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Sexual abstinence

Sexual abstinence or sexual restraint is the practice of refraining from sexual activity for medical, psychological, legal, social, philosophical, moral, religious or other reasons. Sexual abstinence is distinct from asexuality, which is a sexual orientation where people feel small or no sexual attraction. Celibacy is sexual abstinence generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal or religious beliefs. Sexual abstinence before marriage is required in some societies by social norms, or by law in some countries. It is a part of chastity.

Abstinence may be voluntary (when an individual chooses not to engage in sexual activity due to moral, religious, philosophical, or other reasons), an involuntary result of social circumstances (when one cannot find any willing sexual partners), or legally mandated (e.g. in countries where sexual activity outside marriage is illegal, in prisons etc.).

While actual abstinence prevents pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, attempts at abstinence has little effect on the risk of either. Access to other forms of birth control, such as emergency birth control is thus recommended.

History
The ancient world discouraged promiscuity for both health and social reasons. According to Pythagoras (6th century BCE) sex should be practiced in the winter, but not the summer, but was harmful to male health in every season because the loss of semen was dangerous, hard to control and both physically and spiritually exhausting, but had no effect on females. This idea may have been merged with Zoroastrian ideas of good and evil in a philosophy known as Gnosticism, which influenced Christian and Islamic attitudes to sexual activity. But others stated that the Christian religion's hold on to the ideal of sexual abstinence prior to the appearing of gnosticism and Zoroastrianism and its roots are to be found in the Old Testament (which is the base of the New Testament) in which virginity was required by law and marriage was especially protected (see Deuteronomy chapter 22).

Throughout history, and especially prior to the 20th century, there have been those who have held that sexual abstinence confers numerous health benefits. For males, lack of abstinence was thought to cause a reduction of vitality. In modern times, the argument has been phrased in biological terms, claiming that loss of semen through ejaculation results in a depletion of vital nutrients such as lecithin and phosphorus, which are also found at high levels in the brain. Conservation of the semen allegedly allows it to be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream and aid in the healthy development of the body. Along these lines, the noted German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spoke of the positive physiological effects of abstinence: "The reabsorption of semen by the blood ... perhaps prompts the stimulus of power, the unrest of all forces towards the overcoming of resistances ... The feeling of power has so far mounted highest in abstinent priests and hermits" (quoted by Walter Kaufman in his classic, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist, p. 222). Before the "sexual revolution" of the 1960s, it was commonly believed by members of the medical profession that numerous mental and physical diseases in men were caused primarily by loss of nutrients through seminal discharge, and that the deliberate conservation of this substance would lead to increased health, vitality, and intellectual prowess. This also applied to masturbation, which was also thought to lead to bedwetting and hairy palms.

Some advantages in favor of sexual abstinence were also claimed by Walter Siegmeister, better known as Dr. Raymond W. Bernard, an early 20th-century American alternative health, esoteric writer, author and mystic, who formed part of the alternative reality subculture. In his essay entitled "Science discovers the physiological value of continence" (1957) he states:

"[I]t is clear that there is an important internal physiological relation between the secretions of the sex glands and the central nervous system, that the loss of these secretions, voluntarily or involuntarily, exercises a detrimental effect on the nutrition and vitality of the nerves and brain, while, on the other hand, the conservation of these secretions has a vitalizing effect on the nervous system, a regenerating effect on the endocrine glands [,] and a rejuvenating effect on the organism as a whole."

Historically, there has been a swing from the sexually liberal end of the Industrial Revolution to the chaste values of the early Victorian period. This was then followed by a new puritanism from the late Victorian era to the mid-1900s. This important transformation often colors discussion of sexual behavior in the later 20th century. World War I began a return to sexual freedom and indulgence, but more often than not, the appearance of conforming to the earlier moral values of abstinence before marriage was retained. With the conclusion of World War II, the societal importance of abstinence declined. The advent of the first oral contraceptive pill and widely available antibiotics suppressed many consequences of wide and free sexual behavior, while social morals were also changing. By the 1970s, abandonment of premarital chastity was no longer taboo in the majority of western societies, and the reverse became true. Some cultural groups continued to place a value on the moral purity of an abstainer, but abstinence was caught up in a wider reevaluation of moral values.

During the early 20th century, prominent feminist and birth control advocate Margaret Sanger argued that abstinence from sexual activity led to greater endurance and strength, and was a sign of the best of the species:

"Though sex cells are placed in a part of the anatomy for the essential purpose of easily expelling them into the female for the purpose of reproduction, there are other elements in the sexual fluid which are the essence of blood, nerve, brain, and muscle. When redirected into the building and strengthening of these, we find men or women of the greatest endurance and greatest magnetic power. A girl can waste her creative powers by brooding over a love affair to the extent of exhausting her system, with the results not unlike the effects of masturbation and debauchery."

J. D. Unwin was a British ethnologist and social anthropologist at Oxford and Cambridge universities. Unwin wrote several books including Sex and Culture (1934). In Sex and Culture Unwin studied 80 tribes and six known civilizations through 5,000 years of history and found a positive correlation between the cultural achievement of a people and the amount of sexual restraint which they observed. The author finds that the most culturally successful groups always exhibit lifelong monogamous relationships which include sexual abstinence outside of marriage. According to Unwin, after a nation becomes prosperous it becomes increasingly liberal with regard to sexual morality and as a result loses its cohesion, its impetus and its purpose, ultimately having a negative effect on society: "The whole of human history does not contain a single instance of a group becoming civilized unless it has been absolutely monogamous, nor is there any example of a group retaining its culture after it has adopted less rigorous customs."

During fertile period
Sexual abstinence can be practiced during the period in which the woman is fertile.

Premarital chastity
In most cultural, ethical, and religious contexts, sex within marriage is not considered to be contrary to notions of chastity. Some religious systems prohibit sexual activities between a person and anyone other than a spouse of that person, as have past legal systems and societal norms. In such contexts, sexual abstinence was prescribed for unmarried individuals for the purpose of chastity. Chastity has been used as a synonym for sexual abstinence, they are similar but with different behavior and restrictions.

Legal issues
In some countries any sexual activity outside marriage is illegal. Such laws are mostly tied to religion and the legal and political traditions within the particular jurisdiction. Laws differ greatly from country to country. In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Mauritania, Qatar, Sudan, Yemen, any form of sexual activity outside marriage is illegal.

Violence
In some parts of the world, people suspected of engaging in premarital or same-sex sexual activity can become victims of honor killings committed by their families. Stoning for sexual activity outside marriage is also a punishment in some places.

