A LO  burner is a type of burner that is typically used in utility boilers to produce steam and electricity.

Background

The first discovery
Around 1986 John Joyce (of Bowin Cars fame), an influential Australian inventor, first learned about oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and their role in the production of smog and acid rain.  His first introduction to the complexities of the subject was brought about by the work of Fred Barnes and Dr John Bromley from the state Energy Commission of Western Australia.

The vast majority of the research and development stretching back over twenty years was about large scale industrial burners and complex mechanisms which, in the end, did not produce what one would consider low NOx (2 ng/J or ~ 4 ppm at 0% O2 on dry basis).

In fact at that time, 15 ng/J NO2 appears to have been considered low NO2. The one clear message that did flow through all the mass of information he studied, was the effect of temperature on the formation of NOx.

"Need is the Mother of Invention"
In the late 1980s, Health and Environment Authorities in Australia raised concerns about the indoor air quality and the extent that particularly older style unflued gas heaters were contributing to higher than acceptable levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Consequently in 1989 the New South Wales Department of School Education initiated an extensive investigation of nitrogen dioxide in schools throughout New South Wales. As an interim measure the Health Authorities advised that a level of 0.3 ppm NO2 should become the upper limit for classrooms. The Australian Gas Association in turn reduced the indoor emission rate of NO2 for unflued gas heaters from 15 to 5 ng/J and this remains the current limit. The New South Wales government, through the Public Works Department, also re-evaluated alternative methods of heating classrooms, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students.

It was in this context, that John Joyce's company Bowin Technology embarked on a major research & development program aimed at minimising nitrogen dioxide emissions from unflued gas heaters. Bowin Technology set itself the task of solving the emission problem at its source: the gas burner. This was despite a generally long held belief by gas experts, that commercially warranted gas burner improvements could not deliver drastic nitrogen oxides (NOx) reductions.

In 1989, an immediate call to reduce the indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) level, was triggered by widely publicised articles and media coverage in New South Wales, highlighting the effect this chemical has on respiratory sensitive people, such as asthmatics and those with bronchial problems.

In the heat of the indoor air quality debate various State institutions in Australia were advised to switch to flued gas heaters and electric heating.

New South Wales in contrast, through combined action by Australian Gas Light Company, Health Authorities and the New South Wales Public Works Department, formulated initial indoor air quality guidelines. These guidelines formed the basis for Australian Gas Appliance Code restrictions for nitrogen dioxide NO2emissions from unflued heaters, now adopted Australia wide.

John Joyce became aware that no other overseas regulatory body made a distinction between NO and NO2 in their environmental guidelines or codes. Furthermore it appeared that total nitrogen oxides level requirements were in place irrespective of whether emissions were flued or not.

Consequently John Joyce learned that a 'harmless' part of NOx emissions, nitric oxide (NO), in the presence of hydrocarbons (such as household aerosol propellants, possible gas leaks and ingress of vehicle exhaust fume), converts to NO2. This was found to be the case in the New South Wales school investigation. In a scientific sense it had become practice to calculate both NO + NO2, when measuring oxides of nitrogen levels in emissions. Hence the now commonly used reference to "total NOx".

Greenhouse gas and photochemical smog
Natural gas by composition has a distinct advantage over other fossil fuels in terms of carbon dioxide, particulate and sulfur dioxides produced when converting to useful energy. In the early 1990s numerous countries were in the process of substituting oil and coal with natural gas for their energy and electric power needs.

To maintain this advantage as an "environmentally friendly" fuel, Australian gas utilities are effectively reducing gas losses (methane emissions) in their deliveries, and impose strict codes on appliance manufacturers and installers against gas leakage.

Nevertheless environmental experts see the production of oxides of nitrogen as a major menace in the formation of greenhouse gases and photochemical smog.  The interaction of  with hydrocarbons from vehicle exhausts and sunlight can also form low level ozone. In the stratosphere (some 25 km up), ozone is helpful by absorbing the fiercer part of the ultraviolet radiation of the sun, but at ground level it damages materials and vegetation. It irritates throat, lungs and eyes, and strenuous exercise or work can become painful. Furthermore, the effectiveness of nitrous oxide as a greenhouse gas is magnified by its longer life than carbon dioxide, methane and CFC's.

In essence the rate at which low level ozone is formed is determined by hydrocarbons, whilst the availability of oxides of nitrogen influences the amount it produces. At this point the environmental debate takes a surprising turn as individual industries tend to blame each other's emission as a probable cause.

Best Available Control Technology (BACT)
It is well established that conventional "blue flame" or bunsen gas burners produce oxides of nitrogen at levels of 30-50 nanograms per joule and are as such not considered to have potential for  reduction. Surface combustion burners or radiant tile burners in comparison produce nitrogen oxides' levels 60-70% less. Therefore John Joyce's research into low NOx burners revolved primarily around surface combustion techniques. Another issue was the effect combustion temperatures have on the formation of NOx.

John Joyce's task became even more challenging when he decided not to direct his development towards radiant type surface combustion tiles. The use of radiant heating for most institutional purposes (other than spot heating) is considered impractical as is too hot close to the heater, while the loss of radiant heat over a distance to be reached is quite dramatic.

Investigations into numerous developments of other types of "low " burners showed that so far such burners were either too complex in design or operation, too expensive or unsuitable. John Joyce's plan was to use high temperature steel mesh, and went on to produce scores of prototype burners until one showed "potential".

The scientific innovative nature of John Joyce's LO-NOx technologies are confirmed by full patent protection in Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy and France.

In 1993 John Joyce received an Australian Design Award and Powerhouse Museum Selection status for his "SLE" heater range, which incorporate LO-NOx burners.

The Australian Academy of Design selected the SLE unflued gas heater range to be featured in the Design Showcase during the "Innovation by Design" National Conference in October 1994

In the United States, John Joyce's LO-NOx water heater burners have successfully undergone a series of exhaustive tests to prove that these particular burners do not act as an ignition source in the presence of flammable vapours, resulting from accidental fuel spillage. There have also been extensive tests carried out to verify its reduction of NO2.

Energy efficiencies
More tangible cost savings are defined when comparing the energy efficiencies of gas heaters with low NOx emissions with conventional flued types. Gas heaters with emission problems are flued and inherently lose substantial energies in the form of hot flue gases to the atmosphere. In addition, the choice of placement of flued heaters is greatly impaired due to flue installation restrictions.

In contrast, dedicated low emission gas heaters do not require a flue system. Furthermore, with the introduction of oxygen depletion sensors and thermostatic controls, they do not place critical reliance on ventilation as had been the case. These heaters can be positioned more conveniently and centralised to affect optimum warm air distribution. By definition unflued low NOx gas heaters are 100% efficient as all heat energy released from the flame is converted to useful heat.

