Examining fuel poverty
The aim of the Fuel Poverty Task Force was to raise the profile of fuel poverty and provide a means of enhancing knowledge and understanding, while creating a forum for the exchange of ideas and solutions.
The Task Force commissioned Professor Catherine Waddams to conduct a research project designed to survey low income households, with a disproportionately high number supplied via a prepayment meter. Representatives from external groups covering Ofgem, energywatch, DTI, Eaga, NEA and energy suppliers were invited to participate in the research steering group under the chairmanship of Tony Jackson of SEEBOARD.
The project objectives were:
- To identify and analyse the pattern of gas and electricity consumption in households vulnerable to fuel poverty and to provide independent information on the impact of different payment methods and policies towards debt recovery.
- To identify patterns of self-disconnection amongst prepayment meter users.
- To identify patterns of self-rationing (if any) amongst credit consumers with the same socio-economic and demographic characteristics as prepayment users.
- To assess the likely effects of a range of tariff differentials on consumption patterns.
- To identify the benefits and costs to consumers of different metering and payment schemes and attitudes to their current payment scheme.
- To identify and assess company policies and practices toward social action and payment methods.
More than 3,400 low income consumers throughout the UK and over 40 managers from electricity and gas suppliers were interviewed in the spring and summer of 2000. The project was completed in January 2001.
- The vast majority of low income households taking their electricity or gas supplies (or both) from a prepayment meter were happy with their payment method.
- Almost 90% of prepayment meter customers would choose to use a prepayment meter, with only 3% saying they would choose to pay by direct debit.
- Prepayment meters are popular with low income households because they allow for financial control.
- Around 50% of those interviewed could think of no disadvantages. Of those that did, the main drawback was that the meters could run out of credit.
Analysis and comment
Satisfaction with prepayment was highest among low income households, suggesting the importance of the budgeting element. The lowest level of satisfaction was for standard quarterly credit payments for one or both fuels, particularly when prepayment was used for the other fuel. Managers in energy supply companies recognised that consumers liked prepayment meters, while acknowledging that this preference may conflict with the regulator's desire to see fewer such meters being installed.
Most prepayment consumers realised that this method was more expensive than others, but still preferred it to the alternatives. Most consumers found that the location of charging points was convenient; of the few who did not, a high proportion were pensioners or had children or a disabled person in the family.
- Self-disconnection is not a problem for the majority of households with a prepayment meter.
- For those that did self-disconnect – about one in four households – most did so unintentionally and were off-supply only for short periods.
- Less than 10% of households self- disconnected as a result of poverty in general.
- Where self-disconnection was for financial reasons, the household often included at least one unemployed adult, or children.
- Households with occupants receiving a state pension or disability benefit disconnected the least.
- Most customers were aware of the emergency credit facility and how to use it, but pensioners were least aware.
Analysis and comment
Only a minority of prepayment meter users had self-disconnected in the past year – just under 25% of electricity consumers, and just over 25% of gas consumers, had self-disconnected at least once. Most self-disconnections were for less than seven hours.
Use of the emergency credit facility was much more common than self-disconnection. Nearly 75% of electricity and over 60% of gas prepayment consumers had used emergency credit during the previous 12 months, usually because of forgetting to charge the card.
RATIONING AND ECONOMISING
- Most households surveyed try to economise on energy in some manner. More than one in ten turned down the heating lower than they would like.
- Around 80% of households surveyed (both prepayment meter and credit meter) reported no adverse results with self-rationing.
- There is, however, a small group of customers (one in 12) for whom self-rationing is causing significant comfort/ environmental problems.
Analysis and comment
Most consumers economise on their fuel. For gas, more prepayment than credit consumers tried to economise; for electricity the position was slightly reversed. Turning off the heating is more common among households with prepayment meters, for both types of fuel. Pensioners did not say they could not afford fuel to any greater extent than the other low income households in the survey.
Consumers were asked how their spending might change in response to hypothetical changes in the price of energy and their weekly income. 17% of electricity consumers and 20% of gas users said they would increase their consumption if the price were to fall, rising to more than 25% among gas prepayment consumers. However, much smaller numbers said they would increase their use of gas and electricity if incomes were to rise, sugg-esting other priorities. A higher proportion of households would increase consumption of the fuel for which they are using prepayment meters than for the group as a whole.
SWITCHING ENERGY SUPPLIER AND COST SAVINGS
- Households that had switched supplier reported saving money as the main reason for switching.
- The main reason for not switching was lack of confidence in alternative suppliers.
- Prepayment meter customers were the least likely to switch.
- Pensioners and those in receipt of disability benefit were also less likely to switch.
- Some people who did not switch supplier achieved savings by changing payment method.
- Few customers believed they could not switch (for whatever reason).
Analysis and comment
The survey showed that 17% of the sample had switched electricity supplier and 28% gas supplier, about the national average at the time of the interviews. However, switching rates were much lower for prepayment meter users for both fuels. Those with prepayment electricity meters showed about an average rate for switching gas suppliers.
Companies supported evidence from the consumer survey that the ability of suppliers to prevent switching among consumers who are in debt was not a major obstacle to the development of competition. Further, the removal of debt blocking would not be enough to encourage switching. Here, both company and consumer evidence indicated that the lack of attractive offers in the market represented a barrier for prepayment meter users and that regulatory action was the appropriate remedy.
ENERGY INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES
- Energy suppliers see their social responsibilities as both an appropriate and necessary consequence of activity in the supply market.
- Whilst social welfare is primarily for governments to manage, energy suppliers understand the need to discharge their social responsibilities and to strengthen customer relationships.
- Suppliers realise that for certain people a prepayment meter is the preferred method of payment and there is a desire to continue to provide that service.
- Companies are working to serve all customer segments as far as the constraints of the competitive market will allow.
Analysis and comment
Companies had varied responses to the social agenda. Overall four different templates were identified:
- ‘Embracing' social initiatives
- Business as usual
- Management deliberation
- Commercial conflict.
There was no suggestion that any of these approaches was better than any other. It was expected and natural to see a variety of approaches in a developing market of this kind. Examination of the effect of company culture and history on management attitudes proved inconclusive.
CONCLUSIONS AND STEERING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
Restricting the number of prepayment meters would curtail the options available to a group whose choices are already severely income-constrained. There clearly remains an issue about meeting the full costs of such devices, which presents itself (amongst other places) in the competitive market.
Since most prepayment meter customers prefer this method of payment, alternative methods need to provide financial control and a means to budget in order to be attractive. Energy suppliers should continue efforts to keep the extra costs of prepayment meters as low as possible, but suppliers believe they should not be required to restrict their use where these meters are preferred for budgeting purposes.
