China is the world's leader in electricity production from renewable energy sources, with over triple the generation of the second-ranking country, the United States. China's renewable energy sector is growing faster than its fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity, and is expected to contribute 43 per cent of global renewable capacity growth. China's total renewable energy capacity exceeded 1,000 GW in 2021, accounting for 43.5 per cent of the country's total power generation capacity, 10.2 percentage points higher than in 2015. The country aims to have 80 per cent of its total energy mix come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060, and achieve a combined 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. In 2023, it was reported that China was on track to reach 1,371 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2025, five years ahead of target due to new renewables installations breaking records.

Although China currently has the world's largest installed capacity of hydro, solar and wind power, its energy needs are so large that in 2019, renewable sources provided 26% of its electricity generation—compared to 17% in the U.S.—with most of the remainder provided by coal power plants.
In early 2020, renewable energy comprised about 40% of China's total installed electric power capacity, and 26% of total power generation. By 2021, it had grown to 29.4% of total power generation. The share of renewables in total power generation is expected to continue increasing to 36% by 2025, in line with China's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 and peak emissions before 2030.

China sees renewables as a source of energy security and not just only to reduce carbon emission.
China's Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution issued by China's State Council in September 2013, illustrates the government's desire to increase the share of renewables in China's energy mix. Unlike oil, coal and gas, the supplies of which are finite and subject to geopolitical tensions, renewable energy systems can be built and used wherever there is sufficient water, wind, and sun.

China is also major leader of clean energy technology. As Chinese renewable manufacturing has grown, the costs of renewable energy technologies have dropped dramatically due to both innovation and economies of scale from market expansion. In 2015, China became the world's largest producer of photovoltaic power, with 43 GW of total installed capacity. From 2005 to 2014, production of solar cells in China has expanded 100-fold. However, China is not expected to achieve grid parity – when an alternate source of energy is as cheap or cheaper than power purchased from the grid—until 2022.

The country is the world's largest investor in renewable energy, with the country's companies accounting for four of the world's five biggest renewable energy deals made in 2016. In 2017, investments in renewable energy amounted to US$279.8 billion worldwide, with China accounting for US$126.6 billion or 45% of the global investments. According to researcher Dr Cornelia Tremann, "China has since become the world's largest investor, producer and consumer of renewable energy worldwide, manufacturing state-of-the-art solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric energy facilities" as well as becoming the world's largest producer of electric cars and buses.

Renewable electricity overview

As of year end 2021 hydroelectric power remains by far the largest component of renewable electricity production at 1,340 TWh. Wind power provided the next largest share with 655 TWh followed by biofuels at 44 TWh. Solar PV power started from a low base of just 152 GWh in 2008 and has grown rapidly since then to reach over 327 TWh by 2021.
The overall share of electricity generated from renewable sources based on the figures in the above table has grown from a little over 17% in 2008 to a little over 27.7% by 2021.
Solar and wind power continue to grow at a rapid pace.

By the end of 2019, the country had a total capacity of 790 GW of renewable power, mainly from hydroelectric, solar and wind power. By the end of 2019, China's hydropower capacity reached 356 GW. China's installed capacity of solar power reached 252 GW and wind power capacity was 282 GW, as of 2020.

By 2020, installed power for hydropower, wind, solar and biomass had increased to 385 GW, 299 GW, 282 GW and 35.34 GW, respectively.

Sources

Hydropower

As of 2020, China had more than 150 dams with generating capacity of more than 300 megawatts and installed capacity of 369 gigawatts.

As of 2021, China operates four of the world's six largest dams. These include the world's biggest (Three Gorges Dam, with 22.5 gigawatts capacity) and second biggest (Baihetan Dam).

Wind power

China has the largest wind resources in the world and three-quarters of this natural resource is located at sea. Per its 13th Five-Year Plan, China aimed to have 210 GW of wind power capacity by 2020. It exceeded that goal, reaching 276 GW of onshore wind power by the end of 2020.

China encourages foreign companies, especially from the United States, to visit and invest in Chinese wind power generation. However, use of wind energy in China has not always kept up with the remarkable construction of wind power capacity in the country.

In 2008 China was the fourth largest producer of wind power after the United States, Germany, and Spain. At the end of 2008, wind power in China accounted for 12.2 GW of electricity generating capacity. By the end of 2008, at least fifteen Chinese companies were commercially producing wind turbines and several dozen more were producing components. Turbine sizes of 1.5 MW and 2 MW became common. Leading wind power companies were Goldwind, Dongfang, and Sinovel. China also increased the production of small-scale wind turbines to about 80,000 turbines (80 MW) in 2008. Through all these developments, the Chinese wind industry appeared unaffected by the global financial crisis, according to industry observers.

By 2009 China had total installed windpower capacity up to 26 GW. China has identified wind power as a key growth component of the country's economy.

As of 2010, China has become the world's largest maker of wind turbines, surpassing Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The initial future target set by the Chinese government was 10 GW by 2010, but the total installed capacity for wind power generation in China had already reached 25.1 GW by the end of 2009.

In September 2019, Norwegian energy firm Equinor and state-owned China Power International Holding (CPIH) announced their plan to cooperate in developing offshore wind in China and Europe.

In 2020, China deployed 71.7 GW of wind energy capacity, a 60% increase compared to 2019 and more than the rest of the world combined.

In the year 2022, China is set to install more 56 GW of wind turbines, of which 50 GW are from onshore wind and 6W from offshore wind turbines.

Solar power

China produces 63% of the world's solar photovoltaics (PV). It has emerged as the world's largest manufacturer as of June 2015.

Following the new incentive scheme of Golden Sun announced by the government in 2009, there are numerous recent developments and plans announced by industry players that became part of the milestones for solar industry and technology development in China, such as the new thin film solar plant developed by Anwell Technologies in the Henan province using its own proprietary solar technology. The agreement was signed by LDK for a 500 MW solar project in the desert, alongside First Solar and Ordos City. The effort to drive the renewable energy use in China was further assured after the speech of the Chinese President given at the UN climate summit on 22 September 2009 in New York, pledging that China would adopt plans to use 15% of its energy from renewable sources within a decade.

China has become a world leader in the manufacture of solar photovoltaic technology, with its six biggest solar companies having a combined value of over $15 billion. Around 820 MW of solar PV were produced in China in 2007, second only to Japan.

Following a report from China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, in 2022 China is set to install more 100 GW of solar panels.

China's solar exports in 2022 grew by 64% to US$52 billion. Chinese exports mainly consist of solar modules, with Europe being the destination for 56% of the share of exports in 2022.

Biomass and biofuel

China emerged as the world's third largest producer of ethanol-based bio-fuels (after the U.S and Brazil) at the end of the 10th Five Year Plan Period in 2005 and at present ethanol accounts for 20% of total automotive fuel consumption in China. In the 11th Five Year Plan period (2006 through 2010) China planned to develop six megatons/year of fuel ethanol capacity, which is expected to grow to 15 megatons/year by 2020. Despite this level of production, experts say that there will be no threat to food security, though there will be an increasing number of farmers who will be "farming oil" if the price of crude oil continues to increase. Based on planned ethanol projects in some provinces in China, the output of corn would be insufficient to provide the raw material for plants in these provinces. In the recently published World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund expressed concern that there would be increasing competition worldwide between bio-fuels and food consumption for agricultural products and that that competition would likely continue to result in increases in the price of crops.

Work has begun on the  million Kaiyou Green Energy Biomass (Rice Husks) Power Generating project located in the Suqian City Economic Development Zone in Jiangsu. The Kaiyou Green Energy Biomass Power project will generate 144 GWh/year (equivalent to 16.5 MW) and use 200 kilotonnes/year of crop waste as inputs.

Bioenergy is also used at the domestic level in China, both in biomass stoves and by producing biogas from animal manure.

Geothermal

Geothermal resources in China are abundant and widely distributed throughout the country. There are over 2,700 hot springs occurring at the surface, with temperatures exceeding 250 °C. In 1990, the total flow rate of thermal water for direct uses amounted to over 9,500 kg/s, making China the second direct user of geothermal energy in the world. Recognizing geothermal energy as an alternative and renewable energy resource since the 1970s, China has conducted extensive explorations aiming at identifying high temperature resources for electric generation. Until 2006, 181 geothermal systems had been found on mainland China, with an estimated generation potential of 1,740 MW. However, only seven plants, with a total capacity of 32 MW, had been constructed and were operating in 2006.

National laws and policies

Chinese policies explicitly promote the use of clean energy as well as increasing the use of domestically manufactured technology. In the clean energy sector, China is a leading source of technology transfer to other developing countries. Since 2010 it has often led the European Union and the United States in clean energy investments.

Government bodies
After the dissolution of the Energy and Industry Department in 1993, China has been running without a government agency effectively managing the country's energy. Related issues are supervised by multiple organisations such as the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Commerce, State electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) and so forth. In 2008, the National Energy Administration was founded under the NDRC, however its work has been proven inefficient. In January 2010, the State Council decided to set up a National Energy Commission (NEC), headed by then-Premier Wen Jiabao. The commission will be responsible for drafting a national energy development plan, reviewing energy security and major energy issues and coordinating domestic energy development and international cooperation.

Policy history
China's Sixth Five-Year Plan (1981-1985) was the first to address government policy support for solar PV panel manufacturing. Policy support for solar panel manufacturing has been a part of every Five-Year Plan since.

