Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin. It is the second largest national park in the world. It covers an area of . It is about 200 kilometres from north to south, and more than 100 kilometres from east to west. It is the size of Slovenia, about one-third the size of Tasmania, or nearly half the size of Switzerland. The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the biggest Uranium mines in the world, is inside the park.

History

Early history
The name Kakadu comes from Gagadju, the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the northern part of the Park. Kakadu National Park has many different ecological areas, and many different plant and animal species. The main natural features protected within the National Park include:
  Four major river systems:
 the East Alligator River,
 the West Alligator River,
 the Wildman River; and
 the entire South Alligator River;
 Six major landforms:
 Savanna woodlands
 Monsoon forests
 Southern hills and ridges
 Stone country
 Coast and tidal flats,
 Floodplain and billabongs
 Many different plants and animals:
 280 bird species
 62 mammal species
 123 reptile species
 51 freshwater fish species
 25 frog species
 over 10 000 insects species
 1275 plant species.

Kakadu National Park is famous for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5000 recorded art sites showing Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites show that Aboriginals have lived here for at least 20 000 and possibly up to 40 000 years.

The cultural and natural values of Kakadu National Park were recognised internationally when the Park was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is an international list of places that are have outstanding cultural or natural values of international significance. Kakadu was listed in three stages: Stage 1 in 1981, Stage 2 in 1987, and the entire Park in 1992.

About half of the land in Kakadu is aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Most of the remaining land is currently under claim by Aboriginal people. The areas of the Park that are owned by Aboriginal people are leased by the traditional owners to the Director of National Parks to be managed as a national park. The remaining area is Australian Government land controlled by the Director of National Parks. All of Kakadu is declared a national park under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Aboriginal traditional owners of the Park are descendants of various clan groups from the Kakadu area. Their lifestyle has changed in recent years, but their traditional customs and beliefs remain very important. About 500 Aboriginal people live in the Park; many of them are traditional owners. All of Kakadu is jointly managed by Aboriginal traditional owners and the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Water Resources through a division known as Parks Australia. Park Management is directed by the Kakadu Board of Management.

Establishment

Kakadu was set up at a time when Australians were becoming more interested in national parks for conservation and in recognising the land rights of Aboriginal people. A national park in the Alligator River region was proposed as early as 1965. In 1978 the Australian Government took over the titles of various pieces of land that now makes up Kakadu National Park.

Kakadu National Park was made a park in three stages between 1979 and 1991. Each stage of the Park includes Aboriginal land under the Land Rights Act that is leased to the Director of National Parks or land that is subject to a claim to traditional ownership under the Land Rights Act. Most of the land that was to become part of Stage One of Kakadu was given to the Kakadu Aboriginal Land Trust under the Land Rights Act in August 1978. In November 1978, the Land Trust and the Director signed a lease for the land to be managed as a national park. Stage One of the Park was declared on 5 April 1979.

Stage Two was declared on 28 February 1984. In March 1978, a claim was lodged under the Land Rights Act for the land included in Stage Two of Kakadu. The land claim was partly successful. In 1986, three areas in the eastern part of Stage Two were given to the Jabiluka Aboriginal Land Trust. A lease between the Land Trust and the Director of National parks was signed in March 1991.

In 1987, a land claim was made for the land in the Goodparla and Gimbat pastoral leases that were to be included in Stage Three of Kakadu. The other area to be included in Stage Three, the Gimbat Resumption and the Waterfall Creek Reserve, were later added to this land claim. The need to create the park in stages was due to the debate over whether mining should be allowed at Guratba (Coronation Hill) which is located in the middle of the area referred to as Sickness Country. The traditional owners' wishes were ultimately respected and the Australian National Government decided that there would be no mining at Guratba.

In 1996, the land in Stage Three, apart from the former Goodparla pastoral leases, was given to the Gunlom Aboriginal Land Trust and leased to the Director of National Parks to continue being managed as part of Kakadu.

The arrival of non Aboriginal people

Explorers
The Chinese, Malays and Portuguese all claim to have been the first non-Aboriginal explorers of Australia's north coast. The first surviving written account comes from the Dutch. In 1623 Jan Carstenz made his way west across the Gulf of Carpentaria to what is believed to be Groote Eylandt. Abel Tasman was the next explorer to visit in 1644. He was the first person to record European contact with Aboriginal people. Almost a century later Matthew Flinders surveyed the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1802 and 1803.

Phillip Parker King, an English navigator entered the Gulf of Carpentaria between 1818 and 1822. During this time he named the three Alligator Rivers after the large numbers of crocodiles, which he thought were alligators.

Ludwig Leichhardt was the first land-based European explorer to visit the Kakadu region, in 1845 on his way from Moreton Bay in Queensland to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. He followed Jim Jim Creek down from the Arnhem Land escarpment, then went down the South Alligator before crossing to the East Alligator and going north.

In 1862 John McDouall Stuart travelled along the south-western boundary of Kakadu but did not see any people.

The first non-Aboriginal people to visit and have long term contact with Aboriginal people in northern Australia were the Macassans from Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia. They travelled to northern Australia every wet season, probably from the last quarter of the 17th century, in sailing boats called praus. They came to harvest trepang (sea cucumber), turtle shell, pearls and other prized items to trade in their homeland. Aboriginal people helped in harvesting and processing the trepang, and in collecting and exchanging the other goods.

There is no evidence that the Macassans spent time on the coast of Kakadu. There is evidence of some contact between Macassan culture and Aboriginal people of the Kakadu area. Among the finds from archaeological digs in the Park are glass and metal pieces that probably came from the Macassans, either directly or through trade with the Coburg Peninsula people.

The British attempted a number of settlements on the northern Australian coast in the
early part of the 19th century: Fort Dundas on Melville Island in 1824; Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay in 1829; and Victoria Settlement (Port Essington) on the Coburg Peninsula in 1838. They wanted to secure the north of Australia before the French or Dutch, who had colonised islands further north. The British settlements all failed for a variety of reasons, such as lack of water and fresh food, sickness and isolation.
It is difficult to assess the impact of these settlements on the local Aboriginal people and the type of relationship that developed between them and the British. Certainly, some Aboriginals worked at the settlements. Exposure to new sickness was an ever-present danger. As in other parts of Australia, disease and the disruption it caused to society devastated the local Aboriginal population.

Buffalo hunters

Water buffalo have had a big influence on the Kakadu region as well. By the 1880s the number of buffaloes escaped from early settlements had grown so much that hunting them for skins and horns was economically successful.

The industry began on the Adelaide River, close to Darwin, and moved east to the Mary River and Alligator Rivers regions.

Most of the buffalo hunting and skin curing was done in the dry season, between June and September, when buffaloes gathered around the remaining billabongs. During the wet season hunting stopped because the ground was too muddy to follow the buffalo and the harvested hides would rot. The buffalo hunting industry became an important employer of Aboriginal people during the dry-season months.

Missionaries
Missionaries had a big influence on the Aboriginal people of the Alligator Rivers area. Many of the people lived and went to school at missions. Two missions were set up in the region in the early part of the century. Kapalga Native Industrial Mission was started near the South Alligator River in 1899, but lasted only four years. The Oenpelli Mission began in 1925, when the Church of England Missionary Society accepted an offer from the Northern Territory Administration to take over the area, which had been used as a dairy farm. The Oenpelli Mission operated for 50 years.

Some writers and anthropologists say that missionaries, in trying to 'civilise and institutionalise' Aboriginal people, forced them to give up their lifestyle, language, religion, ceremonies and change the whole way they lived. Others say that, although they might not have used the best methods to achieve their goal, the missionaries did care about the Aboriginal people at a time when wider Australian society did not.

Pastoralists
The pastoral industry made started slowly in the Top End. Pastoral leases in the Kakadu area were progressively given up from 1889, because the Victoria River and the Barkly Tablelands were better pastoral regions.

In southern Kakadu much of Goodparla and Gimbat was claimed in the mid-1870s by three pastoralists, Roderick, Travers and Sergison. The leases were later passed on to a series of owners, who were all unsuccessful. In 1987 both stations were taken back by the Commonwealth and added to Kakadu National Park.

There was a sawmill at Nourlangie Camp, begun by Chinese workers, probably before World War I, to cut stands of cypress pine in the area. After World War II there were a number of small-scale activities, including dingo shooting and trapping, brumby shooting, crocodile shooting, tourism and forestry.

Nourlangie Camp was again the site of a sawmill in the 1950s, until the cypress pines were cleared. In 1958 it became a safari camp for tourists. Soon after, a similar camp was started at Patonga and at Muirella Park. People were flown in to hunt buffalo, crocodiles and fishing.

Crocodile hunters often made use of the bush skills of Aboriginal people. By copying a wallaby's tail hitting the ground, Aboriginal hunters could attract crocodiles, making it easier to shoot the animals. Using paperbark rafts, they would track the movement of a wounded crocodile and get the carcass for skinning. The skins were then sold to make leather goods. Aboriginal people became less involved in commercial hunting of crocodiles once night spotlight shooting started. Freshwater Crocodiles have been protected by law since 1964 and Saltwater Crocodiles since 1971.

Mining

Minerals were found in the Top End during the building of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line line between 1870 and 1872, in the Pine Creek – Adelaide River area. A number of short mining booms followed.

