title: Voltmeter

text: General-purpose analog voltmeters may have an accuracy of a few percent of full scale and are used with voltages from a fraction of a volt to several thousand volts. Digital meters can be made with high accuracy, typically better than 1%. