opening theme of the overture recurs whenever Leonora feels guilt or fear. In "Il trovatore", the theme of the first aria by Azucena is repeated whenever she invokes the horror of how her mother was burnt alive and the devastating revenge she attempted then. In "Don Carlos", there are at least three leitmotifs that recur regularly across the five acts: the first is associated with the poverty and suffering from war, the second is associated with prayers around the tomb of Carlos V, and the third is introduced as a duet between Don Carlo and the Marquis of Posa, thereafter accentuating sentiments of sincere friendship and loyalty.

Wagner.

Richard Wagner is the earliest composer most specifically associated with the concept of leitmotif. His cycle of four operas, "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (the music for which was written between 1853 and 1869), uses hundreds of leitmotifs, often related to specific characters, things, or situations. While some of these leitmotifs occur in only one of the operas, many recur throughout the entire cycle. Wagner had raised the issue of how music could best unite disparate elements of the plot of a music drama in his essay "Opera and Drama" (1851); the leitmotif technique corresponds to this ideal.  Some controversy surrounded the use of the word in Wagner's own circle: Wagner never authorised the use of the word "leitmotiv", using words such as "Grundthema" (basic idea), or simply "Motiv". His preferred name for the technique was "Hauptmotiv" (principal motif), which he first used in 1877; the only time he used the word "Leitmotiv", he referred to "so-called Leitmotivs".  The word gained currency with the overly literal interpretations of Wagner's music by Hans von Wolzogen, who in 1876 published a "Leitfaden" (guide or manual) to the "Ring". In it he claimed to have isolated and named all of the recurring motifs in the cycle (the motif of "Servitude", the "Spear" or "Treaty" motif, etc.), often leading to absurdities or contradictions with Wagner's actual practice. Some of the motifs he identified began to appear in the published musical scores of the operas, arousing Wagner's annoyance; his wife Cosima Wagner quoted him as saying "People will think all this nonsense is done at my request!". In fact Wagner himself never publicly named any of his leitmotifs, preferring to emphasize their flexibility of association, role in the musical form, and emotional effect. The practice of naming leitmotifs nevertheless continued, featuring in the work of prominent Wagnerian critics Ernest Newman, Deryck Cooke and Robert Donington.  The resulting lists of leitmotifs also attracted the ridicule of anti-Wagnerian critics and composers (such as Eduard Hanslick, Claude Debussy, and Igor Stravinsky). They identified the motif with Wagner's own approach to composing, mocking the impression of a musical "address book" or list of "cloakroom numbers" it created.

After Wagner.

Since Wagner, the use of leitmotifs has been taken up by many other composers. Richard Strauss used the device in many of his operas and several of his symphonic poems. Despite his sometimes acerbic comments on Wagner, Claude Debussy utilized leitmotifs in his opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1902). Arnold Schoenberg used a complex set of leitmotifs in his choral work "Gurre-Lieder" (completed 1911). Alban Berg's opera "Wozzeck" (1914–1922) also utilizes leitmotifs. The leitmotif was also a major feature of the opera "The Immortal Hour" by the English composer Rutland Boughton. His constantly recurrent, memorably tuneful leitmotifs contributed in no small way to the widespread popularity of the opera.

Critique of the leitmotif concept.

The critic Theodor W. Adorno, in his book "In Search of Wagner" (written in the 1930s), expresses the opinion that the entire concept of the leitmotif is flawed. The motif cannot be both the bearer of expression and a musical "gesture", because that reduces emotional content to a mechanical process. He notes that "even in Wagner's own day the public made a crude link between the leitmotifs and the persons they characterised" because people's innate mental processes did not necessarily correspond with Wagner's subtle intentions or optimistic expectations. He continues: The degeneration of the leitmotiv is implicit in this... it leads directly to cinema music where the sole function of the leitmotif is to announce heroes or situations so as to allow the audience to orient itself more easily.

Entertainment.

The main ideology behind Leitmotif is to create a sense of attachment to that particular sound that evokes audiences to feel particular emotions when that sound is repeated through the film. Leitmotifs in Adorno's "degenerated" sense frequently occur in film scores, and have since the early decades of sound film. One of the first people to implement Leitmotif in early sound films was Fritz Lang in his revolutionary hit "M". Lang set the benchmark for sound film through his use of leitmotif, creating a different type of atmosphere in his films.

A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, constantly recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of "idée fixe" or motto-theme. The spelling "leitmotif" is an anglicization of the German "Leitmotiv" (), literally meaning "leading motif", or "guiding motif". A musical motif has been defined as a "short musical idea... melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three", a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition: "the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity."


History.

From 1957 until 1992, DEC's headquarters were located in a former wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The headquarter buildings were vacated in 1993, renamed Clock Tower Place, and subsequently redeveloped as Mill & Main Place, a 1.1 million square foot facility for offices and light industry.  Initially focusing on the small end of the computer market allowed DEC to grow without its potential competitors making serious efforts to compete with them. Their PDP series of machines became popular in the 1960s, especially the PDP-8, widely considered to be the first successful minicomputer. Looking to simplify and update their line, DEC replaced most of their smaller machines with the PDP-11 in 1970, eventually selling over 600,000 units and cementing DEC's position in the industry.  Originally designed as a follow-on to the PDP-11, DEC's VAX-11 series was the first widely used 32-bit minicomputer, sometimes referred to as "superminis". These systems were able to compete in many roles with larger mainframe computers, such as the IBM System/370. The VAX was a best-seller, with over 400,000 sold, and its sales through the 1980s propelled the company into the second largest computer company in the industry. At its peak, DEC was the second largest employer in Massachusetts, second only to the Massachusetts State Government.  The rapid rise of the business microcomputer in the late 1980s, and especially the introduction of powerful 32-bit systems in the 1990s, quickly eroded the value of DEC's systems. DEC's last major attempt to find a space in the rapidly changing market was the DEC Alpha 64-bit RISC instruction set architecture. DEC initially started work on Alpha as a way to re-implement their VAX series, but also employed it in a range of high-performance workstations. Although the Alpha processor family met both of these goals, and, for most of its lifetime, was the fastest processor family on the market, extremely high asking prices were outsold by lower priced x86 chips from Intel and clones such as AMD.  DEC was acquired in June 1998 by Compaq, in what was at that time the largest merger in the history of the computer industry. At the time, Compaq was focused on the enterprise market and had recently purchased several other large vendors. DEC was a major player overseas where Compaq had less presence. However, Compaq had little idea what to do with its acquisitions, and soon found itself in financial difficulty of its own. The company subsequently merged with Hewlett-Packard (HP) in May 2002.

Products.

Beyond DECsystem-10/20, PDP, VAX and Alpha, DEC was well-respected for its communication subsystem designs, such as Ethernet, DNA (DIGITAL Network Architecture: predominantly DECnet products), DSA (Digital Storage Architecture: disks/tapes/controllers), and its "dumb terminal" subsystems including VT100 and DECserver products.  Rainbow 100

Research.

DEC's Research Laboratories (or Research Labs, as they were commonly known) conducted DEC's corporate research. Some of them were operated by Compaq and are still operated by Hewlett-Packard. The laboratories were:  Some of the former employees of DEC's Research Labs or DEC's R&D in general include:  Some of the former employees of Digital Equipment Corp who were responsible for developing Alpha and StrongARM:  Some of the work of the Research Labs was published in the "Digital Technical Journal", which was in published from 1985 until 1998.

Accomplishments and legacy.

DEC supported the ANSI standards, especially the ASCII character set, which survives in Unicode and the ISO 8859 character set family. DEC's own Multinational Character Set also had a large influence on ISO 8859-1 (Latin-1) and, by extension, Unicode.

User organizations.

Originally the users' group was called DECUS (Digital Equipment Computer User Society) during the 1960s to 1990s. When Compaq acquired DEC in 1998, the users group was renamed CUO, the Compaq Users' Organisation. When HP acquired Compaq in 2002, CUO became HP-Interex, although there are still DECUS groups in several countries. In the United States, the organization is represented by the Encompass organization; currently Connect. Several editions of the Small Computer Handbook were published by DEC, giving information about their PDP line of computers. The editions were:  Web sites with photos of their covers include:

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until forced to resign in 1992, after the company had gone into precipitous decline.


Background.

According to the written text of the Golden Bull of 1356:  Though the election of the King of the Romans by the chief ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Holy Roman Empire was well established, disagreements about the process and papal involvement had repeatedly resulted in controversies, most recently in 1314 when Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria had been elected by opposing sets of electors. Louis, who had eventually subdued his rival's claim on the battlefield, made a first attempt to clarify the process in the Declaration of Rhense of 1338, which renounced any papal involvement and had restricted the right to choose a new king to the prince-electors. The Golden Bull, promulgated by Louis's successor and rival, Charles IV, was more precise in several ways.

Prince-electors.