The building of the North Australia Railway line helped the mining camps, and places such as Burrundie and Pine Creek became permanent settlements. The mining camps and new settlements drew many Aboriginal people away from Kakadu. No Aboriginal people are known to have worked in the mines but their access to alcohol and other drugs had a huge impact.

Small-scale gold mining began at Imarlkba, near Barramundi Creek, and Mundogie Hill in the 1920s and at Moline (previously called Eureka and Northern Hercules mine), south of the Park, in the 1930s. The mines employed a few local Aboriginal people.

In 1953 uranium was discovered in the South Alligator River valley. Thirteen small but rich uranium mines operated in the following decade, at their peak in 1957 employing over 150 workers. No Aboriginal people were employed at any of these mines.

Early in the 1970s large uranium deposits were discovered at Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongarra. The Australian Government began an inquiry into land use in the Alligator Rivers region. The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (known as the Fox inquiry) recommended that mining begin at the Ranger site. It also said that Jabiluka and Koongarra sites should be developed, and that a town be built to support the mines.(Fox et al. 1976, 1977). The Ranger mine and the service town at Jabiru have had many impacts on Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have different opinions about mining.

Climate
Kakadu is in the tropics, between 12° and 14° south of the Equator. The climate is monsoonal,
with two main seasons: the dry season and the rain season. The 'build up' describes the change between the dry and the rain. During the dry season (from April/May to September), there are dry southerly and easterly trade winds. Humidity is relatively low and rain is unusual. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for June-July is 32 °C. During the 'build up' (October to December) conditions can be extremely uncomfortable with high temperatures and high humidity. However, 'build up' storms are impressive and with many lightning strikes. At Jabiru the average maximum temperature for October is 37.5 °C.

The rain season (January to March/April) has warm temperatures and rain. Most of the rain is caused by monsoonal troughs formed over Southeast Asia. Sometimes tropical cyclones cause very heavy rain over small areas. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for January is 33 °C. Annual rainfall in Kakadu National Park ranges from 1,565 mm in Jabiru to 1,300 mm in the Mary River region.

The Aboriginal people, the Bininj/Mungguy, named as many as six seasons  in the Kakadu region:

 Gunumeleng - mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms in the afternoons
 Gudjewg - from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity cause an explosion of plant and animal life
 Banggerreng - April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwaters drain away, but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
 Yegge - from May to mid-June, cooler with low humidity, the Aboriginal people started burning the woodlands in patches to 'clean the country' and encourage new growth for grazing animals
 Wurrgeng - from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
 Gurrung - from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever shrinking billabongs.

Periods of torrential rain and long dry spells mean that Kakadu can change its appearance according to the season, so is a place deserving of more than one visit.

Flora
Kakadu has more than 2000 plant species, because of the different geological areas, landforms and habitats. Kakadu is also said to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world.

The different geographical areas of Kakadu have their own specialised plants. The area called 'the Stone Country' has 'resurrection grasses' that are able to survive extreme heat, and dry conditions followed by periods of heavy rain. Monsoon forests often develop in the cool moist gorges found in the stone country. The southern hills and basins support several endemic plants that are only found in Kakadu such as Eucalyptus koolpinensis near Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). Lowland areas form a large proportion of Kakadu National Park and are mainly covered in eucalypt-dominated open woodland with the ground layer consisting of a large range of grasses including spear grass, sedges and wildflowers.

The floodplains, which are flooded for several months each year, feature sedges such as spike rush as well patches of freshwater mangroves (itchy tree), pandanus and paper bark trees (Melaleuca). Varieties of water lilies, such as the blue, yellow and white snowflake, are commonly found in these areas. Estuaries and tidal flats are populated with varieties of mangroves, in fact 39 of the 47 Northern Territory species of mangrove are found in Kakadu. These are important for preventing erosion of the coast. Mangroves serve as feeding and breeding grounds for many fish species including the barramundi.

On the tidal flats behind the mangroves, hardy succulents (samphire), grasses and sedges grow. Isolated pockets of monsoon forest grow along the coast and river banks. These forests contain several impressive trees, among them the banyan fig, which can be recognised by its large, spreading aerial roots, and the kapok tree, which has a spiny trunk, large, waxy red flowers and pods full of cotton-like material.

Fauna

The different areas of Kakadu National Park support a huge number of animals, a number of which have adapted to particular habitats. Some animals in the Park are rare, endangered, vulnerable or endemic. Because of the extreme weather conditions experienced in the Park, many animals are active only at particular times of the day or night or at particular times of the year.

About 62 mammal species have been seen in the Park. Most of them live in the open forest and woodlands and are nocturnal, making it difficult to see them. Others, such as wallabies and kangaroos are active in the cooler parts of the day and are easier to see. The larger mammals are Dingos, Antilopine Kangaroos, Black Wallaroos, Agile Wallabys, and Short-eared Rock Wallabys. Smaller common mammals are northern quolls, brush-tailed phascogales, brown bandicoots, black-footed tree-rats, and black fruit bats. Dugongs are found in the coastal waters. However, recent surveys have shown smaller numbers of nearly all mammals throughout Kakadu. This includes once common and widespread species such as northern quolls.

Kakadu's many habitats support more than 280 species of birds. This is about one-third of Australia's bird species. Some birds range over a number of habitats, but many are found in only one environment.

To date, 123 species of reptiles have been found in Kakadu. Being cold blooded, these animals need heat from an external source such as the sun to control their body temperature. This is not to say that reptiles are active only during the day; in fact, few snakes can withstand Kakadu's midday heat and most are active at night.

Two species of crocodile live in Kakadu: the Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstonii) and the Estuarine, or Saltwater Crocodile (C. porosus). Freshwater Crocodiles have a narrow snout and a single row of four large boney lumps called 'scutes' immediately behind the head. Estuarine Crocodiles do not have these scutes and their snout is broader. The maximum size for a 'freshie' is 3 metres, whereas a 'saltie' can exceed 6 metres.

Kakadu's 25 frog species are extremely well adapted to the region's climatic extremes. Many remain dormant during dry times. At the start of the wet season, when the billabongs and swamps start to fill with water, the night air is filled with the sounds of frogs such as the northern bullfrog and the marbled frog. As the water builds up, frogs and tadpoles have plenty of food, such as algae, vegetation, insects, dragonfly nymphs, and other tadpoles. Not all of Kakadu's frogs are found in the wetlands: many live in the lowland forests.

Fifty-one species of freshwater fish have been found in Kakadu's waterways; eight of them have a restricted distribution. In the Magela Creek system alone, 32 species have been found. In comparison, the Murray–Darling river system, the most extensive in Australia, now supports only 27 native fish species. Although introduced fish have been found in most Australian waterways, none have been recorded in the Park.

Kakadu supports more than 10,000 species of insect including grasshoppers, beetles, flies, termites, butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, caddis flies, non-biting midges and mayflies. The great variety of insects is a result of the varied habitats and relatively high temperatures throughout the year.

Perhaps the most striking insect-created features in the Park are the termite mounds. The mounds in the southern part of the Park are particularly large and impressive. Leichhardt's grasshopper, in colours of orange, blue and black, is perhaps the most spectacular insect found in Kakadu. It is also found on the Arnhem Land plateau and in Gregory National Park.

Environmental issues and threats
Kakadu has seen several invasive species threaten the native habitat, particularly in recent decades. Introduced fauna including the Water Buffalo, wild pig and more recently, the Cane Toad have had major effects on habitat. Invasive weeds include Mimosa pigra, which covers 800 km² of the Top End, including vast areas of Kakadu, invasive paragrass displaces the native food of much of Kakadu's birdlife. Salvinia molesta has infested the Magela floodplain. Brumbies also inhabit areas of the National Park, including Yellow Water.

Landforms
There are six main landforms in Kakadu National Park:
 Savanna woodlands
 Monsoon forests
 Southern hills and ridges
 Stone country of the escarpment
 Coast and tidal flats,
 Floodplain and billabongs
Each landform has its own range of habitats. Kakadu's varied landscapes and the habitats they contain are features that contributed to its listing as a World Heritage Area.

Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea about 140 million years ago, with the escarpment wall formed from sea cliffs and Arnhem Land from a flat plateau above the sea.  Currently the escarpment rises 330 metres above the plateau and stretches 500 kilometres along the East edge of the park and on into Arnhem Land. The escarpment varies from near vertical cliffs in the Jim Jim Falls area to isolated outliers and stepped cliffs in the North.

Chasms and gorges form a network that cut through the rocky platforms on the plateau. The plateau top is a harsh, dry environment where water drains away quickly and top soil is scarce in most areas. Sparse pockets of open forest and woodlands have developed in these areas. However creeks have carved deep gorges in the escarpment in which tall monsoon forests grow. These areas form microclimates for plants and animals and often serve as a refuge during the dry season.  Allosyncarpia ternata, a large shady tree found only in the Kakadu and Arnhem Land, is the main plant species.

The outliers are pieces of the Arnhem Land plateau that have become separated from the plateau by erosion. They were islands in the ancient seas that once covered much of Kakadu. The lowland plains stretch over much of the Top End and they make up nearly 70% of the Park. The soils are shallow and often are above large sheets of laterite (ironstone) and a thick profile of strongly leached rocks.

