text:
Space hierarchy theorem

In computational complexity theory, the space hierarchy theorems are separation results that show that both deterministic and nondeterministic machines can solve more problems in (asymptotically) more space, subject to certain conditions. For example, a deterministic Turing machine can solve more decision problems in space n log n than in space n. The somewhat weaker analogous theorems for time are the time hierarchy theorems.

The foundation for the hierarchy theorems lies in the intuition that with either more time or more space comes the ability to compute more functions (or decide more languages). The hierarchy theorems are used to demonstrate that the time and space complexity classes form a hierarchy where classes with tighter bounds contain fewer languages than those with more relaxed bounds. Here we define and prove the space hierarchy theorem.

The space hierarchy theorems rely on the concept of space-constructible functions. The deterministic and nondeterministic space hierarchy theorems state that for all space-constructible functions f(n),

 * $$\mathsf{SPACE}\left(o(f(n))\right) \subsetneq \mathsf{SPACE}(f(n))$$,

where SPACE stands for either DSPACE or NSPACE, and $o$ refers to the little o notation.

Statement
Formally, a function $$f:\mathbb{N} \longrightarrow \mathbb{N}$$ is space-constructible if $$f(n) \ge \log~n$$ and there exists a Turing machine which computes the function $$f(n)$$ in space $$O(f(n))$$ when starting with an input $$1^n$$, where $$1^n$$ represents a string of n consecutive 1s. Most of the common functions that we work with are space-constructible, including polynomials, exponents, and logarithms.

For every space-constructible function $$f:\mathbb{N} \longrightarrow \mathbb{N}$$, there exists a language $L$ that is decidable in space $$O(f(n))$$ but not in space $$o(f(n))$$.

Proof
The goal is to define a language that can be decided in space $$O(f(n))$$ but not space $$o(f(n))$$. The language is defined as $L$: $$L = \{~ (\langle M \rangle, 10^k): M \mbox{ uses space } \le f(|\langle M \rangle, 10^k|) \mbox{ and time } \le 2^{f(|\langle M \rangle, 10^k|)} \mbox{ and }  M  \mbox{ does not accept } (\langle M \rangle, 10^k) ~ \}$$

For any machine $M$ that decides a language in space $$o(f(n))$$, $L$ will differ in at least one spot from the language of $M$. Namely, for some large enough $k$, $M$ will use space $$\le f(|\langle M \rangle, 10^k|)$$ on $$(\langle M \rangle, 10^k)$$ and will therefore differ at its value.

On the other hand, $L$ is in $$\mathsf{SPACE}(f(n))$$. The algorithm for deciding the language $L$ is as follows:

 * 1) On an input $x$, compute $$f(|x|)$$ using space-constructibility, and mark off $$f(|x|)$$ cells of tape. Whenever an attempt is made to use more than $$f(|x|)$$ cells, reject.
 * 2) If $x$ is not of the form $$\langle M \rangle, 10^k$$ for some TM $M$, reject.
 * 3) Simulate $M$ on input $x$ for at most $$2^{f(|x|)}$$ steps (using $$f(|x|)$$ space).  If the simulation tries to use more than $$f(|x|)$$ space or more than $$2^{f(|x|)}$$ operations, then reject.
 * 4) If $M$ accepted $x$ during this simulation, then reject; otherwise, accept.

Note on step 3: Execution is limited to $$2^{f(|x|)}$$ steps in order to avoid the case where $M$ does not halt on the input $x$. That is, the case where $M$ consumes space of only $$O(f(x))$$ as required, but runs for infinite time.

The above proof holds for the case of PSPACE, but some changes need to be made for the case of NPSPACE. The crucial point is that while on a deterministic TM, acceptance and rejection can be inverted (crucial for step 4), this is not possible on a non-deterministic machine.

For the case of NPSPACE, $L$ needs to be redefined first: $$L = \{~ (\langle M \rangle, 10^k): M \mbox{ uses space } \le f(|\langle M \rangle, 10^k|)  \mbox{ and }  M  \mbox{ accepts } (\langle M \rangle, 10^k) ~ \}$$ Now, the algorithm needs to be changed to accept $L$ by modifying step 4 to:
 * If $M$ accepted $x$ during this simulation, then accept; otherwise, reject.

$L$ can not be decided by a TM using $$o(f(n))$$ cells. Assuming $L$ can be decided by some TM $M$ using $$o(f(n))$$ cells, and following from the Immerman–Szelepcsényi theorem, $$\overline L$$ can also be determined by a TM (called $$\overline M$$) using $$o(f(n))$$ cells. Here lies the contradiction, therefore the assumption must be false:
 * 1) If $$w = (\langle \overline M \rangle, 10^k)$$ (for some large enough $k$) is not in $$\overline L$$ then $M$ will accept it, therefore $$\overline M$$ rejects $w$, therefore $w$ is in $$\overline L$$ (contradiction).
 * 2) If $$w = (\langle \overline M \rangle, 10^k)$$ (for some large enough $k$) is in $$\overline L$$ then $M$ will reject it, therefore $$\overline M$$ accepts $w$, therefore $w$ is not in $$\overline L$$ (contradiction).

Comparison and improvements
The space hierarchy theorem is stronger than the analogous time hierarchy theorems in several ways:
 * It only requires s(n) to be at least log n instead of at least n.
 * It can separate classes with any asymptotic difference, whereas the time hierarchy theorem requires them to be separated by a logarithmic factor.
 * It only requires the function to be space-constructible, not time-constructible.

It seems to be easier to separate classes in space than in time. Indeed, whereas the time hierarchy theorem has seen little remarkable improvement since its inception, the nondeterministic space hierarchy theorem has seen at least one important improvement by Viliam Geffert in his 2003 paper "Space hierarchy theorem revised". This paper made several generalizations of the theorem:

 * It relaxes the space-constructibility requirement. Instead of merely separating the union classes $\mathsf{DSPACE}(O(s(n))$ and $\mathsf{DSPACE}(o(s(n))$, it separates $\mathsf{DSPACE}(f(n))$ from $\mathsf{DSPACE}(g(n))$ where $f(n)$ is an arbitrary $O(s(n))$ function and g(n) is a computable $o(s(n))$ function. These functions need not be space-constructible or even monotone increasing.
 * It identifies a unary language, or tally language, which is in one class but not the other. In the original theorem, the separating language was arbitrary.
 * It does not require $s(n)$ to be at least log n; it can be any nondeterministically fully space-constructible function.

Refinement of space hierarchy
If space is measured as the number of cells used regardless of alphabet size, then $\mathsf{SPACE}(f(n)) = \mathsf{SPACE}(O(f(n)))$ because one can achieve any linear compression by switching to a larger alphabet. However, by measuring space in bits, a much sharper separation is achievable for deterministic space. Instead of being defined up to a multiplicative constant, space is now defined up to an additive constant. However, because any constant amount of external space can be saved by storing the contents into the internal state, we still have $\mathsf{SPACE}(f(n)) = \mathsf{SPACE}(f(n)+O(1))$.

Assume that f is space-constructible. SPACE is deterministic.
 * For a wide variety of sequential computational models, including for Turing machines, SPACE(f(n)-ω(log(f(n)+n))) ⊊ SPACE(f(n)). This holds even if SPACE(f(n)-ω(log(f(n)+n))) is defined using a different computational model than $\mathsf{SPACE}(f(n))$ because the different models can simulate each other with $O(\log(f(n)+n))$ space overhead.
 * For certain computational models, we even have SPACE(f(n)-ω(1)) ⊊ SPACE(f(n)). In particular, this holds for Turing machines if we fix the alphabet, the number of heads on the input tape, the number of heads on the worktape (using a single worktape), and add delimiters for the visited portion of the worktape (that can be checked without increasing space usage).  SPACE(f(n)) does not depend on whether the worktape is infinite or semi-infinite.  We can also have a fixed number of worktapes if f(n) is either a SPACE constructible tuple giving the per-tape space usage, or a SPACE(f(n)-ω(log(f(n)))-constructible number giving the total space usage (not counting the overhead for storing the length of each tape).

The proof is similar to the proof of the space hierarchy theorem, but with two complications: The universal Turing machine has to be space-efficient, and the reversal has to be space-efficient. One can generally construct universal Turing machines with $O(\log(space))$ space overhead, and under appropriate assumptions, just $O(1)$ space overhead (which may depend on the machine being simulated). For the reversal, the key issue is how to detect if the simulated machine rejects by entering an infinite (space-constrained) loop. Simply counting the number of steps taken would increase space consumption by about $f(n)$. At the cost of a potentially exponential time increase, loops can be detected space-efficiently as follows:

Modify the machine to erase everything and go to a specific configuration A on success. Use depth-first search to determine whether A is reachable in the space bound from the starting configuration. The search starts at A and goes over configurations that lead to A. Because of determinism, this can be done in place and without going into a loop.

It can also be determined whether the machine exceeds a space bound (as opposed to looping within the space bound) by iterating over all configurations about to exceed the space bound and checking (again using depth-first search) whether the initial configuration leads to any of them.

Corollary 1
''For any two functions $$f_1$$, $$f_2: \mathbb{N} \longrightarrow \mathbb{N}$$, where $$f_1(n)$$ is $$o(f_2(n))$$ and $$f_2$$ is space-constructible, $$\mathsf{SPACE}(f_1(n)) \subsetneq \mathsf{SPACE}(f_2(n))$$.

This corollary lets us separate various space complexity classes. For any natural number k, the function $$n^k$$ is space-constructible. Therefore for any two natural numbers $$k_1 < k_2$$ we can prove $$\mathsf{SPACE}(n^{k_1}) \subsetneq \mathsf{SPACE}(n^{k_2})$$.

Corollary 2

 * NL ⊊ PSPACE.

Proof
Savitch's theorem shows that $$\mathsf{NL} \subseteq \mathsf{SPACE}(\log^2n)$$, while the space hierarchy theorem shows that $$\mathsf{SPACE}(\log^2n) \subsetneq \mathsf{SPACE}(n)$$. The result is this corollary along with the fact that TQBF ∉ NL since TQBF is PSPACE-complete.

This could also be proven using the non-deterministic space hierarchy theorem to show that NL ⊊ NPSPACE, and using Savitch's theorem to show that PSPACE = NPSPACE.

Corollary 3

 * PSPACE ⊊ EXPSPACE.

This last corollary shows the existence of decidable problems that are intractable. In other words, their decision procedures must use more than polynomial space.

Corollary 4
There are problems in requiring an arbitrarily large exponent to solve; therefore  does not collapse to (nk) for some constant k.

Corollary 5

 * SPACE(n) ≠ PTIME.