Firstly, the Bull explicitly named the seven Prince-electors ("Kurfürsten") who were to choose the King and also defined the "Reichserzämter", their (largely ceremonial) offices at court: Secondly, the principle of majority voting was explicitly stated for the first time in the Empire. The Bull prescribed that four (out of seven) votes would always suffice to elect a new King; as a result, three Electors could no longer block the election. Thirdly, the Electoral principalities were declared indivisible, and succession to them was regulated to ensure that the votes would never be divided. Finally, the Bull cemented a number of privileges for the Electors, confirming their elevated role in the Empire. It is therefore also a milestone in the establishment of largely independent states in the Empire, a process to be concluded only centuries later, notably with the Peace of Westphalia of 1648.  This codification of prince-electors, though largely based on precedence, was not uncontroversial, especially in regard to the two chief rivals of the ruling House of Luxembourg:

Procedures.

The bull regulated the whole election process in great detail, listing explicitly where, when, and under which circumstances what should be done by whom, not only for the prince-electors but also (for example) for the population of Frankfurt, where the elections were to be held, and also for the counts of the regions the prince-electors had to travel through to get there. The decision to hold the elections in Frankfurt reflected a traditional feeling dating from East Frankish days that both election and coronation ought to take place on Frankish soil. However, the election location was not the only specified location; the bull specified that the coronation would take place in Aachen, and Nuremberg would be the place where the first diet of a reign should be held. The elections were to be concluded within thirty days; failing that, the bull prescribed that the prince-electors were to receive only bread and water until they had decided:  Besides regulating the election process, the chapters of the Golden Bull contained many minor decrees. For instance, it also defined the order of marching when the emperor was present, both with and without his insignia. A relatively major decision was made in chapter 15, where Charles IV outlawed any'and ', meaning in particular the city alliances ("Städtebünde"), but also other communal leagues that had sprung up through the communal movement in mediaeval Europe. Most "Städtebünde" were subsequently dissolved, sometimes forcibly, and where refounded, their political influence was much reduced. Thus the Golden Bull also strengthened the nobility in general to the detriment of the cities.  The pope's involvement with the Golden Bull of 1356 was basically nonexistent, which was significant in the history of relations between the popes and the emperors. When Charles IV laid down procedure for electing a King of the Romans, he mentioned nothing about receiving papal confirmation of the election. However, Pope Innocent VI did not protest this because he needed Charles’s support against the Visconti. Pope Innocent continued to have good relations with Charles IV after the Golden Bull of 1356 until the former's death in 1362.

The Golden Bull of 1356 (,, ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz (Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire. It was named the "Golden Bull" for the golden seal it carried.


History.

It is believed by some that the origins of vaulting could be traced to the ancient Roman games, where acrobats usually displayed their skills on cantering horses. Others, however, believe that vaulting originated in ancient Crete, where bull-leaping was prevalent. In either case, people have been performing acrobatic and dance-like movements on (or over) the backs of moving horses/animals for more than 2,000 years.  Renaissance and Middle Ages history include numerous references to vaulting or similar activities. The present name of the sport/art comes from the French "la voltige," which it acquired during the Renaissance, when it was a form of riding drill and agility exercise for cavalry riders.  Modern vaulting developed in post-war Germany as an initiative to introduce children to equestrian sports.  In 1983, vaulting became one of the disciplines recognized by the FEI. European championships were first held in Ebreichsdorf, Austria in 1984, and the first FEI World Vaulting Championship was held in Bulle, Switzerland in 1986. Vaulting was included in the World Equestrian Games in Stockholm in 1990 and in all subsequent editions of the games. It was demonstrated as an art during the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games events. It has been included in the Inter-Africa Cup since 2006.  The first World Cup Vaulting competition was held in Leipzig on 29–30 April 2011.

Competitive vaulting.

In competitive vaulting, vaulters compete as individuals, pairs (pas-de-deux) and teams. Beginning vaulters compete in walk while experienced vaulters compete in canter. The vaulting horse moves in a minimum 15-metre diameter circle and is directed by a lunger (or "longeur") who stands in the center. In competitive vaulting, the rider and horse will both be judged on a scale from 1 to 10.  Vaulting competitions consist of compulsory exercises and choreographed freestyle exercises done to music. There are seven compulsory exercises: mount, basic seat, flag, mill, scissors, stand and flank. Each exercise is scored on a scale from 0 to 10. Horses also receive a score and are judged on the quality of their movement as well as their behavior.  Vaulters compete in team, pas-de-deux and individual categories. An individual freestyle (also known as Kür) is a 1-minute program, the pas-de-deux kür is 2 minutes while the team is 4 minutes. They are all choreographed to music. The components of a freestyle vaulting routine "may" include mounts and dismounts, handstands, kneeling and standing and aerial moves such jumps, leaps and tumbling skills. However, many of these skills are only seen in the highest levels. A typical routine for a child or beginner will more likely contain variations on simple kneels and planks. Teams also carry, lift, or even toss another vaulter in the air. Judging is based on technique, performance, form, difficulty, balance, security, and consideration of the horse; the horse is also scored, taking up 25% of the total score.  Vaulting horses are not saddled but wear a surcingle (or a roller) and a thick back pad. The surcingle has special handles which aid the vaulter in performing certain moves as well as leather loops called "cossack stirrups". The horse wears a bridle and side reins. The lunge line is usually attached to the inside bit ring.  Vaulting horses typically move on the left rein (counterclockwise), but in some competitions the horse canters in the other direction. Two-phase classes of competition also work the horse to the right. While many European clubs do not compete to the right, they still work at home evenly both directions, believing this benefits the horse and the vaulter.  The premier vaulting competitions are the biannual World and Continental Championships and the World Equestrian Games (WEG) held every four years. In many countries, vaulting associations organize and sponsor national, regional and local events every year. In 2011 there were at least 24 countries with such organisations.

Competition movements.

Vaulters perform movements on the back of the horse. Novice and beginning vaulters may perform at the walk or the trot while higher level vaulters perform at the canter. There are compulsory exercises and depending on class the vaulter performs seven or eight of them:  The compulsories are performed in succession in the above order, without pause or dismounts.

Dress code.

The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) regulates dress codes for competitive vaulting. Every 2–3 years, new guidelines are released, which consistently declare that vaulters must wear form-fitting uniforms that do not conceal the line and form of the vaulter's body, as well as not hinder the movement of the vaulter or the safe interaction between the vaulters. For that reason, accessories such as belts, capes or hats are prohibited. Additionally, men’s trousers must be secured at the ankle. It is expected that clothing be appropriate for the competition and does not give the effect of nudity. The most common form-fitting uniforms worn by vaulters are unitards.

Non-competitive vaulting.

In addition to competition, vaulting is a form of artistry, recreation and entertainment. Vaulters range in age from 7 to 30 years and older, practicing individual and team skills and routines. The youngest athletes begin at the walk gait and progress to trot, and canter, based on strength, height, and ability to mount and performing on the horse.  Vaulting is used on a therapeutic level in some instances. People with disabilities can often benefit from interacting with the horse and team members, and by doing simple movements with the help of "spotters."  Vaulting is often seen on a recreational level, through vaulting "demonstrations," and occasionally in local parades.

Equestrian vaulting, or simply vaulting, is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or non-competitively. Vaulting has a history as an equestrian act at circuses, but its origins stretch back at least two-thousand years. It is open to both men and women and is one of ten equestrian disciplines recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (Fédération Équestre Internationale or FEI). Therapeutic or interactive vaulting is also used as an activity for children and adults who may have balance, attention, gross motor skill or social deficits.


Schöllenenbahn.

The Schöllenenbahn (SchB) was opened in 1917 from Göschenen up to Andermatt. It has a station connecting with the Gotthard railway line of the Swiss Federal Railways. Initially it was electrified with 1,200 V DC. In 1941, when electrification of FO started, SchB was converted to 11,000 V AC. In 1961, it merged with the Furka Oberalp Bahn.

Furka Bergstrecke.

There are many avalanches between Realp and Oberwald. The section over the Furka Pass used to be closed during winters. The mountain section was closed in the winter of 1981 and was replaced by a tunnel (length: ) in 1982. The association called "Verein Furka-Bergstrecke" and the company Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke now run a heritage railway with steam locomotives on the old route.

Rolling stock.

