title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: On August 12, 2005, Abdur-Rahim signed a free-agent contract with the Sacramento Kings. In his first season with them, Abdur-Rahim started in 30 of the 72 games he played. As a starter, he averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He shot .543 for field goal percentage, and almost .800 from the free throw line. The Kings went on to qualify for the 2006 playoffs. Abdur-Rahim made his postseason career debut against the San Antonio Spurs. At the same time, he ended a streak of having played the most games in NBA history without participating in the post-season. In his second season with the Kings, Abdur-Rahim continued to be deployed as a sixth man; however, the Kings failed to secure a playoff berth as Abdur-Rahim recorded 9.9 points per game. The 2007–08 season proved to be Abdur-Rahim's last, as he played only six games and his persistent knee injury forced him to announce his retirement on September 22, 2008. He joined the Sacramento Kings' coaching staff as an assistant the following week. On October 7, 2010, Abdur-Rahim was hired to be the assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings. He later became the team's director of player personnel, a position he held in 2014 after new ownership had taken over in 2013. Abdur-Rahim left the team in September 2014. League sources would later report his departure occurred after the 2014 NBA draft, where Abdur-Rahim had arguments with coach Mike Malone and general manager Pete D'Alessandro.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: Prior to joining the NBA, Abdur-Rahim was the USA's leading scorer and rebounder at the 1994 COPABA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament held in Argentina. He averaged a double-double of 16.8 points and 10.1 rebounds. While trying for a team high in blocked shots averaging 1.6 blocks per game, he helped push the American squad to an 8–0 record, the gold medal, and a qualifying berth in the 1995 FIBA Junior World Championship. The following May he was named to USA Basketball's 1995 Junior Select Team that captured an 86–77 victory over an International Select Team in the inaugural Hoop Summit Game.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: While playing for the Grizzlies, Abdur-Rahim was selected as a replacement for the injured Grant Hill to be part of the USA Men's basketball team, a team that included several NBA stars such as Kevin Garnett and Tim Hardaway and won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: On August 29, 2013, Abdur-Rahim was named as the new general manager of the Reno Bighorns for the 2013–14 season.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: On December 11, 2018, Abdur-Rahim was named the president of the NBA G League, and replaced Malcolm Turner who stepped down on January 11, 2019, to become the Athletics Director at Vanderbilt University.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: Abdur-Rahim and his wife Delicia have two children: a son Jabri, and a daughter, Samiyah. Jabri Abdur-Rahim is (as of 2019) rated as an ESPN Top 30 player in the high school Class of 2020 and committed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers under Tony Bennett. He has since transferred to the University of Georgia.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: Abdur-Rahim has started his own foundation, the Future Foundation, which provides after-school and other support services for youth at-risk in Atlanta. On television, Abdur-Rahim has appeared on an episode of "The Jamie Foxx Show" with fellow NBA players Gary Payton and Vin Baker. After retiring, Abdur-Rahim returned to U.C. Berkeley, graduating with a degree in sociology in 2012 with a 3.8 GPA. Abdur-Rahim earned an MBA at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business in 2016.


title: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

text: Abdur-Rahim is referenced in the Latyrx song "The Quickening (The Wreckoning Part II)", from their 1997 album "The Album".


title: National Security Advisor (India)

text: The National Security Advisor (NSA; ISO: ) is the senior official on the National Security Council of India, and the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of India on national security policy and international affairs. Ajit Doval is the current NSA, and has the same rank as a Union Cabinet Minister.


title: National Security Advisor (India)

text: Brajesh Mishra, then Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, was appointed as the first National Security Advisor of India. The post was created on 19 November 1998 by then government headed by Atal Bihari Bajpayee. In 2004, a new government headed by Manmohan Singh was formed at the Centre. This government separated the office of NSA into "foreign" headed by former Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit and "internal" headed by former Director, IB M.K. Narayanan. After the death of Dixit in 2005, the office was again fused and Narayanan became the full-time NSA. He was then succeeded by former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in 2010. In 2014, the Modi-led government appointed former Director, IB Ajit Doval as the NSA.


title: National Security Advisor (India)

text: The post has high vested powers, so the NSA is a highly prominent and powerful office in the Government of India. All NSAs appointed since the inception of the post in 1998 belong to the either Indian Foreign Service or to the Indian Police Service, and serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister of India.


title: National Security Advisor (India)

text: The National Security Advisor (NSA) is tasked with regularly advising the Prime Minister of India on all matters relating to internal and external threats and opportunities to India, and oversees strategic and sensitive issues on behalf of the Prime Minister. The NSA of India also serves as the Prime Minister's Special Interlocutor with China as well as the envoy to Pakistan and Israel on security affairs.


title: National Security Advisor (India)

text: The NSA receives all intelligence (R&AW, IB, NTRO, MI, DIA, NIA) reports and co-ordinates them to present before the Prime Minister. NSA is assisted by the Deputy National Security Advisors (Deputy NSAs). Currently, retired IPS officer Dattatray Padsalgikar, former R&AW chief Rajinder Khanna and retired IFS officer Pankaj Saran serve as Deputy National Security Advisors. The policy group is the main mechanism for inter-ministerial coordination and integration of inputs in forming national security policies. The group members include the NITI Aayog vice chairman, the cabinet secretary, the three military chiefs, the Reserve Bank of India governor, the foreign secretary, home secretary, finance secretary and the defense secretary.


title: Elena Satine

text: Elena Satine (born November 24, 1987) is a Georgian-American actress and singer. On television, she has been featured as a series regular on the Starz period drama "Magic City" (2012–2013), the ABC drama "Revenge" (2014–2015), and the Netflix space Western "Cowboy Bebop" (2021). She has also made appearances on superhero-themed series, portraying Mera on "Smallville" (2010), Lorelei on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (2014), and Sonya Simonson / Dreamer on "The Gifted" (2017).


title: Elena Satine

text: Satine was born in Tbilisi, capital of what was then the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (current Georgia). Her mother was an opera singer and her father worked in the textile industry. At the age of five, Satine and her family moved to Sochi, and she became a part of the Georgian pop group Nergebi, a Mickey Mouse Club-like ensemble of child performers. She toured with Nergebi throughout Eastern Europe, including an appearance on children's variety show "Utrennaya Zvezda" (Morning Star) and later branched off into a solo career. At age 9, Satine became the youngest performer to headline at the Kinotavr Festival.


title: Elena Satine

text: In 1998, while accompanying her mother on a business trip, Satine snuck away to audition for Professional Performing Arts School, and earned her admission on the spot. After convincing her parents to let her study in the United States, Satine moved to New York, and graduated from PPAS at age 16. Afterwards she continued her Dramatic studies at the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia.


title: Elena Satine

text: Satine's television debut happened in an episode of "Cold Case", playing an immigrant Russian singer. She has since appeared on TV shows including "Gemini Division", CW's "Melrose Place", and the season 10 "Smallville" episode "Patriot", in which she played Mera, the wife of Aquaman. She also appeared on ITV's "Poirot", in a 2010 episode that adapted "".


title: Elena Satine

text: Satine was for two years part of the main cast of the Starz series "Magic City". The producers tailored the role of Judi Silver for Satine following her audition to play another part. Satine appeared on a 2014 episode of ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." playing Lorelei, a villainous Asgardian. She followed with another role in the same network, Louise Ellis in "Revenge". Initially a recurring guest, Satine wound up promoted to the main cast eleven episodes into the season.


title: Elena Satine

text: In 2017 she appeared in two episodes of "Twin Peaks", and played Sonya in the Fox television series "The Gifted".


title: Elena Satine

text: In August 2019, Satine was cast as Julia in a live-action version of the "Cowboy Bebop" series, which was cancelled after the first season.


title: Elena Satine

text: Satine and Tyson Ritter, lead singer and bassist of the band The All-American Rejects, became engaged in April 2013 and married on December 31, 2013.


title: Chris Thile

text: Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow. In October 2016, he became the host of the radio variety show "A Prairie Home Companion", which in December 2017 was renamed "Live from Here".


title: Chris Thile

text: The three members of Nickel Creek met in 1989 at Carlsbad, California's That Pizza Place, listening to weekly bluegrass shows with their parents. Their first album, "Little Cowpoke", was released on December 31, 1993. Later albums included "Nickel Creek" and "This Side", which went platinum and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, respectively. In 2005, Nickel Creek released "Why Should the Fire Die?", which received critical acclaim and sold 250,000 units.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile has also released solo albums, including "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" (2001) and 2004's "Deceiver", on which he wrote, composed, sang, and played every part. In 2008, Thile released a collaboration album with bassist Edgar Meyer, and he also plans to release a collaborative album with Hilary Hahn.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2003, Thile married fashion designer Jesse Meighan. The couple divorced in 2004, after 18 months of marriage.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile married actress Claire Coffee on December 23, 2013. Coffee and Thile have a son named Calvin Eugene Thile, born on May 15, 2015.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile was born in Oceanside, California, in 1981. His earliest memories of music are listening to Stan Getz's recording of "The Girl from Ipanema" before he even turned one year old. When he was two, his family started going to That Pizza Place, where he listened to John Moore's band Bluegrass Etc. When Thile was four, his family moved to Idyllwild, California.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile began playing the mandolin at the age of five, taking occasional lessons from John Moore. At age eight, Thile's family and the Watkins family formed Nickel Creek. The band performed at many California bluegrass festivals, and as a result Chris had to be home-schooled. At age twelve, he won the mandolin championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.