Applications of technology
 Gas-fired unflued gas heaters
 Gas-fired flued gas heaters
 Gas-fired storage water heaters

References

External links
 Nitrogen oxides emissions standards for domestic gas appliances a background study

Pollution control technologies
Air pollution control systems
NOx control
Combustion engineering

LO-NOx burner


Niccolò Leoniceno (1428–1524) was an Italian physician and humanist.

Biography
Leoniceno was born in Lonigo, Veneto, the son of a doctor.

He studied Greek in Vicenza under Ognibene da Lonigo (in Latin: Omnibonus Leonicenus) (Lonigo, 1412 – Vicenza, 1474). Around 1453 he graduated at the University of Padua, where he studied medicine and philosophy under Pietro Roccabonella (died 1491). In 1464, after completing his doctorate, he moved to the University of Ferrara, where he taught mathematics, philosophy and medicine. His students there included Antonio Musa Brassavola.

He was a pioneer in the translation of ancient Greek and Arabic medical texts by such authors as Galen and Hippocrates into Latin.

In 1493, Leoniceno wrote the first scientific paper on syphilis. He died at Ferrara in 1524. He composed the first criticism of the Natural History of Pliny the Elder.

The Ferrara debates

Leoniceno's stand against Pliny's work caught the attention of Angelo Poliziano, the Florentine court humanist. Poliziano wished to defend the standing of the ancient Romans. Furthermore, he did not like the fact that Leoniceno would classify Pliny the Elder with Arab and medieval scholars. Poliziano engaged Pandolfo Collenuccio, a lawyer and historian to defend Pliny against the accusations of Leoniceno.

In 1492, Leoniceno published an article entitled De Plinii et plurium aliorum medicorum in medicina erroribus. In this treatise, he "pointed out errors in the medical portions of Pliny as well as in the works of 'barbarian' (that is, medieval Arab) physicians." This publication was followed almost immediately by a response from Collenuccio, Pliniana defensio adversus Nicolai Leoniceni accusationem, published in 1493. Between 1492 and 1509, Leoniceno and Collenuccio published a series of pamphlets in which they argued the relative merits of the ancient sources. In particular, there was concern about the accuracy of Pliny's translations and transliterations from the original Greek into Latin. Even Collenuccio conceded that translation issues did exist. Already, the 15th-century commentator "Barbaro, claimed to have corrected some five-thousand errors in the two earlier editions." The primary difference in the substance of the argument centered around who was responsible for the errors. Leoniceno refused to attribute inaccuracies solely to scribes who had copied the manuscripts over time. By taking this position, Leoniceno was challenging Pliny directly. It was this position that prompted such a strong response from Collenuccio and others.

Leoniceno's attack on Pliny did not focus exclusively on translation issues. He also cited a section of Book 2 of Pliny's natural history in which Pliny stated that the moon was larger than the earth. In Leoniceno's opinion, if Pliny had erred on such a fundamental fact, then that error justified a further examination of his work for other errors. He proceeded to point out his concern over Pliny's discussion of hedera, which Pliny claimed had both a male and female version. "This distinction 'is made neither by Theophrastus, nor by Dioscorides, nor by any man of weighty authority about the hedera, but it is clearly described in cinthus.'" In this example, Leoniceno is referring to the Greek names for the two plants, hedera is kissos and cithon (or cinthus) is kisthos. While Pliny may have confused the two plants in his manuscript, Leoniceno was concerned that this confusion was the result of lack of experience with the two plants. Leoniceno felt that had Pliny had adequate firsthand experience with the actual plants, he would have avoided this error.

Texts and experience
This emphasis on experience constitutes a fundamental shift in the way in which natural history knowledge was accumulated. Traditionally, knowledge was gained by studying the ancient texts and applying the information and formulas found there. Leoniceno's approach was novel because he suggested that the knowledge of the ancients should be verified by comparing the texts to firsthand observations of the plants that ancient writers described. This approach, while novel, faced several obstacles.  First, there was the issue of translation. While Barbaro's study resolved the philological issues, there was still the question of how to approach the contradictions that translation errors produced. Leoniceno maintained that if Pliny was found to be in error, one should examine the texts of Theophrastus and Dioscorides rather than medieval Arab writers such as Avicenna. Leoniceno's preference for Greek authors over Arab authors was one of the distinguishing characteristics of his efforts to reform medical pedagogy in the early modern period.

In addition to translation errors, early modern naturalists were faced with the dilemma of ensuring that they were identifying plants correctly. Was the plant they called hedera the same plant that the ancients called hedera? While this may seem simple to resolve, one must remember that quite often, they worked strictly from written descriptions of plants. At this time, naturalists had not developed a standardized descriptive vocabulary. This lack of standardized vocabulary was further complicated by the fact that plants differ in their physical characteristics throughout their lifecycle.

Materia medica

While Poliziano and Collenuccio were concerned primarily with defending the prestige of the ancients, Leoniceno's concerns were far more practical. Specifically, Leoniceno was concerned that errors in translation would lead to errors in identification of specific plants. A physician by training, Leoniceno was concerned that inaccuracies in Pliny's translations would result in inaccurate medicinal preparations based on Pliny's work. If Pliny's translations were indeed flawed, then Leoniceno felt they should be replaced by the original Greek texts. Both parties to the debate eventually agreed that a detailed reexamination of the ancient texts was the best way to resolve the dispute.

As a teacher, the accuracy of medical texts was important to Leoniceno. While he advocated experience as a means of determining the value of the information found in ancient texts, he still focused his examinations of the plants described by the ancients. He was not as interested in identifying new species as later practitioners of natural history would be. He still remained focused on verifying existing information rather than expanding the lists of plants found in standard texts.  His emphasis on "factual accuracy" derived from his insistence that "the health and life of men depend upon it".

Leoniceno's library
Leoniceno began his career in what has been referred to as the age of the manuscript. At this point in time knowledge was acquired primarily through the examination of existing texts. Leoniceno's  library was most impressive, and its contents reflected the textual approach to scholarship popular at the time. An inventory taken after his death revealed 345 volumes comprising 482 individual works. Numerous shorter volumes had been combined into one bound volume. Of these 345 volumes, 117 were in Greek. Among the volumes were numerous versions and translations of a single work, along with numerous commentaries on the same work. As such, the contents of Leoniceno's library further reflected the textual approach to knowledge that served as the foundation of his scholarship.

References

Sources
Nauert, Charles G. "Humanists, Scientists, and Pliny: Changing Approaches to a Classical Author." The American Historical Review, 84, no.1 (February 1979): 72–85.
Ogilivie, Brian W., The Science of Describing. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Hiro Hirai, "Nicolò Leoniceno between the Arabo-Latin Tradition and the Renaissance of the Greek Commentators," in Hiro Hirai, Medical Humanism and Natural Philosophy: Renaissance Debates on Matter, Life and the Soul (Boston-Leiden: Brill, 2011), 19–45.