To see it, assume the contrary, thus any problem decided in space $$O(n)$$ is decided in time $$O(n^c)$$, and any problem $$L$$ decided in space $$O(n^b)$$ is decided in time $$O((n^b)^c)=O(n^{bc})$$. Now $$\mathsf{P}:=\bigcup_{k\in\mathbb N}\mathsf{DTIME}(n^k)$$, thus P is closed under such a change of bound, that is $$\bigcup_{k\in\mathbb N}\mathsf{DTIME}(n^{bk})\subseteq\mathsf{P}$$, so $$L\in\mathsf{P}$$. This implies that for all $$b, \mathsf{SPACE}(n^b)\subseteq\mathsf{P}\subseteq\mathsf{SPACE}(n)$$, but the space hierarchy theorem implies that $$\mathsf{SPACE}(n^2)\not\subseteq\mathsf{SPACE}(n)$$, and Corollary 6 follows. Note that this argument neither proves that $$\mathsf{P}\not\subseteq\mathsf{SPACE}(n)$$ nor that $$\mathsf{SPACE}(n)\not\subseteq\mathsf{P}$$, as to reach a contradiction we used the negation of both sentences, that is we used both inclusions, and can only deduce that at least one fails. It is currently unknown which fail(s) but conjectured that both do, that is that $$\mathsf{SPACE}(n)$$ and $$\mathsf{P}$$ are incomparable -at least for deterministic space. This question is related to that of the time complexity of (nondeterministic) linear bounded automata which accept the complexity class $$\mathsf{NSPACE}(n)$$ (aka as context-sensitive languages, CSL); so by the above CSL is not known to be decidable in polynomial time -see also Kuroda's two problems on LBA.

title: Space hierarchy theorem


text:
Dick Clement

Dick Clement (born 5 September 1937) is an English writer, director and producer. He became known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais for television series including The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Early life
Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College, and then spent a year in the US on an exchange visit. Upon his return, he completed his National Service with the Royal Air Force.

He then joined the BBC as a studio manager and started writing scripts and comedy sketches.

Writing partnership with Ian La Frenais
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have enjoyed a long and successful career embracing films, television and theatre. Their partnership began in the mid-1960s with The Likely Lads, and by the end of the decade they had also written three feature films: The Jokers, Otley, (directed by Clement) and Hannibal Brooks. Clement also directed the BBC sketch show Not Only... But Also, which starred Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and, for the big screen, Iris Murdoch's A Severed Head.

In the early 1970s, two other features were scripted by Clement and La Frenais: Villain, starring Richard Burton, and Catch Me a Spy, starring Kirk Douglas. In this same period, they created their award-winning series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, followed by Porridge, Thick as Thieves and a spin-off from Porridge, Going Straight. There were big screen versions of both The Likely Lads and Porridge, the latter directed by Clement, and a 'rockumentary', To Russia With Elton, in 1979.

During the same period, they adapted Keith Waterhouse's Billy Liar into the stage musical Billy, starring Michael Crawford, which ran at London's Drury Lane Theatre for two and a half years. By this time they were living in California, where they wrote the American version of Porridge, On the Rocks, and the feature film, The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Peter Sellers.

In the 1980s, Clement directed John Wells's hit stage play Anyone For Denis? He directed the films Bullshot and Water, which were produced by his writing partner La Frenais; the pair also scripted the latter film, and contributed extensive, uncredited writing work on the unofficial James Bond movie Never Say Never Again. In 1987, they wrote and produced Vice Versa. Their television work at the time included the ITV series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, which was voted ITV's Favourite TV Programme of all Time in a Radio Times readers' poll in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the station. By the beginning of the 1990s, La Frenais had created the long-running series, Lovejoy, and co-created Spender with Jimmy Nail. In America, they were writers and supervising producers for HBO's Emmy-winning show, Tracey Takes On..., for four years. They scripted the film adaptation of The Commitments, which won the Evening Standard's Peter Sellers Award for Comedy and the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and also wrote the screenplays for Excess Baggage and Still Crazy. In addition, they did uncredited rewrites on The Rock, starring Sean Connery, and Pearl Harbor for producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay (who also directed the film). They had also been commissioned to write a draft of Super Mario Bros. for directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. This would ultimately lead the film into pre-production after several failed drafts but it was heavily rewritten by Ed Solomon once Walt Disney Studios acquired distribution rights.

In 2005, Clement and La Frenais had two television adaptations of best-selling novels broadcast by the BBC: Jonathan Coe's The Rotter's Club for BBC Two, and Robert Harris's Archangel, starring Daniel Craig, for BBC One. That year also saw the UK release of Goal!, a film they co-scripted. In 2006, they were credited as writers on the animated film Flushed Away, whilst 2007 saw the release of the jukebox musical Across the Universe, based around the songs of The Beatles, which they scripted, and, with director Julie Taymor, wrote the story for. The 2008 film The Bank Job, starring Jason Statham, is their last screenplay work to date.

Two new television series written by them aired in 2017: a new version of Porridge, starring Kevin Bishop, for the BBC, and Henry IX for UKTV Gold, starring Charles Edwards. The duo have also written the book for two stage musicals in development, Juke Box Hero and Victoria's Secret.

Clement and La Frenais were both awarded OBEs in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Personal life
Clement supports the football club Chelsea F.C.

Writing credits (with Ian La Frenais)

 * The Likely Lads (TV, 1964–66)
 * Not Only... But Also (TV, 1965)
 * Further Adventures of Lucky Jim (TV, 1967)
 * Mr. Aitch (TV, 1967)
 * Vacant Lot (TV, 1967)
 * Otley (1968)
 * Hannibal Brooks (1968)
 * Villain (1971)
 * To Catch a Spy (1972)
 * The Two Ronnies (TV, 1972)
 * 7 of 1 (TV, 1973)
 * Ha-Tarnegol (with Haim Hefer) (1973)
 * Thick as Thieves (TV, 1974)
 * Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (TV, 1973–74)
 * Porridge (TV, 1974–77)
 * On the Rocks (TV, 1975–76)
 * Going Straight (TV, 1978)
 * The Prisoner of Zenda (1979)
 * Porridge (film) (US: Doing Time, 1979)
 * The New Adventures of Lucky Jim (TV, 1982)
 * Never Say Never Again (with Lorenzo Semple Jr., 1983, uncredited)
 * Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (TV, 1983–2004)
 * Sunset Limousine (with Wayne Kline, TV, 1983)
 * Water (with Bill Persky, 1985)
 * Vice Versa (1988)
 * The Commitments (with Roddy Doyle, 1991)
 * Tracey Ullman: A Class Act (TV, 1992)
 * The Old Boy Network (TV, 1992)
 * Tracey Ullman Takes on New York (TV, 1993)
 * Full Stretch (TV, 1993)
 * Lovejoy (TV, 1991–94)
 * Excess Baggage (with Max D. Adams, 1997)
 * Still Crazy (1998)
 * Tracey Takes On... (TV, 1996–99)
 * Archangel (2005)
 * The Rotters' Club (TV, 2005)
 * Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)
 * Flushed Away (with Christopher Lloyd, Joe Keenan and William Davies, 2006)
 * Across the Universe (2007)
 * The Bank Job (2008)
 * Killing Bono (with Ben Bond, 2011)
 * Spies of Warsaw (2013)
 * Porridge (TV, 2016-2017)
 * Henry IX (TV, 2017)
 * My Generation (2017)

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

title: Dick Clement


text:
Ian La Frenais

Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge and its sequel Going Straight, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Early life
La Frenais was born in Monkseaton, Northumberland; his father was an accountant. As a child at Park Primary School in Whitley Bay, La Frenais enjoyed art and writing. He then attended Dame Allan's Boys School in Newcastle upon Tyne, and completed his National Service in the British Army. After working as a salesman for a tobacco company, he began composing songs for a weekly satirical programme on Tyne Tees Television and then moved to London where he worked for a market research company.

Writing partnership with Dick Clement
Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement have enjoyed a long and successful career embracing films, television and theatre. Their partnership began in the mid-1960s with the hit television show The Likely Lads, and by the end of the decade they had also written three feature films: The Jokers, Otley (directed by Clement) and Hannibal Brooks.

In the early 1970s, they worked on two other features: Villain, starring Richard Burton, and Catch Me a Spy (again directed by Clement), starring Kirk Douglas. In this same period, they created their award-winning TV series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?; this was followed by Porridge, Thick as Thieves and Going Straight. There were big-screen versions of both The Likely Lads and Porridge, and a 'rockumentary', To Russia With Elton, in 1979.

Earlier that decade they had adapted Keith Waterhouse's Billy Liar into the stage musical Billy, starring Michael Crawford, which ran at London's Drury Lane Theatre for two-and-a-half years.

By the late 1970s, they were living in California, where they wrote On the Rocks, an American version of Porridge, and The Prisoner of Zenda, a feature film starring Peter Sellers.

In the 1980s, their work included most of the TV series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, which was voted ITV's Favourite TV Programme of all Time in a Radio Times readers' poll to celebrate the network's 60th anniversary, and uncredited writing work on the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. La Frenais produced the films Bullshot (1983) and Water (1985), both directed by Clement; they also substantially wrote the latter. In 1987, they wrote and produced Vice Versa.

In the US, he and Clement were writers and supervising producers on HBO's Emmy-winning show Tracey Takes On... for four years in the 1990s. Their films around this time include The Commitments, which won both the Evening Standard's Peter Sellers Award for Comedy and a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Excess Baggage and Still Crazy. In addition, they did uncredited rewrites on The Rock (starring Sean Connery) for Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay.

More recent television includes Archangel (starring Daniel Craig) and The Rotters' Club, which they adapted from best-sellers by Robert Harris and Jonathan Coe respectively. Their most recent film credits include Goal! The Dream Begins, the animated film Flushed Away, Across the Universe and The Bank Job.

Two new television series written by them were broadcast in 2017: an updated version of Porridge, starring Kevin Bishop, for the BBC, and Henry IX for UKTV Gold, starring Charles Edwards. They have written the books for two stage musicals in development, Juke Box Hero and Victoria's Secret.

Other credits
In addition to his long-running collaborations with Clement, La Frenais has created, co-created, written and/or contributed to many other TV series, including The Two Ronnies, several episodes of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse, The Other 'Arf (1980–81), the long-running series Lovejoy and the hit 1990s BBC detective series Spender (co-written with actor and singer Jimmy Nail).

Like Clement, La Frenais was made an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list.

Personal life
Since 1984, Ian La Frenais has been married to artist Doris Vartan, the mother of actor Michael Vartan.

La Frenais supports the football club Newcastle United. He is a patron of the Whitley Bay Film Festival.