During the wet season, water carried down from the Arnhem Land plateau often overflows from creeks and rivers onto nearby floodplains. Alluvial soils carried in the floodwaters add nutrients to the floodplains. Nutrient-rich soils along with an abundance of water and sunlight make the floodplains an area of prolific plant and animal life. During the dry season the water drains into rivers, creeks and isolated waterholes or billabongs. Kakadu's wetlands are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) for their outstanding ecological, botanical, zoological and hydrological features.

The southern hills and basins cover a large area in the south of the Park, including the headwaters of the South Alligator River. Rocks here have been exposed from beneath the retreating Arnhem escarpment; they are of volcanic origin and are extremely old (2500 million years). This landform is characterised by rugged strike ridges separated by alluvial flats.

Kakadu's coast and the creeks and river systems under tidal influence (extending about 100 kilometres inland) make up this landform. The shape of the estuaries and tidal flats varies considerably from the dry season to the wet season. During the dry season tidal action deposits silt along the river beds and banks. During the wet season the river beds are eroded by the floodwaters and large quantities of fresh and saline water flow out across the tidal flats, where silt is deposited. Large silt loads are also carried out to sea, some of the silt being deposited as a nutrient rich layer on the sea floor, contributing to the muddy waters that characterise Kakadu's coastline.

The estuaries and tidal flats are home to many plants and animals adapted to living in the oxygen-deficient saline mud. The dominant habitats are mangrove swamps and samphire flats. Where freshwater springs occur along the coasts and river banks, isolated pockets of coastal monsoon rainforests form.

Aboriginal rock art sites

The art sites of Ubirr, Nourlangie Rock and Nanguluwur are world famous as examples of Aboriginal rock art. These sites are found among the rocks that have given shelter to the Aborigines for thousands of years. The painting in these rock shelters were done for different reasons:
 Hunting - animals were often painted to increase their numbers and to make sure of a successful hunt by placing people in touch with the spirit of the animal
 Religious significance - at some sites paintings show parts of particular ceremonies
 Stories and learning - stories about the Dreamtime.
 Sorcery and magic - paintings could be used to change events and influence people's lives; fun-for play and practice.

Ubirr is a group of rock outcrops in the northest of the Park, on the edge of the Nadab floodplain. There are several large rock overhangs that would have provided excellent shelter to Aboriginal people over thousands of years. Because it is close to the East Alligator River and Nadab floodplains, it means that there would have been plenty of food. This is shown in much of the rock art here. Animals shown in the main gallery include barramundi, catfish, mullet, goanna, snake-necked turtle, pig-nosed turtle, Rock-haunting Ringtail Possum, and wallaby and thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger).

There are also images of the Rainbow Serpent said to have created much of the landscape as well as mischievous Mimi spirits and the story of the Namarrgarn Sisters. Many stories connected to Aboriginal rock are highly complex and linked to other stories. Often the true meanings have been lost, but they all have a purpose which is usually to serve as a lesson or a warning to the young or to those passing through the area.

Nourlangie is located  in an outlying formation of the Arnhem Land Escarpment. There are a number of shelters in this large outcrop linked by paths and stairways. The shelters contain several impressive paintings that deal with the Dreamtime. The stories connected to these artworks are known only to certain Aboriginal people and remain secret.

Anbangbang Billabong lies in the shadow of Nourlangie Rock and is home to a wide range of wildlife which would have sustained traditional Aboriginal people well.

Nanguluwur, a small art site near Nourlangie, has several rock art styles. These include hand stencils, dynamic figures in large head-dresses carrying spears and boomerangs, Namandi spirits and mythical figures, including Alkajko, a female spirit with four arms and horns. There is also an interesting example of 'contact art' showing a two-masted sailing ship with anchor chain and a dinghy trailing behind.

Human impacts

Humans have made major changes in the area during the 19th and 20th century. Introduction of water buffalo from Southeast Asia caused damage to the fragile floodplains and wetlands. Since then, buffalo have largely been removed from the area so the land is now recovering. Crocodile hunting which has been banned since 1972 made a huge impact on crocodile numbers. Since they have been protected, the crocodiles have recovered so successfully that some think there are now too many.

Mining has made changes to the landscape, but only one uranium mine (Ranger) remains. Mine operators are have to repair and replant the area when the mine closes. Some small scale logging took place in the early part of the 20th century, but little evidence of this remains. Tourism causes big changes to Kakadu National Park with hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving annually. Roads, tracks, signs, shelter, accommodation, telecommunications and other services must be provided to support this activity.

Fire management
Fire is part of the landscape of Kakadu National Park. The Park has large areas of woodland and grassy plains that are subject to long periods of dry hot weather. The flora of the region has adapted to frequent fires. Fires in northern Australia are less threatening than in southern Australia as many of the trees are largely fire resistant while other plants simply grow back very quickly.

Controlled burning is practiced by the national park in consultation with traditional owners who have used fire as a land management tool for thousands of years. Fire is an important hunting tool for Aboriginal people using it to flush out prey. The other benefit is that once the fire has gone through an area the tender shoots of the fast regenerating grasses attract wallabies into a clearly defined area. Birds of prey such as Whistling Kites also rely on fire to flush out small animals and are usually found in large numbers circling a fire front. Other species such as white-throated grasswrens have declined because of too many fires. Aboriginal people understand that fire is necessary to 'clean up' the landscape and believe that many small fires are preferable to one large fire.

Tourism

Kakadu National Park is a major tourist attraction in Australia's north with more than 200,000 visitors a year. Kakadu's dramatic landscape, Aboriginal cultural significance and diverse and abundant wildlife are what visitors come to see. There are many beautiful waterfalls and gorges within the Park that are popular with visitors such as Maguk, Gunlom, Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls.

Kakadu National Park has some of the best examples of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The sites of Nourlangie and Ubirr are among the most visited locations in the Park. It is possible to view some of Kakadu's diverse wildlife at places like Yellow Water Billabong, Cooinda on board a wildlife cruise or at Mamukala Wetlands or Anbangbang Billabong. The Kakadu region is one of the world's best for bird watching as about 30% of Australia's bird species can be seen here.

Large saltwater crocodiles are also common at Yellow Water and the East Alligator River. The Crocodile Dundee movies were made here. Visitors need to be careful around crocodiles as they have been responsible for a number of fatal attacks. Fishing is a popular activity inside Kakadu National Park. The main species is Barramundi and the most popular locations are Yellow Water, the South Alligator and the East Alligator River. Hunting is not allowed in Kakadu National Park.

There are several places to stay in the Park, mostly found in the town of Jabiru, as well as a range of services to cater to visitor's needs. Visitors can experience Kakadu National Park with a recognised tour operator or they can drive themselves. Many of the Park's sites are can be reached by standard two wheel drive vehicles, but areas like Twin and Jim Jim Falls and Gunlom require four wheel drive vehicles. Visitors can experience Kakadu National Park via the Nature's Way tourism drive which is a loop from Darwin to Jabiru then onto Katherine and back to Darwin covering about 900 km.

Park management
The Park is proclaimed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) and is managed through a joint management arrangement between the Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks. The Director manages Commonwealth national parks through Parks Australia, which is a part of the Department of the Environment and Water Resources. Title to Aboriginal land in the Park is held by Aboriginal land trusts. The land trusts have leased their land to the Director of National Parks for the purpose of a national park for the enjoyment and benefit of all Australians and international visitors. Traditional owners have also expected that having their land managed as a national park would assist them in looking after their land in the face of growing and competing pressures. They saw a national park as establishing a way to manage the land that could protect their interests and be sympathetic to their aspirations. Parks Australia and the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu are committed to the principle of joint management of the Park and arrangements to help this happen are highlighted in Kakadu's Plan of Management.

The EPBC Act provides for boards of management to be established for parks on Aboriginal land. The Kakadu Board of Management, which has an Aboriginal majority (ten out of fifteen members), representing the Aboriginal traditional owners of land in the Park, was established in 1989. The Board determines policy for managing the Park and is responsible, along with the Director, for preparing plans of management for the Park. The Plan of Management is the main policy document for the Park and strives to balance strategic or long-term goals and tactical or day to day goals.
Day to day management of Kakadu is carried out by people employed by Parks Australia, which is a branch of the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Water Resources.  Approximately one-third of the staff in Kakadu are Aboriginal people.

Park use fee
Kakadu National Park brought in an entry fee in April 2010. Money raised will help manage the natural and cultural values of the park environment and improve visitor services.

Like many World Heritage sites around the world, including Yellowstone National Park, Serengeti National Park, Stonehenge, Pompeii and Herculaneum and the Pyramids of Giza - a park use fee will help maintain world-best management practices and facilities for the more than 200,000 visitors who experience Kakadu each year.

The $25 fee will apply to all interstate and international visitors aged 16 years and over. It can be used for 14 days. All Northern Territory residents and children under 16 have free entry.

General facilities
Kakadu National Park is linked to Darwin by the Arnhem Highway and to Pine Creek and Katherine by the Kakadu Highway. Both roads are sealed all weather roads although may be cut off periodically during periods of heavy rain.

The town of Jabiru has several accommodation options, a service station, police, a medical clinic and a shopping centre with a range of outlets. The town was built for the Uranium mine that was established prior to the founding of Kakadu National Park and provides infrastructure for the mine's workforce as well as the national park activities and tourism. Jabiru has a small airport from which scenic flights operate daily. There are no scheduled air services between Jabiru and Darwin however.

