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Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus, commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree endemic to southeastern Australia. This Eucalyptus species has mostly smooth bark, juvenile leaves that are whitish and waxy on the lower surface, glossy green, lance-shaped adult leaves, glaucous, ribbed flower buds arranged singly or in groups of three or seven in leaf axils, white flowers and woody fruit.

There are four subspecies, each with a different distribution across Australia, occurring in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The subspecies are the Victorian blue gum, Tasmanian blue gum, Maiden's gum, and Victorian eurabbie.

Description
Eucalyptus globulus is a tree that typically grows to a height of 45 m but may sometimes only be a stunted shrub, or alternatively under ideal conditions can grow as tall as 90-100 m, and forms a lignotuber. The bark is usually smooth, white to cream-coloured but there are sometimes slabs of persistent, unshed bark at the base. Young plants, often several metres tall, and coppice regrowth have stems that are more or less square in cross-section with a prominent wing on each corner. Juvenile leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs, sessile, glaucous elliptic to egg-shaped, up to 150 mm long and 105 mm wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same glossy to dark green on both sides, lance-shaped or curved, 150-300 mm long and 17-30 mm wide on a petiole 1.5-6 mm long. The flower buds are arranged singly or in groups of three or seven in leaf axils, sometimes sessile or on a short thick peduncle. The individual buds are also usually sessile, sometimes on a pedicel up to 5 mm long. Mature buds are top-shaped to conical, glaucous or green, with a flattened hemispherical, warty operculum with a central knob. Flowering time varies with subspecies and distribution but the flowers are always white. The fruit is a woody conical or hemispherical capsule with the valves close to rim level.

Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus globulus was first formally described in 1800 by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his book, Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse. Labillardière collected specimens at Recherche Bay during the d'Entrecasteaux expedition in 1792.

The d'Entrecasteaux expedition made immediate use of the species when they discovered it, the timber being used to improve their oared boats. The Tasmanian blue gum was proclaimed as the floral emblem of Tasmania on 27 November 1962. The species name is from the Latin globulus, a little ball or small sphere, referring to the shape of the fruit.

In 1974, James Barrie Kirkpatrick described four subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census. Each subspecies has a characteristic arrangement of its flower buds:
 * Eucalyptus globulus subsp. bicostata (Maiden, Blakely & Simmonds) J.B.Kirkp. (formerly Eucalyptus bicostata), commonly known as Victorian blue gum or eurabbie, has sessile flower buds arranged in groups of three;
 * Eucalyptus globulus Labill. subsp. globulus, commonly known as Tasmanian blue gum, has flower buds arranged singly in leaf axils;
 * Eucalyptus globulus subsp. maidenii (F.Muell.) J.B.Kirkp. (formerly Eucalyptus maidenii), commonly known as Maiden's gum has flower buds arranged in groups of seven
 * Eucalyptus globulus subsp. pseudoglobulus (Naudin) J.B.Kirkp. (formerly Eucalyptus globulus var. pseudoglobulus''), commonly known as Victorian eurabbie has pedicellate flower buds arranged in groups of three.

Distribution and habitat
Blue gum grows in forests in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, including some of the Bass Strait Islands. Subspecies bicostata occurs in montane and tableland areas between the Carrai Plateau in northern New South Wales and the Pyrenees in Victoria. Subspecies globulus is mainly found in lowland parts of Tasmania, but is also found on some Bass Strait islands including King Island, and in the extreme south-west of Victoria. Subspecies maidenii occurs on near-coastal ranges of south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria. Subspecies pseudoglobulus is mostly distributed in eastern Gippsland but there are isolated populations further inland and in the Nadgee Nature Reserve in south-eastern New South Wales.

There are naturalised non-native occurrences in Spain and Portugal, and other parts of southern Europe incl. Cyprus, southern Africa, New Zealand, western United States (California), Hawaii, Macaronesia,

Unusual specimens
They typically grow from 30 - 55 m tall. There are historical claims of even taller trees with Robert Edwards Carter Stearns claiming that when he was alive, they were capable of growing to 400 feet. While this claim is often regarded as being exaggerated, the environmentalist Jared Diamond argues in favor of this claim, stating that such trees were likely cut down during the colonization of Australia by the English. Tasmanian D. W. Lewin claimed that the tallest was 101 m.

Plantations
Blue gum is one of the most extensively planted eucalypts. Its rapid growth and adaptability to a range of conditions is responsible for its popularity. It is especially well-suited to countries with a Mediterranean-type climate, but also grows well in high altitudes in the tropics.

It comprises 65% of all plantation hardwood in Australia with approximately 4,500 km² planted.

In about 1860 Francis Cook planted the tree on Monserrate Palace, his property at Sintra in Portugal and within twenty years it had attained the height of 100 m and a circumference of 5 m. By 1878 the tree ″had spread from one end of Portugal to the other″. In 1878 the tree was also planted, partly on Cook's recommendation, in Galway, Ireland to reclaim ″useless bog land″.

E. globulus begun to be planted as plantations in Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions of Chile in the 1990s. However at these latitudes around the 40th parallel south the tree is at the southern border of the climatic conditions where it can grow, hence good growth in this part of southern Chile requires good site selection such as sunny north-facing slopes. Some of these plantations grow on red clay soil.

Timber
Blue gum timber is yellow-brown, fairly heavy, with an interlocked grain, and is difficult to season. It has poor lumber qualities due to growth stress problems, but can be used in construction, fence posts and poles.

Essential oil
The leaves are steam distilled to extract eucalyptus oil. E. globulus is the primary source of global eucalyptus oil production, with China being the largest commercial producer. The oil has therapeutic, perfumery, flavoring, antimicrobial and biopesticide properties. Oil yield ranges from 1.0 to 2.4% (fresh weight), with cineole being the major isolate. E. globulus oil has established itself internationally because it is virtually phellandrene free, a necessary characteristic for internal pharmaceutical use. In 1870, Cloez identified and ascribed the name "eucalyptol" — now more often called cineole — to the dominant portion of E. globulus oil.

Herb tea
Tasmanian blue gum leaves are used as a herbal tea.

Phenolics
E. globulus bark contains quinic, dihydroxyphenylacetic and caffeic acids, bis(hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP))-glucose, galloyl-bis(HHDP)-glucose, galloyl-HHDP-glucose, isorhamentin-hexoside, quercetin-hexoside, methylellagic acid (EA)-pentose conjugate, myricetin-rhamnoside, isorhamnetin-rhamnoside, mearnsetin, phloridzin, mearnsetin-hexoside, luteolin and a proanthocyanidin B-type dimer, digalloylglucose and catechin. The hydrolyzable tannins tellimagrandin I, eucalbanin C, 2-O-digalloyl-1,3,4-tri-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, 6-O-digalloyl-1,2,3-tri-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, as well as gallic acid and (+)-catechin can also be isolated. Tricetin is a rare flavone aglycone found in the pollen of members of the Myrtaceae, subfamily Leptospermoideae, such as E. globulus.

title: Eucalyptus globulus


text: Category:Secretaries-general of Hezbollah

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


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tao Yang(I)

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was keep. Dmcdevit·t 01:07, August 1, 2005 (UTC)

Tao Yang(I)
This vfd was started by 61.157.145.177. Every vote or comment to date has been from an anon user, all of which I've placed below the sockpuppet section. It also was not listed on the vfd page. So let's start over, shall we?

New users please read: You are welcome to comment but please add your comments to the bottom of the page (not the top) and sign them by adding four tildes ( ~ ) which will automatically add your username or IP address and the time and date. Please do not alter the comments or votes of others; this is considered vandalism and grounds for blocking. Please do not comment or vote multiple times pretending you are different people; such comments and votes will be deleted or ignored. Read this for more information. Thank you.