Writing credits (with Dick Clement)

 * The Likely Lads (TV, 1964–66)
 * Not Only... But Also (TV, 1965)
 * The Further Adventures of Lucky Jim (TV, 1967)
 * Mr. Aitch (TV, 1967)
 * Vacant Lot (TV, 1967)
 * Otley (1968)
 * Hannibal Brooks (1968)
 * Villain (1971)
 * To Catch a Spy (1972)
 * The Two Ronnies (TV, 1972)
 * Seven of One (TV, 1973)
 * Ha-Tarnegol (1973, with Haim Hefer)
 * Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (TV, 1973–74)
 * Thick as Thieves (TV, 1974)
 * Porridge (TV, 1974–77)
 * On the Rocks (TV, 1975–76)
 * Going Straight (TV, 1978)
 * The Prisoner of Zenda (1979)
 * Porridge (1979, US: Doing Time)
 * The New Adventures of Lucky Jim (TV, 1982)
 * Never Say Never Again (1983, with Lorenzo Semple Jr., uncredited)
 * Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (TV, 1983–2004)
 * Sunset Limousine (TV, 1983, with Wayne Kline)
 * Water (1985, with Bill Persky)
 * Lovejoy (TV, 1985–94)
 * Vice Versa (1988)
 * The Commitments (1991, with Roddy Doyle)
 * Tracey Ullman: A Class Act (TV, 1992)
 * The Old Boy Network (TV, 1992)
 * Tracey Ullman Takes on New York (TV, 1993)
 * Full Stretch (TV, 1993)
 * Tracey Takes On... (TV, 1996–99)
 * Excess Baggage (1997, with Max D. Adams)
 * Still Crazy (1998)
 * Archangel (TV, 2005)
 * The Rotters' Club (TV, 2005)
 * Goal! (2005, with Mike Jefferies and Adrian Butchart, US: Goal! The Dream Begins)
 * Flushed Away (2006, with Christopher Lloyd, Joe Keenan and William Davies)
 * Across the Universe (2007)
 * The Bank Job (2008)
 * Killing Bono (2011, with Ben Bond)
 * Spies of Warsaw (TV, 2013)
 * Porridge (TV, 2016–2017)
 * Henry IX (TV, 2017)
 * My Generation (2017)

title: Ian La Frenais


text:
A Fall of Moondust

A Fall of Moondust is a hard science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1961. It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and was the first science fiction novel selected to become a Reader's Digest Condensed Book.

Plot
By the 21st century, the Moon has been colonized, and although still very much a research establishment, it is visited by tourists who can afford the trip. One of its attractions is a cruise across one of the lunar seas, named the Sea of Thirst, (located within the Sinus Roris) filled with an extremely fine dust, a fine powder far drier than the contents of a terrestrial desert and which almost flows like water, instead of the common regolith which covers most of the lunar surface. A specially designed "boat" named the Selene skims over the surface of the dust in the same manner as a jetski.

But on one cruise, a moonquake causes a cavern to collapse, upsetting the equilibrium. As the dust-cruiser Selene passes over, it sinks about 15 metres below the surface of the dust, hiding the vessel from view, and trapping it beneath the dust. Immediately there are potentially fatal problems for the crew and passengers inside. The sunken Selene has a limited air supply, there is no way for heat generated to escape, communications are impossible, and no one else is sure where Selene has been lost. As the Selene heats up and the air becomes unbreathable, young Captain Pat Harris and his chief stewardess Sue Wilkins try to keep the passengers occupied and psychologically stable while waiting to be rescued. They are helped by a retired space ship captain and explorer, Commodore Hansteen, who is initially traveling incognito.

Chief Engineer (Earthside) Robert Lawrence is sceptical that a rescue can be mounted, even if the Selene can be located. He is ready to abandon an initially unsuccessful search, when he is contacted by Thomas Lawson, a brilliant but eccentric astronomer who, from his vantage point on a satellite high above the Moon, Lagrange II, believes he has detected the remains of a heat trail on the surface. An expedition is organised and Lawrence indeed makes contact with the Selene. However the completely alien environment results in numerous unforeseen complications. The rescue mission decides to sink a tube supplying oxygen to the Selene first, in an effort to buy time to think of a way to get the passengers out. However, this becomes a race against the clock, as the heat in the Selene knocks out the chemical air purification system and the passengers are suffering from CO2 poisoning. To preserve air, most passengers enter a chemically induced sleep, with only Pat Harris and physicist Duncan McKenzie staying awake. Just in time, the rescuers manage to drill a hole in the roof and deliver an air supply.

A plan is hatched to save the passengers of the Selene by sinking several concrete caissons to the roof of the ship and cutting a hole. When the first caisson is sunk, disaster strikes again: the liquid waste of the passengers had been expelled out of the ship, turning the dust around it into mud, which causes another, smaller, cave-in. The Selene sinks once more, this time only a small distance, but crucially, at a slope. The caissons cannot be connected to the roof which is now sloping at 30 degrees. The air supply and communications have also been damaged. After restoring these latter too, a new plan is made to sink the caissons, but now the bottom one has a flexible fitting attached to it which can be mounted to the sloping roof of the Selene. The rescue mission works according to plan: the caissons are sunk, the dust is scooped out and the connection is made, but now time is running out again. When the air supply holes were drilled, Selene's double hull was breached and the space in between slowly filled with dust. The metal-rich dust reached the battery packs and short-circuited them. This causes the battery compartment in the stern to burn slowly. The resulting breach is barricaded by the passengers, but dust is still pouring in and there is a fear that the burning material will cause the liquid oxygen supply to explode. Meanwhile, Robert Lawrence is working in the rescue shaft: he sets a small ring charge to make a hole in the roof. Just in time, the hole is made and the passengers escape through the shaft. Captain Harris is the last to leave, up to his waist in dust. Just when he is clear of the shaft, the liquid oxygen explodes, destroying the Selene.

A short epilogue sees Lawrence writing his memoirs, Pat Harris and Sue Wilkins are married. Pat Harris is the captain of the Selene II on its maiden cruise which will also be the last cruise for Harris as he is hoping to transfer to the space service.

Reception
Galaxy reviewer Floyd C. Gale rated A Fall of Moondust five stars out of five, praising it as "emotionally gripping [and] astute" and that "it measures up to the very highest standard of his previous efforts. No praise can be higher".

Adaptations
A BBC Radio drama of the story was produced in 1981. It features David Buck as Captain Pat Harris and Barry Foster as Chief Engineer Lawrence. In 2008, the production was released on BBC Compact Disc (ISBN 978-1-4056-8804-8).

title: A Fall of Moondust


text:
Ylöjärvi

Ylöjärvi is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the west of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Ylöjärvi is approximately 0, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 0. It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the third largest in the Pirkanmaa region after Tampere and Nokia.

Ylöjärvi is located 14 km northwest of Tampere and 189 km north of the capital city of Helsinki in Finland. Ylöjärvi has an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water. The population density is undefined PD/km2.

Ylöjärvi is mainly a rural town. It does not have a clear centre; the Tampere-Vaasa highway (E12) and the Tampere-Seinäjoki railway divide the centre of the municipality into two large distinct parts: the Church Village and Soppeenmäki. The railway, completed in 1971, has no passenger seats in the Ylöjärvi area, so buses provide all public transport. The population has grown in recent years. In 1990 it was about 18,000, in 2011 it was about 30,000, and now it is about 0.

The neighbouring municipalities are Hämeenkyrö, Ikaalinen, Kihniö, Nokia, Parkano, Ruovesi, Tampere and Virrat. The municipality of Viljakkala was merged with Ylöjärvi in 2007. The municipality of Kuru was merged with Ylöjärvi in 2009. The coat of arms of Ylöjärvi was designed by Gustaf von Numers and confirmed in 1954.

The results of the 2021 Finnish local elections, resulted in True Finns being the largest political party on the Ylöjärvi council.

History
The chapel parish of Ylöjärvi was founded in 1779 by separating it from Pirkkala. The first church in Ylöjärvi, located on the site of the current church, was completed in 1781, but was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning in 1842. Ylöjärvi was founded as a municipality in 1869. Since January 1, 2004, it has been known as a town (kaupunki). The Finnish Museum of Refrigeration also locates at Ylöjärvi.

Demographics
The following graph shows the population development of the city since 1805. The diagram uses the area division in force at the time.

Food
In the 1980s, overly sweeted limppu and the "sauna smoked" ham were named Ylöjärvi's traditional parish dishes.

Tree Mountain
The town is the location of Tree Mountain, Land Art by Agnes Denes. This work was conceived in 1983, and construction was announced by the Finnish government at the 1992 Earth Summit. Construction was complete in 1996, and the site is legally protected for the next 400 years. Tree Mountain was dedicated in June 1996 by the President of Finland.

Notable people

 * Aron (Finnish singer) (born 1968), singer, songwriter, and musician
 * Marko Asell (born 1970), Greco-Roman wrestler and politician
 * Jenni Banerjee (born 1981), actress
 * Volmari Iso-Hollo (1907–1969), runner
 * Esa Keskinen (born 1965), ice hockey player
 * Tauno Kovanen (1917–1986), Greco-Roman wrestler
 * Kirsi Kunnas (1924–2021), writer, poet, and translator
 * Linda Leppänen (born 1990), ice hockey player and coach
 * Rosa Lindstedt (born 1988), ice hockey player and coach
 * Jaakko Löytty (born 1955), gospel musician
 * Eino Mäkinen (1926–2014), weightlifter
 * Matti Niemi (born 1937), rower
 * Saara Niemi (born 1986), ice hockey player and coach
 * Hannu Oksanen (born 1957), ice hockey player
 * Jaakko Syrjä (1926–2022), writer
 * Juuse Tamminen (1888–1962), writer
 * Jukka Tyrkkö (1912–1979), war writer
 * Antti Tyrväinen (1933–2013), biathlete
 * Maria Ylipää (born 1981), singer and actress

The rock band Eppu Normaali originates in Ylöjärvi.

Twin towns — Sister cities
Ylöjärvi is twinned with:

title: Ylöjärvi


text:
Trinity—Spadina (federal electoral district)

Trinity—Spadina was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015.

It generally encompassed the western portion of Downtown Toronto.

The riding was a battle ground between the NDP and the Liberals.

Major landmarks within the riding included the western portion of the University of Toronto, the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome), Air Canada Centre, the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, 299 Queen Street West, the Toronto Eaton Centre, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto City Hall, Kensington Market, Chinatown, Christie Pits, Trinity Bellwoods Park, the southern portion of Bay Street and Palmerston Boulevard.

The riding contained Toronto's Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy, and Little Portugal. The northern section of the riding was the Annex district, while the eastern edge contained part of the University of Toronto and thousands of students.

Demographics
According to the 2011 Canadian census

Average household income (2010): $86,895

Median household income (2010): $60,659

Median income (2010): $34,761

Unemployment:   7.3%

Language, mother tongue (2011): English 61.2%, Chinese 13.0%, Portuguese 4.4%, French 2.8%, Spanish 2.1%, Italian 1.8%, Korean 1.4%, Arabic 1.4%

Religion (2011): Christian 42.9% (Catholic 24.4%, Anglican 3.6%, Christian Orthodox 2.5%, United Church 2.5%, Presbyterian 1.3%, Other 8.3%), Muslim 4.2%, Jewish 4.1%, Buddhist 3.4%, Hindu 1.8%, No religion 42.5%.