When FO was founded in 1925, it came in possession of the BFD rolling stock, introduced in 1914 and consisting of For a long time, FO couldn't afford to buy new coaches and wagons and rebuilt many of these vehicles. Some of the large luggage and mail vans were rebuilt as passenger coaches, some became covered goods wagons. Two axle coaches got luggage compartments to provide for a well adapted transport capacity. When some coaches got new bogies from SWS, Schlieren in 1947, the old bogies were reused to build 4 covered wagons. During the Second World War, three flat wagons had been built using underframes from coaches. 1949 these coaches came back to service with new underframes and bogies from SIG. FO always suffered from not having really enough vehicles but was lucky having two neighbouring companies where additional rolling stock could be leased for peak traffic.  Electrification during the Second World War necessarily brought new rolling stock. SLM delivered together with Six of the steam locomotives were after the War sold to France (two) and Vietnam (four) while four locomotives remained. In 1946 a small electric shunter Te 2/2 1041 (later 4926) was built by SLM and SAAS for Brig station. Later, two more locomotives were delivered by SLM and MFO  The 1961 merger with Schöllenenbahn enlarged stock by  Finally, after the merger, FO could begin with the modernisation of its rolling stock and took delivery of  1971/72 FO took delivery of 4 push-pull consists with motor luggage vans, one additional motor to compensate for the loss of locomotive 35, destroyed in a head-on collision, and four additional driving trailers to form small push-pull consists with the existing motor coaches 41–45. The coaches were of SIG1-type, also introduced on BVZ, SBB-Brünigbahn, BOB and MOB.  All this rolling stock was, for motive power and coaches, all red with a simple FO inscription. With the opening of the new Furka tunnel approaching, the wooden coaches had to be replaced and the number of vehicles extended. The number of push-pull consists was extended to 9 long and 5 short ones. The coaches were of SIG2 type, also delivered to MOB. But now, the all-red-status should be left. A new livery in red with a white stripe was introduced and within a few years extended to existing modern rolling stock. For the Furka tunnel car shuttle trains, FO took delivery of  A little addition could be made some years later, but the coaches now came from ACMV Vevey  Finally FO got panoramic coaches as developed by MOB  There was no departmental stock for a long time except for one snow plough, introduced 1917. 1943 and 55 some tram wagons were bought and added to service stock. With modern stock arriving, many coaches and wagons were reused in departmental stock.

The Furka Oberalp Railway () is a narrow gauge mountain railway in Switzerland with a gauge of. It runs in the Graubünden, Uri and Canton of Valais. Since January 1, 2003, it is part of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn when it merged with the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn.


History.

The channel's first experimental broadcast was on 27 November 1950 as the TV channel of the then NWDR, which in 1956 split into NDR and WDR. The regular NWDR television service started on 25 December 1952. Nationwide transmission began on 1 November 1954 within the ARD framework, under the name "Deutsches Fernsehen" ("German Television"). It was West Germany's only television channel prior to the establishment of ZDF in 1963.  The new channel consisted of jointly-produced shows such as the nightly news programme "Tagesschau" (on the air since 26 December 1952), as well as broadcasts produced individually by ARD member stations. The programs were coordinated by the "Programmdirektion" based in Munich. Besides several entertaining shows, ARD went political in 1957 when it launched its first political TV magazine, Panorama. Germany's first political TV show adopted the slogan "What is being talked about and what should be talked about" and pictured all aspects of postwar West German society—including conflict-laden topics, scandals, and other taboo topics, such as former Nazis who had held important roles.  ARD nevertheless produced a provisional second TV channel from 1 June 1961 until ZDF started its transmissions on 1 April 1963. Colour television was introduced on 25 August 1967. From 1 September 1995 Das Erste broadcasts 24 hours a day.  The channel's name was changed to "Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen" ("First German Television") on 30 September 1984. At the same time, a new corporate design was introduced, designed by Hans Bacher, along with new CGI idents produced by Cranston/Csuri Productions in Columbus, Ohio. The previous logo, with stylized waves, was replaced by a new logo showing a stylized number "1" which is still in use today. It changed its name to "Das Erste" on 1 January 1997, but the long name "Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen" is still used for some purposes (e.g. the introduction to the main editions of the "Tagesschau"). Informally, it is also known under the metonym "ARD" among viewers.  In addition to its SD broadcast, a 720p50 HD version of the channel, "Das Erste HD", is also broadcast. Broadcast of "Das Erste HD" began in February 2010 with the coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. "Das Erste HD" is available via satellite (DVB-S2 on Astra 19.2°E), cable (all cable providers in Germany and some providers throughout Europe), IPTV (Telekom Entertain), encoded using H.264 AVC, and on digital terrestrial television in 1080p50, encoded using H.265 HEVC.

Member broadcasting organizations.

All nine of Germany's regional public-broadcasting organizations contribute to the output of Das Erste and broadcast its programming in a common schedule.

Time assigned.

Each regional member of ARD (themselves informally referred to as "Die Dritten", "the Thirds") contributes programming to the channel's schedule in proportion to the population of the area it serves., the time allocations as percentage shares of total broadcast hours were:

Broadcasting.

Before 1990, Das Erste was only distributed in West Germany, and was almost exclusively broadcast using transmitters owned by the Deutsche Bundespost. However, the transmitters were powerful enough that Das Erste could easily be seen in nearly all of East Germany as well. Indeed, Das Erste's broadcasts, particularly its newscasts, were far more popular in East Germany than those of state broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk. Exceptions included Dresden, located in a deep valley in southeastern East Germany, and the area around Rügen. One popular nickname for ARD in East Germany was "Außer Rügen und Dresden" (except Rügen and Dresden).  On 15 December 1990 following reunification, programming from ARD was distributed by Deutsche Post of the GDR for the first time. The GDR-transmitters were later taken over by the Bundespost and merged organizationally with the West German transmitters. The transmitters of the Bundespost were transferred in 1995 to Deutsche Telekom, and then in turn to T-Systems. Between 2002 and 2008 the transmission facilities in Germany were successively converted from the analogue terrestrial PAL standard to the new digital terrestrial DVB-T television standard.  Das Erste is available throughout Europe on free-to-air digital satellite television via Astra, as well as on many cable providers. Transmission via the Hot Bird satellite was stopped on 1 April 2017.  SD broadcasting via satellite (Astra 19.2) will stop on 12 January 2021.

Audience share.

Germany.

The average age of the viewers is 61 years ().

Das Erste (, "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ARD and ZDF – "the Second" German Television Channel – together comprise the public service television broadcasters in the German television system. "Das Erste" is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are members of the ARD.


Early life.

According to the marriage certificate issued on 14 April 972 Theophanu is identified as the "neptis" (niece or granddaughter) of Emperor John I Tzimiskes (925–976, reigned 969–976) who was of Armenian descent. She was of distinguished noble heritage: the Vita Mahthildis identifies her as "augusti de palatio" and the Annales Magdeburgenses describe her as "Grecam illustrem imperatoriae stirpi proximam, ingenio facundam". Recent research tends to concur that she was most probably the daughter of Tzimiskes' brother-in-law (from his first marriage) Constantine Skleros (c. 920–989) and cousin Sophia Phokas, the daughter of "Kouropalatēs" Leo Phokas, brother of Emperor Nikephoros II (c. 912–969).

Marriage.

Theophanu was not "born in the purple" as the Ottonians would have preferred. The Saxon chronicler Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg writes that the Ottonian preference was for Anna Porphyrogenita, a daughter of late Emperor Romanos II. Theophanu's uncle John I Tzimiskes had overthrown his predecessor Nikephoros II Phokas in 969. Theophanu was escorted back to Rome for her wedding by a delegation of German and Italian churchmen and nobles. When the Ottonian court discovered Theophanu was not a scion of the Macedonian dynasty, as had been assumed, Otto I was told by some to send Theophanu away. His advisors believed that Theophanu's relation to the usurper John Tzimiskes would invalidate the marriage as a confirmation of Otto I as Holy Roman Emperor.. He was persuaded to allow her to stay when it was pointed out that John Tzimiskes had wed Theodora, a member of the Macedonian dynasty and sister to Emperor Romanos II. John was therefore was a Macedonian, by marriage if not by birth. Otto I must have been convinced, because Theophanu and Otto's heir, Otto II, were married on 14 April 972.  Otto I was told by some to send Theophanu away, on account of the notion that her questionable imperial origin would not legitimize the emperorship.  A reference by the Pope to Emperor Nikephoros II as "Emperor of the Greeks" in a letter while Otto's ambassador, Bishop Liutprand of Cremona, was at the Byzantine court, had destroyed the first round of marriage negotiations. With the ascension of John I Tzimiskes, who had not been personally referred to other than as Roman Emperor, the treaty negotiations were able to resume. However, not until a third delegation led by Archbishop Gero of Cologne arrived in Constantinople, were they successfully completed. After the marriage negotiations completed, Theophanu and Otto II were married by Pope John XIII in April 972 and she was crowned as Holy Roman Empress the same day in Rome. According to Karl Leysers' book "Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: Carolingian and Ottonian," Otto I's choice was not "to be searched for in the parlance of high politics" as his decision was ultimately made on the basis of securing his dynasty with the birth of the next Ottonian emperor.

Empress.

Otto II succeeded his father on 8 May 973. Theophanu accompanied her husband on all his journeys, and she is mentioned in approximately one quarter of the emperor's formal documents - evidence of her privileged position, influence and interest in affairs of the empire. It is known that she was frequently at odds with her mother-in-law, Adelaide of Italy, which caused an estrangement between Otto II and Adelaide. According to Abbot Odilo of Cluny, Adelaide was very happy when "that Greek woman" died.  The Benedictine chronicler Alpert of Metz describes Theophanu as being an unpleasant and chattery woman. Theophanu was also criticized for having introduced new luxurious garments and jewelry into France and Germany. The theologian Peter Damian even asserts that Theophanu had a love affair with John Philagathos, a Greek monk who briefly reigned as Antipope John XVI.  Otto II died suddenly on 7 December 983 at the age of 28, probably from malaria. His three-year-old son, Otto III, had already been appointed King of the Romans during a diet held on Pentecost of that year at Verona. At Christmas, Theophanu had him crowned by the Mainz archbishop Willigis at Aachen Cathedral, with herself ruling as Empress Regent on his behalf. Upon the death of Emperor Otto II, Bishop Folcmar of Utrecht released his cousin, the Bavarian duke Henry the Quarrelsome from custody. Duke Henry allied with Archbishop Warin of Cologne and seized his nephew Otto III in spring 984, while Theophanu was still in Italy. Nevertheless he was forced to surrender the child to his mother, who was backed by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz and Bishop Hildebald of Worms.