Self-disconnection and self-rationing
Measures to prevent self-disconnection and self-rationing need to be carefully directed at the minority of low income users for whom these are a (sometimes major) problem, in order to avoid restricting choices for the majority who perceive little difficulty.
The problems of self-disconnection affecting households in financial difficulty should not be treated by adopting blanket policies for the whole prepayment meter population. Policies which seek to reduce the number of prepayment meters may not be welcomed by most users. More specific help is needed for households experiencing self-disconnection for reasons of poverty.
Switching energy supplier and cost savings
Caps on incumbents' prepayment prices have dampened the scope for competitive offers, which deter consumers from switching because of the poor savings opportunities open to them. The removal of caps from prepayment gas prices should alleviate this, although the pro-competitive effect will be dampened by the temporary link between prepay and direct debit prices. Increasing competitiveness in the prepayment market seems inevitably to involve higher prices in the short term, to counteract the effect of particularly close regulation in this market in the recent past.
All parties (suppliers, Ofgem and energywatch) should consider how the benefits of switching supplier can be promoted. Various products have been introduced which can benefit certain groups of less advantaged customers.
Energy industry perspectives
The government and regulator should give clearer guidance to companies about the nature and scope of their social obligations if they want to develop a well targeted and consistent policy across the nation.
The problems of fuel poverty are broad and complex. Actions by suppliers, and the collaborative efforts of the EA Fuel Poverty Task Force, have resulted in the introduction of a wide range of initiatives for tackling fuel poverty. However, suppliers cannot be expected to provide all the solutions for its elimination. There is a broader social agenda, which needs to recognise that these poverty issues should be dealt with through a range of welfare, taxation and incomes policies.
Definitions & Abbreviations:
DTI - Department of Trade & Industry
Eaga - Energy Action Grants Agency energywatch - the trading name of the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council
Fuel poverty - describes those who spend, or need to spend, 10% or more of their income on energy
NEA - National Energy Action
Ofgem - Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
The full text of the report Affording Gas and Electricity: Self Disconnection and Rationing by Prepayment and Low Income Credit Consumers and Company Attitudes to Social Action can be found on the Electricity Association's website at www.electricity.org.uk


The United Nations is an embodiment of a continually evolving international order and UN peace operations are the physical manifestation of that order. Though there is no international consensus as to what peace and security mean, the prevailing understanding of these ideas is modeled by what peace operations do and how they do it. So what do current peace operations tell us about how the world understands peace and security? Has the recent global focus on terrorism changed what we think peace and security really means?
Shannon Zimmerman is a peacemaker specializing in understanding how ideas of peace and security interact. She is currently a PhD researcher at the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Her research focuses on the intersections of the Protection of Civilians (PoC) and counter-terrorism norms within United Nations peacekeeping missions. She specifically looks at how these norms interact with each other at the field level and their impact on the structure and nature of contemporary peacekeeping missions. Shannon holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Previously, Shannon worked at the United States Institute of Peace and the North American branch of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx


Integration of religion and spirituality in Psychology has long been an interesting issue. But although there were several studies and dialogues conducted to link spiritual direction and psychotherapy, still very little has been done to associate spiritual direction with specific
psychotherapy models. At the time spiritual therapy has been introduced, narrative therapy came out as the foremost technique for family therapy (Aponte, 2002). Blanton (2005) cited that the concept behind narrative therapy resonates with that of spirituality; a reason why authors have been interested in inquiring into the benefits of narrative family therapy with spiritual issues. The article provided a comprehensive exploration of how narrative family therapy and spiritual direction can fit together and how they can enrich and strengthen each other’s approach to psychotherapy.
Narrative family therapy quickly became the primary approach to family therapy because it bravely challenged conventional psychological concepts. As postmodern psychology emphasizes knowledge that surfaces from relationships and the idea of self as developed through language and converted through conversation, it became the foundation for narrative therapy (Blanton, 2005). Spiritual direction, on the other hand, has been an integral part of human living. It has been protected and observed in the liturgical churches where religious orders have been preserved.
To compare the two disciples, the article discussed five categories in which to compare narrative therapy and spiritual direction – the problem, therapy goals, focus of therapy, therapeutic tools, and therapeutic relationships (Blanton, 2005). For spiritual direction, issues are mostly related to hindered spiritual growth because of cultural beliefs. For narrative therapy, people tend to adapt problem-saturated stories that lead them to seeing themselves as the source of the problem, although the therapy itself follows the concept of externalization wherein the problems are considered separate and external from the person. The goal of spiritual direction is that of finding the true self while that of narrative therapy is identifying the preferred self. Both disciplines focus on experience and meaning of living and they are somehow alike in the therapeutic tools that they follow. Spiritual direction and narrative theory both use dialogues, questions, and listening as therapeutic approaches. Narrative therapy is much more collaborative and concerned with relationships; it involves processing of the information the client provides but without the therapist posing questions to confirm and verify. Spiritual direction, on the other hand, works the same way only that it is more contemplative; this collaborative-contemplative approach entails helping the clients find their way toward God (Evans, 2005).
Apparently, the similarities make the two disciplines somehow complementary. The narrative therapy can incorporate spiritual direction in the therapeutic process by opening to the clients the idea of God as a participant in their lives. Spirituality could be an important element to narrative family therapy as it opens and enables clients to hear or see God and use the messages to resolve the issues.
Narrative family therapy and spiritual direction seem to have more similarities than differences. Both disciplines share the same belief in conducting therapy and the desired outcome. Spiritual direction and narrative therapy both sees dialogue as an instrument of change; that through the elicited and shared stories and experiences, one is able to understand self and life. Both therapist and director do not see themselves as the primary agent of change and as they both adhere to establishing a collaborative relationship.
The two disciplines may not be a perfect fit but the parallel ideas make them mutually beneficial when applied together.
Aponte, H.J. (2002). Spirituality: The heart of therapy. Spirituality and family therapy. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc
Gregg, P.G. (2005). Narrative Family Therapy and Spiritual Direction: Do They Fit? Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 24, 68-79.


By Ariana Assaf, Daily Staff Reporter
Published February 20, 2014
Bad weather has a knack for getting people down. But when sad leads to SAD, there’s more that students can do beside counting the days until summer.
More like this
Seasonal affective disorder — known as SAD — is a form of depression that is most prevalent in regions of the country such as the Midwest, where it is particularly cold and dark between mid-October and mid-March.
Though many students tend to experience what is known as “winter blues,” Victoria Hays, associate director at the University’s Counseling and Psychology Services, said being formally diagnosed with SAD does not happen as frequently.