Abstinence-only sex education in the United States
Abstinence-only sex education is a form of sex education that teaches abstinence from sex, and often excludes many other types of sexual and reproductive health education, particularly regarding birth control and safe sex. Education programs which focus exclusively on abstinence have hardly been shown to delay sexual activity. Such programs promote sexual abstinence until marriage and often also condemn the use of contraceptives as an alternative. Comprehensive sex education, by contrast, covers the use of contraceptives as well as abstinence.

Organizations such as SIECUS have called abstinence-only programs "fear-based," and "designed to control young people's sexual behavior by instilling fear, shame, and guilt." Author Judith Levine has argued that there might be a natural tendency of abstinence educators to escalate their messages: "Like advertising, which must continually jack up its seduction just to stay visible as other advertising proliferates, abstinence education had to make sex scarier and scarier and, at the same time, chastity sweeter."

In spite of these criticisms, federal government support has made abstinence the de facto focus of sex education in the United States, so that opponents frequently adopt the line that abstinence education is acceptable only if it is combined with other methods, such as instruction in the use of condoms, and easy availability thereof. Most nations of Western Europe use more comprehensive measures, and in sharp contrast to the heated discussion in the U.S., abstinence is hardly discussed as an educational measure.

A U.S. federal government-promoted abstinence-only program was aimed at teens in 1981 in order to discourage premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies. However, recent studies conducted by Mathematica Policy Research showed ineffectiveness of this program. The Responsible Education About Life Act was introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) to support age-appropriate sexual education. This program is focused to provide teenagers with science-based information on sexual health, so that they can make a sound decision regarding their sex-life.

In 2006, the George W. Bush administration expanded abstinence programs from teens to adults, by introducing programs to encourage unmarried adults to remain abstinent until marriage. Family-planning advocates and researchers denounced the program as unrealistic, due to the rising age of first-time marriage in the United States. In 2009, the Barack Obama administration removed most of the funding from sexual-abstinence education, and instead used the money to fund the Office of Adolescent Health, designed to prevent teenage pregnancy through evidence-based programs. During the Obama administration, between the years 2007 and 2017, the teen pregnancy rate in the US dropped by 50%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Popularity and effectiveness
The advent of AIDS helped build a more favorable view of abstinence. However, a review of 13 U.S. sex-abstinence programs involving over 15,000 people by Oxford University found that they do not stop risky sexual behavior, or help in the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. Other studies have found that abstinence-only education does little to affect the "age of sexual initiation; number of sexual partners; and rates of sexual abstinence, condom use, vaginal sex, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)". Recently, the United States Congress also found similar results in a study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research on abstinence. Currently, there are also issues as to what abstinence means: is it an abstinence from sexual intercourse, or from sexual behavior? Movements such as True Love Waits in America, which ask teenagers to refrain from sex before marriage, are heavily subscribed, but surveys of sexual behavior indicate an increase in the popularity of oral sex.

, "The rates of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy in American teenagers and young adults are high relative to rates in other industrialized countries."

Effects of abstinence on society
Alfred Kinsey is widely regarded as the first and among the most influential figures in American sexology; his research is cited as having paved the way for a deeper exploration into sexuality among sexologists and the general public, and as having liberated female sexuality. According to Alfred Kinsey sexual ignorance led to real suffering in society and that sexual liberation, as opposed to sexual abstinence, was the key to both a strong marriage and a happy life. Kinsey believed that abstinence was a sexual dysfunction: "The only kinds of sexual dysfunction are abstinence, celibacy and delayed marriage."

Long-term abstinence as a lifestyle
Lifelong (or at least long-term) abstinence, often associated with philosophical or religious asceticism, is distinguished from chastity before marriage. Abstinence is often viewed as an act of self-control over the natural desire to have sex. The display of the strength of character allows the abstainer to set an example for those not able to contain their "base urges". At other times, abstinence has been seen as a great social skill practiced by those who refuse to engage with the material and physical world. Some groups and teachers that propose sexual abstinence consider it an essential means to reach a particular intellectual or spiritual condition, or that chastity allows one to achieve a required self-control or self-consciousness.

Abstinence in religions
Some religions regard chastity as a virtue expected of faithful adherents. This usually includes abstinence from sex for the unmarried, and fidelity to a marriage partner.

In some religions, some groups of people are expected to remain unmarried and to abstain from sex completely. These groups include monks, nuns, and priests in various sects of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Christianity. Chastity is required of the respective sacerdotal orders. The Shakers, on the other hand, impose chastity in the form of celibacy for all members, even forgoing procreation such as the case with the castration cult.

Christianity
Most Christians teach that sexual intercourse should occur exclusively within marriage, and that sexual abstinence is the norm outside of that. Sex between people not married to each other is either fornication or adultery. But for married couples, Paul of Tarsus wrote that they should not deprive each other, except for a short time for devotion to prayer.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches teach chastity until marriage. But even then, in accordance with the teaching of the Apostle Paul, periods of abstinence are encouraged among married couples. Traditionally, Orthodox spouses abstain from physical relations on Wednesdays (the day Jesus was betrayed), Fridays (the day Jesus was crucified), the eves of Great Feasts and throughout the four fasting periods (Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast). This is to allow believers "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer ."

Catholicism defines chastity as the virtue that moderates the sexual appetite. Unmarried Catholics express chastity through sexual abstinence. Sexual intercourse within marriage is considered chaste when it retains the twofold significance of union and procreation. This is why the Catholic Church does not condone the use of contraception, even within the confines of the marital union. Pope John Paul II spoke on contraception not only as its nature as sinful in the eyes of the church, but also in regards to its dangerous nature to harm married couples. Without the openness to life, John Paul said, the gift of oneself within the bond of marriage is incomplete. The Catholic Church does, however, condone the practice of periodical abstinence during a woman's natural cycle of fertility for married couples who, for just reasons, do not wish to have a child at that time. This is a key component of Natural Family Planning, which is set apart from contraceptive measures on the grounds that it does not interrupt the natural order of the marital union with artificial means. The entirety of the Catholic Church's stance on contraception is predicated by the way the Catholic Church views marriage, insofar as marriage is an intimate human union between man and a woman wherein the two mutually give of themselves in their entirety for the good of the other and live in such a way that is open to procreation.

The Methodist Church teaches that "Although all persons are sexual beings whether or not they are married, sexual relations are only clearly affirmed in the marriage bond."

The United Church of Christ is "liberal in their approaches, believing that individuals must decide for themselves how to express their sexual nature."