Votes from registered users

 * Delete. Resumecruft. Gamaliel 06:50, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and improve. He is well-published with number of books to his credit. Capitalistroadster 19:43, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete socks suck.  Grue  19:45, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * keep. An author of multiple books stays. mikka (t) 20:11, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * keep. An author of multiple books stays. Article might be toned down, a little. --Tagishsimon (talk)
 * Marginal keep, needs to look less like his CV though; mention what he did first in the lead section, his career after. Dunc|☺ 21:46, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep despite rampant socks. Seems notable enough by my standards. Sasquatch′↔Talk↔Contributions 23:10, July 17, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Fuzzy logic is one of those fields in which it's easy to write books because it's mostly BS. Wile E. Heresiarch 00:30, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete as per Wile E. Heresiarch. JamesBurns 09:20, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Many books are not so-called fuzzy logic. James1234 06:56, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Sockpuppet votes
(please sign your vote to count by adding four ~'s followed your votes. It is important!)

Keep. Yang in his 1998 Physical Letter A paper

TAO YANG, ``Optimizing Stochastic Resonance in Visual System,'' Physics Letters A, 10 Aug. 1998, vol.245, (no.1-2):79-86.

Addressed the way to processing images with extremely low SNR, we found this method is very useful in many applications. Nice theory and thank you very much for your contribution to real-life image processing!221.239.142.113 07:03, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Please keep! I am a graduate student, I know the theory of computational verb fuzzy controller from my undergraduate text book (see the following link:)

http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/puo/arro/ARROCourse/ContentPage.aspx?nid=20041101232701

This control theory was invented by Tao Yang in 1997. 218.83.230.156 06:42, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

We can find that Tao Yang had made big contributions to control theory. This is a REAL book, a GREAT book written by the very expert and a mathematician. 61.172.63.204 06:13, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Just simply check the following book link
 * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/354042296X/qid=1121580609/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/002-4425480-9436030?v=glance&s=books

 * Keep it! I feel so awful that someone wanted to initiate a deleting proposal for this entry. I found this Tao Yang did many interesting scientific researches such as: computational verb, physical linguistics, computational noun, to name a few. These concepts constitute a new science of matter and minds. I found this Tao Yang also did many applications of scientific principles to engineering problems, as well as many pure mathematical researches. These researches are very important to our knowledge base and therefore deserve to display in Wikipedia.222.69.229.68

 * Keep. He is a Mathematician, a Scientist, an Engineer, a CEO, and will be a great Scientist. Pure and simple!221.239.146.175

Yang published many scientific papers in the above-mentioned journals.
 * Keep. I never know any folk scientist could publish papers on the following first-class journals:
 * Physica D
 * Physics Letters A
 * International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos
 * IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control
 * IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems
 * International Journal of Circuit Theory and Applications

Yang also published the following book: by the well-known technical publisher [Spinger-Verlag]. It is an insult to such a famous publisher and its editors to the book serial "Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences" by calling any author of any book in this book serial a "folk scientist".
 * TAO YANG, Impulsive Control Theory, Berlin: Spinger-Verlag, Aug. 2001, Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences, vol. 272,  ISBN 354042296X

Yang had been worked in the [University of California, Berkeley] for more than 5 years as a visiting scholar. It is an insult to [University of California, Berkeley] if a "folk scientist" had been worked in one of its best department for such a long time.

It is also an insult to the Office of Technology Licensing, University of California, Berkeley, for they allowing a so-called "folk scientist" to gain the following patent:
 * Title of Invention: ``Chaotic Digital Code-Division Multiple Access(CDMA) Communication Systems''. Inventors: Tao Yang and L.O. Chua . Filing Number: University of California, Berkeley, Office of Technology Licensing, Case No. B-97-080-2, U.S.Patent 6,331,974 issued Dec.18,2001.218.78.201.110
 * Keep it! From this page I found lots of valuable information on [cellular image processing]. I vote to keep it! 218.90.140.2
 * Just folk scientist. Delete it. 61.157.145.177
 * Keep. hi sockers, please support our hero in a wiser way. A real support is to keep rational. Goudong 01:08, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
 * First edit.
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


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Peduncle

Peduncle may refer to:

 * Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed
 * Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body
 * Peduncle (arthropods), the base segments of an antenna
 * Caudal peduncle, in fish, the narrow part of the body to which the tail attaches
 * Cerebral peduncle, a band of neurons, resembling a stalk, which connect varied parts of the brain
 * Cerebellar peduncle, one of six structures connecting the cerebellum to the brain stem
 * In insect brains, the peduncle connects the lobes of the mushroom bodies to its calyx
 * In stalked barnacles, one of two external divisions of the body, a stalk attached to the substrate by cement glands
 * In dinoflagellates, an extendable stalk used to capture prey.

title: Peduncle


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The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show

The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show is a 90-minute Saturday morning animated package show co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions (which then owned the animation rights for Pac-Man and Richie Rich, now a part of Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal (under licensed for Richie Rich characters only via DreamWorks Animation's Classic Media and Harvey Entertainment)) and King World Productions (owner of the intellectual property of The Little Rascals, now subsumed into Paramount Global) and broadcast on ABC from September 25, 1982 to September 3, 1983.

The show contains episodes and content from three separate programs: Pac-Man, The Little Rascals and Richie Rich. It aired during the 1983-1984 season as The Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show.

Segments
The 90-minute program was segmented as such:
 * The Little Rascals - 11-minute first episode
 * Richie Rich Riches - 7-minute first episode
 * Richie Rich Gems - 30-second vignette
 * Richie Rich Treasure Chest - 3-minute short
 * The Little Rascals - 11-minute second episode
 * The Little Rascals - 30-second vignette
 * Richie Rich Zillion-Dollar Adventures - 11-minute second episode
 * Pac-Man - 11-minute first episode
 * Pac-Mania - 30-second vignette
 * Pac-Man - 11-minute second episode


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Park University

Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2023, Park had an enrollment of 6,389 students.

History
The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1875 by John A. McAfee on land donated by George S. Park with its initial structure being the stone hotel Park owned on the bluff above the Missouri River.

The original concept called for students to receive free tuition and board in exchange for working up to half day in the college's farm, electrical shop or printing plant. According to the terms of the arrangement if the “Parkville Experiment” did not work out within five years, the college grounds were to revert to Park.

There were 17 students in the first school year and in the first graduation class there were five women. McAfee led until his death in 1890. His son Lowell M. McAfee became the second president of Park until stepping down in 1913. The first international student at Park University arrived in 1880 from Japan.

The defining landmark of the campus is Mackay Hall, named after Carroll County, Illinois banker Duncan Mackay who donated $25,000 in materials for the structure shortly before his death. The building was constructed using limestone mined on the campus grounds and built with the labor of students. Construction began in 1883 and was finished by 1893. Mackay Hall is the main focal point of the campus and dominates the hillside, overlooking the town of Parkville. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For decades the school was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church but it no longer has that affiliation. The college has had a relationship with the military since 1889. However, the relationship was greatly expanded in the late 1960s with the establishment of a Military Degree Completion Program and later in 1972 with the Military Resident Center System. Park's total enrollment has grown from its small base since 1996 when it first began offering online courses. In 2000, it was renamed Park University.

Parkville campus
The flagship campus of Park University is located in the city of Parkville, Missouri. The Park University Graduate School is located in downtown Kansas City. There are 41 campuses in 22 U.S. states including four campuses in the Kansas City area (downtown Kansas City, Independence, Lenexa, and Parkville) and a campus center in Austin, Texas. Most of the satellite campuses are on or near United States military bases and share quarters with other businesses/organizations.

Gilbert campus
In 2018, the university opened a campus center in Gilbert, Arizona in the city's Heritage District. Park leased 11000 sqft at the University Building. The university continued to expand the Gilbert campus in 2019, leasing an additional 7000 sqft and extending the initial three-year term to five years with the city. The university continued to expand the Gilbert campus with the addition of college athletics. Initially playing as an independent during the 2019–20 academic year, the university announced membership in the NAIA and California Pacific Conference (Pac West) starting in 2020–21.

Rankings

 * Ranked second in the “online and nontraditional” category on the Military Times’ "Best for Vets: Colleges 2016" list.
 * Ranked second among all private colleges/universities in the country with a 9.5 percent annual ROI by 2015 PayScale College ROI Report.
 * 2015-16 Colleges of Distinction list.
 * Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 126-165 best Midwest college in 2018.

Park Pirates
The athletic teams of the Park University main campus are called the Pirates. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 2020–21 academic year. The Pirates previously competed in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) from 2009–10 to 2019–20; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1986–87 to 1993–94; and in the defunct Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) from 1994–95 to 2008–09.

Park competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include eSports.

The Department of Athletics at Park University was led by Claude English, Director of Athletics, who was also the Pirates’ men's basketball coach from 1992 to 2005 and retired in 2021. From 1980 to 1984, English was the head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, and he played one season in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1970–1971.

Seven former Park Pirates competed for the Kansas City Comets of the Major Arena Soccer League.

Championships

 * 2018 Women's Volleyball (NAIA National Champions)
 * 2017 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)
 * 2014 Women's Volleyball (NAIA National Champions)
 * 2014 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)
 * 2012 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)
 * 2008 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)
 * 2003 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)

Park–Gilbert Buccaneers
The athletic teams of the Gilbert campus of Park University (Park–Gilbert) are called the Buccaneers. The university added a college athletics program to the Gilbert, Arizona campus center in 2019. After playing as independent institution during the 2019–20 academic year, the university announced membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) starting in the 2020–21 academic year.

Park–Gilbert competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Notable people

 * Marsia Alexander-Clarke, artist
 * Vlatko Andonovski - professional soccer coach
 * James J. Barry Jr. (1969) - former New Jersey General Assemblyman and New Jersey Director of Consumer Affairs
 * Ralph von Frese (1969) - American geologist
 * Tsiang Tingfu (Chinese: 蔣廷黻)- Chinese scholar and diplomat. In 1911, he attended the Park Academy
 * Don H. Compier (1985) - founding Dean of the Community of Christ Seminary
 * Steve Cox - freelance writer
 * John R. Everett (1942) - President of Hollins College, first Chancellor of the Municipal College System of the City of New York, and President of the New School for Social Research
 * Maurice Green Olympic Sprinter; world record holder
 * Melana Scantlin (2002) - former Miss Missouri USA, television personality
 * Chance Browne - American musician, painter, and cartoonist
 * Robert E. Hall - eleventh Sergeant Major of the Army
 * Charles A. Holland, Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1929–31
 * James A. Roy - sixteenth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
 * Edwin Kagin - attorney, founder Camp Quest
 * George Kelly - American psychologist, therapist and educator
 * Texe Marrs - American preacher
 * Cleland Boyd McAfee (1884) - American theologian
 * Newell A. George - United States Congressman, 1959–1961.
 * Carl McIntire - radio broadcaster
 * Stephen M. Veazey - Prophet-President of the Community of Christ
 * George S. Robb, U.S. Army (1912) - Medal of Honor - World War I
 * Lewis Millet, U.S. Army (1964) - Medal of Honor - Korea
 * Thaddeus J. Martin, U.S. Air Force, Connecticut Adjutant General
 * David Grace (basketball) UCLA and Oregon State University men's assistant basketball coach (USAF Retired)
 * Anthony Melchiorri - Hospitality expert and Travel Channel host
 * Hollington Tong (Chinese: 董顯光) - transferred to University of Missouri, Republic of China ambassador to the United States
 * Jan Zimmerman - police chief and chair of the Missouri Gaming Commission

Faculty and staff

 * Stanislav Ioudenitch (Professor of Music and Piano) - Pianist and gold medalist of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001
 * Kay Barnes (Senior Director for University Engagement) - Former mayor of Kansas City and candidate for Congress in 2008

title: Park University


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Alice in Wonderland (1976 film)

Alice in Wonderland is a 1976 American erotic musical comedy film loosely based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film expands the original story to include sex and broad adult humor, as well as original songs. The film was directed by Bud Townsend, produced by William Osco, and written by Bucky Searles, based on a concept by Jason Williams.

The plot revolves around Alice (Kristine De Bell), a librarian who falls asleep reading the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and dreams of the White Rabbit (Larry Gelman), whom she follows into Wonderland, where she begins to experiment with her unexplored sexuality. Through a series of sexual encounters, Alice loses her sexual inhibitions and allows herself to become sexually liberated. The film is a softcore erotic comedy with orchestrated musical numbers which move the plot forward, and contribute to the film's humor.

After premiering in a longer version, three minutes were edited from the film, and it was rated R by the MPAA, and released theatrically by General National, a company formed by producers Jason Williams and William Osco, due to other distributors being unwilling to distribute a sex film. The film grossed over $90million at the box office. Osco later re-edited the film as hardcore, incorporating explicit sex that was not part of its original production. In 2004, Osco staged an Off-Broadway stage adaptation of the musical.

Plot
After rejecting the advances of her boyfriend, William, mousy librarian Alice falls asleep reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The White Rabbit appears to her in a dream and she follows him into Wonderland. Finding herself in a room and too large to fit through the small door, Alice drinks a potion which causes her to shrink while her dress remains the same size, leaving her naked. While chasing the White Rabbit, she falls into a river and begins to drown, but is saved by a group of local inhabitants. After making friends with them, Alice is given a new (albeit very revealing) dress before setting off after the White Rabbit again. While walking through the woods, she begins to experiment with her sexuality by stripping naked and masturbating. The White Rabbit happens upon her and takes her to meet the Mad Hatter.

Although initially uncomfortable when the Mad Hatter exposes himself to her, Alice performs fellatio. She is then called to assist Humpty Dumpty, who has fallen off a wall, rendering him unable to achieve an erection. The situation is rectified when Alice fellates Dumpty as well. She is then taken to meet siblings Tweedledee and Tweedledum, whom she watches having passionate, incestuous intercourse. Following this encounter, Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter continue on toward the King's Ball. On the way, they encounter a couple having sex in an open field; Alice chastises them, but she is ignored. At the royal court, the King of Hearts converses with Alice, speaking with her about self-empowerment and ignoring the judgements of others; he ultimately seduces her.

The Queen of Hearts appears, catching Alice and the King in bed together. A hurried trial is held and Alice is "convicted" of being a virgin. As punishment, the Queen orders Alice to have sex with her. A number of sexual escapades ensue among various characters as Alice prepares to carry out her sentence, including a brief lesbian encounter between Alice and the Queen's maids. Alice and the Queen engage in sex, but, as a result of the cunnilingus she receives from Alice, the Queen experiences an orgasm so strong, it briefly incapacitates her. The Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit assist Alice in escaping the Queen, who pursues her to no avail.

Waking from her dream and thereby returning to the real world, Alice meets William again. Having experienced a sexual awakening while in Wonderland, Alice accepts William's advances and they have sex in the library. In a closing sequence, Alice travels through Wonderland naked before she and William set off toward their new home, where they live "happily ever after".

Cast

 * Kristine De Bell as Alice
 * Larry Gelman as the White Rabbit
 * Alan Novak as the Mad Hatter
 * Terri Hall (Terry Hall) as Nurse
 * Jason Williams as the White Knight
 * Ron Nelson as William
 * Bucky Searles as Humpty Dumpty / the Queen of Hearts' Brother
 * Gila Havana as the Black Knight's Girl
 * J. P. Paradine as Judge / Scrugg
 * Bree Anthony and Tony Richards as Tweedledum and Tweedledee
 * Angel Barrett
 * Nancy Dare as Nurse
 * Bruce Finklesteen as the Black Knight
 * Juliet Graham as the Queen of Hearts
 * Astrid Hayase as Tart
 * John Lawrence as the King of Hearts
 * Ed Marshall
 * Melvina Peoples
 * Marcia Raven
 * Chris Steen as Oogaloo

Musical numbers

 * "Whole New World"
 * "(Guess I Was Just Too Busy) Growing Up"
 * "If You Haven't Got Dreams, You Ain't Got Nothing (19 Going on 90)"
 * "His Ding-A-Ling Is Up"
 * "Tweedledee and Tweedledum's Song"
 * "What's a Nice Girl Doin' with a Knight?"
 * "Cards, Cards, Cards"
 * "Make Each and Every Movement Count"
 * "Happy Love"
 * "Whole New World" (Reprise)

Production
Actor and director Jason Williams conceived the idea of producing an adult reimagining of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, proposing that it be an "X-rated musical" following in the style of the sex comedy Flesh Gordon, in which he had starred. Williams pitched the film to producer William Osco, who liked the idea, hired comedian Bucky Searles to write the screenplay and songs, and raised $100,000 for the production.