Ethnic groups (2011): White 61.8%, Chinese 16.0%, South Asian 5.1%, Black 3.6%, Korean 1.8%, Filipino 1.8%, Latin American 1.7%, Southeast Asian 1.7%, Arab 1.6%, West Asian 1.1%

Geography
It consists of the Toronto Islands and the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by Toronto Harbour, and on the west, north and east by a line drawn from the harbour north on Spencer Avenue, east along the Gardiner Expressway, north on Dufferin, east on Queen Street West, southeast along the Canadian Pacific Railway line, north along Dovercourt Road, east along Dundas Street West, north along Ossington Avenue, east along the Canadian Pacific Railway situated north of Dupont Street, south along Avenue Road and Queens Park Crescent West, east along College Street and south along Yonge Street to the Harbour.

These borders were somewhat changed in the 2004 redistribution. The northwestern corner, a somewhat pro-NDP area was lost to Davenport. A large, but mostly business area of Toronto Centre—Rosedale between University Avenue and Yonge St. was given to the riding. This region tends to support the Liberals. The Toronto Islands were also added to the riding from Toronto Centre—Rosedale. This area is very strongly NDP and has a highly activist population that provides many campaign workers for the New Democrats.

History
The riding was created in 1987 from Trinity and Spadina, and smaller parts of Toronto Centre—Rosedale and Parkdale—High Park.

It consisted initially of the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by Toronto Harbour, on the east by Avenue Road, Queen's Park Crescent West, University Avenue and York Street, and on the west and north by a line drawn from the harbour north along Spencer Avenue, east along the Gardiner Expressway, north along Atlantic Avenue, southeast along the Canadian National Railway line, north along Dovercourt Road, east along Bloor Street West, north along Ossington Avenue, and east along the Canadian Pacific Railway line to Avenue Road.

In 2003, it was given its current boundaries as described above.

As per 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and the 2013 representation order, Trinity—Spadina was dissolved following the conclusion of the next general election to be called after May 1, 2014. Most of the riding's territory, covering the area south of Dundas Street, became the new riding of Spadina—Fort York. The area north of Dundas and west of a line following Bay Street and Front Street became part of the new seat of University—Rosedale, while the area east of Bay Street and north of Front Street became part of Toronto Centre.

Members of Parliament
This riding has elected the following members of the House of Commons of Canada:

The seat became vacant on March 12, 2014, when Olivia Chow resigned in order to run in the Toronto mayoral election.


text:
Earl Hamner Jr.

Earl Henry Hamner Jr. (July 10, 1923 – March 24, 2016) was an American television writer and producer (sometimes credited as Earl Hamner), best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s as the creator of two long-running series, The Waltons and Falcon Crest. As a novelist, he is best known for Spencer's Mountain, which was inspired by his own childhood and formed the basis for both the film of the same name and the television series The Waltons, for which he provided voice-over narration.

Early life
Hamner was born July 10, 1923, in Schuyler, Virginia, to Doris Marion (née Giannini) and Earl Henry Hamner Sr. The oldest of eight children, Hamner had four brothers and three sisters. The other boys, from youngest to next-oldest, were James Edmund, Willard Harold, Paul Louis, and Clifton Anderson. The girls, from youngest to oldest, were Nancy Alice, Audrey Jane, and Marion Lee.

The family of Hamner's mother, the Gianninis, were immigrants who came to the United States from Lucca, Italy, in the 1700s. His father's family came to Virginia from Wales. Until the 1900s, the Hamners were tobacco farmers near James River, Virginia, when they moved to Schuyler, located on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Schuyler was a company town where the economy was based in soapstone mining by New Alberene Stone, and the town was hit hard by the Great Depression when the company and its mines closed. Hamner's father worked in the mines from the time his eldest son was born until the company's closing. After losing his job, Earl Sr. could only find work as a machinist at the DuPont factory in Waynesboro, Virginia, about 30 miles away. Due to the distance between home and work, Earl Sr. lived at a boarding house in Waynesboro during the week and traveled back to Schuyler and his family on the weekend. Taking a bus from Waynesboro to Charlottesville and another stop along the way, Hamner's father would walk six miles to the family home to complete his weekly journey. His walk on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1933 was the inspiration for Hamner's 1970 novel, The Homecoming, which became a Christmas special and the inspiration for The Waltons in 1971. During Earl's childhood years, the family (all except Earl Sr.) attended a small whiteboard church known as Schuyler Baptist Church. In April 2014, the church honored Earl with a special service in connection with the filming of Earl Hamner, Storyteller.

Hamner was in his sophomore year on a scholarship at the University of Richmond when he was drafted into the Army during World War II. He was first trained to defuse landmines and then transferred to the Quartermaster Corps because he could type. He served in France after the invasion of Normandy. He subsequently attended Northwestern University and then graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in broadcast communications.

Career
On January 15, 1953, his short teleplay "The Hound of Heaven" was aired on The Kate Smith Hour on NBC Television, and featured James Dean and John Carradine.

In 1954, Hamner wrote "Hit and Run," an episode of the legal drama Justice. He reprised the theme in the 1964 "You Drive" episode of The Twilight Zone.

In the early 1960s, Hamner contributed eight episodes to the science fiction series The Twilight Zone. His first script acceptance for the series was his big writing break in Hollywood. He also wrote or co-wrote eight episodes of the CBS animal series Gentle Ben (1967–1969) and four episodes of the sitcom Nanny and the Professor (1970).

He also created Apple's Way (1974–1975) and Boone (1983–1984). Hamner used family names to title his projects: Spencer (Spencer's Mountain) is the maiden name of his paternal grandmother Susan Henry Spencer Hamner. The Waltons derives from his paternal grandfather Walter Clifton Hamner and great-grandfather Walter Leland Hamner.

Death
Hamner died in Los Angeles, California, of bladder cancer on March 24, 2016, aged 92. On July 8, 2023, a bronze statue of Hamner was unveiled in Nelson County, Virginia, two days prior to the anniversary of his centennial birthday.

List of works
Novels
 * Fifty Roads to Town (1953)
 * Spencer's Mountain (1961)
 * You Can't Get There from Here (1965)
 * The Homecoming: A Novel About Spencer's Mountain (1970)
 * Lassie: A Christmas Story (1997; co-written with Don Sipes, children's picture book story with illustrations by Kevin Burke)
 * Murder in Tinseltown (2000; co-written with Don Sipes)

Non-fiction
 * The Avocado Drive Zoo (a memoir) (1999)
 * Good Night, John Boy (2002; reminiscences of making The Waltons TV series)
 * Generous Women (2006; collection of memoirs)

Screenplays
 * Palm Springs Weekend (1963)
 * Charlotte's Web (1973)

Teleplays
 * Highway (1954)
 * Episodes of The Twilight Zone :
 * "The Hunt" (1962)
 * "A Piano in the House" (1962)
 * "Jess-Belle" (1963)
 * "Ring-a-Ding Girl" (1963)
 * "You Drive" (1964)
 * "Black Leather Jackets" (1964)
 * "Stopover in a Quiet Town" (1964)
 * "The Bewitchin' Pool" (1964)
 * Heidi (1968)
 * Appalachian Autumn (1969)
 * Aesop's Fables (1971)
 * The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971; for CBS)
 * Where the Lilies Bloom (1974)
 * The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983)

title: Earl Hamner Jr.


text:
Prince of Beira

Prince of Beira (Príncipe da Beira, feminine: Princesa da Beira) is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the throne of Portugal. The title's original use that it be granted on the eldest daughter of the reigning monarch of Portugal. Tied with the title of Prince of Beira, is Duke of Barcelos, as heir to the Duke of Braganza and Prince of Brazil (later Prince Royal of Portugal). The title's name has its origins in the Beira province in central Portugal.

History
The title was presumably created (no records of its earlier existence or grants) by King John IV of Portugal, the new monarch, first of the Braganza dynasty, sometime in the 1640s. It was firstly given to his eldest surviving daughter, Infanta Joanna of Portugal, 1st Princess of Beira. It was the King's intention that the male heir apparent would be Prince of Brazil and later also Duke of Braganza, whereas Princess of Beira was originally quite similar to that of French Madame Royale or the British Princess Royal. The title had no original connection to being one for next heirs of the throne - King John IV had a second son, and soon a third, but the daughter kept Beira and the boys received dukedoms (Braganza and Beja). However, Joanna died young in 1653.

Afterwards, the title kept being granted and regranted several times during the remaining Portuguese monarchy. However, the precedent of being granted to the monarch's eldest daughter in a situation where he had several living sons, was repeated sometimes in later centuries.

The title's first connection with the position of the heir was from 1669 onwards, when it was held by the Infanta Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira (1669–90), the only then living child of King Peter II. She received it as the eldest daughter of the king, but as she also was the heiress presumptive until 1688, a new tradition got its groundwork.

According to the first tradition, the next holder would be infanta Barbara of Portugal (1711–58), the eldest daughter of King John V of Portugal. In 1729, she wedded Infante Fernando of Spain, the Prince of Asturias.

Then, on December 17, 1734 the title was created anew by king John V of Portugal, in favour of his newborn eldest granddaughter Infanta Maria Francisca. She was the eldest daughter of the heir-apparent of the monarch. This was the first time when it was granted two generations down from the monarch. As the future Joseph I (the then Prince of Brazil) was to remain without sons, the new Princess of Beira would later become the proclaimed heiress and ultimately to ascend the throne.

In 1750 the newly ascended King Joseph I (believing that no sons would be forthcoming--indeed, his wife and he produced no further issue after 1746, as is known in hindsight) proclaimed his eldest daughter the official heiress and granted her the "crown-princely" title Princess of Brazil (but apparently not that Duke of Braganza). He in 1761 further granted Maria's eldest son, Infante Dom José Francisco (1761–88), the title Prince of Beira. For the first time, the title was held by a male.

This created a new tradition. The situation now, effectively, was that the king's official heir held the Princedom of Brazil, and Prince of Beira was Brazil's heir-apparent. The situation had been the same (though unintentionally) during 1734-50, when the monarch's heir-apparent was Prince of Brazil, and Brazil's obvious heir was Princess of Beira. This was to be repeated after that time, as monarchs granted Beira to the second heir-apparent whenever possible.

(The way the titles Duke of Braganza and Prince of Brazil were held is identical with the way the titles of Duchy of Cornwall and of Rothesay are held in the UK. The male heir apparent received it when the relevant parent ascended the throne or, if the title was vacant, at birth. During the 1645-1822 period, the Prince of Brazil always belonged to the heir apparent to the throne, who also received the title Duke of Braganza. In 1750 though, Brazil--but not Braganza--was specifically granted to the female heiress, as she was proclaimed the official successor.)

