title: The Emirates Group

text: In June, Dnata bought over Changi International Airport Services, with Temasek Holdings retaining shareholding.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In July, Emirates flight catering began operations at its new food point facility – a 10,000 square metre facility capable of producing 30 million meals annually.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In early 2006, Emirates flight catering began operations at its new $120 million catering facility dedicated to service the flights of Emirates Airline. The facility had the capacity of producing over 115,00 meals daily. Also, in 2006, Emirates flight catering opened its linecraft laundering plant. The facility has a total area of 10,500 m, and a capacity to handle 50 tonnes of laundry and dry cleaning output per day.


title: The Emirates Group

text: At the Farnborough Air Show in 2006, Emirates signed an agreement for 10 Boeing 747-8F in a deal worth $3.3 billion, and in 2007 Emirates


title: The Emirates Group

text: signs contracts for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 Airbus A380s and 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, worth an estimated $34.9 billion, at the Dubai Air Show. The New Engineering Centre and Engine Test Cell are officially opened and the Emirates Harbour Hotel & Residence and the Marina Hotel open their doors. In September, the group also buys a 49% stake in UK based Alpha Group.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Also in 2007, Dnata signed a 15-year joint venture agreement with China West Airport Group to provide airport ground handling services in Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. Dnata will also participate in operations at 10 other airports managed by CWAG. Under the agreement signed, Dnata will hold a 45 per cent stake in Xi'an Dnata Aviation Services Company Limited, with the remaining 55 per cent owned by CWAG.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 2008, the Emirates Group moved into its new headquarters in Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo also began operations out of Dubai Cargo Village's new Mega Terminal, with a capacity to handle 1.2 million tonnes annually.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In June, Dnata acquired a 19.99 percent stake in its partner Hogg Robinson Group, becoming the largest shareholder in the company.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In August Emirates took delivery of three A380s and the first Emirates A380 touched down in New York in August. Emirates also received its 10,000th cabin crew member.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In September, Sabre Holdings signed a 10-year agreement with EmQuest tp distribute services in Africa. In October the Emirates dedicated Terminal 3 opened with a capacity of over 27 million passengers, the terminal is the largest terminal in the world.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 2013, EmQuest signed an agreement with Contac Services Inc. to launch the mywurld platform in the Middle East and Africa.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Emirates Group is a subsidiary of the Dubai government investment company, Investment Corporation of Dubai.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The group has recorded a profit every year, except the second, and growth has never fallen below 20% a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The government has received Dhs3.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999 for having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10m and an additional investment of US$80m at the time of the airline's inception. The Dubai government is the sole owner of the company. However, it does not put any new money into it, nor does it interfere with running the airline.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, engineering, event organization, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has 4 subsidiaries and its parent company has more than 50.


title: The Emirates Group

text: At the end of the fiscal year on 31 March 2020, Emirates airlines employed a total of 59,519 staff of which 21,789 were cabin crew, 4,313 were flight deck crew, 3,316 were in engineering, 12,627 were listed as other, 5,376 employees were at overseas stations and 12,098 were at subsidiary companies.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, and a major airline in the Middle East. It is the national airline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates and operates over 1,990 passenger flights per week, from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to over 101 destinations in 61 countries across 6 continents. Emirates Airline was established in 1985 with one Boeing 737 and one Airbus A300. The Emirates fleet is now 10 Boeing 777-200LR, 125 Boeing 777-300ER, and 117 Airbus A380 aircraft.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In the financial year 2008–09 passenger numbers reached 22.7 million, representing an increase of 7.1% over the previous year.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The airline's profits however were down 72% for the 2008/09 fiscal year. Its profit of 1.49bn dirhams ($406m; £255m) for the year to 31 March compared with a 5.3bn dirham profit for the previous year.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates SkyCargo is a cargo carrier operating from Dubai International Airport. The SkyCargo division operates 13 Boeing 777 Freighters. Emirates SkyCargo also use the cargo capacity of the passenger fleet.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In the 2019-20 fiscal year, Emirates SkyCargo carried 2,389,000 tonnes, a decline of 10.2% compared to the previous year.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Dnata is an aviation services company, comprising Dnata Airport Operations, the largest ground and passenger handling company at Dubai International Airport, Dnata Cargo, responsible for dealing with much of the 1.3 million tonnes of cargo passing through Dubai International Airport, and Dnata Agencies, a Dubai-based travel agency, acting on behalf of a number of major carries, including Aeroflot, Aer Lingus, Airblue, British Airways, Swiss and United Airlines.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Changi International Airport Services (CIAS) offers a comprehensive range of ground handling services to more than 30 scheduled airlines in Singapore.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Engineering supports the expansive fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by Emirates Airline together with those of thirty other airlines through third party maintenance contracts.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The division can manage and implement all aspects of aircraft engineering support, such as maintenance, safety and logistics. It also has an engine test cell facility.


title: The Emirates Group

text: It also occupies the Emirates Engineering Centre which opened in late 2006 on a site at Dubai International Airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Its eleven fully air-conditioned hangars for heavy and light maintenance, together with a paint hangar, cover an area equivalent to 17 football pitches and have the capacity to meet the service requirements of an Emirates fleet which is growing at the rate one new aircraft every month. Each hangar has an entrance gate 88 metres wide and every bay can accommodate any size of aircraft with an engine thrust of up to 150,000 pounds, including the Airbus A380, which is 73 metres long with an 80-metre wingspan and a tail 24 metres high.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Flight Catering Company has over 11,000 employees and provides in-flight catering and support services for airlines at Dubai International Airport. It provides the catering for all Emirates flights from Dubai, and also for other airlines operating at the airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Alpha Flight Services is a leading onboard catering operator and has been supplying all Emirates airline flights departing Australia since 2008.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Group has a 49 per cent interest in the company, which provides in-flight catering at nine airports in Australia, including all major international gateways, serving 16 customer airlines with over seven million meals a year


title: The Emirates Group

text: Mercator was the IT division of the Emirates Group. It was launched in 1995 to serve the business technology requirements of Emirates and Dnata. Aviation technology and solutions were later on not only provided to the Emirates Group companies, but also to other airlines and businesses.


title: The Emirates Group

text: 2014 it was announced that the equity firm Warburg Pincus acquired a majority stake of Mercator and that Dnata would still hold a minority stake.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Mercator merged in 2017 with the Spanish aviation solutions company Accelya and will operate under the latter name. Previous majority shareholder of Mercator, Warburg Pincus, is also the majority shareholder of the new company.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates High Street is an online store which stocks over 400 products, such as luxury goods, electronics, and holiday packages.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Leisure Retail's core business is establishing, managing and franchising restaurants, cafes, bars and leisure facilities in the GCC.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Official Store is the official store of Emirates Airlines, which stocks products, such as airplane models, souvenirs, and Emirates themed retail.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Sirocco is a joint venture between Emirates and Heineken International which manages the sales and marketing of a range of beverages in the Middle East.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Group Security is an organization that is responsible for security measures throughout the Emirates network. It covers all Dubai passengers and cargo terminal users, company facilities and staff accommodation.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Transguard Group is a security services provider in the Middle East with an annual turnover exceeding AED600 million and more than 38,000 full-time employees. It is also one of the region's largest operators in business support services, facilities management, cash management, security technology, training, events management and airport services.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The company is a subsidiary of Emirates providing administrative support, managing data, and coordinating third party suppliers such as venues, catering, and accommodation. It deals with conferences and provides support to delegates, as well as providing leisure and recreational activities for visiting delegates.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Is another destination management company, that provides tourist operations in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Arabian Adventures is a destination management company, providing services to the different tour operators, incentive houses, meeting organisers, businesses and cruise lines.


title: The Emirates Group

text: EmQuest provides electronic distribution products and services to different firms, connecting suppliers with resellers and giving them a platform to exchange content and trade with one another.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Calogi is a secure internet service portal that gives offers a range of air cargo businesses from around the world to negotiate and sell products and services online.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Cargo Partners is the sales and services arm of Dnata Cargo and offers support to more than a quarter of all the airlines operating out of Dubai International Airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Dnata-PWC Airport Logistics LLC provides cargo transport services for both local and international customers, including Emirates Sky Cargo, British Airways and Singapore Airlines.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Freightworks uses the cargo data systems to offer tailor-made global logistics solutions to firms in the Middle East.


title: The Emirates Group

text: SDV-UAE LLC is one of the largest transport and logistics providers in the Middle East with multinational contacts in the cargo industry.


title: The Emirates Group

text: As of 1 November 2007, the Emirates Group has launched the first of the Emirates Hotels & Resorts Residences with The Harbour Hotel & Residence. This is a hotel and residential tower located in Dubai Marina. It is the first of six international properties expected to open in 2008.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Loyalty Services is a consultancy subsidiary of Emirates' Skywards frequent flyer programme.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Skywards is a four tier frequent flier program operated by Emirates. It is used by over 8.4 million customers. The three main tiers are Blue; Silver, which requires 25,000 tier miles for entry; and Gold, which requires 50,000 tier miles. There is a fourth tier named Platinum and requires 150,000 tier miles. There is an additional membership known as Invitation Only or "IO" where you must be invited to this small group of members. The benefits provided are over and above the Platinum benefits.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Aviation University located in Al Garhoud, and in Academic City is an education and training facility for the airline industry.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The college opened in 1991, and was transitioned to a university in April 2014. The newer campus that is located in Academic City opened in January 2015. It offers professional academic and vocational training programmes.