1428 births
1524 deaths
People from Lonigo
University of Padua alumni
16th-century Italian botanists
Italian philologists
Italian Renaissance humanists
16th-century Italian physicians
Academic staff of the University of Ferrara

Niccolò Leoniceno


Throughout history, prisoners have been frequent participants in scientific, medical and social human subject research. Some of the research involving prisoners has been exploitative and cruel. Many of the modern protections for human subjects evolved in response to the abuses in prisoner research. Research involving prisoners is still conducted today, but prisoners are now one of the most highly protected groups of human subjects

Requirements of research involving prisoners
According to the Common Rule (45 CFR 46), prisoners may only be included in human subjects research when the research involves no more than a minimal risk of harm.

Prisoner consent
Prisoners cannot consent. Their status as imprisoned human subjects becomes even more ethically problematic when investigators offer incentives such as parole, phone calls, or objects that are normally unavailable to prisoners.

Historical abuses

Ancient history
Herophilos of Chalcedon was reputed by Celcus, among others, to have vivisected prisoners received from the Ptolemaic kings.

Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
In Japan, Unit 731, located near Harbin (Manchukuo), experimented with prisoner vivisection, dismemberment and induced epidemics on a very large scale from 1935 to 1945 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. With the expansion of the Empire of Japan during World War II, many other units were implemented in conquered cities such as Nanking (Unit 1644), Beijing (Unit 1855), Guangzhou (Unit 8604) and Singapore (Unit 9420). After the war, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur gave immunity in the name of the United States to all members of the units in exchange for the results of a fraction of the conducted experiments, so that in post-war Japan, Shiro Ishii and others continued to hold honoured positions. The United States blocked Soviet access to this information. However, some unit members were judged by the Soviets during the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials. The effects were lasting and China is still working to counteract the effects of buried pathogen caches.

United States

Project MKUltra was a CIA-run human experiment program from 1953–1973 where volunteers, prisoners and unwitting subjects were administered hallucinogenic drugs in attempt to develop incapacitating substances and chemical mind control agents, in an operation run by Sidney Gottlieb.

Numerous experiments were done on prisoners throughout the US. Many prisoners eventually filed lawsuits and these actions brought about many more investigations and suits against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. Experiments included high-risk cancer treatments, the application of strong skin creams, new cosmetics, dioxin and high doses of LSD. Many incidents were documented in government reports, ACLU findings and various books including Acres of Skin by Allen Hornblum. The Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study is one of many examples. The Plutonium Files, for which Eileen Welsome won a Pulitzer Prize, documents the early human tests of the toxicity of plutonium and uranium on people.

American oncologist Chester M. Southam injected HeLa cells into Ohio State Penitentiary inmates without informed consent in order to see if people could become immune to cancer.

Germany and German-occupied territory
The Herero and Namaqua Genocide in present-day Namibia, in Southern Africa, resulted in a large number of prisoners in concentration camps. These prisoners were used as medical test subjects by German agents.

During the second World War, Nazi human experimentation occurred in Germany with particular bias towards euthanasia. At the war's conclusion, 23 Nazi doctors and scientists were tried for the murder of concentration camp inmates who were used as research subjects. Of the 23 professionals tried at Nuremberg, 15 were convicted. Seven of them were condemned to death by hanging and eight received prison sentences from 10 years to life. Eight professionals were acquitted. (Mitscherlich 1992)

The result of these proceedings was the Nuremberg Code. It includes the following guidelines, among others, for researchers:
 Informed consent is essential.
 Research should be based on prior animal work.
 The risks should be justified by the anticipated benefits.
 Research must be conducted by qualified scientists.
 Physical and mental suffering must be avoided.
 Research in which death or disabling injury is expected should not be conducted.

See also
 Abuse
 Medical abuse
 Prisoner abuse

References

Prisons
Human subject research
Prisoner abuse

Experimentation on prisoners


In particle physics, a beamline is the path in a particle accelerator of the particles.

In materials science, physics, chemistry, and molecular biology, a beamline leads to the experimental endstation utilizing particle beams from a particle accelerator, synchrotron light obtained from a synchrotron, or neutrons from a spallation source or research reactor.

Beamline in a particle accelerator

In particle accelerators, the beamline is usually housed in a tunnel and/or underground, cased inside a cement housing. The beamline is usually cylindrical metal. Typical names include, beam pipe, and/or a blank section called a drift tube. This entire section must be under a good vacuum in order to have the beam travel for a long distance.

A survey and alignment crew carefully align the beamline segments by using a laser tracker. All beamlines must be within micrometre tolerance. Good alignment helps to prevent beam loss, and beam from colliding with the pipe walls, which creates secondary emissions and/or radiation.

Synchrotron radiation beamline

Regarding synchrotrons, a beamline is the instrumentation that carries beams of synchrotron radiation to an experimental end station, which uses the radiation produced by the bending magnets and insertion devices in the storage ring of a synchrotron light source. A typical application for this kind of beamline is crystallography. Scientists also use synchrotron light in many other ways.

A large synchrotron laboratory will have many beamlines, each optimized for a particular field of research. The differences will depend on the type of insertion device (which, in turn, determines the intensity and spectral distribution of the radiation); the beam conditioning equipment; and the experimental end station.
A typical beamline at a modern synchrotron will be 25 to 100 m (82 ft to  328 ft) long from the storage ring to the end station, and may cost up to millions of US dollars. For this reason, a synchrotron facility is often built in stages, with the first few beamlines at the start of operation, and other beamlines being added later as the funding permits.

The beamline elements are in radiation shielding enclosures, called hutches, which are the size of a small room (cabin). A typical beamline consists of two hutches, an optical hutch for the beam conditioning elements and an experimental hutch, which houses the experiment. Between hutches, the beam travels in a transport tube. People are not allowed to enter hutches when the beam shutter is open and radiation can enter the hutch. Hutches have complex safety systems with redundant  interlocking functions to make sure that no one is inside the hutch when the radiation is turned on. The safety system will also shut down the radiation beam if the door to the hutch is accidentally opened when the beam is on. In this case, the beam is turned off by dumping the electron beam circulating in the synchrotron. So, opening one door will shut down all of the beamlines in the facility.

Experimenters use the following elements that are used in beamlines for conditioning the radiation beam between the storage ring and the end station:

Windows - thin sheets of metal, often beryllium, which transmit almost all of the beam, but protect the vacuum within the storage ring from contamination
Slits - which control the physical width of the beam and its angular spread
Focusing mirrors - one or more mirrors, which may be flat, bent-flat, or toroidal, which helps to collimate (focus) the beam
Monochromators - devices based on diffraction by crystals which select particular wavelength bands and absorb other wavelengths, and which are sometimes tunable to varying wavelengths, and sometimes fixed to a particular wavelength
Spacing tubes - vacuum maintaining tubes which provide the proper space between optical elements, and shield any scattered radiation
Sample stages - for mounting and manipulating the sample under study and subjecting it to various external conditions, such a varying temperature, pressure etc.
Radiation detectors - for measuring the radiation which has interacted with the sample

The combination of beam conditioning devices controls the thermal load (heating caused by the beam) at the end station; the spectrum of radiation incident at the end station; and the focus or collimation of the beam. Devices along the beamline which absorb significant power from the beam may need to be actively cooled by water, or liquid nitrogen. The entire length of a beamline is normally kept under ultra high vacuum conditions.