Regency.

Theophanu ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent for a span of five years, from May 985 to her death in 991, despite early opposition by the Ottonian court. In fact, many queens in the tenth century, on an account of male rulers dying early deaths, found themselves in power, creating an age of women rulers for a small period of time. During her regency, Theophanu brought from her native east, a culture of royal women at the helm of a small amount of political power, something that the West--of which she was in rule of--had remained generally opposed to for centuries before her regency. Theophanu and her mother-in-law, Adelaide, are known during the empress' regency to have butted heads frequently--Adelaide of Italy is even quoted as referring to her as "that Greek empress." Theophanu's rivalry with her mother-in-law, according to historian and author Simon Maclean, is overstated. Theophanu's "Greekness" was not an overall issue, moreover, there was a grand fascination with the culture surrounding Byzantine court in the west that slighted most criticisms to her Greek origin.  Theophanu did not remain merely as an image of the Ottonian empire, but as an influence within the Holy Roman Empire. She intervened within the governing of the empire a total of seventy-six times during the reign of her husband Otto II—perhaps a foreshadowing of her regency. Her first act as regent was in securing her son, Otto III, as the heir to the Holy Roman Empire. Theophanu also placed her daughters in power by giving them high positions in influential nunneries all around the Ottonian-ruled west, securing power for all her children. She welcomed ambassadors, declaring herself "imperator" or "imperatrix", as did her relative contemporaries Irene of Athens and Theodora; the starting date for her reign being 972, the year of her marriage to the late Otto II. Though never donning any armor, she also waged war and sought peace agreements throughout her regency. Theophanu's regency is a time of considerable peace, as the years 985-991 passed without major crises. Though the myth of Theophanu's prowess as "imperator" could be an overstatement, according to historian Gerd Althoff, royal charters present evidence that magnates were at the core of governing the empire. Althoff remarks this as unusual, seeing that kings or emperors in the middle ages rarely shared such a large beacon of empirical power with nobility. Due to illness beginning in 988, Theophanu eventually died at Nijmegen and was buried in the Church of St. Pantaleon near her wittum in Cologne in 991. The chronicler Thietmar eulogized her as follows: ""Though [Theophanu] was of the weak sex she possessed moderation, trustworthiness, and good manners. In this way she protected with male vigilance the royal power for her son, friendly with all those who were honest, but with terrifying superiority against rebels"."  Because Otto III was still a child, his grandmother Adelaide of Italy took over the regency until Otto III became old enough to rule on his own.

Theophanu (; also "Theophania", "Theophana", or "Theophano"; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Otto III, from 983 until her death in 991. She was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes.


Biography.

Parker was born in Kinston, North Carolina. Parker's father played piano and drums in addition to singing in church with Parker's mother; his brother Melvin played drums and his brother Kellis played the trombone. Parker and his brother Melvin joined James Brown in 1964; in his autobiography, Brown claims that he originally wanted Melvin as his drummer, but agreed to additionally take Maceo under his wing as part of the deal. In 1970, Parker, his brother Melvin, and a few of Brown's band members left to establish the band Maceo & All the King's Men, which toured for two years.  In January 1973, Parker rejoined with James Brown. He also charted a single "Parrty – Part I" (#71 pop singles) with Maceo & the Macks that year. In 1975, Parker and some of Brown's band members, including Fred Wesley, left to join George Clinton's band Parliament-Funkadelic. Parker once again re-joined James Brown from 1984 to 1988.  In the 1990s, Parker began a solo career. His first album of this period "Roots Revisited" spent 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts. To date he has released 11 solo albums since 1990. His band has been billed as "the greatest little funk orchestra on earth" and the "million-dollar support band". Parker's 1992 live album "Life on Planet Groove" is considered to be his seminal live album, marking his first collaboration with Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer.  In 1993, Parker made guest appearances on hip hop group De La Soul's album "Buhloone Mindstate". In the late 1990s, Parker began contributing semi-regularly to recordings by Prince and accompanying his band, The New Power Generation, on tour. He also played on the Jane's Addiction track "My Cat's Name Is Maceo" for their 1997 compilation album "Kettle Whistle". In 1998, Parker performed as a guest on "What Would You Say" on a Dave Matthews Band concert, which also became one of their live albums, "Live in Chicago 12.19.98".  In 2007, Parker performed as part of Prince's band for Prince's 21 nights at the O2 arena. Parker also played as part of Prince's band for his 21-night stay at LA's Forum in 2011.  Parker's album "Roots & Grooves" with the WDR Big Band is a tribute to Ray Charles, whom Parker cites as one of his most important influences. The album won a Jammie for best Jazz Album in 2009. Parker followed this up with another collaboration with WDR Big Band in 2012 with the album "Soul Classics".  In October 2011, Parker was inducted in the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.  In July 2012, Parker was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Victoires Du Jazz in Paris. He continues touring, headlining many jazz festivals in Europe and doing as many as 290 concerts a year.  In May 2016, Parker received The North Carolina Heritage Award from his home state.

Autobiography.

In February 2013, Parker published his autobiography, "98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music" with the publisher Chicago Review Press.

Equipment.

Maceo plays a gold-plated Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone and the mouthpiece he uses is a #3 Brilhart Ebolin. Maceo's reed of choice is the Vandoren Java, 3.5 gauge.

In media.

Parker was portrayed by Craig Robinson in the 2014 James Brown biopic "Get on Up".

Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Since the early 1990s, he has toured under his own name.


History.

The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d'Orsay, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939.  By 1939 the station's short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline services. After 1939 it was used for suburban services and part of it became a mailing centre during World War II. It was then used as a set for several films, such as Kafka's "The Trial" adapted by Orson Welles, and as a haven for the Renaud–Barrault Theatre Company and for auctioneers, while the Hôtel Drouot was being rebuilt.  In 1970, permission was granted to demolish the station but Jacques Duhamel, Minister for Cultural Affairs, ruled against plans to build a new hotel in its stead. The station was put on the supplementary list of Historic Monuments and finally listed in 1978. The suggestion to turn the station into a museum came from the Directorate of the Museum of France. The idea was to build a museum that would bridge the gap between the Louvre and the National Museum of Modern Art at the Georges Pompidou Centre. The plan was accepted by Georges Pompidou and a study was commissioned in 1974. In 1978, a competition was organized to design the new museum. ACT Architecture, a team of three young architects (Pierre Colboc, Renaud Bardon and Jean-Paul Philippon), were awarded the contract which involved creating of new floorspace on four floors. The construction work was carried out by Bouygues. In 1981, the Italian architect Gae Aulenti was chosen to design the interior including the internal arrangement, decoration, furniture and fittings of the museum. Finally in July 1986, the museum was ready to receive its exhibits. It took 6 months to install the 2000 or so paintings, 600 sculptures and other works. The museum officially opened in December 1986 by then-president François Mitterrand.  From 2020 on, the Musée d’Orsay is scheduled to undergo a radical transformation over the next decade, funded in part by an anonymous US patron who donated €20 million to a building project known as "Orsay Grand Ouvert" (Orsay Wide Open). The gift was made via the American Friends of the Musées d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie.  The square next to the museum displays six bronze allegorical sculptural groups in a row, originally produced for the Exposition Universelle:

Collection.

Sculptures.

Major sculptors represented in the collection include Alfred Barye, François Rude, Jules Cavelier, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Émile-Coriolan Guillemin, Auguste Rodin, Paul Gauguin, Camille Claudel, Sarah Bernhardt and Honoré Daumier.

Other works.

It also holds collections of:

Management.

The Directors have been:

The Musée d'Orsay (,, ) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe. Musée d'Orsay had more than 3.6 million visitors in 2019.


Description.

Falcons and caracaras are small to medium-sized birds of prey, ranging in size from the black-thighed falconet, which can weigh as little as, to the gyrfalcon, which can weigh as much as. They have strongly hooked bills, sharply curved talons and excellent eyesight. The plumage is usually composed of browns, whites, chestnut, black and grey, often with barring of patterning. There is little difference in the plumage of males and females, although a few species have some sexual dimorphism in boldness of plumage.

Distribution and habitat.

The family has a cosmopolitan distribution across the world, absent only from the densest forest of central Africa, some remote oceanic islands, the high Arctic and Antarctica. Some species have exceptionally wide ranges, particularly the cosmopolitan peregrine falcon, which ranges from Greenland to Fiji and has the widest natural breeding distribution of any bird. Other species have more restricted distributions, particularly island endemics like the Mauritius kestrel. Most habitat types are occupied, from tundra to rainforest and deserts, although they are generally more birds of open country and even forest species tend to prefer broken forest and forest edges. Some species, mostly in the genus "Falco", are fully migratory, with some species summering in Eurasia and wintering entirely in Africa, other species may be partly migratory. The Amur falcon has one of the longest migrations, moving from East Asia to southern Africa.