Hinduism
The Indian tradition of Brahmacharya places great emphasis on abstinence as a way of harnessing the energy of body and mind towards the goal of spiritual realization. In males, the semen (Vīrya) is considered sacred, and its preservation (except when used for procreation) and conversion into higher life-energy (Ojas) is considered essential for the development of enhanced intellectual and spiritual capacities.

The blending of sexual and spiritual is portrayed in Hindu iconography, as seen in ubiquitous phallic and vaginal iconography in Hindu temples and for instance in the Kharjuraho and Konarak medieval temples, where thousands of couples having sex in endless positions, and with the gods, are carved in deep bas-relief. However, these depictions of sex are not generally understood to be a license for free sexual practices, but are instead meant to celebrate procreation as an integral part of existence in the universe. In actual practice, it is highly encouraged that both males and females abstain from pre-marital sex and exercise chastity, which still exists today in Hindu cultures.

Islam
Islam forbids intercourse outside of marriage (zina). Marriage for all who are able to is strongly encouraged, as it is said to help guard one's modesty. For those who cannot marry, fasting (sawm) is recommended, as it is said to diminish sexual power. Abstinence is practiced during the time of a woman's menstruation or istihadha. Abstinence from sexual intercourse is also practiced from dawn to dusk during days where fasting is observed, and sexual intercourse during fasting is prohibited. Sexual intercourse during Hajj is also strictly forbidden, as it can invalidate Ihram.

Jainism
Brahmacharya is one of the five major vows prescribed for the śrāvakā (layman) and ascetics in Jainism. For those Jains who adopt the path of monks, celibacy in action, words and thoughts is expected. For lay Jains who are married, the virtue of brahmacharya requires remaining sexually faithful to one's chosen partner (fidelity). For lay Jains who are unmarried, chaste living requires Jains to avoid sex before marriage.

In the Jain monastic tradition, brahmacharya implies, among other things, the mandatory renunciation of sex and marriage. For a lay Jain, it represents a virtuous lifestyle devoid of constant sexual urges, that also includes simple living, meditation and other behaviors.

Judaism
Judaism forbids intercourse outside marriage (which is termed znut or promiscuity), but has no ideal of chastity. Within marriage abstinence is also required during and following a woman's menstruation. The husband is not allowed to deprive sex from his wife, even if she is not fertile (known as mitzvat onah).

Associated practices
Among some groups of people, the wearing of a purity ring is a reminder to oneself and others, that they are practicing sexual abstinence. In order to aid their sobriety, some sexual abstinents partake in the usage of anaphrodisiacs.

Historically, some individuals were said to wear a chastity belt, a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse. They were used to protect the wearer from rape or temptation. Some devices have been designed with additional features to prevent masturbation. Chastity belts have been created for males and females, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity.

Masturbation
In the 2010s and 2020s, promotion of abstinence from masturbation for health reasons generated millions of views on social media. The medical claims made were generally unsupported by any scientific evidence, and urologist Ashley Winter pointed out that voluntary ejaculation is in many men simply replaced by involuntary nocturnal emissions. Unsubstantiated claims included that abstaining from masturbation would "reboot" the brain, increase testosterone, strength, manliness, economic success, and sexual confidence; and resolve problems like erectile dysfunction, depression, and bad skin. Medical experts worried that participation in efforts like 90-day abstinence routines could worsen mental health problems like anxiety and depression, especially for those who cannot complete the abstinence period. Some commentators have also criticized the concept of masculinity promoted in masturbation abstinence forums like NoFap as toxic and misogynist.

Abstinence from masturbation has been advocated by some white supremacists since the early 20th century, including modern groups like the Proud Boys and leaders like David Duke (who endorses an unsubstantiated anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews are using pornography to undermine white men).

Abstinence-only education
Abstinence can help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, HPV, syphilis, etc. However, abstinence-only education has been found to be less effective at preventing sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy among adolescents than comprehensive sex education.

title: Sexual abstinence


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Pegmatite

A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than 1 cm and sometimes greater than 1 m. Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic composition to granite. However, rarer intermediate composition and mafic pegmatites are known.

Many of the world's largest crystals are found within pegmatites. These include crystals of microcline, quartz, mica, spodumene, beryl, and tourmaline. Some individual crystals are over 10 m long.

Most pegmatites are thought to form from the last fluid fraction of a large crystallizing magma body. This residual fluid is highly enriched in volatiles and trace elements, and its very low viscosity allows components to migrate rapidly to join an existing crystal rather than coming together to form new crystals. This allows a few very large crystals to form. While most pegmatites have a simple composition of minerals common in ordinary igneous rock, a few pegmatites have a complex composition, with numerous unusual minerals of rare elements. These complex pegmatites are mined for lithium, beryllium, boron, fluorine, tin, tantalum, niobium, rare earth elements, uranium, and other valuable commodities.

Etymology
The word pegmatite derives from Homeric Greek, πήγνυμι (pēgnymi), which means “to bind together”, in reference to the intertwined crystals of quartz and feldspar in the texture known as graphic granite. The term was first used by René Just Haüy in 1822 as a synonym for graphic granite. Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger first used the term in its present meaning in 1845.

General description
Pegmatites are exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rocks composed of interlocking crystals, with individual crystals usually over 1 cm in size and sometimes exceeding 1 m. Most pegmatites have a composition similar to granite, so that their most common minerals are quartz, feldspar, and mica. However, other pegmatite compositions are known, including compositions similar to nepheline syenite or gabbro. The term pegmatite is thus purely a textural description. Geologists typically prefix the term with a compositional description, so that granitic pegmatite is a pegmatite with the composition of granite while nepheline syenite pegmatite is a pegmatite with the composition of nepheline syenite. However, the British Geological Survey (BGS) discourages this usage, preferring terms like biotite-quartz-feldspar pegmatite for a pegmatite with a typical granitic composition, dominated by feldspar with lesser quartz and biotite. Under BGS terminology, a pegmatitic rock (for example, a pegmatitic gabbro) is a coarse-grained rock containing patches of much coarser-grained rock of essentially the same composition.

Individual crystals in pegmatites can be enormous in size. It is likely that the largest crystals ever found were feldspar crystals in pegmatites from Karelia with masses of thousands of tons. Quartz crystals with masses measured in thousands of pounds and micas over 10 m across and 4 m thick have been found. Spodumene crystals over 40 ft long have been found in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and beryl crystals 27 ft long and 6 ft in diameter have been found at Albany, Maine. The largest beryl crystal ever found was from Malakialina on Madagascar, weighing about 380 tons, with a length of 18 m and a crosscut of 3.5 m.