The future King John VI himself never became Prince of Beira--he became Prince of Brazil and Duke of Braganza directly at the death of his elder brother.

According to the first tradition, the next holder of Beira would be Infanta Mariana Vitória of Portugal (1768–88), the eldest daughter of Maria I and Pedro III. She died two months after her eldest brother. In 1785, she was married to Infante Gabriel of Spain (1752–88), whom she predeceased by some weeks. Their three children were granted Infantes of Portugal in addition to that of Spain by their grandmother. The others going having died, the eldest son, Infante Pedro Carlos of Spain and Portugal (1786–1812) married his Portuguese cousin Teresa, Princess of Beira, and left issue (see below).

Queen Maria I and her regent, the future King John VI, granted the Beira in turn to John's heirs-apparent, and the second of them, Infante Dom Pedro Francisco survived to become in 1816 the Prince of Brazil, the last Portuguese heir-apparent to hold that title (as he himself later made Brazil independent).

King John VI followed the first tradition also, and Beira was granted to his eldest daughter Infanta Dona Maria Teresa, firstly wife of her short-lived cousin Infante Pedro Carlos of Spain and Portugal and secondly wife of the first Carlist pretender, Infante don Carlos of Spain. Teresa's only child was her son with Pedro Carlos, Infante don Sebastian of Spain and Portugal (1811–75), from whom the dukes of Marchena, Durcal, Ansola and Hernani descend.

In the second tradition, when born in 1821, the then Prince of Brazil's eldest son João Carlos was granted Beira in 1821 after birth, he being the third in the heir-apparent line, but he died the following year, some months before Brazil's secession. Emperor Pedro's next son, born in 1825, received no title from Portugal.

According to the first tradition, the next holder would be Infanta Maria da Glória Joana (1819–53), the eldest daughter of King Pedro IV. She, however, ascended the throne in 1826 as Queen Maria II.

The second tradition-based need arose only in 1887, when Infante Dom Luís Filipe was born in the last years of his grandfather King Luís I's reign. Luís Filipe was Prince of Beira 1887-89 and then succeeded his own father, the new king, as crown prince, becoming 21st Duke of Braganza.

title: Prince of Beira


text:
List of lords of appeal

This is a list of the last Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and other Lords of Appeal before the judicial functions of the House of Lords ended in 2009.

Last Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
As of 30 September 2009, (the day before their functions were transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom), the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary appointed under section 6 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 were, in order of seniority:

Last Lords of Appeal
As of 30 September 2009, the other Lords of Appeal who were, by virtue of sections 5 & 25 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, eligible to form the quorum (3) of the House of Lords necessary to hear and determine judicial business were: Eligible Lords
 * The date in parentheses is the date after which the Lord of Appeal is disqualified from participating in judicial business. The date is set by the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993.

title: List of lords of appeal


text:
Alden Nowlan

Alden Albert Nowlan (January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright.

History
Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor, Nova Scotia, along a stretch of dirt road that he would later refer to as Desolation Creek. His father, Freeman Lawrence Nowlan, worked sporadically as a manual labourer.

His mother, Grace Reese, was only 14 years of age when Nowlan was born, and she soon left the family, leaving Alden and her younger daughter Harriet to the care of their paternal grandmother. The family discouraged education as a waste of time, and Nowlan left school after only four grades. At the age of 14, he went to work in the village sawmill. At the age of 16, he discovered the new library in Windsor. Often on weekends he would travel eighteen miles to the library to get books, which broadened his already keen reading. "I wrote (as I read) in secret." Nowlan remembered. "My father would as soon have seen me wear lipstick."

Career and later life
At 19, Nowlan's artfully embroidered résumé landed him a job with Observer, a newspaper in Hartland, New Brunswick. While working at the Observer, Nowlan began writing books of poetry, the first of which was published by Fredericton's Fiddlehead Poetry Books.

Nowlan eventually settled permanently in New Brunswick. In 1963, he married Claudine Orser, a typesetter on his former paper, and moved to Saint John with her and her son, John, whom he adopted. He became the night editor for the Saint John Telegraph Journal and continued to write poetry. In 1966, Nowlan was diagnosed with throat cancer. After three surgeries and a subsequent radiation treatment, his health began to improve. He wrote poems about his brush with death. In 1967, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his collection Bread, Wine and Salt was awarded the Governor General's Award for Poetry. Soon afterward, the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton offered him the position of Writer-in-Residence. He remained in the position until his death on June 27, 1983, after collapsing at his home with severe emphysema.

Awards and recognition
Nowlan's most notable literary achievements include the Governor General's Award for Bread, Wine and Salt (1967) and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton from 1968 until his death in 1983. In New Brunswick, the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in English-language Literary Arts is named in his honour.

Nowlan is one of Canada's most popular 20th-century poets, and his appearance in the anthology Staying Alive (2002) has helped to spread his popularity beyond Canada.

In the 1970s, Nowlan met and became close friends with theatre director Walter Learning. The two collaborated on a number of plays, including A Gift to Last, Frankenstein, The Dollar Woman, and The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca.

Nowlan's Fredericton home is now the residence of the Graduate Student Association at the University of New Brunswick. Dubbed "Windsor Castle" by Nowlan after its location on Windsor Street, the simple building is now officially called the Alden Nowlan House.

Nowlan is buried in the Poets' Corner of the Forest Hill cemetery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Poetry

 * A Darkness in the Earth. Eureka, California: Hearse, 1958.
 * The Rose and the Puritan. Fredericton, N.B.: University of New Brunswick, 1958.
 * Wind in a Rocky Country. Toronto: Emblem, 1960.
 * Under the Ice. Toronto: Ryerson, 1961.
 * Five New Brunswick Poets. Fredericton, N.B.: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1962. (with Elizabeth Brewster, Fred Cogswell, Robert Gibbs and Kay Smith)
 * The Things Which Are. Toronto: Contact, 1962.
 * Bread, Wine and Salt. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1967.
 * A Black Plastic Button and a Yellow Yoyo, handmade limited edition folio of 20 copies, printed and illustrated by Charles Pachter, Toronto 1968
 * The Mysterious Naked Man. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1969.
 * Playing the Jesus Game: Selected Poems. Trumansburg, N.Y.: New/Books, 1970.
 * Between Tears and Laughter. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1971.
 * I'm a Stranger Here Myself. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1974.
 * Shaped by This Land. Fredericton: Brunswick, 1974.
 * Smoked Glass. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1977.
 * I Might Not Tell Everybody This. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1982.
 * Early Poems. Fredericton, N.B.: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1983.
 * An Exchange of Gifts: Poems New and Selected. Toronto: Irwin, 1985.
 * What Happened When He Went to the Store for Bread. Minneapolis: Nineties Press, 1993.
 * The Best of Alden Nowlan. Hantsport, N.S.: Lancelot, 1993.
 * Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Toronto: House of Anansi, 1996.
 * Between Tears and Laughter Tarset, Northumberland, U.K.: Bloodaxe, 2004. ISBN 1-85224-629-4
 * Collected Poems Fredericton, N. B.: Goose Lane, 2017.

Fiction

 * Miracle at Indian River. Clarke, Irwin, Toronto 1968
 * Various Persons Named Kevin O'Brien. Clarke, Irwin, Toronto 1973
 * The year of the revolution, CBC radio anthology, Robert Weaver: Small wonders. New stories by 12 distinguished Canadian authors. CBC, Toronto 1982, pp 85 – 96
 * Will Ye Let the Mummers In. Irwin, Toronto 1984
 * The Wanton Troopers. Goose Lane, Fredericton 1988

Drama

 * Frankenstein: The Man Who Became God - Clarke, Irwin, Toronto 1973 (with Walter Learning)
 * The Dollar Woman – Playwrights Co-op, Toronto 1981 (with Walter Learning)
 * The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca – Dramatic Publishing, 1978 (with Walter Learning)
 * A Gift to Last (with Walter Learning) from the teleplay by Gordon Pinsent
 * Gardens of the Wind – (CBC radio broadcast) Saskatoon: Thistledown, 1982.

Non-fiction

 * Campobello: The Outer Island. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1975.
 * Double Exposure. Fredericton, N.B.: Brunswick Press, 1978.
 * Nine Micmac Legends. Hantsport, N.S.: Lancelot, 1983.
 * White Madness. Ottawa: Oberon, 1996.
 * Road Dancers. Ottawa: Oberon, 1999.

Anthologies

 * 15 Canadian Poets X3, ed. Gary Geddes (Oxford University Press, 2001)
 * Coastlines: The Poetry of Atlantic Canada, ed. Anne Compton, Laurence Hutchman, Ross Leckie and Robin McGrath (Goose Lane Editions, 2002)

Recordings

 * Alden Nowlan's Maritimes. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1972.

title: Alden Nowlan


text:
Wanted (comics)

Wanted is a comic book limited series created by writer Mark Millar and artist J. G. Jones. It was published by Top Cow in 2003 and 2004 as part of Millarworld. It features an amoral protagonist who discovers he is the heir to a career as a supervillain assassin in a world where such villains have secretly taken control of the planet. The Sunday Times dubbed the title "the Watchmen for super-villains."

A film adaptation, very loosely based on the comic, was released in 2008. A sequel, Big Game, released in 2023 and featured Wesley and the Fraternity crossing over with the other Millarworld franchises.

Publication history
As with Superman: Red Son, Millar claims that the concept for the series occurred to him when he was a child. In this case, it came to him after his brother told him that there were no superheroes anymore because they had all disappeared after a great war with their respective supervillains.

Plot
Wesley Gibson is a loser cubicle rat who is abused by almost everyone in his life, including his boss, a local gang, his unfaithful girlfriend, and his best friend with whom his girlfriend is having an affair. Wesley was raised by his pacifist mother after they were abandoned by his father, causing him to grow up into a wimp. All this changes when he is visited by the Fox, an assassin who shoots everyone in a sandwich shop before revealing herself to be a member of the Fraternity, a powerful organization of supervillains that rules the world. So long as they maintain secrecy, they are able to commit any crime without any consequences. The Fraternity wishes to recruit Wesley to replace his father, a supervillain known as the Killer, who was killed by an unknown assassin.

The Fox introduces Wesley to Professor Solomon Selzer, a brilliant mad scientist and leader of the North and South American chapter of the Fraternity. The Professor helps Wesley realize his powers by provoking him into shooting the wings off flies. The Professor explains that a long time ago, the world was overrun by both superheroes and supervillains. Tired of being repeatedly defeated and jailed, the supervillains joined together and staged a revolution that Wesley's father was a part of. After a long, bloody war, the superheroes were defeated. Using magic and advanced technology, the newly formed Fraternity was able to erase the world's memories of superheroes and supervillains. All that remained were faint, inaccurate memories, which were the cause of superhero comic books and other media. Many of the surviving heroes now believed themselves to be actors who had played superheroes. The Professor also explains to Wesley that Fox and his father had once worked for Mr. Rictus, who controlled the Australian chapter of the Fraternity. When Rictus visits the Professor's headquarters, Fox implies that she and the Killer left Rictus' chapter because he had been harming children.