Production took place in New York City. Williams ran an ad in the Village Voice seeking auditions for an "X-rated musical", instructing that applicants "must be able to sing and dance". Williams was too busy with other aspects of the production to direct the picture, so Bud Townsend was hired as director. Townsend, whom Williams had met auditioning for his horror film Terror at Red Wolf Inn, was a prolific director of television commercials. Though Townsend had never directed a sex film before, he was hired to helm Alice in Wonderland, along with his wife, Patty, who served as the script supervisor. The dancing was choreographed by Buddy Schwab, a successful choreographer with Broadway credits. The film was initially going to be shot on 16mm film, but Townsend talked the producers into filming on 35mm film.

Juliet Graham auditioned for the role of Alice, but was offered the role of the Queen of Hearts instead, which she accepted. Through a modeling agency, Kristine De Bell was cast as Alice. The 20-year-old fashion model had a background in musical theater, and could sing and dance. Many of the actors were regulars of New York's porn scene, while others were prominent film and television character actors such as Larry Gelman, a friend of the screenwriter, who agreed to play the White Rabbit if he didn't have to appear nude, and if his wife and children could be flown out to New York on the production's budget. The auditions for singing and dancing performers primarily emphasized the actors' dancing abilities, as the producers planned to re-record most of the singing with professional singers.

The film was shot in just ten days in either June or July 1975. During filming, most of the actors stayed in the house used in the picture. A scratch track of the film's musical numbers was used for the actors to lip synch to during filming.

The initial plan was to produce the film as hardcore, but once filming commenced Williams said, "The vision for the film rapidly started expanding. We had these big sets, elaborate design, and we had this big opportunity. So we had this relatively short shooting schedule and we didn't have much time to go in and do a lot of close-up stuff that you need for hardcore," so the sex scenes were filmed in wide shots. De Bell performed in an unsimulated lesbian sex scene with Juliet Graham.

Cast and crew described Osco as being an intimidating figure, with Juliet Graham saying that Osco threatened not to pay her if she didn't spend an evening in his hotel room, and she did, but didn't have sex with him, telling Osco she was the girlfriend of porn actor Jamie Gillis. Osco convinced De Bell to allow him to film her performing oral sex on Osco, saying it was necessary for the film.

The film's budget was entirely spent on filming, and the production company Kaleidoscope Films provided $250,000 to $300,000 for the film's post-production. Musician and composer Peter Matz re-recorded the film's songs in full orchestral arrangements, and post-production was completed by the end of 1975.

Release
The premiere was held on Times Square in 1976, at an event attended by Andy Warhol. Despite positive feedback, the producers were unable to interest a distributor due to an unwillingness to release a sex film, so Williams and Osco formed a new company for distribution, General National, explaining, "At that time, there was a company called 'National General' [...] so if we just call ourselves 'General National' everybody will think it's the same damn big company, and we'll get treated in the same way." For general release, three minutes were removed, and the MPAA gave it a R rating. In April before the film's release, De Bell appeared on the cover of Playboy. Osco sold foreign rights to multiple companies within the same territories, telling each distributor they had exclusive rights.

Because of the film's title, its poster was required to include a warning that it was not to be confused with other "traditional" Alice in Wonderland film adaptations and that this particular film could only be seen by adults.

The film grossed over $90million globally. According to De Bell, the film grossed over $100million, and although she told an interviewer she had 1% ownership, she did not see any of the profits.

After Alice in Wonderland was released as softcore, Osco re-edited the film as hardcore, inserting explicit penetration shots not part of the original filming, including footage of De Bell performing oral sex on Osco, which was edited into the Mad Hatter sequence. Subsequently, multiple people in the production, as well as Kaleidoscope Films, sued Osco, who had not paid some of them and had stolen money from others. Kaleidoscope ended up owning the rights as a result of the lawsuit. Osco had prints stolen so he could redistribute it without the owners' permission. The film's R-rated and hardcore versions were distributed on VHS, and in 2007, Subversive Cinema released a DVD containing both versions.

Lawsuit
In October 1976, lawyers for the Taconic Park Commission threatened a lawsuit against Osco after finding out he had filmed on historical sites without permission. A month later, the film was reviewed by film critic Roger Ebert, who wrote, "Maybe because I went with low expectations, I found the movie a pleasant surprise. And its most pleasant surprise is its star, Kristine De Bell, who projects such a freshness and naivete that she charms us even in scenes where some rather alarming things are going on. I think she has a future in the movies, and not just Xmovies, either; there's an openness to her expression, a directness to her acting, that's genuinely appealing."

Legacy
Williams and Osco planned to make an adult film based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a follow-up, but it was not produced. Subsequently, Williams, Osco and De Bell made the film The Great American Girl Robbery (a.k.a. Cheerleaders' Wild Weekend). Williams and Osco also planned to produce an American Graffiti-style film, and Pee Wee Pigskin, a Bad News Bears-inspired football film with children.

Adaptations
In January 2004, Osco oversaw an off-Broadway musical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland at the Kirk Theatre, New York. The production, entitled Alice in Wonderland: An Adult Musical Comedy, features an original score by TayWah and advertising that it is "for mature audiences only" and "contains full nudity". The show is set in a Weehawken, New Jersey trailer park and follows Alice's sexual awakening as she "escapes her boyfriend's advances and mother's drunken rants" into a new erotic world.

Filmmaker Ken Russell planned a remake of the 1976 film, and co-wrote a screenplay alongside Osco. However, Russell died before it could be produced. As of December 2011, Russell's widow and Osco were still moving forward with the remake's production, as a tribute to Russell.

title: Alice in Wonderland (1976 film)


text:
Social comparison theory

Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that individuals drive to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others to reduce uncertainty in these domains and learn how to define the self. Comparing oneself to others socially is a form of measurement and self-assessment to identify where an individual stands according to their own set of standards and emotions about themselves.

Following the initial theory, research began to focus on social comparison as a way of self-enhancement, introducing the concepts of downward and upward comparisons and expanding the motivations of social comparisons. Social comparison can be traced back to the pivotal paper by Herbert Hyman, back in 1942. Hyman revealed the assessment of one's own status is dependent on the group with whom one compares oneself. The social comparison theory is the belief that media influence, social status, and other forms of competitiveness can affect our self-esteem and mood. This can affect individuals' outlook on themselves and how they fit in with others.

Leon Festinger
Leon Festinger was an American psychologist who developed the concept of social comparison theory. Festinger was born in New York City on May 8, 1919. Festinger was interested in science, which led him to pursue a career in psychology. He received his bachelor's degree from City College and went on to Iowa State University for his master's degree and Ph.D., which he received in 1942. Leon Festinger made his mark in social psychology by teaching the importance of scientific experimentation while challenging the influence of behaviorism and its effects.

Festinger put forward many hypotheses about social comparison theory. First, he explained that humans always examine their own views and capabilities in comparison with other people and have the urge to evaluate themselves accordingly. In addition, he argued that these comparisons tend to decrease as the difference between oneself and the other individual with whom one compares oneself begins to increase. He also thought that people have a desire to achieve greater abilities, but there are social constraints that make it difficult to achieve this, and this is often not sufficiently reflected in society's views.