title: Chris Thile

text: That same year, 1993, Thile made a demo tape and sent it to the Sugar Hill and Rounder record labels. Both labels showed interest, but the Thiles went with Sugar Hill. The next year, Chris Thile released his first solo album, "Leading Off", featuring mostly original compositions.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 1995, the Thile family moved to Murray, Kentucky, where Chris' father Scott Thile accepted a position at Murray State University as a musical instrument technician. In 1997, Chris released "Stealing Second" and Nickel Creek released "Here to There". Chris went on to attend Murray State University for a few semesters, where he was a music major.


title: Chris Thile

text: Following the major success of the album "Nickel Creek", Thile released "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" in 2001. The album featured guest appearances from several well-known instrumentalists such as Stuart Duncan, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Bryan Sutton.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2003, Thile teamed up with mandolinist Mike Marshall for the duet album "Into the Cauldron", which included original pieces as well as pieces by Charlie Parker and J. S. Bach. Also in 2003, Thile joined Mark O'Connor for his double CD set "Thirty-Year Retrospective" which was nominated for a Grammy. In 2004, Thile released "Deceiver", an experimental album on which he recorded every track himself. This included electric guitar, piano, drums, violin, viola, cello, and bass. "Deceiver" demonstrated some pop/rock songwriting in addition to "newgrass".


title: Chris Thile

text: In August 2006, Nickel Creek announced that at the end of the year, they would no longer be recording together as a group, and their tour scheduled through 2007 would be their last for an indefinite period of time. In February 2014, the group announced that it would be releasing another album.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2006, Thile formed How to Grow a Band, with whom he recorded "How to Grow a Woman from the Ground", Thile's fifth album. In an interview with the "Nashville City Paper", Thile described the band's formation:


title: Chris Thile

text: The band consisted of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Chris Eldridge (guitar), Greg Garrison (bass), and Noam Pikelny (banjo). Bryan Sutton has also filled in on guitar when necessary while Eldridge played out commitments to The Infamous Stringdusters. In 2007, the band officially changed its name first to "The Tensions Mountain Boys" and then "Punch Brothers".


title: Chris Thile

text: On March 17, 2007, at Carnegie Hall, this group debuted Thile's ambitious "The Blind Leaving the Blind", a 40-minute suite in four movements that Thile told NPR was written in part to deal with his 2004 divorce.


title: Chris Thile

text: Punch Brothers released its first album, "Punch", February 26, 2008, on Nonesuch Records. The album featured Thile's suite "The Blind Leaving the Blind", as well as other original songs.


title: Chris Thile

text: To promote "Punch", Thile and Punch Brothers planned a year-long tour in 2008, as well as a February 29 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". In late 2008, Paul Kowert replaced Garrison on bass. Punch Brothers released "Antifogmatic" on February 15, 2010, and continued to tour. On November 5, 2010, the band performed "Rye Whiskey" on the "Late Show with David Letterman" with Steve Martin guesting on banjo.


title: Chris Thile

text: In November 2014, Punch Brothers released a single entitled "I Blew It Off", from their then-untitled fourth album. In December 2014, the band announced the scheduled release of an upcoming album and simultaneous release of another new single, "Julep".


title: Chris Thile

text: In August 2008, Thile and bassist Edgar Meyer announced the release date of the duo's planned debut album. The album was released on Thile's label Nonesuch Records on September 23, 2008. Commenting on the collaboration, Thile said "Edgar is one of the biggest influences on my musical life, and now I'm in a duo with him and writing songs with him. This was my dream. I always wondered what it would be like to be playing music this hard." The duo toured in September and October 2008 to promote the album.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2014, Thile recorded a new collaborative album with Edgar Meyer entitled Bass & Mandolin and embarked on a tour with Meyer to support the album.


title: Chris Thile

text: Also in 2014, Thile reunited with Nickel Creek to release a new album called "A Dotted Line" in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The group also embarked on a national tour titled NC25.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile is featured in the documentary "Bluegrass Journey", along with the rest of Nickel Creek. He has also appeared on a number of other artists' recordings, including Béla Fleck's "Perpetual Motion", playing arrangements of Baroque, Impressionist, Classical and other styles of music with Fleck and Edgar Meyer; "Jam Session", with Mark O'Connor, Frank Vignola, Bryan Sutton, and Jon Burr; the Dixie Chicks' "Home", Kate Rusby's "Awkward Annie", Julie Fowlis's "Cuilidh", Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow", Dierks Bentley's "Up on the Ridge", and Sarah Jarosz's "Song Up in Her Head" and "Follow Me Down".


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile has performed as a duo with guitarist and vocalist Michael Daves since 2005. They released their debut album, "Sleep With One Eye Open", on May 10, 2011. Recorded at Jack White's studio, the album consists of 16 classic bluegrass duets. Jack White also produced and played on the duo's 7" vinyl record "Man in the Middle" on Third Man Records. Thile and Daves met in 2005 at a bluegrass jam at NYC's Baggot Inn.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2009 Thile completed a mandolin concerto entitled "Ad astra per alas porci". The work was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Winston-Salem Symphony, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Thile performed the world premiere of the first movement with the Interlochen Arts Camp World Youth Symphony Orchestra under director Jung-Ho Pak, and premiered his entire concerto with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on September 17, 2009.


title: Chris Thile

text: In 2011, he recorded "The Goat Rodeo Sessions" with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer and fiddle player Stuart Duncan. On October 25, 2011, he appeared on the Tonight Show as a member of the Yo-Yo Ma and Friends musical act. On June 19, 2020, the same group of musicians released a second album entitled "Not Our First Goat Rodeo".


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile released a solo album entitled "Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1" in June 2013. The work comprises three works by Johann Sebastian Bach written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003.


