text:
Talk:Bill (weapon)

Halbard, Pollaxe, Billhook
What is the diffrence between the "Halberd", "Pollaxe" and the "Bill hook"? Philip Baird Shearer 14:05, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I believe the difference is that a halberd has a hook on the back unlike a poleaxe, as for a bill hook I have no idea. Cameron Nedland 03:28, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

The blade of halberd generally is wider than of pollaxe and also it has a bigger spike on top for thrusting attacks. To be able to compare the two weapons better this is a good image:

Pollaxe can have a hook on the back, or another thing, as a small head of hammer.

About the billhook, I believe that a wrong image was placed, because all bills that I know are different. Have a look at these images of Bills: []

In this one appears some polearms, and among these a billhook

About this last one, i think it is a less-developed type. Deep rain 21:23, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Picture
I would question what does the picture of 2 halbards and a lockhaber axe have to do with a billhook? Tirronan 15:47, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree, this is a poor picture. It is showing us what "kind" of weapon the bill is but not the weapon itself.
 * I am removing the picture of the halberds for now, until I have found a picture of a proper bill. It is too confusing to have picture of a comparison without an original! Thefuguestate 17:25, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Ok, done. The article has a picture of a plain bill and the halberd comparisions, but it could do with some pictures of bill variants. Thefuguestate 17:45, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * If it helps, the photo they've currently got on the guisarme page looks like that which I would consider a military bill (plus or minus the back-spike) - the current photo on this page would seem representative of a civilian bill. Hell, you could probably buy something virtually identical from most hardware stores today if you cared to... 62.196.17.197 (talk) 10:42, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Chinese weapon
I remember there was a Chinese weapon that looks very much like this, but with a greater angle of the hook. Anyone knows it as well? Mallerd (talk) 17:46, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

You might be talking about the dagger-axe or even the ji. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.173.11.133 (talk) 00:24, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

If it looks like an upside down L, it's probably a dagger-axe or Ji. Theblindsage (talk) 03:29, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Richard III
Surely there should be a mention here about him as he may have been killed by a bill - the leading expert seems to consider this a possibility: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history%20%26%20heritage/war%20%26%20conflict/pre-20th%20century%20conflict/art418695 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.190.194.228 (talk) 21:07, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

"The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd"
uhm...if i compare the image of a Bill to a Halbard i see no relation in how they look other than they are both a polearm. also i can't imagine they have the same function that they don't share with any other pole-arm (anti-cavalry), as the Halbard is specialised in countering mounted knights in heavy armor, while the Bill seems more of an all-rounded weapon or at least better against medium armor, and in fact much closer in look and presumably function to a Glaive. also the whole article reads like an advertisement: "it had the stopping power of a spear and the power of an axe, it also had the addition of a pronounced hook" sounds like a fanboy talking. in fact, isn't a bill simply a type of glaive-guisarme? · Lygophile   has   spoken  17:39, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I had a similar concern about the passage you quoted. For one thing, bills tend to range shorter than halberds, with the former typically 5 to 8 feet in length and the latter 6 to 12 feet (despite what the halberd article states, some halberds were two-thirds the length of a long pike, which could be up to 18 feet in length).  In addition, the bill was more of a personal combat weapon used by infantry while the halberd was used by ordered infantry in formation, although that's an oversimplification (they both could be used with either technique).  But both were used by infantry to counter heavy cavalry.  If you refer to the guisarme article, you'll see that scholars do not agree what exactly a guisarme was, and the proliferation of terms like "glaive-guisarme" and even "bill-guisarme" just add to the confusion; the same Victorians who confused the term "halberd" with so many other arms described any weapon with a hook on or even behind the blade as a something-guisarme.  (Oakeshott believed that the guisarme was in fact a double-socketed broad axe, rather similar to a bardiche.)  Regardless, if the guisarme was actually a hooked weapon, it shares more in common with the falx and war scythe than with the bill; the former is a hook with a concave edge, while the latter is an axe with an edged hook.  Either weapon could appear with or without a tapering top spike like a halberd.  The glaive is a completely different animal, with a cut-and-thrust sword-like head. 12.233.147.42 (talk) 21:09, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

Current lead picture
Is the picture currently used in the lead actually a bill? Because it looks much more like a modern brush axe. — Bardbom (talk) 09:52, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bill (weapon)


text: User talk:81.165.130.78

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

title: User talk:81.165.130.78


text:
Kelp goose

The kelp goose (Chloephaga hybrida) is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.

Taxonomy and systematics
The kelp goose has two subspecies, the nominate C. h. hybrida and C. h. malvinarum.

Description
The kelp goose is 55 to 65 cm long. Males of the nominate subspecies weigh 2.54 to 2.58 kg and females 2.00 to 2.02 kg. Subspecies C. h. malvinarum is heavier: Males weigh 3.25 to 3.60 kg and females 2.05 to 2.80 kg. The two subspecies have the same plumage but the sexes are completely different. Adult males are entirely white but for a black bill with a pink spot on the maxilla and yellow legs and feet. Adult females have a pale brown crown and chocolate brown head, neck, and mantle. Their breast and flanks have black and white bars and their back, tail, and undertail coverts are white. Their bill is pink and their legs and feet yellow. Juvenile males resemble adult females but with brown "shoulders" and greenish-yellow legs and feet. Juvenile females have a dark crown and dark uppertail coverts.

Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of kelp goose is found on coastal southern Chile and Argentina including the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. C. h. malvinarum is found only on the Falkland Islands. Except when nesting, the species inhabits rocky coasts or shingle beaches with kelp beds offshore. It nests at coastal freshwater lakes.

Movement
The nominate subspecies of kelp goose is found year-round along the southern Chile coast and in Tierra del Fuego. It is mostly sedentary, with some individuals moving further north in Chile and others north along the Atlantic coast of Argentina in the austral winter. C. h. malvinarum is also mostly sedentary throughout the Falklands, but some individuals move from more exposed offshore islands to larger ones in winter.

Feeding
The kelp goose is almost entirely vegetarian, though it probably ingests small invertebrates incidentally. It forages mostly by grazing though it sometimes dips under water to feed. On the coast it feeds on several species of seaweed and some algae. During breeding it feeds on grass and in winter sometimes on berries. During the summer, 100 or more non-breeding geese may gather on the shore.

Breeding
The kelp goose's breeding season (up to hatching) on the mainland extends from October to January; that on the Falklands begins somewhat sooner and extends only to November. The species nests in pairs or loose groups. It builds a nest of grass lined with down, on the mainland near somewhat inland freshwater lakes and on the Falklands close to the shore. Nests are sited in vegetation or beside a boulder or driftwood. The clutch size is three to seven eggs. Males guard females during the incubation period of about 30 days. Young leave the nest shortly after the last egg hatches and fledging occurs 12 to 13 weeks after hatch. Both parents care for the young into winter.

Vocalization
Male and female kelp geese have different vocalizations: Males make a "whistled 'si-si-si'" and females "low honking 'arnk-arnk', 'ooer' or 'ooeroo' calls". Very young chicks make "a double-noted 'cheep'."

Status
The IUCN has assessed the kelp goose as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is unknown it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It "does not compete with human interests due to inaccessibility and [the] types of habitats preferred" but "[c]ould be at risk from spillage of oil or other toxic substances on rocky coasts."

title: Kelp goose


text:
List of airports in Hong Kong

Hong Kong became an international transport hub of cargo and passengers soon after 1841. In air transport, Hong Kong International Airport acts as a major international hubs for both passenger and cargo. There are several airports and heliports for military and other civil purposes. Helipads are commonly found in Hong Kong especially in large government buildings.

Flight Information Region (FIR)
The ICAO code for the Hong Kong Flight Information Region (Hong Kong FIR) is VHHK.

Helipads
According to Hong Kong Government's record, there are about 170 helicopter landing pads (helipads) in Hong Kong.

 * Black Point Power Station, Lung Kwu Tan
 * Black Point Radar Station, Lung Kwu Tan
 * Castle Peak Power Station, Tap Shek Kok
 * Cheung Chau, between Tung Wan Beach and Kwun Yam Beach
 * Discovery Bay Marina
 * Fei Ngo Shan, on top of Fei Ngo Shan
 * Hau Tong Kai, Sai Kung
 * Hei Ling Chau
 * Island House, Tai Po
 * Kadoorie Base, engineering and operations base of Heliservices (Hong Kong) Ltd, Lam Kam Road, New Territories
 * Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
 * Kai Tak Hong Kong Aviation Club
 * Deep Bay Link Helipad, Kong Sham Western Highway
 * Kwai Chung Workshop, (Fire Services Department) at Lai King Hill Road
 * Lamma Power Station, Lamma Island
 * Lo Fu Kei Shek, Sai Kung
 * Lung Kwu Chau
 * Marine East Divisional Police Station, Sai Kung
 * Mui Wo waterfront, Lantau Island
 * Nam Long Shan (Brick Hill), near the top of the mountain, for maintenance of the radio towers
 * Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Chai Wan
 * The Peninsula hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui
 * Peng Chau
 * Penny's Bay Power Station, Penny's Bay, Lantau
 * Sai Wan, Sai Kung
 * Sha Chau
 * Shek Kwu Chau
 * Siu Sai Wan, Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground
 * Soko Islands, south of Lantau Island
 * Strafford House, Tai Po Kau, owned by CLP Group
 * Sunny Bay, in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
 * Tai Mei Tuk, near the main dam of the Plover Cove Reservoir
 * Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po
 * Tap Mun, Tap Mun Playground
 * Tsim Bei Tsui, near police post
 * Tung Ping Chau
 * Waglan Island
 * Wan Chai, next to the Hong Kong Island exit of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel
 * West Kowloon, next to the Kowloon exit of the Western Harbour Crossing
 * Yuen Long Police Station, Yuen Long

Former helipads

 * Central waterfront - moved to Wan Chai
 * Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon – helipad was located on current site of Ambulatory Care Centre
 * Tuen Mun hospital - Helipad is currently obstructed and being used as external storage

title: List of airports in Hong Kong


text:
Flying steamer duck

The flying steamer duck (Tachyeres patachonicus), also known as the flying steamer-duck or flying steamerduck, is a species of South American duck in the family Anatidae.

Taxonomy and Systematics
The flying steamer duck is one of four steamer ducks, in the genus Tachyeres, which also includes the Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres), the Chubut steamer duck (Tachyeres leucocephalus), and the Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus). The steamer ducks are named for their method of mobility, as the manner in which they use wings and feet to paddle across the water resembles an old-time steam boat. The steamer ducks are members of the Southern Hemisphere shelducks clade Tadorninae. The three flightless species are monophyletic, with the flying steamer ducks splitting off phylogenetically. It is the only steamer duck which can fly, and the only one to occur on inland fresh waters. However, some individual male flying steamer ducks within the species are incapable of flight due to excessive size and *wing loadings.