He continued with the idea that ending comparisons between oneself and others would lead to hostility and disdain of ideas. Their hypothesis also stated that making a change in the importance of a comparison group would increase the pressure to conform to that group. However, he added that if the person, image, or comparison group is very different from the evaluator, the tendency to narrow the range of comparability will become stronger (Festinger, 1954). Lastly, he hypothesized that the comparers' tendencies would be influenced by their distance from the comparison group's mode, with those who are closer to the mode having higher tendencies to change and those who are farther away having less (Festinger, 1954).

Initial framework
In the theory, Festinger provided nine main hypotheses:

 * 1) First, he stated that humans have a basic drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities and that people evaluate themselves through objective, nonsocial means (Hypothesis I).
 * 2) Second, Festinger stated that if objective, nonsocial means were not available, people would evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparison to other people (Hypothesis II).
 * 3) Next, he hypothesized that the tendency to compare oneself to another person decreases as the difference between their opinions and abilities becomes more divergent. In other words, if someone is much different from you, you are less likely to compare yourself to that person (Hypothesis III).
 * 4) He next hypothesized that there is a unidirectional drive upward in the case of abilities, which is largely absent in opinions. This drive refers to the value that is placed on doing better and better. (Hypothesis IV).
 * 5) Next, Festinger hypothesizes that nonsocial restraints make it difficult or even impossible to change one's ability. These restraints are mainly absent for opinions. People can change their thoughts when they want to. Still, no matter how motivated individuals may be to improve their ability, other elements may make this impossible (Hypothesis V).
 * 6) Festinger hypothesizes that the cessation of comparison with others is accompanied by hostility or derogation to the extent that continued comparison with those persons implies unpleasant consequences (Hypothesis VI)
 * 7) Next, any factors that increase the importance of some particular group as a comparison group from some specific opinion or ability will increase the pressure toward uniformity concerning that ability or opinion within that group. Suppose discrepancies arise between the evaluator and the comparison group. In that case, there is a tendency to reduce the divergence by either attempting to persuade others or changing their personal views to attain uniformity. However, the importance, relevance, and attraction to a comparison group that affects the original motivation for comparison mediate the pressures towards uniformity (Hypothesis VII).
 * 8) His following hypothesis states that if persons divergent from one's own opinion or ability are perceived as different from oneself on attributes consistent with the divergence, the tendency to narrow the range of comparability becomes stronger (Hypothesis VIII).
 * 9) Lastly, Festinger hypothesized that when there is a range of opinions or abilities in a group, the relative strength of the three manifestations of pressures toward uniformity will be different for those who are close to the group's mode than those who are distant from the mode. Those close to the mode will have stronger tendencies to change the positions of others, weaker tendencies to narrow the range of comparison, and even weaker tendencies to change their own opinions (Hypothesis IX).

Theoretical advances
Since its inception, the initial framework has undergone several advances. Key among these are developments in understanding the motivations that underlie social comparisons and the particular types of social comparisons that are made. Motives that are relevant to social comparison include self-enhancement, maintenance of a positive self-evaluation, components of attributions and validation, and the avoidance of closure. While there have been changes in Festinger's original concept, many fundamental aspects remain, including the prevalence of the tendency towards social comparison and the general process that is social comparison.

Compare and contrast self-evaluation to self-enhancement
According to Thorton and Arrowood, self-evaluation is one of the functions of social comparison. This is one process that underlies how an individual engages in social comparison. Each individual's specific goals will influence how they engage in social comparison. For self-evaluation, people tend to choose a similar comparison target. Specifically, they are most interested in choosing a target who shares some distinctive characteristic with themselves. They also think that knowing the truth about themselves is salutary. Research suggests that most people believe that choosing a similar target helps ensure the accuracy of the self-evaluation. However, individuals do not always act as unbiased self-evaluators and accurate self-evaluations may not be the primary goal of social comparison. There have been many studies and they have shown that American women tend to be dissatisfied with their looks, they either rate themselves "too plain, old, pimply, fat, hairy, tall" and so much more. Women are much more sensitive than men, especially with it having to do with their physical appearance. Due to media digitally altering women's appearance from the width of their torso or arms to the softness of their complexion creates the ideal that thin and flawless is the only acceptable way to look. This leads to diet culture, excessive exercise, and had led to many eating disorders. This form of social comparison can cause harm and can affect the development of the way someone sees themselves.

Individuals may also seek self-enhancement, or to improve their self-esteem. They may interpret, distort, or ignore the information gained by social comparison to see themselves more positively and further their self-enhancement goals. People also seek self-enhancement because holding favorable illusions about themselves is gratifying. They will also choose to make upward (comparing themselves to someone better off) or downward (comparing themselves to someone worse off) comparisons, depending on which strategy will further their self-enhancement goals. Specifically, when an individual believes that their ability in a specific area is low, they will avoid making upward social comparisons in that area. Unlike self-evaluation goals, people engaging in social comparison with the goal of self-enhancement may not seek out a similar target. In fact, if a target's similarity is seen as a threat due to the target outperforming the individual on some dimension, the individual may downplay the similarity of the target to themselves. This notion ties closely to the phenomena in psychology introduced also by Leon Festinger himself as it relates to the diminishing of cognitive dissonance. This dissonance causes a psychological uncomfortableness that motivates a person to remove the dissonance. The more dissonance there is, the greater sense of pressure to remove the dissonance and uncomfortableness caused by it. One does not want to perceive oneself in a way that would downplay one's original belief upon which one's self-esteem is based and therefore in order to reduce the cognitive dissonance, one is willing to change the cognitive representation of the other person whom one compares oneself to, such that one's own belief about oneself remains intact. This effectively leads to the comparison of apples to oranges or psychological denial.

Article
when individuals engage in self-comparisons, a complex interplay of psychological and motivational factors comes into play, driving them to become more competitive. one of the key mechanisms at play is the motivation for self-improvement. For instance, in an academic setting, students compare themselves to peers who consistently achieve higher grades can spark a sense of determination and desire to excel in school. Moreover, the comparison to those perceived as superior serves as a powerful catalyst for personal growth and development. when individuals benchmark themselves against someone they view as highly successful, whether in their professional career or personal achievements, it triggers a process of emulation. the desire to achieve a comparable level of success becomes a driving force, propelling individuals to set higher goals, strive for excellence, and continuously evolve to reach the standards set by their role models. The process of self-comparison is deeply ingrained in human nature, and it serves as a fundamental aspect of our social and psychological development. While comparing ourselves to others can offer valuable insights and motivation, the way we engage in this process can vary widely, influencing our self-perception and overall well-being. the interplay between self-comparison, self-enhancement, and positive self-evaluation highlights the complexity of human psychology. While these cognitive processes can contribute to resilience and self-confidence, they also carry the risk of distorting reality and fostering an unrealistic self-image. striking a balance between acknowledging personal strengths and weaknesses, learning from others, and maintaining a healthy level of self-awareness is essential for overall psychological well-being. Later advances in theory led to self-enhancement being one of the four self-evaluation motives:, along with self-assessment, self-verification, and self-improvement.

Upward and downward social comparisons
Wills introduced the concept of downward comparison in 1981. Downward social comparison is a defensive tendency that is used as a means of self-evaluation. When a person looks to another individual or group that they consider to be worse off than themselves in order to feel better about their personal situation, they are making a downward social comparison. Research has suggested that social comparisons with others who are better off or superior, or upward comparisons, can lower self-regard, whereas downward comparisons can elevate self-regard. Downward comparison theory emphasizes the positive effects of comparisons in increasing one's subjective well-being. For example, it has been found that breast cancer patients made the majority of comparisons with patients less fortunate than themselves. Ashby found similar results in his experiment showing, downward comparison in people subjected to distress from a physical illness such as heart disease or cancer. They also see those who recover from the same illness, and the study found that patients tended to be more optimistic about their own recovery.

Although social comparison research has suggested that upward comparisons can lower self-regard, Collins indicates that this is not always the case. Individuals make upward comparisons, whether consciously or subconsciously when they compare themselves with an individual or comparison group that they perceive as superior or better than themselves in order to improve their views of self or to create a more positive perception of their personal reality. Upward social comparisons are made to self-evaluate and self-improve in the hopes that self-enhancement will also occur. In an upward social comparison, people want to believe themselves to be part of the elite or superior and make comparisons highlighting the similarities between themselves and the comparison group, unlike a downward social comparison, where similarities between individuals or groups are disassociated.