Often, people who have already experienced some depression come to realize that it worsens in the winter after consulting with a healthcare professional.
“It’s not as common to get someone coming in who’s never had difficulties with depression before and whose first diagnosis is SAD,” Hays said.
Information on the University Health System’s website explains that SAD is most common in women and in people between 15 and 55 years old.
According to a research report by John Greden, professor of psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 4 to 6 percent of people have “full-blown” SAD and 10 to 20 percent of Americans exhibit some symptoms. Greden serves as the executive director of the University’s Comprehensive Depression Center.
People suffering from SAD often report feeling sluggish, slow or unmotivated. Other symptoms include drowsiness, weight gain and craving carbohydrates as a way to increase energy.
Hays said SAD is primarily trigged by diminished exposure to sunlight, not cold temperatures.
“Some people are particularly sensitive to changes in the amount of sunlight, so when there’s less sunlight people feel a lot worse,” she said.
She added that the times of year when SAD tends to take hold and then taper off — mid-October and mid-March, respectively — are also high-stress times for students, which can make it hard to pinpoint exactly what contributes to the seasonal change in mood.
Light therapy is the most effective way to combat depression caused by a lack of natural sunlight. At the University, light boxes are available for use in the CAPS Wellness Zone and can also be purchased for personal use.
People who are susceptible to bipolar disorder should refrain from exposing themselves to too much light late in the day, as this can lead to hypomania or interruptive sleep. Generally, using a light box for 20 minutes in the morning three or four times a week is recommended.
Another common treatment is using a dawn simulator, an alarm clock that mimics the rising sun.
Greden also cited antidepressant medication and exercise as a treatment for SAD. Because limited amounts of sunlight can slow down biological clocks and delay sleep and hormone cycles, a combination of light therapy and prescribed medications can be particularly effective in some cases.
Hays said students who think they might be affected by SAD can go online to see if their symptoms meet the criteria and explore treatment options.
“Some of the initial treatment recommendations can be done without seeing a mental health professional, but you won’t know whether or not you actually have SAD without somebody giving the proper diagnosis.”
Because CAPS is a free service for students, it generally does not diagnose specific mental conditions and therefore does not track numbers of students who report being affected by specific conditions. However, the number one reason students seek assistance at Counseling and Psychological Services is for issues with anxiety. Depression is second.
The University’s Comprehensive Depression Center is located in the Rachel Upjohn Building at 4250 Plymouth Road. The center can be reached at 1-800-475-6424 or 734-936-4400.


Ask The Question
Jul 10, 2019, 2:23:50 AM
If you do not recognize the name of a journal or magazine, you should not use it as a source. true or false
Jul 10, 2019, 4:21:03 AM
this is false it can still be a good source
If you do not recognize the name of a journal or magazine, you should not use it as a source. tru...
Help? QUESTION 12 Not all primary sources are reliable. True False QUESTION 13 If you d...
If you do not recall the exact date of an event, it is okay to use a general time reference inste...
If you must use an outline for an essay answer, you do not need to use complete thoughts. True ...
As a police officer, you can use psychological coercion but not physical coercion. true or false
You do not need a tutor unless you are in danger of failing the class. True or false
true/false If you do not recall the exact date of an event, it is okay to use a general time refe...
You have the choice to use either the title or the author's last name to credit a source in a par...
True or False: When dealing with lengthy information, it is best to summarize the information. ...
It is normal to not understand a concept or idea that you are learning the first few times. True ...


When your child leaves home for college, you worry about losing contact. She will be living at college, and perhaps not returning home for several weeks or months, so you worry. However, with some effort on your part, your communication with your student may become even more meaningful than when she was home.
This post is the second in a series of five posts that may give you food for thought about how you communicate with your college student. We’re posting one of these articles each week for five weeks. Some of our suggestions may be common sense reminders, and some may be new ideas for you. Obviously, communication skills are interrelated, so please consider all of these suggestions together. Our first post concerned how you listen to your student. In this post we’ll consider nonverbal communication and the signals that you send and interpret. In future posts we discuss how to check perceptions to make sure you understand what your student is really saying, how to ask helpful questions, and how to frame some of your messages so your student may be willing to listen. We hope that thinking about how you listen and talk to your student may help you to keep all of your communication doors wide open.
Most of us think of nonverbal communication as body language, and it is. However, there are more facets to nonverbal communication than many of us might imagine, even though we use these aspects of communication daily to help us understand people. So, as we discuss nonverbal communication, let’s begin by broadening our definition. Nonverbal communication is anything that helps to get a message from one person to another without using the meaning of the words. With this definition, nonverbal communication includes not only body language, but also tone of voice, appearance, timing, facial expressions, and even the atmosphere in which we choose to have a conversation.
Nonverbal messages can often tell us even more than the words that someone is saying (some researchers have suggested that as much as 93% of our understanding may come from nonverbal cues) – and nonverbal messages can be very easily misinterpreted. Much of nonverbal communication also seems like common sense, however we often forget just how much power nonverbal communication can have. Some conscious thought about both the nonverbal messages that you receive from your college student and that you send to your college student, may help improve your communication.
- Watch for body language signals from your student. Does she seem uncomfortable? Does she seem much more confident in the way she carries herself? Is she making eye contact? (Be careful about jumping to conclusions if she’s not. This could mean many things.) Does her body language reinforce or contradict what her words are telling you?
- Think about the messages your body may be sending. Are you tense or disinterested? Do you stop what you’re doing and give your student your full attention? Do you stand and tower over your student or sit down next to him? Are you facing your student across a table or sitting next to him on the sofa? Which position seems most appropriate for the tone of the conversation you are having? Does your facial expression give away your thoughts or mask what you are truly feeling? Do your physical messages match your words?
- Listen carefully to your student’s tone of voice. Think carefully about your own tone of voice. Obviously, raised voices often reflect anger, but they may also reflect fear. Tone of voice may be one of the first forms of communication to reveal emotion. Listen carefully and you may hear much more than words.
- Appearance is a powerful form of communication. Are there changes in your student’s physical appearance? Before you make judgments or jump to conclusions, think about what your student may be saying. Is she asserting her independence? Demonstrating a new direction for her life? Revealing an underlying health or emotional issue? Your student may be communicating through her clothing, hairstyle, new tattoos or piercings, or other aspects of the way that she chooses to look. Look for clues and take your cue about how to respond.
- Think of time as a source of communication. When and where you talk with your student can make a difference. Respect your student’s schedule and needs, but also let him know that you need some time from him as well. Think about when and where you choose to communicate. Make an appointment to have a serious conversation. When you both set aside some time to talk, you send each other a message about the importance of the conversation.