Other small tourism centres such as Cooinda and South Alligator provide limited facilities. Cooinda, 50 km south of Jabiru on the Kakadu Highway is the site of Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Yellow Water Cruises and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. Fuel and limited provisions are available at Cooinda and there is also a small airstrip for scenic flights. South Alligator approximately 40 km west of Jabiru on the Arnhem Highway includes a hotel and service station. The Border Store near Ubirr Art Site and Cahills Crossing, 50 km north of Jabiru, is a general store.

Camp sites

There are a wide variety of designated camping sites throughout the Park. Jabiru, Cooinda and South Alligator all have commercial camping areas and are close to most of the important natural attractions in these areas. Some of the Park's campsites charge a nominal fee as these have shower and toilet facilities, others are free, however they have limited or no facilities.  A list of the sites can be obtained from the Kakadu National Park's Glenn Murcutt-designed Bowali Visitor Centre or from their website.

Related pages
 Ranger Uranium Mine
 List of World Heritage Sites in Australia

References

Further reading
 Jones, Rhys, and J. Allen. Archaeological Research in Kakadu National Park. [Canberra, A.C.T]: Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1985.

 Morse, John, John King, and Jennifer Bartlett. Kakadu, Walking to the Future ... Together A Shared Vision for Tourism in Kakadu National Park. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia, 2005.
 Petty, Aaron M, Patricia A Werner, Caroline E R Lehmann, Jan E Riley, Daniel S Banfai, and Louis P Elliott. 2007. "Savanna Responses to Feral Buffalo in Kakadu National Park, Australia". Ecological Monographs. 77, no. 3: 441.

 Woinarski J.C.Z; Milne D.J. & Wanganeen G. 2001. Changes in mammal populations in relatively intact landscape of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Austral Ecology 26: 360-370.

Other websites

 World heritage listing for Kakadu National Park
 Kakadu National Park website
 Kakadu National Park tourism website
 An Easy Adventure travel story by Roderick Eime
 Kakadu or Don't Is Kakadu Losing Its Way?
 Aboriginal Tradition  Local Bininj people interpret 6 different seasons in Kakadu
 Google Map  Map of Kakadu National Park with major camp sites
 Bird Watching Google Map  Map of Kakadu National Park with major bird watching spots
 Kakadu - The Photographs
 Birds of Kakadu - photography
 Kakadu - photos
 Gigapixel Panorama from Ubirr Lookout

Protected areas of the Northern Territory
Ramsar sites
Australian National Heritage List
World Heritage Sites in Australia
National parks in Australia
1979 establishments in Australia

Kakadu National Park


Muhammad (5708 June 632) was an Arab religious and political leader. He is best known for founding the religion of Islam.

Born in Mecca, Hejaz, he was raised by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and later by his uncle Abu Talib.  When he was young, Muhammad accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on trade trips. In 610 AD, at the age of forty, while Muhammad was praying, he reportedly met Gabriel and received the first revelation of the Quran. At first, Muhammad preached these revelations to his close friends and family. He started preaching monotheism publicly where he received opposition from Meccan polytheists. He was eventually forced to leave his hometown of Mecca. After reaching Medina with Abu Bakr, the Medinan Muslims helped Muhammad and made a mosque there.

He is believed to be a descendant of Abraham through Ishmael, and the last of all prophets (the seal of the prophets). He is seen as an example for all Muslims to follow.

Life

Childhood
Muhammad was born about 570 AD in Mecca. His father, whose name was Abdullah, died six months before Muhammad's birth. His mother, Amina, died when he was six years old. So, his grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib, took care of him after the death of Amina but he too died two years later when Muhammad was nine. After his grandfather's death, his uncle Abu Talib took care of him and was a support to him for many years of his adult life.

Beginning of the prophethood
In 610 AD, when Muhammad was forty years old, he went for a walk to the mountain of Hira near Mecca. According to Muslims, the angel Jibrail (Gabriel) spoke with him in a cave on the mountain. The story says that when Muhammad first saw the angel Gabriel, he fainted because Gabriel was so large. This is what Jibrail said to Muhammad:

"Read... in the name of God Who made man from a drop of blood... God is Most Rewarding... He Who taught man to write with pen... and taught man what he knew not."
Muhammad went back home to his wife Khadijah and told her what had happened. New revelations came to him commanding him to preach what was being sent down from God. When Muhammad first started teaching, many of the people of Mecca, who worshipped idols, did not like the things that Muhammad said. But there were also people who listened to his preaching and obeyed his messages. These people were the first of the followers of Islam. Leaders of Mecca punished and tortured the followers of Islam. Some followers of Islam were executed. Muhammad resisted this and continued to teach Islam.

The Hijrah

After Muhammad finished in Mecca, he took his message to Medina, where some people learned about him and his followers. They welcomed him into their city, and Muhammad wanted them to convert to Islam. They agreed, and many of his followers went to Medina. This movement from Mecca to Medina is called the Hijrah. The Hijra was also the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad stayed behind until all of his people left Mecca safely.

As Muhammad stayed in Mecca, his uncle Abu Lahab trained seven men to kill Muhammad in his sleep. According to history, they did not see him leave Mecca. The men went into his house and found his cousin, Ali. Abu Lahab and his horsemen went to the desert to look for him and his friend, Abu Bakr.

His stay in Medina
Muhammad and Abu Bakr arrived in Medina. Some people welcomed Muhammad to their homes. He used his camel to show everyone where he would build his house. The first mosque of Medina, a small place for prayer, was built in the back of this house.

The people in a strong Jewish tribe in Medina disagreed with the teachings and rules set by Muhammad. This tribe told their allies in Mecca to sell all the things and homes that Muslims of Mecca left behind. The Muslims and those from Mecca were advised to fight for their property.  Muhammad told them not to do that.

Muslims were called all over Medina to gather at a mosque that Muhammad prayed in. They were told to fight against the people of Mecca who burned down their homes and stole their property.

The wars
The Quraysh pagans of Mecca heard about this, and they sent a larger army numbering 1000 warriors to fight the Muslims. They met in Badr, but the pagans were defeated and Abu Jahl, one of the pagan leaders, was also killed.

But, the Muslims lost the second battle at Uhud. One year after the fight at Badr, the army of Mecca had outside help. Muslim archers failed to listen to Muhammad's instructions and Khalid ibn al-Walid cleverly took advantage of that. Hamza, Muhammad's last uncle, was killed when a slave from Mecca threw a spear into his chest. Muhammad himself was injured.

Then in 627, Abu Sufyan led the Quraysh and its allies to attack Medina itself. However, they could not pass the trench that the Muslims had dug around Medina. After several weeks, the coalition broke up and went home. The Medinians were considered victors.

The truce with Mecca
After the pagans of Mecca failed to gain control of Medina, the Muslims became stronger. The pagans then decided to sign a truce with the Muslims. This means that they would not fight each other for ten years. The Muslims used this as a chance to talk to other people all over Arabia. In three years, many people changed their religions to Islam.

However, this truce did not last for long. After three years of the truce, a small group of horsemen from Mecca attacked a Muslim camp and killed a few of them. The Muslims in Medina heard of this, and the truce was cancelled. Abu Sufyan, the third leader of Mecca in Muhammad's lifetime, tried to resume the truce, but Muhammad politely refused the offer. Muhammad told his followers to be ready to capture Mecca. After Mecca was captured, they went on to capture the Torkan.

The capture of Mecca

In 630, most people in Arabia had become Muslims, and they became part of Muhammad's large army to capture Mecca. Because of the big size of the army, the people of Mecca were afraid to fight back. Abu Sufyan, who was feeling unhappy over the broken truce, went to Muhammad's camp outside Mecca to ask for forgiveness. Muhammad did not say that he would forgive him, so he returned home. While he was with Muhammad, he changed his religion to Islam by saying the Testimony (ash-Ashaada):
"I testify that there is no other god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

The next day, the Muslim army walked towards Mecca. Everyone ran to their homes and closed all doors and windows. They were afraid that the Muslims were going to kill them, because of the bad things they did to the Muslims many years ago. But, the Muslims went towards the Ka'aba, believed to be built by Abraham and his elder son, Ishmael. Bilal ibn Ribah, a former Ethiopian slave, shouted out loud to the people of Mecca that they were all safe: "All those who lay down arms are safe. All those in the house of Abu Sufyan are safe. All those behind closed doors are safe."

Abu Sufyan heard this in his home. From this, he learns that Muhammad forgave him. At that time, Muhammad and his followers removed and broke all idols from the Kaaba. The idols were statues that were worshiped as gods. Muhammad forgave all citizens of Mecca. In the end, Bilal climbed to the top of the Kaaba and called for prayer. This was Muhammad's victory in spreading Islam all over Arabia. But, because he was old, he would not live for long.

His death

In 632 AD, on June 8, Muhammad became very sick. Before he died, he told his followers about his death. He is buried in the chamber of his wife Aisha in Medina, where the Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) is. In Medina, his friend Abu Bakr went to the Masjid al-Nabawi and shouted to the people:

"If any of you worship Muhammad, you should know that Muhammad is dead. But those of you who worship Allah(SWT) (God), let it be known that Allah(SWT) (God) is alive and cannot die."

Although Muhammad died, Islam soon spread all over the Middle East. Then, centuries later, it continued till it reached Africa, Asia and Europe. Islam has become one of the world's biggest and fastest-growing religions.