title: The Emirates Group

text: More than 1700 aerospace engineers and technicians and 2000 air traffic controllers have graduated from the college, while the number of full-time students has increased from 300 to 1100 between years 2004 and 2009.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates-CAE Flight Training provides aviation-related courses for commercial carriers in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia, primarily aimed at flight deck crew and airline maintenance personnel.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The joint venture between Emirates Group and CAE Inc of Canada is located in the Emirates Aviation University campus, near Dubai International Airport. Emirates Aviation University now has a second Campus in Academic City, DubaiLand.


title: The Emirates Group

text: ECFT, as the joint venture is known, is the first facility of its kind in the Middle East to be qualified to both Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The 14-bay centre houses 10 full-flight simulators: two Airbus A320/ACJs, an Airbus A330/340, a Boeing 777, two Boeing 737 NG/BBJs, a Gulfstream IV and a Gulfstream V/550, a Hawker 800/800XP and a Bell 412 helicopter simulator.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Emirates Group holds a 68.7% stake in Dubai-based Maritime and Mercantile International, 34.4% equity stake in Oman United Agencies and a 54.7% equity stake in Emirates Flight Catering. Emirates Flight Catering is the sole provider of airline and airport catering services at Dubai International Airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Dnata owns 50% equity stakes in Dubai Express, Gerry's Dnata (Pvt.) Ltd. and Dnata Arabian Airport Services Co. Ltd, 49% equity stake in Safiran Dnata Airport Services PJSC, 40% stake in Emirates Loyalty Company and a 20% stake in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Ground Handling Services Co. Ltd.


title: Beast of the Earth

text: The Beast of the Earth (), sometimes called The Dabba/Dabbah in Islamic eschatology, will be one of the signs of the coming of the Last Day or Judgement Day. It will appear before or after the sun rises in the west, where the Beast will be sighted for the very first time. The Beast is mentioned in the Quran (in "Sura" An-Naml) and is also mentioned in the "ahadith", which expand upon the characteristics of the beast. Islamic tradition holds that the Beast will precipitate the death of all true believers and the removal of the Quran from the world.


title: Beast of the Earth

text: The Qur'an mentions that the Beast will address the unbelievers and admonish them for their lack of attention towards God:


title: Beast of the Earth

text: A tradition attributed to Ibn al-Zubayr also describes the Beast carrying the Seal of Solomon and Moses' staff.


title: Beast of the Earth

text: Some "ahadith" say that the Beast will be one of the first major signs of the Last Day, along with the sun rising in the west. The appearance of the Dajjal, rising smoke, and great turmoil are said to be other signs of the end times in a similar "hadith".


title: Beast of the Earth

text: According to the medieval Sunni theologian Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, there is nothing mentioned in "hadith" reports attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad about the nature of this creature, but it is mentioned in narrations circulating around the time of his successors. Wahb ibn Munabbih stated that such a "beast" spoke to the people of Sodom from under the earth.


title: Beast of the Earth

text: While the majority of contemporary Islamic scholars accept the traditional exegesis of the Beast of the Earth, the "Dābbat al-Arḍ" as a literal creature who will appear in the end times, some interpret the Beast as possibly being made of various parts, including diseases like HIV. Another interpretation holds that this Beast is related to materialistic tendencies, and thus the "Dābbat" does not appear at the end of the world, but rather will doom a given nation or society.


title: Banu Hashim

text: The Banū Hāshim () is an Arab clan within the Quraysh tribe to which the prophet Muhammad belonged, named after Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf.


title: Banu Hashim

text: Members of this clan, and especially their descendants, are also referred to as Hashimids, Hashimites, or Hashemites, and often carry the surname . These descendants, and especially those tracing their lineage to Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, hold the traditional title of (often synonymous to ).


title: Banu Hashim

text: From the 8th century on, Hashimid descent came to be regarded as a mark of nobility, and formed the basis upon which many dynasties legitimized their rule. Some of the most famous Islamic dynasties of Hashimid descent include the Abbasids (ruled from Baghdad 750–945; held the caliphate without exercising power 945–1258 in Badghad and 1261–1517 in Cairo), the Fatimids (ruled from Cairo and claimed the caliphate 909–1171), the Alaouit (rulers of Morocco, 1631–present), and the Hashemites (rulers of Jordan, 1921–present).


title: Banu Hashim

text: Traditionally, the tribe is named after Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. He was married to Salma bint Amr of the Banu Najjar, an Azdi clan.


title: Banu Hashim

text: Amongst pre-Islamic Arabs, people classified themselves according to their tribe, their clan, and then their house/family. There were two major tribal kinds: the Adnanites (descended from Adnan, traditional ancestor of the Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia) and the Qahtanites (originating from Qahtan, the traditional ancestor of the Arabs of southern and south eastern Arabia). Banu Hashim is one of the clans of the Quraysh tribe, and is an Adnanite tribe. It derives its name from Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, and along with the Banu Abd-Shams, Banu Al-Muttalib, and Banu Nawfal clans comprises the Banu Abd al-Manaf section of the Quraysh.


title: Banu Hashim

text: The House of Abdul-Muttalib of Banu Hashim comprised nobility in pre-Islamic Mecca. This was based on their hereditary duty to act as stewards and caretakers of the pilgrims coming to Mecca to worship at the Kaaba, the sacred shrine that in Islamic tradition was built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and his first-born son and heir Ismail (Ishmael) was a Monotheist site of worship.


title: Banu Hashim

text: With time, the Kaaba had come to be occupied by some hundreds of idols. Visiting of these idols by the different tribes caused traffic which added considerably to the wealth of the merchants of Mecca, which also benefited from its position astride the caravan routes from Yemen (Arabia Felix) up to the Mediterranean markets.


title: Banu Hashim

text: It was into the House 'Abd al-Muttalib of Banu Hashim of Quraysh that Muhammad was born. At the age of 40, his establishment of Islam set him at odds with the established powers in Mecca. His membership of the 'top house, of the top clan' (in terms of prestige and power) was a factor (according to Islamic tradition) through which God kept him safe from assassination during the early years of his mission, as a number of his uncles would not countenance any such insult to their so-called clan honour. After 13 years, the Muslim community of Mecca migrated (made Hijrah) to the city of Yathrib (which subsequently became known as Medina) to avoid their often murderous persecution by the non-believers of Mecca. With the conquest of Mecca, the city was captured by the army of Islam. The Kaabah was cleansed of idols and became the centre of pilgrimage for Muslims, once again the centre of pure Abrahamic monotheism. (It is illegal for non-Muslims to enter an area designated surrounding the city of Mecca).


title: Banu Hashim

text: The two major lines of descent of Muhammad are those of his two grandsons, Al-Hasan and Al-Husain, born of the union of his daughter Fatimah and his cousin and son-in-law Ali. Muhammad besought the love of the Muslims on his grandsons, thus their descendants have become spiritual aristocracy among the Muslims. The descendants of the Banu Hashim are known by the titles of Saiyed, Sayed, Sayyid, Syed and Sharif.


title: Banu Hashim

text: In the 19th Century CE, to try to resolve the confusion surrounding the descendants of Muhammad, the Ottoman Caliphs attempted to replicate the Almanach de Gotha (the tome listing the noble houses of Europe) to show known and verifiable lines of descent. Although not 100% complete in its scope the resulting Kitab al-Ashraf (Book of the Sharifs), kept at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul is one of the best sources of evidence of descent from Muhammad.


title: Banu Hashim

text: The Alids (the term given to the descendants of Muhammad via his daughter Fatima and Ali) lines of descent produced many once, present (and future) reigning dynasties across the Islamic imperium, amongst these stand:


title: Anchorite

text: In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop.


title: Anchorite

text: The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In the Catholic Church, eremitic life is one of the forms of the Consecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites existed in the 11th century. Their highest number—around 200 anchorites—were recorded in the 13th century.


title: Anchorite

text: From the 12th to the 16th centuries, female anchorites consistently outnumbered their male counterparts, sometimes by as many as four to one (in the 13th century), dropping eventually to two to one (in the 15th century). The sex of a high number of anchorites, however, is not recorded for these periods.


title: Anchorite

text: Between 1536 and 1539, the dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII of England effectively brought the anchorite tradition to an end.


title: Anchorite

text: The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and high Middle Ages. Examples of the dwellings of anchorites and anchoresses survive, a large number of which are in England. They tended to be a simple cell (also called "anchorhold"), built against one of the walls of the local village church. In Germanic-speaking areas, from at least the tenth century, it was customary for the bishop to say "The Office of the Dead" as the anchorite entered their cell, to signify the anchorite's death to the world and rebirth to a spiritual life of solitary communion with God and the angels. Sometimes, if the anchorite was walled up inside the cell, the bishop would put his seal upon the wall to stamp it with his authority. Some anchorites, however, freely moved between their cells and the adjoining churches.


title: Anchorite

text: Most anchoritic strongholds were small, perhaps no more than square, with three windows. Viewing the altar, hearing Mass, and receiving the Eucharist were possible through one small, shuttered window in the common wall facing the sanctuary, called a "hagioscope" or "squint". Anchorites provided spiritual advice and counsel to visitors through these windows, gaining a reputation for wisdom. Another small window allowed access to those who saw to the anchorite's physical needs. A third window, often facing the street but covered with translucent cloth, allowed light into the cell.