- Place, or space, is yet another form of nonverbal communication. If you need to have a serious talk with your student, you may want to meet at the kitchen table, or even choose a more neutral location such as a coffee shop. Think about whether you want your conversation to be public or whether it should occur at home. Some topics may be better handled at the kitchen table (more businesslike?) and some may be better suited to sitting together on the sofa in front of the fire (more personal?). Choosing your location, if you have control over it, can help to set the tone for the interaction.
One of the factors that makes our nonverbal communication so powerful is that it is often unconscious. Bringing some awareness and conscious effort to the way that we receive and send our messages can help us to interpret those messages more accurately and fully. Whether we communicate with our student in person, by phone, through skype, or in some other fashion, watching for the cues from him – and thinking about the cues that we send – can make those moments of contact even more meaningful.
Once we think we have received nonverbal (or verbal) messages, we can improve our communication even more by checking to see whether our interpretations are accurate. Our next “Communicating With Your College Student” post will address how to use perception checking techniques to test your accuracy at interpreting messages.


Book-Length Study (1)
Fisher, Susan R. Boys and Girls in No Man’s Land: English-Canadian Children and the First World War. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011. See esp. chapter 7, “But What Can a Girl Do?” 183–216; chapter 8, “A War for Modern Readers,” 217–45.
Book Chapters (2)
Fisher, Susan. “‘Watchman, What of the Night?’: L.M. Montgomery’s Poems of War.” In L.M. Montgomery and War, edited by Andrea McKenzie and Jane Ledwell, 94–109. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017.
Fisher, Susan. “Canada and the Great War.” In The Cambridge History of Canadian Literature, edited by Coral Ann Howells and Eva-Marie Kröller, 224–43. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.


Bertrand Piccard squeezes himself into the narrow cockpit of his solar-powered plane and feels like a prisoner. There’s not a lot of room in there. He can barely move. An engineer has to climb up to him to hook him up to an on-board computer.
Piccard, 54, is wearing a life jacket over insulated overalls to protect him from the cold. He has a parachute on his back. On the wing above him, 10,748 solar cells soak up the evening sunlight.
Piccard’s plane, codename HB-SIA, has a wingspan of 208 feet, the same as an Airbus A340. Yet he is huddled in a cockpit half the size of a telephone box. “You can’t see the wings at all,” he says of his pilot’s view. “You’re sitting in there like a horse wearing blinders.”
Five assistants push the plane into position with their bare hands. At 3,500 pounds, the highest-performance solar-powered plane in the world weighs the same as a medium-sized car. When the pilot gets in the cockpit, the carbon-fiber wings tremble all the way to their tips.
The nearby Payerne weather station is reporting winds of four knots (4.6 mph), a light breeze wafting over this military base 30 miles southwest of Bern in Switzerland. Piccard looks out onto the horizon through his rimless glasses. The fire brigade position their fire engines on the edge of the runway. This is his third Solar Impulse test flight this year.
"If we can fly around the world without using a drop of kerosene, we can also do without fossil fuels on our roads.”
The day before the test flight, Piccard is sitting on a white sofa in the hangar in Payerne. His most striking facial feature is the steely blue eyes he fixes on everyone he talks to. He is a third-generation adventurer. In 1931, his grandfather, Auguste, became the first man to reach the stratosphere in a balloon, and in 1960 his father, Jacques, was the first man to descend almost seven miles into the Mariana Trench. The film director James Cameron was the last person to do so, in March 2012.
“I was raised to be curious,” Piccard says. In 1999, he became the first person to circumnavigate the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon. He needed three attempts before finally landing in the Sahara after flying a distance of 26,600 miles. On his first attempt he fell into the Mediterranean. On his second attempt he had to come down in Burma. “I realized then how dependent [humans] are on liquefied petroleum gas,” he says.
The Swiss native hopes that his Solar Impulse project will make a statement against mankind’s fuel consumption, but without wagging fingers. “No one wants to give up their comfortable lifestyle. But why would we have to? Clean technologies already exist and have huge potential. If we can fly around the world without using a drop of kerosene, we can also do without fossil fuels on our roads.”
The first circumnavigation of the globe by solar-powered plane, in a five-stage flight, is planned for 2014. In Dübendorf, near Zurich, Solar Impulse engineers are currently poring over the successor to HB-SIA. The electronic components need to be better protected against the rain. The wingspan will increase by 26 feet and provide room for yet more solar cells.
The HB-SIA plane can already remain airborne night and day thanks to its ingenious storage technology. While the sun is shining, lithium polymer batteries collect energy that can be used for flying at night. The clock starts ticking when it gets dark. You have to be able to fly until sunrise, which is when the batteries go flat. Pilots must fly in an energy-efficient way at night, which means as much gliding and as little propeller use as possible.
Solar Impulse can carry only one pilot, and it will take between 25 and 30 days to fly around the world. As no single person could last that long, Piccard will be swapping places in the cockpit with Swiss countryman André Borschberg. With his short hair and lively eyes, the gangly, 59-year-old Borschberg looks about 10 years younger than he actually is. You can imagine him as a flight-school instructor, standing in the classroom in his aviator sunglasses explaining maneuvers to the wannabe daredevils. Borschberg got his pilot’s license when he was only 17, before ever laying a finger on the steering wheel of a car. After that he flew fighter jets for the Swiss army for 20 years and then set up his own technology firm.
The project has no contingency plan for an emergency landing on water. The light aircraft would smash to pieces on contact.
Piccard says Borschberg is a workaholic. Borschberg says Piccard is a visionary who sees things differently from most of the people around him. What would make a former fighter pilot who flew at Mach 1 for decades take an interest in flying around the world at 40 mph?
“It’s a completely new type of flying,” says Borschberg. “In an F/A-18 [jet fighter], it’s like you’re flying two kilometers [approx. 1.25 miles] behind the jet. The controls react so quickly that you really have to keep up with the distance in your head. In the Solar Impulse cockpit, on the other hand, it’s all about patience. You steer to the right and at first nothing happens, and then you turn.”
Borschberg also wants this round-the-world flight to promote solar technology. “When I flew from Switzerland to Belgium last year, I had more energy in the battery at landing than at takeoff. We could have dispensed with some of it. It was mind-blowing.”
Borschberg set three records for solar-powered planes on board the HB-SIA in 2010: the longest flight (26 hours, 10 minutes) with the highest absolute flying altitude (30,298 feet) and the greatest height gain (28,687 feet). Yet both pilots know that the greatest challenge facing them is a mental one.
If Piccard and Borschberg are to cross the oceans, they will have to remain in the air for 150 hours nonstop. In that time, you could fly from Paris to New York around 16 times in a passenger plane. The Solar Impulse pilots have to get through the marathon stage over the Atlantic without a break. In a mini-cockpit. In a plane that steers like an oversized paraglider.