Pegmatite bodies are usually of minor size compared to typical intrusive rock bodies. Pegmatite body size is on the order of magnitude of one to a few hundred meters. Compared to typical igneous rocks they are rather inhomogeneous and may show zones with different mineral assemblages. Crystal size and mineral assemblages are usually oriented parallel to the wall rock or even concentric for pegmatite lenses.

Classification
Modern pegmatite classification schemes are strongly influenced by the depth-zone classification of granitic rocks published by Buddington (1959), and the Ginsburg & Rodionov (1960) and Ginsburg et al. (1979) classification which categorized pegmatites according to their depth of emplacement and relationship to metamorphism and granitic plutons. Cerny’s (1991) revision of that classification scheme is widely used, Cerny’s (1991) pegmatite classification, which is a combination of emplacement depth, metamorphic grade and minor element content, has provided significant insight into the origin of pegmatitic melts and their relative degrees of fractionation.

Granitic pegmatites are commonly ranked into three hierarchies (class – family – type – subtype) depending upon their mineralogical-geochemical characteristics and depth of emplacement according to Cerny (1991). Classes are Abyssal, Muscovite, Rare-Element and Miarolitic. The Rare-Element Class is subdivided based on composition into LCT and NYF families: LCT for Lithium, Cesium, and Tantalum enrichment and NYF for Niobium, Yttrium, and Fluorine enrichment. Most authors classify pegmatites according to LCT- and NYF-types and subtypes. Another important contribution of the classification is the petrogenetic component of the classification, which shows the association of LCT pegmatites with mainly orogenic plutons, and NYF pegmatites with mainly anorogenic plutons.

Lately, there have been a few attempts to create a new classification for pegmatites less dependent on mineralogy and more reflective of their geological setting. On this issue, one of the most notable efforts on this matter is Wise's (2022) pegmatite classification, which focuses mostly on the source of the magma from which the pegmatite crystalizes.

Petrology
Pegmatites form under conditions in which the rate of new crystal nucleation is much slower than the rate of crystal growth. Large crystals are favored. In normal igneous rocks, coarse texture is a result of slow cooling deep underground. It is not clear if pegmatite forms by slow or rapid cooling. In some studies, crystals in pegmatitic conditions have been recorded to grow at a rate ranging from 1 m to 10 m per day. Pegmatites are the last part of a magma body to crystallize. This final fluid fraction is enriched in volatile and trace elements. The residual magma undergoes phase separation into a melt phase and a hydrous fluid phase saturated with silica, alkalis, and other elements. Such phase separation requires formation from a wet magma, rich enough in water to saturate before more than two-thirds of the magma is crystallized. Otherwise, the separation of the fluid phase is difficult to explain. Granite requires a water content of 4 wt% at a pressure of 0.5 GPa, but only 1.5 wt% at 0.1 GPa for phase separation to take place.

The volatiles (primarily water, borates, fluorides, chlorides, and phosphates) are concentrated in the hydrous phase, greatly lowering its viscosity. The silica in the hydrous phase is completely depolymerized, existing almost entirely as orthosilicate, with all oxygen bridges between silicon ions broken. The low viscosity promotes rapid diffusion through the fluid, allowing growth of large crystals.

When this hydrous fluid is injected into the surrounding country rock, minerals crystallize from the outside in to form a zoned pegmatite, with different minerals predominating in concentric zones. A typical sequence of deposition begins with microcline and quartz, with minor schorl and garnet. This is followed by deposition of albite, lepidolite, gem tourmaline, beryl, spodumene, amblygonite, topaz, apatite, and fluorite, which may partially replace some of the minerals in the earlier zone. The center of the pegmatite may have cavities lined with spectacular gemstone crystals.

Some pegmatites have more complex zoning. Five distinct zones are recognized in the Harding Pegmatite in the Picuris Mountains of northern New Mexico, US. These are:
 * A white border rind of fine-grained quartz-albite muscovite pegmatite.
 * A continuous layer of very coarse quartz, albite, and muscovite. This zone also contains microcline, and has abundant accessory apatite, beryl, and tantalite. Beryl is occasionally very coarse and abundant.
 * A continuous layer of massive quartz. This zone is also rich in muscovite, microcline, and cleavelandite.
 * A spectacular quartz and lath-spodumene zone. The spodumene occurs as blade-like crystals, sometimes of enormous size, mostly oriented at random but sometimes arranged to form a comb-like structure. Accessory minerals are beryl, apatite, microcline, and tantalum-niobium minerals, especially in the lower part of this zone. There is some pseudomorphic replacement of spodumene by rose muscovite and quartz by cleavelandite.
 * The core of the pegmatite, known as "spotted rock", which is relatively fine-grained spodumene, microcline, and quartz, with accompanying finer-grained albite, lithium-bearing muscovite, lepidolite, microlite, and tantalite. Much of the spodumene and microcline have been extensively corroded and replaced by fine-grained micas.

Large crystals nucleate on the margins of pegmatites, becoming larger as they grow inward. These include very large conical alkali feldspar crystals. Aplites are commonly present. These may cut across the pegmatite, but also form zones or irregular patches around coarser material. The aplites are often layered, showing evidence of deformation. Xenoliths may be found in the body of the pegmatite, but their original mineral content is replaced by quartz and alkali feldspar, so that they are difficult to distinguish from the surrounding pegmatite. Pegmatite also commonly replaces part of the surrounding country rock.

Because pegmatites likely crystallize from a fluid-dominated phase, rather than a melt phase, they straddle the boundary between hydrothermal mineral deposits and igneous intrusions. Although there is broad agreement on the basic mechanisms by which they form, the details of pegmatite formation remain enigmatic. Pegmatites have characteristics inconsistent with other igneous intrusions. They are not porphyritic, and show no chilled margin. On the contrary, the largest crystals are often found on the margins of the pegmatite body. While aplites are sometimes found on the margins, they are as likely to occur within the body of the pegmatite. The crystals are never aligned in a way that would indicate flow, but are perpendicular to the walls. This implies formation in a static environment. Some pegmatities take the form of isolated pods, with no obvious feeder conduit. As a result, metamorphic or metasomatic origins have sometimes been suggested for pegmatites. A metamorphic pegmatite would be formed by removal of volatiles from metamorphic rocks, particularly felsic gneiss, to liberate the right constituents and water, at the right temperature. A metasomatic pegmatite would be formed by hydrothermal circulation of hot alteration fluids upon a rock mass, with bulk chemical and textural change. Metasomatism is currently not favored as a mechanism for pegmatite formation and it is likely that metamorphism and magmatism are both contributors toward the conditions necessary for pegmatite genesis.