The Renewable Energy Law passed in 2005 explicitly states in its first chapter that the development and the usage of renewable energy is a prioritised area in energy development. The law established China's framework for regulating renewable energy. It also created four mechanisms designed to promote the development of China's renewable energy: (1) a national renewable energy target, (2) a mandatory connection and purchase policy, (3) a feed-in tariff system, and (4) a cost-sharing mechanism which includes a fund for renewable energy development.

Contemporaneous with the Renewable Energy Law, China issued its Eleventh Five Year Plan. It sought to move China away from energy-intensive manufacturing and into high-value sectors. Every subsequent plan has done the same and, like the Eleventh, they have also highlighted the importance of low-carbon technology as a strategic emerging industry, particularly in the areas of wind and solar power. Likewise, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan also placed great emphasis on green energy. Detailed incentive policies and programs included the Golden Sun program, which provides financial subsidies, technology support and market incentives to facilitate the development of the solar power industry; the Suggestions on Promoting Wind Electricity Industry in 2006, which offers preferential policies for wind power development; and many other policies. Besides promoting policies, China has enacted a number of policies to standardise renewable energy products, to prevent environmental damage, and to regulate the price of green energy. These policies include, but are not limited to Renewable Energy Law, the Safety Regulations of Hydropower Dams, and the National Standard of Solar Water Heaters.

Several provisions in relevant Chinese laws and regulations address the development of methane gas in rural China. These provisions include Article 54 of the Agriculture Law of the People's Republic of China, Articles 4 and 11 of the Energy Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 18 of the Renewable Energy Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 12 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning Restoring Farmland to Forest.

On 20 April 2007, the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress and the National Development and Reform Commission convened a conference on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Renewable Energy Law.

The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 prompted significant stimulus efforts by China to invigorate its then-struggling solar industry.

In  2009, China amended the Renewable Energy Law to improve the process through which renewable energy is connected to the power grid and distributed. These amendments also sought to address interprovincial equity in bearing to costs associated with developing renewable energy.

Clean Development Mechanism projects in China
The Clean Development Mechanism emerged from the Kyoto Protocol as means for countries with Kyoto targets to purchase carbon credits resulting from costly emissions reductions in developing counties. China became the largest source of credits (i.e., Certified Emissions Reductions or CERs).

According to the UNFCCC database, by November 2011, China was the leading host nation for CDM projects with 1661 projects (46.32%) of a total of 3586 registered project activities (100%). According to the IGES (Japan), the running total of CERs generated by CDM projects in China at 31 March 2011 was topped by HFC reduction/avoidance projects (365,577 x 1000t/CO2-e) followed by hydro power (227,693), wind power (149,492), N2O decomposition (102,798), and methane recovery (102,067).

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, of a total of more than 600 registered CDM Projects worldwide through mid-April 2007, there are now 70 registered CDM projects in China. The pace of Chinese CDM project registration is accelerating; prior to the beginning of 2007 China had 34 registered CDM projects, yet to date in 2007 another 36 Chinese CDM projects have been registered.

The Shanghai Power Transmission and Distribution Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of the Shanghai Electric and Gas Group Joint Stock Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Canada's Xantrex Technology, Inc, to build a factory to design, manufacture and sell solar and wind power electric and gas electronics products. The new company is in the final stages of the approval process.

According to Theo Ramborst, the general manager and CEO of Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bosch Group AG, a world leader in controls, transmission and machine hydraulics manufacturing, Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd. contracted €120 million in wind turbo generator business in China in 2006, a 66% increase year-on-year. Responding to the increase in wind energy business in China, Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd. invested  million in October 2006 in plant expansions in Beijing and Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Earlier in 2006 Bosch Rexroth started up its Shanghai Jinqiao (Golden Bridge) factory, which is involved in the manufacture, installation, distribution and service of transmission and control parts and systems; the Shanghai facility will also serve as Bosch's principal center for technology, personnel and distribution in China.

Environmental protection and energy conservation
According to China's "Energy Blue Paper" recently written by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average rate of recovery of coal from mining in China is only 30%, less than one-half the rate of recovery throughout the world; the rate of recovery of coal resources in the US, Australia, Germany and Canada is ~80%.  The rate of recovery of coal from mining in Shanxi, China's largest source of coal is approximately 40%, though the rate of recovery of village and township coal mines in Shanxi Province is only 10%–20%.  Cumulatively over the course of the past 20 years (1980–2000) China has wasted upwards of 28 gigatons of coal. The same causes for a low rate of recovery in coal mining – that extraction methods are backward – lead to safety problems in China's coal mining sector.  Another reason for the low rate of recovery is that the majority of extraction comes from small-scale mining; of the 346.9 gigatons of coal extracted by China, only 98 gigatons has come from large or mid-sized mines while 250 gigatons are extracted from small mines.  Based on coal production in 2005 of 2.19 gigatons and a current rate of recovery of 30%, if China were able to double its rate of recovery it would save approximately 3.5 gigatons of coal.

On 13 April 2007, the Department of Science, Technology and Education of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture hosted the Asian regional workshop on adaptation to climate change organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate change will affect Asian countries in different but consistently negative ways.  Temperate regions will experience changes in boreal forest cover, while vanishing mountain glaciers will cause problems such as water shortages and increased risks of glacial lake flooding.  Coastal zones are under increasing risk from sea level rises as well as pollution and overexploitation of natural resources.  In 2006 in China storms, floods, heat and drought killed more than 2,700 people; effects ranged from drought in the southwest of China, which were the worst since records began to be kept in the late nineteenth century, to floods and typhoons in central and southeastern China.  The weather events in China in 2006 were seen to be a prelude to weather patterns likely to become more common due to global warming.  Topics discussed by representatives of Asian countries and developed countries, international organisations and nongovernmental organisations, included vulnerability assessments, implementing adaptation actions in various sectors of the economy and in specific geographical areas, such as coastal and mountainous regions.

Based on a recently completed survey in 2007, the Standardization Administration of China plans to further develop and improve standards for conservation and comprehensive use of natural resources in the following areas: energy, water, wood and land conservation, development of renewable energy, the comprehensive utilisation of mineral resources, recovery, recycling and reuse of scrap materials and clean production.

Energy production and consumption

In 2020, 84.33% of Chinese primary energy consumption relied on fossil fuels, and 56.56% of it relied on coal, down from 70% in 2011. These energy production processes generated approximately 9.9 billion tonnes of CO2, up from 8.1 billion tonnes in 2010 and accounting for 30.9% of global emissions.

In 2021, China produced 7.727% of its energy from hydroelectric, 2.32% from nuclear, and 7.141% from other renewable energy sources, from 2.25%, 8.468%, 5.77%, relatively, in 2020.

Chinese energy experts estimate that by 2050 the share of electricity from coal will decline to 30%–50%, and that the remaining 50%–70% will come from a combination of oil, natural gas, and renewable energy sources, including hydropower, nuclear power, biomass, solar energy, wind energy, and other renewable energy sources.

In 2018, transportation's share of energy consumption in China was 10.0%, consuming 436.2 million tons carbon equivalent, up by 7.6% in 2009 and 58.6 Mtce in 1995. The growth rate of the percentage, meanwhile, have seen a steady decline from 2010 to 2018, down from 10.8% to 3.5%.

According to a study by the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission on the economic circumstances of China's crude oil and chemical industry as of 2007, China has wasted an average of 400 million tons carbon equivalents annually. In 2020, China consumed 4.98 gigatons coal equivalents, up from 2.46 in 2006. According to Dai Yande, the chairman of the Energy Research Institute of the NDRC, while continued high consumption of energy is unavoidable, China must take steps to change the form of its economic growth and increase substantially the energy efficiency of industry and society. Among other things, China should find new points of economic development that move it away from being the "World's Factory" and improves energy efficiency. It also must avoid unnecessary waste, foster a sustainable economy and encourage renewable energy to reduce its reliance on petrochemical energy resources.

Since June 2006 when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the Shenhua Group's coal liquefaction project and expressed that coal-to-liquids production was one important part of China's energy security, there have been many new 'coal to oil' projects announced by many large coal producing provinces and cities. As of the end of 2006, 88 methyl alcohol projects were planned; their total was 48.5 megatons/year. By 2019, methyl alcohol output reached 69.9 megatons/year. This rapid development to build coal to oil projects prompted concerns about wasteful development and unintended consequences; these include wasteful extraction of coal, excessive water use (this process requires 10 tons of water for every ton of oil produced), and likely increases in coal prices.

China and Russia are linking their electric power networks so that China can buy power from the Russian Far East to supply Northeast China (Dongbei) and thus conserving domestic resources, lowering energy consumption, lessening China's dependence on imported oil (80%–90% of which must be shipped through unsafe waters), and reducing pollution discharge. Multiple long-distance high-tension, high-capacity line for international transmission have been built, including a 110kV transmission project, and three others with 220kV, 220kV, and 550kV. China also is considering connecting its power transmission lines with Mongolia and several former Soviet states that border China. Until 2020, Russia exported a total of 30.42 TWh electricity to China, decreasing coal consumption in the latter by 10.17 million tons. By importing electricity China not only reduced its dependence on imported crude oil, but also enhanced energy security by diversifying its foreign energy sources, making China less vulnerable to disruptions in supply.

In 2021 a total of 8571.4 TWh of electricity was generated in China, up from 7814.3 in 2020, from an installed base of 2380 GW of power generating capacity, 12.6% among which from windpower sources and 12.2% from solar sources.

Challenges
There are significant logistical challenges to renewable energy in China. One such issue is grid connections from renewable energy power sources to the electricity grid. In recent years renewable energy developers have rushed to rapidly build wind farms, solar panels, and other power plants, which hasn't been synchronised with the time-consuming procurement of land permits to build grid connection. It takes more than twice as long to obtain the necessary permits and approval for the construction of high-voltage transmission lines and other grid connections as it does to obtain the permits and begin construction of power plants, creating a significant time lag.