The Fraternity begins training Wesley to use his newfound powers. The training focuses on not just his physical skills but on his personality. He is desensitized to violence and eventually learns to enjoy it. He is told to commit random acts of violence before undertaking acts of revenge on anyone who even slightly wronged him. He soon becomes a full-fledged Fraternity member, accompanying them on raids of alternate universes and other missions.

Wesley is assigned to be the Professor's personal bodyguard during a Fraternity convention in which the leaders of the Fraternity's five chapters will meet. The five leaders are the Professor, Mr. Rictus, Adam-One, the Future, and the Emperor. Here, he learns that Rictus and the Future had long wanted to end the Fraternity's policy of secrecy and rule the world openly. The Professor, Adam-One, and the Emperor favored secrecy for supervillains in order to get "the loot without the leg-breaking" and avoid gaining the attention of the larger multiverse, and have always managed to outvote Rictus and the Future. Though it seems that the Emperor is about to switch sides, the Professor subtly manipulates him to vote in favor of secrecy yet again.

After the meeting, the Professor leaves in a limo hoping to pick up a young prostitute. However, his driver is actually being impersonated by Shithead, Rictus's right-hand man, and the Professor is murdered by him. Rictus and Future's factions of the Fraternity begin a revolt against the other three. With most of the Professor's supervillains killed, Wesley and Fox must fight off the rival factions on their own. They manage to kill off many of the rebel supervillains, including the Future. This culminates in an attack on their own headquarters, occupied by Rictus and his gang. Defeating Rictus and deflecting a bullet through his throat, Wesley demands to know who killed his father but Rictus refuses to answer (or is simply unable to) before he dies. A figure steps out of the shadows revealing himself to be Wesley's father, the original Killer. The Killer reveals that he and Fox left Rictus's chapter not because they objected to harming children but because they knew of his planned revolt. The Killer also says that his skills have been deteriorating with age and he does not want to be killed by anyone inferior to him. After Wesley's training, the Killer believes that he is the only one worthy of ending his life and orders Wesley to put a bullet through his head. Afterwards, Wesley indicates that he wants to return to his former life and stop being a super villain. However, he reveals to Fox shortly after that he was just joking, and they go off to plan another heist. The comic ends with Wesley calling out the audience about their "pathetic" lives, and stating: "This is my face while I'm fucking you in the ass."

The American Fraternity

 * The Killer (II) - Wesley Gibson, the protagonist of the series.
 * The Fox - Wesley's mentor and lover. According to her, Fox has been a criminal since she was fourteen years old.
 * The Professor - Solomon Seltzer, mad scientist, has dominion over one fifth of the Earth. A "Level 9" intelligence, the Professor's motivation for crime is to fund his scientific research. Killed by Shithead.
 * The Killer (I) - Hedonist and lover of death. Wesley's father, who fakes his own assassination to set the stage for Wesley to take over his role as The Killer and ultimately end his life for him. Killed by his son, Wesley Gibson.
 * The Doll-Master - Technological mastermind, specializing in toy-shaped weapons and robotics; will kill innocents but will not swear in front of children. Keeps his criminal career a secret from his family.
 * Fuckwit - A clone of a superhero. He is extremely strong and able to fly. However, he also has Down syndrome and can only understand a statement that is the opposite of what the speaker intends to say. However, he later begins to show signs of speaking and understanding normally. He is also vulnerable to a certain form of radiation. He has a childlike personality; according to the Wanted Dossier, he is "friendly, loyal, and loves you unconditionally."
 * Sucker - An extraterrestrial capable of temporarily stealing the powers of other superpowered beings. He betrays the Professor and joins Mr. Rictus' coup. He is killed when his 24-hour limit was drained while flying.
 * Imp - A reality-manipulating creature from a seven-dimensional world. He is thousands of years old but only an infant by the standards of his people, sneaking into the Wanted dimension while his parents are away. The Wanted Dossier states that he once brought buildings to life and made them fight each other and briefly turned America into a marshmallow paradise. Killed by Sucker.

The Australian Fraternity

 * Mr. Rictus - Rictus is a regular human with severely disfiguring burns, leaving his face locked in a rictus grin. The accident also left him with no moral compass, resulting in criminal insanity that brought him into the elite of the villains' Fraternity. His displeasure over receiving control of Australia when the world was divided, as well as his impatience for acting in secrecy, drives the events of the story.
 * Shithead - A creature made of the feces of the 666 most evil people in the world, including Adolf Hitler, Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer.
 * Deadly Nightshade - A plant-manipulator. She is having an affair with Imp, a member of the Fraternity's American chapter. According to the Wanted Dossier, this is extremely dangerous because of tensions between their two chapters as well as the possibility that the Imp might destroy reality in a pleasure-induced loss of control.

The Council of Five

 * The Council of Five is made up of the leaders from the five different chapters of the Fraternity. They meet once a year to vote on various issues.
 * The Professor controls North and South America.
 * Adam-One, the world's oldest man, took Africa. He has apparently outlived several of his own children. He supports keeping the Fraternity a secret from the world.
 * Mr. Rictus, has Australia.
 * The Future, a savage Nazi time-displaced criminal, got Europe. Hopes to begin a new Holocaust. He is willing to tolerate Asians and Africans so long as he is able to kill Jews. He supports Rictus' idea of going public. Killed by Wesley Gibson.
 * The Emperor (aka Ching-Sang), a Chinese crime lord, took control of Asia. Supports the Professor but is having doubts.

Other Fraternity members
The following characters are Fraternity members whose chapter affiliations are not specified.
 * The Puzzler - Has a costume designed to resemble a crossword puzzle.
 * Johnny Two-dicks: A cowardly pharmacist with a thirteen-inch sentient penis that is a criminal mastermind. He lacks the courage to defy its orders. Two-dicks joins Rictus' rebellion.
 * The Frightener: A supervillain who creates "psychic viruses". Killed by Wesley Gibson.
 * The Avian: A bird-themed supervillain. Wesley's mother was his social worker and the two dated before she met Wesley's father.

Collected editions
The complete limited series, along with the Wanted: Dossier (which includes additional and "behind-the-scenes" material on the series), has been collected in a single volume as both a softcover (ISBN 1-58240-497-6) and a hardcover (ISBN 1-58240-480-1).

Film
A film very loosely based on the comic was released in June 2008. It was directed by Timur Bekmambetov and starred James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. The film focuses on a league of self-righteous assassins rather than super-villains. Mark Millar himself hinted at a sequel closer to the plot of the original comic and featuring The Killer's costume.

Sequel
In May 2023, it was revealed that Big Game, a crossover events that united all the Millarworld characters, was actually a sequel to Wanted and followed Wesley Gibson and the Fraternity teaming up with Matthew Anderson / Nemesis to take down the latest wave of superheroes that have popped back up in the world following the actions of Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass.

title: Wanted (comics)


text:
Xi'an Jiaotong University

Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU; ) is a public university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.

XJTU houses five state key laboratories, four state special laboratories, and two state engineering research centers. Two of its eight affiliated teaching hospitals are ranked among China's top 100 hospitals. It is the hub of the University Alliance of the Silk Road, an international academic alliance under the umbrella of China's Belt and Road Initiative that aims to build educational collaboration and fuel economic growth in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and key partners worldwide.

History
In 1896, the Nanyang Public School (南洋公学) was founded in Shanghai based on an imperial edict issued by the Guangxu Emperor, under the Business and Telegraphs Office of the imperial government. Four schools were established: a normal school, a school of foreign studies, a middle school, and a high school. Sheng Xuanhuai, the mandarin who proposed the idea to the Guangxu Emperor, became the first president and is regarded as the founder of the university, along with John Calvin Ferguson, a missionary educator.

The university underwent a series of transitions. In 1904, the Ministry of Commerce took over the school, and in 1905 changed its name to Imperial Polytechnic College of the Commerce Ministry. In 1906, the college was placed under the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, and its name was changed to Shanghai Industrial College of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. When the Republic of China was founded, the college was placed under the Ministry of Communications and its name was once again changed, this time to Government Institute of Technology of the Communications Ministry.

The Republic of China founded the School of Management in 1918. In 1920, the Government Institute of Technology of the Communications Ministry merged with two other colleges and changed its name to Nan Yang College of Chiao Tung. In 1938, the Ministry of Education took over the university and renamed it, National Chiao Tung University. During the anti-Japanese War, the university moved to the French Concession, and in 1940 the state-run branch of Jiaotong University was set up in Chongqing. In 1941, to prevent the Wang puppet government from taking over the university, it continued operations under the name of Private Nanyang University. In 1942, the Wang government took over Shanghai School. So the Education Department of Guomin Government chose Chongqing Branch as the headquarters of Jiaotong University. In 1943, the graduate school was founded. After the anti-Japanese War was won, Chongqing headquarter went back to Shanghai and merged with Shanghai School. In 1946, the name of state-run Jiaotong University was recovered.

After the Kuomintang were defeated in 1949, a part of the faculty retreated to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and, in 1958, formed the eponymous National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. The institution that remained in Shanghai was renamed Chiao Tung University to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public. In the 1950s, the pinyin romanization system was developed in Mainland China and Chiao Tung University changed its English name to Jiao Tong University.

The national strategy adopted in 1956 dictated that the majority of Jiao Tong University would be moved to Xi'an, Shaanxi. During the movement, the national strategy was changed and there were questions on necessity of the move. Since the majority of the facilities, staffs, faculties and students had already arrived in Xi'an and the campus had started operated, the university decided to operate two campuses, one in Xi'an and another in Shanghai. However, the operation with two campuses were difficult and moving the Xi'an campus back to Shanghai was impossible. Thus, from July 31, 1959, with the approval from State Council of the People's Republic of China, two campuses became independent. The Xi'an campus changed its name to Xi'an Jiaotong University and the Shanghai campus changed its name to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Xi'an Jiaotong University was immediately listed as a National Key University. Later, it became one of a handful of universities built according to the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" and "Eighth Five-Year Plan." In 2000, the State Council approved a merger of Xi'an Medical University and the Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics into Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Xi'an Jiaotong University University has been part of all major government efforts to establish world-class universities in China, including Project 211, Project 985, the C9 League, and the Double First-Class Construction (Class A).

Faculty and staff
XJTU's faculty and staff of more than 5500 includes twelve members of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering, nine of whom are also members of the Chinese National Academy of Sciences; 38 Changjiang (Yangtze River) Scholars; and 25 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars award winners. From the perspective of teaching, XJTU's faculty and staff include five recipients of national teaching awards, 142 participants in the Ministry of Education's "New Century Program for Promising Young Talent", and 547 recipients of government stipends for outstanding contributions to China. Notable faculty include Yu Mao-Hong, originator of unified strength theory.