Description
Though they are the smallest of the four Tachyeres species, flying steamer ducks share similar plumage traits with other steamer ducks including brown head and neck feathers with white stripes stretching from their eyes to the napes of their necks, and brown-gray gradient body feathers. Their underbellies are mostly white, and their feet are orange. Female flying steamer ducks have smaller bills relative to males that are orange with black tips, while males have darker gray bills with slight yellow accents. Flying steamer ducks are also sexually dimorphic to the extent that males are heavier but have smaller cranial elements and wingspans than females. Males and females both possess cornified orange carpal knobs on the proximal part of the carpometacarpus bone, and these knobs are used in display as well as interspecies and intraspecies combat by males.

Sexual dimorphism can also be observed in the duration and pitch of their various calls, which sound much like grunts. The females’ grunts have been described as lower pitched than the males’ grunts, and usually occur in rapid succession of similar pitch. Males have three distinct grunts that have been described as whistle-like, including a ‘rasping’ grunt, a ‘ticking’ grunt, and a ‘sibilant’ grunt.

Flying steamer ducks undergo three molts per annual cycle, and these molts vary widely with geographic location. The wear and degradation on the primary and secondary feathers of observed flying steamer ducks varies depending on the location and flight behavior of the individuals.

Distribution and Habitat
Flying steamer ducks inhabit aquatic areas at the southern tip of South America, specifically Chile and Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands. Genetic comparisons of Falkland Island steamer ducks suggest the species diverged from continental steamer duck species between 2.2 and 2.6 million years ago, coinciding with a proposed land bridge that may have once connected the Falkland Islands to the mainland. The three steamer duck species that inhabit the mainland share a common ancestor roughly 15,000 years ago, and the species show genetic differentiation as well as different stages between flightless-ness and flying ability. For this reason, steamer ducks have been praised as an excellent potential genus for studying the evolution of flightless-ness in birds. Flying steamer ducks are widely distributed compared to other steamer duck species, likely due to their flying ability, and have been observed to reside in both freshwater and marine environments throughout Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.

Breeding
Little is known about the breeding rituals of flying steamer ducks. They are thought to be mostly monogamous and spend much of their time together in pairs. They engage in highly ritualized mating, in which the male and female begin by dipping their bills into the water at increasingly fast paces before the female submerges almost completely into the water and is mounted by the male, after which the female and male raise their bills high into the air in a hostile fashion and grunt audibly.

Food and Feeding
Both flightless and flying steamer ducks engage in foraging behaviors with interspecific and intersexual differences. Flying steamer ducks have almost exclusively been observed to forage in pairs, preferring to dive either around deep-water kelp beds or around shallow water zones. Males and females do not show consistencies among pairs in terms of who is the first to dive, but within pairs the first to dive is consistent in all observed diving instances. Flying steamer ducks share dietary preferences with other steamer duck species and have been reported to feed on mollusks and crustaceans as well as other marine invertebrates, but little is known about the precise species that steamer ducks prey on.

Threats
Both flying steamer ducks and flightless steamer ducks experience nest predation by various avian and mammalian predators, including Chimango Caracaras, *Crested Caracaras, the Fuegian Culpeo Fox, and the introduced American mink. Besides nest predators, flying steamer ducks are threatened only by competition for resources. Both the males and females are notoriously pugnacious and have been described as intensely territorial and often unnecessarily aggressive towards other individuals and other species, regardless of whether or not that species poses a threat to or lives in competition with the flying steamer ducks. Flying steamer ducks have been observed to target entire flocks of Silvery grebes and Hooded grebes and have also been observed to kill Red shovelers for seemingly no apparent reason. Male flying steamer ducks attack by grabbing their opponents by the neck and hitting their opponents on the head, neck or body using their carpal wing knobs.

Status
The flying steamer ducks are not an endangered species and are categorized as a Least Concern species, however increased nest predation of flightless steamer duck nests by American minks was reported to be a potential future threat to duck populations in Tierra del Fuego wildlife areas.

title: Flying steamer duck


text: User talk:80.109.123.140

title: User talk:80.109.123.140


text:
Fuegian steamer duck

The Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres) or the Magellanic flightless steamer duck, is a flightless duck native to South America. It belongs to the steamer duck genus Tachyeres. It inhabits the rocky coasts and coastal islands from southern Chile and Chiloé to Tierra del Fuego, switching to the adjacent sheltered bays and lakes further inland when breeding.

Description
This is the largest of the steamer duck species. It is a massively built waterfowl at 3.5 – and 65 – in length, with the males noticeably larger than the females. Males weigh an average of 5.34 kg while females weigh around 4.2 kg on average. The wingspan is 85 - 110 cm, the wings being too small to functionally allow the birds to take flight. Instead, the wings are used like paddles to help skim rapidly across the surface of the water. This species outweighs any other wild species called "duck" and is about the same mass as the largest wild geese in the world, although this species is only distantly related to most true ducks (for example of the genus Anas). On males, the head and neck is blue-gray, with paler coloration crown and forehead. He has a narrow white eye-ring which continuing backwards as stripe and a reddish-brown throat. His abdomen, ventral area and undertail coverts are white and the tail is grey. Females are a darker gray-brown on the head and dark reddish on the throat. Her body and wings as males, but she may have brown/wine colouring on feathers. The juvenile is similar to the female but slightly duller colored.

Life history
This species either nests near water obscured in dense, shrubby vegetation or in abandoned penguin nest burrows in September through December. Between 4 and 11 eggs are laid, with an average clutch of 9. The ivory eggs measure 8.2 x and weigh around 167 g. Incubation occurs for 28 to 40 days. The young fledge at 120–130 days and are driven from the parent's territory by their parents and form flocks with other ousted immature steamer ducks. They become sexually mature at 2 to 3 years of age. Adult males are known to be extremely aggressive during mating season, including towards other waterfowl, but may join mixed-species winter flocks without incident.

There are several potential predators of eggs and young birds: foxes, caracaras, gulls, skuas and giant petrels. In January 2009, a marine otter was seen preying on a chick of this species in Puñihuil. Healthy adults may have no natural predators. This species lives principally off of saltwater molluscs, crustaceans and small fish. During the breeding season, they tend to eat and feed their young small snails, insect larvae, amphipods and isopods.

This species is locally infamous for the aggressive disposition of adult males. Incidents have allegedly occurred where a raging male was placed by a misguided collector among adults of various other waterfowl species and killed all the other birds with its powerful, spurred wings.

title: Fuegian steamer duck


text:
User:Gelicarrillo

LOS PROCESOS COMUNICACIONALES

Por Rogelio Carrillo Penso, GOTAS DE CONOCIMIENTO Quizás una de las cosas que más descuidamos en las empresas son justamente los procesos comunicacionales. Y los descuidamos no porque ese sea nuestro deseo, sino porque no comprendemos en todo su contexto el verdadero significado de la comunicación. El error más frecuente que cometemos es confundir comunicación con información. Cuando pensamos que vamos a comunicar algo, en realidad lo que cruza por nuestra mente es “vamos a transmitir una serie de datos, vamos a dar a conocer determinados elementos.” Lo que en realidad estamos haciendo es transmitir información. Una vez que lo hacemos, adquirimos la convicción que hemos cumplido con nuestra meta y logrado lo que nos propusimos; pero en realidad lo que hemos hecho es el sinónimo de “ponerlo en gaceta:” como está publicado, todo el mundo está al tanto. Las cosas no suceden así en el mundo del Señor. Comunicación no es transmitir una serie de datos únicamente, la comunicación efectiva no termina hasta que no recibimos retroalimentación sobre aquello que hemos comunicado. Comunicación no es hablar, es oír; y esto nos lleva a un paradigma totalmente diferente porque en lugar de ponernos en posición activa, nos ponemos en posición “aparentemente” pasiva, y decimos “aparentemente” porque se necesita mucho más coraje, mucha más valentía, muchísima energía y  disciplina para oír, que para hablar. Nuestra disposición natural es a ser activos en la comunicación, a sentirnos que estamos actuando como los verdaderos líderes que somos, y como tales debemos llevar la batuta, tomar la iniciativa, actuar; cuando en realidad lo que debemos hacer es crear las bases para que la comunicación sea una realidad. Comunicarnos es aprender a oír. COMUNICACIÓN ES UN PROCESO Analicemos un poco el caso que presentamos a continuación, jocoso dentro de lo patético, pero lamentablemente realista.

DEL: 	PRESIDENTE AL: 	GERENTE GENERAL El viernes que viene, aproximadamente a las 5 de la tarde, el cometa Halley se verá por esta área. Se trata de un evento que ocurre cada 78 años. Por favor, reúna a los funcionarios en el patio de la fábrica, todos usando casco de seguridad, que allí les explicaré el fenómeno. Si estuviera lloviendo no podríamos ver el raro espectáculo a ojo desnudo, en ese caso todos deben dirigirse al comedor, donde será exhibido un documental sobre el cometa Halley.

DE: 	GERENTE GENERAL PARA: 	SUPERVISOR Por orden del presidente, el viernes a las 5 de la tarde el cometa Halley aparecerá sobre la fábrica. Si llueve, por favor, reúna a todos los funcionarios, con casco de seguridad, y encamínelos al comedor, donde el raro fenómeno tendrá lugar, lo que sucede cada 78 años a ojo desnudo.

DE: 	SUPERVISOR PARA: 	JEFE DE PRODUCCION A pedido de nuestro querido presidente, Halley, de 78 años de edad, aparecerá desnudo en el comedor de la fábrica usando casco de seguridad, y se exhibirá el evento bajo la lluvia. El presidente llevará la demostración para el patio de la fabrica.

DE: 	JEFE DE PRODUCCION PARA: 	CAPATAZ El viernes, a las 5 de la tarde, el presidente, por primera vez en 78 años, aparecerá en el comedor de la fabrica para ver a Halley y sus Cometas desnudos. Todos deberán estar ahí usando casco, pues será exhibido un documental sobre la seguridad de la lluvia. El director presidente estará ubicado en el patio de la fabrica.

DE: 	CAPATAZ PARA: 	FUNCIONARIO Todo el personal desnudo, sin excepción, debe estar con el casco de seguridad en el patio de la fábrica el viernes a las 5 de la tarde, pues el presidente y el señor Halley estarán allí para exhibir el film "Los Cometas bajo la lluvia". En caso de que comience a llover de verdad, cosa que ocurre cada 78 años, hay que ir corriendo hasta el comedor.