It has also been suggested that upward comparisons may provide an inspiration to improve, and in one study, it was found that while breast cancer patients made more downward comparisons, they showed a preference for information about more fortunate others.

Another study indicated that people who were dieting often used upward social comparisons by posting pictures of thinner people on their refrigerators. These pictures served not only as a reminder of an individual's current weight but also as an inspiration for a goal to be reached. In simple terms, downward social comparisons are more likely to make us feel better about ourselves, while upward social comparisons are more likely to motivate us to achieve more or reach higher.

The influence of social media on self-comparisons adds another layer of discussion. social media platforms, with their curated content and highlight reels, often become arenas for people to engage in upward social comparisons. The contrast streams of carefully crafted images and updates create an environment where people feel compelled to showcase the positive aspects of their lives, contributing to the phenomenon of self-preservation. The pressure to maintain a favorable online image can intensify the desire for upward social comparisons, as individuals strive to present themselves in the best possible light. the fear of missing out (FOMO) becomes a significant factor in this context. seeing peers enjoying seemingly enriching experiences, luxurious lifestyles, or achieving notable milestones can trigger anxiety and a sense of inadequacy in those making comparisons. Research has indeed indicated a correlation between upward social comparison on social media and negative well-being. people who frequently engage in comparing their lives to the seemingly superior lives of others may experience heightened levels of stress, dissatisfaction, and even symptoms of social media addiction. the constant exposure to idealized representations can create unrealistic standards, fostering a perpetual cycle of discontent. Moreover, the addictive nature of social media platforms, driven by the need for validation through likes and comments, further amplifies the impact of upward social comparison.

Moderators of social comparison
Aspinwall and Taylor looked at mood, self-esteem, and threat as moderators that drive individuals to choose to make upward or downward social comparisons. Downward comparisons in cases where individuals had experienced a threat to their self-esteem produced more favorable self-evaluations.

High self-esteem and social comparison
Aspinwall and Taylor found that upward social comparisons were good in circumstances where the individuals making the comparisons had high self-esteem because these types of comparisons provided them with more motivation and hope than downward social comparisons. However, if these individuals had experienced a recent threat or setback to their self-esteem, they reported that upward comparisons resulted in a more negative affect than downward comparisons. positive self-evaluation, a related concept, involves people assessing themselves in a more positive light than external or objective criteria. This cognitive bias can manifest in various ways, such as perceiving oneself as more competent, attractive, or virtuous than others perceive them. positive self-evaluation is a different process that goes beyond comparison and involves introspection, critical analysis, and reflection on one's strengths, weaknesses, and progress in specific areas.

Low self-esteem and social comparison
However, people with low self-esteem or people who are experiencing some sort of threat in their life (such as doing poorly in school, or suffering from an illness) tend to favor downward comparisons over upward comparisons. People with low self-esteem and negative affect improve their mood by making downward comparisons. Their mood does not improve as much as it would if they had high self-esteem. Even for people with low self-esteem, these downward social comparisons do improve their negative mood and allow them to feel hope and motivation for their future. However, these feelings of hope could deter them from succeeding due to the harshness with which they judge themselves for their successes and failures. Lower self-esteem can lead an individual to have higher standards for themselves but may never achieve them due to the judgment they receive from within.

Affect/mood and its effect on social comparison
Individuals who have a negative mood improve their mood by making upward social comparisons, regardless of their level of self-esteem. In addition, both individuals with high self-esteem and low self-esteem who are in a positive mood elevate their mood further by making upward comparisons. However, for those who have recently experienced a threat to their self-esteem or a setback in their life, making upward social comparisons instead of downward social comparisons results in a more negative effect. Self-esteem and the existence of a threat or setback in an individual's life are two moderators of their response to upward or downward comparisons.

Competitiveness
Because individuals are driven upwards in the case of abilities, social comparisons can drive competition among peers. In this regard, a comparison's psychological significance depends on an individual's social status and the context in which their abilities are being evaluated. One interesting psychological phenomenon related to self-comparison is the concept of self-enhancement. This occurs when people, consciously or unconsciously, focus on the weaknesses or shortcomings of others as a means of boosting their self-esteem. by highlighting the flaws of others, people can create a comparative context where they perceive themselves in a more favorable light. this self-enhancement strategy is often driven by the fundamental human desire to maintain a positive self-image and preserve one's sense of worth.

Social status
Competitiveness resulting from social comparisons may be greater in relation to higher social status because individuals with more status have more to lose. In one study, students in a classroom were presented with a bonus point program where, based on chance, some students' grades would increase and others would remain the same. Although students could not lose by this program, higher-status individuals were more likely to object to the program and report a perceived distributive injustice. It was suggested that this was a cognitive manifestation of an aversion to downward mobility, which has more psychological significance when an individual has more status.

Proximity to a standard
When individuals are evaluated where meaningful standards exist, such as in an academic classroom where students are ranked, then competitiveness increases as proximity to a standard of performance increases. When the only meaningful standard is the top, then high-ranking individuals are most competitive with their peers, and individuals at low and intermediate ranks are equally competitive. However, when both high and low rankings hold significance, then individuals at high and low ranks are equally competitive and are both more competitive than individuals at intermediate ranks.

Models of social comparison
Several models have been introduced to social comparison, including the self-evaluation maintenance model (SEM), proxy model, the triadic model and the three-selves model.

Self-evaluation maintenance model
The SEM model proposes that we make comparisons to maintain or enhance our self-evaluations, focusing on the antagonistic processes of comparison and reflection. Abraham Tesser has researched self-evaluation dynamics that have taken several forms. A self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) model of social behavior focuses on the consequences of another person's outstanding performance on one's own self-evaluation. It sketches out some conditions under which the other's good performance bolsters self-evaluation, i.e., "basking in reflected glory", and conditions under which it threatens self-evaluation through a comparison process.

Proxy model
The proxy model anticipates the success of something that is unfamiliar. The model proposes that if a person is successful or familiar with a task, then he or she would also be successful at a new, similar task. The proxy is evaluated based on ability and is concerned with the question, "Can I do X?" A proxy's comparison is based on previous attributes. The opinion of the comparer and whether the proxy exerted maximum effort on a preliminary task are variables influencing his or her opinion.

Triadic model
The Triadic Model builds on the attribution elements of social comparison, proposing that opinions of social comparison are best considered in terms of 3 different evaluative questions: preference assessment (i.e., "Do I like X?"), belief assessment (i.e., "Is X correct?"), and preference prediction (i.e., "Will I like X?"). In the Triadic Model, the most meaningful comparisons are with a person who has already experienced a proxy and exhibits consistency in related attributes or past preferences.

Three-selves model
The three-selves model proposes that social comparison theory is a combination of two different theories. One theory is developed around motivation and the factors that influence the type of social comparison information people seek from their environment, and the second is about self-evaluation and the factors that influence the effects of social comparisons on the judgments of self. While there has been much research in the area of comparison motives, there has been little in the area of comparative evaluation. Explaining that the self is conceived as interrelated conceptions accessible depending upon current judgment context and taking a cue from Social Cognitive Theory, this model examines the Assimilation effect and distinguishes three classes of working Self-concept ideas: individual selves, possible selves and collective selves.

Media influence
The influence of media has been found to play a large role in social comparisons. Researchers examining the social effects of the media have found that in most cases, women tend to engage in upward social comparisons, measuring themselves against some form of societal ideal with a target other, which results in more negative feelings about the self. Social comparisons have become a relevant mechanism for learning about appearance-related social expectations among peers and for evaluating the self in terms of those standards. Although men do make upward comparisons, research finds that more women make upward comparisons and are comparing themselves with unrealistically high standards presented in the media. As women are shown more mainstream media images of powerful, successful, and thin women, they perceive the "ideal" to be the norm for societal views of attractiveness.