Furthermore, even when connections have been built sometimes the grid still cannot absorb all of the electricity produced because the connections have voltage limits below what is being produced by many of China's renewable energy power plants, a phenomenon called curtailment. This issue of grid connection is especially true in regard to long-distance transmission of electricity. Most of China's wind and solar energy sources, and thus its renewable energy power plants, are located in the northwest of the country, while the highest electricity demand is in the southeast. However, there are limited high capacity transmission lines capable of transmitting the necessary amounts of electricity across that distance, leading to curtailments in the northwest and a need for fossil fuels in the southeast. The development of more long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines is necessary to maximising the use of the renewable energy that is being produced. Broader infrastructure initiatives like this can ensure the efficacy of renewable energy policy in China.

See also

China

 Wind power in China
 Solar power in China
 Geothermal power in China
 Bioenergy in China
 List of power stations in China
 List of offshore wind farms in China
 Automotive industry in China
 Climate change in China
 Electric vehicle industry in China
 Energy policy of China
 Pollution in China
 Three Gorges Dam

Global

 Renewable energy in Asia
 International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
 World energy resources and consumption
 Renewable energy commercialisation
 The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century(REN21)
 Hydrogen economy
 Global warming
 Greenhouse effect
 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 Renewable energy legislation and incentives
 Sustainable energy
 Renewable energy by country

Notes

References

Industry in China
Science and technology in the People's Republic of China

Renewable energy in China


ComputerLand was a widespread chain of retail computer stores during the early years of the microcomputer revolution, and was one of the outlets (along with Computer City and Sears) chosen to introduce the IBM PC in 1981. The first ComputerLand opened in 1976, and the chain eventually included about 800 stores by 1985. After this time the rapid commoditization of the PC led to the company's downfall, with most of the retail locations closing by 1990. The company officially ended in February 1999.

History

ComputerLand was founded by William H. Millard. In 1974 he launched a company, IMS Associates, Inc., to build what was claimed to be the first truly integrated personal computers, sold as kits to hobbyists and the rapidly growing numbers of retailers (through small ads in Popular Electronics). The computer, the IMSAI 8080, may not have made Millard's fortune, but his resulting experiences with the inexperienced and under‑capitalized retailers did. In 1976 (at the same time as the Byte Shop was selling its first few Apples) he asked his Sales Director, Ed Faber (an ex‑IBM Manager), to start a new franchise operation, soon to become ComputerLand.

Faber first designed a pilot store, at Hayward, California, with the then-revolutionary concept of providing a "full service" store, offering under one roof all that the customer needed to support their PCs. He then moved rapidly to set up franchising. The first franchisee was in Morristown, New Jersey, and was rapidly followed by a chain across the US.

It set a pattern that dominated PC retailing for the next decade. By the time IBM arrived on the scene, the network of branches, all run by franchisees, had grown to 190 in number. By the end of 1985, when Millard retired, there were some 800 branches (including some 200 outside the US) and he had become one of the computer billionaires.

Most ComputerLand stores succumbed to the predation of the "box-shifters" in the price wars of the latter 1980s, after the peak had passed. In 1987, Millard sold ComputerLand to E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. for US$200 million.

In 1993, Merisel announced it would purchase the ComputerLand name and all franchise holdings and its Datago aggregation division for $110 million. The new Merisel ComputerLand unit was operated by the then-president of Computerland's franchise and distribution business, Martin Wolf. The following year, "Vanstar" was selected as the name for the ComputerLand corporate company-owned stores stemming from the Nynex acquisition. (Pleasanton, California) after the sale of split-off franchisor to Merisel.

In 1997 Synnex Information Technologies, a national distributor of microcomputers and communication, networking, peripheral and storage products, purchased substantially all the assets of Merisel FAB Inc., including the ComputerLand franchise. Synnex created ComputerLand Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Synnex, consisting of the ComputerLand and Datago businesses.

On October 9, 1998, Inacom purchased Vanstar for a reported $465 – $480 million. The resulting company employed nearly 12,000 and was estimated to generate $7 billion in revenue.
The acquisition of Vanstar reportedly added a large amount of debt, and it has been said that Inacom overpaid for a company of that size. Vanstar had 43.26 million shares outstanding at the time the deal was struck, and shareholders of Vanstar received .64 shares of ICO for each VST share in a stock swap deal, thus the issuance of 27.7 M shares of stock effectively more than doubled the number of outstanding shares while also being dilutive to the existing shares. This, plus debt concerns, led to a decline in the price of Inacom's stock.

Inacom Corporation ceased operations completely in 2000.
Although the corporate ComputerLand ceased operations [VanStar], many former franchises continue to operate today as independently owned computer businesses under the ComputerLand name.

References

Further reading
David Mercer, "IBM: How the World's Most Successful Corporation is Managed", Kogan Page 1987

https://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=25

External links
ComputerLand in France near Paris
 COMPUTERLAND Belgium
Chicago ComputerLand
ComputerLand of Silicon Valley
ComputerLand of Woodbridge
ComputerLand Ottumwa
ComputerLand Savannah
ETC ComputerLand
ComputerLand of Berkeley

Defunct computer hardware companies
Companies based in Hayward, California
Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Retail companies based in California
Defunct computer companies of the United States

ComputerLand


Majid Saleh (; born 11 January 1966) is a retired Iranian football player and current coach.

Early life
He was born on 21 May 1965 in Tehran. His father, Mahdi was an employee of SAIPA, an Iranian auto manufacturer. He is also a member of SAIPA since 1993 and is an electronics engineer and hardware engineer.

Playing career

Club career
He started his playing career in 1983 when he played for Homa F.C. He then played for Bank Tejarat F.C. under Nasser Hejazi. In 1991, he left Bank Tejarat to play for Keshavarz F.C. Then he played for Saipa F.C. for 4 seasons and a season in loan for Pas Tehran. Then he left Saipa in 1998 and joined to Bahman F.C. in 1999. Finally, in 2001 he returned and started playing for Homa F.C. once again. He retired in June 2004.

International career
From 1985 to 1995 in youth teams, U-18 and U-23 and Tehran adult team with Ali Parvin, Parviz Dehdari, Mohammad Mayeli Kohan and two foreign coaches Stankovich and Arie Haan.

Managerial career
First coaching in Saipa F.C. as assistant manager from June 2004 until June 2006 besides Bijan Zolfagharnasab. In the seventh league besides Amir Ghalenoei in Mes Kerman F.C. and immediately in Esteghlal as Ghalenoei's assistant in Hazfi Cup. In the 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11 Iran Pro League, he was first assistant of Mansour Ebrahimzadeh in Zob Ahan. He was appointed as head coach of Saipa F.C. on 31 May 2011 to succeed Mohammad Mayeli Kohan but was sacked on 15 February 2012 after failed to connect with the young players of the club. He was named as assistant coach of Esteghlal on 2 June 2012 after Amir Ghalenoei becomes head coach of Esteghlal for a third spell.

On April 14, 2014, Saleh was named as Carlos Queiroz's assistant coach in Iran national football team. However, he left his position before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On October 8, 2014, he became assistant coach of Malavan.

On June 21, 2015, he returned to Esteghlal as Parviz Mazloumi's first assistant coach.

Statistics

Honors

Player
 Azadegan League:
 Winner: 1993–94

Assistant Manager
 AFC Champions League:
 Runner-up: 2010
 Iran Pro League:
 Winner: 2012–13
 Runner-up: 2009–10
 Hazfi Cup:
 Winner: 2007–08

References

External links

1966 births
Living people
Iranian football managers
Iranian men's footballers
Saipa F.C. players
Footballers from Tehran
Men's association football midfielders

Majid Saleh


Melitara subumbrella is a species of snout moth in the genus Melitara. It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1925. It is widespread in western North America, from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan to southern Arizona, central Texas, southern New Mexico and south-eastern California.

The wingspan is 35–52 mm. The forewings are long, narrow and uniformly gray or brownish gray, generally with dark lines along the veins. The hindwings are broad and white, often with grayish or grayish-brown margins. Adults are on wing from March to May. A second generation may occur on some locations, with adults on wing from October to November.

The larvae feed on Opuntia basilaris, Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia macrorhiza var. macrorhiza, Opuntia atrispina, Opuntia phaeacantha, Opuntia polyacantha and Opuntia violaceae var. macrocentra. Young larvae are gregarious and prefer to feed on cactus fruit. Later instars tunnel in the cladodes and final instars may tunnel into the underground parts of the host plant. Pupation usually occurs in debris. Mature larvae are white with light purple cross-bands.

References

Phycitini
Moths of North America
Fauna of California
Moths described in 1925

Melitara subumbrella


β-Galactosidase (EC 18.104.22.168, lactase, beta-gal or β-gal; systematic name β-D-galactoside galactohydrolase), is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing β-D-galactose residues in β-D-galactosides.

β-Galactosides include carbohydrates containing galactose where the glycosidic bond lies above the galactose molecule. Substrates of different β-galactosidases include ganglioside GM1, lactosylceramides, lactose, and various glycoproteins.

Function
β-Galactosidase is an exoglycosidase which hydrolyzes the β-glycosidic bond formed between a galactose and its organic moiety. It may also cleave fucosides and arabinosides but with much lower efficiency.  It is an essential enzyme in the human body. Deficiencies in the protein can result in galactosialidosis or Morquio B syndrome.  In E. coli, the lacZ gene is the structural gene for β-galactosidase; which is present as part of the inducible system lac operon which is activated in the presence of lactose when glucose level is low. β-Galactosidase synthesis stops when glucose levels are sufficient.