AVISO PARA TODOS El viernes, el jefe del presidente (que no sabemos quien es) cumple 78 años. Se invita a todo el mundo para una gran exhibición a las 5 de la tarde, en el comedor. Contaremos con la participación del grupo Halley y sus Cometas. Todo el mundo debe estar desnudo y usando casco de seguridad y en caso de que comience a llover, se seguirá la celebración en el patio de la fabrica....¡CONTAMOS CON TU ASISTENCIA! ¿Qué hemos hecho? En realidad no hemos hecho otra cosa que interpretar de la mejor manera posible lo que cada uno de nosotros entendió sobre lo que se estaba planteando. Si en algún momento del proceso a alguien no se le ocurre validar lo que el interlocutor está entendiendo, de preguntar “¿Entendió lo que quise decir?” y cuando le digan “¡Por Supuesto!” (a nadie le gusta aparecer como ignorante) ir más allá para saber si verdaderamente entendió, lo más seguro es que exista y se mantenga una gran laguna entre lo que quisimos decir y lo que se entendió. En el proceso comunicacional, validar es sinónimo de medir el proceso. La Comunicación efectiva es de dos vías y solo termina cuando existe una retroalimentación sobre lo que estamos comunicando. EL PROCESO EXTENDIDO Cuando el Dr. W. Edwards Deming llegó al Japón en 1950, una de las dos primeras cosas que les enseñó a los japoneses fue que ellos debían entender a sus empresas  como un sistema al cual se integraban no solamente los distintos elementos de la compañía en sí,  sino sus proveedores (de materias primas, servicios, institutos de educación, reguladores, etc.), sus procesos de distribución, sus clientes y consumidores, y el mercado; para integrarlos a todos en un proceso continuo de retroalimentación  que sirviera para  rediseñar sus sistemas y adecuarlos para responder mejor a los requerimientos futuros de la organización. Las flechas muestran los flujos críticos de comunicación. La comunicación es la savia del árbol, lo que alimenta la organización y la mantiene unida y enfocada, que le permite interactuar entre sí y con su entorno, progresar y desarrollarse. Al ser un Sistema, y como nos enseña Russell L. Ackoff: esta estructura está compuesta por una serie de elementos, partes componentes, procesos y subprocesos que trabajan juntos, en forma optimizada, para lograr la meta del sistema. Un Sistema no puede ser desmembrado porque pierde todas sus propiedades. Un Sistema debe ser gerenciado. La Dra. Nida Bakaitis de la Universidad de Fordham estudió profundamente este proceso y diseñó una simple forma de destruirlo: para lograrlo, simplemente destruya los canales de comunicación. Deming nos comenta que si Ud. destruye la comunicación, separa un sistema en componentes competitivos. Y que mientras mayor sea la interdependencia entre componentes, mayor será la necesidad de comunicación y cooperación Los problemas de interacción entre las partes del sistema, sean personas, departamentos, clientes, proveedores, y otras áreas funcionales, son causados por condiciones que nosotros mismos creamos en las empresas que impiden que podamos trabajar juntos. En ciertas áreas la interacción es conflictiva por naturaleza, ejemplos típicos son Producción vs. Ventas, Ventas vs. Cuentas por Cobrar, Compras Vs. Producción, etc. Las Definiciones Operacionales permiten crear un idioma común, pero los métodos, por si solos son insuficientes Si no existe una clara comprensión por qué existimos como empresa (nuestro Propósito); qué es lo que hacemos (nuestra Misión); hacia dónde vamos (nuestra Visión); cómo vamos a hacerlo (Planes y Estrategias); qué es lo que estamos tratando de lograr (Metas y Objetivos); tendremos una enorme caja negra en la cual nadie ni quiere ni sabe cómo entrar. Es responsabilidad de la gerencia, a los más altos niveles, crear las condiciones necesarias para que la comunicación sea posible, y esto se basa en la confianza. Existen cinco niveles de comunicación: 1.	Ignorar: Hacemos que estamos escuchando pero en realidad estamos manifestando con un gesto de resignación, o simplemente con una actitud hasta ofensiva hacia nuestro interlocutor, nuestra falta de interés por el tema. 2.	Pretender oír: Parecemos interesados pero en realidad estamos a años luz del sitio donde se realiza la comunicación. Caemos en una de las más sutiles trampas de los procesos comunicacionales: mientras oímos lo que nos dicen, dejamos de oír para comenzar a preparar nuestra respuesta, a proyectar nuestras propias experiencias, aciertos o limitaciones. 3.	Escoger qué oír: Conocida también como escucha selectiva; separamos lo que nos gusta o interesa de lo que no nos gusta o nos parece irrelevante al tema. Como consecuencia no captamos el contenido total de la reunión, nos enfocamos en aquellos aspectos que son relevantes para nosotros y los desligamos del contenido del mensaje que estamos recibiendo. Esta es la razón por la cual tantos mensajes son tergiversados en el proceso comunicacional. Cuando continuemos el proceso aguas abajo, cada quien eliminará cosas y agregará otras, poniéndole sal y pimienta, hasta que al final la esencia del mensaje no tiene nada que ver son su idea original. El mensaje pierde consistencia y sentido. 4.	Oír con atención: Aquí ya comenzamos a involucrarnos en el mensaje que estamos recibiendo, hacemos notas de aquellos aspectos que nos parecen importantes, tratamos de entender la globalidad del tema y otros aspectos involucrados. Existe una genuina manifestación de interés. 5.	Oír empáticamente: Este es el nivel máximo de comunicación, incluye no solo Oír con Atención, sino captar el contenido latente de la reunión, más allá del mensaje; las motivaciones de nuestro interlocutor, sus profundas inquietudes, es redefinir lo que oímos dentro del marco de referencia de nuestro interlocutor, con un genuino y manifiesto deseo de comprender. CREANDO EL AMBIENTE Se necesita mucha más energía para oír que para hablar. Alguien le preguntó una vez a Mahatma Gandhi lo que significaba la “Resistencia Pasiva,” la forma que este líder Hindú empleó para lograr la independencia de la India del dominio inglés. Gandhi le contestó que el no entendía ese concepto de “pasivo.” “¡Pasivo!” dijo, “esto no tiene nada de pasivo. ¿Tiene Ud. idea de la voluntad, la fuerza, la disciplina, la energía, y el coraje que se necesita para ser Pasivo?” En los Siete Hábitos de la Gente Altamente Efectiva, Stephen R. Covey nos ilustra la forma como podemos oír empáticamente (Hábito 5: El hábito de la Comunicación Creativa) para crear las bases para una comunicación efectiva; sea a nivel organizacional, personal, o familiar. Este proceso es aplicable en todas esas instancias. Es imposible de realizar si no existe un clima de ganar/ganar, donde no haya perdedores; y crea las bases esenciales para la sinergia en la empresa. Pero esto no se logra si primero Ud. no ha conquistado su “Victoria Privada:” mejorando su Proactividad (Hábito 1: El hábito del liderazgo personal); planificando su vida (Hábito 2: El hábito de su visión personal); poner Lo Primero, Primero evitando que lo que las cosas importantes estén a merced de las menos importantes (Hábito 3: El hábito de su Gerencia Personal). Crear al clima adecuado significa manejarnos con efectividad, no con eficiencia. Podemos ser eficientes con las cosas; pero con la gente necesitamos ser efectivos, dedicar el tiempo necesario y crear las condiciones necesarias que propicien la comunicación empática. Es importante entender la diferencia entre eficiencia y efectividad. Si Ud. ha tenido una seria discusión con su hijo, o con su novia, o su esposo, o su subordinado, seríamos eficientes si nos acercamos a él o ella y le decimos: “Creo que es hora de que aclaremos esta situación que está gravitando sobre nosotros y nos tiene incómodos. Vamos a dedicarle unos 10 minutos para solucionarla de una vez por todas.” Maravilloso, Ud. va a “solucionar” el problema en 10 minutos, tremenda demostración de productividad, pero lamentablemente el elemento humano no funciona así Lo más seguro es que su hijo piense que Ud. es un insensible que no tiene el más mínimo interés en comprenderlo —como siempre—, que su novia lo mire como gallina que mira sal, que su esposo la mande a paseo, y que su subordinado piense que Ud. es más de lo mismo, un “Showsero”. Efectividad, por el contrario requiere tiempo, preparar el terreno y crear las condiciones necesarias para poder hablar; que Ud. tenga la disciplina de dejar que su interlocutor comience a exponer el problema, y permitir con esto que baje sus resistencias y se sienta confiado en que Ud. tiene un deseo genuino de comprender lo que dice, y porqué lo dice. Efectividad involucraría con un hijo hacerlo sentir que estamos allí para cuando nos necesite, y lo que lo vamos a ayudar, no a darle consejos desde nuestra posición de adultos experimentados, o recordarle como “nosotros” lo hicimos en circunstancias similares. Con su novia podría requerir salir a cenar, o ir al campo, o a una playa y cuando nos sintamos en paz y a gusto, propiciar la conversación sobre este tema espinoso que nos aleja. Con su esposo podrá significar dejar de presionar para atender el problema ¡ya!, y abordarlo cuando estemos en uno de esos momentos de felicidad, o de sosiego, sin presiones de tiempo o circunstancias que puedan torpedearlo. Con su subordinado pudiera requerir esperar hasta que pase la situación de apremio, cuando la situación se haya convertido en un aprendizaje, cuando las aguas hayan vuelto a su cause, o cuando este haya logrado un éxito que lo haga abierto y entusiasta. EVITE LAS SALIDAS FÁCILES Construir un buen proceso comunicacional requiere disciplina, liderazgo y la convicción que ello es importante. Si no pensamos así, es inútil comenzar. Nadie piensa “A qué Restaurante voy a ir” si no tiene hambre. El hambre puede ser creada cuando se produce un cambio de paradigma, o cuando la gravedad de los problemas ya se hace insufrible. Es deseable evitar llegar hasta una situación de crisis para cambiar, pero no todos tenemos la virtud o la oportunidad o la formación para ver estos problemas a tiempo para alcanzar el éxito. En su libro “La V Disciplina,” Peter Senge nos habla que las salidas fáciles nos llevan de nuevo al problema: Cuando nos apegamos a lo que sabemos hacer mejor y aplicamos soluciones familiares o soluciones tipo caso de estudio a los problemas, encontramos confort. Basarnos en soluciones familiares aún si los problemas persisten indica un pensamiento no sistémico, el síndrome de: "Usemos el martillo de siempre, pero esta vez un martillo más grande". En un reciente trabajo en el Sloan School of Management de M.I.T. titulado “El Nuevo Trabajo de los Líderes,” Senge nos hace este comentario: “Los líderes dedicados a crear organizaciones pensantes se sienten parte de un “algo” mayor. Son parte de un proceso de cambio que involucra la forma como operan los negocios, con la convicción que sus esfuerzos producirán organizaciones más productivas y capaces de lograr mayores éxitos y satisfacciones personales que las logradas por las organizaciones tradicionales.” DELE A LA COMUNICACIÓN LA IMPORTANCIA QUE TIENE Jack Welch, Presidente de la Junta Directiva de General Electric desde 1984 y responsable de una organización altamente exitosa, de más de 350.000 personas, define comunicación así: “Comunicación no es un discurso, ni es un vídeo, ni tampoco el boletín mensual. La verdadera comunicación es una actitud, un ambiente, el más interactivo de todos los procesos. Requiere cantidad de horas de mirarse a los ojos, involucra más oír que hablar. Es un proceso constante e interactivo enfocado a crear consenso.” Esta afirmación colide con prácticas de ejecutivos de otras empresas norteamericanas grandes, IBM por ejemplo, cuando recurre a la transmisión por videos de cambios importantes en las políticas de la empresa. Colin Powell, el General en Jefe del Ejercito Norteamericano durante la Guerra del Golfo nos comenta: “El día que sus soldados dejen de traerle sus problemas es el día que Ud. dejó de ser su líder. O han perdido la confianza en que Ud. puede ayudarlos, o han concluido en que a Ud. no le importa. En cualquiera de los dos casos, el liderazgo ha fallado. Si este fuera un examen, la mayoría de los Ejecutivos saldrían reprobados. Por una parte, ellos construyen tantas barreras al flujo de comunicación hacia arriba, que la sola idea de que alguien en los niveles jerárquicos inferiores pueda recurrir al líder por ayuda, es impensable. Por la otra, el tipo de cultura corporativa que ellos fomentan con frecuencia define pedir ayuda como una señal de debilidad o de fracaso, por lo que la gente esconde estas necesidades, con los consiguientes resultados adversos para la Organización. Los verdaderos líderes se hacen accesibles y disponibles. Ellos muestran preocupación por los esfuerzos y los retos que enfrentan sus subordinados …al tiempo que exigen un alto nivel de desempeño. En consecuencia, los líderes genuinos son más proclives a crear un clima en el que evaluar problemas reemplaza buscar culpables.” Muchos altos gerentes comentan sobre la dificultad de gerenciar la comunicación por lo complejo e intangible del proceso. En los procesos de calidad y adaptación competitiva, caemos en la trampa de enfocarnos de los aspectos tangibles que nos permitan ser más competitivos y lograr mejores resultados, pero descuidamos aspectos intangibles como la Comunicación, que son críticos en el éxito y permanencia del cualquier proceso de mejora. El Dr. W. Edwards Deming nos comenta: “Es errado suponer que si algo no se puede medir, no se puede gerenciar. La mayoría de las grandes pérdidas causadas por la gerencia de hoy no se pueden medir, pero sin embargo tienen que ser gerenciadas. En efecto, la magnitud de la inversión para entrenar a las personas en una habilidad específica se conoce. El beneficio futuro (retorno sobre la inversión), sin embargo, no será conocido jamás, ...no puede ser medido.” Así no la podamos medir, la comunicación debe ser gerenciada. La mejor comunicación es la que viene claramente planteada desde la cabeza, clara, concisa, sin dar lugar a interpretaciones erróneas, bien estructurada, y puesta en un lenguaje sencillo y comprensible, buena para un niño de seis años. Evitemos la tendencia a adornar nuestra comunicación con frases complejas y términos incomprensibles para la mayoría, inclusive los mejor formados. Si actúa sí, la gente saldrá de su reunión con información confusa que será fácilmente tergiversada. La esencia de la comunicación es llevar comprensión a quien recibe el mensaje, en una forma consistente, clara y accesible, —que se entienda. Para Russell L. Ackoff, la comunicación es la forma coherente de obtener sabiduría; y nos comenta: “La Sabiduría está en el tope jerárquico del contenido de la mente humana. En orden descendente están comprensión, conocimiento, información, y al fondo, data. Cada aspecto incluye las diferentes categorías que se desprenden de cada una de ellas. Por ejemplo, no puede haber sabiduría sin comprensión ni comprensión sin conocimiento. Sin embargo, tengo la impresión que en promedio, alrededor de 40% del contenido de la mente humana consiste en Data, 30% de Información, 20% de Conocimiento, 10% de Comprensión, y prácticamente ninguna Sabiduría. Esta distribución del espacio mental se refleja particularmente bien en la mente de nuestros líderes políticos y de aquellos que los han educado.” Información está contenida en descripciones, y responde a las preguntas que comienzan con ¿Quien?, ¿Qué?, ¿Dónde?, ¿Cuándo?, ¿Cuántos? La diferencia entre eficiencia y efectividad, lo que diferencia sabiduría de compresión, conocimiento e información, se refleja en la diferencia entre crecimiento y desarrollo. Crecimiento no necesariamente implica un aumento en valor; desarrollo sí. Desarrollo es nuestro potencial para el futuro, es el proceso por el cual aumentamos nuestra sabiduría; por lo tanto un sistema que promueve sabiduría promueve el desarrollo. Hemos visto como la comunicación es un proceso esencial en todos los ámbitos de nuestra vida; y particularmente critico en la salud y éxito futuro de nuestras organizaciones. Si Ud. no abre las fuentes de comunicación nadie lo podrá ayudar a mejorar su empresa, a reducir el desperdicio creado por los problemas de interacción entre la gente, y a enfocar a todos sus asociados hacia una meta común.