title: Anchorite

text: Anchorites committed to a life of uncompromising enclosure. Those who considered leaving perhaps believed their souls may be damned for spiritual dereliction. Some refused to leave their cells even when pirates or looters were pillaging their towns, and consequently burned to death when the church was torched. They ate frugal meals, spending their days both in contemplative prayer and interceding on behalf of others. Their body waste was managed by means of a chamber pot. Some anchorholds had a few small rooms, or attached gardens. Servants tended to the basic needs of anchorites, providing food and water, and removing waste. Julian of Norwich, for example, is known to have had several maidservants, among them Sara and Alice. Aelred of Rievaulx wrote an anchorite rule book, , for his recluse sister, titled "De Institutione Inclusarum"; in it, he suggested keeping no housemates other than an old woman, to act as companion and doorkeeper, and a young maid as domestic servant.


title: Anchorite

text: In addition to being the physical location wherein the anchorite could embark on a journey toward union with God, the anchorhold also provided a spiritual and geographic focus for people from the wider society seeking spiritual advice and guidance. Though set apart from the community at large by stone walls and specific spiritual precepts, the anchorite lay at the very centre of the community. The anchorhold has been called a communal "womb" from which would emerge an idealized sense of a community's own reborn potential, both as Christians and as human subjects.


title: Anchorite

text: An idea of their daily routine can be gleaned from an anchoritic rule. The most widely known today is the early 13th-century text known as "Ancrene Wisse". Another, less widely known, example is the rule known as "De Institutione Inclusarum" written in the 12th century, around 1160–1162, by Aelred of Rievaulx for his sister. It is estimated that the daily set devotions detailed in "Ancrene Wisse" would take some four hours, on top of which anchoresses would listen to services in the church and engage in their own private prayers and devotional reading.


title: Anchorite

text: Richard Rolle, an English hermit and mystic, wrote one of the most influential guide books regarding the life of an anchoress. His book, "The Form of Living", was addressed to a young anchoress named Margaret Kirkby, who was responsible for preserving his texts. Her connection to the town of Hampole has been commonly associated with Rolle; he is sometimes referred to as 'Richard Rolle of Hampole' despite a lack of conclusive evidence that Rolle indeed was ever in the small village.


title: Anchorite

text: The earliest recorded anchorites lived in the third century AD. For example, Hilarion (Gaza, 291 – Cyprus, 371) was known as the founder of anchoritic life in Palestine.


title: Anchorite

text: The anchoritic life proved popular in England, where women outnumbered men in the ranks of the anchorites, especially in the 13th century. Written evidence supports the existence of 780 anchorites on 600 sites between 1100 and 1539, when the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII brought anchoritism in England to an end. However, the lack of a consistent registration system for anchorites suggests there may have been substantially more. English anchorholds can still be seen at Chester-le-Street in County Durham and at Hartlip in Kent.


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Vernon George Wells (born 31 December 1945) is an Australian character actor. He began appearing on Australian television shows in the mid-1970s, such as "Homicide", "Matlock Police" and "All the Rivers Run". He is best known to international audiences for his role of Wez in the 1981 science fiction action film "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" and Bennett in the military action film "Commando".


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: After "Mad Max 2", Wells began appearing in Hollywood films, such as science fiction comedies "Weird Science" (1985) and "Innerspace" (1987). In the 2000s, Wells acted in the television series "Power Rangers Time Force" portraying the series' main villain Ransik.


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Wells was born in Rushworth, Victoria, the son of Eva Maude (née Jackson) and Michael Wells. At the age of 14 he was part of a music band, then upon graduating high school, went to University and attained a degree in Telecommunications.


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Wells worked in a quarry, then as a salesman, and then in theatre and rock bands. In the 1970s, he was selected by casting agents to appear in a theatre play, and he started to appear in Australian TV commercials, print advertisements, local Australian TV shows such as "Homicide" and "Matlock Police" and historical TV mini-series like "Against The Wind", "Sara Dane" and "All The Rivers Run".


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: His first cinema appearance was a minor role in "Felicity" (1979), a low-budget, erotic fantasy film.


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Wells was cast as the homicidal biker Wez, in "Mad Max 2" (1981), filmed around Silverton near Broken Hill in outback New South Wales, Australia. It is the role for which he is probably best known to international audiences, as Wells portrays a psychotic, post-apocalyptic henchman who relentlessly pursues hero Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), before meeting a spectacular death at the film's finale.


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Hollywood beckoned for Wells, and he spoofed his mad biker role in the popular 1985 teen comedy "Weird Science", written and directed by John Hughes and produced by Joel Silver. Wells so impressed Silver with his work in that film that he was immediately secured for the role of Bennett opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando" (1985). When first approached for the role in "Commando", Wells was in Australia working on the feature film, "Fortress", based on the real-life Faraday School kidnapping, in a starring role opposite Rachel Ward. Wells appeared as Roo Marcus in "Last Man Standing" (1987).


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: In 1992, Wells appeared in one of the few roles in which he is not cast as a villain, in the short-lived 1992 television comedy series "The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys." The show was about a professor who accidentally enlarged three Sea-Monkeys to human-size, and then had to deal with their comical ineptness in the world. In 1993, Wells starred in the science fiction film "Fortress" with Christopher Lambert (no connection to the previous movie of the same name).


title: Vernon Wells (actor)

text: Many of Wells's roles 1990s and 2000s portrayed villains, as in the films "Circuitry Man" (1990), "Kick of Death" (1997), "Starforce" (2000) and "Power Rangers Time Force" (2001). In the "Power Rangers" episodes, he played the role of Ransik, a mutant crime lord from the year 3000 who travels back in time to take over the world. In 2002, he reprised this role for the "Power Rangers Wild Force"/"Time Force" two-part team-up episode "Reinforcements from the Future". Wells starred in the 2009 horror film "Silent Night, Zombie Night".


title: A Course in Miracles

text: A Course in Miracles (also referred to as ACIM or the Course) is a 1976 book by Helen Schucman. The underlying premise is that the greatest "miracle" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in a person's life. Schucman said that the book had been dictated to her, word for word, via a process of "inner dictation" from Jesus Christ. The book is considered to have borrowed from New Age movement writings.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: "ACIM" consists of three sections: "Text", "Workbook for Students", and "Manual for Teachers". Written from 1965 to 1972, some distribution occurred via photocopies before a hardcover edition was published in 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. The copyright and trademarks, which had been held by two foundations, were revoked in 2004 after lengthy litigation because the earliest versions had been circulated without a copyright notice.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: Throughout the 1980s, annual sales of the book steadily increased each year; however, the largest growth in sales occurred in 1992 after Marianne Williamson discussed the book on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", with more than two million volumes sold. The book has been called everything from "New Age psychobabble" to "a Satanic seduction" to "The New Age Bible". According to Olav Hammer, the psychiatrist and author Gerald G. Jampolsky was among the most effective promoters of "ACIM". Jampolsky's first book, "Love is Letting Go of Fear", which is based on the principles of "ACIM", was published in 1979 and, after being endorsed on Johnny Carson's show, went on to sell over three million copies by 1990.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: "A Course in Miracles" was written as a collaborative venture between Schucman and William ("Bill") Thetford. In 1958, Schucman began her professional career at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City as Thetford's research associate. In 1965, at a time when their weekly office meetings had become so contentious that they both dreaded them, Thetford suggested to Schucman that "[t]here must be another way". Schucman believed that this interaction acted as a stimulus, triggering a series of inner experiences that were understood by her as visions, dreams, and heightened imagery, along with an "inner voice" which she identified as Jesus (although the "ACIM" text itself never explicitly claims that the voice she hears speaking is the voice of Jesus). She said that on October 21, 1965, an "inner voice" told her: "This is a Course in Miracles, please take notes." Schucman said that the writing made her very uncomfortable, though it never seriously occurred to her to stop. The next day, she explained the events of her "note-taking" to Thetford. To her surprise, Thetford encouraged her to continue the process. He also offered to assist her in typing out her notes as she read them to him. The process continued the next day and repeated itself regularly for many years. In 1972, the writing of the three main sections of "ACIM" was completed, with some additional minor writing coming after that point.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: For copyright purposes, US courts determined that the author of the text was Schucman, not Jesus. Kenneth Wapnick believed that Schucman did not channel Jesus, but was describing her "own mental experience of divine 'love'".


title: A Course in Miracles

text: Since it went on sale in 1976, the text has been translated into 27 languages. The book is distributed globally, spawning a range of organized groups.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: Wapnick said that "if the Bible were considered literally true, then (from a Biblical literalist's viewpoint) the Course would have to be viewed as demonically inspired". He also declared "I often taught in the context of the Bible, even though it is obvious to serious students of A Course in Miracles that it and the Bible are fundamentally incompatible." ""Course"-teachers Robert Perry, Greg Mackie, and Allen Watson" disagreed about that. Though a friend of Schucman, Thetford, and Wapnick, Catholic priest Benedict Groeschel criticized "ACIM" and related organizations. Finding some elements of "ACIM" to be "severe and potentially dangerous distortions of Christian theology", he wrote that it is "a good example of a false revelation" and that it has "become a spiritual menace to many". The evangelical editor Elliot Miller says that Christian terminology employed in "ACIM" is "thoroughly redefined" to resemble New Age teachings. Other Christian critics say that "ACIM" is "intensely anti-biblical" and incompatible with Christianity, blurring the distinction between creator and created and forcefully supporting the occult and New Age worldview.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: Olav Hammer locates "A Course in Miracles" in the tradition of channeled works from those of Madam Blavatsky through to the works of Rudolf Steiner and notes the close parallels between Christian Science and the teachings of the Course. Hammer called it "gnosticizing beliefs". In "'Knowledge is Truth': A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture" in "Gnosis": "Journal of Gnostic Studies", Simon J. Joseph outlines the relationship between the Course and Gnostic thinking. Daren Kemp also considers "ACIM" to be neo-Gnostic and agrees with Hammer that it is a channeled text. The course has been viewed as a way which "integrates a psychological world view with a universal spiritual perspective" and linked to transpersonal psychology.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: "The Skeptic's Dictionary" describes "ACIM" as "a minor industry" that is overly commercialized and characterizes it as "Christianity improved". Robert T. Carroll wrote that the teachings are not original but are culled from "various sources, east, and west". He adds that it has gained increased popularity as New Age spirituality writer Marianne Williamson promoted a variant.