Mineralogy
Most pegmatites have a simple composition, often being composed entirely of minerals common in granite, such as feldspar, mica, and quartz. The feldspar and quartz often show graphic texture. Rarely, pegmatites are extremely enriched in incompatible elements, such as lithium, caesium, beryllium, tin, niobium, zirconium, uranium, thorium, boron, phosphorus, and fluorine. These complex pegmatites contain unusual minerals of these elements, such as beryl, spodumene, lepidolite, amblygonite, topaz, apatite, fluorite, tourmaline, triphylite, columbite, monazite, and molybdenite. Some of these can be important ore minerals. Some gemstones, such as emerald, are found almost exclusively in pegmatites.

Nepheline syenite pegmatites typically contain zirconium, titanium, and rare earth element minerals.

Gabbroic pegmatites typically consist of exceptionally coarse interlocking pyroxene and plagioclase.

Geochemistry
Pegmatites are enriched in volatile and incompatible elements, consistent with their likely origin as the final melt fraction of a crystallizing body of magma. However, it is difficult to get a representative composition of a pegmatite, due to the large size of the constituent mineral crystals. Hence, pegmatite is often characterised by sampling the individual minerals that compose the pegmatite, and comparisons are made according to mineral chemistry. A common error is to assume that the wall zone is a chilled margin whose composition is representative of the original melt.

Pegmatites derived from batholiths can be divided into a family of NYF pegmatites, characterized by progressive enrichment in niobium, yttrium, and fluorine as well as enrichment in beryllium, rare earth elements, scandium, titanium, zirconium, thorium, and uranium; and a family of LCT pegmatites, characterized by progressive accumulation of lithium, caesium, and tantalum, as well as enrichment in rubidium, beryllium, tin, barium, phosphorus, and fluorine.

The NYF pegmatites likely fractionated from A- to I-type granites that were relatively low in aluminium (subaluminous to metaluminous granites). These granites originated from depleted crust or mantle rock. LCT pegmatites most likely formed from S-type granites or possibly I-type granites, with a higher aluminium content (peraluminous granites).

Intermediate pegmatites (NYF + LCT pegmatites) are known and may have formed by contamination of an initially NYF magma body with melted undepleted supracrustral rock.

Economic importance
Pegmatites often contain rare elements and gemstones. Examples include aquamarine, tourmaline, topaz, fluorite, apatite, and corundum, often along with tin, rare earth, and tungsten minerals, among others. Pegmatites have been mined for both quartz and feldspar. For quartz mining, pegmatites with central quartz masses have been of particular interest.

Pegmatites are the primary source of lithium either as spodumene, lithiophyllite or usually from lepidolite. The primary source for caesium is pollucite, a mineral from a zoned pegmatite. The majority of the world's beryllium is sourced from non-gem quality beryl within pegmatite. Tantalum, niobium, and rare-earth elements are sourced from a few pegmatites worldwide, such as the Greenbushes Pegmatite, the Kibara Belt of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kenticha mine of Ethiopia the Alto Ligonha Province of Mozambique, and the Mibra (Volta) mine of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Occurrence
Notable pegmatite occurrences are found worldwide within the major cratons, and within greenschist-facies metamorphic belts. However, pegmatite localities are only well recorded when economic mineralisation is found.

Pegmatites are found as irregular dikes, sills, or veins, and are most common at the margins of batholiths (great masses of intrusive igneous rock). Most are closely related spatially and genetically to large intrusions. They may take the form of veins or dikes in the intrusion itself, but more commonly, they extend into the surrounding country rock, especially above the intrusion.

Some pegmatites surrounded by metamorphic rock have no obvious connection to a larger intrusion. Pegmatites in low-grade metamorphic rock tend to be dominated by quartz and carbonate minerals. Pegmatites in metamorphic rock of higher grade are dominted by alkali feldspar.

Gabbroic pegmatites typically occur as lenses within bodies of gabbro or diabase. Nepheline syenite pegmatites are common in alkaline igneous complexes.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pegmatite


text:
Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education and Science and Engineering) and is one of the largest universities in the UK, measured by the size of its student population in 2020/21.

History
Manchester Metropolitan University was developed from mergers of various colleges with various specialisms, including technology, art and design. Its founding can be traced back to the Manchester Mechanics Institute, which was established in 1824 entirely through private initiative and funds to teach artisans the basic principles of science by part-time study, and the Manchester School of Design (f. 1838) latterly known as the Manchester School of Art. The painter L. S. Lowry attended in the years after the First World War, where he was taught by the noted impressionist Adolphe Valette. Schools of Commerce (f. 1889), Education (f. 1878), and Domestic Science (f. 1880) were added alongside colleges at Didsbury, Crewe, Alsager and the former Domestic and Trades College (f. 1911). The Manchester College of Science and Technology, which had originally been the Mechanics Institute and would then become UMIST, transferred its non-degree courses to the School of Art by 1966. The institution renamed itself as Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, which was followed by series of mergers with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings College in 1977, as well as City of Manchester College of Higher Education in 1983. In 1987, the institution became a founding member of the Northern Consortium, and became a corporate body on 1 April 1989 as allowed by the terms of the Education Reform Act.

On 15 September 1992, Manchester Polytechnic gained university status under the wide-sweeping Further and Higher Education Act 1992, and then became Manchester Metropolitan University.

After earning university status, Manchester Met absorbed Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education, and in 2004 the Manchester School of Physiotherapy (MSOP), an institution officially formed in 1991 through the amalgamation of the Schools of Physiotherapy of the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) and of Withington Hospital. MSOP was previously affiliated with the Victoria University of Manchester, which conferred degree-level courses by extension until the final class of 2005. MSOP joined Manchester Metropolitan University as the Department of Physiotherapy in 2004, and was later renamed as the Department of Health Professions.

The University's logo is derived from the upper part of the shield of the university's coat-of-arms, with six spade-irons positioned together, suggesting hard toil and entrenchment.

Campus
The university was previously located on seven sites: five in Manchester (All Saints, Aytoun, Didsbury, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Hollings) and two in Cheshire (Alsager and Crewe). However, the university later closed six of the seven sites to rationalise its estate. The university moved the work of the Alsager campus to Crewe, while the Aytoun campus was closed in 2012 following the opening of a Business School on the main campus. The Elizabeth Gaskell, Hollings and Didsbury campuses were closed in 2014, with faculties being relocated to the main city centre campus in Manchester. The Crewe campus closed in summer 2019, a decision taken following a review conducted by financial advisory firm Deloitte.

Manchester Metropolitan University comprises four faculties led by Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellors, 10 Professional Services Directorates and a range of departments, schools and institutes.