title: User:Gelicarrillo


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Jamie Ashdown

Jamie Lawrence Ashdown (born 30 November 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent a large part of his career at Portsmouth, for whom he made the majority of his professional appearances.

Reading
Born in Reading, Berkshire, Ashdown began his career at Reading when he was eight years old. Ashdown then established a reputation as an exciting prospect for the club. He signed his professional contract with Reading in February 1998.

On 12 September 2000, Ashdown made his league debut for the club, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Phil Whitehead, and played the rest of the game, as he kept a clean in a 5–0 win against Oldham Athletic. This turns out to be his only appearance of the 2000–01 season. Ashdown made his first appearance of the 2001–02 season against Colchester United in the Football League Trophy and helped them win 2–1. Following this, he was offered a new contract by Reading. After Whitehead suffered an injury, Ashdown started in goal once again, coming against Chesterfield on 1 December 2001, as the club lost 1–0. Following this, he signed a contract extension with Reading, keeping him until 2004. Ashdown appeared in the next two matches before the arrival of Marcus Hahnemann and the recovery of Whitehead saw him return to the substitute bench. At the end of the 2001–02 season, he made four appearances in all competitions. Following his loan spell at AFC Bournemouth came to an end, Ashdown returned as the club's second choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2002–03 season. But he made his an appearance against Grimsby Town on 5 October 2002 and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win.

The start of the 2003–04 season saw Ashdown remain as Reading's second choice goalkeeper and this lasted until he joined Rushden & Diamonds on loan. Following loan spell at Rushden & Diamonds came to an end, Ashdown made his first appearance of the 2003–04 season against Cardiff City on 16 March 2004 and helped the side win 3–2. As a result, he broke into Reading's first-team squad as a result of an injury to first-choice 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann. Ashdown kept three clean sheets out of the thirteen appearances he made for the Royals. In the summer of 2004 Ashdown declined Reading's offer of a new contract and instead signed for Premier League club Portsmouth before the start of the 2004–05 season to provide competition for Shaka Hislop, with a view to replacing the veteran on his retirement. Because he was under 23 at the time, Ashdown was subjected of a compensation as a result of him moving to the club. Eventually, the agreement was both reached for both sides.

Loan Spells
In March 2001, Ashdown was loaned out to Gravesend & Northfleet for a month. A year later, he joined Arsenal for work experience placement for the rest of the 2001–02 season. Despite not being used in the first team, Ashdown said: "I'm still learning the game, but I'm ready to take that step up if the opportunity arises. I played five games for Arsenal reserves and did work with Bob Wilson and David Seaman nearly every day. It was all about gaining experience and playing football at that level and it has been a great help to my confidence."

At the start of the 2002–03 season, Ashdown joined Bournemouth on a one-month loan. Ashdown made his debut for Bournemouth, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Oxford United on 27 August 2002. Following a 1–0 win against Macclesfield Town four days later, he suffered an injury and this resulted in him returning to his parent club.

It was announced on 13 November 2003 when Ashdown joined Rushden & Diamonds on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut for the club two days later on 15 November 2003, in a 2–1 loss against Hartlepool United. Since making his debut for Rushden & Diamonds, Ashdown quickly became the club's first choice goalkeeper and made an impression for the side, resulting in him "earning several 'Player of the month' awards". This lasted until Ashdown was recalled by his parent club in March. During his stay at Rushden & Diamonds, he kept four clean sheets out of the nineteen appearances he made.

Portsmouth
Ashdown started his first season at Portsmouth as substitute goalkeeper but gained a starting place after an injury to Hislop. On 20 November 2004, he made his debut for the club, in a 3–1 loss against Manchester City. Ashdown started in the next five matches for Portsmouth before suffering a groin injury that kept him out for a month. After the departure of Harry Redknapp as manager and alleged comments by Hislop, a new goalkeeper, Kostas Chalkias, was brought to the club and given the first-team place. After a number of poor performances by Chalkias, he returned to the starting line–up against Newcastle United on 19 March 2005, as Portsmouth drew 1–1. Ashdown was again restored to the first team and remained there for the remainder of the season. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he made nineteen appearances in all competitions.

In August 2005, Portsmouth signed another goalkeeper, Sander Westerveld, and Ashdown was in competition with him at the beginning of the 2005–06 season for a first-team place. Westerveld started the season as first-choice 'keeper. However, after a number of poor performances by Westerveld, he was dropped and Ashdown was again called on as Portsmouth's number one goalkeeper, making his first appearance of the season against Everton on 10 September 2005 and kept a clean sheet, as the club won 1–0. In the second round of the League Cup match against Gillingham, Ashdown was at fault when he made two mistakes, including scoring an own goal, in a 3–2 loss, eliminating the club from the tournament. Despite this, he remained as Portsmouth's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the year, though his mistakes continued along the way. This lasted until Ashdown suffered an injury while warming up prior to a match against Fulham on 1 January 2006. After missing two matches, he returned to the starting line–up against Everton on 14 January 2006, as the club lost 1–0. With the return of former manager Harry Redknapp, Ashdown was dropped to second choice again after the arrival of Dean Kiely from Charlton Athletic in January 2006. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make seventeen appearances in all competitions. The 2006–07 season Ashdown faced even more competition from new high-profile signing David James. Even he returned in late 2006, Ashdown did not feature in the first team due to the presence of David James during the 2006–07 season. On 28 January 2007, he signed a contract with Portsmouth, keeping him until 2010.