β-Galactosidase has many homologues based on similar sequences. A few are evolved β-galactosidase (EBG), β-glucosidase, 6-phospho-β-galactosidase, β-mannosidase, and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase. Although they may be structurally similar, they all have different functions. Beta-gal is inhibited by L-ribose and by competitive inhibitors 2-phenylethyl 1-thio-β-D-galactopyranoside (PETG), D-galactonolactone, isopropyl thio-β-D-galactoside (IPTG), and galactose.

β-Galactosidase is important for organisms as it is a key provider in the production of energy and a source of carbons through the break down of lactose to galactose and glucose. It is also important for the lactose intolerant community as it is responsible for making lactose-free milk and other dairy products. Many adult humans lack the lactase enzyme, which has the same function as β-galactosidase, so they are not able to properly digest dairy products. β-Galactose is used in such dairy products as yogurt, sour cream, and some cheeses which are treated with the enzyme to break down any lactose before human consumption. In recent years, β-galactosidase has been researched as a potential treatment for lactose intolerance through gene replacement therapy where it could be placed into the human DNA so individuals can break down lactose on their own.

Structure
The 1,023 amino acids of E. coli  β-galactosidase were sequenced in 1983, and its structure determined eleven years later in 1994.  The protein is a 464-kDa homotetramer with 2,2,2-point symmetry. Each unit of β-galactosidase consists of five domains; domain 1 is a jelly-roll type β-barrel, domain 2 and 4 are fibronectin type III-like barrels, domain 5 a novel β-sandwich, while the central domain 3 is a distorted TIM-type barrel, lacking the fifth helix with a distortion in the sixth strand.

The third domain contains the active site. The active site is made up of elements from two subunits of the tetramer, and disassociation of the tetramer into dimers removes critical elements of the active site.  The amino-terminal sequence of β-galactosidase, the α-peptide involved in α-complementation, participates in a subunit interface. Its residues 22-31 help to stabilize a four-helix bundle which forms the major part of that interface, and residue 13 and 15 also contributing to the activating interface.  These structural features provide a rationale for the phenomenon of α-complementation, where the deletion of the amino-terminal segment results in the formation of an inactive dimer.

Reaction
β-Galactosidase can catalyze three different reactions in organisms. In one, it can go through a process called transgalactosylation to make allolactose, creating a positive feedback loop for the production of β-galactose. Allolactose can also be cleaved to form monosaccharides. It can also hydrolyze lactose into galactose and glucose which will proceed into glycolysis. The active site of β-galactosidase catalyzes the hydrolysis of its disaccharide substrate via "shallow" (nonproductive site) and "deep" (productive site) binding. Galactosides such as PETG and IPTG will bind in the shallow site when the enzyme is in "open" conformation while transition state analogs such as L-ribose and D-galactonolactone will bind in the deep site when the conformation is "closed".

The enzymatic reaction consists of two chemical steps, galactosylation and degalactosylation. Galactosylation is the first chemical step in the reaction where Glu461 donates a proton to a glycosidic oxygen, resulting in galactose covalently bonding with Glu537. In the second step, degalactosylation, the covalent bond is broken when Glu461 accepts a proton, replacing the galactose with water. Two transition states occur in the deep site of the enzyme during the reaction, once after each step. When water participates in the reaction, galactose is formed, otherwise, when D-glucose acts as the acceptor in the second step, transgalactosylation occurs . It has been kinetically measured that single tetramers of the protein catalyze reactions at a rate of 38,500 ± 900 reactions per minute. Monovalent potassium ions (K+) as well as divalent magnesium ions (Mg2+) are required for the enzyme's optimal activity. The β-linkage of the substrate is cleaved by a terminal carboxyl group on the side chain of a glutamic acid.

In E. coli, Glu-461 was thought to be the nucleophile in the substitution reaction. However, it is now known that Glu-461 is an acid catalyst. Instead, Glu-537 is the actual nucleophile, binding to a galactosyl intermediate. In humans, the nucleophile of the hydrolysis reaction is Glu-268. Gly794 is important for β-galactosidase activity.  It is responsible for putting the enzyme in a "closed", ligand bounded, conformation or "open" conformation, acting like a "hinge" for the active site loop. The different conformations ensure that only preferential binding occurs in the active site. In the presence of a slow substrate, Gly794 activity increased as well as an increase in galactosylation and decrease in degalactosylation.

Applications

The β-galactosidase assay is used frequently in genetics, molecular biology, and other life sciences.  An active enzyme may be detected using artificial chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside, X-gal. β-galactosidase will cleave the glycosidic bond in X-gal and form galactose and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-hydroxyindole which dimerizes and oxidizes to 5,5'-dibromo-4,4'-dichloro-indigo, an intense blue product that is easy to identify and quantify. It is used for example in blue white screen. Its production may be induced by a non-hydrolyzable analog of allolactose, IPTG, which binds and releases the lac repressor from the lac operator, thereby allowing the initiation of transcription to proceed.

It is commonly used in molecular biology as a reporter marker to monitor gene expression.  It also exhibits a phenomenon called α-complementation which forms the basis for the blue/white screening of recombinant clones. This enzyme can be split in two peptides, LacZα and LacZΩ, neither of which is active by itself but when both are present together, spontaneously reassemble into a functional enzyme.  This property is exploited in many cloning vectors where the presence of the lacZα gene in a plasmid can complement in trans another mutant gene encoding the LacZΩ in specific laboratory strains of E. coli.  However, when DNA fragments are inserted in the vector, the production of LacZα is disrupted, the cells therefore show no β-galactosidase activity.  The presence or absence of an active β-galactosidase may be detected by X-gal, which produces a characteristic blue dye when cleaved by β-galactosidase, thereby providing an easy means of distinguishing the presence or absence of cloned product in a plasmid. In studies of leukaemia chromosomal translocations, Dobson and colleagues used a fusion protein of LacZ in mice, exploiting β-galactosidase's tendency to oligomerise to suggest a potential role for oligomericity in MLL fusion protein function.

A recent study conducted in 2020-2021 determined that Beta-Galactosidase activity correlates with senescence of the cells. Senescence of the cells can be interpreted as cells that do not divide, but cells that do not die. Beta-Galactosidase activity can be overexpressed, and this can lead to various diseases afflicting a wide range of body systems. These systems include the cardiovascular system, skeletal system, and many more. Detecting senescence cells can be achieved by measuring the lysosomal Beta-Galactosidase activity.

A new isoform for beta-galactosidase with optimum activity at pH 6.0 (Senescence Associated beta-gal or SA-beta-gal)  which is specifically expressed in senescence (the irreversible growth arrest of cells).  Specific quantitative assays were even developed for its detection. However, it is now known that this is due to an overexpression and accumulation of the lysosomal endogenous beta-galactosidase, and its expression is not required for senescence. Nevertheless, it remains the most widely used biomarker for senescent and aging cells, because it is reliable and easy to detect.

Evolution
Some species of bacteria, including E. coli, have additional β-galactosidase genes. A second gene, called evolved β-galactosidase (ebgA) gene was discovered when strains with the lacZ gene deleted (but still containing the gene for galactoside permease, lacY), were plated on medium containing lactose (or other 3-galactosides) as sole carbon source. After a time, certain colonies began to grow. However, the EbgA protein is an ineffective lactase and does not allow growth on lactose. Two classes of single point mutations dramatically improve the activity of ebg enzyme toward lactose. and, as a result, the mutant enzyme is able to replace the lacZ β-galactosidase.  EbgA and LacZ are 50% identical on the DNA level and 33% identical on the amino acid level. The active ebg enzyme is an aggregate of ebgA -gene and ebgC-gene products in a 1:1 ratio with the active form of ebg enzymes being an α4 β4 hetero-octamer.

Species distribution
Much of the work done on β-galactosidase is derived from E. coli. However the enzyme can be found in many plants (especially fruits), mammals, yeast, bacteria, and fungi. β-galactosidase genes can differ in the length of their coding sequence and the length of proteins formed by amino acids. This separates the β-galactosidases into four families: GHF-1, GHF-2, GHF-35, and GHF- 42. E. Coli belongs to GHF-2, all plants belong to GHF-35, and Thermus thermophilus belongs to GHF-42. Various fruits can express multiple β-galactosidase genes. There are at least 7 β-galactosidase genes expressed in tomato fruit development, that have amino acid similarity between 33% and 79%. A study targeted at identifying fruit softening of peaches found 17 different gene expressions of β-galactosidases. The only other known crystal structure of β-galactosidase is from Thermus thermophilus.

References

External links

EC 3.2.1
Hydrolases
Enzymes
Aging-related enzymes
Enzymes of known structure

Β-Galactosidase


The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, or VALIC, a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc.,  (AIG), is an insurance corporation that specializes in tax-qualified retirement plans, supplemental tax-deferred and after-tax investments.

VALIC's headquarters are in Houston, Texas. VALIC ranks in the top 10 of all U.S. and Canadian life insurance companies, based on more than $86 billion in total customer assets under management as of December 31, 2014. The company is a certified member of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA).

Organization
As of December 31, 2014, VALIC has more than $86 billion in total customer assets under management and manages plans for nearly 24,000 groups serving more than 2 million plan participants in 41,000 locations in the U.S. VALIC represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. and VALIC Retirement Services Company.