Relations
When Muslims say or write the name of Muhammad, they usually follow it with "Peace and Blessings be upon him" (Arabic: sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam). For example, "Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)". In printed matter, a calligraphic symbol is frequently used instead of printing the phrase. Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr succeeded Muhammad. Shias believe that Ali should have succeeded.

Images of Muhammad

Most Muslims do not make or show images of Muhammad. The Qur'an does not state that images of Muhammad must not ever be made, but it does contain passages that forbid the creation of idols. There are also passages against the creation of images of God in the Hadith. Muslims, especially Sunni Muslims, believe there should be no pictures of Muhammad. When people create images of Muhammad, some Muslims may view this as disrespectful, offensive, and emotionally injurious.

In 2005, a Danish newspaper published political cartoons of Muhammad. More than 100 people died during the ensuing demonstrations. Johan Galtung, a Norwegian mathematician and peace activist, tried to help both sides come together and talk about this. According to Galtung, the attacks against Danish institutions ended after the government had invited talks.

On 7 January 2015, the Kouachi brothers, hooded and armed with Kalashnikovs, burst into the editorial meeting of the magazine Charlie Hebdo, shooting at the assembled people. They killed cartoonists Cabu, Charb, Honoré, Tignous and Wolinski, psychoanalyst Elsa Cayat, economist Bernard Maris, proof-reader Mustapha Ourrad, police officer Frank Brinsolaro who was protecting Charb, Michel Renaud, founder of the Rendez-vous du Carnet de voyage festival invited to the meeting, and caretaker Frédéric Boisseau. They also seriously wounded cartoonist Riss, journalists Philippe Lançon and Fabrice Nicolino, and webmaster Simon Fieschi.

As they left the building, just before killing policeman Ahmed Merabet who was lying on the pavement wounded and begging for mercy, the terrorists shouted: "We've avenged the prophet, Muhammad".

In addition, the following murders have been officially linked to the Charlie Hebdo massacre: Clarissa Jean-Philippe, 27, a policewoman was killed in the suburb of Montrouge. Four people were taken hostage at a supermarket in the east of Paris. These were Yohan Cohen, 20, who worked at the supermarket, Philippe Braham, 45, a business manager for an IT firm, Yoav Hattab, 21, a student and the youngest supermarket victim, Francois-Michel Saada, 64, was a former pension fund manager.

Amedy Coulibaly, 32, the hostage-taker in the supermarket, has also been linked by Paris prosecutors to the shooting and wounding of a 32-year-old jogger in a park in south-west Paris, on the day of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Much of knowledge about the Life of Muhammad is based on narrations. Lawrence Conrad examines the biography books written after the 100-150-year oral period, and sees an 85-year time interval related to the date of birth of Muhammad that in these works. Conrad describes it as "the fluidity (evolutionary process) in the story".

Wives
A list of his wives' names in chronological order

 Khadijah bint Khuwaylid - Abdullah ibn Jafar reported that he heard Sayyiduna Ali saying in Kufa that Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "The best of the women of her time was Maryam, daughter of Imran, and the best of women of her time was Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid." She was 40 years old when they got married.
 Sawda bint Zamʿa - Sawda bint Zam'a was the first woman to immigrate to Abyssinia in the way of Allah.
 Aisha was a young girl. She is described  as very intelligent with a very good memory. Aisha spent the next nine years of her life with Muhammad, she remembered all that she saw and heard with great clarity, and reported a lot of Muhammad's narrations. She married Muhammad when she was nine years old.
 Hafsa bint Umar - By marrying Hafsa, Muhammad strengthened the ties between two of his closest Companions, the two who would become the first two rightly guided khalifs after his death. He was now married to the daughter of Abu Bakr, A'isha, and to the daughter of Umar, Hafsa.
 Zaynab bint Khuzayma - She offered herself in marriage to Muhammad who accepted her proposal and married her. Zaynab bint Khuzayma was seen by the community as very generous to orphans and the poor, later becoming known as the 'Mother of the Poor'. She died only eight months after.
 Umm Salama -  She was not the only wife to have been widowed as a result of the battle of Uhud, and because of this marriage, many of the Companions followed Muhammad's example, marrying widows and bringing them and their children into the circle of their families, instead of leaving them to struggle on their own.
 Zaynab bint Jahsh - As with all the marriages of Muhammad, there was much for all the Muslims to learn from it. This one was to show that Zayed ibn Haretha was not Muhammad's son and to demonstrate that the social level matters when it comes to marriage. She bragged about the fact that her marriage had been arranged by Allah. It was at this point that Muhammad changed her name from Barra to Zaynab.
 Juwayriyya bint al-Harith - Muhammad was thinking of how to save her and all her tribe from danger. By marrying Juwayriyya, the Banu Mustaliq would be able to enter Islam with honor, and with the humiliation of their recent defeat removed, so that it would no longer be felt necessary by them to embark on a war of vengeance that would have continued until one of the two parties had been annihilated.
 Ramla bint Abi Sufyan - She said that once Muhammad said to her, "A house will be built in Heaven for anyone who, in the space of a day and a night, prays twelve voluntary prayers;" and she added, "I have never stopped doing this since"
 Safiyya bint Huyayy - The only person who could save her from becoming a slave after having enjoyed such a high position was Muhammad. Although her father had planned to assassinate Muhammad after the battle of Uhud and had conspired with the Banu Qurayza to exterminate all the Muslims during the battle of al-Khandaq. Muslims believe that this was characteristic of Muhammad, as he is believed to not have any grudges.
 Maymunah bint al-Harith - Muhammad gave her the name, Maymuna, meaning "blessed", and Maymuna lived with Muhammad for just over three years, until his death. She was said to be very good-natured and is said to have got on well with everyone and no quarrel or disagreement with any of Muhammad's other wives has been related to her. Aisha said, "Among us, she had the most fear of Allah and did the most to maintain ties of kinship."
 Maria al-Qibtiyya - Maria is said to have been honored and respected by Muhammad and his family and Companions. She spent three years of her life with Muhammad, until his death, and died five years later. For the last five years of her life, she remained a recluse and almost never went out except to visit the grave of Muhammad or her son's grave. After her death, Umar ibn al Khattab led the prayer over her and she was buried in al Baqi.

References

More reading

Other websites

 Muhammad, article on Enyclopaedia Britannica Online
 Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet - PBS Site
 Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet - UPF (Producer's Site)

570 births
632 deaths
Islamic religious leaders

Former good articles
People from Mecca

Muhammad


Hercules and the Lost Kingdom is a 1994 television movie starring Kevin Sorbo and Renee O'Connor. Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually, Hercules leads her to a camp of refugees from the city, which has been taken over by Hera's Blue Monks. Hercules helps the refugees take back the city.

Plot synopsis

Three men are running along a riverside. One of them stops to take a drink from the river. As he stoops down to quench his thirst a female figure made of water rises out of the river and pulls him under, drowning him. The other two men run on. While running, one man is hit by a boulder and killed. The remaining man escapes. Elsewhere a young woman is collecting water, when the ground begins to shake. She flees back to her village to warn them that a giant is coming. The giant follows the woman to the village and rips the roof of the tavern. Hercules presents himself to the giant. The giant challenges Hercules to a fight. Hercules goes outside and beats the giant. As the village celebrates the defeat the man from earlier arrives in the village. He asks for Hercules' help. He explains to Hercules that his people have been driven from their city, the lost city of Troy.

Zeus appears and Hercules asks him if he will help him. He asks his father how to find Troy and he says that Hera made it vanish. To find it, Hercules must find the one true compass which will point the way to Troy. Hercules heads off to find the compass. He finds a tribe of men preparing to sacrifice a young virgin to their water god. Hercules saves her from being sacrificed, while unknowingly being watched by a mysterious robed figure. The woman tells Hercules that her name is Deianeira. Later in the evening as they camp for the night, Deianeira tells her a story that she is the daughter of a king. She sees the dark figure and asks who he is and why she is being followed, but the figure does not answer. Later Hercules and Deianeira arrive at the slave market looking for Queen Omphale, the last person to have possessed the compass. In order to get to see the queen, Hercules sells himself as a slave, and the queen buys him. After spending the night with the queen, Hercules gets the compass and he and Deianeira continue searching for Troy. Deianeira gets attacked by some men but the figure in the dark robe saves her and tells her to follow her destiny.

Hercules and Deianeira go to Troy. They arrive at the ocean and the figure standing on the cliffs summons a sea serpent to do Hera's bidding. It swallows Hercules and Deianeira. Hercules kills the monster from inside and they are washed up on the shore. Deianeira sees Troy in the distance and tells Hercules that she now remembers and this is where she is from. Deianeira and Hercules get caught in a trap and taken to the king. The king is ill. He and his daughter are reunited. He tells her that the Cult of the Blue Priests have taken over the city and the people have taken refuge in the woods. He tells Deianeira to rule them well, and then dies.

Hercules tutors the people of Troy and prepares them to battle to take back Troy. Deianeira realises that the people can not beat the Cult of the Blue Priests and goes looking for the Blue Priest. The people notice that Deianeira is missing and Hercules and the people use an underground tunnel to get into the city. As the people fight the cult members Hercules goes looking for Deianeira. He finds her about to be sacrificed to Hera and saves her. The Blue Priest and Hercules fight and Hercules cuts off the priest's head. A huge storm approaches, and Zeus tells Hercules that Hera is coming for Deianeira. Hercules saves her and Hera takes Hercules instead. As Deianeira is crowned Queen of Troy we see Hercules thrown down from out of the sky. A man approaches him asking him for help. Hercules agrees and the two men walk off to the next adventure.