title: A Course in Miracles

text: Two works have been described as extensions of "A Course in Miracles", Gary Renard's 2003 "The Disappearance of the Universe" and Marianne Williamson's "A Return to Love" published in 1992. "The Disappearance of the Universe", published in 2003 by Fearless Books, was republished by Hay House in 2004. "Publishers Weekly" reported that Renard's examination of "A Course in Miracles" influenced his book.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Karin Elisabeth Dreijer (born 7 April 1975) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. Dreijer released their debut solo album under the alias Fever Ray in January 2009. Their second studio album, "Plunge", under the same alias, was released in October 2017.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Dreijer's vocal style is notable for both shrill and deep tones, and also the use of multitracked vocals, with different uses of pitch-shifting technology on each track, creating an intricate and mysterious effect. Visually, they employ the use of masks, face and body paint, intricate costumes, and other theatrical elements in photo shoots, videos and live performances, during which they often perform behind a gauze screen that partially obscures the audience's view.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Dreijer was born on 7 April 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. They started playing guitar at the age of ten, which led to the founding of the band Honey Is Cool. Before pursuing a career in music, Dreijer worked as a web designer. In 1998, they moved to Stockholm.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Karin and their brother Olof Dreijer formed the electronic music duo the Knife in Gothenburg in 1999. The Knife released their eponymous debut album in 2001. The duo gained a wider international recognition following the release of "Heartbeats", the lead single of their second studio album, "Deep Cuts" (2003). The duo performed live for the first time in 2006, when they went on the Silent Shout Tour in support of their third album of the same name (2006). In 2009, the duo were commissioned alongside Mt. Sims and Planningtorock by the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to compose an opera, titled "Tomorrow, in a Year", which is based on Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". In 2013, the band released their fourth and final studio album, "Shaking the Habitual". The duo disbanded in November 2014, after completing the Shaking the Habitual Tour.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: While the Knife were on hiatus, Dreijer released, under the alias Fever Ray, their self-titled solo debut album. It was released digitally on 12 January 2009 and physically on 18 March 2009 through Rabid Records. The album was preceded by its lead single "If I Had a Heart" (2008), which was used in numerous television series, including "Person of Interest", "Breaking Bad" and "Wentworth", as well as the opening theme song for the Canadian-Irish historical drama television series "Vikings".


title: Karin Dreijer

text: In September 2009, Dreijer composed the soundtrack to "Dirty Diaries", a collection of feminist pornographic short films. In a review of the collection, Swedish newspaper "Smålandsposten" described the soundtrack as appropriate for the film, though repetitive.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Dreijer performed as Fever Ray at the 2010 Coachella Festival and received positive reviews. In September of the same year, they performed at Electric Picnic in Ireland.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Contrary to a statement from the film's director, Dreijer did not make a cameo appearance in the 2011 film "Red Riding Hood". However, the soundtrack features a new track performed by Dreijer as Fever Ray, "The Wolf", as well as "Keep the Streets Empty for Me" from their debut album. "The Wolf" was also featured in Ubisoft's "Far Cry Primal" announcement trailer, as well as during the game's final mission.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Dreijer wrote the music for the theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1968 horror film "Hour of the Wolf", which premiered at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre on 12 March 2011. One of these tracks, "No Face", appeared in demo form on the 2012 compilation album "We Are the Works in Progress", organised by Blonde Redhead to benefit victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: In February 2016, Dreijer announced they had written and produced music for a theater play called "Vahák" (English: "Violence"), which plays on themes of colonial and homophobic violence. That same month, Dreijer revealed in an interview with "The Fader" that they were working on solo music, though they were unsure whether it will be under the Fever Ray moniker.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: On 20 October 2017, Dreijer released the single "To the Moon and Back" and its accompanying music video. It served as the lead single to their second studio album, "Plunge", which was released on 27 October without prior announcement. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics upon release and appeared on numerous year-end lists. In support of the album, Dreijer embarked on an international tour throughout 2018, with the first leg of which was held in Europe and began in February, followed by a North American leg held in May. More European dates were later added from June until November.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: In the 2018 Swedish Grammys, Dreijer and the producers they collaborated with on "Plunge" won the award for "Producer of the Year". "Plunge" was also nominated for Best European Independent Album at the IMPALA awards.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: In 2005, Dreijer supplied vocals on the track "What Else Is There?" by Röyksopp on the album "The Understanding". The song charted highly, raising Dreijer's profile at an early stage of their career. They also appeared in the video for that single, but not as the vocalist, who was portrayed by the Norwegian model Marianne Schröder. In 2008, Dreijer provided vocals for the Deus song "Slow" from the band's "Vantage Point" album. Dreijer was featured on the tracks "This Must Be It" and "Tricky Tricky" again by Röyksopp, appearing on their 2009 album "Junior". On 6 September 2019, a collaborative EP between Björk, Dreijer (credited as Fever Ray), and the Knife titled "Country Creatures" was released. It contains remixes of Björk's song "Features Creatures" by Dreijer and by the Knife as well as a remix of Dreijer's "This Country" by Björk.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: When producing and presenting a radioprogram for Swedish Sveriges Radio in June 2004 about the state of music and what it was like to be a musician in the 21st century, Dreijer chose a list of songs including, "I Don’t Give A" by Peaches, "Legs" by PJ Harvey, "We Don't Play Guitars" by Chicks On Speed, "Disconnect" by Plastikman, "I’m Dancing In The Show Tonight" by Ween, "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, "Meet Sue Be She" by Miss Kittin, "Ensam Tempo" by Jenny Wilson, "Kiss Them for Me" by Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Tha" by Aphex Twin, "Panty Lies" by Sonic Youth and "On Guard" by Le Tigre.


title: Karin Dreijer

text: Dreijer largely keeps their private life outside the headlines, but in 2017, they told "The Guardian" in an interview that they were previously married and had dropped Andersson from their name following a divorce. In the same interview, they described themself as "definitely a queer person, but [...] very gender-fluid." Dreijer uses the pronouns "they/them" in English and "hen" in Swedish. They have two daughters.


title: Unconditional love

text: Unconditional love is known as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions. This term is sometimes associated with other terms such as true altruism or complete love. Each area of expertise has a certain way of describing unconditional love, but most will agree that it is that type of love which has no bounds and is unchanging.


title: Unconditional love

text: In Christianity, unconditional love is thought to be part of the Four Loves; affection, friendship, eros, and charity. In ethology, or the study of animal behavior, unconditional love would refer to altruism, which in turn refers to the behavior by individuals that increases the fitness of another while decreasing the fitness of the individual committing the act. In psychology, unconditional love refers to a state of mind in which one has the goal of increasing the welfare of another, despite the lack of any evidence of benefit for oneself.


title: Unconditional love

text: Some authors make a distinction between unconditional love and conditional love. In conditional love, love is "earned" on the basis of conscious or unconscious conditions being met by the lover, whereas in unconditional love, love is "given freely" to the loved one "no matter what". Loving is primary. Conditional love requires some kind of finite exchange, whereas unconditional love is seen as infinite and measureless.


title: Unconditional love

text: Unconditional love should not be confused with unconditional dedication: unconditional dedication or "duty" refers to an act of the will irrespective of feelings (e.g. a person may consider that they have a duty to stay with someone); unconditional love is an act of the feelings irrespective of will.


title: Unconditional love

text: Unconditional love separates the individual from their behavior. However, the individual may exhibit behaviors that are unacceptable in a particular situation.


title: Unconditional love

text: Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers spoke of an unconditional positive regard and dedication towards one single support. Rogers stated that the individual needed an environment that provided them with genuineness, authenticity, openness, self-disclosure, acceptance, empathy, and approval. Rogers proposed this idea of Unconditional Positive Regard not only in social and familial situations, but also encouraged getting the healthy loving environment in therapy situations as well. It is important that in face-to-face therapy settings this environment is fostered along with empathy and understanding for the individual. It is through unconditional positive regard that change happens because the individual can feel that openness, love, and ability to be themselves again which fosters a true desire to change for the right reasons.


title: Unconditional love

text: Also, Abraham Maslow supported the unconditional love perspective by saying that in order to grow, an individual had to have a positive perspective of themselves. In "Man's Search For Meaning", logotherapist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl draws parallels between the human capacity to love unconditionally and living a meaningful life. Frankl writes: "Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the essence of another human being unless he loves him. ... Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize ... potentialities." For Frankl, unconditional love is a means by which we enable and reach human potential.