Students and Academics
XJTU's 30,000 strong student body, including 15,000 graduate students, can pursue 84 undergraduate majors, 200 master's degree disciplines, and 115 doctoral disciplines. Among these, eight are designated as first-order key disciplines by the Chinese government.

International Students: At present there are more than 400 Foreign students from all over the world predominantly from Pakistan, Malaysia, Russia, Bangladesh, Nepal, ASEAN countries, Gulf countries, Central Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand and European countries.

Campus and student life
XJTU's four campuses (Xingqing, Yanta, Innovation Harbor, and Qujiang) cover over 250 hectares. The Qian Xuesen Library (Xingqing campus) houses 5 million books, 4,100 current periodicals, 30,000 electronic periodicals, and more than 1 million electronic books. The library's computer system is fully integrated with the campus network, CERNET, and the Internet.

Students living on campus have modern dormitory, dining, and athletic facilities, including the Siyuan Student Activities Center. Students are supported by scholarships and stipends, with scholarships for undergraduates totaling 12 million yuan per year, and additional annual support in the form of loans totaling 14.4 million yuan. XJTU's “innovation fund” distributes 50 million yuan per year to graduate students. The university has a psychological health education and counseling center for university students.

Special Class for the Gifted Young
The Honors Youth Program of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Chinese: 西安交大少年班, also translated as Special Class for the Gifted Young of Xi'an Jiaotong University), established in 1985, admits 140 high school freshmen annually to coursework at High School Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University, Suzhou High School-SIP, or Tianjin Nankai High School. Students who pass can matriculate to XJTU without taking the Gaokao. Students who subsequently pass their undergraduate courses can begin master's programs at XJTU without taking the Postgraduate Admission Test.

Internet education
XJTU's Internet Education School. founded in 2001 as one of 15 experimental universities approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education to establish distance education. The university partners with a number of leading universities in China for this project. XJTU was involved in a number of nationwide experiments and pilot projects including the Ministry of Education "Demonstration Project of Internet Education Based on Satellite and Terrestrial Networks"; "Tenth Five-Year Plan" key project "real-time teaching system"; and the National Science Fund projects "Study of Individual and Interactive Virtual Collaborative Learning Environment" and "Study and Application of Personality Mining in E-Learning".

Rankings and reputation
XJTU is one of the elite universities in China with its status as a Double First-Class Construction university, C9 League University, and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. It is the only university in Western China to be included in the C9 League and one of only two universities in the Western China region (alongside Sichuan University) that consistently rank among the top-15 comprehensive research universities nationwide.

As of 2022, Xi'an Jiaotong University is ranked among China's top-10 research comprehensive universities and ranked first in Western China region, with a combined population of almost 300 million.

Xi'an Jiaotong University consistently features in the top 300th global universities as ranked by the QS World University Rankings, the U.S. News & World Report, the Center for World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

For 2024, XJTU was ranked #179 by U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, # 157 by the Center for World University Rankings, and # 101-150 band by Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Xi'an Jiaotong graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide. In 2017, its Graduate Employability rankings placed at #101 in the world in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings. Internationally, XJTU is regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings where it ranked 176-200th globally.

Research
Regarding scientific research output, the Nature Index 2023 ranked XJTU the No.24 university in the Asia Pacific region, and 56th in the world among the global universities. The 2023 CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked XJTU 10th in the world by total publications and 37th in the world based on the number of their scientific publications belonging to the top 1% in their fields for the time period 2018–2021.

Medical School
The School of Medicine of Xi'an Jiaotong University, was founded in 1937 as the School of Medicine of National Peking University. It was renamed Xi'an Medical University in 1985, then to its current name after becoming affiliated with XJTU in April 2000. It is the only top medical science school directly attached to the Ministry of Health in the Northwest region, as well as a branch of Academy of Medical Science in China. About 40,000 advanced medical experts have been trained at the School of Medicine of XJTU since its founding.

The >4500 current students on campus include 400 doctoral students, 900 postgraduates and 3500 undergraduates. The school has excellent and experienced faculty as well as working staff, and the number has been over 4000 (staff in the affiliated hospitals also included). It has more than 620 professors and associate professors, 81 doctoral mentors, 13 experts who have made outstanding contributions on the state and provincial level and besides, 35 domestic and overseas visiting professors (3 are members of Chinese Academy of Science). There are 28 departments (18 clinical departments included); 3 Clinical Teaching Hospitals: The First Affiliated Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital and The Affiliated Dental Hospital; 6 centers (Biological Medicine R&E Center, Long-Distance Medicine Center, All-Division Medicine Center, Medical Information Center, Animal Experimentation Center and Medical Testing and Training Center); 27 Graduate Schools; 1 keystone lab belonging to Ministry of Education, 2 keystone labs belonging to Ministry of Health and 3 keystone labs at Provincial level; 2 keystone subjects as Physiology and Medical Jurisprudence at State level and another 7 keystone subjects at Provincial level. Meanwhile, the School of Medicine has 2 first-level research stations for the Post doctorates, Fundamental Medicine and Clinical Medicine.

It has gradually established a complete administrative system for educating and training both undergraduate and graduate students. For undergraduates, at present, there are subjects as Clinical Medicine (5-year duration and 7-year duration), Dental Medicine, Nursing, Medical Jurisprudence, Preventive Medicine, Pharmacology, Medical Engineering and so on. There are 10 authorized places for awarding doctorates and 29 places for master's degrees. The authorized places for awarding these degrees cover all medical specialities and most of the related medical specialities. For undergraduate student education the emphasis is on practice with basic knowledge and extensive education. The school has built up a training mode of "Broad Entrance, Strong Foundation and Emphasis on Practice", and under this training mode, the graduates have got high praises from their employers. For postgraduate student education, the emphasis is on training on innovative thoughts and abilities. Besides, the school has actively developed recruitment and training for the students with bachelor's degree of Clinical Medicine and MPH.

International program: University Alliance of the Silk Road
As the major trading site of the Silk Road, Xi'an has emerged as the site of a major international university alliance associated with the One Belt, One Road initiative. The program was initiated by the principal Shuguo Wang, and it has held forums for it since 2015. The university is home to a vigorous international program of research and exchange, centered around the University Alliance of the Silk Road that was formed in 2015.

The university has partnerships with several other universities that have not been incorporated into the University Alliance of the Silk Road, including Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Washington University in St. Louis through the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

Notable alumni

Among XJTU's alumni are many renowned scholars, including Huajian Gao, Tsien Hsue-shen, Zhigang Suo, Tony Jun Huang, Changqing Chen, Xi Chen, Xi Yao, Yilu Liu, Shouren Ge (Ernest S. Kuh) Wu Wenjun, Xu Guangxian, Zhang Guangdou and An Wang.

Among XJTU's alumni are numerous famous entrepreneurs in both China and abroad, including the following:
 * Zhou Hongyi, Founder and Chairman of the internet anti-virus and security company Qihoo, and an alumnus of the Special Class for Gifted Youth
 * Haitao Zheng, listed in MIT Technology Review's TR35 in 2005, and an alumnus of the Special Class for Gifted Youth
 * Ge Honglin, CEO of the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited
 * Kate Wang, Chinese billionaire businesswoman

title: Xi'an Jiaotong University


text:
Sleeper (comics)

Sleeper is a comic book series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint. The series consisted of two twelve-issue limited series and the events of the first "season" served as a catalyst for the Coup D'Etat line-wide crossover.

Sleeper was set in the Wildstorm Universe and concerned the travails of Holden Carver, a covert operative who has been placed undercover in a villainous organisation led by TAO, a WildC.A.T.s villain from Alan Moore's run. It was a spin-off of Point Blank, a mini-series about Grifter from Wildcats and John Lynch from Gen13 that was also written by Ed Brubaker.

Plot
Holden Carver, also known as The Conductor (although he prefers going by his real name), is placed undercover in Tao's criminal organization by John Lynch, the director of International Operations after being fused with an alien artifact that makes him impervious to pain, gives him a powerful healing factor, and allows him to store pain he receives and pass it on to others through skin contact. Holden hates these abilities and constantly wishes to be rid of them. Lynch falls into a coma after being shot by Grifter, leaving Holden with no link to the outside world.

He quickly rises through the ranks of Tao's syndicate and becomes one of his lieutenants, called "Prodigals". He falls in love with another Prodigal named Miss Misery and befriends Genocide Jones, a super-strong, bullet-proof member of Tao's organization. The series also focuses on Holden's internal struggle over whether or not there is a difference between his actions while serving Tao and his actions while serving Lynch.

Tao learns of Holden's true allegiance, and Holden is forced to live on the run. With the help of Peter Grimm, his most trusted Prodigal, Tao captures Holden and tells him that he is a survivor, past petty concepts like "good" and "evil". Beginning to believe Tao and seeing no other options, Holden rejoins Tao's organization, this time as a true criminal. As Season One ends, John Lynch miraculously awakes from his coma.

Coup D'Etat comes to pass and the members of Tao's organization are forced into hiding so The Authority cannot discover them. Holden is now a full-fledged villain and a trusted Prodigal. While on a mission with his own band of Torpedoes (lower-level members of Tao's organization) called the Hounds, consisting of the eager-to-please Pit Bull (introduced in Season One) and the werewolf Blackwolf, Holden is contacted by an agent of John Lynch. Lynch wants Holden to leave Tao and defect back to I.O. He later presents Holden with a member of the alien race who built the artifact that gave Holden his abilities and promises that if he agrees to come back he'll rid him of his powers.

Holden then begins to play both sides against the middle, hoping he will be able to free himself of his obligations to Tao and Lynch and run away with Miss Misery. As this goes on, he tries to reform, despite knowing that he will never again be the man he thought he was before falling in with Tao.

At the end of Season Two, Holden Carver is left in a vegetative state. Lynch uses his gen factor powers to make the vegetative Holden believe that he is finally retired and living with Miss Misery and his ex-fiancée, Veronica St. James, on a tropical island. Holden ripped out Tao's tongue as a last effort to 'disarm' the main villain of the series before being handed over to Lynch. It is here that the story ends.