The project has no contingency plan for an emergency landing on water. The light aircraft would smash to pieces on contact. “We’ve got parachutes,” Piccard says. If the plane were to go down over the ocean, it’d be a case of bailing out and waiting to be rescued by boat.
Piccard also says that panicking is often a lot more dangerous than the actual risk: “Too many emotions then come rushing to mind and get in the way of your decision-making.” But pilots are trained to deal with panic.
The pilots are allowed to squeeze in “micro-naps” over uninhabited areas. Autopilot takes over during these short sleeping breaks.
Borschberg, the former military pilot, says he flies every mission in his head at home before going to sleep. He tries to visualize every maneuver in the plane. He demonstrated his stamina at the project’s research facility in Dübendorf in February of this year, when he completed a long test in the flight simulator.
His mission was a 72-hour virtual test flight, alone in an artificial cockpit. Medics and engineers communicated with him only by radio. Borschberg went on Twitter during the test. His tweets read like building blocks in a personality profile:
February 21, 17:27: First 10 hours in the cockpit are very fine. Starting to get used to my environment and lonelyness [sic]
February 22, 15:08: Used for the first time the toilet on board. Needs careful manipulation but it worked... (In case you’re wondering, the pilots use a toilet installed in the seat, otherwise known as a plastic bottle.)
February 23, 12:12: Getting used to my sleep pattern, think i found the right times to do my micro naps. Full of energy
February 23, 13:56: No more hot water, no energy to heat up water, i will eat cold today, snacks, dry fruits and right now a taboule [sic]
Borschberg popped out of the simulator after three days. “There were people in the team who were worried he was going to collapse as soon as we took pictures of him,” says Piccard. “I never doubted André for a second.”
During the simulation, Borschberg did leg exercises to stay active and avoid getting thrombosis in his legs. On 32 occasions he had 20-minute naps. The pilots are allowed to squeeze in “micro-naps” over uninhabited areas. Autopilot takes over during these short sleeping breaks. The alarm goes off after 20 minutes. “Yoga and breathing exercises help you get to sleep exactly when you want to,” Borschberg says. Piccard prefers self-hypnosis.
When things get serious in 2014, the pilots will set off around the world in an easterly direction. One will be in the plane, the other on the ground. They’ll have a radio connection. Piccard will give Borschberg words of encouragement when his partner is sitting in the cockpit at an altitude of 26,000 feet, where outside temperatures are in the region of -40 F, with only heating pads and insulation for protection. When wind gets hold of the plane’s wings, the pilot only has his own strength to fight it: There are no hydraulics, on energy-saving grounds.
The first intercontinental flights are penned in for May and June 2012. Solar Impulse is due to take off from Payerne before crossing the Mediterranean and landing in Morocco.
At Payerne for the third test flight of 2012, Piccard starts the HB-SIA’s engines. Dozens of curious onlookers stare at the delicate aircraft. It’s 5:30 p.m. and the sun is low. Swiss army fighter jets regularly thunder down this runway, but when the solar-powered plane takes off, there is merely the whir of four 10 hp propellers. Piccard quickly gains height in the first few feet because the plane is so light. It looks like a huge bird hovering in the sky. In a world polluted with noisy, fast-paced living, this means of conveyance seems almost a provocative act; Solar Impulse flies at a leisurely pace. It is quiet and clean. Just over 10 minutes later, Piccard’s plane is nothing but a brushstroke on the horizon.
Watch test flights live at www.solarimpulse.com.
Check out the June 2012 issue of Red Bulletin magazine (on newsstands May 15) for more articles. To read the magazine on your iPad, download the Red Bulletin iPad app.


Nawab or nawaab is an honorific title ratified and bestowed by the reigning Mughal emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. Nawab usually refers to males, the equivalent is begum or nawab begum. The primary duty of a nawab was to uphold the sovereignty of the Mughal emperor along with the administration of a certain province, in some cases, these titles were accompanied by jagir grants, either in cash revenues and allowances or land-holdings. During the British Raj, some of the chiefs or Sardars of large or important tribes were given the title. The term nawab was originally used for the subahdar or viceroy of a subah or region of the Mughal empire. It is a Hindustani term, used in Urdu, Hindi and many other North-Indian languages, borrowed via Persian from the Arabic, being the plural of naib. In some areas, especially Bengal, the term is pronounced nobab and this variation has entered English and other foreign languages. The term nawbab is often used to refer to any Muslim ruler in north or south India while the term nizam is preferred for a senior official—it literally means governor of region.
The Nizam of Hyderabad had several nawabs under him, Nawabs of Cuddapah, Rajahmundry, Chicacole, Nizam was his personal title, awarded by the Mughal Government and based on the term Nazim as meaning senior officer. Nazim is still used for a collector in many parts of India. The term nawab is still technically imprecise, as the title was awarded to Hindus and Sikhs, as well. With the decline of empire, the title, and the powers that went with it. Other former rulers bearing the title, such as the nawabs of Bengal, some princes became Nawab by promotion, e. g. the ruler of Palanpur was diwan until 1910, nawab sahib. Other nawabs were promoted are restyled to another style, or to and back. The style for a queen is begum. Most of the dynasties were male primogenitures, although several ruling Begums of Bhopal were a notable exception. Before the incorporation of the Subcontinent into the British Empire, nawabs ruled the kingdoms of Awadh, Bengal and Bhopal. The title nawab was awarded as a distinction by the paramount power, similarly to a British peerage, to persons
East India Company
The company ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India. The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, wealthy merchants and aristocrats owned the Companys shares. Initially the government owned no shares and had only indirect control, during its first century of operation the focus of the Company was trade, not the building of an empire in India. The company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own armies, exercising military power. Despite frequent government intervention, the company had recurring problems with its finances, the official government machinery of British India had assumed its governmental functions and absorbed its armies. Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean, one of them, Edward Bonventure, sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula and returned to England in 1594. In 1596, three ships sailed east, these were all lost at sea.
Two days later, on 24 September, the Adventurers reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project, the Adventurers convened again a year later. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Anybody who traded in breach of the charter without a licence from the Company was liable to forfeiture of their ships and cargo, the governance of the company was in the hands of one governor and 24 directors or committees, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors, ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. According to tradition, business was transacted at the Nags Head Inn, opposite St Botolphs church in Bishopsgate. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601, in March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. Early in 1608 Alexander Sharpeigh was appointed captain of the Companys Ascension, thereafter two ships and Union sailed from Woolwich on 14 March 1607–8.