Series continuity and notes

Waylin (Robert Trebor) was originally intended to become a recurring character in the television series, but the producers felt that the character runs its course in the movie and had limited potential after, so the character of money-making Salmoneus was created for Trebor instead.
This is Renee O'Connor's first appearance in the shared Hercules-Xena universe.
Elizabeth Hawthorne, who played Queen Omphale, went on to play Hercules' mother in the TV series.
Nathaniel Lees went on to have numerous different roles in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Young Hercules.

Main cast
Kevin Sorbo as Hercules
Renee O'Connor as Deianeira
Anthony Quinn as Zeus

Other websites
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom at Whoosh.org

1994 movies
1994 adventure movies
Television movies
Xenaverse
Hercules movies
Movies about cults
Movies about human sacrifice

Hercules and the Lost Kingdom


Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.

Biography

Early life
Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton Semlinski, emigrated from Žilina, Hungary (now in Slovakia) to Austria and married an Austrian woman. Both were from staunchly Roman Catholic families, and Alexander's father, Adolf, was raised as a Catholic. Alexander's mother was born in Sarajevo to a Sephardic Jewish father and a Bosniak mother. Alexander's entire family converted to the religion of his maternal grandfather, Judaism, and Zemlinsky was born and raised Jewish. His father added an aristocratic "von" to his name, though neither he nor his forebears were ennobled. He also began spelling his surname "Zemlinszky". He was also a freemason.

Alexander studied the piano from a young age. He played the organ in his synagogue on holidays, and was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory in 1884. He studied piano with Anton Door, winning the school's piano prize in 1890. He continued his studies until 1892, studying theory with Robert Fuchs and composition with Johann Nepomuk Fuchs and Anton Bruckner. At this time he began writing music.

In Johannes Brahms, Zemlinsky had a valuable supporter. In July 1892, on the invitation of Zemlinsky's teacher Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, Brahms attended a performance of the first movement of Zemlinsky's Symphony in D minor at the Conservatoire. In March 1896, Brahms attended a performance of Zemlinsky's String Quintet in D minor by the Hellmesberger Quartet. Impressed with Zemlinsky's music, Brahms recommended the younger composer's Clarinet Trio (1896) to the N. Simrock company for publication.

Zemlinsky also met Arnold Schoenberg when the latter joined the amateur orchestra Polyhymnia as a cellist; Zemlinsky had founded this group in 1895. The two became close friends and later mutual admirers and brothers-in-law when Schoenberg married Zemlinsky's sister, Mathilde. Zemlinsky gave Schoenberg lessons in counterpoint, thus becoming the only formal music teacher Schoenberg would have.

In 1897, Zemlinsky composed his Symphony No. 2 (chronologically the third he had written, and sometimes numbered as such) for submission to the Beethoven Prize, a competition inaugurated and sponsored by Brahms. Zemlinsky won joint first prize, sharing the honours with Robert Gound. His reputation as a composer was further helped when Gustav Mahler conducted the premiere of his opera Es war einmal (Once Upon a Time) at the Hofoper in 1900. In 1899 Zemlinsky secured the post of Kapellmeister at Vienna's Carltheater.

In 1899, Zemlinsky converted to Protestantism. He alluded to the Christian cross and to Jesus in the text of Turmwächterlied, and included verses from Psalms in several of his compositions.

Middle years
In 1900, Zemlinsky met and fell in love with Alma Schindler, one of his composition students. She reciprocated his feelings initially; however, Alma felt a great deal of pressure from close friends and family to end the relationship. They were primarily concerned with Zemlinsky's lack of an international reputation and by an unappealing physical appearance. She broke off the relationship with Zemlinsky and subsequently married composer Gustav Mahler in 1902. Zemlinsky married Ida Guttmann in 1907, but the marriage was an unhappy one. Following Ida's death in 1929, Zemlinsky married Luise Sachsel in 1930, a woman twenty-nine years his junior, and to whom he had given singing lessons since 1914. This was a much happier relationship, lasting until Zemlinsky's death.

Last years

In 1906 Zemlinsky was appointed first Kapellmeister of the new Vienna Volksoper, from 1907/1908 at the Hofoper in Vienna. From 1911 to 1927, he was conductor at Deutsches Landestheater in Prague, premiering Schoenberg's Erwartung in 1924. Zemlinsky then moved to Berlin, where he taught and worked under Otto Klemperer as a conductor at the Kroll Opera.

Nazi era
With the rise of the Nazi Party, he fled to Vienna in 1933, where he held no official post, instead concentrating on composing and making the occasional appearance as guest conductor. In 1938, the Zemlinsky couple managed to escape via Prague to New York. Their property was confiscated to pay for the  "Reich Flight Tax" imposed on Jews. Their collection, which included "a work by Schiele, various engravings, carpets" was, according to the German Lost Art Foundation, "released and presumably exported to the USA."

Although fellow émigré Schoenberg was celebrated and feted in the Los Angeles of the 1930s and 40s – teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California and gaining a new generation of acolytes – Zemlinsky was neglected and virtually unknown in his adopted country. He fell ill, suffering a series of strokes, and ceased composing. Zemlinsky died in Larchmont, New York, of pneumonia in 1942.

Compositions

Zemlinsky's best-known work is the Lyric Symphony (1923), a seven-movement piece for soprano, baritone and orchestra, set to poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore (in German translation), which Zemlinsky compared in a letter to his publisher to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The work in turn influenced Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, which quotes from it and is dedicated to Zemlinsky.
Other orchestral works include the large-scale orchestral fantasy, Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid), based on the tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. It premiered in 1905 at the same concert as Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande. Zemlinsky withdrew the work, which was thought lost until two separated portions of the score were found to belong together in the 1980s. It was performed again in 1984 in Vienna and has become one of Zemlinsky's most frequently performed works. A three-movement Sinfonietta written in 1934, admired by Schoenberg and Berg, is written in a style comparable to contemporary works by Paul Hindemith and Kurt Weill.

Among his other works are eight operas, including Eine florentinische Tragödie (1915–16) and the semi-autobiographical Der Zwerg (The Dwarf, 1919–21), both based on works by Oscar Wilde; chamber music, including four string quartets; and the ballet Der Triumph der Zeit (1901). He also composed three psalm settings for chorus and orchestra and numerous song cycles, both with piano and with orchestra, of which the Sechs Gesänge, Op. 13, to texts by Maurice Maeterlinck is the best-known.

While the influence of Brahms is evoked in Zemlinsky's early works (prompting encouragement from Brahms himself), an original voice is present from the first works on, handling dissonances in a much freer manner than Brahms. Later works adopt the kind of extended harmonies that Wagner had introduced and also reflect the influence of Mahler. In contrast to his friend Schoenberg, he never wrote atonal music, and never used the twelve-tone technique. However, some of his late works such as the Symphonische Gesänge, Sinfonietta and the third and fourth string quartets move away from post-Romanticism towards a leaner, harder-edged idiom that incorporates elements of Neue Sachlichkeit, Neoclassicism, and even jazz.

As a conductor, Zemlinsky was admired by, among others, Kurt Weill and Stravinsky, not only for his notable interpretations of Mozart, but also for his advocacy of Mahler, Schoenberg and much other contemporary music. As a teacher, his pupils included Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Hans Krása and Karl Weigl.

See also
 List of compositions by Alexander von Zemlinsky

References
Notes

Sources

Clayton, Alfred (1992), "Zemlinsky, Alexander (von)" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)

Hoffman, Stanley M. (1993), Extended Tonality and Voice Leading in "Twelve Songs," Op. 27 by Alexander Zemlinsky, doctoral dissertation, Brandeis University. UMI Dissertation Services order number 9317084.

Wilker, Ulrich (2013), "Das Schönste ist scheußlich". Alexander Zemlinskys Operneinakter 'Der Zwerg'''. (= Schriften des Wissenschaftszentrums Arnold Schönberg, Bd. 9). Wien/Köln/Weimar: Böhlau.
Zemlinsky, Alexander (von) (1995), Briefwechsel mit Arnold Schönberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg und Franz Schreker, hrsg. von Horst Weber (= Briefwechsel der Wiener Schule, Bd. 1). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt,  This volume includes letters by Schoenberg and Zemlinsky concerning their work on Die Seejungfrau and Pelleas and Melisande''.

External links

 Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation
 The OREL Foundation: Alexander Zemlinsky's biography and links to bibliography, discography and media.
 Alexander Zemlinsky String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 Sound-bites and short biography

1871 births
1942 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century male musicians
19th-century musicians
20th-century Austrian composers
20th-century Austrian male musicians
20th-century classical composers
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian opera composers
Austrian male classical composers
Austrian people of Bosniak descent
Austrian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Jewish descent
Hungarian people of Slovak descent
Austrian Christians
Austrian Freemasons
Austrian Jews
Jewish classical composers
Male opera composers
People from Leopoldstadt
Pupils of Franz Krenn
Pupils of Robert Fuchs
Pupils of Johann Nepomuk Fuchs
Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state)

Alexander von Zemlinsky


A flying disc is a round object with a flat shape and a thick rim. The rim helps with gripping and throwing the disc, and it also prevents it from flipping over while in the air. To throw the disc, the goal is to make it spin while it's in flight.