Behaviour.

Diet and feeding.

Falcons and caracaras are carnivores, feeding on birds, small mammals including bats, reptiles, insects and carrion. In popular imagination the falconids are fast flying predators, and while this is true of the genus "Falco" and some falconets, other species, particularly the caracaras, are more sedentary in their feeding. The forest falcons of the Neotropics are generalist forest hunters. Several species, particularly the true falcons, will stash food supplies in caches. They are solitary hunters and pairs guard territories, although they may form large flocks during migration. Some species are specialists, such as the laughing falcon, which specialises in snakes, others are more generalist.

Breeding.

The falcons and caracaras are generally solitary breeders, although around 10% of species are colonial, for example the red-footed falcon. They are monogamous, although some caracaras may also employ alloparenting strategies, where younger birds help adults (usually their parents) in raising the next brood of chicks. Nests are generally not built (except by the caracaras), but are co opted from other birds, for example pygmy falcons nest in the nests of weavers, or on the ledges on cliffs. Around 2–4 eggs are laid, and mostly incubated by the female. Incubation times vary from species to species and are correlated with body size, lasting 28 days in smaller species and up to 35 days in larger species. Chicks fledge after 28–49 days, again varying with size.

Relations with humans.

Falcons and caracaras have a complicated relationship with humans. In ancient Egypt they were deified in the form of Horus, the sky and sun god who was the ancestor of the pharaohs. Caracaras also formed part of the legends of the Aztecs. Falcons were important in the (formerly often royal) sport of falconry. They have also been persecuted for their predation on game and farm animals, and that persecution has led to the extinction of at least one species, the Guadalupe caracara. Several insular species have declined dramatically, none more so than the Mauritius kestrel, which at one time numbered no more than four birds. Around five species of falcon are considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN, including the saker falcon.

Taxonomy and systematics.

The family Falconidae was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1820.

Families.

Traditionally, the raptors were grouped into four families in the single order Falconiformes, but many thought this group to be paraphyletic and not to share a common ancestor to the exclusion of all other birds.  First, multiple lines of evidence in the 1970s and 1980s suggested that the New World vultures Cathartidae were more closely related to storks and herons (Ciconiiformes), though more recent work places them outside that group as well. Consequently, New World vultures are now often raised to the rank of an independent order Cathartiformes not closely associated with either birds of prey or storks or herons. In 2007, the American Ornithologists' Union's North American checklist moved Cathartidae back into the lead position in Falconiformes, but with an asterisk that indicates it is a taxon "that is probably misplaced in the current phylogenetic listing but for which data indicating proper placement are not yet available".  In Europe, it has become common to split the remaining raptors into two: the falcons and caracaras remain in the order Falconiformes (about 60 species in 4 groups), and the remaining 220-odd species (including the Accipitridae eagles, hawks, Old World vultures, etc.) are put in the separate order Accipitriformes. An unplaced prehistoric family known only from fossils are the Horusornithidae.  In agreement with the split of Falconiformes and Accipitriformes, comparative genome analysis published in 2008 suggested that falcons are more closely related to the parrots and passerines than to other birds including the Accipitridae, so that the traditional Falconiformes are polyphyletic even if the Cathartidae are excluded. Indeed, a 2011 analysis of transposable element insertions shared between the genomes of falcons, passerines, and parrots, but not present in the genomes of other birds, confirmed that falcons are a sister group of the combined parrot/passerine group, together forming the clade Eufalconimorphae.

Subfamilies.

The clade Falconidae is composed of three main branches: the falconets and true falcons, the caracaras, and the forest falcons. Differences exist between authorities in how these are grouped into subfamilies. Also, the placement of the laughing falcon ("Herpetotheres") and the spot-winged falconet ("Spiziapteryx") varies.  One common approach uses two subfamilies Polyborinae and Falconinae. The first contains the caracaras, forest falcons, and laughing falcon. All species in this group are native to the Americas.  The composition of Falconidae is disputed, and Polyborninae is not featured in the American Ornithologists' Union checklists for North and South American birds that are produced by its Classification Committees (NACC and SACC). The Check-list of North American Birds considers the laughing falcon a true falcon (Falconinae) and replaces Polyborinae with Caracarinae and Micrasturinae. On the other hand, the Check-list of South American Birds classifies all caracaras as true falcons and puts the laughing falcon and forest falcons into the subfamily Herpetotherinae.  Based on genetic research from the late 1990s to 2015, Boyd uses three subfamilies. He places the laughing falcon ("Herpetotheres") with the forest falcons ("Micrastur") into Herpetotherinae (similar to SACC). Caracarinae is separate (similar to NACC), but also contains the spot-winged falconet ("Spiziapteryx"). The other falcons are placed in Falconinae.  Falconinae, in its traditional classification, contains the falcons, falconets, and pygmy falcons. Depending on the authority, Falconinae may also include the caracaras and/or the laughing falcon. Boyd further divides the Falconinae into two tribes: Polyhieracini containing the "Microhierax" falconets, plus Falconini containing the "Falco" falcons. The pygmy falcon and the white-rumped (pygmy) falcon are split into separate genera ("Polyhierax" and "Neohierax"), with the former placed into Polyhieracini and the latter into Falconini.

Genera in taxonomic order.

Family: Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the order Falconiformes. The family is divided into two subfamilies, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets ("Microhierax" and "Spiziapteryx").


History.

Vim's forerunner, Stevie (ST Editor for VI Enthusiasts), was created by Tim Thompson for the Atari ST in 1987 and further developed by Tony Andrews and G.R. (Fred) Walter.  Basing his work on Stevie, Bram Moolenaar began working on Vim for the Amiga computer in 1988, with the first public release (Vim v1.14) in 1991.  At the time of its first release, the name "Vim" was an acronym for "Vi IMitation", but this changed to "'Vi IMproved" late in 1993.

Interface.

Like vi, Vim's interface is not based on menus or icons but on commands given in a text user interface; its GUI mode, gVim, adds menus and toolbars for commonly used commands but the full functionality is still expressed through its command line mode. Vi (and by extension Vim) tends to allow a typist to keep their fingers on the home row, which can be an advantage for a touch typist.  Vim has a built-in tutorial for beginners called vimtutor. It's usually installed along with Vim, but it exists as a separate executable and can be run with a shell command. There is also the Vim Users' Manual that details Vim's features and a FAQ. This manual can be read from within Vim, or found online.  Vim also has a built-in help facility (using the codice_1 command) that allows users to query and navigate through commands and features.

Modes.

Vim has 12 different editing modes, 6 of which are variants of the 6 basic modes. The basic modes are:

Customization.

Vim is highly customizable and extensible, making it an attractive tool for users who demand a large amount of control and flexibility over their text editing environment. Text input is facilitated by a variety of features designed to increase keyboard efficiency. Users can execute complex commands with "key mappings," which can be customized and extended. The "recording" feature allows for the creation of macros to automate sequences of keystrokes and call internal or user-defined functions and mappings. Abbreviations, similar to macros and key mappings, facilitate the expansion of short strings of text into longer ones and can also be used to correct mistakes. Vim also features an "easy" mode for users looking for a simpler text editing solution.  There are many plugins available that extend or add new functionality to Vim, such as linters, integration with Git, showing colors in CSS. These complex scripts are usually written in Vim's internal scripting language, vimscript (also known as VimL), but can be written in other languages as well.  There are projects bundling together complex scripts and customizations and aimed at turning Vim into a tool for a specific task or adding a major flavour to its behaviour. Examples include Cream, which makes Vim behave like a click-and-type editor, or VimOutliner, which provides a comfortable outliner for users of Unix-like systems.

Features and improvements over vi.

Vim has a vi compatibility mode, but when that mode isn't used, Vim has many enhancements over vi. However, even in compatibility mode, Vim is not entirely compatible with vi as defined in the Single Unix Specification and POSIX (e.g., Vim does not support vi's open mode, only visual mode). Vim has nevertheless been described as "very much compatible with Vi".  Some of Vim's enhancements include completion, comparison and merging of files (known as vimdiff), a comprehensive integrated help system, extended regular expressions, scripting languages (both native and through alternative scripting interpreters such as Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl, etc.) including support for plugins, a graphical user interface (known as gvim), limited integrated development environment-like features, mouse interaction (both with and without the GUI), folding, editing of compressed or archived files in gzip, bzip2, zip, and tar format and files over network protocols such as SSH, FTP, and HTTP, session state preservation, spell checking, split (horizontal and vertical) and tabbed windows, Unicode and other multi-language support, syntax highlighting, trans-session command, search and cursor position histories, multiple level and branching undo/redo history which can persist across editing sessions, and visual mode.

Vim script.