Initially, the company struggled in the trade because of the competition from the already well-established Dutch East India Company. The company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage, the factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat. In the next two years, the company established its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal
Raja, is a title for a Monarch or princely ruler in South and Southeast Asia. The female form Rani applies equally to the wife of a Raja, usually as queen consort and occasionally as regent. The title has a history in the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a rājan- is a ruler, see for example the dāśarājñá. Sanskrit rājan- is cognate to Latin rēx King, Gaulish rīx, Gaelic rí, etc. originally denoting heads of petty kingdoms and it is believed to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European *h3rēǵs, a vrddhi formation to the root *h3reǵ- to straighten, to order, to rule. The Sanskrit n-stem is secondary in the title, apparently adapted from the female counterpart rājñī which has an -n- suffix in related languages. Cognates of the word Raja in other Indo-European languages include English reign, rather common, practically equivalent variants in Rajasthani and Hindi, used as equivalent royal style in parts of India include Rana, Raol and rawat and Yuvraj prince heir.
Maharaja, or great king, is literally a title for more significant rulers in India, hence during the British raj, precedence was rather determined by the gun salute. Raja රජ means King in Sri Lanka, Rajamanthri is the Prince lineage of Kings generation in Sri Lanka. Rajamanthri title is aristocracy of the Kandiyan Kingdom මහනුවර in Sri Lanka, badan Singh was styled Raja Mahendra and founded the city and state Bharatpur, which his dynasty ruled as Maharajas. Raja Sahib was the style in Bansda until its upgrade from c.1829 to higher counterpart Maharaja Sahib. Raja-i Rajgan was notably the royal style of, the former Rajas of Jind from * until their 1911 upgrade to Maharaja, the former Rajas of Kapurthala from 1861 until their 1911 upgrade to Maharaja. Two consecutive rulers of Patiala, the first of which was originally styled Maharaja, Raja Bahadur, and remained the rulers of Raigarh. as 1763 upgrade from the family title Raja Sar Desai in Maratha state Savantvadi. e. Third prince in line for succession, there were many more Rajas among the feudatory states, such as jagirs.
In Pakistan, Raja is still used by Muslim Rajput clans as hereditary titles, Raja is used as a given name by Hindus and Sikhs. Most notably Raja is used in Hazara division of Pakistan for the descendants of a Turkic dynasty and these Rajas ruled that part of Pakistan for decades and they still possess huge land in Hazara division of Pakistan and actively participate in the politics of the region. In Sinhalese, the title Raja means King of Sri Lanka, Rajamanthri is the Prince lineage of Kings generation especially Rajamanthri is aristocracy of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka history. Indonesian has the word raja for king, leaders of local tribes and old Hindu kingdoms had that title before Indonesia became an independent nation. Various traditional princely states in Indonesia still style their ruler Raja, in the Malay language, the word raja means king
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India as the wife of King-Emperor George V. Although technically a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, she was born and her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck, who was of German extraction, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III. She was informally known as May, after her birth month, the following year, she became engaged to Albert Victors next surviving brother, who subsequently became king. Before her husbands accession, she was successively Duchess of York, Duchess of Cornwall and she supported her second son, who succeeded to the throne as George VI, until his death in 1952. She died the year, during the reign of her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Victoria Mary of Teck was born on 26 May 1867 at Kensington Palace and her father was Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg by his morganatic wife, Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde.
Her mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the child and younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. She was baptised in the Chapel Royal of Kensington Palace on 27 July 1867 by Charles Thomas Longley, before she became queen, she was known to her family and the public by the diminutive name of May, after her birth month. Mays upbringing was merry but fairly strict and she was the eldest of four children, the only girl, and learned to exercise her native discretion and tact by resolving her three younger brothers petty boyhood squabbles. They played with their cousins, the children of the Prince of Wales, may was educated at home by her mother and governess. Although her mother was a grandchild of King George III, May was only a member of the British Royal Family. Her father, the Duke of Teck, had no inheritance or wealth, the Duchess of Teck was granted a parliamentary annuity of £5,000 and received about £4,000 a year from her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Despite this, the family was deeply in debt and lived abroad from 1883, the Tecks travelled throughout Europe, visiting their various relations.
They stayed in Florence, for a time, where May enjoyed visiting the art galleries, churches, in 1885, the Tecks returned to London, and took up residence at White Lodge, in Richmond Park. May was close to her mother, and acted as an secretary, helping to organise parties. She was close to her aunt, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, during the First World War, the Crown Princess of Sweden helped pass letters from May to her aunt, who lived in enemy territory in Germany until her death in 1916. In December 1891, May was engaged to her second cousin once removed, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. The choice of May as bride for the Duke owed much to Queen Victorias fondness for her, as well as to her strong character, Albert Victor died six weeks later, in a recurrence of the worldwide 1889–90 influenza pandemic
The British Empire comprised the dominions, protectorates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century.
In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power.
In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
Durbar is a Hindi-Urdu word, equally common in all North Indian languages and many other South Asian languages. It was the used for the place where Indian Kings and other rulers had their formal and informal meetings, i. e. in European context. Durbar is a Persian-derived term meaning the kings or rulers noble court or a meeting where the king held all discussions regarding the state. It was used in India and Nepal for a court or feudal levy as the latter came to be ruled. A durbar may be either a state council for administering the affairs of a princely state, or a purely ceremonial gathering. The most famous Durbars belonged to Great Emperors and Kings, in the North, cities like Udaipur, Jodhpur and Agra have palaces that adorn such magnificent halls. The Mughal Emperor Akbar had two halls, one for his ministers and the other for the general public, usually Durbar halls are lavishly decorated with the best possible materials available at the time. In the south of India, the Mysore Palace had a number of halls, especially the Peacock Hall, having colour tinted glasses imported from Belgium.
The Durbar Hall in the Khilawat Mubarak, in the city of Hyderabad, beneath the main Dome of the Rastrapati Bhavan is present, the grand Durbar Hall, where many state functions presided by the President of India are held. A durbar could be the council of a native state. There was some overlap between the two groups and this was originally another word for audience room and council, but in India it applies to a privy council and chancery. The practice was started with Lord Lyttons Proclamation Durbar of 1877 celebrating the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the first Empress of India, Durbars continued to be held in years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession of Edward VII to the British throne and this ceremony was presided over by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes and they were the only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule.
No durbar was held for British monarchs who were Emperors of India, Edward VIII reigned only a brief time before abdicating. In Malaysian history, the Durbar was the council comprising the four rulers of the Federated Malay States under British protectorate, first held in 1897, it was a platform for the rulers to discuss issues pertaining state policies with British officials. When the Federation of Malaya was formed in 1948, the Durbar transformed into the Conference of Rulers with the inclusion of the states of Malaya. The membership was enlarged with the addition of new states in the formation of Malaysia in 1963
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Zoroastrianism and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire.