title: Chris Thile

text: Thile made his first appearance on Garrison Keillor's radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" in 1996, at age 15 and has returned numerous times—as a solo artist, with Nickel Creek, and with Punch Brothers. On February 7 and 14 in 2015 and January 30 and February 6, 2016, he was the show's guest host.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the Globicephalinae (round-headed whales including the orca and pilot whale). Delphinidae is a family within the superfamily Delphinoidea, which also includes the porpoises (Phocoenidae) and the Monodontidae (beluga whale and narwhal). River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins range in size from the and Maui's dolphin to the and orca, the largest known dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism; the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at speeds 29 km/h (18 mph) for short distances. Most delphinids primarily eat fish, along with a smaller number of squid and small crustaceans, but some species specialise in eating squid, or, in the case of the orca, also eat marine mammals and birds. All, however, are purely carnivorous. They typically have between 100 and 200 teeth, although a few species have considerably fewer. Delphinids travel in large pods, which may number a thousand individuals in some species. Each pod forages over a range of tens to hundreds of square kilometres. Some pods have a loose social structure, with individuals frequently joining or leaving, but others seem to be more permanent, perhaps dominated by a male and a harem of females. Individuals communicate by sound, producing low-frequency whistles, and also produce high-frequency broadband clicks of 80–220 kHz, which are primarily used for echolocation. Gestation lasts from 10 to 18 months, and results in the birth of a single calf. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Although oceanic dolphins are widespread, most species prefer the warmer waters of the tropic zones, but some, like the right whale dolphin, prefer colder climates. Some have a global distribution, like the orca. Oceanic dolphins feed largely on fish and squid, but a few, like the orca, feed on large mammals, like seals. Male dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer, and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. Mothers of some species fast and nurse their young for relatively long times. Dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks and whistles.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins are sometimes hunted in places such as Japan, in an activity known as dolphin drive hunting. Besides drive hunting, they also face threats from bycatch, habitat loss, and marine pollution. Dolphins have been depicted in various cultures worldwide. They occasionally feature in literature and film, as in the Warner Bros film "Free Willy". Dolphins are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to perform in shows. The most common species of dolphin in captivity is the bottlenose dolphin, and less than 50 orca were found in oceanariums in 2012.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Delphinids, especially bottlenose dolphins, are able to hybridize with a wide variety of other delphinid species; wholphins are just one of many possible hybrids.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Six species, sometimes referred to as "blackfish", are dolphins commonly called whales: the orca, the melon-headed whale, the pygmy killer whale, the false killer whale, and the two species of pilot whales, but they are classified under the family Delphinidae.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Recent molecular analyses indicate that several delphinid genera (especially "Stenella" and "Lagenorhynchus") are not monophyletic as currently recognized. Thus, significant taxonomic revisions within the family are likely.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: The Delphinidae are the most diverse of the cetacean families, with numerous variations between species. They range in size from and (Haviside's dolphin), to and 10 tonnes (orca). Most species weigh between . They typically have curved dorsal fins, clear 'beaks' at the front of their heads, and forehead melons, although exceptions to all of these rules are found. They have a wide range of colors and patterns.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins have a torpedo-shaped body with an inflexible neck, limbs modified into flippers, nonexistent external ear flaps, a large tail fin, and a bulbous head. A dolphin skull has small eye orbits, a long snout, but not as long as its river dolphin counterpart, and eyes placed on the sides of its head. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, with the females being larger than the males.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Breathing involves expelling stale air from the blowhole, forming an upward, steamy spout, followed by inhaling fresh air into the lungs; a spout only occurs when the warm air from the lungs meets the cold external air, so it may only form in colder climates.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: All oceanic dolphins have a thick layer of blubber, the thickness of which depends on how far the species lives from the equator. This blubber also helps keep the animal warm providing insulation from the harsh climate or cold depths. It can also aid in protection to some extent as predators would have a hard time getting through a thick layer of fat. Calves are born with only a thin layer of blubber, but some species compensate for this with lanugos.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins have two flippers on the underside toward the head, a dorsal fin, and a tail fin. These flippers contain four digits. Although oceanic dolphins do not possess fully developed hind limbs, some possess discrete rudimentary appendages, which may contain feet and digits. Oceanic dolphins are fast swimmers in comparison to seals who typically cruise at ; the orca, in comparison, can travel at speeds of up to . The fusing of the neck vertebrae, while increasing stability when swimming at high speeds, decreases flexibility, which means they are unable to turn their heads. Oceanic dolphins swim by moving their tail fin and rear body vertically, while their flippers are mainly used for steering. Some species log out of the water, which may allow them to travel faster. Their skeletal anatomy allows them to be fast swimmers. All species have a dorsal fin to prevent themselves from involuntarily spinning in the water.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: The oceanic dolphin ear is specifically adapted to the marine environment. In humans, the middle ear works as an impedance equalizer between the outside air's low impedance and the cochlear fluid's high impedance. In dolphins, and other marine mammals, there is no great difference between the outer and inner environments. Instead of sound passing through the outer ear to the middle ear, dolphins receive sound through the throat, from which it passes through a low-impedance fat-filled cavity to the inner ear. The dolphin ear is acoustically isolated from the skull by air-filled sinus pockets, which allow for greater directional hearing underwater. Dolphins send out high frequency clicks from an organ known as a melon. This melon consists of fat, and the skull of any such creature containing a melon will have a large depression. This allows dolphins to produce biosonar for orientation. Though most dolphins do not have hair, they do have hair follicles that may perform some sensory function. Beyond locating an object, echolocation also provides the animal with an idea on an object's shape and size, though how exactly this works is not yet understood.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: The eye of oceanic dolphins is relatively small for its size, yet they do retain a good degree of eyesight. As well as this, the eyes of a dolphin are placed on the sides of its head, so their vision consists of two fields, rather than a binocular view like humans have. When dolphins surface, their lens and cornea correct the nearsightedness that results from the refraction of light; they contain both rod and cone cells, meaning they can see in both dim and bright light. Dolphins do, however, lack short wavelength sensitive visual pigments in their cone cells indicating a more limited capacity for color vision than most mammals. Most dolphins have slightly flattened eyeballs, enlarged pupils (which shrink as they surface to prevent damage), slightly flattened corneas and a tapetum lucidum; these adaptations allow for large amounts of light to pass through the eye and, therefore, a very clear image of the surrounding area. They also have glands on the eyelids and outer corneal layer that act as protection for the cornea.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins are not thought to have a good sense of taste, as their taste buds are atrophied or missing altogether. However, some have preferences between different kinds of fish, indicating some sort of attachment to taste.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Most delphinids primarily eat fish, along with a smaller number of squid and small crustaceans, but some species specialize in eating squid, or, in the case of the orca, also eat marine mammals and birds. All, however, are purely carnivorous. They typically have between 100 and 200 teeth, although a few species have considerably fewer. Various methods of feeding exist among and within oceanic species, some apparently exclusive to a single population. Fish and squid are the main food, but the false killer whale and the orca also feed on other marine mammals. Orca on occasion also hunt whales larger than themselves.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: One common feeding method is herding, where a pod squeezes a school of fish into a bait ball. Individual members then take turns plowing through the ball, feeding on the stunned fish. Corralling is a method where dolphins chase fish into shallow water to catch them more easily. Orca and bottlenose dolphins have also been known to drive their prey onto a beach to feed on it, a behavior known as beach or strand feeding. Some species also whack fish with their flukes, stunning them and sometimes knocking them out of the water.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins are capable of making a broad range of sounds using nasal airsacs located just below the blowhole. Roughly three categories of sounds can be identified: frequency modulated whistles, burst-pulsed sounds, and clicks. Dolphins communicate with whistle-like sounds produced by vibrating connective tissue, similar to the way human vocal cords function, and through burst-pulsed sounds, though the nature and extent of that ability is not known. The clicks are directional and are for echolocation, often occurring in a short series called a click train. The click rate increases when approaching an object of interest. Dolphin echolocation clicks are amongst the loudest sounds made by marine animals.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Bottlenose dolphins have been found to have signature whistles. These whistles are used in order for dolphins to communicate with one another by identifying an individual. It can be seen as the dolphin equivalent of a name for humans. These signature whistles are developed during a dolphin's first year; it continues to maintain the same sound throughout its lifetime. In order to obtain each individual whistle sound, dolphins undergo vocal production learning. This consists of an experience with other dolphins that modifies the signal structure of an existing whistle sound. An auditory experience influences the whistle development of each dolphin. Dolphins are able to communicate to one another by addressing another dolphin through mimicking their whistle. The signature whistle of a male bottlenose dolphin tends to be similar to that of his mother, while the signature whistle of a female bottlenose dolphin tends to be more distinguishable. Bottlenose dolphins have a strong memory when it comes to these signature whistles, as they are able to relate to a signature whistle of an individual they have not encountered for over twenty years. Research done on signature whistle usage by other dolphin species is relatively limited. The research on other species done so far has yielded varied outcomes and inconclusive results.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins frequently leap above the water surface, this being done for various reasons. When travelling, jumping can save the dolphin energy as there is less friction while in the air. This type of travel is known as porpoising. Other reasons include orientation, social displays, fighting, non-verbal communication, entertainment and attempting to dislodge parasites.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dolphins show various types of playful behavior, often including objects, self-made bubble rings, other dolphins, or other animals. When playing with objects or small animals, common behavior includes carrying the object or animal along using various parts of the body, passing it along to other members of the group or taking it from another member, or throwing it out of the water. Dolphins have also been observed harassing animals in other ways, for example by dragging birds underwater without showing any intent to eat them. Playful behaviour that involves another animal species with active participation of the other animal can also be observed, however. Playful human interaction with dolphins is one example, but playful interactions have been observed in the wild with a number of other species as well, including humpback whales and dogs.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Oceanic dolphins are known to teach, learn, cooperate, scheme, and grieve. The neocortex of many species is home to elongated spindle neurons that, prior to 2007, were known only in hominids. In humans, these cells are involved in social conduct, emotions, judgment, and theory of mind. Cetacean spindle neurons are found in areas of the brain that are homologous to where they are found in humans, suggesting that they perform a similar function.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Brain size was previously considered a major indicator of the intelligence of an animal. Since most of the brain is used for maintaining bodily functions, greater ratios of brain to body mass may increase the amount of brain mass available for more complex cognitive tasks. Allometric analysis indicates that mammalian brain size scales at approximately the ⅔ or ¾ exponent of the body mass. Comparison of a particular animal's brain size with the expected brain size based on such allometric analysis provides an encephalization quotient that can be used as another indication of animal intelligence. Orca have the second largest brain mass of any animal on earth, next to the sperm whale. The brain to body mass ratio in some is second only to humans.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Self-awareness is seen, by some, to be a sign of highly developed, abstract thinking. Self-awareness, though not well-defined scientifically, is believed to be the precursor to more advanced processes like meta-cognitive reasoning (thinking about thinking) that are typical of humans. Research in this field has suggested that cetaceans, among others, possess self-awareness.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: The most widely used test for self-awareness in animals is the mirror test in which a temporary dye is placed on an animal's body, and the animal is then presented with a mirror; they then see if the animal shows signs of self-recognition.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: In 1995, Marten and Psarakos used television to test dolphin self-awareness. They showed dolphins real-time footage of themselves, recorded footage, and another dolphin. They concluded that their evidence suggested self-awareness rather than social behavior. While this particular study has not been repeated since then, dolphins have since passed the mirror test.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: In some parts of the world, such as Taiji, Japan and the Faroe Islands, dolphins are traditionally considered as food, and are killed in harpoon or drive hunts.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dolphin meat is consumed in a small number of countries worldwide, which include Japan and Peru (where it is referred to as "chancho marino", or "sea pork").