Neutron beamline
An experimental end station in a neutron facility is called a neutron beamline. Superficially, neutron beamlines differ from synchrotron radiation beamlines mostly by the fact that they use neutrons from a research reactor or a spallation source instead of photons. The experiments usually measure neutron scattering from the sample under study.

Related pages
 Accelerator physics
 Cyclotron
 Ion beam
 :Category:Neutron facilities
 Klystron
 Particle accelerator
 Particle beam
 Particle physics
 Quadrupole magnet
 Waveguide

References

Other websites
  Macromolecular Crystallography at Synchrotrons: An Historical Introduction

Nuclear physics
Synchrotron instrumentation
Materials science

Beamline


An autodidact is a person who learns to do something by himself or herself. Often they learn things by reading about it, or by copying someone else.

Many great people taught themselves when there was no formal teaching in the topics which interested them. Examples are Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Faraday, and Charles Darwin. Much of the industrial revolution was done by men in a field of work where there was no previous experience. James Watt was a surveyor and instrument maker and is described as being "largely self-educated". Watt, like some other autodidacts of his  time, became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the Lunar Society.

Autodidactism is only one way to learn, and may be done together with formal education. Many autodidacts seek instruction and guidance from experts, friends, teachers, tutors, parents, siblings, and the community.

References

Learning

Autodidact


Hermaphrodite is a term which comes from Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. It is used as a scientific term in biology.

In zoology, an animal which can produce both sperm and ova is  a hermaphrodite. As an example, most earthworms are hermaphrodites. A simultaneous hermaphrodite has both sets of sex organs throughout life. A sequential hermaphrodite has ovaries at first, replaced by a testis later, or the other way round.

In botany, hermaphrodite is used for 'complete' flowers with both male and female parts, and for plants which have bisexual reproductive units. See flowering plant sexuality for details.

With people, the term hermaphrodite is not correct, because true functioning hermaphrodites are not possible in humans. What sometimes happens is errors in development which lead to intersex persons. A definition of intersex is :
"... individuals of a bisexual species that have characteristics intermediate between the male and female".

People who are intersex may have a very small penis and no testicles, or a very small and short vagina and a large clitoris that looks like a penis.

References

Biology
Sexuality

Hermaphrodite


Taiwan is part of the collision zone between the Yangtze Plate and Philippine Sea Plate. Eastern and southern Taiwan are the northern end of the Philippine Mobile Belt.

Located next to an oceanic trench and volcanic system in a tectonic collision zone, Taiwan has evolved a unique environment that produces high-temperature springs with crystal-clear water, usually both clean and safe to drink. These hot springs are commonly used for spas and resorts.

Soaking in hot springs became popular in Taiwan around 1895 during the 50-year long colonial rule by Japan.

History

The first mention of Taiwan's hot springs came from a 1697 manuscript, , but they were not developed until 1893, when a German businessman discovered Beitou and later established a small local spa.

Under Japanese rule, the government constantly promoted and further enhanced the natural hot springs. The Japanese rule brought with them their rich onsen culture of spring soaking, which had a great influence on Taiwan.

In March 1896,  from Osaka, Japan opened Taiwan's first hot spring hotel, called . He not only heralded a new era of hot spring bathing in Beitou, but also paved the road for a whole new hot spring culture for Taiwan. In the Japanese onsen culture, hot springs are claimed to offer many health benefits. As well as raising energy levels, the minerals in the water are commonly suggested to help treat chronic fatigue, eczema or arthritis.

During Japanese rule, the four major hot springs in Taiwan were in modern-day Beitou, Yangmingshan, Guanziling and Sichongxi. However, under Republic of China administration starting from 1945, the hot spring culture in Taiwan gradually lost momentum. It was not until 1999 that the authorities again started large-scale promotion of Taiwan's hot springs, setting off a renewed hot spring fever.

In recent years, hot spring spas and resorts on Taiwan have gained more popularity. With the support of the government, the hot spring has become not only another industry but also again part of Taiwanese culture.

Taiwan has one of the highest concentrations (more than 100 hot springs) and greatest variety of thermal springs in the world varying from hot springs to cold springs, mud springs, and seabed hot springs.

Geology
Taiwan is located on a faultline where several continental plates meet; the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate intersect in the Circum-Pacific seismic zone.

Types of springs
 Sodium carbonate springs
 Sulfur springs
 Ferrous springs
 Sodium hydrogen carbonate springs
 Mud springs
(spring water contains alkaline and iodine, is salty and has a light sulfuric smell)
 Salt or hydrogen sulfide springs

Partial list of hot springs in Taiwan

 Jiaoxi
 Dakeng
 Beitou - is considered the "hot spring capital of Taiwan".
 Zhiben
 Tai-an - is an odorless and colorless alkaline carbonate hot spring.
 Yangmingshan
 Guguan
 Guanziling - is known for its mud baths.
 Sichongxi
 Wulai
 Ruisui, Hualien - this hot spring has a high iron content, consequently the water has a brownish tint.
 Zhaori

See also
 Onsen
 Culture of Taiwan
 List of hot springs

References

External links

 Taiwanzen, website about Taiwan and hot springs
 Taiwanese Hot Springs Taiwan Journal
 Hot spring tour, Tourism Bureau, R.O.C.

Tourism in Taiwan
Geothermal areas
Taiwanese culture
Balneotherapy
Geology of Taiwan
History of Taiwan
Hydrology
Spa towns
Thermal treatment

Hot springs in Taiwan


A Mojo Books is a company that produced books, in e-book PDF format, based on the output of a given band, singer or composer. Its creators were the Brazilian editors Danilo Corci and Ricardo Giassetti, with the aid of the cover artist Delfin.

During the mid-1990s, Corci and Giassetti formed a synthpop band called Toward the Cathedral along with composer Will Geraldo. The lyrics for the band's songs were usually based on such writers as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Edgar Allan Poe and Marcel Proust. Ten years later they decided to turn music into literature and by the end of 2006 Corci and Giassetti had established the Mojo Books project to produce e-books based on records. Writers have ranged from amateurs to professional writers and academics.