Vim script (also called vimscript or VimL) is the scripting language built into Vim. Based on the ex editor language of the original vi editor, early versions of Vim added commands for control flow and function definitions. Since version 7, Vim script also supports more advanced data types such as lists and dictionaries and (a simple form of) object-oriented programming. Built-in functions such as map() and filter() allow a basic form of functional programming, and Vim script has lambda since version 8.0. Vim script is mostly written in an imperative programming style.  Vim macros can contain a sequence of "normal-mode" commands, but can also invoke ex commands or functions written in Vim script for more complex tasks. Almost all extensions (called plugins or more commonly scripts) of the core Vim functionality are written in Vim script, but plugins can also utilize other languages like Perl, Python, Lua, Ruby, Tcl, or Racket. These plugins can be installed manually, or through a plugin manager such as Vundle, Pathogen, or Vim-Plug.  Vim script files are stored as plain text, similarly to other code, and the filename extension is usually codice_4. One notable exception to that is Vim's config file, codice_5.

Examples.

" This is the Hello World program in Vim script. echo "Hello, world!"  " This is a simple while loop in Vim script. let i = 1 while i < 5 endwhile unlet i

Availability.

Whereas "vi" was originally available only on Unix operating systems, Vim has been ported to many operating systems including AmigaOS (the initial target platform), Atari MiNT, BeOS, DOS, Windows starting from Windows NT 3.1, OS/2, OS/390, MorphOS, OpenVMS, QNX, RISC OS, Linux, BSD, and Classic Mac OS. Also, Vim is shipped with every copy of Apple macOS.  Independent ports of Vim are available both for Android and iOS.

Neovim.

Neovim is a forkwith additionsof Vim that strives to improve the extensibility and maintainability of Vim. Neovim shares the same configuration syntax with Vim; as a result, the same configuration file can be used with both editors, although there are minor differences between the exact options used between the two. If the added features of Neovim are not used, Neovim is compatible with almost all of Vim's features.  The Neovim project was started in 2014, with some Vim community members offering early support of the high-level refactoring effort to provide better scripting, plugins, and integration with modern GUIs. The project is free software and its source code is available on GitHub.  Neovim had a successful fundraiser on 23 March 2014, supporting at least one full-time developer. Several frontends are under development, making use of Neovim's capabilities.<ref><nowiki

Vim (; a contraction of Vi IMproved) is a clone, with additions, of Bill Joy's vi text editor program for Unix. Vim's author, Bram Moolenaar, based it on the source code for a port of the Stevie editor to the Amiga and released a version to the public in 1991. Vim is designed for use both from a command-line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. Vim is free and open-source software and is released under a license that includes some charityware clauses, encouraging users who enjoy the software to consider donating to children in Uganda. The license is compatible with the GNU General Public License through a special clause allowing distribution of modified copies "under the GNU GPL version 2 or any later version".


History.

The IAU was founded on 28 July 1919, at the Constitutive Assembly of the International Research Council (now the International Science Council) held in Brussels, Belgium. Two subsidiaries of the IAU were also created at this assembly: the "International Time Commission" seated at the International Time Bureau in Paris, France, and the "International Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams" initially seated in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 7 initial member states were Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, and the United States, soon to be followed by Italy and Mexico. The first executive committee consisted of Benjamin Baillaud (President, France), Alfred Fowler (General Secretary, UK), and four vice presidents: William Campbell (USA), Frank Dyson (UK), Georges Lecointe (Belgium), and Annibale Riccò (Italy). Thirty-two Commissions (referred to initially as Standing Committees) were appointed at the Brussels meeting and focused on topics ranging from relativity to minor planets. The reports of these 32 Commissions formed the main substance of the first General Assembly, which took place in Rome, Italy, 2–10 May 1922. By the end of the first General Assembly, ten additional nations (Australia, Brazil, Czecho-Slovakia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Spain) had joined the Union, bringing the total membership to 19 countries. Although the Union was officially formed eight months after the end of World War I, international collaboration in astronomy had been strong in the pre-war era (e.g., the Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog projects since 1868, the Astrographic Catalogue since 1887, and the International Union for Solar research since 1904).  The first 50 years of the Union's history are well documented. Subsequent history is recorded in the form of reminiscences of past IAU Presidents and General Secretaries. Twelve of the fourteen past General Secretaries in the period 1964-2006 contributed their recollections of the Union's history in IAU Information Bulletin No. 100. Six past IAU Presidents in the period 1976–2003 also contributed their recollections in IAU Information Bulletin No. 104.

Composition.

As of 1 August 2019, the IAU includes a total of 13,701 "individual members", who are professional astronomers from 102 countries worldwide. 81.7% of all individual members are male, while 18.3% are female, among them the union's former president, Mexican astronomer Silvia Torres-Peimbert.  Membership also includes 82 "national members", professional astronomical communities representing their country's affiliation with the IAU. National members include the Australian Academy of Science, the Chinese Astronomical Society, the French Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academies (United States), the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Argentina), KACST (Saudi Arabia), the Council of German Observatories, the Royal Astronomical Society (United Kingdom), the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Science Council of Japan, among many others.  The sovereign body of the IAU is its "General Assembly", which comprises all members. The Assembly determines IAU policy, approves the Statutes and By-Laws of the Union (and amendments proposed thereto) and elects various committees.  The right to vote on matters brought before the Assembly varies according to the type of business under discussion. The Statutes consider such business to be divided into two categories:  On budget matters (which fall into the second category), votes are weighted according to the relative subscription levels of the national members. A second category vote requires a turnout of at least two-thirds of national members to be valid. An absolute majority is sufficient for approval in any vote, except for Statute revision which requires a two-thirds majority. An equality of votes is resolved by the vote of the President of the Union.

General Assemblies.

Since 1922, the IAU General Assembly meets every three years, except for the period between 1938 and 1948, due to World War II. After a Polish request in 1967, and by a controversial decision of the then President of the IAU, an "Extraordinary IAU General Assembly" was held in September 1973 in Warsaw, Poland, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, soon after the regular 1973 GA had been held in Sydney, Australia.

List of the Presidents of the IAU.

Sources.

Commission 46: Education in astronomy.

Commission 46 is a Committee of the Executive Committee of the IAU, playing a special role in the discussion of astronomy development with governments and scientific academies. The IAU is affiliated with the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), a non-governmental organization representing a global membership that includes both national scientific bodies and international scientific unions. They often encourage countries to become members of the IAU. The Commission further seeks to development, information or improvement of astronomical education. Part of Commission 46, is Teaching Astronomy for Development (TAD) program in countries where there is currently very little astronomical education. Another program is named the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP), is a project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, among which Hands-On Universe that will concentrate more resources on education activities for children and schools designed to advance sustainable global development. GTTP is also concerned with the effective use and transfer of astronomy education tools and resources into classroom science curricula. A strategic plan for the period 2010-2020 has been published.

Publications.

In 2004 the IAU contracted with the Cambridge University Press to publish the "Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union".  In 2007, the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Working Group prepared a study assessing the feasibility of the "Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal" ("CAP Journal").

The International Astronomical Union (IAU;, UAI) is an international association of professional astronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy. Among other activities, it acts as the recognized authority for assigning designations and names to celestial bodies (stars, planets, asteroids, etc.) and any surface features on them.


Early life.

He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of Baptist Ferdinand Messerschmitt (1858–1916) and his second wife, Anna Maria Schaller (1867–1942).

First sailplane designs and World War I.

As a young man, Messerschmitt befriended German sailplane pioneer Friedrich Harth. Harth joined the German army in 1914 and while he was away at war, Messerschmitt continued work on one of Harth's designs, the S5 glider. In 1917, Messerschmitt himself signed up for military service. Following the war, the two were reunited and continued to work together while Messerschmitt commenced study at the Munich Technical College and Harth built aircraft at the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW – Bavarian Aircraft Works). The S8 glider they designed and built together in 1921 broke a world duration record (albeit unofficially) and they went into partnership for a while running a flying school. The same year, the first plane entirely designed by Messerschmitt flew — the S9 glider.

Beginning of his career.

In 1923 Messerschmitt graduated from the Munich Institute of Technology. The same year Harth and Messerschmitt had a falling out and went their separate ways, with Messerschmitt founding his own aircraft company at Augsburg. At first, Messerschmitt built sailplanes, but within two years had progressed via motor gliders to small powered aircraft - sports and touring types. These culminated in the Messerschmitt M 17 and Messerschmitt M 18 designs, which Messerschmitt sold to BFW in 1927, when the Bavarian state government encouraged a merger between the two companies. These were followed by the Messerschmitt M20 light transport in 1928, which proved a disaster for BFW and Messerschmitt himself. Two Deutsche Luft Hansa M20s were involved in serious crashes very soon after purchase, and this led the airline to cancel their order for the type. This caused a serious cashflow problem for the company and led to its bankruptcy in 1931. The M20 crashes also created a powerful enemy for Messerschmitt in the person of Erhard Milch, the head of Luft Hansa, who had lost a close friend in one of the crashes.

Nazi Germany and World War II.