title: Unconditional love

text: There has been some evidence to support a neural basis for unconditional love, showing that it stands apart from other types of love.


title: Unconditional love

text: In a study conducted by Mario Beauregard and his colleagues, using an fMRI procedure, they studied the brain imaging of participants who were shown different sets of images either referring to "maternal love" (unconditional love) or "romantic love". Seven areas of the brain became active when these participants called to mind feelings of unconditional love. Three of these were similar to areas that became active when it came to romantic love. The other four active parts activated during the unconditional love portions of the experiment were different, showing certain brain regions associated with rewarding aspects, pleasurable (non-sexual) feelings, and human maternal behaviors. Through the associations made between the different regions, results show that the feeling of love for someone without the need of being rewarded is different from the feeling of romantic love.


title: Unconditional love

text: Along with the idea of "mother love", which is commonly associated with unconditional love, a study found patterns in the neuroendocrine system and motivation-affective neural system. Using the fMRI procedure, mothers watched a video of themselves playing with their children in a familiar environment, like home. The procedure found part of the amygdala and nucleus accumbens were responsive on levels of emotion and empathy. Emotion and empathy (compassion) are descriptives of love, therefore it supports the idea that the neural occurrences are evidence of unconditional love.


title: Unconditional love

text: In Christianity, the term "unconditional love" can be used to indicate God's love for a person irrespective of that person. This comes from the concept of God sending His only Son, Jesus Christ down from heaven to earth to die on a cross in order to take the punishment for all of humanity's sins. If someone chooses to believe in this, commonly called "The Gospel", then Jesus' price on the cross pays for their sins so they can freely enter into heaven, and not hell. The term is not explicitly used in the Bible, and advocates for God's conditional or unconditional love, using different passages or interpretations to support their point of view, are both encountered due to the different facets of God's nature. The cross is a clear indicator of God's unconditional love in that there is no way to earn one's way to heaven, one must simply believe. In all other religions cited below, there is a conditional striving to achieve a sense of unconditional love, based on one's own efforts and understanding. In Christianity, it all depends on Jesus, not the person's effort nor understanding. A passage in scriptures cites this "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—" Ephesians 2:8,9, NIV. God's discipline can be viewed as conditional based on people's choices, but His actual love through Jesus is unconditional, and this is where some may become confused. His salvation is a free gift, but His discipline, which is shaping of good character, can look more conditional. Ultimately, knowing God and free passage to heaven have already been supplied by a God of unconditional love, one can simply choose to believe in order to receive such love. The civil rights leader and Pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was quoted as saying "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality".


title: Unconditional love

text: In Buddhism one of the most important concepts is called "bodhicitta". There are two kinds of Bodhicitta. They are "relative" and "absolute bodhicitta".


title: Unconditional love

text: In relative bodhicitta, one learns about the desire to gain the understanding of unconditional love, which in Buddhism is expressed as loving-kindness and compassion. The point is to develop bodhicitta for all living (sentient) beings.


title: Unconditional love

text: Absolute bodhicitta is a more esoteric tantric teaching. Understanding the principle of loving-kindness and compassion is expressed when one treats all living beings as if one was or had been (in former lives) their own mother. One's mother will do anything for the benefit of her child. The most loving of all relationships may be that between a mother and her child. Of course, if all beings treated all other living beings as they would their own child, then there would be much less enmity in this world.


title: Unconditional love

text: The importance of this cannot be overstated. At every moment one has the opportunity to make a choice how to act, and to be completely mindful of one's actions means that in every interaction with another being one will consciously act with loving-kindness and compassion toward every other being, no matter what the nature of that interaction.


title: Unconditional love

text: Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit word "bhakti" is apparently used by some to refer to unconditional love, even though its root meaning seems to be "participate". Bhakti or bhakthi is unconditional religious devotion of a devotee in worship of a divine.


title: Unconditional love

text: In Islamic belief, unconditional love can only be directed to Allah. The highest spiritual attainment in Islam is related to the love of God. "Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides God, as equal (with God): They love them as they should love God. But those of Faith are overflowing in their love for God."


title: Unconditional love

text: In Islamic Sufism, unconditional love is the basis for the divine love "Ishq-e-Haqeeqi", elaborated by many great Muslim saints to date. Prominent mystics explain the concept in its entirety and describe its hardcore reality.


title: Unconditional love

text: Rabia of Basra was the one who first set forth the doctrine of divine love known as "ishq-e-haqeeqi" and is widely considered to be the most important of the early renunciants, one mode of piety that would eventually become labeled as Sufism.


title: Unconditional love

text: Ishq itself means to love God selflessly and unconditionally. For Rumi, "Sufism" itself is Ishq and not the path of asceticism ("zuhd"). According to Sultan Bahoo, Ishq means to serve God unconditionally by devoting one's entire life to Him and asking no reward in return.


title: Unconditional love

text: Neopaganism in general, and Wicca in particular, commonly use a traditional inspirational text Charge of the Goddess, which affirms that the Goddess's "law is love unto all beings".


title: Unconditional love

text: Mohism, China around 500 BCE, bases its entire premise on the supremacy of such an element, comparing one's duty to the indiscriminate generosity of "The Sky", or "Heaven", in contrast to Confucianism, which based its model of society on family love and duty. Later schools engaged in much debate on exactly how unconditional one could be in actual society (cf. "...who is my neighbour?" in "The Good Samaritan" story of Jesus of Nazareth).


title: Unconditional love

text: Unitarian Universalism, though not having a set religious creed or doctrine, generally accepts the belief that all human begins are worthy and in need of unconditional love though charity in the community and spiritual understanding. The Unitarian Universalist Association explicitly argues this in the Seven Principles, where the "inherent worth and dignity" of all humans is a regularly cited source arguing for unconditional love.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: A block of the periodic table is a set of elements unified by the atomic orbitals their valence electrons or vacancies lie in. The term appears to have been first used by Charles Janet. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital: s-block, p-block, d-block, and f-block.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The block names (s, p, d, and f) are derived from the spectroscopic notation for the value of an electron's azimuthal quantum number: sharp (0), principal (1), diffuse (2), or fundamental (3). Succeeding notations proceed in alphabetical order, as g, h, etc., though elements that would belong in such blocks have not yet been found.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: There is an "approximate" correspondence between this nomenclature of blocks, based on electronic configuration, and sets of elements based on chemical properties. The s-block and p-block together are usually considered main-group elements, the d-block corresponds to the transition metals, and the f-block corresponds to the inner transition metals and encompasses nearly all of the lanthanides (like lanthanum) and the actinides (like actinium).


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The group 12 elements zinc, cadmium, and mercury are sometimes regarded as main group, rather than transition group, because they are chemically and physically more similar to the p-block elements than the other d-block elements. The group 3 elements are occasionally considered main group elements due to their similarities to the s-block elements. However, they remain d-block elements even when considered to be main group.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: Helium is an s-block element, with its outer (and only) electrons in the 1s atomic orbital, although its chemical properties are more similar to the p-block noble gases in group 18 due to its full shell.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The s-block, with the s standing for "sharp" and azimuthal quantum number 0, is on the left side of the conventional periodic table and is composed of elements from the first two columns plus one element in the rightmost column, the nonmetals hydrogen and helium and the alkali metals (in group 1) and alkaline earth metals (group 2). Their general valence configuration is "n"s. Helium is an s-element, but nearly always finds its place to the far right in group 18, above the p-element neon. Each row of the table has two s-elements.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The metals of the s-block (from the second period onwards) are mostly soft and have generally low melting and boiling points. Most impart colour to a flame.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: Chemically, all s-elements except helium are highly reactive. Metals of the s-block are highly electropositive and often form essentially ionic compounds with nonmetals, especially with the highly electronegative halogen nonmetals.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The p-block, with the p standing for "principal" and azimuthal quantum number 1, is on the right side of the standard periodic table and encompasses elements in groups 13 to 18. Their general electronic configuration is "n"s "n"p. Helium, though being the first element in group 18, is not included in the p-block. Each row of the table has a place for six p-elements except for the first row (which has none).


title: Block (periodic table)

text: This block is the only one having all three types of elements: metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. The p-block elements can be described on a group-by-group basis as: group 13, the "icosagens"; 14, the "crystallogens"; 15, the "pnictogens"; 16, the "chalcogens"; 17, the "halogens"; and 18, the "helium group", composed of the "noble gases" (excluding helium) and oganesson. Alternatively, the p-block can be described as containing "post-transition metals"; "metalloids"; "reactive nonmetals" including the "halogens"; and "noble gases" (excluding helium).


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The p-block elements are unified by the fact that their valence (outermost) electrons are in the p orbital. The p orbital consists of six lobed shapes coming from a central point at evenly spaced angles. The p orbital can hold a maximum of six electrons, hence there are six columns in the p-block. Elements in column 13, the first column of the p-block, have one p-orbital electron. Elements in column 14, the second column of the p-block, have two p-orbital electrons. The trend continues this way until column 18, which has six p-orbital electrons.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The block is a stronghold of the octet rule in its first row, but elements in subsequent rows often display hypervalence. The p-block elements show variable oxidation states usually differing by multiples of two. The reactivity of elements in a group generally decreases downwards. (Helium breaks this trend in group 18 by being more reactive than neon, but since helium is actually an s-block element, the p-block portion of the trend remains intact.)