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dolphin meat is dense and such a dark shade of red as to appear black. Fat is located in a layer of blubber between the meat and the skin. When dolphin meat is eaten in Japan, it is often cut into thin strips and eaten raw as "sashimi", garnished with onion and either horseradish or grated garlic, much as with "sashimi" of whale or horse meat ("basashi"). When cooked, dolphin meat is cut into bite-size cubes and then batter-fried or simmered in a "miso" sauce with vegetables. Cooked dolphin meat has a flavor very similar to beef liver. Dolphin meat is high in mercury, and may pose a health danger to humans when consumed.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: There have been human health concerns associated with the consumption of dolphin meat in Japan after tests showed that dolphin meat contained high levels of mercury. There are no known cases of mercury poisoning as a result of consuming dolphin meat, though the government continues to monitor people in areas where dolphin meat consumption is high. The Japanese government recommends that children and pregnant women avoid eating dolphin meat on a regular basis.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Similar concerns exist with the consumption of dolphin meat in the Faroe Islands, where prenatal exposure to methylmercury and PCBs primarily from the consumption of pilot whale meat has resulted in neuropsychological deficits amongst children.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Legally consuming dolphin meat in the United States would be near impossible for most due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which forbids "...the act of hunting, killing, capture, and/or harassment of any marine mammal..." (Exceptions are made for certain groups of people, such as Alaska Natives.) Theoretically, one could only eat the meat of a dolphin which died of natural causes, which would likely be highly undesirable (and potentially dangerous).


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Various fishing methods, like seine fishing for tuna and the use of drift and gill nets, unintentionally kill many oceanic dolphins. Accidental bycatch in gill nets is common and poses a risk for mainly local dolphin populations.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dolphin safe labels attempt to reassure consumers that fish and other marine products have been caught in a dolphin-friendly way. The earliest campaigns with "Dolphin safe" labels were initiated in the 1980s as a result of cooperation between marine activists and the major tuna companies, and involved decreasing incidental dolphin kills by up to 50% by changing the type of nets used to catch tuna. The dolphins are netted only while fishermen are in pursuit of smaller tuna. Albacore are not netted this way, making albacore the only truly dolphin-safe tuna.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Loud underwater noises, such as those resulting from naval sonar use, live firing exercises, and certain offshore construction projects such as wind farms, may be harmful to dolphins, increasing stress, damaging hearing, and causing decompression sickness by forcing them to surface too quickly to escape the noise.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: The renewed popularity of dolphins in the 1960s resulted in the appearance of many dolphinaria around the world, making dolphins accessible to the public. Criticism and animal welfare laws forced many to close, although hundreds still exist around the world. In the United States, the best known are the SeaWorld marine mammal parks.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Various species of dolphins are kept in captivity. These small cetaceans are more often than not kept in theme parks, such as SeaWorld, commonly known as a dolphinarium. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common species of dolphin kept in dolphinariums as they are relatively easy to train, have a long lifespan in captivity and have a friendly appearance. Hundreds if not thousands of bottlenose dolphins live in captivity across the world, though exact numbers are hard to determine. Other species kept in captivity are spotted dolphins, false killer whales and common dolphins, Commerson's dolphins, as well as rough-toothed dolphins, but all in much lower numbers than the bottlenose dolphin. There are also fewer than ten pilot whales, Amazon river dolphins, Risso's dolphins, spinner dolphins, or tucuxi in captivity. Two unusual and very rare hybrid dolphins, known as wholphins, are kept at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii, which is a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. Also, two common/bottlenose hybrids reside in captivity: one at Discovery Cove and the other at SeaWorld San Diego.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Orca are well known for their performances in shows, but the number of orcas kept in captivity is very small, especially when compared to the number of bottlenose dolphins, with only 44 captive orca being held in aquaria as of 2012. The orca's intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size have made it a popular exhibit at aquaria and aquatic theme parks. From 1976 to 1997, 55 whales were taken from the wild in Iceland, 19 in Japan and three in Argentina. These figures exclude animals that died during capture. Live captures fell dramatically in the 1990s, and by 1999, about 40% of the 48 animals on display in the world were captive-born.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: In Greek myths, they were seen invariably as helpers of humankind. Dolphins also seem to have been important to the Minoans, judging by artistic evidence from the ruined palace at Knossos. Dolphins are common in Greek mythology, and many coins from ancient Greece have been found which feature a man, a boy or a deity riding on the back of a dolphin. The Ancient Greeks welcomed dolphins; spotting dolphins riding in a ship's wake was considered a good omen. In both ancient and later art, Cupid is often shown riding a dolphin. A dolphin rescued the poet Arion from drowning and carried him safe to land, at Cape Matapan, a promontory forming the southernmost point of the Peloponnesus. There was a temple to Poseidon and a statue of Arion riding the dolphin.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dionysus was once captured by Etruscan pirates who mistook him for a wealthy prince they could ransom. After the ship set sail Dionysus invoked his divine powers, causing vines to overgrow the ship where the mast and sails had been. He turned the oars into serpents, so terrifying the sailors that they jumped overboard, but Dionysus took pity on them and transformed them into dolphins so that they would spend their lives providing help for those in need. Dolphins were also the messengers of Poseidon and sometimes did errands for him as well. Dolphins were sacred to both Aphrodite and Apollo.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: Dolphins are sometimes used as symbols, for instance in heraldry. When heraldry developed in the Middle Ages, not much was known about the biology of the dolphin and it was often depicted as a sort of fish. Traditionally, the dolphins in heraldry still may take after this notion, sometimes showing the dolphin skin covered with fish scales.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: In the Middle Ages, the dolphin became an important heraldic element in the coats of arms of several European noble families, the most noticeable being those of the Dauphin de Viennois (later Dauphin of France) through which it passed to the Counts of Forez, Albon and other French families, as well as several branches of the Bourbon family (Count of Montpensier, Count of Beaujolais, among others) the Pandolfini of Florence, and the Delfini of Venice and Rome also used the dolphin as their "canting" armories. In the 19th century, Joseph Bonaparte adopted a dolphin in his coat of arms as King of Naples and Sicily.


title: Oceanic dolphin

text: In contemporary days, a dolphin is still used in the coat of arms of many cities, as well as in the coat of arms of Anguilla and the coat of arms of Romania, and the coat of arms of Barbados has a dolphin supporter. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, a dolphin in his coat of arms, as well as Cardinal Godfried Danneels, former Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.


title: Diaper

text: A diaper (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to prevent soiling of outer clothing or the external environment. When diapers become wet or soiled, they require changing, generally by a second person such as a parent or caregiver. Failure to change a diaper on a sufficiently regular basis can result in skin problems around the area covered by the diaper.


title: Diaper

text: Diapers are made of cloth or synthetic disposable materials. Cloth diapers are composed of layers of fabric such as cotton, hemp, bamboo, microfiber, or even plastic fibers such as PLA or PU, and can be washed and reused multiple times. Disposable diapers contain absorbent chemicals and are thrown away after use.


title: Diaper

text: Diapers are primarily worn by infants, toddlers who are not yet toilet trained, and by children who experience bedwetting. They are also used by adults under certain circumstances or with various conditions, such as incontinence. Adult users can include those of advanced age, patients bed-bound in a hospital, individuals with certain types of physical or mental disability, and people working in extreme conditions, such as astronauts. It is not uncommon for people to wear diapers under dry suits.


title: Diaper

text: The Middle English word "diaper" originally referred to a type of cloth rather than the use thereof; "diaper" was the term for a pattern of repeated, rhombic shapes, and later came to describe white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is a piece of soft cloth or other thick material that is folded around a baby’s bottom and between its legs to absorb and hold its body waste. The first cloth diapers consisted of a specific type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. The pattern visible in linen and other types of woven fabric was called "diaper". This meaning of the word has been in use since the 1590s in England. By the 19th century, baby diapers were being sewn from linen, giving us the modern-day reading of the word "diaper". This usage stuck in the United States and Canada following the British colonization of North America, but in the United Kingdom, the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe "nappy" is a diminutive form of the word napkin, which itself was originally a diminutive.


title: Diaper

text: In the 19th century, the modern diaper began to take shape and mothers in many parts of the world used cotton material, held in place with a fastening—eventually the safety pin. Cloth diapers in the United States were first mass-produced in 1887 by Maria Allen. In the UK, diapers were made out of terry towelling, often with an inner lining made out of soft muslin.


title: Diaper

text: Nice old, soft bits of good Turkish towelling, properly washed, will make the softest of diaper coverings, inside which specially absorbent napkins (diapers), see below at 1A, soft, light, and easily washed, are contained. These should rarely be soiled once regular habits have been inculcated, especially during the night period in which it is most important to prevent habit formation


title: Diaper

text: 1A -(squares of butter muslin or Harrington's packed rolls of "mutton cloth" in packets, sold for polishing motor-cars, would do equally well and are very cheap and soft)


title: Diaper

text: Wool pants, or, once available, rubber pants, were sometimes used over the cloth diaper to prevent leakage. Doctors believed that rubber pants were harmful because they thought the rubber acted as a poultice and damaged the skin of infants. The constant problem to be overcome was diaper rash, and the infection thereof. The concern was that lack of air circulation would worsen this condition. While lack of air circulation is a factor, it was later found that poor hygiene involving inefficiently washed diapers and infrequent changes of diapers, along with allowing the baby to lie for prolonged periods of time with fecal matter in contact with the skin, were the two main causes of these problems.


title: Diaper

text: In the 20th century, the disposable diaper was conceived. In the 1930s, Robinsons of Chesterfield had what were labeled "Destroyable Babies Napkins" listed in their catalogue for the wholesale market. In 1944, Hugo Drangel of the Swedish paper company Pauliström suggested a conceptual design which would entail the placing of sheets of paper tissue (cellulose wadding) inside the cloth diaper and rubber pants. However, cellulose wadding was rough against the skin and crumbled into balls when exposed to moisture.