Products
VALIC offers a variety of products, including:

 Mutual fund programs
 Fixed, variable and income annuities
 Asset management programs
 Life insurance
 Brokerage accounts
 College savings plans
 Group and Individual retirement accounts—Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Spousal IRA, Money Market Consolidator

Sponsoring
The company supports
 the National Distinguished Principals Program (NAESP)
 the AASA National Superintendent of the Year Award
 exclusively the Strategic Partner ASBO Certificate of Excellence Award.

See also
 AIG Advisor Group
 American International Group

References

Financial services companies of the United States
Insurance companies of the United States
Companies based in Houston

VALIC


Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (WBPA), formerly known as the Warner Animation Group (WAG), is an American animation studio that serves as the feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, by Jeff Robinov, the studio is the successor to the dissolved 2D traditional hand-drawn animation studio Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which shut down in 2004, and is also a sister to the regular Warner Bros. Animation studio.

Its first film, The Lego Movie, was released on February 7, 2014, and its most recent film was DC League of Super-Pets on July 29, 2022; their upcoming slate of films  includes The Cat in the Hat in 2025, Thing One and Thing Two in 2026, Oh, the Places You'll Go! in 2027, and Coyote vs. Acme, Toto, and Meet the Flintstones on unspecified release dates. Films produced by WBPA have grossed a total of $2 billion at the box office.

History
On January 7, 2013, Jeff Robinov (then head of the studio's motion picture division) founded a screenplay development department, nicknamed a "think tank" for developing theatrical animated films, known as the Warner Animation Group. The group includes John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Jared Stern, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Warner Bros. created the group with the hope that the box office reception of their films will be competitive with other animation studios' releases.

On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film, The Lego Movie, a film animated by Animal Logic, which also provided the animation for both spinoffs. It was met with critical praise and proved to be a box-office success. Due to the movie's success, a media franchise was created, with two spinoffs, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie (both 2017), and a sequel, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). While The Lego Batman Movie proved to be successful at the box office, The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part were both unable to recoup its budget, with Ninjago being the first film from the Warner Animation Group to be a box-office flop.

WAG's second film, Storks, was released September 23, 2016. It received mixed reviews from critics. On December 14, 2017, Warner Bros. announced Allison Abbate had been named Executive Vice President, and Chris Leahy has been named Senior Vice President.

Smallfoot, released September 28, 2018, received mostly positive reviews from critics and became a box office success. In October 2019, Locksmith Animation formed a multi-year production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, which will distribute Locksmith's films.

An animated reboot of the  Scooby-Doo film series titled Scoob! was initially set for a theatrical release on May 15, 2020, but then it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 21, 2020, it was announced that it would instead go to video on demand in response to the pandemic. It received mixed reviews from critics.

A live-action/animated film based on Tom & Jerry was released internationally on February 11, 2021, and on February 26 in the United States in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously and also debuted the company's new logo to match with the design of the new shield logo that Warner Bros. debuted back in November 2019, and like the main WB logo, which was debuted that year with Locked Down, it is made by Devastudios, using Terragen for the sky and clouds, along with the studio's blueprints from the Warner Bros. Studio Facilities and the available photography and videography from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and Google Maps, all in order to reconstruct it in CGI. It received generally negative reviews from critics, and is the first film from the company to have met so.

Space Jam: A New Legacy, starring LeBron James, was released on July 16, 2021, and was the first film from Warner Animation Group to incorporate traditional animation. It also received generally negative reviews from critics and is the second film from the company to have met so after Tom & Jerry, due to the film being heavy on product placement of the studio's intellectual properties.

An animated film based on the Legion of Super-Pets titled DC League of Super-Pets was released on July 29, 2022. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

A Christmas-themed spin-off prequel titled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, taking place in the gang's youth, with the actors who portrayed their younger selves reprising, was set for release in 2022 on HBO Max, but was cancelled following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022 by CEO David Zaslav on August 2, 2022, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming. Following the merger, it was announced in August that Allison Abbate would be leaving the studio.

On February 9, 2023, it was reported that former DreamWorks Animation chief creative officer Bill Damaschke was in talks to lead the studio. On May 5, 2023, it was confirmed in a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call by Zaslav that Damaschke had been hired, and was hard at work with Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy on developing a new slate of films. On June 9, 2023, Damaschke announced the rebranding of the division into Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and stated that they planned to follow the creative lead of Abdy and De Luca.

Upcoming releases
WBPA's third live-action/animation hybrid, a Wile E. Coyote film titled Coyote vs. Acme, was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. On April 26, 2022, it was taken off the release schedule with Barbie taking over its original release date. The film will be directed by Dave Green and produced by Chris DeFaria and James Gunn.

A musical feature adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's children's book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story Of The Wizard Of Oz began animation production in February 2021. It is being directed by Alex Timbers, from a screenplay by John August, and produced by Derek Frey. It was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 2, 2024. On April 5, 2023, it was taken off the release schedule with Alto Knights taking over its original release date.

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is also collaborating with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to produce films based on a series of children's books of Dr. Seuss properties, including film adaptations of both The Cat in the Hat and Oh, the Places You'll Go!. The firm is also developing a spin-off film of The Cat in the Hat with the focus on Thing One and Thing Two, with collaboration with J. J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions. There are also plans to develop a DC League of Super-Pets franchise following the film's critical and commercial success.

The second Hanna-Barbera based film titled Meet the Flintstones, an origin movie based on The Flintstones is in early development. It will be written by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who both previously directed Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Production
Similar to Paramount Animation and Sony Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation outsources their computer-animated films' production to other studios such as Animal Logic (The Lego Movie franchise,  DC League of Super-Pets and Toto), Sony Pictures Imageworks (Storks and Smallfoot), Reel FX Creative Studios (Scoob!), Framestore (Tom & Jerry), Industrial Light & Magic (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and DNEG (Coyote vs. Acme). However, Space Jam: A New Legacy did also include hand-drawn animation, which is done in-house and also outsourced from Company 3 Animation, and Tonic DNA.

The budgets for their films tend to range from $60–80 million. Their most expensive films to date are The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part ($99 million), Scoob! ($90 million), Space Jam: A New Legacy ($150 million), and DC League of Super-Pets ($90 million).

The screenplay department is reportedly somewhat similar to Pixar Animation Studios' "brain trust" in terms of how its members consult with one another and give feedback on each other's projects. The group is nicknamed the "think tank".

Filmography

Franchises

Accolades

See also
Warner Bros. Animation
DreamWorks Animation
20th Century Animation
Reel FX Animation
Laika
Warner Bros. Feature Animation
Cartoon Network Studios
Williams Street
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
Warner Bros. Cartoons
List of Warner Bros. theatrical animated feature films
List of unproduced Warner Bros. Animation projects

Notes

References

Warner Animation Group
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
2013 establishments in California
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. divisions
American companies established in 2013
Mass media companies established in 2013
Film production companies of the United States
Companies based in Burbank, California
American animation studios

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation


The Plague Court Murders is a mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr, who wrote it under the name of Carter Dickson. The first Sir Henry Merrivale mystery, it is a locked room mystery of the subtype known as an "impossible crime".

Plot summary
Ken Blake is approached by an old friend, Dean Halliday, who tells the story of his family estate, Plague Court.  Halliday explains that the house is haunted by the ghost of the original owner, Louis Playge, a hangman by profession.  Halliday invites Blake and Chief-Inspector Humphrey Masters to Plague Court to take part in a seance, run by psychic Roger Darworth and his medium Joseph.

However, Darworth is a fake, being monitored by the police.  The night of the seance, Darworth locks himself in a small stone house, behind Plague Court, while the seance proceeds.  When Masters and Blake go to get him, he has been stabbed to death, with the dagger of Louis Playge.

But all the doors and windows are bolted and locked, and thirty feet of mud surrounds the house, unbroken—and all the suspects have been holding hands in the seance.

The only one who can solve the crime is locked room expert Sir Henry Merrivale.

Literary significance and criticism

One of this author's celebrated locked-and-barred-room mysteries ... The telling ... is reasonably straightforward, but the plot being told is a clutter about a phony psychic investigator and his boy "medium" ... Lots of talk, some but not much detection by Sir Henry Merrivale.  The great stunt at the end is unforgivably preposterous (in the literal sense).

Chief-Inspector Masters so dominated the first 180 pages of the book, that the first US paperback edition's cover (Avon #7, 1941) said "A Chief Inspector Masters novel".

References

1934 American novels
Novels by John Dickson Carr
Locked-room mysteries
William Morrow and Company books

The Plague Court Murders


The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara. KITP is one of the most renowned institutes for theoretical physics in the world, and brings theorists in physics and related fields together to work on topics at the forefront of theoretical science.

The National Science Foundation has been the principal supporter of the institute since it was founded as the Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1979. In a 2007 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, KITP was given the highest impact index in a comparison of nonbiomedical research organizations across the U.S.

About
In the early 2000s, the institute, formerly known as the Institute for Theoretical Physics, or ITP, was named for the Norwegian-American physicist and businessman Fred Kavli, in recognition of his donation of $7.5 million to the institute.

Kohn Hall, which houses KITP, is located just beyond the Henley Gate at the East Entrance of the UCSB campus. The building was designed by the Driehaus Prize winner and New Classical architect Michael Graves, and a new wing designed by Graves was added in 2003–2004.