Available e-books

 Black Celebration - Depeche Mode by Danilo Corci
 Technique - New Order, by Ricardo Giassetti
 #1 Record - Big Star, by Luiz Cesar Pimentel
 In it for the Money - Supergrass, by Delfin
 Revolver - The Beatles, by Jota Wagner
 Dummy - Portishead, by Ludmila Azevedo
 Doolittle - The Pixies, by Marcelo Costa
 Comes a Time - Neil Young, by CEL
 Thriller - Michael Jackson, by Rodrigo James
 The Life Pursuit - Belle & Sebastian, by Paulo F.
 Dressed up like Nebraska - Josh Rouse, by Mariana Tramontina
 Racional - Tim Maia, by Mariel Reis
 Transformer - Lou Reed, by Mariangela Carvalho
 Volume 1 - Bauhaus, by Heitor Werneck
 Pet Sounds - Beach Boys, by Helio Flanders
 American IV - Johnny Cash, by Pablo Melgar
 Endtroducing - DJ Shadow, by Filipe Luna
 World Clique - Deee-Lite, by Guilherme Choovanski
 Cartola 74 - Caetola, by Igor Capelatto
 Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie, by Maria Lutterbach
 Samba Esquema Noise - Mondo Livre S/A, by André Gamma
 Tabula Rasa - Einstürzende Neubauten, by J. Bernucci
 Like a Prayer - Madonna, by Alex Oliveira

References

External links
Mojo Books website

Ebooks

Mojo Books


Juliet Capulet is a character in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. She is barely a young adult when she meets and falls in love with a family enemy, Romeo Montague. The two marry secretly. When Juliet's parents arrange a marriage with Count Paris for her, she takes a potion that will make her appear to be dead. Her body is taken to a crypt. She later comes back to life. When she discovers Romeo has killed himself, she kills herself.

There have been countless adaptations. Norma Shearer and Olivia Hussey have played Juliet in the movies. The play was adapted to opera and ballet. Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn have danced the "star-crossed lovers" in the ballet adaptation.

Characters in Shakespeare's plays

Juliet (Shakespeare)


The murder of Meredith Kercher happened on the night of 1 November 2007. Meredith Kercher was born in London on 28 December 1985 and was 21 years old at the time of her death. She was a student at Leeds University in England but moved to Italy in August 2007. Meredith went to a university in Perugia, Italy as part of her course of study. She lived in a house, upstairs, with three other female students.

Police investigators concluded that Kercher had been killed by striking her neck with a knife, undressed, and locked in her bedroom. Missing from her bedroom were credit cards, 300 euros (~US$450) as rent money due, and her house keys, all never found. Also missing were her 2 mobile phones (one international and one for local calls) which were found in bushes several blocks away when they rang as friends called on the next day.

A local unemployed man from Ivory Coast, found on the run north of Switzerland, without a rail pass on a train in Germany, was taken by police when his bloody fingerprints and DNA matched on the girl's body and handbag. The court judge found him guilty of the crime when his statements claimed he had seen a man with a knife and left the stabbed girl bleeding in her clothes on her bed with a white pillow, but that pillow was later found under her naked body with his bloody shoeprint and fingerprints on the pillow. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but lowered to 16 years on appeal of his court case.

Also accused in the case were the girl's 3-month flatmate and college classmate, Amanda Knox, along with her new student boyfriend of 8 days, an Italian young man named Raffaele Sollecito (/so-Lay-chee-toe/), who lived in an apartment nearby. Knox and Sollecito were both held in prison, without bond, for 4 years as they waited on the court judges to re-hear the case until they were found innocent of the crimes. None of their DNA was found anywhere in the girl's locked bedroom, only out in the hallway or other rooms.
However, the court continued for over 7 years in again attempting to sentence them, to 26 and 25 years in prison, until they were judged completely innocent in 2014.

Murder
An American student named Amanda Knox who lived in the house with Kercher, came home the next day. At 12:07 pm, she called Kercher's local Italian mobile phone, but it rang without being answered for 16 seconds. Then she called another roommate, Filomena R., and said that there were drops of blood in the house and that Kercher did not answer her phone. Knox then tried calling Kercher again two times, but there was still no answer on either her local Italian phone or her UK phone. Immediately, Filomena called back to Knox to say she was coming home, and Knox then announced that Filomena's bedroom window had been broken, with glass all over her clothes and the computer on the floor.

After Filomena had called Knox again, two police officers came to the house because two mobile phones had been found in gardens about one kilometer (0.6 mile) from the house. When Knox had called Kercher (at 12:07 pm), her phone was found ringing in some garden bushes. It was found by a neighbour who then called the communications police.

Entering the house, the police noted all the drops of blood that Knox showed them, and they confirmed that Kercher's bedroom door was locked. A friend of Filomena's broke the door to open it. The police looked in the bedroom and found Kercher's body under a duvet (quilt). She was naked except for her T-shirts pulled up to her shoulders. There was a lot of blood on her body and around the room. Someone had stabbed her neck with a knife. Her clothes were laying scattered towards the door. Two credit cards, 300 euros (about US$420), and her house keys were missing.

Arrests
The next day, the police arrested three people. They arrested Knox, her 2-week boyfriend (an Italian student) Raffaele Sollecito. They also arrested Knox's boss at a local pub where she worked but later released him. Sollecito was Knox's new boyfriend, and she had met him just eight days before the murder. Weeks later, police arrested another person called Rudy Guede.  Originally from the Ivory Coast, Guede later acquired dual citizenship in Italy. After the murder, he went by train to Germany. Police in Germany caught him and took him back to Italy.

Trials
Guede was put on trial in Italy in October 2008. He was found guilty and sent to prison for 30 years.

Knox and Sollecito were also put on trial. Sollecito was sent to prison for 25 years, and Knox for 26 years. They both appealed their sentences.

The prosecutors said that Guede, Knox and Sollecito killed Kercher together. The lawyers of Knox and Sollecito said that Guede killed her alone, and undressed and moved the body hours later. In June-November 2009, their lawyers presented evidence and witnesses to support a "lone-wolf" theory, that Guede killed Kercher and later undressed and moved her body away from the window of her bedroom in the house where she lived with Knox.

Guede had claimed that he had been invited to her house, as a date planned with Kercher on Halloween. While in her house, he claimed he became sick, and while in the bathroom, he heard a loud scream. In his story, Guede claimed that he saw a brown-haired Italian man holding a knife, over Kercher on the floor of her room. He then claimed that the man fought him, and ran from the house, saying in perfect Italian, "Trovato negro, trovato colpevole" ("found black, found guilty"). Guede said that he tried to help Kercher, as she was bleeding quickly, but he became scared and ran from the house, without calling the police or anyone for help. Guede had told officials that Kercher was fully dressed when she was stabbed, and he left her with the bed quilt and pillow on her bed. However, witnesses and CSI experts, from the Forensic Police in Rome, presented evidence that contradicted Guede's story about that night:
 Guede claimed Kercher met with him on Halloween, but her friends testified that they had gone partying with her, and none of them saw her talking to Guede.
 Guede claimed Kercher was fully dressed when stabbed, but blood spots on her skin indicated that her T-shirt was pulled above her bra when she was stabbed.
 Guede claimed the white pillow remained on the bed, but it was found under the body, marked with his left shoe print (from Nike Outbreak 2 tennis shoes) and his palm-print in blood.
 Guede claimed that he did not return to undress and move the body, but the bra and severed bra strap had DNA matching Guede's DNA genetic profile, also on her body and handbag.
 Guede claimed he did not break the upstairs window in the third bedroom, but just 5 days earlier, he had been caught afterhours in a Milan school, with a laptop computer and mobile phone stolen from a law office burgled with a rock breaking through an upstairs window.
 Guede claimed he had not stabbed Kercher, but when caught inside the Milan school on 27 October 2007, the local police searched his backpack and found a kitchen knife stolen from the school kitchen.
At Guede's trial, the judge and jury did not believe Guede's claims, and they convicted him of the murder. He had been caught because his palm-print on the pillow matched his police file, including the Milan school incident, when Milan police had released him just 5 days before the murder. Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but that was reduced to 16 years after his first appeal trial.

In a separate trial, both Knox and Sollecito were tried for the murder, but the evidence was much less than with Guede. No witnesses testified that they had seen or heard Knox or Sollecito enter or leave the house that night. Also, the small amounts of DNA connecting them to the murder were in such low amounts that it could be considered contamination, and such small amounts of DNA are inadmissible during trials in British or U.S. criminal courts. Although numerous shoe prints had been found matching Guede's Nike shoe, there were no shoe prints matching any of the shoes which police had taken from the houses of Knox and Sollecito. The main issues about them were that they said things that seemed suspicious:
 Knox had written a statement, during police interrogation, in which she vaguely remembered going to the house with her boss from work, but thought it was a false memory, suggested under police pressure.
 Knox testified that the police, on the 4th day of questions, had kept her awake all night, without food, then shouted, hit her, and threatened to put her in prison for 30 years unless she named someone. However, the police testified they did not bully her, and instead that Knox started crying and confessed to being in the house.
 Sollecito, when calling the police, said that there had been a burglary break-in with nothing taken, even though the other housemates had not returned to count their belongings.
 They both claimed to have stayed the night at his 2-story house, but they could not confirm what the other was doing downstairs, or if either had left.
 Sollecito told police his father had called him at home around 11 p.m. However, phone records later showed that he received no such call.

Because no other witnesses could confirm the couple stayed in his house, during the murder at Knox's house, they were both sent to trial. The evidence against them was very limited:
 One man, Hekuran K., claimed he saw all three on a rainy street near the house that night, and had argued with them, but the rain had been on Halloween, instead, the night before. When asked how he knew what time they argued, he said he checked his car clock, but noted that it was broken. When asked if he had talked to reporters, he said no then yes.
 Another witness, a homeless man, Antonio C. said that he saw Knox and Sollecito talking in a town square near the house that night at 11-11:30 pm, timed from a nearby clock, but in his original statement, he had said other people nearby were wearing masks, as on Halloween, the night before.
 Computer records show that Sollecito's computer was being used at 9:10 pm and he lived at least 10 minutes from the town square.
 A fingerprint expert claimed that one shoe print on the bed pillow was in Knox's size, but the pattern did not match any of her 22 shoes, and when the pillow was folded, that shoe print exactly matched Guede's Nike shoes.
 A partial blood footprint on the nearby bath mat was claimed to match Sollecito's foot, but experts testified that it was so vague that it also matched Guede's foot.
 No hairs, clothing fibers, skin or fingerprints of Knox or Sollecito were found in Kercher's room.
 No blood-stained clothes, shoes, or knives were found in either of their houses, or in Sollecito's car.
 A knife taken from Sollecito's kitchen, with Knox's DNA on the handle, was claimed to match a trace amount of Kercher's DNA near the tip, but the knife was too large to have made two of the three stab wounds, and tested negative for any blood residue anywhere.
When Knox was convicted in the first trial, the verdict was questioned by some as "anti-Americanism", but Sollecito was also convicted at the same time.

Appeals
Guede appealed against his sentence, and it was changed from 30 to 16 years in prison. He still says that he did not kill Kercher. His second appeal trial ended in December 2010 with upholding the verdict of guilty.

Knox and Sollecito filed the proper legal documents to appeal their convictions, and they were still considered "presumed innocent" as if the previous trial verdicts were suspended. Their appeal trial began in November 2010, with a new judge who ruled to re-examine DNA evidence against them. The judge also granted a re-questioning of witness Antonio C. about which days he saw what.

On 3 October 2011, murder convictions against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were overturned and they were both set free that same night.

Italy's supreme court ordered a re-trial. The case was heard in Florence, and ended on 30 January 2014. Both Knox and Sollecito were found not-guilty of murder. They were originally sentenced to 28 (Knox) and 26 (Sollecito) years in prison.

References

2007 in Europe
2000s in Italy
2000s murders in Europe
British people murdered abroad
English murder victims
Murder in 2007
Murders by blade weapons
People murdered in Italy

Murder of Meredith Kercher


A caliphate ( khilāfa) is a state ruled by an Islamic leader known as a caliph (  ). This is a person considered a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community.

The Rashidun caliphs directly succeeded Muhammad as leaders of the muslim community. They were chosen through shura, a process of community consultation that some think is an early form of Islamic democracy. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many muslim states, mostly hereditary monarchies, have claimed to be caliphates. Caliphs were not thought of as having the same prophetic power as Muhammid did.

In the Sunni branch of Islam a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the "Family of the House", Muhammad's direct descendants).

History

Rashidun, AD 632-661

Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, and there was consensus in the Muslim community to his choice. His successor, Uthman Ibn Affan, was elected by a council of electors (Majlis). But soon he was seen by some more as a "king" than as an elected leader. Uthman was killed by members of an opposition group. Then Ali took control. He was very popular with many, but he was not accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt. Later on even some of his own guard were against him. He had two major rebellions and was assassinated after a tumultuous rule of only five years. This period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war.

Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman, and governor (Wali) of Syria became one of Ali's challengers. After Ali's death he became Caliph. Under him, the caliphate became a hereditary office for the first time. He founded the Umayyad dynasty.

In areas which were previously under Persian or Byzantine rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom for Jews, indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples that were demoralized and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare.

Umayyads, AD 661-750

Under the Umayyads the Caliphate grew rapidly geographically. Islamic rule expanded westward across North Africa and into Hispania and eastward through Persia and ultimately to Sindh and Punjab in modern-day Pakistan. This made it one of the largest unitary states in history and one of the few states to ever extend direct rule over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). Although not ruling all of the Sahara, homage was paid to the Caliph by Saharan Africa usually via various nomad Berber tribes.

Largely due to the fact that they were not elected via Shura, the Umayyad dynasty was not universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported prominent early Muslims like Al-Zubayr; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim, or his own lineage, the descendants of Ali, should rule. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays). Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hisham and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750.  However, the , "the Party of Ali", were again disappointed when the Abbasid dynasty took power, as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle, `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib and not from Ali. Following this disappointment, the  finally split from the majority Sunni Muslims and formed what are today the several  denominations.

The Umayyad Caliphate emerged as the rulers of the Islamic world. Although they maintained the Sasanians' administrative practices, the Umayyads considered Islam as primarily an Arab religion and were wary of Persian culture. They enforced use of the Arabic language in Persia, leading to the demise of the Middle Persian or Pahlavi alphabet in favor of the new Arabic/Persian alphabet in use to this day. They attempted to assimilate Persians as they had "Arabized" and assimilated the Egyptians and the Assyrians, but with much less success.

The Caliphate in Hispania

During the Umayyad period Hispania was an integral province of the Umayyad Caliphate ruled from Damascus, Syria. Later the caliphate was won by the Abbasids and Al-Andalus (or Hispania)  split from the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad to form their own caliphate. The Caliphate of Córdoba (خليفة قرطبة) ruled the Iberian Peninsula from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in technology, trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Spain were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba. The title Caliph (خليفة) was claimed by Abd-ar-Rahman III on January 16, 929; he was previously known as the Emir of Córdoba (أمير قرطبة). All Caliphs of Córdoba were members of the Umayyad dynasty; the same dynasty had held the title Emir of Córdoba and ruled over roughly the same territory since 756. The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula, before it split into taifas. Spain possessed a significant native Muslim population until 1610 with the success of the Catholic-instigated Spanish Inquisition, which expelled any remnants of Spanish Muslim (Morisco) or Jewish populations.

Abbasids, AD 750-1258

The Abbasids had an unbroken line of Caliphs for over three centuries, consolidating Islamic rule and cultivating great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East. By 940 the power of the Caliphate under the Abbasids was waning as non-Arabs, particularly the Berbers of North Western Africa, the Turkish, and later the Mamluks in Egypt in the latter half of the 13th century, gained influence, and sultans and emirs became increasingly independent. However, the Caliphate endured as both a symbolic position and a unifying entity for the Islamic world.During the period of the Abassid dynasty, Abassid claims to the caliphate did not go unchallenged. The  Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descendency of Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbassid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171. The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over the Muslim provinces of Spain, reclaimed the title of Caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.

Shadow Caliphate, 13th-16th century AD
1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim by Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. A surviving member of the Abbasid House was installed as Caliph at Cairo under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate three years later; however, the authority of this line of Caliphs was confined to ceremonial and religious matters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" Caliphate.

Ottomans, 16th-20th century AD

Ottoman rulers were known primarily by the title of Sultan and sometimes also used the title of Caliph.  Mehmed II and his grandson Selim I used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries.  As the Ottoman Empire grew in size and strength, Ottoman rulers beginning with Selim I began to claim Caliphal authority.

Ottoman rulers used the title "Caliph" symbolically on many occasions but it was strengthened when the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517 and took control of most Arab lands. The last Abbasid Caliph at Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was taken into custody and was transported to Istanbul, where he reportedly surrendered the Caliphate to Selim I.

After the Ottomans lost a war with the Russian Empire they signed a peace treaty with Russia in 1774.  The Sultan had to surrender large territories, including ones with large Muslim populations, such as Crimea, to the Russian Empire.  However, Sultan Abdul Hamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by assigning himself the protector of Muslims in Russia as part of the peace treaty.  Russia, meanwhile, was the protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire.  This was the first time the Ottoman caliph was acknowledged as having political significance outside of Ottoman borders by a European power.  Although the Ottoman borders were shrinking, the powers of the Ottoman caliph increased.

Around 1880 Sultan Abdul Hamid II reasserted the title as a way of countering the spread of European colonialism in Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Muslims of British India. By the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman state, despite its weakness vis-à-vis Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity.  But the sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia.

Khilafat Movement, AD 1920

In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to defend the Ottoman Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularly strong in British India, where it formed a rallying point for Indian Muslims and was the one of the many anti-British Indian political movements to enjoy widespread support. Its leaders included Maulana Mohammad Ali, his brother Shawkat Ali, and Abul Kalam Azad, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, and Hasrat Mohani.  For a time it worked in alliance with Hindu communities  and was supported by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was a member of the Central Khilafat Committee.  However, the movement lost its momentum after the arrest or flight of its leaders, and a series of offshoots splintered off from the main organization.

End of Caliphate, AD 1924

On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as part of his reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. Its powers within Turkey were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (parliament) of the newly formed Turkish Republic and the title has since been inactive. In 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed the title but most Muslims did not accept it.

Famous caliphs

 Abu Bakr - First Rashidun (Four Righteously Guided Caliphs) of the Sunnis. Subdued rebel tribes in the Ridda wars.
 Umar (Umar ibn al-Khattab) - Second Rashidun. During his reign, the Islamic empire expanded to include Egypt, Jerusalem, and Persia.
 Uthman Ibn Affan - Third Rashidun. The Qur'an was compiled under his direction. Killed by rebels.
 Ali (Ali ibn Abu Talib) - Fourth and last Rashidun, and considered the first imam by Shi'a Muslims. His reign was fraught with internal conflict.
 Hasan ibn Ali - Fifth Caliph (considered as "rightly guided" by many Sunnis as well as Shias). He ruled for six months only and handed the powers to Muawiyah I in order to unite the Muslims again.
 Muawiyah I - First caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. Muawiyah instituted dynastic rule by appointing his son Yazid I as his successor, a trend that would continue through subsequent caliphates.
 Umar ibn AbdulAziz -  Umayyad caliph considered by some (mainly Sunnis) to be a sixth true and legitimate caliph under Islamic Laws of electing Caliph.
 Harun al-Rashid - Abbasid caliph during whose reign Baghdad became the world's preeminent centre of trade, learning, and culture. Harun is the subject of many stories in the famous work One Thousand and One Nights.
 Suleiman the Magnificent - Early Ottoman Sultan during whose reign the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith.
 Abdul Hamid II - The last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power.
 Abdülmecid II - The last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty, the 101st Caliph in line from Caliph Abu Bakr and nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House.

Related pages
 Caliph
 Emirate
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
 Shah
 Shaykh al-Islam

References

Further reading
 The theory of government in Islam , by The Internet Islamic University

 Ottomanism, Pan-Islamism, and the Caliphate Discourse at the Turn of the 20th Century  American University in Cairo

 Khilafat and Caliphate, By Mubasher Ahmad

Other sources
 Crone, Patricia & Hinds, Martin -- God's Caliph, Cambridge University Press, 1986
 Donner, Fred -- The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton University Press, 1981

Caliphate


Noorderhaaks or Razende Bol is an uninhabited small island of the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It belongs to the municipality of Texel. It covers an area of 4 km².

Noorderhaaks makes part of the West Frisian Islands (Dutch: Waddeneilanden). It is the most western island.

It lies southwest of the island of Texel.

West Frisian Islands
Texel

Noorderhaaks


A great hall was the main room of a royal palace, a nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages. At that time the word great meant big. Great halls were found in France, England and Scotland and some other European countries.

Appearance
A great hall was a rectangular room between 1.5 and 3 times as long as it was wide, and also higher than it was wide. At night some members of the household might sleep on the floor of the great hall.