Self-perceived similarities with role models on social media can also affect self-esteem for both men and women. Having more self-perceived similarities with a role model can help increase self-esteem, while having less can decrease self-esteem. Social comparison with peers on social media can also lead to feelings of self-pity or satisfaction. The desire for social comparison can cause FoMO and compulsive checking of social media sites.

Over the years, Instagram has become one of the largest social media platforms, mainly among the younger generations. With the growing popularity, individuals worry that this platform may lead to significant emotional burdens, including stress, anxiety, or well-being. A 2020 cross-sectional online survey study in Singapore empirically tested the pathway that linked Instagram to social anxiety. The findings demonstrated that using Instagram would not directly increase social anxiety, but it would instead affect social comparison and self-esteem. There should be continuous research on the underlying impacts of social media on emotional security and help educators design better programs to support the ongoing positive growth of wellness during this digital era.

When looking at social media platforms, studies have been conducted to analyze the interaction between social networking sites and the upward comparisons viewers can make when viewing their content. Looking specifically at Instagram, a study conducted at the University of Florida in 2021 examined students' emotions when looking at posts on the platform. The participants in the study assessed themselves more negatively after being presented with this content and felt worse about themselves, which the researchers were able to conclude were similar to the emotions felt when an individual upwardly compared themselves within Social Comparison Theory.

Another emerging media platform is fitness-tracking apps. Shanghai Jiaotong University and East China University of Science and Technology conducted a study in 2018 looking at these apps and Social Comparison theory. They found within their research that people who use these apps could be affected by upward social comparison. Individuals who upwardly compared themselves to other individuals using the app were less likely to want to keep using it.

Teens often feel inferior when looking at their peers’ posts with high achievements and many friends, leading them to have upward comparisons. In contrast, when Teens look at their peers' posts with fewer friends and achievements, they make downward comparisons. In 2019, Newport Academy conducted a longitudinal survey of 219 first-year students at a university, showing compelling results on the correlation between social media and the theory of social comparison. The researchers' results indicated that the different social media comparisons imply that some comparisons are more favorable than others. This, overall, may affect a teen's identity development. Most comparisons can cause negative introspection and personal distress. In contrast, others regard it as an opinion that increases others' well-being. When teens feel empowered, they can express their vulnerable views, supporting identity formation. More research concludes the influence of parents can also help reduce the negative impact of social media comparison. Parents' support and unconditional love mitigate anguish associated with teen social comparison.

Studies have shed light on the dynamic of social comparison on Instagram, especially among women. The pursuit of likes and comments becomes a quantifiable metric for assessing social approval and attractiveness. The number of likes a post receives and the nature of the comments can, in some cases, be internalized as a reflection of one's personal appearance and overall appeal. This quantification of online validation can create tangible and, at times, unhealthy links between social media engagement and self-esteem. For women, in particular, Instagram can be a platform for implicit competition, where the number of followers, the aesthetic quality of posts, and the overall engagement metrics contribute to a sense of social standing. The pressure to conform to beauty standards perpetuated on the platform can fuel an ongoing cycle of comparison, influencing self-perception and self-worth. Additionally, the emphasis on curated edited images on Instagram can contribute to a distorted sense of reality. women find themselves comparing their everyday lives to the carefully constructed and filtered snapshots presented by others, potentially leading to feelings of inadequacy and the perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards.

Criticisms
Many criticisms arose regarding Festinger's similarity hypothesis. Deutsch and Krauss argued that people seek out dissimilar others in their comparisons, maintaining that this is important for providing valuable self-knowledge, as demonstrated in research. Ambiguity also circulated about the critical dimensions for similarity. Goethals and Darley clarified the role of similarity, suggesting that people prefer to compare those who are similar on related attributes such as opinions, characteristics or abilities to increase confidence for value judgments. However, those dissimilar in related attributes are preferred when validating one's beliefs.

title: Social comparison theory


text:
Global Ideas Bank

The Global Ideas Bank's origins lie in the Institute for Social Inventions, which was set up in 1985 by Nicholas Albery, social inventor and visionary. From small beginnings (a network of inventors, a quarterly newsletter), the Institute grew into a full-fledged organisation under his leadership: producing an annual compendium, running social inventions workshops and promoting creative solutions around the world. It was part of the first European Social Innovations Exchange. In 2001, the institute was awarded a Margaret Mead Special Recognition Award for "community creativity for a new century"

In 1995, the Global Ideas Bank (originally suggested by an American correspondent, Gregory Wright) was first established online, and has since become the name for the entire project's work. Through the work of several volunteer programmers and technical wizards (especially Flemming Funch of the New Civilization Network), new features were added: online submission, voting systems, categorisation, a message board, and so on.

title: Global Ideas Bank


text:
Texas State Highway Beltway 8

Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an 88 mi beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County.

Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), runs mostly along the frontage roads of the tollway, only using the main lanes where they are free: between Interstate 45 (I-45, North Freeway) and Interstate 69/US Highway 59 (I-69/US 59, Eastex Freeway); and between US 90 (Crosby Freeway) and I-10 (Baytown-East Freeway). The main lanes elsewhere are the Sam Houston Tollway, a toll road owned and operated by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). East of Houston, the tollway crosses the Houston Ship Channel on the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge, a toll bridge; this forms a gap in Beltway 8 between I-10 (Baytown-East Freeway) and State Highway 225 (SH 225, La Porte Freeway).

Beltway 8 is the intermediate beltway in the Houston area. The inner beltway, I-610, lies mostly within Houston (except for an approximate 2 mi stretch that runs through the City of Bellaire), and the outer beltway, SH 99 (Grand Parkway), is currently partially complete.

Like other toll roads in the Houston area, the speed limit is 65 mi/h.

Free sections
The longest free section of main lanes is on the north side of Houston, stretching from Ella Boulevard east to Mesa Drive. This is maintained by TxDOT east of roughly the Hardy Toll Road interchange. This particular free section has remained untolled since its 1969 opening because of accessibility to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It includes the interchanges with I-69/US 59 (Eastex Freeway), John F. Kennedy Boulevard, the Hardy Toll Road, and I-45 (North Freeway).

Three shorter free sections also exist:
 * North of Wallisville Road to Jacinto Port Boulevard, including the I-10 (Baytown-East Freeway) interchange.
 * SH 3 (Galveston Road) to Beamer Road, including the I-45 (Gulf Freeway) interchange.
 * West Airport Boulevard to Beechnut Street, including the I-69/US 59 (Southwest Freeway) interchange.

The frontage roads are generally continuous, and allow for slower free travel along the tolled segments. Only one break exists in the frontage roads; there are also several locations where one must turn to stay on them:
 * Jacinto Port Boulevard to SH 225—the frontage roads do not cross the Houston Ship Channel (and thus that piece of Beltway 8 was removed in 1978).
 * Deerwood Drive to Boheme Drive—both directions are on the east side of the tollway for the crossing of Buffalo Bayou.
 * West Little York Road to US 290 (Northwest Freeway)—both directions shift to the west side, intersecting US 290 at Senate Avenue, northwest of the tollway. The west side shift was eliminated in late 2013 where the frontage road right of way was extended to US 290 as part of the US 290 widening project—the former lanes which shifted to the west side was re-routed to the new frontage roads with a signalized crossing.
 * At the Katy Freeway, some of the frontage road lanes bypass the intersection, allowing vehicles on the frontage road to travel through the interchange without stopping at traffic lights. The bypass was incorporated into the Katy Freeway reconstruction project to relieve congestion and elevated since a majority of the intersection is below grade level which had a past history of flooding during heavy rains.
 * A section of the frontage road at Mykawa Road shared the right-of-way with the tollway from 1997 to 2016 (which merged into a single lane); with the widening of the tolled lanes between SH 288 and I-45, TxDOT constructed two flyover ramps (completed July 2016) which goes over a railroad right of way with two lanes per direction (this was originally planned back in 1997 until the widening project from the Southwest Freeway to I-10 east revived it). Back in 1997 when the southern portion of the tollway opened up motorists were forced to make a turn onto Mykawa Road and head south to Knapp Road in Pearland where it had an at-grade railroad crossing (the City of Pearland removed the access to the railroad crossing where a section of McHard Road during the mid-2000s a few miles south incorporated a flyover bridge over the existing railroad right-of-way).