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The bonding in between metals and nonmetals depends on the electronegativity difference. Ionicity is possible when the electronegativity difference is high enough (e.g. LiN). Metals in high oxidation states tend to form covalent structures (e.g. WF), as do the more noble metals (e.g. HgCl). There are also some metal oxides displaying electrical (metallic) conductivity, like RuO, ReO, and IrO. The metalloids tend to form either covalent compounds or alloys with metals.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The d-block, with the d standing for "diffuse" and azimuthal quantum number 2, is in the middle of the periodic table and encompasses elements from groups 3 to 12; it starts in the 4th period. Periods from the fourth onwards have a space for ten d-block elements. Most or all of these elements are also known as transition metals because they occupy a transitional zone in properties, between the strongly electropositive metals of groups 1 and 2, and the weakly electropositive metals of groups 13 to 16. Group 3 or group 12, while still counted as d-block metals, are sometimes not counted as transition metals because they do not show the chemical properties characteristic of transition metals as much, for example, multiple oxidation states and coloured compounds.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The d-block elements are all metals and most have one or more chemically active d-orbital electrons. Because there is a relatively small difference in the energy of the different d-orbital electrons, the number of electrons participating in chemical bonding can vary. The d-block elements have a tendency to exhibit two or more oxidation states, differing by multiples of one. The most are +2 and +3. Chromium, iron, molybdenum, ruthenium, tungsten, and osmium can have formal oxidation numbers as low as −4; iridium holds the singular distinction of being capable of achieving an oxidation state of +9.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The d-orbitals (four shaped as four-leaf clovers, and the fifth as a dumbbell with a ring around it) can contain up to five pairs of electrons.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The f-block, with the f standing for "fundamental" and azimuthal quantum number 3, appears as a footnote in a standard 18-column table but is located at the center-left of a 32-column full width table. Periods from the sixth onwards have a place for fourteen f-block elements. While these elements are generally not considered part of any group, some authors consider them to be part of group 3. They are sometimes called inner transition metals because they provide a transition between the s-block and d-block in the 6th and 7th row (period), in the same way that the d-block transition metals provide a transitional bridge between the s-block and p-block in the 4th and 5th rows.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The f-block elements come in two series, in periods 6 and 7. All are metals. The f-orbital electrons are less active in the chemistry of the period 6 f-block elements, although they do make some contribution: these are rather similar to each other. They are more active in the early period 7 f-block elements, where the energies of the 5f, 7s, and 6d shells are quite similar; consequently these elements tend to show as much chemical variability as their transition metals analogues. The later f-block elements behave more like their period 6 counterparts.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The f-block elements are unified by mostly having one or more electrons in an inner f-orbital. Of the f-orbitals, six have six lobes each, and the seventh looks like a dumbbell with a donut with two rings. They can contain up to seven pairs of electrons hence the block occupies fourteen columns in the periodic table. They are not assigned group numbers, since vertical periodic trends cannot be discerned in a "group" of two elements.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The two 14-member rows of the f-block elements are sometimes confused with the "lanthanides" and the "actinides", which are names for sets of elements based on chemical properties more so than electron configurations. The lanthanides are the 15 elements running from lanthanum (La) to lutetium (Lu); the actinides are the 15 elements running from actinium (Ac) to lawrencium (Lr).


title: Block (periodic table)

text: A g-block, with azimuthal quantum number 4, is predicted to begin in the vicinity of element 121. Though g-orbitals are not expected to start filling in the ground state until around element 124–126 (see extended periodic table), they are likely already low enough in energy to start participating chemically in element 121, similar to the situation of the 4f and 5f orbitals.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: If the trend of the previous rows continued, then the g-block would have eighteen elements. However, calculations predict a very strong blurring of periodicity in the eighth period, to the point that individual blocks become hard to delineate. It is likely that the eighth period will not quite follow the trend of previous rows.


title: Block (periodic table)

text: The tetrahedral periodic table of elements. Animation showing a transition from the conventional table into a tetrahedron.


title: Boycott

text: A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict some economic loss on the target, or to indicate a moral outrage, to try to compel the target to alter an objectionable behavior.


title: Boycott

text: The word is named after Captain Charles Boycott, agent of an absentee landlord in Ireland, against whom the tactic was successfully employed after a suggestion by Irish nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his Irish Land League in 1880.


title: Boycott

text: Sometimes, a boycott can be a form of consumer activism, sometimes called moral purchasing. When a similar practice is legislated by a national government, it is known as a sanction. Frequently, however, the threat of boycotting a business is an empty threat, with no significant effect on sales.


title: Boycott

text: The word "boycott" entered the English language during the Irish "Land War" and derives from Captain Charles Boycott, the land agent of an absentee landlord, Lord Erne, who lived in County Mayo, Ireland. Captain Boycott was the target of social ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. As harvests had been poor that year, Lord Erne offered his tenants a ten percent reduction in their rents. In September of that year, protesting tenants demanded a twenty-five percent reduction, which Lord Erne refused. Boycott then attempted to evict eleven tenants from the land. Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish leader, proposed that when dealing with tenants who take farms where another tenant was evicted, rather than resorting to violence, everyone in the locality should shun them. While Parnell's speech did not refer to land agents or landlords, the tactic was first applied to Boycott when the alarm was raised about the evictions. Despite the short-term economic hardship to those undertaking this action, Boycott soon found himself isolated – his workers stopped work in the fields and stables, as well as in his house. Local businessmen stopped trading with him, and the local postman refused to deliver mail.


title: Boycott

text: The concerted action taken against him meant that Boycott was unable to hire anyone to harvest his crops in his charge. After the harvest, the "boycott" was successfully continued and soon the new word was everywhere. The "New-York Tribune" reporter, James Redpath, first wrote of the boycott in the international press. The Irish author, George Moore, reported: 'Like a comet the verb 'boycott' appeared.' It was used by "The Times" in November 1880 as a term for organized isolation. According to an account in the book "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland" by Michael Davitt, the term was promoted by Fr. John O'Malley of County Mayo to "signify ostracism applied to a landlord or agent like Boycott". "The Times" first reported on November 20, 1880: "The people of New Pallas have resolved to 'boycott' them and refused to supply them with food or drink." The "Daily News" wrote on December 13, 1880: "Already the stoutest-hearted are yielding on every side to the dread of being 'Boycotted'." By January of the following year, the word was being used figuratively: "Dame Nature arose... She 'Boycotted' London from Kew to Mile End.".


title: Boycott

text: Girlcott, a pun on "boycott", is a boycott intended to focus on the rights or actions of women. The term was coined in 1968 by American Lacey O'Neal during the 1968 Summer Olympics in the context of protests by male African American athletes. The term was later used by retired tennis player Billie Jean King in 1999 in reference to Wimbledon, while discussing equal pay for women players. The term "girlcott" was revived in 2005 by the Women and Girls Foundation in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania against Abercrombie & Fitch.


title: Boycott

text: Although the term itself was not coined until 1880, the practice dates back to at least the 1790s, when supporters of the British abolitionists led and supported the free produce movement. Other instances include:


title: Boycott

text: During the 1973 oil crisis, the Arab countries enacted a crude oil embargo against the West. Other examples include the US-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the movement that advocated "disinvestment" in South Africa during the 1980s in opposition to that country's apartheid regime. The first Olympic boycott was in the 1956 Summer Olympics with several countries boycotting the games for different reasons. Iran also has an informal Olympic boycott against participating against Israel, and Iranian athletes typically bow out or claim injuries when pitted against Israelis (see Arash Miresmaeili).


title: Boycott

text: Academic boycotts have been organized against countries—for example, the mid- and late 20th-century academic boycotts of South Africa in protest of apartheid practices and the academic boycotts of Israel in the early 2000s.


title: Boycott

text: Boycotts are now much easier to successfully initiate due to the Internet. Examples include the gay and lesbian boycott of advertisers of the "Dr. Laura" talk show, gun owners' similar boycott of advertisers of Rosie O'Donnell's talk show and (later) magazine, and gun owners' boycott of Smith & Wesson following that company's March 2000 settlement with the Clinton administration. They may be initiated very easily using either websites (the "Dr. Laura" boycott), newsgroups (the Rosie O'Donnell boycotts), or even mailing lists. Internet-initiated boycotts "snowball" very quickly compared to other forms of organization.


title: Boycott

text: "Viral Labeling" is a new boycott method using the new digital technology proposed by the Multitude Project and applied for the first time against Walt Disney around Christmas time in 2009.


title: Boycott

text: Some boycotts center on particular businesses, such as recent protests regarding Costco, Walmart, Ford Motor Company, or the diverse products of Philip Morris. Another form of boycott identifies a number of different companies involved in a particular issue, such as the Sudan Divestment campaign, the "Boycott Bush" campaign. The Boycott Bush website was set up by Ethical Consumer after U.S. President George W. Bush failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol – the website identified Bush's corporate funders and the brands and products they produce. Historically boycotts have also targeted individual businesses. During the early decades of the twentieth century hotels in Australia were regularly targeted over the cost of alcohol, accommodation and food, as well as mistreatment of employees.


title: Boycott

text: As a response to consumer boycotts of large-scale and multinational businesses, some companies have marketed brands that do not bear the company's name on the packaging or in advertising. Activists such as Ethical Consumer produce information that reveals which companies own which brands and products so consumers can practice boycotts or moral purchasing more effectively. Another organization, Buycott.com, provides an Internet-based smart-phone application that scans Universal Product Codes and displays corporate relationships to the user.