The four faculties are:

Arts and Humanities

With more than 11,000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities supports a vibrant and dynamic creative community. Home to Manchester School of Art (f. 1838), Manchester School of Architecture and Manchester Writing School, the faculty is one of the largest in the UK. It offers a range of subjects, from design to fashion, creative writing to architecture, linguistics to languages, digital arts to journalism, and history to sociology, across 9 departments and schools.

Business and Law

The Faculty of Business and Law has more than 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled on 120 different degree programmes. The faculty consists of the Business School, which holds the globally recognised trio of accreditations from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA, and the Manchester Law School. The faculty is also home to the majority of the university's Degree Apprenticeship programmes, with more than 2,400 apprentices studying across 15 programmes with 530 employer partners.

Health and Education

Home to around 9,000 students across 5 departments, the Faculty of Health and Education provides an inclusive learning and training environment based in the Brooks building.

Science and Engineering

More than 6,000 students in the Faculty of Science and Engineering benefit from nearly 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in a variety of subjects. A new, £115m base for the faculty opens in 2024, which will include teaching and research spaces, a 200-student super lab, study areas and green spaces.

Library

The Library offers a study skills service and houses a number of special collections mainly relating to the fine and applied arts, like the Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection, a collection of Victorian and Edwardian greeting cards. The North West Film Archive is managed by Manchester Metropolitan University's Library and is located within the Central Library. In 2021, the Manchester Poetry Library opened in the Grosvenor building.

The Library can be accessed 24/7 by MMU students during term times and by visitors during term times on Saturdays and Sundays between 11:00 and 17:00.

Campus investment

The University's 10 year Estate Masterplan 2017–2027 was complemented by a £379m commitment to the Estates Investment Programme until 2024, delivering a range of projects including: the Arts and Humanities development, the Science and Engineering development, the School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester Metropolitan Institute of Sport, and the Student Residential portfolio.

Governance
In common with most universities in the United Kingdom, Manchester Met is headed formally by the Chancellor, currently Lord Mandelson but led by the Vice-Chancellor, currently Professor Malcolm Press CBE.

The University's Board of Governors is responsible for determining the educational character and mission of the University. It also falls to the Board of Governors to ensure that the University's resources are used in line with the University's Article of Government. It also safeguards the University's assets and approves the annual estimates of income and expenditure.

The Board of Governors is responsible for broad policy but the Vice-Chancellor, along with the University Executive Group, is responsible for overall management, policy implementation, organisation, operations and direction of the University.

In December 2014, it was announced that Malcolm Press had been appointed to succeed John Brooks as Vice Chancellor on 1 June 2015.

Manchester Met has around 40,000 students[1], making it currently the 11th in the UK for the biggest student population in 2020/21. The University employs over 4,000 staff.

Finances
In the financial year ending 31 July 2021, Manchester Metropolitan University had a total income of £369m.

Rankings
Manchester Metropolitan University is the ninth most popular university by applications in the UK (UCAS 2021/22 entry).

Manchester Metropolitan University was the highest LGBT+ recruiting university by the number of accepted applicants in 2020 at 720.

Research
30% of Manchester Met's overall research has been rated at the highest 'world leading' (4*) level and 90% of its research impact is rated 'world leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent', (3*) across more than 740 academics.

The university has fourteen research centres:

 * Advanced Materials and Surface Engineering
 * Business Transformations
 * Bioscience Research Centre
 * Centre for Applied Computational Science
 * Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics
 * Centre for Decent Work and Productivity
 * Ecology and Environment
 * Education and Social Research Institute
 * Future Economies
 * Health, Psychology and Communities
 * History Research Centre
 * Manchester School of Art Research Centre
 * Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine
 * Research Centre for Applied Social Sciences

Students' Union

The Students' Union exists to represent all members at the Manchester Metropolitan University and students on accredited external courses. The Union is led by the Union Officers Group formed of five students of the university, elected by the students to lead the Union on their behalf. A shop and café catering to university students has also been set up inside the Students' Union. The Students' Union moved in January 2015 to a new purpose-built building on Higher Cambridge Street, next to Cambridge and Cavendish Halls of Residence.

Notable alumni
Some in the list attended institutions which became part of present-day Manchester Metropolitan University.

Academia Arts and Creative Business Public sector and law Sport
 * Edward Fletcher Cass, folklore
 * James Corner, landscape architecture
 * Sorcha Ní Fhlainn, film studies
 * Freda Newcombe, neuropsychology
 * David Park (art historian), art history
 * Alan Clive Roberts, engineering
 * Laura Serrant, nursing
 * John Wilson (public policy expert), public policy
 * Sue Wise, feminist theory
 * John Bishop, comedian, presenter
 * John Bradley, actor
 * Sarah Burton OBE, Creative Director, Alexander McQueen
 * Steve Coogan, actor, comedian & producer
 * James Corner, landscape architect
 * Brian Cosgrove OBE, animator, producer, director
 * Malcolm Garrett MBE, Graphic Designer
 * Ian Griffiths, Creative Director, Max Mara
 * Thomas Heatherwick CBE, designer
 * Bernard Hill, actor
 * Liz Jolly, Chief Librarian, British Library
 * Gethin Jones, presenter
 * Liz Kessler, writer
 * L.S. Lowry, artist
 * Lindsey McAlister, MBE, theatre director
 * Martin Parr CBE, photographer
 * Heather Peace, actress, musician
 * Greg Poole, artist
 * Michelle Yeoh, actress
 * Peter Saville CBE, graphic designer
 * John Thomson, actor and comedian
 * David Threlfall, actor
 * Dame Julie Walters DBE, actress
 * Carey Young, artist
 * Helen Connolly, CEO, New Look
 * Anne-Marie Corner, businesswoman
 * Carl Ennis, Chief Executive, Siemens plc
 * Paul Hudson, CEO, Sanofi
 * Bridget Lea, Managing Director Commercial Division, BT and EE
 * Jonathan Mildenhall, CEO, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand
 * Nick Read, CEO Vodafone Group
 * Dame Dianne Thompson DBE, businesswoman
 * Michael Turner CBE, Chairman, Babcock International
 * Paul Walsh, Executive Chairman, McLaren Group
 * Keith Bradley (Baron Bradley PC)
 * Theresa Grant OBE, Interim Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council
 * Sarah Green MP
 * Patrick Harvie MSP
 * Andrew Heyn CMG OBE
 * Mike Kane MP
 * Afzal Khan CBE MP
 * Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
 * Sylvia Pankhurst, feminist and campaigner
 * Christopher Quinlan KC
 * Paul Scriven (Lord Scriven)
 * Grant Shapps MP
 * Michael Appleton, football manager and coach
 * Karen Bardsley, professional footballer
 * Mike Butt, Wales international rugby league footballer
 * Kadeena Cox OBE, parasport athlete
 * Mark Cueto MBE, former professional rugby player
 * Ashley Giles MBE, former professional cricketer
 * Danny Grewcock MBE, former England rugby player
 * Steve Round, Assistant Manager, Arsenal
 * Paul Simpson, former professional football
 * Gordon Taylor OBE, former professional footballer
 * Tim Williams, Chief Executive, Oxford United Football Club

title: Manchester Metropolitan University


text:
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c. 23) (RIP or RIPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications. It was introduced by the Tony Blair Labour government ostensibly to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet and strong encryption.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 9 February 2000 and completed its Parliamentary passage on 26 July.