The ties that Messerschmitt had formed with leading Nazis Rudolf Hess and Hermann Göring (through Theo Croneiss) saved him from sharing the fate of Milch's other great enemy, Hugo Junkers. To stay in business in the face of Milch ensuring that he would get no government contracts, Messerschmitt had signed agreements with Romania for sales of the M35 and a transport plane, the Messerschmitt M 36. When Milch learned of this, he publicly denounced Messerschmitt as a traitor, and the Gestapo was sent to question him and other BFW officials. Probably due to Croneiss' intervention, no further action was taken.  The establishment of the "Reichsluftfahrtministerium" ("Reich Aviation Ministry" - RLM) by the Nazi government in 1933, headed by Milch, led to a resurgence in the German aircraft industry and the resurrection of BFW. Collaborating with Robert Lusser, Messerschmitt designed the flagship product of the relaunched company. This was a low-wing four seater monoplane called the Messerschmitt M37, but better known by its later RLM designation of Bf 108. The following year, Messerschmitt incorporated many advanced design features of the Bf 108 into the Bf 109 fighter.  In 1936, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 won the RLM's single-seat fighter contest, and became one of the main Luftwaffe aircraft types. Messerschmitt and his factory thus took an important role in the RLM's armament plans. This role expanded even further when the Messerschmitt Bf 110 also won the multi-purpose fighter contest.  On 11 July 1938, Messerschmitt was appointed chairman and managing director of BFW and the company was renamed after him to Messerschmitt AG. This same year, the company began work on what would eventually become the Me 262, and on the Messerschmitt Me 210, planned as successor for the Bf 110. The Me 210 turned out to be plagued by massive development problems that were solved only by evolving the type into the Messerschmitt Me 410. The resulting problems and delays again put the reputation of both Messerschmitt and his namesake company in jeopardy.

Trial and postwar career.

Following World War II, Messerschmitt was tried by a denazification court for using slave labor, and in 1948 was convicted of collaborating with the Nazi regime. After two years in prison, he was released and resumed his position as head of his company. Since Germany was forbidden to manufacture aircraft until 1955, he turned his company to manufacturing prefabricated buildings, sewing machines, and small cars — most notably the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. Exporting his talents, he designed the Hispano HA-200 jet trainer for Hispano Aviación in Spain in 1952 before eventually being allowed to return to aircraft manufacturing in Germany to licence-produce the Fiat G91 and then Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for the West German Luftwaffe. He designed the later Helwan HA-300, a light supersonic interceptor, for the Egyptian air forces. This was his last aircraft design.  Messerschmitt saw his company through mergers first with Bölkow in 1968 and then Hamburger Flugzeugbau in 1969, at which point it became MBB (Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, now part of EADS) with Messerschmitt as chairman until 1970 when he retired. He died eight years later, on 15 September 1978 in a Munich hospital in undisclosed circumstances.

Criticism.

Messerschmitt's designs were characterized by a clear focus on performance, especially by striving for lightweight construction, but also by minimizing parasitic drag from aerodynamic surfaces. His critics accused him of taking this approach too far in some designs. His falling out with Harth had been over designs Harth felt to be dangerously unstable, and the Me 210 displayed instability, too, which could be cured only by enlarging the airframe and the aerodynamic surfaces, increasing drag and weight. Messerschmitt's design philosophy also is evident in his arguments with Alexander Lippisch, who was designing the tailless Me 163 rocket fighter for production at the Messerschmitt works. While Lippisch maintained that the tailless design had an advantage, in principle, with regard to total drag, Messerschmitt pointed out that the design compromises, which are necessary to make a tailless aircraft safely controllable, defeated this purpose by increasing drag to the original level and above.

Awards.

Messerschmitt was appointed Honorary Professor by the Munich Technical College in 1930, and the Vice-President of the "Deutsche Akademie für Luftfahrtforschung" (German Academy of Aeronautical Research). The German government also awarded him the title of "Wehrwirtschaftsführer" (defense industry leader). In 1938, Adolf Hitler bestowed upon Messerschmitt the German National Prize for Art and Science.  In 1979, Messerschmitt was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1934, in collaboration with Walter Rethel, he designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most important fighter aircraft in the Luftwaffe as Germany rearmed prior to World War II. It remains the second most-produced warplane in history, with some 34,000 built, behind the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2. Another Messerschmitt aircraft, first called "Bf 109R", purpose-built for record setting, but later redesignated Messerschmitt Me 209, broke the absolute world airspeed record and held the world speed record for propeller-driven aircraft until 1969. Messerschmitt's firm also produced the first jet-powered fighter to enter service — the Messerschmitt Me 262.


Characteristics.

Heathland is favoured where climatic conditions are typically hard and dry, particularly in summer, and soils acidic, of low fertility, and often sandy and very free-draining; a mire may occur where drainage is poor, but usually is only small in extent. Heaths are dominated by low shrubs, to tall.  Heath vegetation can be extremely plant-species rich, and heathlands of Australia are home to some 3,700 endemic or typical species in addition to numerous less restricted species. The fynbos heathlands of South Africa are second only to tropical rainforests in plant biodiversity with over 7,000 species. In marked contrast, the tiny pockets of heathland in Europe are extremely depauperate with a flora consisting primarily of heather ("Calluna vulgaris"), heath ("Erica" species) and gorse ("Ulex" species).  The bird fauna of heathlands are usually cosmopolitan species of the region. In the depauperate heathlands of Europe, bird species tend to be more characteristic of the community and include Montagu's harrier, and the tree pipit. In Australia the heathland avian fauna is dominated by nectar-feeding birds such as honey-eaters and lorikeets although numerous other birds from emus to eagles are also common in Australian heathlands. Australian heathlands are also home to the world's only nectar feeding mammal: the honey possum. The bird fauna of the South African fynbos includes sunbirds, warblers and siskins. Heathlands are also an excellent habitat for insects including ants, moths, butterflies and wasps with many species being restricted entirely to it. One such example of an organism restricted to heathland is the silver-studded blue butterfly, "Plebejus argus".

Anthropogenic heaths.

Anthropogenic heath habitats are a cultural landscape that can be found worldwide in locations as diverse as northern and western Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar and New Guinea.  These heaths were originally created or expanded by centuries of human clearance of the natural forest and woodland vegetation, by grazing and burning. In some cases this clearance went so far that parts of the heathland have given way to open spots of pure sand and sand dunes, with a local climate that, even in Europe, can experience temperatures of in summer, drying the sand spot bordering the heathland and further raising its vulnerability for wildfires. Referring to heathland in England, Oliver Rackham says, "Heaths are clearly the product of human activities and need to be managed as heathland; if neglected they turn into woodland".  In recent years the conservation value of even these man-made heaths has become much more appreciated, due to the cultural value they have as habitats that have been central in the lives of people for centuries and consequently most heathlands are protected. However they are also threatened by tree incursion because of the discontinuation of traditional management techniques such as grazing and burning that mediated the landscapes. Some are also threatened by urban sprawl. Anthropogenic heathlands are maintained artificially by a combination of grazing and periodic burning (known as swailing), or (rarely) mowing; if not so maintained, they are rapidly re-colonised by forest or woodland. The re-colonising tree species will depend on what is available as the local seed source, and thus it may not reflect the natural vegetation before the heathland became established.

A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler and damper climate.


Platform.

The ÖVP is conservative. For most of its existence, it has explicitly defined itself as Catholic and anti-socialist, with the ideals of subsidiarity as defined by the encyclical "Quadragesimo anno" and decentralisation.  For the first election after World War II, the ÖVP presented itself as the Austrian Party (), was anti-Marxist and regarded itself as the Party of the Center (). The ÖVP consistently held power—either alone or in so-called black–red coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)—until 1970, when the SPÖ formed a minority government with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The ÖVP's economic policies during the era generally upheld a social market economy.  The party's campaign for the 2017 Austrian legislative election under the young chairman Sebastian Kurz was dominated by a rightward shift in policy which included a promised crackdown on illegal immigration and a fight against political Islam, making it more similar to the program of the FPÖ, the party that Kurz chose as his coalition partner after the ÖVP won the election.

History.