The 2007–08 season saw Ashdown continuing to remain as Portsmouth's second choice goalkeeper behind James. He made his first appearance for the club in over a year against Leeds United in the second round of the League Cup and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. Ashdown, once again, kept another clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Burnley in the third round of the League Cup. Following the injury of James, he made his first league appearances in two years, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Blackburn Rovers. Ashdown then started in the last remaining three league matches of the 2007–08 season for the club. He picked up an FA Cup winners' medal with Portsmouth in 2008, but it was subsequently stolen. The stolen medal never resurfaced and the FA reissued Ashdown with a winners' medal. Despite not playing in the FA Cup win, he made five appearances in all competitions for the 2007–08 season.

At the start of the 2008–09 season, Ashdown continuing to remain as Portsmouth's second choice goalkeeper behind James. Portsmouth played their first ever European match, against Vitória de Guimarães, which they won and thus qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Cup. His only appearance of the season came on 17 December 2008 against Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup match and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. However, a month later, he ruptured ligament in his ankle that eventually kept out for the next three months. The 2009–10 season saw Ashdown continuing to remain as Portsmouth's second choice goalkeeper behind James. On 27 October 2009, he made his first appearance of the season, in a 4–0 win against Stoke City in the last sixteen of League Cup. A month later on 22 November 2009, Ashdown made his second appearance of the season and playing against Stoke City in the league for the second time, as the club, once again, lost 1–0. On 15 March 2010, he made his third appearance of the season against Liverpool, as the club lost 4–1. Following an injury of James against Tottenham Hotspur on 27 March 2010, Ashdown started in the next two matches and kept two consecutive clean sheets against Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic between 3 April 2010 and 14 April 2010, in which Portsmouth were relegated. At the end of Portsmouth's 2009–10 Premier League relegation season, he made eight appearances (playing six league games) in all competitions.

Following this, it was announced on 19 May 2010 that Ashdown was released by the club. However, before the start of the following season, he re-joined Portsmouth on a two–year contract after David James' departure to Bristol City. In the second round of the League Cup match against Crystal Palace on 24 August 2010, Ashdown helped the club progress to the next round after winning 4–3 in the penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw, in which he saved three penalties. Since returning to Portsmouth, he quickly was inserted as their first-choice goalkeeper. Ashdown's proudest moment in a Portsmouth shirt was when he broke a post-war club record for most minutes without conceding a goal (636 minutes) between February and March 2011. Ashdown helped Portsmouth finish 16th in the Championship and made 50 appearances including the League Cup and FA Cup in a season.

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Ashdown remained as Portsmouth's first choice goalkeeper, starting the first nine matches of the season. During which, he kept two consecutive clean sheets between 16 August 2011 and 20 August 2011 against Reading and Bristol City. However, Ashdown was dropped to the substitute bench in favour of Stephen Henderson. Following the departure of Henderson, he returned to the starting line–up against Brighton & Hove Albion on 11 March 2012, as the club lost 2–0. Following this, Ashdown established himself as number one for the rest of the 2011–12 season as the only goalkeeper for Portsmouth. However, the club were relegated to League One after losing to Derby County 2–1 on 21 April 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he made twenty–one appearances in all competitions.

Following this, Ashdown was released along with Ricardo Rocha and Benjani after the three being told that they would not be offered new contracts because of the club's ongoing financial problems. After being released, he said it was a difficult decision to leave Portsmouth and wished the club every success in the future. Ashdown then supported the bid for the fans to buy back their club, managing to convince 10 other players to pledge their £1000 and paying his towards the fans' successful bid to take over control of Portsmouth.

Norwich City (loan)
Due to the intense competition for the goalkeeper's spot at Fratton Park, Ashdown was given the opportunity to go out on loan, Portsmouth deciding that this would help his career, and he joined Norwich City for a one-month loan.

Ashdown played the first game of a loan spell with Norwich City on 21 October 2006 in a 1–0 win against Cardiff City at Carrow Road, replacing Paul Gallacher in the starting XI. However, in a follow–up match against Stoke City, he was sent–off in the 72nd minute for a foul on Luke Chadwick, resulting a penalty and was successfully converted by Danny Higginbotham to score the opposition team's third goal of the game, as the club lost 5–0. Despite the criticism, Manager Peter Grant praised Ashdown, saying: "Jamie put both hands up and said it's the worst he's played in two years in the two games. I knew that because I know what Jamie Ashdown is all about. He has great qualities and he is going to be a massive keeper." Ashdown made two appearances for Norwich City before returning to his parent club.

Leeds United
After a trial at Middlesbrough, Ashdown chose to join Leeds United on 23 July 2012, along with Andy Gray. Upon joining the club, he was allocated the number 12 shirt for the 2012–13 season on 3 August. Having joined alongside former Portsmouth teammates Jason Pearce, David Norris and Luke Varney, Ashdown said he will face competition from newly signed goalkeeper Paddy Kenny for the first-choice goalkeeper position ahead of the 2012–13 season.

Ashdown made his debut for Leeds on 28 August in a League Cup match against Oxford United. He joined the starting line-up for Leeds' 2–1 victory against Premier League side Everton on 25 September 2012. In November 2012, Portsmouth made a loan bid to sign Ashdown for the second time, but the bid was rejected. He continued in the Cup competitions run until a defeat by Chelsea and Manchester City at the League Cup and FA Cup respectively. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Ashdown made eight appearances in all competitions.

Throughout his time at Leeds United, Ashdown found himself behind pecking order with Paddy Kenny (and eventually Jack Butland) becoming the club's first choice goalkeeper. On 16 May 2014, Ashdown was released by Leeds.

Crawley Town
After being released by Leeds United, Ashdown joined Crawley Town on a contract until the end of December 2014.

Ashdown made his debut on 16 September 2014, in a 0–0 draw against Doncaster Rovers, keeping a clean sheet. Ashdown managed to beat off competition from Brian Jensen as first-choice goalkeeper. However, he was later criticised for a slow start at the club, despite being man of the match in a 1–1 draw against Crewe on 1 November 2014. In late November he was left out of the squad in favour of Lewis Price.

After nine appearances for Crawley Town, it announced that Ashdown had left the club by mutual agreement.

Oxford United
On 3 February 2015, Ashdown signed for Oxford United until the end of the season.

He made his first-team debut, keeping a clean sheet, in a League Two match at AFC Wimbledon on 11 April 2015 that finished 0–0. Ashdown was featured in the last four remaining matches, including keeping three clean sheets for the club. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he made five appearances in all competitions. Following this, Ashdown was offered a new contract by Oxford United. However, the club withdrew the offer to him and was released after they signed Sam Slocombe instead. Following this, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Post–playing career
A year later after announcing his retirement, Ashdown revealed that he went on a trial at his former club, Portsmouth after learning that John Keeley returned as the club's goalkeeper coach but was turned away and ignored by manager Paul Cook. In September 2018, Ashdown joined Ascot United as one of their new goalkeeping coaches. During the 2022–23 season, Ashdown made 32 appearances for Ascot in all competitions as the club won the Combined Counties League Premier Division North.

Personal life
In the summer of 2005, Ashdown married his girlfriend, Zoe. Together, they have three children.

Ashdown endorses goalkeeping gloves made by The One Glove Company, who are donating proceeds to the charity Jack's First Steps. The charity partnership first launched on 16 December 2014 with the release of the "Pulse" goalkeeper glove.

In 2013, Ashdown set up an online business, Trusted Pro Supplements, supplying and offering information to athletes about nutritional supplements that do not feature on banned substance lists and are believed not to be harmful. In a November 2020 interview with The News, Ashdown later revealed that his cafe business, which he opened in October 2019 after its success over four years, was closed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has since worked for his father's hardware store business.

Honours
Portsmouth
 * FA Cup: 2007–08; runner-up: 2009–10

title: Jamie Ashdown


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Quảng Nam province

Quảng Nam is a coastal province near northernmost part of the South Central Coast region, the Central of Vietnam. It borders Thừa Thiên Huế to the north, Đà Nẵng to the northeast, Kon Tum to the southwest, Quảng Ngãi to the southeast, Sekong of Laos to the west and the East Sea to the east.

Quảng Nam is known for being a tourist destination in the Hội An cultural site, alongside an export and manufacturing hub within central Vietnam.

History
Human habitation in the province has been continuous for 2,200 years, starting with the Sa Huỳnh culture.

Quảng Nam was once the political and near the geographic centre of Champa and the province was gifted in 1307 in exchange for a marriage to a Vietnamese or Dai Viet princess. For some time both the most powerful city-state and the busiest Cham port (at Hội An) were located in what is now Quảng Nam. Trade in luxury goods from the Central Highlands was the basis of this wealth and power. As a result of warfare with Vietnam, the centre of political power of the Cham shifted south to Vijaya. The trade in luxuries continued for some time under the Nguyễn lords but declined gradually, especially under the Nguyễn dynasty and further in colonial Vietnam, when the economic focus shifted to the agriculture of the large river deltas.

As the site contained several mountain passes, it has historically been a center for conflict between ruling powers and dynastic struggles. The site was the scene of heavy inter-dynastic fighting between the Trịnh–Nguyễn War and the point in which the Nguyen dynasty had escaped following their expulsion from their strongholds in the north. Its primary city of Hội An was destroyed and rebuilt during the Tay Son rebellion.

The province of Quang Nam has historically served as a trade site and was a major port region in Southeast Asia for trading high-grade silk, fabrics, paper, porcelain, areca nuts, pepper, Chinese medicines, elephant tusks, beeswax, mother-of-pearl and lacquer. The Dutch brought Vietnamese slaves they captured from Nguyễn lord territories in Quảng Nam province to their colony in Taiwan.

As a trade hub, Quang Nam would also serve as the site where Western influence would enter into Vietnam. Notably Alexandre de Rhodes who had written the alphabet, and also where a military alliance with France was signed between Nguyen dynasty monarchs fleeing the Tay Son Rebellion. The region would also see the start of French colonization during Cochinchina campaign and the Siege of Tourane.