Following a public consultation and Parliamentary debate, Parliament approved new additions in December 2003, April 2005, July 2006 and February 2010. A draft bill was put before Parliament during 4 November 2015.

Summary
RIPA regulates the manner in which certain public bodies may conduct surveillance and access a person's electronic communications. The Act:

 * enables certain public bodies to demand that an ISP provide access to a customer's communications in secret;
 * enables mass surveillance of communications in transit;
 * enables certain public bodies to demand ISPs fit equipment to facilitate surveillance;
 * enables certain public bodies to demand that someone hand over keys to protected information;
 * allows certain public bodies to monitor people's Internet activities;
 * prevents the existence of interception warrants and any data collected with them from being revealed in court.

Communications data
The type of communications data that can be accessed varies with the reason for its use, and cannot be adequately explained here. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.
 * Charity Commission
 * Criminal Cases Review Commission
 * Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service
 * a county council or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county council or county borough council in Wales
 * Department for Transport, for the purposes of:
 * Marine Accident Investigation Branch
 * Rail Accident Investigation Branch
 * Air Accidents Investigation Branch
 * Maritime and Coastguard Agency
 * a district council within the meaning of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
 * Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland
 * Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for Northern Ireland (for the purposes of Trading Standards)
 * Department of Health (for the purposes of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Environment Agency
 * Financial Conduct Authority
 * a fire and rescue authority
 * Fire Authority for Northern Ireland
 * Food Standards Agency
 * Gambling Commission
 * Gangmasters Licensing Authority
 * Government Communications Headquarters
 * Health and Safety Executive
 * HM Revenue and Customs
 * Home Office (for the purposes of the UK Border Agency)
 * Independent Police Complaints Commission
 * Information Commissioner
 * a Joint Board where it is a fire authority
 * Office of Communications
 * Office of Fair Trading
 * The Pensions Regulator
 * Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
 * Port of Dover Police
 * Port of Liverpool Police
 * Post Office Investigation Branch
 * Postal Services Commission
 * NHS ambulance service Trust
 * NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service
 * Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Services Trust
 * Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Central Services Agency
 * Royal Navy Regulating Branch
 * Royal Military Police
 * Royal Air Force Police
 * Scottish Ambulance Service Board
 * a Scottish council where it is a fire authority
 * Scottish Environment Protection Agency
 * Secret Intelligence Service
 * Security Service
 * Serious Fraud Office
 * the special police forces (including the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency)
 * the territorial police forces
 * Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

Directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources
The reasons for which the use of directed surveillance & covert human intelligence sources is permitted vary with each authority. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.
 * The armed forces
 * Charity Commission
 * Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection
 * a county council or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county council or county borough council in Wales
 * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (for the purposes of the Marine Fisheries Agency)
 * Department of Health (for the purposes of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department for Transport (for the purposes of transport security, Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, Driving Standards Agency and Maritime and Coastguard Agency)
 * Department for Work and Pensions
 * Environment Agency
 * Financial Conduct Authority
 * a fire authority
 * Food Standards Agency
 * Gambling Commission
 * Gangmasters Licensing Authority
 * Government Communications Headquarters
 * Commissioners of Revenue and Customs
 * Home Office (for the purposes of HM Prison Service and the UK Border Agency)
 * Ministry of Defence
 * Northern Ireland Office (for the purposes of the Northern Ireland Prison Service)
 * Ofcom
 * Office of Fair Trading
 * Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
 * Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
 * Postal Services Commission
 * Port of Dover Police
 * Port of Liverpool Police
 * Royal Mail
 * Secret Intelligence Service
 * Security Service
 * Serious Fraud Office
 * Welsh Government (for the purposes of the NHS Directorate, NHS Finance Division, Common Agricultural Policy Management Division and Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales)
 * a territorial police force or special police force

Directed surveillance
The reasons for which the use of directed surveillance is permitted vary with each authority. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.
 * Health & Safety Executive
 * Information Commissioner
 * His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England (for the purposes of the Complaints, Investigation and Enforcement Team)
 * General Pharmaceutical Council

Controversy
Critics claim that the spectres of terrorism, internet crime and paedophilia were used to push the act through and that there was little substantive debate in the House of Commons. The act has numerous critics, many of whom regard the RIPA regulations as excessive and a threat to civil liberties in the UK. Campaign group Big Brother Watch published a report in 2010 investigating the improper use of RIPA by local councils. Critics such as Keith Vaz, the chairman of the House of Commons home affairs committee, have expressed concern that the act is being abused for "petty and vindictive" cases. Similarly, Brian Binley, Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton South, has urged councils to stop using the law, accusing them of acting like comic strip detective Dick Tracy.

The Trading Standards Institute has been very critical of these views, stating that the use of surveillance is critical to their success.

The "deniable encryption" features in free software such as FreeOTFE, TrueCrypt and BestCrypt could be said to make the task of investigations featuring RIPA much more difficult.

Another concern is that the Act requires sufficiently large UK internet service providers to install technical systems to assist law enforcement agencies with interception activity. Although this equipment must be installed at the ISPs' expense, RIPA does provide that Parliament will examine appropriate funding for ISPs if the cost burden became unfairly high.