Lane configuration
The lane count is for mainlanes only, unless otherwise noted. Starting at the north end of the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge, and moving in a clockwise direction, mainlane counts are as follows:

 * Two lanes each way between I-10 (East Freeway) and SH 225 (includes the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge);
 * Four lanes each way between SH 225 and SH 3 (Galveston Road);
 * Three lanes each way between SH 3 (Galveston Road) and Beamer Road;
 * Four lanes each way between Beamer Road and SH 288 (South Freeway)
 * Four lanes each way between SH 288 (South Freeway) and I-69/US 59 (Southwest Freeway);
 * Four lanes each way between I-69/US 59 (Southwest Freeway) and US 290 (portions between I-69/US 59 and Westpark Tollway);
 * Four lanes each way between US 290 and West Road;
 * Five lanes counterclockwise and four lanes clockwise between West Road and Gessner Road;
 * Four lanes each way between Gessner Road and I-45;
 * Three lanes each way between I-45 and JFK Boulevard (construction started in 2012 to add additional lanes to this section);
 * Four lanes each way between JFK Boulevard and I-69/US 59 (Eastex Freeway); and
 * Three lanes each way between I-69/US 59 (Eastex Freeway) and I-10 (East Freeway).

Enforcement
A number of cameras are located at toll booths to record license plate information to a database and send a ticket for toll violations via mail. Recently, this system has been upgraded to alert local authorities if a vehicle has been flagged for any reason, including AMBER Alerts. When a flagged vehicle is detected, it notifies the closest law enforcement officer to investigate. At this time, Precinct 5 Constables and Harris County Sheriff's Office are being notified, but Houston Police Department has shown interest and wishes to be included to be notified. The total number of cameras that are planned for the system is 35.

History
A previous route numbered Loop 8 was designated on September 25, 1939, in Beaumont, running from US 59 (later US 96, after the 1939 redescription of the highway system) at Gladys Street via Gulf Street, North Street, and Fourth Street to US 90 as a renumbering of SH 8 Loop. This route was cancelled on January 18, 1944.

Houston, known for its fast population growth, began planning for a second beltway in the 1950s (the first was the I-610 loop, created between the 1950s and the 1970s). The beltway was designated as part of the state highway system, reusing the Loop 8 number, on May 7, 1969. Because the proposed route had been referred to locally as the Outer Belt, and Harris County used similar nomenclature for segments of the route, the designation was changed to Beltway 8 on July 31, 1969. It is the only state highway loop to bear the "Beltway" designation.

The beltway's construction was done in a piecemeal fashion, beginning with the opening of West Belt Drive and Roark Road, two surface streets, in the mid-1970s. Efforts to construct a bridge over the Houston Ship Channel were stymied until the Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) was able to do so as a toll facility in the late 1970s. As a result, the section of Beltway 8 from I-10 to SH 225 on the east side of Houston was removed from the state highway system on July 24, 1978. The Jesse H. Jones Memorial Bridge was opened in 1982. The TTA, however, turned down the opportunity to improve the entire beltway as well, leaving Harris County to upgrade the road to freeway standards. However, Harris County could not afford to build and maintain a freeway from its general fund.

In September 1983, county voters approved a referendum by a 7–3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two toll roads, the Hardy Toll Road (basically a reliever for I-45 between downtown Houston and Montgomery County) and the Sam Houston Tollway, which would be the main lanes of the Beltway. Shortly after the referendum, the Harris County Commissioners Court created the HCTRA to administer the construction and operation of the new road system. Then-County Judge Jon Lindsay is generally credited with shepherding the referendum from its infancy to its passage, along with the implementation of the plan for the roadway. During the public information campaign leading up to the referendum, the county government published brochures stating that the toll roads would become free once their construction costs had been recouped, but the tolls were not removed after the tollways were paid off.

In 1989, The Bangles performed at the opening of the segment of Beltway 8 between I-10 (Katy Freeway) and US 290. On July 7, 1990, a ceremony, called Road Party II, took place for the opening of the section of Beltway 8 between I-45 (North Freeway) and US 290, the final segment. Organizers had planned for a crowd of 100,000. KLOL, a radio station, sponsored the event. Jerry Lightfoot & The Essential Band did the opening 80-minute set. The band Huey Lewis and the News performed at the ceremony. The segment between US 290 and I-45 opened on July 8, 1990. The project was on schedule and $133 million (equivalent to $ in ) under budget.

Despite recent speculation about the possibility of the Sam Houston Tollway being sold by HCTRA to a private firm, the Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to keep the tollway in the hands of HCTRA.

On September 3, 2007, the toll increased by $0.25 system wide with some exceptions.

On February 26, 2011, construction of the main lanes between I-69/US 59 (Eastex Freeway) and US 90 (Crosby Freeway) was completed, thus completing the entire beltway system. This section was originally set to be completed between 2007 and 2009, but funding issues delayed its completion. The project cost $400 million (equivalent to $ in ) and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. The new 13 mi section has three lanes in each direction, and an EZ Tag, TxTag or TollTag will be required to access it. Almost 60 years had passed between the planning of Beltway 8 and the opening of the final section.

On August 28, 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused flooding to the West Belt and caused damage near I-10.

title: Texas State Highway Beltway 8


text:
Quincy Railroad

Quincy Railroad may refer to:
 * Quincy Railroad (California)
 * Quincy Railway or Granite Railway, a railway in Massachusetts

title: Quincy Railroad


text:
Jack Brooks

Jack Brooks may refer to:
 * Jack Brooks (cricketer) (born 1984), English cricketer
 * Jack Brooks (footballer) (1904–1973), English footballer
 * Jack Brooks (lyricist) (1912–1971), British-American lyricist
 * Jack Brooks (American politician) (1922–2012), former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
 * Jack Brooks (Welsh politician) (1927–2016), Baron Brooks of Tremorfa
 * Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Canadian monster movie

title: Jack Brooks


text:
Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Explosions.jpg

Explosions.jpg

Great picture, included in the explosion article. Downloaded from: [pdphoto.org].

10:34, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I've added the new nomination date up the top here so the bot doesn't get confused.Raven4x4x 08:11, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Nominate and support. - 82.32.220.62 14:22, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Support, totally badass! Tom k&e 12:14, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

Was Previously nominated, but never properly closed, so relisting now and
 * Support Night Gyr 10:34, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Support That ball of burning gas and debris escaping - great! - Samsara contrib talk 13:56, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Support even if it is on the small side. Nice pyrotechnics! --Janke | Talk 14:19, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
 * This is one of my photos. I can provide a much higher res version, but we're in the middle of moving right now. It will take me a few days to get the computers set back up and find this in the archive. Two questions - 1) What is considered reasonably good for image size? 2) I'm new around here, even if my photos aren't, so where would I upload this? Anyone have a URL explaining that? --y6y6y6 16:05, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Answered on your talk page. Have fun! Mstroeck 17:24, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Oppose - I don't like it. Not stunning enough. Renata 23:35, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Oppose - Agree with above. Good picture but just not striking. Sotakeit 13:12, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Sort of grimy-looking. Not that war should be glamorized, but one could get a better image of explosions. zafiroblue05 | Talk 23:55, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment It seems to be firebombs rather than what one usually calls explosions. There were images like that in WW II movies, but I think they were napalm.
 * Oppose, agree with above; dark background. Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 15:48, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Oppose. agree with above, I could imagine better illustrations for explosions. This one rather looks like a napalm strike. Mikeo 19:03, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Not bad, but not special. enochlau (talk) 14:20, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

. This is in fact ready to archive; it isn't in the right section because the bot kept getting confused for some reason. Raven4x4x 10:09, 24 February 2006 (UTC)