The province was split into two in 1962, with the southern half known as Quảng Tín province. The province was also the site of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War, until it was captured in the Hue–Da Nang Campaign. The two provinces were merged again after unification in 1976. In 1997 its former capital city of Da Nang was separated into its own administrative entity.

Geography
Quảng Nam comprises flat land along the coast and increasingly high elevations towards the west, with the highest elevations along the border to Laos and Kon Tum province. The highest peak is Ngọc Linh mountain at 2598m. In contrast to the other provinces of the South Central Coast there are no hills or mountains near the coast (with the exception of the Chàm Islands with a peak of 517m).

More than half of Quảng Nam's area is covered by forests, making it one of the most forested provinces in Vietnam. Forests dominate in the west of the province and along the border to Quảng Ngãi province. 111,900ha of land are used for agriculture, mostly in the east of the province.

The Thu Bồn River system covers most of the province (except for the south-east), making it one of the largest river systems in central Vietnam. It led to the rise of an ancient Cham city state that was once Champa's most influential city and also included one of its most important commercial ports at Hội An.

Administrative divisions
Quảng Nam subdivided into 18 district-level sub-divisions:

 * 15 districts:
 * Bắc Trà My
 * Duy Xuyên
 * Đại Lộc
 * Điện Bàn
 * Đông Giang
 * Hiệp Đức
 * Nam Giang
 * Nam Trà My
 * Núi Thành
 * Phú Ninh
 * Phước Sơn
 * Quế Sơn
 * Tây Giang
 * Thăng Bình
 * Tiên Phước
 * Nông Sơn
 * 1 district-level town:
 * Điện Bàn (newly created)
 * 2 provincial cities:
 * Hội An (a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
 * Tam Kỳ (capital)

They are further subdivided into 13 commune-level towns (or townlets), 213 communes, and 18 wards.

Economy
Quảng Nam has two famous traditional products: the world's highest essential oil content Trà My cinnamon (aka Saigon Cinnamon) and Ngọc Linh ginseng. Quảng Nam is famous for its production of Saigon cinnamon.

The economy of Quảng Nam has been growing rapidly in recent years. GDP growth in 2010 was 12.7% and the goal for 2011 is 13.5%. Growth has been between 12 and 15% in the years from 2005 to 2007, mostly driven by a booming industrial sector (growing more than 20% per year) and to a lesser extent the service sector. GDP per capita in 2007 was 8.76 million Vietnamese đồng, 65.2% of the national average.

Quảng Nam's economy has been diversified significantly during the first decade of the 21st century. Agriculture, forestry, and fishery made up 41.5% of the province's GDP in 2000 but only 21.4% in 2010. This is only a relative decline. Growth of the first sector has been positive but overshadowed by industrial and service growth. It was between 2 and 4% between 2000 and 2007 and 4.5% in 2010. The vast majority of the work force is still employed in this sector: 524,700 out of 778,300 as of 2007 (down from 548,700 in 2000). Harvests of rice, which takes up 75% of the agricultural area, has increased from 329,900 tons in 2000 to 395,100 tons in 2007 (1.1% of the national rice output). The cultivation of industrial crops has experienced a significant transformation. The production of some crops has declined significantly: sugar cane from 170,400t in 2000 to 46,500t in 2007, tobacco from 2200t to 900t, tea from 1935t to 821t, and coconut from 8741t to 3675t, while the output of other crops has been increased: peanuts from 10,700t to 16,900t, rubber from 0t to 186t, pepper from 22t to 205t, and cashew nuts from 362t to 2345t. Given the recent significant expansion of rubber plantations, this crop is likely to grow further. So far, only peanut cultivation is significant in a national context, making up 3.35% of national output, while the other non-cereal crops contribute less than 1%.

Industrial GDP has been the main driving force of Quảng Nam's economy in the first decade of the century. In 2010 it contributed 40.1% to the provincial GDP, up from just 25.3% in 2000 and employed 99,600 workers in 2007, compared to 51,600 in 2000. Industrial GDP has increased 2.48 times between 2000 and 2007 and continues to grow at around 20%. Chu Lai Economic Zone is located in the south of the province along National Road 1 and is the site of many of the province's factories. A smaller industrial zone is located in Tam Kỳ with factories producing electrical equipment, garments, and processed wood. Major industrial export products include leather shoes (US$51.26 million in 2007), garments (US$31.33 million), wooden products (US$8.587 million), and paper materials (US$2.136 million). Industrial products more oriented towards the domestic market include fish sauce (3.69 million liters), bricks (253 million pieces), fabric (52.5 million meters), and hand farming tools (2 million pieces).

Quang Nam has the biggest gas warehouse in the central area: Total Gas & Power Co. Ltd's Ky Ha gas warehouse.

Transportation
National Route 1 runs through the east of the province. Both Tam Kỳ and Chu Lai Economic Zone are located along this road, while Hội An is around 10 km east of it. National Road 14 runs from Thừa Thiên–Huế province through the west of Quảng Nam to Đắk Glei District in Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands. It is connected to National Road 1A by 14B in north and 14E in central Quảng Nam and the border to Laos through 14D. 57.7% of the roads in (national, provincial, or district) are paved with asphalt, which is somewhat above the median value of provinces in Vietnam. The value is much higher and significantly better than the median for provincially managed roads: 87.68%. Only 29% of respondents to a survey of businesses in 2009 stated that road quality is good or very good (slightly above the median).

Vietnam's North–South Railway runs through the provinces. Some, but not all, trains stop at Tam Kỳ Railway Station serving the provincial capital Tam Kỳ.

Da Nang International Airport is located in Da Nang just north of Quảng Nam. Another airport, Chu Lai Airport is located in Núi Thành District in the south of the province near Quảng Ngãi province, serving Chu Lai Economic Zone.

Places of interest
The province has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the ancient town of Hội An and the Mỹ Sơn temple complex. It also lies on the World Heritage Road which connects different World Heritage Sites in Central Vietnam.

Another popular tourist site is Cu Lao Cham (Cham Islands).

Cuisine

 * Cao lầu
 * Mì Quảng
 * Tam Kỳ chicken rice
 * Tam Kỳ Jasmine tea
 * Banh dap (rice cake)
 * Banh vac (cake)
 * Banh it (cake)

title: Quảng Nam province


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Chubut steamer duck

The Chubut steamer duck or white-headed flightless steamer duck (Tachyeres leucocephalus) is a flightless duck endemic to Argentina.

It is the most recently recognized species of steamer duck, being described only in 1981. This is because it is only found along a rather small and sparsely populated stretch of coast around the Golfo San Jorge in southern Chubut and northern Santa Cruz Provinces, and because steamer ducks in general look fairly similar in plumage.

Description
Adult male Chubut steamer ducks have white heads with a bright yellow/orange bill with a black nail. Their webs and feet are yellow/orange with black claws. The rest of their plumage includes mostly grey bodies and white bellies. While the male is molting his bill turns to a duller yellow/orange.

Adult female Chubut steamer ducks have brown heads and necks with small white line going from the back of the eye to the fore-neck. Their bills have a greenish/yellow color.

The Adult female Chubut steamer duck looks very similar to the juvenile.

Range
The Chubut steamer duck was originally thought to only be found strictly in the southern coast of the Chubut province in Argentina. However it is now known to have a larger range from the southern portion of the San Matías Gulf to Islote Chato. The crucial populations for this species are found in Bahía San Gregorio (Argentina) [1], Bahía Melo [2], and Caleta Malaspina[3]. These three crucial populations are all located in the San Jorge Gulf.

Diet
The Chubut steamer duck's diet consists of molluscs and crustaceans which it gets through diving, upending and dabbling like most other ducks. They also are known to look on land for food, but stay close to the coast.

Breeding
The breeding season goes from October to February with nests made out of grass, sticks and litter from the high tide. Their nests, typically containing 5-6 eggs, can be found densely clumped together or alone.

This species breeds on 500 km of coastline from the Chubut River mouth to the Chubut and Santa Cruz province boundary. There are an estimated 3,700 breeding pairs of the duck species. In a study of 292 km of continental coastline and 59 km of island coastline from 2004 to 2006 (three breeding seasons) 170 nests were found and out of those found nests 169 were found to be on islands/islets and only one on continental coastline. All of the nests were found in bays or inlets with shallow water protected from strong winds or large waves. The calmer waters allow better conditions for foraging for food and are easier for the chicks to navigate. Chubut steamer ducks are ground nesting birds and prefer nesting areas with at least 1 meter squared of shrub cover. Ground nesting on islands make it easier to protect their young from aerial predators (shrub cover) and from terrestrial predators who can not swim out to the island.

Threats
Chubut steamer Ducks face many threats such as oil exploration, habitat destruction, predation, and invasive species. Other forms of threats they face are from guano, macroalgae and egg harvesting. There have been three major oil spills in the past 30 years that affected the ducks breeding areas by directly being coated with oil and polluting the substrate that the ducks make their nests on. The three main invasive species affecting the Chubut steamer ducks are Carcinus maenas (Green Crab), Wakame (Asian Kelp or Undaria pinnatifida) and Balanus glandula (Acorn Barnacle). These invasive species indirectly affect the duck by altering the environment that it lives in.

Sub-marine predators of this species include the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) and Killer whale (Orcinus orca).

The two species that are commonly observed preying on Chubut Steamer duck eggs are the Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) and Crested caracara (Caracara plancus). Egg harvesting has only been reported in low numbers and is not as large of a threat as others mentioned.

Escape methods
Due to the Chubut Steamer ducks being flightless, they need to have different methods of escaping predators besides flying. To do this they can swim, dive or steam. Steaming is a faster unique way to swim for these flightless birds. When they steam they use their wings as oars and their feet to generate turbulence. They can obtain speeds up to 24 km/h when steaming.

Outlook
When the species was first discovered in 1988, even though there was only one population, they were listed as lower risk/least concern due to believing the population was not declining. Over the years the population changed to lower risk/near threatened in 1994, to near threatened in 2004 and finally to vulnerable in 2012 with a decreasing current population trend. The total population is estimated to have 5,300-5,600 individuals with 3,400-3,700 being mature.

Around half of their population (46%) is protected by the Interjurisdictional Marine Park in the San Jorge Gulf. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve also has included the breeding range of the Chubut steamer duck in its program.