The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.
The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances.
As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, political and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower.
The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India. Cinema as a medium has gained popularity in the country. Indian films have come to be followed throughout South Asia. Dadasaheb Phalke is known as the father of Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in his honour, by the Government of India in 1969, and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian cinema. In the 20th century, Indian cinema, along with the Hollywood and Chinese film industries, as of 2013, in terms of annual film output, India ranks first, followed by Nollywood and China. In 2012, India produced 1,602 feature films, the Indian film industry reached overall revenues of $1.86 billion in 2011. This is projected to rise to $3 billion in 2016, in 2015, India had a total box office of US$1.6 billion, the fourth largest in the world outside North America. Enhanced technology paved the way for upgrading from established norms of delivering product. Visual effects based, super hero science fiction, and epic films like Enthiran, Indian cinema found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are screened.
The Indian government extended film delegations to countries such as the United States of America. The provision of 100% foreign direct investment has made the Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, tax incentives to multiplexes have aided the multiplex boom in India. By 2003 as many as 30 film production companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India, the South Indian film industry defines the four film cultures of South India as a single entity. They are the Tamil, the Telugu, the Malayalam and the Kannada industries, although developed independently over a long period, gross exchange of film performers and technicians as well as globalisation helped to shape this new identity. Music in Indian cinema is another substantial revenue generator with the music rights alone accounting for 4–5% of the net revenues generated by a film in India. Following the screening of the Lumière moving pictures in London, cinema became a sensation across Europe, in the next year a film presentation by one Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcuttas Star Theatre.
With Stevensons encouragement and camera Hiralal Sen, an Indian photographer, made a film of scenes from that show, the Wrestlers by H. S. Bhatavdekar showing a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay was the first film ever to be shot by an Indian. It was the first Indian documentary film, the first Indian film released in India was Shree Pundalik a silent film in Marathi by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at Coronation Cinematograph, Bombay. The female roles in the film were played by male actors, the film marked a historic benchmark in the film industry in India
The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture.
He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty.
The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards.
Humayuns son, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Army, where he served for some 40 years, seeing service in various parts of the British Empire. During this time he was created a royal duke, becoming the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. In 1911, he was appointed as Governor General of Canada and he occupied this post until being succeeded by the Duke of Devonshire in 1916. After the end of his tenure, Arthur returned to the United Kingdom and there, as well as in India, performed various royal duties. Though he retired from life in 1928, he continued to make his presence known in the army well into the Second World War. He was Queen Victorias last surviving son, Arthur was born at Buckingham Palace on 1 May 1850, the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The prince was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Bird Sumner, as with his older brothers, Arthur received his early education from private tutors. It was reported that he became the Queens favourite child, following his arrival at Halifax, Arthur toured the country for eight weeks and made a visit in January 1870 to Washington, D. C.
where he met with President Ulysses S. Grant. Arthur made an impression on many in Canada, as he became the 51st chief on the council, his appointment broke the centuries-old tradition that there should only be 50 chiefs of the Six Nations. Arthur was promoted to the rank of colonel on 14 June 1871, substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1876, colonel on 29 May 1880 and. He gained military experience as Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army from December 1886 to March 1890 and he went on to be General Officer Commanding Southern District, at Portsmouth, from September 1890 to 1893. The Prince had hoped to succeed his first cousin once-removed, the elderly Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, as Commander-in-chief of the British Army, upon the latters forced retirement in 1895. But this desire was denied to Arthur, and instead he was given, between 1893 and 1898, command of the Aldershot District Command, the regiment had recently been converted to the infantry role from the 2nd Battalion, 5th British Columbia Regiment of Canadian Artillery.
With the Princes agreement the unit was renamed 6th Regiment, Duke of Connaughts Own Rifles on 1 May 1900 and he was subsequently appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment, known as The British Columbia Regiment, in 1923. He held that appointment until his death, on his mothers birthday in 1874, Arthur was created a royal peer, being titled as the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex. Through his childrens marriages, Arthur became the father-in-law of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, arthurs first two children predeceased him, Margaret while pregnant with his sixth grandchild. For many years, Arthur maintained a liaison with Leonie, Lady Leslie, sister of Jennie Churchill, alongside his military career, he continued to undertake royal duties beyond, or vaguely associated with, the army. On the return from a posting in India, he again and he toured Canada in 1906
Gentry are well-born and well-bred people of high social class, especially in the past. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to the social class of the landed aristocracy or to the minor aristocracy whose income derives from their large landholdings. The idea of gentry in the sense of noblesse is extinct in common parlance in modern day Britain. Though the untitled nobility in modern day Britain are normally termed gentry, the older sense of nobility is that of a quality identical to gentry. The fundamental social division in most parts of Europe in the Middle Ages was between the nobiles, i. e. the tenants in chivalry, and the ignobles, i. e. the villeins and burgesses. The division into nobles and ignobles in smaller regions of Europe in the Middle Ages was less due to a more rudimentary feudal order. After the Reformation, intermingling between the class and the often hereditary clerical upper class became a distinctive feature in several Nordic countries. Besides the gentry there have been other analogous traditional elites, the Indo-Europeans who settled Europe, Western Asia and the Indian subcontinent conceived their societies to be ordered in a tripartite fashion, the three parts being castes.
Castes came to be divided, perhaps as a result of greater specialisation. The classic formulation of the system as largely described by Georges Dumézil was that of a priestly or religiously occupied caste, a warrior caste. Dumézil divided the Proto-Indo-Europeans into three categories, sovereignty and productivity and he further subdivided sovereignty into two distinct and complementary sub-parts. One part was formal and priestly, but rooted in this world, the other was powerful and priestly, but rooted in the other, the supernatural and spiritual world. The second main division was connected with the use of force, the military, there was a third group, ruled by the other two, whose role was productivity, herding and crafts. This system of roles can be seen in the castes which flourished on the Indian subcontinent. Emperor Constantine convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 whose Nicene Creed included belief in one holy catholic and apostolic Church, emperor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica of 380.
In this power vacuum, the Church rose to become the dominant power in the West, the classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and Latin West. During the Middle Ages it was customary to classify the population of Christendom into laboratores, the last group, though small in number, monopolized the instruments and opportunities of culture, and ruled with almost unlimited sway half of the most powerful continent on the globe. The clergy, like Platos guardians, were placed in authority, in the latter half of the period in which they ruled, the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire


Figure 1-4.-NAVEDTRACOM casualty category decision tree.