Members
The directors of the KITP since its beginning have been:

 Walter Kohn, 1979–1984 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1998)
 Robert Schrieffer, 1984–1989 (Nobel Prize for Physics, 1972)
 James S. Langer, 1989–1995 (Oliver Buckley Prize (APS), 1997)
 James Hartle, 1995–1997 (Einstein Prize (APS), 2009)
 David Gross, 1997–2012 (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2004)
 Lars Bildsten, 2012–present (Helen B. Warner Prize (AAS), 1999; Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (AAS & American Institute of Physics), 2017)

The Director, Deputy Director Mark Bowick, and Permanent Members of the KITP (Leon Balents, Lars Bildsten, David Gross, and Boris Shraiman) are also on the faculty of the UC Santa Barbara Physics Department. Former Permanent Members include Joseph Polchinski and Physics Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek.

See also
 Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics

References

External links
 The KITP web site

University of California, Santa Barbara
Research institutes in California
Physics research institutes
Michael Graves buildings
Kavli Institutes
Theoretical physics institutes
New Classical architecture

Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics


In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. The term often implies not merely a development branch, but also a split in the developer community; as such, it is a form of schism. Grounds for forking are varying user preferences and stagnated or discontinued development of the original software.

Free and open-source software is that which, by definition, may be forked from the original development team without prior permission, and without violating copyright law. However, licensed forks of proprietary software (e.g. Unix) also happen.

Etymology
The word "fork" has been used to mean "to divide in branches, go separate ways" as early as the 14th century. In the software environment, the word evokes the fork system call, which causes a running process to split itself into two (almost) identical copies that (typically) diverge to perform different tasks.

In the context of software development, "fork" was used in the sense of creating a revision control "branch" by Eric Allman as early as 1980, in the context of Source Code Control System:

The term was in use on Usenet by 1983 for the process of creating a subgroup to move topics of discussion to.

"Fork" is not known to have been used in the sense of a community schism during the origins of Lucid Emacs (now XEmacs) (1991) or the Berkeley Software Distributions (BSDs) (1993–1994); Russ Nelson used the term "shattering" for this sort of fork in 1993, attributing it to John Gilmore. However, "fork" was in use in the present sense by 1995 to describe the XEmacs split, and was an understood usage in the GNU Project by 1996.

Forking of free and open-source software
Free and open-source software may be legally forked without prior approval of those currently developing, managing, or distributing the software per both The Free Software Definition and The Open Source Definition:

In free software, forks often result from a schism over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases, but typically only the larger group, or whoever controls the web site, will retain the full original name and the associated user community. Thus, there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial or very bitter. On the other hand, a friendly fork or a soft fork is a fork that does not intend to compete, but wants to eventually merge with the original.

Eric S. Raymond, in his essay Homesteading the Noosphere, stated that "The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community". He notes in the Jargon File:

David A. Wheeler notes four possible outcomes of a fork, with examples:

 The death of the fork. This is by far the most common case. It is easy to declare a fork, but considerable effort to continue independent development and support.
 A re-merging of the fork (e.g., egcs becoming "blessed" as the new version of GNU Compiler Collection.)
 The death of the original (e.g. the X.Org Server succeeding and XFree86 dying.)
 Successful branching, typically with differentiation (e.g., OpenBSD and NetBSD.)

Distributed revision control (DVCS) tools have popularised a less emotive use of the term "fork", blurring the distinction with "branch". With a DVCS such as Mercurial or Git, the normal way to contribute to a project, is to first create a personal branch of the repository, independent of the main repository, and later seek to have your changes integrated with it. Sites such as GitHub, Bitbucket and Launchpad provide free DVCS hosting expressly supporting independent branches, such that the technical, social and financial barriers to forking a source code repository are massively reduced, and GitHub uses "fork" as its term for this method of contribution to a project.

Forks often restart version numbering from 0.1 or 1.0 even if the original software was at version 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0. An exception is when the forked software is designed to be a drop-in replacement for the original project, e.g. MariaDB for MySQL or LibreOffice for OpenOffice.org.

The BSD licenses permit forks to become proprietary software, and copyleft proponents say that commercial incentives thus make proprietisation almost inevitable. (Copyleft licenses can, however, be circumvented via dual-licensing with a proprietary grant in the form of a Contributor License Agreement.) Examples include macOS (based on the proprietary NeXTSTEP and the open source FreeBSD), Cedega and CrossOver (proprietary forks of Wine, though CrossOver tracks Wine and contributes considerably), EnterpriseDB (a fork of PostgreSQL, adding Oracle compatibility features), Supported PostgreSQL with their proprietary ESM storage system, and Netezza's proprietary highly scalable derivative of PostgreSQL. Some of these vendors contribute back changes to the community project, while some keep their changes as their own competitive advantages.

Forking proprietary software
In proprietary software, the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a windowed version and a command line version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a word processor for IBM PC compatible machines and Macintosh computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater market share and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary Unix—almost all derived from AT&T Unix under license and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. See Unix wars.

See also
 List of software forks
 Source port
 Downstream (software development)
 Group decision-making
 Modular programming
 Modding
 Custom software
 Personalization
 Team effectiveness
 Duplicate code
 ROM Hacking

References

External links
 Right to Fork at Meatball Wiki
 A PhD examining forking: (Nyman, 2015) "Understanding Code Forking in Open Source Software – An examination of code forking, its effect on open source software, and how it is viewed and practiced by developers"

Software project management

Fork (software development)


Barrington Civic Center Historic District is a historic district in Barrington, Rhode Island on County Road. The district, which consists of the Barrington Town Hall, Leander R. Peck School and Prince's Hill Cemetery, is located on Prince's Hill near the center of Barrington. In 1728, Prince's Hill Cemetery was purchased and later expanded to its present size by 1898. The -story Barrington Town Hall was completed in 1888 and originally served as the seat of the town's government, library and high school. With the completion of the Leander R. Peck School in 1917, the high school moved into the adjacent building and the library used its space. The two-story Elizabethan Revival style Peck School is designed with a T-shaped plan and features a stairway to access the main entrance on the second story. The Peck School was later used by the fifth and sixth-grade elementary students before becoming the public library. Also located within the district is Wood's Pond. The Barrington Civic Center Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and serves as a historically significant example of civic and natural environment planning of the late nineteenth century.

Overview

Located in Barrington, Rhode Island on County Road, the Barrington Civic Center Historic District includes the Barrington Town Hall, the Peck School, sports field and tennis court, Wood's pond and Prince's Hill Cemetery. The cemetery dates to the early 18th century, with stones dating from 1728. Bicknell's A History of Barrington, Rhode Island notes under April 7, 1886, that the town voted and approved an appropriation of $2000 for the land to build a town hall. The town hall was completed in 1888 and was originally used as the town's government offices, library and school. In 1917, the high school students transferred to the newly completed and adjacent Peck School.

Barrington Town Hall

The -story Barrington Town Hall was designed and constructed between 1887 and 1888 by Stone, Carpenter & Willson of Providence, Rhode Island with an appropriation of $15,000. The town hall was officially dedicated on December 12, 1888. Constructed on the north-south axis of a ridge Prince's Hill, the town hall's design was self-described as medieval by the architects. Morgan describes the town hall as having "three flank gable units of varying height and depth" and [it] has two circular towers on the front facade of varying height. Morgan notes that "[in the Town Hall,] institutional functions are given something of a domestic architectural character, for the building suggests an expansive house in a half-timbered manorial style." The basement, first and portions of the second story of the Town Hall are constructed of fieldstone. Some of the stones are inscribed as memorials and one stone is claimed to have originated from Plymouth Rock.  The second story, below the eaves, is half-timbered. The center of the building features planned irregularity with two large projecting dormer-gables, a chimney to the left of a projecting entrance porch. The southern gable, facing the front, also has two projecting dormers. The southern tower is topped by a copper weather vane with an elaborate three-mast ship.

According to Morgan, the town hall was designed for multiple uses and this is evident from the plans and the exterior of the building. The largest section, the center section, serves as the government function and has municipal offices on the first floor. A stairwell to the right leads to the second floor, which functions as a town meeting room. A secondary entrance on the western facade accesses the northern section of the building, previously a library. The southern section of the building was previously a high school with separate entrances for boys and girls. The second floor of the southern section was used by the Antiquarian Society for meetings and its collections. In 1917, the original library was moved to the southern section following the completion of the Leander R. Peck School. Two additions to the town hall were made to expand the library. The two additions consisted of two parallel gable units that matched the original material and form of the town hall, the first addition was made in 1938 by Howe & Church and the second in 1963 by Michael Traficante.

School and library
The Leander R. Peck School was donated to the Town of Barrington by Sarah Gould Peck in memory of her husband, Leander Remington Peck. A committee was formed to oversee the project and construction began in the spring of 1916. It was designed by Martin & Hall of Providence, Rhode Island, and constructed by Wilmarth and Mackillop of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The two-story Elizabethan Revival school is made of red Barrington brick with Indiana limestone trim and topped with a gable roof. Designed with a T-shaped plan, the main entrance at the top of the "T" is accessed on a second-story terrace reached via a large double stairway. The flanks have large projecting gable pavilions which include offices for the principal and superintendent. The central hallway is  in width and is lined with classrooms on the first floor and the second floor has an assembly room and two recitation rooms. The full basement of the school includes the gymnasium and locker rooms. The building was opened on September 14, 1917. Additions to the school were made in 1924 and 1935 on the east. In the 1970s, these additions were used as a cafeteria and stage. By 1976, the Peck School was used as an elementary school for fifth and sixth graders. Later the school was renamed and re-purposed as the Barrington Public Library. The Barrington Preservation Society uses the lower level as a museum and for the storage of records.