Accusations of oppressive use
In April 2008, it became known that council officials in Poole put three children and their parents under surveillance, at home and in their daily movements, to check whether they lived in a particular school catchment area. Council officials carried out directed surveillance on the family a total of 21 times. Tim Martin, the council's head of legal services, had authorised the surveillance and tried to argue that it was justified under RIPA, but in a subsequent ruling by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal – its first ever ruling – the surveillance was deemed to be unlawful. The same council put fishermen under covert surveillance to check for the illegal harvesting of cockles and clams in ways that are regulated by RIPA. David Smith, deputy commissioner at the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) stated that he was concerned about the surveillance which took place in Poole. Other councils in the UK have conducted undercover operations regulated by RIPA against dog fouling and fly-tipping. In April 2016, 12 councils said that they use unmanned aerial vehicles for "covert operations", and that such flights are covered by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Despite claims in the press that local councils are conducting over a thousand RIPA-based covert surveillance operations every month for petty offences such as under-age smoking and breaches of planning regulations, the Office of Surveillance Commissioners' last report shows that public bodies granted 8,477 requests for directed surveillance, down over 1,400 on the previous year. Less than half of those were granted by local authorities, and the commissioner reported that, "Generally speaking, local authorities use their powers sparingly with over half of them granting five or fewer authorisations for directed surveillance. Some sixteen per cent granted none at all."

In June 2008, the chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Simon Milton, sent out a letter to the leaders of every council in England, urging local governments not to use the new powers granted by RIPA "for trivial matters", and suggested "reviewing these powers annually by an appropriate scrutiny committee".

Especially contentious was Part III of the Act, which requires persons to (allegedly) self-incriminate by disclosing a password to government representatives. Failure to do so is a criminal offence, with a penalty of two years in prison or five years in cases involving national security or child indecency. Using the mechanism of secondary legislation, some parts of the Act required activation by a ministerial order before attaining legal force. Such orders have been made in respect of the relevant sections of Part I and Part II of the RIP Act and Part III. The latter became active in October 2007. The first case where the powers were used was against animal rights activists in November 2007.

Identification of journalists' sources
In October 2014, it was revealed that RIPA had been used by UK police forces to obtain information about journalists' sources in at least two cases. These related to the so-called Plebgate inquiry and the prosecution of Chris Huhne for perversion of the course of justice. In both cases, journalists' telephone records were obtained using the powers of the act in order to identify their sources, bypassing the usual court proceedings needed to obtain such information.

The UK newspaper The Sun made an official written complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to seek a public review of the London Metropolitan Police's use of anti-terror laws to obtain the phone records of Tom Newton Dunn, its political editor, in relation to its inquiry into the "Plebgate" affair. The Sun's complaint coincided with confirmation that the phone records of the news editor of the Mail on Sunday and one of its freelance journalists had also been obtained by Kent police force when they investigated Chris Huhne's speeding fraud. Journalists' sources are usually agreed to be privileged and protected from disclosure under European laws with which the UK complies. However, by using RIPA an investigating office just needs approval from a senior officer rather than the formal approval of a court hearing. Media lawyers and press freedom groups are concerned by the use of RIPA because it happens in secret and the press have no way of knowing whether their sources have been compromised. Responding to The Sun's complaint Sir Paul Kennedy, the interception of communications commissioner, launched a full inquiry and urged Home Office ministers to accelerate the introduction of promised protections for journalists, lawyers and others who handle privileged information, including confidential helplines, from such police surveillance operations. He said: "I fully understand and share the concerns raised by the protection of journalistic sources so as to enable a free press. Today I have written to all chief constables and directed them under section 58 (1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) to provide me with full details of all investigations that have used Ripa powers to acquire communications data to identify journalistic sources. My office will undertake a full inquiry into these matters and report our findings to the prime minister".

On 12 October 2014, the justice minister, Simon Hughes, confirmed on Sky News's Murnaghan programme that the UK government would reform RIPA to prevent the police using surveillance powers to discover journalists' sources. He said that the police's use of RIPA's powers had been "entirely inappropriate" and in future the authorisation of a judge would be needed for police forces to be given approval to access journalists' phone records in pursuit of a criminal investigation. The presumption would be that if a journalist was acting in the public interest, they would be protected, he added. Hughes further said that if the police made an application to a court he would assume a journalist would be informed that the authorities were seeking to access his phone records. More than 100,000 RIPA requests are made every year for access to communications data against targets including private citizens. It is not known how many have involved journalists' phones.

Prosecutions under RIPA
A number of offences have been prosecuted involving the abuse of investigatory powers. Widely reported cases include the Stanford/Liddell case, the Goodman/Mulcaire Royal voicemail interception, and Operation Barbatus.

Cliff Stanford and George Nelson Liddell pleaded guilty to offences under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in 2005. They were found to have intercepted emails at the company Redbus Interhouse. Stanford was sentenced to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years, and fined £20,000. It was alleged Stanford had intercepted emails between Dame Shirley Porter and John Porter (Chairman of Redbus Interhouse). In 2007, News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman was sentenced to four months in prison for intercepting the voice mail of members of the Royal Family as part of the News International phone hacking scandal. His associate Glenn Mulcaire received a six-month sentence.

In 2007, Operation Barbatus exposed a sophisticated criminal surveillance business organised by corrupt police officers. A former Metropolitan Police officer, Jeremy Young, was jailed for 27 months for various offences including six counts of conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. A second former policeman, Scott Gelsthorpe, was sentenced to 24 months for offences including conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. Three other former police officers and a private detective were also jailed for their part in running a private detective agency called Active Investigation Services.

In 2008, four people were cautioned for 'Unlawful intercepting of a postal, public or private telecommunications scheme', under ss. 1(1), (2) and (7). The circumstances of the offences are not known at the time of writing. Three people were tried for 'Failure to disclose key to protected information' under s. 53 (of which 2 were tried). One person was tried for 'Disclosing details of Section 49 Notice' under s. 54.

In August 2009 it was announced that two people had been prosecuted and convicted for refusing to provide British authorities with their encryption keys, under Part III of the Act. The first of these was sentenced to a term of 9 months' imprisonment. In a 2010 case, Oliver Drage, a 19-year-old takeaway worker being investigated as part of a police investigation into a child exploitation network, was sentenced, at Preston Crown Court, to four months' imprisonment. Mr Drage was arrested in May 2009, after investigating officers searched his home near Blackpool. He had been required, under this act, to provide his 50-character encryption key but had not complied.

In a further case in 2010 Poole Borough Council was accused of spying unfairly on a family. Although the Council invoked powers under RIPA to establish whether a family fell into a certain school catchment area, when taken before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal it was found guilty of improper use of surveillance powers.

Amendments
In October 2020 the Government introduced the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill which would permit, in certain circumstances, to authorise security, intelligence and police agencies to participate in criminal conduct during their operations. This Bill would amend the RIPA where required.

Investigatory Powers Tribunal
The 2000 Act established the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear complaints about surveillance by public bodies. The Tribunal replaced the Interception of Communications Tribunal, the Security Service Tribunal, and the Intelligence Services Tribunal with effect from 2 October 2000.

Between 2000 and 2009 the tribunal upheld only 4 out of 956 complaints.