title: Diaper

text: In 1946, Marion Donovan used a shower curtain from her bathroom to create the "Boater", a diaper cover made from army surplus nylon parachute cloth. First sold in 1949 at Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in New York City, patents were later issued in 1951 to Donovan, who later sold the rights to the waterproof diaper for $1 million. Donovan also designed a paper disposable diaper, but was unsuccessful in marketing it.


title: Diaper

text: In 1947, Scottish housewife Valerie Hunter Gordon started developing and making Paddi, a 2-part system consisting of a disposable pad (made of cellulose wadding covered with cotton wool) worn inside an adjustable plastic garment with press-studs/snaps. Initially, she used old parachutes for the garment. She applied for the patent in April 1948, and it was granted for the UK in October 1949. Initially, the big manufacturers were unable to see the commercial possibilities of disposable diapers. In 1948, Gordon made over 400 Paddis herself using her sewing machine at the kitchen table. Her husband had unsuccessfully approached several companies for help until he had a chance meeting with Sir Robert Robinson at a business dinner. In November 1949 Valerie Gordon signed a contract with Robinsons of Chesterfield who then went into full production. In 1950, Boots UK agreed to sell Paddi in all their branches. In 1951 the Paddi patent was granted for the US and worldwide. Shortly after that, Playtex and several other large international companies tried unsuccessfully to buy out Paddi from Robinsons. Paddi was very successful for many years until the advent of 'all in one' diapers.


title: Diaper

text: In Sweden, Hugo Drangel's daughter Lil Karhola Wettergren, in 1956 elaborated her father's original idea, by adding a garment (again making a 2-part system like Paddi). However she met the same problem, with the purchasing managers, declaring they would never allow their wives to "put paper on their children."


title: Diaper

text: After the Second World War, mothers increasingly wanted freedom from washing diapers so that they could work and travel, causing an increasing demand for disposable diapers.


title: Diaper

text: During the 1950s, companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke entered the disposable diaper market, and in 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers. Victor Mills, along with his project group including William Dehaas (both men who worked for the company) invented what would be trademarked "Pampers". Although Pampers were conceptualized in 1959, the diapers themselves were not launched into the market until 1961. Pampers now accounts for more than $10 billion in annual revenue at Procter & Gamble.


title: Diaper

text: Over the next few decades, the disposable diaper industry boomed and the competition between Procter & Gamble's Pampers and Kimberly Clark's Huggies resulted in lower prices and drastic changes to diaper design. Several improvements were made, such as the use of double gussets to improve diaper fit and containment. As stated in Procter & Gamble's initial 1973 patent for the use of double gussets in a diaper, "The double gusset folded areas tend to readily conform to the thigh portions of the leg of the infant. This allows quick and easy fitting and provides a snug and comfortable diaper fit that will neither bind nor wad on the infant…as a result of this snugger fit obtained because of this fold configuration, the diaper is less likely to leak or, in other words, its containment characteristics are greatly enhanced." Further developments in diaper design were made, such as the introduction of refastenable tapes, the "hourglass shape" so as to reduce bulk at the crotch area, and the 1984 introduction of super-absorbent material from polymers known as sodium polyacrylate that were originally developed in 1966.


title: Diaper

text: The first waterproof diaper cover was invented in 1946 by Marion Donovan, a professional-turned-housewife who wanted to ensure her children's clothing and bedding remained dry while they slept. She also invented the first paper diapers, but executives did not invest in this idea and it was consequently scrapped for over ten years until Procter & Gamble used Donovan's design ideas to create Pampers. Another disposable diaper design was created by Valerie Hunter Gordon and patented in 1948


title: Diaper

text: Ever since their introduction product innovations include the use of superabsorbent polymers, resealable tapes, and elasticised waist bands. They are now much thinner and much more absorbent. The product range has more recently been extended into children's toilet training phase with the introduction of training pants and pant diapers, which are now undergarments.


title: Diaper

text: Modern disposable baby diapers and incontinence products have a layered construction, which allows the transfer and distribution of urine to an absorbent core structure where it is locked in. Basic layers are an outer shell of breathable polyethylene film or a nonwoven and film composite which prevents wetness and soil transfer, an inner absorbent layer of a mixture of air-laid paper and superabsorbent polymers for wetness, and a layer nearest the skin of nonwoven material with a distribution layer directly beneath which will transfer wetness to the absorbent layer.


title: Diaper

text: Other common features of disposable diapers include one or more pairs of either adhesive or mechanical fastening tapes to keep the diaper securely fastened. Some diapers have tapes which are refastenable to allow adjusting of fit or reapplication after inspection. Elasticized fabric single and double gussets around the leg and waist areas aid in fitting and in containing urine or stool which has not been absorbed. Some diapers lines now commonly include wetness indicators, in which a chemical included in the fabric of the diaper changes color in the presence of moisture to alert the carer or user that the diaper is wet.


title: Diaper

text: A disposable diaper may also include an inner fabric designed to hold moisture against the skin for a brief period before absorption to alert a toilet training or bedwetting user that they have urinated. Most materials in the diaper are held together with the use of a hot-melt adhesive, which is applied in spray form or multi lines, an elastic hot melt is also used to help with pad integrity when the diaper is wet.


title: Diaper

text: Some disposable diapers include fragrance, lotions or essential oils in order to help mask the smell of a soiled diaper, or to protect the skin. Care of disposable diapers is minimal, and primarily consists of keeping them in a dry place before use, with proper disposal in a garbage receptacle upon soiling. Stool is supposed to be deposited in the toilet, but is generally put in the garbage with the rest of the diaper.


title: Diaper

text: Buying the right size of disposable diaper can be a little difficult for first time parents since different brands tend to have different sizing standards. Baby diaper sizes in general are based on the child's weight (kg or lbs) and not determined by age like in clothing or shoes.


title: Diaper

text: Cloth diapers are reusable and can be made from natural fibers, synthetic materials, or a combination of both. They are often made from industrial cotton which may be bleached white or left the fiber's natural color. Other natural fiber cloth materials include wool, bamboo, and unbleached hemp. Man-made materials such as an internal absorbent layer of microfiber toweling or an external waterproof layer of polyurethane laminate (PUL) may be used. Polyester fleece and faux suedecloth are often used inside cloth diapers as a "stay-dry" wicking liner because of the non-absorbent properties of those synthetic fibers.


title: Diaper

text: Traditionally, cloth diapers consisted of a folded square or rectangle of cloth, fastened with safety pins. Today, most cloth diapers are fastened with hook and loop tape (velcro) or snaps.


title: Diaper

text: Modern cloth diapers come in a host of shapes, including preformed cloth diapers, all-in-one diapers with waterproof exteriors, fitted diaper with covers and pocket or "stuffable" diapers, which consist of a water-resistant outer shell sewn with an opening for insertion of absorbent material inserts. Many design features of modern cloth diapers have followed directly from innovations initially developed in disposable diapers, such as the use of the hour glass shape, materials to separate moisture from skin and the use of double gussets, or an inner elastic band for better fit and containment of waste material. Several cloth diaper brands use variations of Procter & Gamble's original 1973 patent use of a double gusset in Pampers.


title: Diaper

text: Compostable diapers can be made from a range of different plant-based materials. Dyper makes their compostable diapers from bamboo fibers.


title: Diaper

text: Babies may have their diapers changed five or more times a day. Parents and other primary child care givers often carry spare diapers and necessities for diaper changing in a specialized diaper bag. Diapering may possibly serve as a good bonding experience for parent and child. Children who wear diapers may experience skin irritation, commonly referred to as diaper rash, due to continual contact with fecal matter, as feces contains urease which catalyzes the conversion of the urea in urine to ammonia which can irritate the skin and can cause painful redness.


title: Diaper

text: The age at which children should cease regularly wearing diapers and toilet training should begin is a subject of debate. Proponents of baby-led potty training and Elimination Communication argue that potty training can begin at birth with multiple benefits, with diapers only used as a backup. Keeping children in diapers beyond infancy can be controversial, with family psychologist John Rosemond claiming it is a "slap to the intelligence of a human being that one would allow baby to continue soiling and wetting himself past age two." Pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, however, believes that toilet training is the child's choice and has encouraged this view in various commercials for Pampers Size 6, a diaper for older children. Brazelton warns that enforced toilet training can cause serious longterm problems, and that it is the child's decision when to stop wearing diapers, not the parents'.


title: Diaper

text: Children typically achieve daytime continence and stop wearing diapers during the day between the ages of two and four, depending on culture, diaper type, parental habits, and the child's personality. However, it is becoming increasingly common for children as old as five to still be wearing diapers during the day, due to medical reasons, disability, the child's opposition to toilet training, or neglect. This can pose a number of problems if the child is sent to school wearing diapers, including teasing from classmates and health issues resulting from soiled diapers.


title: Diaper

text: Most children continue to wear diapers at night for a period of time following daytime continence. Older children may have problems with bladder control (primarily at night) and may wear diapers while sleeping to control bedwetting. Approximately 16% of children in the U.S. over the age of 5 wet the bed. If bedwetting becomes a concern, the current recommendation is to consider forgoing the use of a diaper at night as they may prevent the child from wanting to get out of bed, although this is not a primary cause of bedwetting. This is particularly the case for children over the age of 8.