Examples
Two very large surviving royal halls are Westminster Hall and the Wenceslas Hall in Prague Castle. Penshurst Place in Kent, England has a hall from the 14th century. There are lots of 16th century and early 17th century halls in England, Wales and Scotland, for example those at Longleat (England), Burghley House (England), Bodysgallen Hall (Wales), Muchalls Castle (Scotland) and Crathes Castle (Scotland); however, by the late 1700s the great hall was beginning to lose its purpose over time.

Middle Ages

Great hall


Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born October 13, 1980), better known as Ashanti, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, model and actress. She became famous in the early 2000s. Ashanti released her debut album Ashanti in 2002. It released three singles: "Foolish", "Happy", and "Baby". "Foolish" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Happy" and "Baby" reached the top twenty. Ashanti's first album sold 503,000 copies the first week. She then became the first "new female artist" to sell that many records in one week. She outsold artists including Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. She also became the first female artist to have two singles "Foolish" at number one and "What's Luv?" (with Fat Joe) at number two. Ashanti also became the first artist to have three top ten songs ("Foolish", "What's Luv?" and "Always on Time") on the Hot 100 the same week. She was the first women and second artist, behind The Beatles, to do this.

Her first album also won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Later that year, her duet with Ja Rule on "Mesmerize" reached number two on the Hot 100. Her next album, Chapter II (2003) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 326,000 copies the first week. The album was given three Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song. Chapter II was certified platinum by the RIAA. This means that 1 million copies of the album were shipped in the United States. The two singles "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" and "Rain on Me" reached the top ten in the US. Her holiday album Ashanti's Christmas (2003) reached number 160 on the Billboard 200.

Ashanti's third album, Concrete Rose (2004), debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 254,000 copies the first week. The album was certified platinum in a month of its release. The singles "Only U" was a top ten hit in the US, while "Don't Let Them" did not do so well. The single became the worst charting song in Ashanti's career. Her first greatest hits album Collectables by Ashanti (2005) reached number 59 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was a top ten hit on the Hot R&B Albums chart. The only single to be released from that album was "Still on It". It reached number 15 on the Hot Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Ashanti's second greatest hits album, Can't Stop, was released in 2006. It only charted in Japan at number 259. Ashanti took a short break from recording music.

Her fourth album, The Declaration, was released in 2008. It reached number six on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 86,000 copies the first week. The singles "The Way That I Love You" reached the top 40 on the Hot 100. The single "Good Good" reached number 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2009, The Vault was released. The album contained 12 songs recorded by Ashanti that were not released. It reached number 110 on the Japan Albums chart. Ashanti's fifth album Braveheart was set to be released on August 28, 2012. The lead single, "The Woman You Love" reached number 59 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in December 2011. Ashanti has starred in several movies. These include The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) and John Tucker Must Die (2006). As of 2008, she has sold more than 27 million records worldwide.

Discography
 Ashanti (2002)
 Chapter II (2003)
 Concrete Rose (2004)
 The Declaration (2008)
 BraveHeart (2014)

Movies
Films
 The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
 Coach Carter (2005)
 John Tucker Must Die (2006)
 Resident Evil Extinction (2007)
 Coach Carter 2

Television
 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2002)
 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) (2003)
 WrestleMania XIX (Opening: America the Beautiful) (2003)
 The Proud Family (voice) (2003)
 Pepsi Smash (Commercial) (2003)
 Punk'd (2004)
 Oxygen: Custom Concert (2004)
 Las Vegas (TV series) (2005)
 2007 World Series (Opening: 'God Bless America') (2007)
 NFL Thanksgiving Classic CBS (Opening: 'National Anthem') (2007)
 BET Awards Nomination Special "I Wanna Thank My Mama" (host) (2008)
 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2010)

Theater
 The Wiz (2009)

References

Books

Other websites

1980 births
Actors from New York (state)
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Singers from New York (state)
African American actors
African-American singers
American composers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American dancers
American movie actors
American hip hop musicians
American hip hop singers
Philanthropists from New York (state)
American pop singers
American record producers
American singer-songwriters
American soul singers
American television actors
Models from New York (state)
Musicians from New York (state)
People from New York City
Sopranos

Ashanti (singer)


Bethany is an unincorporated community in southeastern Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States, located in the southwestern part of Ohio. It lies about three miles south of Monroe.

Bethany was laid out in 1822 on what would become the Cincinnati and Dayton Turnpike (which was later known as the Dixie Highway), U.S. Route 25, and Cincinnati-Dayton Road. It gave its name to the Voice of America's Bethany Relay Station and to the telephone exchange which covers most of Liberty and West Chester Townships. It is served by the Middletown post office and the Lakota Local School District.

References

Unincorporated communities in Butler County, Ohio
Populated places established in 1798
Unincorporated communities in Ohio
1822 establishments in Ohio
Populated places established in 1822

Bethany, Ohio


The GX4000 was a console made by Amstrad in 1990. At first, it was successful. But it did not continue its early success. The GX4000 games could be used with other Amstrad computers. Only 40 games were made for it. Soon it disappeared into the mist of history. These days it is very rare to see one that is still in working condition.

Video game consoles

de:Amstrad GX4000

GX4000


Motivation is an important part of psychology. It is the driving force by which people (or animals) get what they want. A motive is the reason for an action taken.

Motivation arouses a person to act towards a desired goal. It is a driving force which promotes action. For example, hunger is a motivation which causes a desire to eat. "Motivation is an energizer of behavior". It is the purpose or psychological cause of an action.

With animals, motivation is caused by basic needs: needs for food, water, warmth, safety, mating, protecting the young, defending territory, needs to escape pain and threats... The drive to do these things is instinctive, inborn, and triggered by circumstance.

With humans, whose mental life is much more complex, motivation is more complicated. Obviously, humans feel the need for food and water, avoid pain and so on. But they are also capable of having long-term plans which are more difficult to understand.

Drives
A drive or desire is a deficiency or need that activates behaviour aimed at a goal or an incentive.

Drives may arise inside or outside an organism. External drives for humans are rewards and punishments, and can be quite subtle: a frown or a smile may be sufficient for a young person.

Drives often occur within the individual and may not need external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. An example is the sexual drive which is driven by our hormone system. The desire for sex is wired deep into the brain of all human beings as glands secrete hormones that travel through the blood to the brain and stimulates the onset of sexual desire. The process is started by the brain's hypothalamus, which releases pulses of GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone). This starts a whole chain of reactions which we call "puberty". Longer term, the hormone supporting male sex drive is testosterone, and for women testosterone and oestrogen.

By contrast, outside rewards and stimuli are used in training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process. Children are motivated to learn by approval of friendly adults, and by their own pleasure at success.

Emotions and unconscious motivation
Motivation and emotion are intertwined: "Emotional states tend to have motivational properties".

Not all motivated behaviour is the result of conscious decisions. Freudian psychology suggests that much behaviour is motivated by "unconscious factors, working through a network of defence mechanisms, symbolic disguises and psychological cloaks".

References

Psychology

Motivation