Collected editions
Sleeper has been collected in a series of four trade paperbacks:
 * Sleeper: Season One (ISBN 1-4012-2360-5) collects:
 * Sleeper Vol. 1: Out in the Cold (collects Sleeper Season 1 #1–6, ISBN 1-4012-0115-6)
 * Sleeper Vol. 2: All False Moves (collects Sleeper Season 1 #7–12, ISBN 1-4012-0288-8)
 * Sleeper: Season Two (ISBN 1-4012-2493-8) collects:
 * Sleeper Vol. 3: A Crooked Line (collects Sleeper Season 2 #1–6, ISBN 1-4012-0618-2)
 * Sleeper Vol. 4: The Long Way Home (collects Sleeper Season 2 #7–12, ISBN 1-4012-0627-1)
 * Coup D'état (collects Coup D'état #1 – Sleeper, ISBN 1-4012-0570-4)

Film
Tom Cruise and Sam Raimi were in the process of creating a movie adaptation of Sleeper with Warner Bros., in which Cruise may have starred and Brad Inglesby is writing the screenplay, but this rumor went cold. In November 2013, the magazine Variety reported that Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Todd will produce the film and Shawn Ryan and David Wiener to pen the film.

title: Sleeper (comics)


text:
Sean Phillips

Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including Sleeper, Incognito, the Criminal series of comics, Fatale, The Fade Out, and Kill or Be Killed.

He has also worked on the DC Comics' series WildC.A.T.s and Hellblazer.

Early life
Phillips grew up in the U.K. fascinated by American comics, particularly those published by Marvel Comics. As he got older, his influences included Jim Baikie, Simon Bisley, Jamie Hewlett, Duncan Fegredo, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave McKean, and Jaime Hernandez.

Career
Phillips began his career in 1980 in British girls' comics such as Bunty, Judy and Nikki while still at school. After graduating art college (Lowestoft Polytechnic) in 1988 he started working with John Smith on New Statesmen and Straitgate, as well as Pat Mills on Third World War, both at Crisis. He was part of the British Invasion, getting work on Hellblazer before returning to the UK. There worked on Devlin Waugh for the Judge Dredd Megazine, and also provided the art on a number of series for 2000 AD, including Judge Dredd.

In 1990, he illustrated the cover for the Stereo MC's album Supernatural.

He returned to the American comic book industry in 2000 when he inked Scene of the Crime written by Ed Brubaker, a writer he would collaborate with a number of times over the following years. He moved on to Wildstorm for a long run on WildC.A.T.s with Joe Casey before teaming up Brubaker on Sleeper.

In 2001, Phillips and John Bolton illustrated a three-issue miniseries called User, written by Devin Grayson, and published by DC's Vertigo imprint. The series explores "sexual identity and online role-playing in the text-based MUDs of the nineties." User was re-released as a hardcover by Image in 2017.

Phillips went over to Marvel Comics in 2005 where he co-created Criminal with Brubaker at the Marvel imprint Icon Comics. He was also the main artist on the first two instalments of the Marvel Zombies series with Robert Kirkman.

Subsequent work includes Incognito, another series with Brubaker at Icon and a US reprint of 7 Psychopaths at Boom! Studios.

Phillips provided the art for The Criterion Collection release of the 1961 noir film Blast of Silence, as well as the art for the Criterion release of the 1957 legal drama 12 Angry Men, based on a design by Eric Skillman.

On 9 April 2011 Phillips was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at the IGN stage at the Kapow! Comic Convention in London to set two Guinness World Records, the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book. With Guinness officials on hand to monitor their progress, writer Mark Millar began work at 9 a.m. scripting a 20-page black and white Superior comic book, with Phillips and the other artists — including Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely, John Romita Jr., Jock, Doug Braithwaite, Ian Churchill, Olivier Coipel, Duncan Fegredo, Simon Furman, David Lafuente, John McCrea, and Liam Sharp — all drawing a panel each, appearing on stage throughout the day to work on the pencils, inks, and lettering, with regular Superior artist Leinil Yu creating the book's front cover. The book was completed in 11 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, and was published through Icon on 23 November 2011, with all royalties being donated to Yorkhill Children's Foundation.

In 2012, Phillips was one of several artists to illustrate a variant cover for Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead No. 100, which was released 11 July at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Phillips and Ed Brubaker launched their Fatale series at Image Comics in January 2012. The series was initially announced as a twelve-issue maxi-series but was upgraded to an ongoing title in November 2012. Jesse Schedeen of IGN stated that "You can't go wrong with a Brubaker/Phillips collaboration. Even so, Fatale is making a strong case for being the best of their projects." In October 2013, Phillips and Brubaker signed a five-year contract to produce comics exclusively for Image. Under the terms of the deal, Image will publish any comic they bring to them without having to pitch it to them first. In 2019, Brubaker and Phillips signed another five-year contract with Image to produce comics exclusively for that publisher. As Phillips explained, " [ W ] e get to do whatever we want! We don’t have to pitch projects to Image, we don’t have an editor or designer, we can make as many or few books as we want. We get to choose format, paper stock, and everything else to do with our books."

Personal life
Phillips' son Jacob Phillips is also a professional comics creator, having worked as a colorist on his father's comics and branching out into illustrating his own series.

Art style
Phillips is known for the different art styles he has employed over the years, from clean-line superhero work, to scratchy, noir-inspired black-and-line work, to painted comics.

Best Cover Artist

 * 2017 nominated for Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed

Best Limited Series or Story Arc

 * 2016 Winner for The Fade Out (with Ed Brubaker)

Best Graphic Album—New

 * 2018 Winner for My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (with Ed Brubaker)

Other awards

 * 1993 nominated for the UK Comic Art Award for Best Artist
 * 2006 Winner of the Spike TV Scream Award for Best Artist for Marvel Zombies
 * 2012 nominated for the Eagle Award for Favourite Artist: Fully Painted Artwork
 * 2021 Nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Graphic Novel for Pulp (with Ed Brubaker and Jacob Phillips)

title: Sean Phillips


text:
Continental Aerospace Technologies

Continental Aerospace Technologies is an aircraft engine manufacturer located at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was originally spun off from automobile engine manufacturer Continental Motors Company in 1929 and owned by Teledyne Technologies from 1969 until December 2010. The company is now part of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), which is a Government of the People's Republic of China state-owned aerospace company headquartered in Beijing.

Although Continental is most well known for its engines for light aircraft, it was also contracted to produce the air-cooled V-12 AV-1790-5B gasoline engine for the U.S. Army's M47 Patton tank and the diesel AVDS-1790-2A and its derivatives for the M48, M60 Patton, and Merkava main battle tanks. The company also produced engines for various independent manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, and stationary equipment (pumps, generators, and machinery drives) from the 1920s to the 1960s.

History
In 1929, the company introduced its first aircraft engine, a seven-cylinder radial designated as the A-70, with a displacement of 543.91 cu in (8.91L) that produced 170 hp. In August 1929, the Continental Motors Company formed the Continental Aircraft Engine Company as a subsidiary to develop and produce its aircraft engines.

As the Great Depression unwound, 1930 saw the company introduce the 37 hp A-40 four-cylinder engine. A follow-on design, the 50 hp A-50 was introduced in 1938 and was used to power the Taylor Cub and derivative Piper Cub. As the Second World War started in 1939 Continental commenced building aircraft engines for use in British and American tanks. Continental formed Continental Aviation and Engineering (CAE) in 1940 to develop and produce aircraft engines of over 500 hp. Continental ranked 38th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.

During the late 1930s, early 1940s the Gray Marine Motor Company adapted Continental engines for maritime use. On 14 June 1944 the company was purchased by Continental for US$2.6 million. John W. Mulford, the son of one of Gray's founders was appointed general manager of Gray by Continental. Gray's continued to make marine engines in the post-war period until its closure by Continental in about 1967.

During the 1950s, the A-65 was developed into the more powerful 90 hp C-90 and eventually into the 100 hp O-200. The O-200 powered a very important airplane design milestone: the Cessna 150. By the 1960s turbocharging and fuel injection arrived in general aviation and the company's IO-520 series came to dominate the market.

In 1965, Ryan Aeronautical acquired a 50% stake in Continental Motors.

In 1969, Teledyne Incorporated acquired Continental Motors, which became Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM). That same year, the Continental Tiara series of high output engines were introduced, although they were dropped from the line after 1978. The company brought the TSIO-520-BE for the Piper PA-46 to market in 1984 and it set new efficiency standards for light aircraft piston engines. Powered by a liquid-cooled version of the IO-240, the Rutan Voyager was the first piston-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the world without refueling in 1986.

NASA selected Continental to develop and produce GAP in 1997, a new 200 hp piston engine to operate on Jet-A fuel. This was in response to 100-octane aviation gasoline becoming less available as a result of decreased demand, due to smaller turboprop engines becoming more prevalent.

In 2008, Teledyne Continental's new president, Rhett Ross announced that the company was very concerned about future availability of 100LL avgas and as a result would develop a diesel engine in the 300 hp range for certification in 2009 or 2010. By the fall of 2009 the company was feeling the effects of the economic situation and the resulting reduced demand for aircraft engines. The company announced that it would close its plant for two one-week periods in October 2009 and January 2010. Salaried employees would move to a four-day work week with one week vacations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the aim "to protect as much of our valuable employee base as possible".

On 14 December 2010, Continental's parent Teledyne announced that Teledyne Continental Motors, Teledyne Mattituck Services, and its general aviation piston engine business would be sold to Technify Motor (USA) Ltd, a subsidiary of AVIC International, for US$186 million in cash. AVIC is a Chinese state-owned aerospace company. In May 2011, the transaction was reported as complete and the company renamed Continental Motors, Inc.

On 23 July 2013 the company bought diesel aircraft engine manufacturer Thielert from bankruptcy for an undisclosed sum. Thielert will become an operating division of Continental and will be renamed Technify Motors GmbH.

In 2015, Continental purchased Danbury Aerospace, which included ECi (Engine Components International) and PMA (Precision Machined Airparts). ECi had been supplying aftermarket engine parts since 1943; the merger reduced third-party manufacturers of Continental engine rebuild parts. ECi's Titan engines were modern non-certified engines competing with Lycoming's Thunderbolt. These were eventually rebranded as the Continental Titan.

In March 2019 the company name was changed from Continental Motors, Inc. to Continental Aerospace Technologies.

In March 2022, Karen Hong was named as the company's president and CEO, replacing Robert Stoppek. Hong had previously served as the interim CEO and chief financial officer (CFO).

title: Continental Aerospace Technologies


text:
Kevin O'Neill

Kevin O'Neill may refer to:

Sports

 * Kevin O'Neill (basketball) (born 1957), American basketball coach
 * Kevin O'Neill (cricketer) (1919–2014), Australian cricketer
 * Kevin O'Neill (Australian footballer) (1908–1985), Australian football player
 * Kevin O'Neill (soccer) (born 1925), Australian soccer player
 * Kevin O'Neill (rugby union) (born 1982), New Zealand rugby union player
 * Kevin O'Neill (Gaelic footballer), former Kildare footballer
 * Kevin O'Neill (American football) (born 1975), American football linebacker

Others

 * Kevin O'Neill (comics) (1953–2022), English comic book illustrator
 * Kevin O'Neil (mobster) (born 1948), American former bar owner and mobster

title: Kevin O'Neill