title: Diaper

text: Manufacturers have designed "training pants" which bridge the gap between baby diapers and normal underwear during the toilet training process. These are similar to infant diapers in construction but they can be put on like normal underwear. Training pants are available for children who experience enuresis.


title: Diaper

text: Although most commonly worn by and associated with babies and children, diapers are also worn by adults for a variety of reasons. In the medical community, they are usually referred to as "adult absorbent briefs" rather than diapers, which are associated with children and may have a negative connotation. The usage of adult diapers can be a source of embarrassment, and products are often marketed under euphemisms such as incontinence pads. The most common adult users of diapers are those with medical conditions which cause them to experience urinary like bed wetting or fecal incontinence, or those who are bedridden or otherwise limited in their mobility.


title: Diaper

text: The Maximum Absorbency Garment is an adult-sized diaper with extra absorption material that NASA astronauts wear during liftoff, landing, and extra-vehicular activity (EVA).


title: Diaper

text: Diapers and diaperlike products are sometimes used on pets, laboratory animals, or working animals. This is often due to the animal not being housebroken, or for older, sick, or injured pets who have become incontinent. In some cases, these are simply baby diapers with holes cut for the tails to fit through. In other cases, they are diaperlike waste collection devices.


title: Diaper

text: The diapers used on primates, canines, etc. are much like the diapers used by humans. The diapers used on equines are intended to catch excretions, as opposed to absorbing them.


title: Diaper

text: In 2002, the Vienna city council proposed that horses be made to wear diapers to prevent them from defecating in the street. This caused controversy amongst animal rights groups, who claimed that wearing diapers would be uncomfortable for the animals. The campaigners protested by lining the streets wearing diapers themselves, which spelled out the message "Stop pooh bags". In the Kenyan town of Limuru, donkeys were also diapered at the council's behest. A similar scheme in Blackpool ordered that horses be fitted with rubber and plastic diapers to stop them littering the promenade with dung. The council consulted the RSPCA to ensure that the diapers were not harmful to the horses' welfare.


title: Diaper

text: Other animals that are sometimes diapered include female dogs when ovulating and thus bleeding, and monkeys and apes or chickens. Diapers are often seen on trained animals who appear on TV shows, in movies, or for live entertainment or educational appearances.


title: Diaper

text: As of 2018, name-brand, mid-range disposable diapers in the U.S., such as Huggies and Pampers, were sold at an average cost of approximately $0.20–0.30 each, and their manufacturers earned about two cents in profit from each diaper sold. Premium brands had eco-friendly features, and sold for approximately twice that price. Generic disposable diapers cost less per diaper, at an average price of $0.15 each, and the typical manufacturer's profit was about one cent per diaper. However, the low-cost diapers needed to be changed more frequently, so the total cost savings was limited, as the lower cost per diaper was offset by the need to buy more diapers.


title: Diaper

text: In Latin America, some manufacturers sold disposable diapers at a price of approximately US$0.10 each.


title: Diaper

text: An average child will go through several thousand diapers in their life. Since disposable diapers are discarded after a single use, usage of disposable diapers increases the burden on landfill sites, and increased environmental awareness has led to a growth in campaigns for parents to use reusable alternatives such as cloth or hybrid diapers. An estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, resulting in a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers adding to landfills each year. A discarded disposable diaper takes approximately 450 years to decompose.


title: Diaper

text: The environmental impact of cloth as compared to disposable diapers has been studied several times. In one cradle-to-grave study sponsored by the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS) and conducted by Carl Lehrburger and colleagues, results stated that disposable diapers produce seven times more solid waste when discarded and three times more waste in the manufacturing process. In addition, effluents from the plastic, pulp, and paper industries are believed far more hazardous than those from the cotton-growing and -manufacturing processes. Single-use diapers consume less water than reusables laundered at home, but more than those sent to a commercial diaper service. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons (approx. 189 to 264 litres) of water every three days, which is roughly equivalent to flushing the toilet 15 times a day, unless the user has a high-efficiency washing machine. An average diaper service puts its diapers through an average of 13 water changes, but uses less water and energy per diaper than one laundry load at home.


title: Diaper

text: In October 2008, "An updated lifecycle assessment study for disposable and reusable nappies" by the UK Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that reusable diapers can cause significantly less (up to 40 per cent) or significantly more damage to the environment than disposable ones, depending mostly on how parents wash and dry them. The "baseline scenario" showed that the difference in green-house emissions was insignificant (in fact, disposables even scored slightly better). However, much better results (emission cuts of up to 40 per cent) could be achieved by using reusable diapers more rationally. "The report shows that, in contrast to the use of disposable nappies, it is consumers' behaviour after purchase that determines most of the impacts from reusable nappies. Cloth nappy users can reduce their environmental impacts by:


title: Diaper

text: There are variations in the care of cloth diapers that can account for different measures of environmental impact. For example, using a cloth diaper laundering service involves additional pollution from the vehicle that picks up and drops off deliveries. Yet such a service uses less water per diaper in the laundering process. Some people who launder cloth diapers at home wash each load twice, considering the first wash a "prewash", and thus doubling the energy and water usage from laundering. Cloth diapers are most commonly made of cotton. "Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides on 3% of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit." This effect can be mitigated by using organic cotton or other materials, such as bamboo and hemp.


title: Diaper

text: Another aspect to consider when choosing between disposable diapers and cloth diapers is cost. It is estimated that an average baby will use from $1,500 to $2,000 or more in disposable diapers before being potty-trained. In contrast, cloth diapers, while initially more expensive than disposables, if bought new cost about $100 to $300 for a basic set, although costs can rise with more expensive versions. The cost of washing and drying diapers must also be considered. The basic set, if one-sized, can last from birth to potty-training.


title: Diaper

text: Another factor in reusable cloth diaper impact is the ability to re-use the diapers for subsequent children or sell them on. These factors can alleviate the environmental and financial impact from manufacture, sale and use of brand-new reusable diapers.


title: Privatization

text: Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when a heavily regulated private company or industry becomes less regulated. Government functions and services may also be privatised (which may also be known as "franchising" or "out-sourcing"); in this case, private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or performance of government services that had previously been the purview of state-run agencies. Some examples include revenue collection, law enforcement, water supply, and prison management.


title: Privatization

text: Another definition is that privatization is the sale of a state-owned enterprise or municipally owned corporation to private investors; in this case shares may be traded in the public market for the first time, or for the first time since an enterprise's previous nationalization. This type of privatization can include the demutualization of a mutual organization, cooperative, or public-private partnership in order to form a joint-stock company.


title: Privatization

text: Separately, privatization can refer to the purchase of all outstanding shares of a publicly-traded company by private equity investors, which is more often called "going private". Before and after this process the company is privately owned, but after the buyout its shares are withdrawn from being traded at a public stock exchange.


title: Privatization

text: The term ‘"privatizing’" first appeared in English, with quotation marks, in the "New York Times", in April 1923, in a translation of a German speech referring to the potential for German state railroads to be bought by American companies. In German, the word "" has been used since at least the 19th-century. Ultimately, the word came to German through French from the Latin "privatus".


title: Privatization

text: The term "reprivatization", again translated directly from German ("Reprivatisierung"), was used frequently in the mid-1930s as the "Economist" reported on Nazi Germany's sale of nationalized banks back to public shareholders following the 1931 economic crisis.


title: Privatization

text: The word became common in the late 1970s and early 1980s as part of Margaret Thatcher's economic policies. She was drawing on the work of the pro-privatization MP, David Howell, who was himself drawing on the Austrian-American management expert Peter Drucker's 1969 book, "The Age of Discontinuity".


title: Privatization

text: The word "privatization" may mean different things depending on the context in which it is used. It can mean moving something from the public sphere into the private sphere, but it may also be used to describe something that was always private, but heavily regulated, which becomes less regulated through a process of deregulation. The term may also be used descriptively for something that has always been private, but could be public in other jurisdictions.


title: Privatization

text: There are also private entities that may perform public functions. These entities could also be described as privatized. Privatization may mean the government sells state-owned businesses to private interests, but it may also be discussed in the context of the privatization of services or government functions, where private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or the performance of government services. Gillian E. Metzger has written that: "Private entities [in the US] provide a vast array of social services for the government; administer core aspects of government programs; and perform tasks that appear quintessentially governmental, such as promulgating standards or regulating third-party activities." Metzger mentions an expansion of privatization that includes health and welfare programs, public education, and prisons.


title: Privatization

text: The history of privatization dates from Ancient Greece, when governments contracted out almost everything to the private sector. In the Roman Republic private individuals and companies performed the majority of services including tax collection (tax farming), army supplies (military contractors), religious sacrifices and construction. However, the Roman Empire also created state-owned enterprises—for example, much of the grain was eventually produced on estates owned by the Emperor. David Parker and David S. Saal suggest that the cost of bureaucracy was one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire.


title: Privatization

text: Perhaps one of the first ideological movements towards privatization came during China's golden age of the Han Dynasty. Taoism came into prominence for the first time at a state level, and it advocated the laissez-faire principle of Wu wei (無為), literally meaning "do nothing". The rulers were counseled by the Taoist clergy that a strong ruler was virtually invisible.