Prince's Hill Cemetery

Located in the northwest half of the historic district is the Prince's Hill Cemetery. According to Morgan, "[a]t a town meeting on January 18, 1728–29, a committee of Timothy Wadsworth, Lieutenant Peck, Zachariah Bicknell, and James Smith was empowered to purchase land on Prince's Hill from Ebenezer Allen to lay out a burying ground for the recently erected Congregational Church..." The earliest stones are located in the narrow northern end of the cemetery and date to 1728. The cemetery was first expanded on December 31, 1729, with the purchase of a half-acre for five pounds sterling. It would expand four more times by 1898 to encompass more than four acres. In 1849, the cemetery was fenced in and Morgan describes it as "presently exemplifies the "rural cemetery" tradition of the nineteenth century with meandering drives and natural landscape planting." Markers of note include the Ward family marker, consisting of a "large rugged cross and an ethereal angel", a 1903 stone marker dedicated to the slaves of the Barrington families and a Classical Revival crypt dating to 1909.

Importance
According to the National Register of Historic Places, the Barrington Civic Center Historic District is significant as it represents the "historical concentration of public and governmental functions in the Prince's Hill area of Barrington... [and as] a unit,
the cemetery, town hall and school, and Wood's Pond, epitomize the late nineteenth-century interest in a planned natural environment." Barrington was transformed by a tripling of its population from 1840 to 1900, going from a rural to a suburban environment. From 1881, the development of the land was regulated by the Barrington Rural Improvement Society, and the historic district serves as evidence of its planning. Morgan notes that a train station just south of Prince's Hill influenced the decision for the construction of civic buildings. The historic district still "show[s] the imprint of early civic pride and planning". It was added to the register in 1976.

See also
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Rhode Island

References

Historic districts in Bristol County, Rhode Island
Barrington, Rhode Island
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island


Camilla Brunelli (30 March 1957 in Florence) is an Italian historian and a specialist in German studies. Since 2002 she is a director of the Museo della Deportazione in the Italian city Prato.

Life
As a daughter of the foreign correspondent at that time of the Italian daily paper Corriere della Sera, Brunelli moved in 1960 with her family to Bonn. After the final secondary-school examinations at the Nicolaus Cusanus High School in Bonn she studied at the University of Florenz history and German language and literature studies.

From 1988 to 1995 Brunelli worked among other things on the Austrian consulate Florenz and from 1990 to 2007 among many things such as a simultaneous interpreter for the public television RAI. Since 1984 she is active in addition for Prato and the Austrian municipality even lake in the common partnership between cities. In addition she co-operated several times with in Berlin the residents foundation topography of the terror.

Since 2002 Brunelli is a director of the Museo della Deportazione in the Tuscan city Prato. She is an expert in the context of the European memory culture. In 2009 she was selected as a representative of Italy in the international advice of the association Austrian foreign service.

Translations into the Italian (selection)
 E. Kendler, R. Pekar: May più! (Never again!). City Prato and province Florenz, Prato 1987
 Mark Lidzbarski: Ricordi di giovinezza di un professore tedesco (on rough way. Youth memories of a German professor). Passigli Editore, Florenz 1988 (with Lela husband ski)
 Grete Weil: IL prezzo della sposa (the bride price). Giunti, Florenz 1991
 Curt Goetz: Una strega A Beverly Hills (the dead one of Beverly Hills). Giunti, Florenz 1995

Translations into German (selection)
Guido Baglioni: Ist Demokratie moeglich? (Democrazia impossibile?). Nomos, Baden-Baden 1998

Publication
 Grete Weil: Conseguenze tardive (late sequences), La Giuntina, Florenz 2008
 Cooperation on: Il libro dei deportati, given change of Brunello Mantelli and Nicola Tranfaglia, Mursia, Milan 2009

Filmography (selection)
 Cooperation at the film: Un futuro by la memoria (A Future for the Memory) of Massimo Sani, Prato 1997
 Participation in the film script too: Luci nel buio (Lights in the Darkness) of Gabriele Cecconi, Prato 2003

External links
 Website of the Museo della Deportazione

1957 births
Living people
20th-century Italian historians
Italian women historians
Historians of Germany
21st-century Italian historians

Camilla Brunelli


Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former professional football player. He played as a center in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He was a three-time All-Pro, twice named to the first team, and a five-time Pro Bowl selection.

Kalil played college football at USC, where he was a member of two national championship teams, was named a first-team All-American, and won the 2006 Morris Trophy. He was selected by the Carolina in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, where he played for 12 seasons. He also played 1 season with the New York Jets. Kalil was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.

Early life
Kalil was born Ryan Joseph Kalil in 1985 to Frank and Cheryl Kalil. His father, Frank, played football for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arizona. He was drafted by the National Football League Buffalo Bills in 1982 and later played in the United States Football League until 1984. His mother, Cheryl (Van Cleave), was Miss California in 1981. He is of Lebanese and Mexican heritage and has two siblings. His brother, Matt, is a former starting offensive tackle at USC and was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. They were the third set of brothers to play on the same offensive line in the NFL when Matt joined Ryan on the Panthers in 2017 and the first set of brothers to do it in 24 years. Their sister Danielle sang the national anthem at the Vikings–Panthers game, which featured both her brothers, on October 13, 2013.

Early career

High school career
Born in Tucson, Arizona and raised in Corona, California, Kalil went to Servite High School in Anaheim, California, where he was teammates with future New England Patriots wide receiver/special teams and fellow NFL future All Pro Matthew Slater.

College career
Kalil attended the University of Southern California, where he played for the USC Trojans football team.  He was a 2005 Sports Illustrated All-American, won the USC Trojans' Bob Chandler Award in 2005 and Courage Award in 2004, and was on the watch list for the Lombardi Award.

Kalil was on the official watch list for the Rimington Trophy for the top college football center and the Outland Trophy watch list for the best lineman.  He was named to the 2005 and 2006 Pac-10 coaches and Rivals.com All-Pac-10 team First Team. He was a Pro Football Weekly All-American choice and a Rivals.com second-team All American and SI.com honorable mention All-American.

Kalil was voted "lineman of the year" by his Trojans teammates and won the 2006 Morris Trophy. He was invited to play in the Senior Bowl prior to the 2007 NFL Draft.

In 2003, Kalil and the Trojans finished the regular season 11–1 and ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches' polls. However, USC was left out of the BCS championship game after finishing third in the BCS behind Oklahoma and LSU. The Trojans went to the Rose Bowl and played University of Michigan. That 2003 season saw split national champions, as LSU won the BCS title, while USC was crowned champion by the AP. Kalil appeared in two BCS Championship Games: 2005's win against the University of Oklahoma and 2006's loss to University of Texas.

Professional football career

Kalil ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds at the 2007 NFL Combine and bench pressed 225 pounds 34 times.  His performances at the combine and the Senior Bowl impressed scouts and led many analysts to project he would be selected in the first or second round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Carolina Panthers
Pre-draft predictions turned out to be correct, as Kalil was selected in the second round of the draft with the 59th pick by the Carolina Panthers. He was the first center to be selected in the 2007 draft and joined his teammate from the USC Trojans, Dwayne Jarrett, who the Panthers also selected in the second round.

In 2007, Kalil started three games at center.

In 2008, Kalil was named the full-time starter at center. He started in all 12 games that he appeared, missing four games due to injury.

In 2011, Kalil received a franchise tag from the Carolina Panthers.

On August 19, 2011, the Panthers signed Kalil to a six-year $49 million deal, making him the highest paid center in NFL history. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as the starting center of the NFC team.

On February 7, 2016, Kalil was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.

It was announced on December 23, 2015 that Kalil was one of ten players on the Carolina Panthers voted into the 2016 Pro Bowl, making it his fifth appearance. He could not play in the Pro Bowl due to the Panthers appearance in Super Bowl 50. For the 2015 season, PFF rated Kalil as the third-best run-blocking center in the NFL. He was ranked 79th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

On June 6, 2016, Kalil signed a two-year extension with the Panthers. He had been dealing with a shoulder injury for several weeks before leaving the Week 11 game against the New Orleans Saints. He was placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2016, ending his season.

In 2017, Kalil started only six games after dealing with a neck injury for most of the season.

On December 31, 2018, Kalil announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons.

New York Jets
On August 1, 2019, Kalil came out of his brief retirement to sign a one-year contract with the New York Jets. He was placed on injured reserve on November 16, 2019.

In media

Film and television
Kalil has interests in the film industry, having made claymation films as a child.

He directed fellow USC-alumnus Will Ferrell on a football training spoof for the NFL Network and his short film, The Take Off, which premiered at The 34th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 29, 2019.

Kalil founded Mortal Media in 2016 with friend Blake Griffin. Kalil and Griffin have sold eight movie and television projects, five of which are in active development, most notably Apple TV+'s Hello Tomorrow! and reboots of White Men Can't Jump and Disney's The Rocketeer.

Books
In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood announced he will serve as an executive producer along with Dwayne Johnson producing Sony Pictures film "Son of Shaolin." Kalil financed production of the underlying graphic novel.

Ryan Kalil, Shawn Kittelsen and Chris B. Murray created Savage Game, a Comixology Originals 60-page sci-fi graphic novel that is a high-tech version of The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Kalil also co-wrote The Rookie Handbook with former Carolina offensive line teammates Jordan Gross and Geoff Hangartner. The Rookie Handbook is a humorous and insightful look at the life of an NFL rookie. It's designed to give a behind the scenes glimpse at life in the big leagues for the legions of NFL fans.

Podcast network and production company
In March 2022, Kalil, along with Vince Vaughn and Greg Olsen, launched a podcast network and production company named Audiorama. The first podcast available from the network, called Youth, Inc., focuses on youth sports.