title: Boycott

text: "Boycotts" may be formally organized by governments as well. In reality, government "boycotts" are just a type of embargo. Notably, the first formal, nationwide act of the Nazi government against German Jews was a national embargo of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933.


title: Boycott

text: Where the target of a boycott derives all or part of its revenues from other businesses, as a newspaper does, boycott organizers may address the target's commercial customers.


title: Boycott

text: The sociology of collective behavior is concerned with causes and conditions pertaining to behavior carried out by a collective, as opposed to an individual (e.g., riots, panics, fads/crazes, boycotts). Boycotts have been characterized by some as different from traditional forms of collective behavior in that they appear to be highly rational and dependent on existing norms and structures. Lewis Killian criticizes that characterization, pointing to the Tallahassee bus boycott as one example of a boycott that aligns with traditional collective behavior theory.


title: Boycott

text: Philip Balsiger points out that political consumption (e.g., boycotts) tends to follow dual-purpose action repertoires, or scripts, which are used publicly to pressure boycott targets and to educate and recruit consumers. Balsiger finds one example in Switzerland, documenting activities of the Clean Clothes Campaign, a public NGO-backed campaign, that highlighted and disseminated information about local companies' ethical practices.


title: Boycott

text: Dixon, Martin, and Nau analyzed 31 collective behavior campaigns against corporations that took place during the 1990s and 2000s. Protests considered successful included boycotts and were found to include a third party, either in the capacity of state intervention or of media coverage. State intervention may make boycotts more efficacious when corporation leaders fear the imposition of regulations. Media intervention may be a crucial contributor to a successful boycott because of its potential to damage the reputation of a corporation. Target corporations that were the most visible were found to be the most vulnerable to either market (protest causing economic loss) or mediated (caused by third-party) disruption. Third-party actors (i.e., the state or media) were more influential when a corporation had a high reputation—when third-party activity was low, highly reputable corporations did not make the desired concessions to boycotters; when third-party activity was high, highly reputable corporations satisfied the demands of boycotters. The boycott, a prima facie market-disruptive tactic, often precipitates mediated disruption. The researchers' analysis led them to conclude that when boycott targets are highly visible and directly interact with and depend on local consumers who can easily find substitutes, they are more likely to make concessions. Koku, Akhigbe, and Springer also emphasize the importance of boycotts' threat of reputational damage, finding that boycotts alone pose more of a threat to a corporation's reputation than to its finances directly.


title: Boycott

text: Philippe Delacote points out that a problem contributing to a generally low probability of success for any boycott is the fact that the consumers with the most power to cause market disruption are the least likely to participate; the opposite is true for consumers with the least power. Another collective behavior problem is the difficulty, or impossibility, of direct coordination amongst a dispersed group of boycotters. Yuksel and Mryteza emphasize the collective behavior problem of free riding in consumer boycotts, noting that some individuals may perceive participating to be too great an immediate personal utility sacrifice. They also note that boycotting consumers took the collectivity into account when deciding to participate, that is, consideration of joining a boycott as goal-oriented collective activity increased one's likelihood of participating. A corporation-targeted protest repertoire including boycotts and education of consumers presents the highest likelihood for success.


title: Boycott

text: Boycotts are generally legal in developed countries. Occasionally, some restrictions may apply; for instance, in the United States, it may be unlawful for a union to engage in "secondary boycotts" (to request that its members boycott companies that supply items to an organization already under a boycott, in the United States); however, the union is free to use its right to speak freely to inform its members of the fact that suppliers of a company are breaking a boycott; its members then may take whatever action they deem appropriate, in consideration of that fact.


title: Boycott

text: When the boycott first emerged in Ireland, it presented a serious dilemma for Gladstone's government. The individual actions that constituted a boycott were recognized by legislators as essential to a free society. However, overall a boycott amounted to a harsh, extrajudicial punishment. The Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Act 1882 made it illegal to use "intimidation" to instigate or enforce a boycott, but not to participate in one.


title: Boycott

text: The conservative jurist James Fitzjames Stephen justified laws against boycotting by claiming that the practice amounted to "usurpation of the functions of government" and ought therefore to be dealt with as "the modern representatives of the old conception of high treason".


title: Boycott

text: Boycotts are legal under common law. The right to engage in commerce, social intercourse, and friendship includes the implied right not to engage in commerce, social intercourse, and friendship. Since a boycott is voluntary and nonviolent, the law cannot stop it. Opponents of boycotts historically have the choice of suffering under it, yielding to its demands, or attempting to suppress it through extralegal means, such as force and coercion.


title: Boycott

text: In the United States, the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) apply to all "U.S. persons", defined to include individuals and companies located in the United States and their foreign affiliates. The antiboycott provisions are intended to prevent United States citizens and companies being used as instrumentalities of a foreign government's foreign policy. The EAR forbids participation in or material support of boycotts initiated by foreign governments, for example, the Arab League boycott of Israel. These persons are subject to the law when their activities relate to the sale, purchase, or transfer of goods or services (including the sale of information) within the United States or between the United States and a foreign country. This covers exports and imports, financing, forwarding and shipping, and certain other transactions that may take place wholly offshore.


title: Boycott

text: However, the EAR only applies to boycotts: a domestic boycott campaign arising within the United States that has the same object as the foreign-government-initiated boycott appears to be lawful, assuming that it is an independent effort not connected with the foreign government's boycott.


title: Boycott

text: Other legal impediments to certain boycotts remain. One set are Refusal to deal laws, which prohibit concerted efforts to eliminate competition by refusal to buy from or to sell to a party. Similarly, boycotts may also run afoul of Anti-discrimination laws; for example, New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination prohibits any place that offers goods, services and facilities to the general public, such as a restaurant, from denying or withholding any accommodation to (i.e., not to engage in commerce with) an individual because of that individual's race (etc.).


title: Boycott

text: A boycott is typically a one-time affair intended to correct an outstanding single wrong. When extended for a long period of time, or as part of an overall program of awareness-raising or reforms to laws or regimes, a boycott is part of moral purchasing, and some prefer those economic or political terms. Most organized consumer boycotts today are focused on long-term change of buying habits, and so fit into part of a larger political program, with many techniques that require a longer structural commitment, e.g. reform to commodity markets, or government commitment to moral purchasing, e.g. the longstanding boycott of South African businesses to protest apartheid already alluded to. These stretch the meaning of a "boycott."


title: Boycott

text: Another form of consumer boycotting is substitution for an equivalent product; for example, Mecca Cola and Qibla Cola have been marketed as substitutes for Coca-Cola among Muslim populations.


title: Boycott

text: A prime target of boycotts is consumerism itself, e.g. "International Buy Nothing Day" celebrated globally on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day in the United States.


title: Boycott

text: Another version of the boycott is targeted divestment, or disinvestment. Targeted divestment involves campaigning for withdrawal of investment, for example the Sudan Divestment campaign involves putting pressure on companies, often through shareholder activism, to withdraw investment that helps the Sudanese government perpetuate genocide in Darfur. Only if a company refuses to change its behavior in response to shareholder engagement does the targeted divestment model call for divestment from that company. Such targeted divestment implicitly excludes companies involved in agriculture, the production and distribution of consumer goods, or the provision of goods and services intended to relieve human suffering or to promote health, religious and spiritual activities, or education.


title: Boycott

text: When students are dissatisfied with a political or academic issue, a common tactic for students' unions is to start a boycott of classes (called a student strike among faculty and students since it is meant to resemble strike action by organized labor) to put pressure on the governing body of the institution, such as a university, vocational college or a school, since such institutions cannot afford to have a cohort miss an entire year.


title: Boycott

text: The United States and major powers all ignored calls for a boycott in 1936 against the Olympics in Nazi Germany. In the 1970s and 1980s South Africa became the target of a sports boycott.


title: Boycott

text: After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the United States government organized a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics much to Soviet chagrin. Moscow then organized a Communist boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which allowed the Americans to win far more medals than expected.


title: Boycott

text: In at least one case, a boycott has been documented due to on-field results of a game; the residents of New Orleans boycotted television broadcasts of Super Bowl LIII after a controversial officiating call led to the hometown New Orleans Saints losing the NFC Championship Game and being denied a trip to the Super Bowl. Viewership of the game dropped in the city by half compared to Super Bowl LII, contributing to a noticeable drop in the overall national ratings, but the boycott failed to achieve any meaningful remedy for the Saints or their fans.


title: Boycott

text: Nations have from time to time used "diplomatic boycotts" to isolate other governments. Following the May Coup of 1903, Great Britain led the major powers in a diplomatic boycott against Serbia, which was a refusal to recognize the post-coup government of Serbia altogether by withdrawing ambassadors and other diplomatic officials from the country; it ended three years later in 1906, when Great Britain renewed diplomatic relations through a decree signed by King Edward VII.


title: Boycott

text: A diplomatic boycott is when diplomatic participation is withheld from an event such as the Olympics but athletic participation is not limited. In 2021 a number of nations, led by The United States, Britain and Canada, citing China's policies concerning the Uyghur genocide and human rights situations in China, protested the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics through a diplomatic boycott.


title: Pelvic floor

text: The pelvic floor or pelvic diaphragm is composed of muscle fibers of the levator ani, the coccygeus muscle, and associated connective tissue which span the area underneath the pelvis. The pelvic diaphragm is a muscular partition formed by the levatores ani and coccygei, with which may be included the parietal pelvic fascia on their upper and lower aspects. The pelvic floor separates the pelvic cavity above from the perineal region (including perineum) below. Both males and females have a pelvic floor. To accommodate the birth canal, a female's pelvic cavity is larger than a male's.