title: Privatization

text: During the Renaissance, most of Europe was still by and large following the feudal economic model. By contrast, the Ming dynasty in China began once more to practice privatization, especially with regards to their manufacturing industries. This was a reversal of the earlier Song dynasty policies, which had themselves overturned earlier policies in favor of more rigorous state control.


title: Privatization

text: In Britain, the privatization of common lands is referred to as enclosure (in Scotland as the Lowland Clearances and the Highland Clearances). Significant privatizations of this nature occurred from 1760 to 1820, preceding the industrial revolution in that country.


title: Privatization

text: The first mass privatization of state property occurred in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1937: "It is a fact that the government of the National Socialist Party sold off public ownership in several state-owned firms in the middle of the 1930s. The firms belonged to a wide range of sectors: steel, mining, banking, local public utilities, shipyard, ship-lines, railways, etc. In addition to this, delivery of some public services produced by public administrations prior to the 1930s, especially social services and services related to work, was transferred to the private sector, mainly to several organizations within the Nazi Party."


title: Privatization

text: Great Britain privatized its steel industry in the 1950s, and the West German government embarked on large-scale privatization, including sale of the majority stake in Volkswagen to small investors in public share offerings in 1961. However, it was in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States that privatization gained worldwide momentum. Notable privatization attempts in the UK included privatization of Britoil (1982), the radioactive-chemicals company Amersham International (1982), British Telecom (1984), Sealink ferries (1984), British Petroleum (gradually privatized between 1979 and 1987), British Aerospace (1985 to 1987), British Gas (1986), Rolls-Royce (1987), Rover Group (formerly British Leyland, 1988), British Steel Corporation (1988), and the regional water authorities (mostly in 1989). After 1979, council house tenants in the UK were given the right to buy their homes (at a heavily discounted rate). One million purchased their residences by 1986.


title: Privatization

text: Such efforts culminated in 1993 when British Rail was privatized under Thatcher's successor, John Major. British Rail had been formed by prior nationalization of private rail companies. The privatization was controversial, and its impact is still debated today, as doubling of passenger numbers and investment was balanced by an increase in rail subsidy. This has been reverted by the same party in Britain in the early 2020s with the state-owned Great British Railways.


title: Privatization

text: The United Kingdom's largest public share offerings were privatizations of British Telecom and British Gas during the 1980s under the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher when many state-run firms were sold off to the private sector. The privatization received very mixed views from the public and the parliament. Even former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan was critical of the policy, likening it to "selling the family silver". There were around 3 million shareholders in Britain when Thatcher took office in 1979, but the subsequent sale of state-run firms saw the number of shareholders double by 1985. By the time of her resignation in 1990, there were more than 10 million shareholders in Britain.


title: Privatization

text: Privatization in Latin America was extensive in the 1980s and 1990s, as a result of a Western liberal economic policy. Companies providing public services such as water management, transportation, and telecommunication were rapidly sold off to the private sector. In the 1990s, privatization revenue from 18 Latin American countries totaled 6% of gross domestic product. Private investment in infrastructure from 1990 and 2001 reached $360.5 billion, $150 billion more than in the next emerging economy.


title: Privatization

text: While economists generally give favorable evaluations of the impact of privatization in Latin America, opinion polls and public protests across the countries suggest that a large segment of the public is dissatisfied with or have negative views of privatization in the region.


title: Privatization

text: In the 1990s, the governments in Eastern and Central Europe engaged in extensive privatization of state-owned enterprises in Eastern and Central Europe and Russia, with assistance from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the German Treuhand, and other governmental and non-governmental organization.


title: Privatization

text: Ongoing privatization of Japan Post relates to that of the national postal service and one of the largest banks in the world. After years of debate, the privatization of Japan Post spearheaded by Junichiro Koizumi finally started in 2007. The privatization process is expected to last until 2017. Japan Post was one of the nation's largest employers, as one-third of Japanese state employees worked for it. It was also said to be the largest holder of personal savings in the world. Criticisms against Japan Post were that it served as a channel of corruption and was inefficient. In September 2003, Koizumi's cabinet proposed splitting Japan Post into four separate companies: a bank, an insurance company, a postal service company, and a fourth company to handle the post offices and retail storefronts of the other three. After the Upper House rejected privatization, Koizumi scheduled nationwide elections for September 11, 2005. He declared the election to be a referendum on postal privatization. Koizumi subsequently won the election, gaining the necessary supermajority and a mandate for reform, and in October 2005, the bill was passed to privatize Japan Post in 2007.


title: Privatization

text: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's privatization in 1987 involved the largest share offering in financial history at the time. 15 of the world's 20 largest public share offerings have been privatizations of telecoms.


title: Privatization

text: In 1988, the perestroika policy of Mikhail Gorbachev started allowing privatization of the centrally planned economy. Large privatization of the Soviet economy occurred over the next few years as the country dissolved. Other Eastern Bloc countries followed suit after the Revolutions of 1989 introduced non-communist governments.


title: Privatization

text: Freedom House's privatization index rated transition countries from 1 (maximum progress) to 7 (no progress). The table below shows the privatization index for various Eastern European countries in 1998 and 2002:


title: Privatization

text: Egypt undertook widespread privatization under Hosni Mubarak. Following his overthrow in the 2011 revolution, most of the public began to call for re-nationalization, citing allegations of the privatized firms practicing crony capitalism under the old regime.


title: Privatization

text: The choice of sale method is influenced by the capital market and the political and firm-specific factors. Privatization through the stock market is more likely to be the method used when there is an established capital market capable of absorbing the shares. A market with high liquidity can facilitate the privatization. If the capital markets are insufficiently developed, however, it would be difficult to find enough buyers. The shares may have to be underpriced, and the sales may not raise as much capital as would be justified by the fair value of the company being privatized. Many governments, therefore, elect for listings in more sophisticated markets, for example, Euronext, and the London, New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges.


title: Privatization

text: Governments in developing countries and transition countries more often resort to direct asset sales to a few investors, partly because those countries do not yet have a stock market with high capital.


title: Privatization

text: Voucher privatization occurred mainly in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe, such as Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Additionally, privatization from below had made important contribution to economic growth in transition economies.


title: Privatization

text: In one study assimilating some of the literature on "privatization" that occurred in Russian and Czech Republic transition economies, the authors identified three methods of privatization: "privatization by sale", "mass privatization", and "mixed privatization". Their calculations showed that "mass privatization" was the most effective method.


title: Privatization

text: However, in economies "characterized by shortages" and maintained by the state bureaucracy, wealth was accumulated and concentrated by "gray/black market" operators. Privatizing industries by sale to these individuals did not mean a transition to "effective private sector owners [of former] state assets". Rather than mainly participating in a market economy, these individuals could prefer elevating their personal status or prefer accumulating political power. Instead, outside foreign investment led to the efficient conduct of former state assets in the private sector and market economy.


title: Privatization

text: Through privatization by direct asset sale or the stock market, bidders compete to offer higher prices, generating more revenue for the state. Voucher privatization, on the other hand, could represent a genuine transfer of assets to the general population, creating a sense of participation and inclusion. A market could be created if the government permits transfer of vouchers among voucher holders.


title: Privatization

text: Some privatization transactions can be interpreted as a form of a secured loan and are criticized as a "particularly noxious form of governmental debt". In this interpretation, the upfront payment from the privatization sale corresponds to the principal amount of the loan, while the proceeds from the underlying asset correspond to secured interest payments—the transaction can be considered substantively the same as a secured loan, though it is structured as a sale. This interpretation is particularly argued to apply to recent municipal transactions in the United States, particularly for fixed term, such as the 2008 sale of the proceeds from Chicago parking meters for 75 years. It is argued that this is motivated by "politicians' desires to borrow money surreptitiously", due to legal restrictions on and political resistance to alternative sources of revenue, viz, raising taxes or issuing debt.


title: Privatization

text: Privatization had different outcomes around the world. Results of privatization may vary depending on the privatization model employed. According to Dr Irwin Stelzer, "it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to separate the effects of privatisation from the effects of such things as trends in the economy".


title: Privatization

text: According to research performed by the World Bank and William L. Megginson in the early 2000s, privatization in competitive industries with well-informed consumers, consistently improved efficiency. According to APEC, the more competitive the industry, the greater the improvement in output, profitability, and efficiency. Such efficiency gains mean a one-off increase in GDP, but through improved incentives to innovate and reduce costs also tend to raise the rate of economic growth.


title: Privatization

text: More recent research and literature review performed by Professor Saul Estrin and Adeline Pelletier concluded that "the literature now reflects a more cautious and nuanced evaluation of privatization" and that "private ownership alone is no longer argued to automatically generate economic gains in developing economies". According to a 2008 study published in "Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics", liberalization and privatization has produced mixed results.


title: Privatization

text: many economists argue that these can be dealt with by appropriate government support through redistribution and perhaps retraining. Yet, some empirical literature suggests that privatization could also have very modest effects on efficiency and quite regressive distributive impact. In the first attempt at a social welfare analysis of the British privatization program under the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major during the 1980s and 1990s, Massimo Florio points to the absence of any productivity shock resulting strictly from ownership change. Instead, the impact on the previously nationalized companies of the UK productivity leap under the Conservatives varied in different industries. In some cases, it occurred prior to privatization, and in other cases, it occurred upon privatization or several years afterward.