Personal life
Kalil resides in Manhattan Beach, California, with his wife, Natalie, and their four children. Ryan started the Kalil Family Foundation with his wife, which works to greatly accelerate lupus research and improve life for people living with lupus. The foundation also supports pioneering solutions to end homelessness in the United States and abroad.

Kalil was announced as one of the investors in an almost all-female group that was awarded a new franchise in the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's sport in the U.S. The new team, since unveiled as Angel City FC, is set to start play in 2022.

Notes

External links

 Ryan Kalil on Instagram
 Ryan Kalil on Twitter
 Carolina Panthers bio
 Bio at USCTrojans.com
 Kalil and Will Ferrell at NFL.com
 Panthers franchise center Ryan Kalil

1985 births
Living people
American football centers
American people of Lebanese descent
American sportspeople of Mexican descent
Carolina Panthers players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
New York Jets players
Players of American football from Corona, California
Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona
Unconferenced Pro Bowl players
USC Trojans football players
Servite High School alumni
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent

Ryan Kalil


Euphorbia cyparissias, the cypress spurge, is a species of plant in the genus Euphorbia. It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America in the 1860s as an ornamental plant.

Natural habitat types include dunes, pannes, coastal headlands and grasslands. In North America it is commonly found in the dry, gravelly soil of roadsides, pastures, and meadows. Cypress spurge thrives in open, disturbed areas.

Description
The plant ranges from 8 inches (20 cm) to 16 inches (40 cm) in height.  Its petal-like bracts are usually green-yellow, maturing to purple or red from May to August. The mature fruit explodes, spreading seeds up to . The plant also reproduces through lateral root buds, which allow it to spread densely. It can be identified by its leaves, which are small and linear, measuring up to  long by only  wide.

Ecology
This plant is considered a noxious weed in many places, including Colorado in the United States. Like some other non-native plants, it invades the habitat of native species. It is known to be harmful to cattle and horses, but not sheep. It can be difficult to control. Biological pest control methods have been attempted, involving the release of several European insect species in North America. Certain flea beetles have been effective, but there are concerns about the release of non-native insects into the region.

Parasites of this species include Uromyces pisi-sativi, a fungus.

Anthrenus scrophulariae may frequently be found on this plant.
This plant is attractive as an ornamental but its invasive nature makes it necessary to control its spread; its root spread is more invasive than its ability to self-seed.

Toxicity and uses
While the roots have sometimes been used as a purgative, it can be poisonous if taken in quantity, and animals can be poisoned by eating hay containing it. Contact with the sap can cause skin reactions.
WARNING: This plant has several irritants. The milky sap is a skin irritant that can cause burns/blisters in some individuals. Late season mature bracts have tiny hair like barbs. Once they are in your skin can cause mild irritation that can last for years. If you work with this plant use gloves and long sleeves. When you work this plant do not touch your skin with gloves on.

References

3) Morgan, PL Home Gardener, Adk. Mtns, NYS

cyparissias
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Euphorbia cyparissias


Khan Bahadur Captain (retd) Sardar Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, KBE, (born 1892 - died 1942) was an important Punjabi statesman and popular leader.  He was Governor and then Premier of this province in British India.

Background and early life
Sikandar Hayat was the son of Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan, CSI, of the Khattar tribe of Wah.

After initial education at the Aligarh school and the MAO College at Aligarh (later to become the Aligarh Muslim University), he went for higher education to the King's College London. On returning home, in 1915, he enrolled as an Assistant Recruiting Officer in the Punjab, to help the British Indian Army's efforts during the First World War; and was later one of the very first natives to receive the King's Commission, as a Captain of the 67th Punjabis (later the 1st Battalion of the 2 Punjab Regiment) in 1919. After the war he started his own business ventures and also entered grassroots politics in his area.

Later life and career
In the 1920s, Sikandar Hayat Khan slowly began to make his mark as a statesman, and in collaboration with Sir Fazli Husain and Sir Chotu Ram became one of the founders of the Unionist Party (Punjab). This was a secular party representing all Punjabis of different creeds mostly united by the zamindar (rural/agrarian) interest, and it soon became the most popular political group in the province. Due to his special services at this time, in various ways, the Government of British India granted a knighthood to Sir Sikandar. Between 1932 and 1934 he also had the unique honour of being the only native to be appointed acting Governor of the Punjab under British rule.

Thereafter, for a brief while, Sir Sikandar also worked as Deputy-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India but in July 1936, on the demise of Sir Fazli Husain, he returned to take on leadership of the Unionist party for the general elections held in Winter of the same year, winning by a simple majority and forming a coalition government along with the Indian National Congress and the Sikh Akali Dal. Sikandar was now chosen as Leader of the House and the Premier or Chief Minister of the Punjab. He remained in this position from 1937 to December 1942, when he died of a sudden heart failure.

Role in the Second World War
Between 1939 and 1942, when he died, Sir Sikandar supported the British struggle against Nazi Germany and believed in cooperating with the British government in the Second World War. He believed that this support would be good for India and help it towards independence after the War ended. He was very active in maximizing recruitment of troops from the Punjab as part of the 'war effort' and even made morale-boosting tours of the Middle East where most Indian (especially Punjabi)troops where serving. The Muslim League leadership agreed with this perspective of his and also announced full cooperation with the British Raj, or government, to achieve their own ends.

Muslim League and Lahore Resolution
Soon after winning the general elections in 1937, Sir Sikandar felt conscious of the need to maintain a balanced stance in a volatile and divided Punjabi political system. He thus decided to also negotiate with the All India Muslim League  under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. As a result, he and Jinnah signed the Jinnah-Sikandar Pact at Lucknow in October 1937, merging the Muslim elements of his powerful Unionist party with the Muslim League, as a move towards forming a common, united front for safeguarding their community rights and interests in India. He was also later one of the chief supporters and architects of the Lahore Resolution, March 1940, calling for an autonomous or semi-independent Muslim majority region within the larger Indian confederation—which demand later led to the demand for an independent Pakistan.

Death and Legacy
At the time of his sudden death in December 1942, Sir Sikandar was honoured by the people of Lahore and granted burial outside the old Badshahi Mosque there, on the other side from Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet. Much of his work was left half done, in particular his plan to help the British war effort towards eventual Indian freedom, and his attempts to weld the Punjab together and save it from communal friction. Many historians have opined that Sir Sikandar's early demise at the age of 50 was, arguably, a major blow to the Indian freedom movements, especially to the Punjab. He wished to preserve this intact, within a larger Indian Confederation whereby his own Muslim community could enjoy full and maximum freedom and self-governance without truncating India or the Punjab region. He was too well aware of the potential bloodbath and conflict resulting from any such division or separation which, alas, was witnessed on such massive scale at the time of the August 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. It would thus not be wrong to say that Sir Sikandar's presence would certainly have been a 'moderating influence—and his death must be reckoned a great misfortune [at the time]''.

Indirectly, however, in due course, his eldest son Shaukat Hayat Khan, would take on a significant role in assisting the All India Muslim League in winning an independent Pakistan, finally, in a somewhat different interpretation of the father's intentions.

Related pages
 Lahore Resolution
 Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League

References

1892 births
1942 deaths
Punjabi people
Leaders of All India Muslim League
Knights and Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Sikandar Hayat Khan


SM-Chile  is a  holding company for Banco de Chile. Until 1996, when its Board of Shareholders agreed to become an investment company with exclusive turn, governed by Law No. 19,396, changing its name to Bank of Parent Company Chile SA' Simultaneously, the parent company of Banco de Chile SA created a commercial bank under the name Banco de Chile and was transferred all its assets and liabilities, excluding subordinated obligation call with the Central Bank of Chile, obligation undertaken following the banking crisis of the years 1982 - 1984 and the consequent bailout carried out by the Central Bank. After this transformation, the sole shareholder of Banco de Chile was the parent company of Banco de Chile SA

From 1996 to 2008, the parent company of Banco de Chile has reduced its participation in Banco de Chile, the proceeds of redemption of shares of Series E of the capitalization of profits of the Bank, the merger of Banco de Chile, from January 2002 merger with Citibank Chile, from January 2008.

At December 2015, SM-Chile owns directly the 42,38% of Banco de Chile (12,63% directly and 29,7% though its subsidiary management company of the Subordinated Obligation SAOS SA).

The ownership of the Company is divided into four sets of actions: A, B, D and E. The Company's shares are traded on the Stock Exchange of Chile, the Chilean Electronic Stock Exchange and the Valparaíso Stock Exchange.

The parent company of Banco de Chile is monitored by the Superintendency of Banks and Financial Institutions of Chile.

References

Holding companies of Chile
Financial services companies of Chile
Chilean companies established in 1996
Holding companies established in 1996

SM-Chile


Margret Wittmer (1904-2000) was one of the original settlers of Floreana Island.

She was born in Cologne on 12 July 1904. Margret, her husband Heinz, and her stepson Harry moved to Floreana Island in 1932, following the arrival of German doctor Friedrich Ritter and his wife, Dore Strauch. Margret was in the fourth month of her first pregnancy, and she gave birth to a son and a daughter while living on the island.

She wrote about her experiences of being an early settler in the book Floreana: A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galapagos. She returned to Germany in 1960 to present her book

Margret's book attracted more German tourists to Floreana Island. She built several bungalows to host different tourists and scientists that visited Floreana.

Actress Diane Kruger portrayed Wittmer in the documentary The Galapagos Affair.

Margret died in 2000. She was buried on Floreana Island.

References

German women writers
1904 births
2000 deaths
German emigrants to Ecuador

Margret Wittmer