Programs to keep oil tankers and other large ships that may cause harm to the Chubut steamer duck out of the ducks range along with programs to minimize human disturbance and coastal development of breeding grounds have been proposed.

title: Chubut steamer duck


text:
File:Double Dare NES Game.jpg

Description
Screenshot of "Double Dare" for the Nintendo Entertainment System

Fair use in Double Dare (video game)
Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
 * 1) Rare has released no such images into the public domain, and a replacement image could not be created that would adequately provide the same information.
 * 2) The image is being used for no purpose other than to identify the subject of the article.
 * 3) The image resolution has been significantly decreased from the original, so copies made from it would be of inferior quality.
 * 4) The use of this image neither detracts from the game nor inhibits its salability in any way.

title: File:Double Dare NES Game.jpg


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Enigma (2001 film)

Enigma is a 2001 espionage thriller film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Tom Stoppard. The script was adapted from the 1995 novel Enigma by Robert Harris, about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in the Second World War.

Although the story is highly fictionalised, the process of encrypting German messages during World War II and decrypting them with the Enigma is discussed in detail, and the historical event of the Katyn massacre is highlighted. It was the last film scored by John Barry.

Plot
The story, loosely based on actual events, takes place in March 1943, when the Second World War was at its height. The cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, have a problem: the Nazi U-boats have changed one of their code reference books used for Enigma machine ciphers, leading to a blackout in the flow of vital naval signals intelligence. The British cryptanalysts have cracked the "Shark" cipher once before, and they need to do it again to keep track of U-boat locations.

The film begins with Tom Jericho returning to Bletchley after a month of recovering from a nervous breakdown brought on by his failed love affair with a coworker named Claire Romilly. Jericho immediately seeks to see her again and finds that she mysteriously disappeared a few days earlier. He enlists the help of Claire's housemate, Hester Wallace, to follow the trail of clues and learn what has happened to Claire.

Mr. Jericho and Miss Wallace, as they formally address each other, work to decipher intercepts stolen by Claire and determine why she took them. Jericho is closely watched by an MI5 agent, Wigram, who plays cat and mouse with him throughout the film. Meanwhile, U-boats are closing in on a convoy of thirty-seven ships from America, giving the code-breakers less than four days to find a solution to reading the changed Shark cipher.

But someone else at Bletchley has a personal interest in the stolen intercepts and may be responsible for Claire's disappearance.

Cast

 * Dougray Scott as Tom Jericho
 * Kate Winslet as Hester Wallace
 * Saffron Burrows as Claire Romilly
 * Jeremy Northam as Mr Wigram
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jozef 'Puck' Pukowski
 * Tom Hollander as Guy Logie
 * Donald Sumpter as Leveret
 * Matthew Macfadyen as Cave
 * Robert Pugh as Skynner
 * Corin Redgrave as Admiral Trowbridge
 * Nicholas Rowe as Villiers
 * Edward Hardwicke as Heaviside

Production and premiere
The film was shot on location in England, Scotland, and the Netherlands, with Bletchley Park mansion substituted by Chicheley Hall. Other locations include the Great Central Railway, Loughborough and Tigh Beg Croft, near Oban, Scotland. Interiors were filmed at Elstree Film Studios.

The film was produced by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Jagger makes a cameo appearance as an RAF officer at a dance. He also lent the film's design department a four-rotor Enigma encoding machine he owned to ensure the historical accuracy of one of the props. The festivities around the London premiere of the film are shown in the 2001 documentary Being Mick.

Reception
Critical reviews were largely positive, but there was criticism of the largely fictional storyline, which neither mentions the real codebreaker, Alan Turing nor gives due credit to the Polish cryptanalysis foundation, the Biuro Szyfrów (Cipher Bureau). The film holds a 'fresh' 72% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus reading, "The well-crafted, twist-filled Enigma is a thinking person's spy thriller." Joe Leydon of Variety compared the film to works by Alfred Hitchcock, and remarked that, 'Overall, "Enigma" plays fair and square while generating suspense with its twisty plot. And while it requires a generous suspension of disbelief to accept a few action-hero gestures by the deeply troubled Jericho, Scott is persuasive and compelling enough as his complex character to drive the narrative.'

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars and said, 'What I like about the movie is its combination of suspense and intelligence. If it does not quite explain exactly how decryption works (how could it?), it at least gives us a good idea of how decrypters work, and we understand how crucial Bletchley was—so crucial its existence was kept a secret for 30 years.' On the other end, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly was far less impressed, saying, 'The legend of how the British cracked the almighty Enigma must have sounded, on paper, like a nifty mathematical thriller—a historic WarGames set at the formative moment of the computer age. On-screen, however, Enigma plays as if the scriptwriter, Tom Stoppard, and the director, Michael Apted, were themselves cryptographers; they seem to be making hunt-and-peck stabs at how to translate a tale of arcane numeric formulas into drama.'

The film grossed $6.6 million in the United Kingdom. It grossed $4.3 million in the United States and Canada and $4.8 million in other markets for a worldwide total of $15.7 million.

Historical accuracy
The film and, by association, the book have attracted criticism for their portrayal of the Polish role in Enigma decryption. The historian Norman Davies argues that in the film the fictitious traitor turns out to be Polish, but only slight mention is made of the contributions of prewar Polish Cipher Bureau cryptologists to Allied Enigma decryption efforts, but historically, the only known traitor active at Bletchley Park was British spy John Cairncross, who passed crucial secrets to the Soviet Union.

The film hints that Dougray Scott's character, the brilliant Cambridge mathematician Thomas Jericho is the main code-breaker at Bletchley, equating him with Alan Turing, the original creator of the British Bombe, with the words of Mr Wigram, played by Jeremy Northam: "But what if someone tells them just how we do it? Your thinking machine, clackity-clack, day and night, programmed with a menu, thanks to your big brain, that reduces the odds to just a few million-to-one until it locks on to the winning combination. There goes the war…” Of course, Jericho is a totally fictional character, given that Turing was homosexual; his brief engagement to Joan Clarke, who knew about his sexual orientation, was purely platonic. In reality, it was unlikely that Turing was involved in code-breaking the Naval four-rotor Enigma Shark in 1943. Notes by Tony Sale do not mention Turing as the "someone in Bletchley Park [who] realised that Short Weather Signals were sent in the three wheel mode" and explained "the Central Met. Station had collated the U-Boat and other reports, [and] they broadcast a general synoptic in their own Met. Code", which used the standard International Met. Code further encoded using bigram tables, as discovered by Mr Archer from the Met. section of Bletchley Park. According to Hugh Alexander, from June 1943 Joan Clarke, Mahon, Pendered and Noskwith were responsible for the whole of the cryptographic work until the end of the war. Strangely, Joan Clarke is not present in the film as none of the team of cryptanalysts are female.

In the film, Cave, from Naval Intelligence, played by Matthew Macfadyen, mentioned Fasson and Grazier gave their lives to rescue the code books from a sinking submarine. There were actually three men who retrieved the books: First Lieutenant Anthony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and 16-year-old Tommy Brown from the canteen. Fasson and Grazier did drown while attempting to retrieve electrical equipment from a U-boat U-559 (which Cave describes as its four-rotor enigma) on 30 October 1942, while Brown survived only to die in a house fire during shore-leave before the end of the war. Fasson and Grazier were awarded the George Cross posthumously and Brown was awarded the George Medal. Fictional character Cave states he was completing his last posting on a destroyer, in November '42, when the books were acquired.

There are historical records of the break in the ability of the British to decode the Naval enigma from 10 to 19 March 1943 when the third edition of the weather short signal codebook was deployed.

The Katyn massacre, revealed after the discovery of mass graves of 4,500 Polish officers as depicted in the film, is a historical atrocity committed by Stalinist Russia in 1940. There is no evidence that details of the mass graves were intercepted by British intelligence, although it is possible. The first announcement of the discovery was broadcast by Radio Berlin on 13 April 1943.

title: Enigma (2001 film)


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Edward Packard (writer)

Edward Packard (born February 16, 1931) is an American author, creator of the Choose Your Own Adventure book concept and author of more than 50 books in the series. The genre that Packard invented, in which the reader chooses what happens, has come to be called “interactive fiction.” Packard wrote many other children’s books as well, and is also a lawyer, essayist, and poet. He continues to write books, and blogs regularly on his website, edwardpackard.com. Born in Huntington, New York, he is a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School.

Packard came up with the original idea of writing interactive second-person fiction — in which the reader is the protagonist (“you are the hero”) and makes choices that affect how the story unfolds — while he was thinking up bedtime stories for his children. (While telling them a story, making it up as he went along, he would enlist their help by pausing to ask them, “What do you think happened next?”, and they would each have different ideas about how they wanted the story to proceed.) After he published the first three books in this format, originally called "The Adventures of You," Bantam Books offered him and his first publisher a contract for a series, rebranded and made famous as the Choose Your Own Adventure series of children's books.

Packard is the grandfather of actor David Corenswet.

Early career
Packard wrote the first known book of this type, Sugarcane Island, in 1969, and arranged for it to be published in 1976 by Vermont Crossroads Press, owned by Constance Cappel and Raymond A. Montgomery, Jr. Packard explains in the foreword to the book that he developed what he originally called "the adventures of you" fiction format while trying to think up interesting bedtime stories for his three children (Caroline, Andrea, and Wells). In Sugarcane Island, the shipwrecked reader travels around the titular island, making a choice about how to proceed on almost every page (for example, if a reader chooses to walk along the sandy beach, they are told to turn to page 3; if they choose to climb up the rocky hill, they must turn instead to page 5). The possible stories to choose from branch out like a tree within the book; the story that the reader follows unfolds differently depending on the choices they make. Readers confront different dangers or treasures at every turn, depending on their choices. Many of the possible endings feature an unfortunate demise, although escape from the island is possible if the correct choices are made.

Choose Your Own Adventure
The Adventures of You on Sugarcane Island, and Packard’s next two books in the genre, Deadwood City and The Third Planet From Altair (published in 1977 and 1978 by Lippincott), were the exact prototypes for the books in Bantam's classic Choose Your Own Adventure series, in which Packard participated as one of the main authors.

In 1969 and 1970, the William Morris Agency had submitted the book on Packard's behalf to several major publishers, all of whom had rejected it. But in 1976, Packard was able to get the book published by Vermont Crossroads Press. In its review of the book, Publishers Weekly called it "an original idea, well carried out."

When Lippincott published Packard's next two books in the same genre, Deadwood City and The Third Planet from Altair, their covers alerted readers to their unusual nature with the rubrics "Choose Your Own Adventure in the Wild West" and "Choose Your Own Adventure in Outer Space." Because at the time the format was so unusual, readers were warned at the outset not to read the book straight through, but to follow the pages corresponding to their choices.