There is another type of flying object called a flying ring, which is sold under the brand name Aerobie. Although they have different designs, both flying discs and flying rings rely on air resistance to fly.

Flying discs are used in two popular sports, Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf. The Frisbee brand of flying disc is not commonly used in official competitions for these sports. In fact, the team sport of Ultimate Frisbee is officially known as "Ultimate." However, the term "Frisbee" is still widely used to refer to any flying disc, just like "Kleenex" was once used to mean "facial tissue."

The Aerobie

The Aerobie Superdisk is an alternative design of flying disc that, although somewhat differently shaped, still has very similar properties to the conventional disc. It has less air resistance. Because there is less resistance to motion, the Aerobie discs can fly farther than the conventional disc. The Aerobie flying ring has minimal drag and holds the world record for the longest flight by a human-thrown projectile. However, due to the lack of a rim, the Aerobie is less suited to angled, curved flights and air-bouncing.

Spin of the disc
The spin of the disc helps to keep the disc stable in flight and prevent unplanned tilting. This is because a large angular momentum stabilises the disc in the same way that it keeps a gyroscope steady, with the angular force forcing the mass of the disc away from the centre of mass, perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Any unequal force acting on a particular area of the disc is quickly redirected to be equal over the circumference of the disc.
As the disc spins faster, it becomes more stable due to the rapidity of the equalisation of forces.

Mass of the disc
The force required to accelerate the disc is directly proportional to the mass of the disc. This decreases the acceleration of the disc, assuming that the force of projection is constant. Therefore, discs come in a variety of weights, although those used for Ultimate are mainly 175 g in mass, heavier than the majority of discs and considerably heavier than an aerobie.

Flying discs (including Frisbees) can be thrown in many ways. All involve spinning the disc to give it gyroscopic stability, and accelerating its mass to a certain velocity. Without spin, a disc will wobble and fall; without velocity, the disc will not go anywhere. Using these two guidelines, any number of throws are possible. Most discs are designed to create lift when thrown with the flat side up.

Techniques

Right-side up
Right-side up throws are all similar in that they react the same way to the tilt of the disc when it is released. A disc thrown right-side up will accelerate in the direction of the low end of the disc. A disc tilted leading-edge up will lose speed at the end of the throw and make a gentle landing; if tilted sideways (known in aeronautics terms as roll), it can curve around objects.

There is a language for describing throws that curve. Both descriptions are relative to the direction the person is facing and intends to throw. This axis is marked in red in the picture.

 Inside-out (i-o) throws (green paths) occur when the thrower releases the disc in such a way that it initially comes towards the throwing axis (inside-). However, the disc is tilted with the side closest to the body highest, which causes the disc to curve away from the thrower (-out).
 Outside-in (o-i) throws (blue paths, sometimes also called a bender) follow the opposite path. The thrower releases the disc moving away from the throwing axis (outside-), but with the side of the disc closest to the body lowest. This tilt causes the disc to bend back towards the thrower (-in).

Backhand
This is probably the most commonly learned throw, and also one of the most powerful.
 Grip: Fingers are curled under the disc's rim, and the thumb is placed on top of the disc to hold it in place. The index finger may either be on the edge of the disc (to help aim), or four fingers may be tucked underneath the rim (to aid power).

 Throw: The thrower draws the throwing arm across the body to build velocity for the disc. During this movement, the arm straightens out. As the arm becomes straight, the wrist is flicked, to impart spin.

Variations

 The High Release: Used to get around an object (or a person), the High Release is thrown above the thrower's shoulder, and relies more heavily on the flick of the wrist to impart power.

 The Air Bounce: This throw is released at a downward angle, but with a high angle of attack. This throw will move toward the ground at first before downwash causes it to rise, giving the visual effect of the disc "bouncing" in the air. This is done by pressing down with the thumb, which lowers the trailing edge at the instant of release.

 The Beach Backhand: Rather than reaching and throwing the disc across the body, the arm is curled and the disc is cocked next to the hip on the same side of the body as the throwing arm. The disc is released by extending the arm straight ahead and snapping the wrist. The term "beach backhand" is considered pejorative, as this release technique is uniformly inferior to a standard backhand.

Forehand
This throw is also known as the flick, two-finger, or the side-arm. Focused in the wrist, this throw takes little time to execute. Along with the backhand, it is one of the two most common throws used in Ultimate.

 Grip: The middle finger is extended and laid along the rim of the disc. The index finger is placed against the middle finger for power, or pressed on the bottom of the disc pointing towards the center for stability. The thumb is pressed against the top of the disc. The wrist is cocked back, and the arm is extended out from the body.

 Throw: A snap of the wrist imparts spin as the disc releases off the middle finger, as well as some forward velocity. Extension of the lower arm provides additional power, as does shoulder and upper body rotation.

Variations
The forehand is a versatile throw, and can be adapted to many different situations.

 Different wrist or arm angles on release can allow for inside-out or outside-in curves.

 Most upside-down throws (see below) use the forehand grip and use the same wrist snap and release, and are therefore variants of the forehand in some sense.

 The High Release: Used to get around an object (or a person), the High Release is thrown above the thrower's shoulder, and is powered by the flick of the wrist as well as the rising action of the arm on release.

Push Pass

The Push Pass: A relatively little-used throw, it is thrown with a grip similar to a backhand (index finger on the outer rim of the disc, thumb on top, other fingers curled underneath) but is released on the forehand side from a forehand stance. A pronating wrist snap similar to a forehand release pushes the disc forward, while spin is imparted "backwards" by rolling the disc off the index finger. A final flick of the index finger finishes the release. It is difficult to impart as much spin to the push pass as one can typically impart to a forehand or backhand, resulting in a less stable throw. It is useful in Ultimate for very short throws released to the forehand side.

Thumber forehand
The thumber forehand is also known as a The Beach Thumber, Peach, or in the sport of guts, simply as a thumber. Its primary advantage is that it can be thrown quite hard and with a great amount of spin, and is relatively easy to learn. It is often seen used in a game of Guts due to its power and velocity. It is unpopular in Ultimate due to several disadvantages when compared to the standard forehand. It is relatively difficult to impart different curves or release angles to, it is harder to release extended away from the thrower's body, and it makes for slow grip transitions to a backhand or hammer.

 Grip: The thumber derives its name from the grip: it is thrown on the forehand side with the thumb under the rim and the rest of the hand against the outside of the disc. The arm should also be tucked against the side, and the elbow bent. The disc is kept parallel to the ground and the wrist is cocked back.

 Throw: To release, the wrist is snapped forward. Spin is imparted off the flat part of the thumb; power can be gained by rotating the arm at the shoulder or the body at the hips. A flat release is critical to a successful thumber forehand.

Overhand
The Overhand (also known as Hungarian, flamingo, dragonwing, windmill, waffle, discus, wrist-hook, chicken wing, or biscuit) is rarely used among ultimate players, because the alternative, the traditional forehand, allows greater sideways arm extension, useful in moving the disc around defenders. The Overhand is most useful when the disc is caught above the head and must be thrown quickly without changing grips, such as during a Greatest attempt.

 Grip: The fingers of the hand are spread out over the top, with the thumb under the disc and perpendicular to the rim. For greater control, extend the index finger along the rim, as in the control grip for the forehand.

 Throw: The arm is held horizontal and behind the thrower, then quickly brought forward, and the wrist is snapped laterally as the disc is released. Typically, release occurs at or above shoulder height, although it is possible to release at waist height or lower. The whole body and arm can be allowed to rotate, and the forearm must move very quickly to impart enough momentum to send the disc a significant distance. For maximum power, the entire body rotates, as in the ancient discus throw seen in track and field events; for a right-hander, the torso starts leaning right, and ends leaning left. Wrist snap is especially important, as the throw has no stability without a strong spin.

Duck
The Duck (also known as a bear claw, a duder, or a useless) is thrown with a similar grip to the Overhand, except it is the backward version of it. While the Overhand is thrown with counter-clockwise spin (for right-handers), the duck is thrown with clockwise spin. It is usually thrown with the arm out to the side or above the head. It is called the duck due to the shape of the gripping hand during the throw, as if making a duck shadow puppet. This throw is used in attempts at The Greatest (jumping out of bounds and throwing the Frisbee back in to play while in the air).

Upside-down
A disc thrown upside-down has a very different flight path than one thrown right-side up. The lift force does not enforce stable flight as it does on a right-side up disc, resulting in a more of a parabolic arc in flight. As with a right-side up throw, however, the flight path of the disc will curve toward the lower edge. This banking effect is most pronounced when the disc is at a 45 degree angle, and less pronounced when it is near-vertical, or near-horizontal.

Gyroscopic precession causes the disc to rotate toward horizontal through its flight path. Unlike a right-side up throw, however, an upside-down disc will not precess toward a stable flat state, and will in stead oscillate past horizontal and begin to bank in the opposite direction. This shuttlecock-like effect is known as "helixing", and is generally avoided due to the difficulty in controlling a helixing flight path. For this reason, an upside down throw is typically released with either clockwise rotation and the left edge up, or counterclockwise rotation and the right edge up. The longer the disc is expected to remain in the air, the closer to vertical it must be at release to avoid the helixing effect.

Hammer
The Hammer is gripped just like a normal forehand throw, and is generally a mid-range, high and arching throw.

 Grip: Identical to the forehand.