MESSAGE TEXT STRUCTURE. The text of a
The free text set, which consists of a set identifier
CASREP message is composed of data sets as necessary
followed by a single, unformatted, narrative data field.
This type of set is used to explain or amplify formatted
to report a particular situation. Each data set, in turn, is
information contained in one or more of the linear or
composed of one or more data fields. The fields in each
columnar data sets in a message. Figures 1-5, 1-6, and
set are grouped according to their relationship. The three
1-7 are examples of the data sets.
types of data sets used in CASREP messages are as
The linear data set, which consists of a set
identifier and one or more data fields present in a
The following paragraphs will discuss the reporting
criteria for each type of CASREP.
The columnar data set, which is used to display
INITIAL CASREP.-- An INITIAL CASREP (fig.
information in tabular form and contains multiple data
1-8) is used to report the occurrence of a significant
lines. The first line of the set consists of a set identifier,
equipment casualty and provides specific information
the second line contains column headers, and
concerning repair of the casualty. Only one initial
subsequent lines contain data fields that are aligned
casualty may be submitted per CASREP message. All
required information must be submitted in the INITIAL
under the appropriate headings.


You might have seen news articles recently about a study saying SUVS are safer than other vehicles. The study only addressed the safety of people in the SUV, and failed to mention the very troubling fact that passengers in other vehicles hit by SUVs are more likely to die.
How much more likely to die? It depends on the information source, but one says sixteen times more likely and another says six times more likely. Additionally, in accidents involving SUVs and other passenger vehicles, nearly 98 percent of those who were killed were in the non-SUVs. Another source says pedestrians hit by SUVs have a 300 percent greater risk of serious injury than pedestrians struck by smaller cars like sedans. (Another study found that in fatal accidents involving SUVS, children inside them were 24 percent more likely to die, than if they were in minivans.)
So why do SUVs cause so much extra destruction? For one thing they typically weigh more, or much more. Combine their extra weight with the fact they are taller and have higher bumpers (sometimes also brush guards), and you can see how they function like large, heavy battering rams on wheels. A Hummer weighs over 8,000 pounds! The GMC Yukon four door is 5,500, and the Nissan Armada is 5,300.
Bumpers are designed to impact on the same level as the bumpers on other vehicles, but the higher bumpers and brush guards on SUVs result in hitting smaller vehicles above their bumpers where there is less protection. If you imagine an SUV hitting a mid-size sedan on the side, the SUVs front would be about shoulder and head-high for a person in the smaller vehicle. At this level, a person is more vulnerable to serious injury to the brain, neck, and chest organs such as the heart, lungs, and major arteries. SUVs typically also require more distance to slow down and stop, which makes them less able to avoid accidents.
Given the fact that in the U.S., nearly ninety percent of vehicles on the roads are not large vehicles, you can see how vulnerable their occupants are to damage from SUVs.
So why would the Institute for Highway Safety fail to not mention that SUVs are actually more dangerous for the the majority of motorists and pedestrians? Who knows exactly, it could have been an honest mistake. Another possible answer lies in the fact the Institute for Highway is funded by the auto insurance companies, and SUVS provide them with more revenue because they cost typically ten to twenty percent more to insure, which might not sound like a huge difference, but if fifteen million people are paying an extra $300 per year, that is $4.5 billion per year. If it was an extra $400 per year, then the total would $6 billion a year.
The Institute for Highway Safety definitely seems to have a conflict of interest; financially the auto insurers backing them stand to gain greatly from the public perception that SUVS are a good vehicle for consumers to buy. Just one example, if you buy a new GMC Yukon Denali, insurance for five years would cost nearly $9,000, according to Edmunds.com. (Fuel for the same period – a whopping $18,000). The true cost of ownership, including the sticker price, is $76,000 – and if you hit another vehicle and injure or kill someone else, the costs explode further. Also, imagine what happens to SUV insurance if you have any speeding tickets, accident history, or a DUI.
“Yes auto rates for SUVs are generally higher than for automobiles. Rates of course correlate to risk – and there are a lot of risk factors with SUVs. Not so much what affects them, but what they do to other vehicles, ” said Loretta L. Worters, vice president of communications for the Insurance Information Institute. (Source: autoinsurancequotes.com)
Why would the IIHS release the results of such a study now? It could be with high gas prices, people are shying away from gas guzzlers like SUVS, especially when they see they also have to pay extra for insurance. Also in tough times like these, spending extra is simply unwise. Additionally the growing green trend is likely having some dampening effect on the purchasing of very fuel-inefficient vehicles, when there are more sensible alternatives available like the hybrid Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Jetta and Golf TDI, and electrics like the Nissan Leaf and new Ford Focus. This article is about the damage SUVS cause to people, but it must also be said they contribute more to climate change, simply due to the fact they require much more gasoline, and produce more CO2.
Image credit: Brady Holt


The era of industrial growth transformed American society creating a new class of wealthy entrepreneurs and a comfortable middle class. The increase in industry resulted in a growth among the blue collar working class. This labor force was made up of millions of newly arrived immigrants and vast numbers of families migrating from rural areas to cities with the hope of job security and prosperity.
With a dream of a better life, rural families relocated to the cities to find work. Sadly, most were disappointed when they arrived and discovered that the truth was not as “rosey” as they had been led to believe. The jobs available required long hours and offered little pay. In most situations, every able family member was needed to work to simply keep the family above the poverty level. Those working included children as young as three.
Young children working endured some of the harshest conditions. Workdays would often be 10 to 14 hours with minimal breaks during the shift. Factories employing children were often very dangerous places leading to injuries and even deaths. Machinery often ran so quickly that little fingers, arms and legs could easily get caught. Beyond the equipment, the environment was a threat to children as well as factories put out fumes and toxins. When inhaled by children these most certainly could result in illness, chronic conditions or disease.
Children working in rural areas were not faring much better. Harvesting crops in extreme temperatures for long hours was considered normal for these children. Work in agriculture was typically less regulated than factory duties. Farm work was often not considered dangerous or extraneous for children, even though they carried their weight and more in loads of produce and handled dangerous tools.
In the United States it took many years to outlaw child labor. By 1899, 28 states had passed laws regulating child labor. Many efforts were made to pass a national child labor law. The U.S. Congress passed two laws, in 1918 and 1922, but the Supreme Court declared both unconstitutional. In 1924, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, but the states did not ratify it. Then, in 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. It fixed minimum ages of 16 for work during school hours, 14 for certain jobs after school, and 18 for dangerous work. Today all the states and the U.S. government have laws regulating child labor. These laws have cured the worst evils of children working in factories.
(Photo credit: Lewis Hine / Library of Congress).