Seeing potential in Packard's idea of an "interactive book", Bantam Books launched a series called Choose Your Own Adventure in 1979. This contact with Bantam Books was made by Constance Cappel on a flight to the Atlanta ABA Conference with Bantam’s then head of marketing, Jack Romano. (Vermont Crossroads Press, having earlier sold the rights to the series to Pocket Books, now had them transferred to Bantam.) Packard wrote the first book in the Bantam series, The Cave of Time, a time-traveling story in which the reader explores a cavern that is a portal to different eras. Both R. A. Montgomery, Packard’s original publisher at Vermont Crossroads Press, and Packard wrote many more books in the series, with Packard contributing well over 60 titles by 1998, when the series ended.

Packard kept the Choose Your Own Adventure series fresh by changing genres with each title. After the time-travel story, he wrote a spy story, a space opera, a western, a mystery, a science fiction story, and a fantasy. In one of his books, Hyperspace, Packard himself appears as a character (a case of “self-insertion”).

Packard was the only CYOA author who included a recurring character in many of his books: a scientist, Dr. Nera Vivaldi, frequently appeared in the role of a friend to the reader. Seemingly ageless, she appears in stories set in many different time periods, including those that take the reader into outer space. In Hyperspace, Dr. Vivaldi breaches the fourth wall by acknowledging that she is a fictional character whom the reader may recognize from having read other CYOA books.

Beginning in 2012, Simon & Schuster released revised and expanded print versions of selected Packard CYOA stories: Through the Black Hole, Return to the Cave of Time and The Forbidden Castle, under the trademark “U-Ventures.”

Packard conceived the idea for three more interactive series, and wrote the prototype books. The series were Space Hawks and Escape (both published by Bantam Books), and Earth Inspectors, published by McGraw Hill. He also wrote a non-fiction book about the size and scale of space and time, titled Imagining the Universe, which was published by Berkley in 1994. It was cited by Scientific American as one of the best science books for young readers of the year and by National Public Radio as one of the best science books of the year. His educational math book Big Numbers, published by Millbrook in 2000, was cited by Newsweek as one of the best children's books of the year.

The six books in the Space Hawks series, which focuses on Earth's defense against space aliens, were published in mainland China in 2004 in anticipation of China's first crewed space mission.

Books

 * Tenopia Island (Escape from Tenopia, Book 1) – May 1, 1986
 * Choose Your Own Adventure: Vol 1
 * Choose Your Own Nightmare 2: Beware the Snake's Venom
 * Deadwood City
 * Supercomputer

Book applications
In 2010, Packard started a new company called U-Ventures, which began releasing Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style applications for iPhone and iPad based on some of Packard's books. The first title, "Return to the Cave of Time", was released in August with more titles planned shortly after.

title: Edward Packard (writer)


text:
Andrea Guatelli

Andrea Guatelli (born 5 May 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays goalkeeper.

Career
Born in Parma, Guatelli has played for Parma, Portsmouth, Oxford United, FC Zürich and FC Chiasso.

He signed a two-year contract with Portsmouth in August 2004 following a trial with the club. He moved on loan to Oxford United in March 2006, along with fellow Portsmouth player Liam Horsted. He was one of 7 player released by Portsmouth in May 2006 following the expiry of their contracts.

title: Andrea Guatelli


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Falkland steamer duck

The Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus) is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap their wings and feet on the water in a motion reminiscent of an old paddle steamer. The Falkland steamer duck is one of only two bird species endemic to the Falkland Islands, the other being Cobb's wren.

Taxonomy and systematics
The Falkland steamer duck is part of the Anseriformes order and the Anatidae family alongside ducks, geese, and swans. It is in the genus Tachyeres with the three other species of steamer ducks, all found in South America. The Falkland steamer duck is most closely related to the flying steamer duck which can also be found in and around the Falkland Islands. It is believed that they might still be able to interbreed. A study from 2012 established that these two species are genetically indistinguishable. However, they tend to reproduce in different geographic areas. Possible hybridization could account for the genetic similarities between the two species. Some scientists have proposed that the flying steamer duck and the Falkland steamer duck should be a single species but more evidence is needed to settle that question.

Evolution of flightlessness
Steamer ducks are a young group from an evolutionarily point of view and have a last common ancestor believed to have lived about 2 million years ago. This family is of particular interest to scientists because it contains both species capable and incapable of flight. More specifically, scientists believe that they are currently witnessing the evolution of flightlessness happening right in front of their eyes. In fact, both the Falkland steamer duck and the closely related flying steamer duck contain genetic sequences associated with flight-capable wings and flightless wings. This would suggest that the Falkland steamer ducks have just recently become flightless. However, it is difficult to determine if these specific wing traits have directly evolved because of flightlessness or to support steaming behaviour because these two characteristics appear to have evolved at the same time. Regardless of these unknowns, the fact that this species has recently become flightless allows scientists to identify specific genes and reconstruct the evolutionary steps necessary to evolve flightlessness with a level of detail that cannot be matched when working with older specimens. In short, the Falkland steamer duck is a promising model organism to study and understand the process behind the evolution of flightlessness in birds.

Description
The Falkland steamer duck measures between 61 and 74 cm in length and has a wingspan of 84 to 94 cm. It is a fairly large species of duck with males weighing between 3300 and 4800 g, and females between 2900 and 4196 g. The male's plumage is brown to grey with a contrasting light grey-white head. They have a very distinctive orange bill. The wings have white secondary feathers and large, featherless spurs. The stubby tail is brown-grey. The eyes are brown with a contrasting white eye-ring and a faint white eye-streak. The females are darker in colour with a brown neck and head, and an olive green beak. Females also have a distinctive white eye ring and a white line behind their eyes. Both males and females have characteristic yellow-orange feet. Juveniles can be differentiated from females by the black marks and overall paler colour of their feet. They also lack or have a very reduced white line behind their eyes.

This species is visually similar to another steamer duck species with which it shares its range: the flying steamer duck. Although they are difficult to tell apart in the field, the Falkland steamer duck has shorter wings and tail, and a thicker neck and bill. Finally, as its name implies, the flying steamer duck is capable of flight while the Falkland steamer duck is strictly flightless. This last characteristic is difficult to see in the field because the flying steamer duck seldom flies and is often seen walking or swimming.

Historical description
Charles Darwin devoted two paragraphs to this bird (or the similar flying steamer duck) in The Voyage of the Beagle, having observed them at the Falkland Islands in 1833:

"In these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (Anas brachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very abundant. These birds were in former days called, from their extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water, race-horses; but now they are named, much more appropriately, steamers. Their wings are too small and weak to allow of flight, but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the surface of the water, they move very quickly. The manner is something like that by which the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog; but I am nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately, instead of both together, as in other birds. These clumsy, loggerheaded ducks make such a noise and splashing, that the effect is exceedingly curious."

"Thus we find in South America three birds which use their wings for other purposes besides flight; the penguins as fins, the steamer as paddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the Apteryz of New Zealand, as well as its gigantic extinct prototype the Deinornis, possess only rudimentary representatives of wings. The steamer is able to dive only to a very short distance. It feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp and tidal rocks: hence the beak and head, for the purpose of breaking them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the head is so strong that I have scarcely been able to fracture it with my geological hammer; and all our sportsmen soon discovered how tenacious these birds were of life. When in the evening pluming themselves in a flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds which bull-frogs do within the tropics."

Habitat and distribution
The species' distribution is limited to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. These ducks are year-round residents of the islands and the surrounding archipelago, and can be found mainly on rugged shores and in sheltered bays. The Falkland steamer ducks also venture inland in freshwater ponds up to 400m from the coast.

Behavior
This species spends most of its time in small family groups composed of the female, the male and the chicks. However, non-breeding adults and juveniles might gather in larger groups of up to 300. These gatherings can happen at any time of the year and their purpose remains unknown.

Vocalization
The Falkland steamer duck's vocalizations are similar to those of other steamer ducks, namely of the flying steamer duck. Males can be heard year-round but they are especially loud during the breeding season during which they use their vocalization to defend their territory. Their call consists of loud rasping whistles and repeated sharp ticking notes. Females usually sing with the males and produce deeper grunts. This bird is considered to be a loud bird and can easily be heard on and around the shores of the Falklands.

Diet
The Falkland steamer duck feeds mainly on marine mollusks and, occasionally, on crustaceans. Although they can upend when feeding in shallower waters, they mainly dive to find their preys on the sea floor. They used their small wings and large feet to effectively propel themselves in the water. Interestingly, they have been observed to feed collectively with many individuals diving at the same time.

Reproduction
The breeding season lasts from mid September to the end of December, but breeding can take place year-round. Adults breed in single pairs on and around the coastline. Males become very territorial and fights are common. Males and sometimes females will use their spurs on their wings to violently hit other challengers. These fights are known for their extreme violence and can result in severe injury or even death. Once mating has occurred, females lay between 4 and 12 eggs in down-lined nests and incubate them for about 34 days. The males stay with the female to defend the nest but are not involved in the incubation process. Every day, the female carefully covers the eggs with plant material before leaving the nest for 15 to 30 minutes to bath and preen. The nest is usually located in tall grass, piles of sea weed, rocks, and even in unoccupied Magellanic penguin burrows. Chicks weigh 83g upon hatching and stay with the adults for 12 weeks. When they hatch and for the first 12 weeks, the chicks are covered in brown and white duvet. They have distinctive white markings on the side of their head. Around the 12 week mark, chicks get their first plumage and sexual maturity is reached after 14 to 24 months. Adults can live for up to 20 years old in captivity but there is no information on the longevity of wild individuals.

Predation
The adult Falkland steamer duck does not have many predators. Predation by sea lions and seals is rare but has been documented. The main predation pressure is on fledglings which are routinely picked up by kelp gulls and skuas. Egg harvesting used to be common in the island but humans have abandoned the practice since.

Conservation status
The species is currently classified as Least Concern. During the last surveys between 1983 and 1993, between 9000 and 16000 breeding pairs were recorded and they estimated the population to be between 27 000 and 48 000 individuals. Another survey from 1997 estimated the population at 32 000 individuals. A recent study has shed some light on the negative effect of invasive species on shore bird populations in the Falklands. Scientists determined that rat-invested islands had lower numbers of many shorebirds including steamer ducks. Another possible source of concern comes from oil spills. The species has a limited distribution and its food supply could be severely affected by a large-scale release of oil in and around the Falklands. Although these anticipated threats should be considered, the population is currently stable and there is no immediate source of concern for this species.

title: Falkland steamer duck


text: Category:Hungarian violinists

title: Category:Hungarian violinists