title: Pelvic floor

text: The right and left levator ani lie almost horizontally in the floor of the pelvis, separated by a narrow gap that transmits the urethra, vagina, and anal canal. The levator ani is usually considered in three parts: pubococcygeus, puborectalis, and iliococcygeus. The pubococcygeus, the main part of the levator, runs backward from the body of the pubis toward the coccyx and may be damaged during birth. Some fibers are inserted into the prostate, urethra, and vagina. The right and left puborectalis unite behind the anorectal junction to form a muscular sling. Some regard them as a part of the external anal sphincter. The iliococcygeus, the most posterior part of the levator ani, is often poorly developed.


title: Pelvic floor

text: The coccygeus, situated behind the levator ani and frequently tendinous as much as muscular, extends from the ischial spine to the lateral margin of the sacrum and coccyx.


title: Pelvic floor

text: The pelvic cavity of the true pelvis has the pelvic floor as its inferior border (and the pelvic brim as its superior border). The perineum has the pelvic floor as its superior border.


title: Pelvic floor

text: Some sources do not consider "pelvic floor" and "pelvic diaphragm" to be identical, with the "diaphragm" consisting of only the levator ani and coccygeus, while the "floor" also includes the perineal membrane and deep perineal pouch. However, other sources include the fascia as part of the diaphragm. In practice, the two terms are often used interchangeably.


title: Pelvic floor

text: The pelvic floor has two hiatuses (gaps): Anteriorly urogenital hiatus through which urethra and vagina pass through and posteriorly rectal hiatus through which anal canal passes.


title: Pelvic floor

text: It is important in providing support for pelvic viscera (organs), e.g. the bladder, intestines, the uterus (in females), and in maintenance of continence as part of the urinary and anal sphincters. It facilitates birth by resisting the descent of the presenting part, causing the fetus to rotate forwards to navigate through the pelvic girdle. It helps maintain optimal intra-abdominal pressure.


title: Pelvic floor

text: Damage to the pelvic floor not only contributes to urinary incontinence but can lead to pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic organ prolapse occurs in women when pelvic organs (e.g. the vagina, bladder, rectum, or uterus) protrude into or outside of the vagina. The causes of pelvic organ prolapse are not unlike those that also contribute to urinary incontinence. These include inappropriate (asymmetrical, excessive, insufficient) muscle tone and asymmetries caused by trauma to the pelvis. Age, pregnancy, family history, and hormonal status all contribute to the development of pelvic organ prolapse. The vagina is suspended by attachments to the perineum, pelvic side wall and sacrum via attachments that include collagen, elastin, and smooth muscle. Surgery can be performed to repair pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles can be strengthened with Kegel exercises.


title: Pelvic floor

text: Disorders of the posterior pelvic floor include rectal prolapse, rectocele, perineal hernia, and a number of functional disorders including anismus. Constipation due to any of these disorders is called "functional constipation" and is identifiable by clinical diagnostic criteria.


title: Pelvic floor

text: Pelvic floor exercise (PFE), also known as Kegel exercises, may improve the tone and function of the pelvic floor muscles, which is of particular benefit for women (and less commonly men) who experience stress urinary incontinence. However, compliance with PFE programs often is poor, PFE generally is ineffective for urinary incontinence unless performed with biofeedback and trained supervision, and in severe cases it may have no benefit. Pelvic floor muscle tone may be estimated using a perineometer, which measures the pressure within the vagina. Medication may also be used to improve continence. In severe cases, surgery may be used to repair or even to reconstruct the pelvic floor.


title: Pelvic floor

text: Perineology or pelviperineology is a speciality dealing with the functional troubles of the three axes (urological, gynaecological and coloproctological) of the pelvic floor.


Police vehicles in the United States and Canada consist of a wide range of police vehicles used by police and law enforcement officials in the United States and in Canada. Most police vehicles in the U.S. and Canada are produced by American automakers, primarily the Big Three, and many vehicle models and fleet norms have been shared by police in both countries.


title: Police vehicles in the United States and Canada

text: A majority of officially-marketed American and Canadian police vehicles—as in those officially marketed as such by their manufacturer—are classified as "pursuit packages", which generally denote vehicle models that are capable of handling a majority of police tasks, primarily regular patrol duties but also, as the name implies, pursuits. Other models are often classified as "special service packages", which generally denote specialized vehicles designed to fulfill specific tasks or utility roles, such as transport vans, pickup trucks, SWAT vehicles, and performance cars. Combined, these police fleet offerings are often referred to by manufacturers as "police packages".


text: Unlike many other countries, American and Canadian law enforcement agencies are generally not limited by regulations on vehicle models or livery marking designs, meaning that, while there may be varying regulations on emergency vehicle equipment or unmarked police vehicles in each jurisdiction, there is no standardized vehicle livery design, and most agencies have their own unique designs.


text: The first police car in the world was an electrically-powered wagon, operated by the Akron Police Department in 1899. The $2,400 vehicle was equipped with electric lights, gongs, and a stretcher, and could reach and travel before its battery needed to be recharged. The car's first assignment was to pick up a drunken man at the junction of Main and Exchange streets. Since the 1920s, the New York City Police Department has used vehicles for patrol duties, referred to as "Radio Mounted Patrol" vehicles.


text: Ford's introduction of the flathead V-8 in its Model 18 in 1932—the first low-priced, mass-marketed car with a V8 engine—proved popular amongst police departments and led to strong brand loyalty. In turn, this gave the company a market-capturing edge that lasted until 1968. In the 1940s and 1950s, the "Big Three" (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) began to offer specialized police packages with severe duty parts. Foremost amongst these was the Ford package of 1950, which utilized the larger and more powerful Mercury engine in the smaller, lighter Ford. This ended the practice of some state police forces buying larger and more powerful, but higher-priced models including Buicks, Hudsons, and Chryslers. In 1969, Plymouth took first place in the police market, with Chrysler's 440 cu. in. V8s, Torqueflite transmissions, and torsion bar suspensions giving them a compelling advantage. Chrysler held this lead until the 1970s energy crisis drove buyers to smaller cars, and Chrysler subsequently discontinued their rear-drive platform after the 1989 model year.


text: Police have historically used full-size, low-expense sedans since the days of the Ford Model A, though many police departments switched to intermediates—such as the Plymouth Satellite, Ford Torino, and AMC Matador—in the 1960s and 1970s. Some state police forces adopted pony cars, such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and AMC Javelin, for use as pursuit vehicles. The Ford LTD, Plymouth Gran Fury, and Chevrolet Caprice were re-adopted as standard when the models were downsized in the late 1970s.


text: After the discontinuation of the Chevrolet Caprice in 1996 (though it would subsequently return in 2010 for exclusive law enforcement use), the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor replaced it, becoming iconic as a police car due to its prevalence in fleets across North America. Other models such as the Chevrolet Impala (8th and 9th generations), Chevrolet Tahoe, and Dodge Charger also gained a percentage of the market during this period, and were often bought to diversify fleets and minimize disruption in the event of a Ford recall.


text: Following the discontinuation of the Crown Victoria, Ford replaced their fleet offerings with police versions of the Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer, which remained popular with fleets. General Motors marketed the revived Chevrolet Caprice as a fleet-only vehicle alongside a fleet-only 9th-generation Impala, while Dodge continued marketing their Charger, which was viewed as a viable sedan replacement for the Crown Victoria.


text: With the discontinuation of the Taurus, Impala, and Caprice, the police fleet market as of 2022 is dominated by crossovers and SUVs, with the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Dodge Durango predominantly marketed alongside similar models. The only sedan currently marketed for police fleets is the Dodge Charger, which is expected to be discontinued in 2023.


text: Subject to federal, state, provincial and local laws, any vehicle, appropriately modified, can be used as a police vehicle, but the most common are those designed or modified by manufacturers as police or special service vehicles. Though previously dominated by sedans, sport utility vehicles and crossovers have become increasingly popular in police fleets, reflecting wider vehicle market trends. Benefits often cited include extra room for equipment and better outward visibility due to the higher seating position compared to sedans.


text: The following model year 2020 and 2021 vehicles (in various drivetrain configurations) were submitted by manufacturers for the 2021 evaluation by the Michigan State Police:


text: Other police fleet vehicles available from the same manufacturers during those model years include the Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Express, Ford Transit, and Ram 1500. Older models, namely the Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Caprice, and Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, retain their popularity in fleets, but are gradually being phased out due to maintenance costs, mileage, and their end of production.


text: Common SWAT vehicles include the Lenco BearCat, BAE Caiman, and other armored vehicles of similar configurations.


text: Other vehicles are used in varying capacities by some agencies, such as the Toyota Prius, Smart Fortwo, BMW i3, and other models that are not officially sold to fleets.


text: Electric vehicles have gradually become more prevalent in police fleets as electric vehicles become increasingly popular. In 2017, when Fremont Police Department purchased a Tesla Model S for patrol duty, making it the first Tesla police car in the world; since then, electric vehicles have been added to police fleets in Boulder City, Dearborn, Hallandale Beach, and New York City, among other departments. The first Tesla police car in Canada was purchased by the Bridgewater Police Service in 2022; later that year, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced they would be acquiring a Tesla Model Y, their first electric police car, in 2023.