 Throw: From an open stance, the throwing arm is swung over the head in a similar motion to an overhand throw or volleyball spike. The disc is released using a wrist snap identical to that of a forehand. The angle of the disc on release can be anywhere between vertical and nearly upside-down, depending on the flight path desired.

A hammer, when thrown by a right-handed thrower, will arc up and to the left as it moves away from the thrower, and will bank towards the right in flight. The banking effect will be more pronounced if the disc is thrown higher and spends more flight time near a 45 degree angle.

Scoober
Another upside-down variant of the forehand, the scoober (also known as the "Spoon pass" or Hiawatha) is similar to a hammer, but released away from the body from a backhand stance, instead of over the head from a forehand stance. The scoober travels in a path similar to the hammer, although the initial release is typically more flat than a hammer release. Although it is more difficult to impart power to a scoober than a hammer, a scoober can be an effective short-range (10 to 20 yards/meters) throw and is used in Ultimate for breaking the mark and to throw over defenders in a zone defense.

 Grip: Identical to a forehand or hammer.
 Throw: The thrower steps towards the backhand side, holding the disc upside down and bringing the throwing arm across the body. Leading with the elbow, the throwing arm is swung forward, and the disc is flicked off the middle finger (as in a forehand), releasing the disc upside down.

Thumber
The Thumber (not to be confused with the thumber forehand) is a throw that is rarely used in competitive play, compared to the Hammer or standard forehand. It has a flight path that is the mirror-image of the Hammer (arcing high and to the right for a right-handed thrower). It can be useful when the disc needs to drop quickly and fly with an opposite curve to a Hammer in order to avoid defenders.

 Grip: The thumber derives its name from the grip: the disc is held with the thumb tightly against the rim and the rest of the hand against the outside of the disc. The wrist is cocked back in a similar fashion to a forehand.

 Throw: Cock the arm backwards, then bring it forward in a similar motion to a baseball pitch. The disc is released by a forward wrist snap.

Table of basic disc throws

This table represents the fundamental disc throws with classic technique in the foreword form, in fact exist many variations of throws and grips that make the number of pitches quite infinite.

The natural path is the trajectory the disc takes without pre-release tilt.

The hyzer path is the trajectory the disc takes when the outside edge of the disc is tilted downward.

The anhyzer path is the trajectory the disc takes when the outside edge of the disc is tilted upward.

The spin is the rotation of the disc.

Every throw can be done with the right hand or the left hand and this is shown in the hand column.

RH=right hand, LH=left hand, R=the path tends to the right of the thrower, L=the path tends to the left of the thrower, 0 means that the path is quite linear.

So R with RH and L with LH are outside-in (OI) paths; R with LH and L with RH are inside-out (IO) paths.

In spin column numbers represent the sign of the angular momentum relative to the upside of the disc (+1=positive (counter-clockwise rotation), -1=negative (clockwise rotation)).

Throws may be signed as follows: hand acronym+throw acronym+tilt acronym. For example LHBHIO is an inside out backhand throw pitched with the left hand; RHFH0 is a linear forehand throw pitched with the right hand. To have linear paths the disc must be released with a light opposite tilt than his natural path.

References

Other websites
 Ultimate Players Association, whose goal is to increase participation in the sport of Ultimate at all levels, and teaches
 Freestyle Players Association Tips and videos for learning "Freestyle" which combines creative, artistic and athletic moves with flying discs.
 skills and strategy  that is important for Ultimate.
 Dave's Tips  Good Technique and grip site for Frisbee golf.
 Disc Nation Beginner Information  Great Beginner Tips and Techniques.
 Frisbee Golf Basket PDGA Approved Frisbee Golf Basket In USA

Toys
Sports equipment

Flying disc


Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English from the border of those two countries, were "Border Reivers".  These people first began to occupy Ireland in large numbers with the Plantation of Ulster, ordered by James I of England on land taken from the Irish nobility, mostly in the Province of Ulster. The term "Ulster-Scots" refers to both these colonists of the 17th century and, less commonly, to the Gallowglass who began to arrive from what is now northwest Scotland centuries earlier.

Ulster-Scots were largely descended from colonists from Galloway, Ayrshire, and the Scottish Borders Country, although some descend from people further north in the Scottish Lowlands and the Highlands. Ulster-Scots emigrated in significant numbers to the United States and all corners of the British Empire — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa — and to a lesser extent to Argentina and Chile in South America.

Scotch-Irish is a traditional term for Ulster Scots who later emigrated to what is now the United States;  "Scots-Irish" is a more recent form of the American term, the term has usually been Scotch-Irish in America, as evident in Merriam-Webster dictionaries, where the term Scotch-Irish is recorded from 1744, while Scots-Irish is not recorded until 1972.  and is not to be confused with Irish-Scots, i.e., recent Irish immigrants to Scotland.

References

Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom

Ulster Scots people


The provinces an territories o Canadae combine tae mak up the warld's seicont-lairgest kintra bi aurie. Thare are ten provinces an three territories. The major difference atween a Canadian province an a territory is that provinces are jurisdictions that receive thair pouer an authority directly frae the Constitution Act, 1867, whareas territories derive thair mandates an pouers frae the federal govrenment. In modren Canadian constitutional theory, the provinces are considered tae be co-sovereign diveesions, an each province haes its awn "Croun" representit bi the lieutenant-govrenor, whareas the territories are no sovereign, but simply pairts o the federal realm, an hae a commissioner.

The ten provinces are Alberta, Breetish Columbie, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland an Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, an Saskatchewan. The three territories are Northwast Territories, Nunavut, an Yukon.

Location o provinces an territories

Subdiveesions o Canadae

Canadae 1
Provinces, Canadae

Provinces an territories o Canadae


Behavioral economics is a smaller part of economics that combines what we know about psychology with what we know about economics. Normally, economics does not consider the way humans actually think, but instead, simplifies decision-making to make economic models easier to understand. However, this is not a complete picture of how the world, and economics, really works.  Normally, economists assume people are rational, meaning they make good decisions at the right times using all information. In real life, people do not do this. They are subject to problems with self-control, problems with time, and make different choices depending on how decisions are presented to them. Behavioral economists look at the world given problems and limitations that result when real humans are faced with decisions.

History
The study of behavioral economics really began to develop in the middle and towards the end of the 20th century. Psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman wrote a paper called "Prospect Theory," which was about how the way choices are presented to somebody is just as important as the choices themselves when an individual is making a decision. Later, Hersh Shefrin and Richard Thaler created a savings model which explains how people do not figure out how much to save and spend to stay at a constant level. People would rather spend more now, because humans prefer gratification in the near future. By 1994, Harvard University hired a professor to teach behavioral economics as its own subject. Now, behavioral economics helps explain many complex things that people do. There are many applications of the research, such as how to make public policy more effective or marketing and advertising applications. Also, there are other areas of study branching off from behavioral economics, like behavioral finance, which deals with how people make investments.

Topics
Behavioral economics can explain many different kinds of human actions. Some of the topics within the field are:

Loss aversion/Prospect Theory: People are made more upset by losses than they are made happy by gains of the same amount. This is important for how people think about taking risks. Related is the disposition effect, which is closely related to behavioral finance. The disposition effect is the tendency for investors to hold onto losing stocks too long, and sell winning ones too soon. This concept relates to loss aversion, since the investors are putting off making their losses a reality.  Also related is the behavioral economic concept of "status quo bias." This explains that, against what economics would expect, people seem to like their current state more than any other state they see as different.

Mental Accounting:  People have separate mental accounts when it comes to spending and saving.  Each mental account has a different degree of willingness to spend connected to it, and people assign activities to mental accounts.

Anchoring/ Status Quo Bias: When given an option automatically, people tend to want to stay with that choice, whether or not that choice is what should be best for them.

Unbounded Selfishness: People are mostly driven by self-interest, and will act in a way which produces the best outcome for themselves.

Unbounded Willpower: Individuals lack self-control. Even when they know what is in their best interest, they tend to act otherwise. People are also somewhat aware of their limited willpower.

Applications
Now that behavioral economics is growing in popularity, and more social scientists are researching the topic, ways to apply ideas are becoming more common. If framing a choice a certain way will "nudge," or push, someone to make a better decision, those who are in charge of creating options can use this to produce a better outcome. These outcomes can range from increasing physical activity to decreasing obesity and changing eating habits, to lessening energy use or to reshaping government policies. In the future, the hope is that through small changes, the public will receive large-scale benefits. In Denmark, the Danish government is employing the concept of anchoring to increase the number of drivers who are organ donors. In the United States, the White House has hired Cass Sunstein, a behavioral economist, to help guide policymakers. Richard Thaler also works in the US Cabinet on the new Behavioral Insight Team.  The U.S., as well as Britain, has considered the idea of default options helping increase retirement savings.

Problems
One of the biggest arguments economists have against behavioral economics is that much of its research comes from small-scale research data, instead of real world sources. In addition, a lot of behavioral economic researchers use college students in their studies. College students have less experience than normal individuals. Since this population is a poor representation of an average person, data might show different results than it should.

Some psychologists argue that while behavioral economics is a step in the right direction in explaining why people act they way that they do, it is still far behind in research. They feel that it just changed traditional neoclassical economic theory, when they need to look deeper as to what is actually going on a more psychological and intellectual level.

References

Socioeconomics
Economic theories

Behavioral economics