The ÖVP is the successor of the Christian Social Party, a staunchly conservative movement founded in 1893 by Karl Lueger, mayor of Vienna and highly controversial right-wing populist. Most of the members of the party during its founding belonged to the former Fatherland Front, which was led by chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, also a member of the Christian Social Party before the Anschluss. While still sometimes honored by ÖVP members for resisting Adolf Hitler, the regime built by Dollfuss was authoritarian in nature and has been dubbed as Austrofascism. In its present form, the ÖVP was established immediately after the restoration of Austria's independence in 1945 and it has been represented in both the Federal Assembly ever since. In terms of Federal Assembly seats, the ÖVP has consistently been the strongest or second-strongest party and as such it has led or at least been a partner in most Austria's federal cabinets.  In the 1945 Austrian legislative election, the ÖVP won a landslide victory in Austria's first postwar election, winning almost half the popular vote and an absolute majority in the legislature. However, memories of the hyper-partisanship that had plagued the First Republic prompted the ÖVP to maintain the grand coalition with the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) that had governed the country since the restoration of independence in early 1945. The ÖVP remained the senior partner in a coalition with the SPÖ until 1966 and governed alone from 1966 to 1970. It reentered the government in 1986, but has never been completely out of power since the restoration of Austrian independence in 1945 due to a longstanding tradition that all major interest groups were to be consulted on policy.  After the 1999 Austrian legislative election, several months of negotiations ended in early 2000 when the ÖVP formed a coalition government with the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) led by Jörg Haider. The FPÖ had won just a few hundred more votes than the ÖVP, but was considered far too controversial to lead a government. The ÖVP's Wolfgang Schüssel became Chancellor—the first ÖVP Chancellor of Austria since 1970. This caused widespread outrage in Europe and the European Union imposed informal diplomatic sanctions on Austria, the first time that it imposed sanctions on a member state. Bilateral relations were frozen (including contacts and meetings at an inter-governmental level) and Austrian candidates would not be supported for posts in European Union international offices. Austria threatened to veto all applications by countries for European Union membership until the sanctions were lifted. A few months later, these sanctions were dropped as a result of a fact-finding mission by three former European prime ministers, the so-called "three wise men". The 2002 legislative election resulted in a landslide victory (42.27% of the vote) for the ÖVP under Schüssel. Haider's FPÖ was reduced to 10.16% of the vote. At the state level, the ÖVP has long dominated the rural states of Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. It is less popular in the city state of Vienna and in the rural, but less strongly Catholic states of Burgenland and Carinthia. In 2004, it lost its plurality in the State of Salzburg, where they kept its result in seats (14) in 2009. In 2005, it lost its plurality in Styria for the first time in 2005.  After the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) split from the FPÖ in 2005, the BZÖ replaced the FPÖ in the government coalition which lasted until 2007. Austria for the first time had a government containing of a party that was founded during the parliamentary term. In the 2006 Austrian legislative election, the ÖVP were defeated and after much negotiations agreed to become junior partner in a grand coalition with the SPÖ, with new party chairman Wilhelm Molterer as Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor under SPÖ leader Alfred Gusenbauer, who became Chancellor. The 2008 Austrian legislative election saw the ÖVP lose 15 seats, with a further 8.35% decrease in its share of the vote. However, the ÖVP won the largest share of the vote (30.0%) in the 2009 European Parliament election with 846,709, votes, although their number of seats remained the same.

Chairpersons since 1945.

The chart below shows a timeline of ÖVP chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria. The left black bar shows all the chairpersons ("Bundesparteiobleute", abbreviated as CP) of the ÖVP party and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (SPÖ) and black (ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government ("Bundesregierung", abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective Chancellors are shown, with the Roman numeral standing for the cabinets.

The Austrian People's Party (, ÖVP) is a conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Austria. An unofficial successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was founded immediately following the reestablishment of the Republic of Austria in 1945 and since then has been one of the two largest Austrian political parties with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). In federal governance, the ÖVP has spent most of the postwar era in a grand coalition with the SPÖ. However, the ÖVP won the 2017 Austrian legislative election, having the greatest number of seats and formed a coalition with the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Its chairman Sebastian Kurz is the youngest Chancellor in Austrian history and currently the world's youngest leader.


Evolution.

Little is known of the evolutionary history of the caecilian lineage, which has left a sparse fossil record. The first fossil belonging to this group, a vertebra dated to the Paleocene, was not discovered until 1972. The first pre-Cenozoic genus, "Eocaecilia", had small limbs and well-developed eyes.  In their 2008 description of the fossil batrachian "Gerobatrachus", Anderson and co-authors suggested that caecilians arose from the Lepospondyl group of ancestral tetrapods, and may be more closely related to amniotes than to frogs and salamanders, which arose from Temnospondyl ancestors. Numerous groups of lepospondyls evolved reduced limbs, elongated bodies, and burrowing behaviors, and morphological studies on Permian and Carboniferous lepospondyls have placed the early caecilian ("Eocaecilia") among these groups. Divergent origins of caecilians and other extant amphibians may help explain the slight discrepancy between fossil dates for the origins of modern amphibia, which suggest Permian origins, and the earlier dates, in the Carboniferous, predicted by some molecular clock studies of DNA sequences. Most morphological and molecular studies of extant amphibians, however, support monophyly for caecilians, frogs, and salamanders, and the most recent molecular study based on multi-locus data suggest a Late Carboniferous–Early Permian origin of extant amphibians. The Late Triassic stem-caecilian "Chinlestegophis" from the Chinle Formation of Colorado bolsters the proposed pre-Triassic origin of Lissamphibia suggested by molecular clocks by filling a gap in the fossil record of early caecilians and suggesting that groups of stereospondyls, including Metoposauridae, are closely related to caecilians.

Relationships.

The most recent phylogeny of caecilians is based on molecular mitogenomic evidence examined by San Mauro et al. (2014).

Gymnophiona is the group of amphibians that includes the legless caecilians and all amphibians more closely related to them than to frogs or salamanders (the "stem-caecilians"). The name derives from the Greek words γυμνος ("gymnos", naked) and οφις ("ophis", snake), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes. The body is cylindrical dark brown or bluish black in colour. The skin is slimy and bears grooves or ringlike markings; there are minute dermal scales.


Description.

"Tineola bisselliella" is a small moth of 6-7 mm body length and 9-16 mm wingspan (most commonly 12-14 mm). It is distinguished from similar species by its yellow-brown or ochreous colouring and red-orange tuft of hair on the head.

Life cycle.

Females lay eggs in clusters of between 30 and 200 which adhere to surfaces with a gelatin-like glue. These hatch between four and ten days later into near-microscopic white caterpillars which immediately begin to feed. They will also spin mats under which to feed without being readily noticed and from which they will partially emerge at night or under dark conditions to acquire food. Development to the next stage takes place through between five and 45 instars typically over the course of between one month and two years until the pupal stage is reached. At this point, the caterpillars spin cocoons and spend another approximately 10–50 days developing into adults.  After pupation is complete, the adult moths emerge and begin searching for mates. Females tend to move less than males, and both sexes prefer scuttling over surfaces to flying— some adults never fly at all. Adults can live for an additional 15–30 days, after which they die (otherwise death takes place shortly after mating for males and shortly after egg laying for females). Life cycle may be completed within one month under the most favorable conditions ( and 70-75% relative humidity) but may take several years (lower temperatures and humidity will only slow development, larvae will still hatch and grow at temperatures as low as and can survive up to ).  Unlike the caterpillars, the adult moths do not feed: they acquire all of the nutrition and moisture they need while in the larval stage, and once they hatch from cocoons their only goal is to reproduce. They have only atrophied mouth parts and cannot feed on fabric or clothing. All feeding damage is done by the caterpillar (larval) form. Heated buildings allow clothes moths to develop year-round. The overall life cycle from egg to egg typically takes 4–6 months, with two generations per year.

Range and ecology.

This moth's natural range is western Eurasia, but it has been transported by human travelers to other localities. For example, it is nowadays found in Australia. The species' presence has not been recorded in France, Greece, Slovenia and Switzerland, though this probably reflects the lack of occurrence data rather than absence.  This species is notorious for feeding on clothing and natural fibers; they have the ability to digest keratin protein in wool and silk. The moths prefer dirty fabric for oviposition and are particularly attracted to carpeting and clothing that contains human sweat or other organic liquids which have been spilled onto them; traces of dirt may provide essential nutrients for larval development. Larvae are attracted to these areas not only for the food but for traces of moisture; they do not require liquid water.  The range of recorded foodstuffs includes cotton, linen, silk and wool fabrics as well as furs. They will eat synthetic fibers if they are blended with wool. Furthermore, they have been found on shed feathers and hair, bran, semolina and flour (possibly preferring wheat flour), biscuits, casein, and insect specimens in museums. In one case, living "T. bisselliella" caterpillars were found in salt. They had probably accidentally wandered there, as even to such a polyphagous species as this one pure sodium chloride has no nutritional value and is in fact a strong desiccant, but this still attests to their robustness. Unfavorable temperature and humidity can slow development, but will not always stop it.  Both adults and larvae prefer low light conditions. Whereas many other Tineidae are drawn to light, common clothes moths seem to prefer dim or dark areas. If larvae find themselves in a well-lit room, they will try to relocate under furniture or carpet edges. Handmade rugs are a favorite, because it is easy for the larvae to crawl underneath and do their damage from below. They will also crawl under moldings at the edges of rooms in search of darkened areas where fibrous debris has gathered and which consequently hold good food.

Pest control.

Airtight containers should be used to prevent re-infestation once eggs, larvae, and moths are killed by any of these methods. Control measures for "T. bisselliella" (and similar species) include the following:

Synonyms.

The common clothes moth is such a widespread and frequently seen species that it has been described time and again under a variety of junior synonyms and other now-invalid scientific names:

Tineola bisselliella, known as the common clothes moth, webbing clothes moth, or simply clothing moth, is a species of fungus moth (family Tineidae, subfamily Tineinae). It is the type species of its genus "Tineola" and was first described by Arvid David Hummel in 1823. The specific name is commonly misspelled "biselliella" – for example by G. A. W. Herrich-Schäffer, when he established "Tineola" in 1853.