title: Privatization

text: A 2012 study published by the European Commission argues that privatisation in Europe had mixed effects on service quality and has achieved only minor productivity gains, driven mainly by lower labour input combined with other cost cutting strategies that led to a deterioration of employment and working conditions. Meanwhile, a different study by the Commission found that the UK rail network (which was privatized from 1994 to 1997) was most improved out of all the 27 EU nations from 1997 to 2012. The report examined a range of 14 different factors and the UK came top in four of the factors, second and third in another two and fourth in three, coming top overall. Nonetheless, the impact of the privatisation of British Rail has been the subject of much debate, with the stated benefits including improved customer service, and more investment; and stated drawbacks including higher fares, lower punctuality and increased rail subsidies.


title: Privatization

text: Privatizations in Russia and Latin America were accompanied by large-scale corruption during the sale of the state-owned companies. Those with political connections unfairly gained large wealth, which has discredited privatization in these regions. While media have widely reported the grand corruption that accompanied those sales, according to research released by the World Bank there has been increased operating efficiency, daily petty corruption is, or would be, larger without privatization, and that corruption is more prevalent in non-privatized sectors. Furthermore, according to the World Bank extralegal and unofficial activities are more prevalent in countries that privatized less. Other research suggests that privatization in Russia resulted in a dramatic rise in the level of economic inequality and a collapse in GDP and industrial output.


title: Privatization

text: Russian President Boris Yeltsin's IMF-backed rapid privatization schemes saw half the Russian population fall into destitution in just several years as unemployment climbed to double digits by the early to mid 1990s. A 2009 study published in "The Lancet" medical journal has found that as many as a million working men died as a result of economic shocks associated with mass privatization in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe during the 1990s, although a further study suggested that there were errors in their method and "correlations reported in the original article are simply not robust." A subsequent body of scholarship, while still controversial, demonstrates that rapid privatization schemes associated with neoliberal economic reforms did result in poorer health outcomes in former Eastern Bloc countries during the transition to markets economies, with the World Health Organization contributing to the debate by stating "IMF economic reform programs are associated with significantly worsened tuberculosis incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates in post-communist Eastern European and former Soviet countries." Historian Walter Scheidel, a specialist in ancient history, posits that economic inequality and wealth concentration in the top percentile "had been made possible by the transfer of state assets to private owners."


title: Privatization

text: In Latin America, on the one hand, according to John Nellis's research for Center for Global Development, economic indicators, including firm profitability, productivity, and growth, project positive microeconomic results. On the other hand, however, privatisation has been largely met with a negative criticism and citizen coalitions. This neoliberal criticism highlights the ongoing conflict between varying visions of economic development. Karl Polanyi emphasizes the societal concerns of self-regulating markets through a concept known as a "double movement". In essence, whenever societies move towards increasingly unrestrained, free-market rule, a natural and inevitable societal correction emerges to undermine the contradictions of capitalism. This was the case in the 2000 Cochabamba protests.


title: Privatization

text: Privatization in Latin America has invariably experienced increasing push-back from the public. Mary Shirley from The Ronald Coase Institute suggests that implementing a less efficient but more politically mindful approach could be more sustainable.


title: Privatization

text: In India, a survey by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) – Utilization of Free Medical Services by Children Belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in Private Hospitals in New Delhi, 2011–12: A Rapid Appraisal – indicates under-utilization of the free beds available for EWS category in private hospitals in Delhi, though they were allotted land at subsidized rates.


title: Privatization

text: In Australia a "People's Inquiry into Privatisation" (2016/17) found that the impact of privatisation on communities was negative. The report from the inquiry "Taking Back Control" made a range of recommendations to provide accountability and transparency in the process. The report highlighted privatisation in healthcare, aged care, child care, social services, government departments, electricity, prisons and vocational education featuring the voices of workers, community members and academics.


title: Privatization

text: Some reports show that the results of privatization are experienced differently between men and women for numerous reasons: when public services are privatized women are expected to take on the health and social care of dependents, women have less access to privatized goods, public sector employs a larger proportion of women than does the private sector, and the women in the public sector are more likely to be unionized than those in the private sector. In Chile, women are disproportionately affected by the privatization of the pension system because factors such as “women’s longer life expectancy, earlier retirement age, and lower rates of labor-force participation, lower salaries” affect their ability to accumulate funds for retirement which leads to lower pensions. Low-income women face an even greater burden; Anjela Taneja, of Oxfam India says "The privatization of public services...implies limited or no access to essential services for women living in poverty, who are often the ones more in need of these services.”


title: Privatization

text: The increase in privatization since the 1980s has been a factor in rising income and wealth inequality in the United States.


title: Privatization

text: Due to low levels of native capital accumulation in the former Central and Eastern Europe, the rapid privatization preferred by international institutions (EBRD, IMF, World Bank) and other foreign banks was a "de facto" call for international bidding, reflecting the assumption that foreign investment would play a major role.


title: Privatization

text: In post-reunification East Germany, by the end of June 1992, the "Treuhandanstalt" had privatized 8,175 companies, with 5,950 left on hand (4,340 remaining to be sold and the remainder to be liquidated). June 1992 was also when the last East German on the board of the "Treuhand" left. By the end of 1994, "Treuhand" had sold almost everything, having only 65 firms left to privatize as of December 1994. More than 80% of the privatized businesses were bought by foreigners (chiefly West Germans - 75%).


title: Privatization

text: Romania's first privatization took place on 3 August 1992. There was "very little" privatization during 1992: only 22 state-owned enterprises were privatized. The pace picked up throughout the following year, with more than 260 companies privatized. Four of the 22 enterprises privatized in 1992 were sold to foreign investors. In 1993, 265 companies were privatized, followed by 604 in 1994. Two companies were sold to foreign investors during this period, one each in 1993 and 1994. At the start of 1999, 4,330 companies were left to be privatized, with 5,476 having been sold during 1993-1998. At the end of 1998, only 2.4% of privatized companies had foreign participation.


title: Privatization

text: Proponents of privatization argue that, over time, this can lead to lower prices, improved quality, more choices, less corruption, less red tape, and/or quicker delivery. Many proponents do not argue that everything should be privatized. According to them, market failures and natural monopolies could be problematic. However, anarcho-capitalists prefer that every function of the state be privatized, including defense and dispute resolution.


title: Privatization

text: Opponents of privatization in general—or of certain privatizations in particular—believe that public goods and services should remain primarily in the hands of government in order to ensure that everyone in society has access to them (such as law enforcement, basic health care, and basic education). There is a positive externality when the government provides society at large with public goods and services such as defense and disease control. Some national constitutions in effect define their governments' "core businesses" as being the provision of such things as justice, tranquility, defense, and general welfare. These governments' direct provision of security, stability, and safety, is intended to be done for the common good (in the public interest) with a long-term (for posterity) perspective. As for natural monopolies, opponents of privatization claim that they aren't subject to fair competition, and better administrated by the state.


title: Privatization

text: Although private companies may provide a similar good or service alongside the government, opponents of privatization are critical about completely transferring the provision of public goods, services and assets into private hands for the following reasons:


title: Privatization

text: In economic theory, privatization has been studied in the field of contract theory. When contracts are complete, institutions such as (private or public) property are difficult to explain, since every desired incentive structure can be achieved with sufficiently complex contractual arrangements, regardless of the institutional structure. All that matters is who are the decision makers and what is their available information. In contrast, when contracts are incomplete, institutions matter. A leading application of the incomplete contract paradigm in the context of privatization is the model by Hart, Shleifer, and Vishny (1997). In their model, a manager can make investments to increase quality (but they may also increase costs) and investments to decrease costs (but they may also reduce quality). It turns out that it depends on the particular situation whether private ownership or public ownership is desirable. The Hart-Shleifer-Vishny model has been further developed in various directions, e.g. to allow for mixed public-private ownership and endogenous assignments of the investment tasks.


title: Privatization

text: Privatization can also refer to the purchase of all outstanding shares of a publicly-traded private company by private equity investors, which is more often called "going private". The buyout withdraws the company's shares from being traded at a public stock exchange. Depending on the involvement of internal and external investors, it may occur through a leveraged buyout or a management buyout, tender offer, or hostile takeover.


title: Die Walküre

text: ' (; The Valkyrie""'), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (English: "The Ring of the Nibelung"). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the "Ring" cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876.


title: Die Walküre

text: As the "Ring" cycle was conceived by Wagner in reverse order of performance, "Die Walküre" was the penultimate of the four texts to be written, although Wagner composed the music in performance sequence. The text was completed by July 1852, and the music by March 1856.


title: Die Walküre

text: Wagner largely followed the principles related to the form of musical drama, which he had set out in his 1851 essay "Opera and Drama" under which the music would interpret the text emotionally, reflecting the feelings and moods behind the work, using a system of recurring leitmotifs to represent people, ideas, and situations rather than the conventional operatic units of arias, ensembles, and choruses. Wagner showed flexibility in the application of these principles here, particularly in Act III, when the Valkyries engage in frequent ensemble singing.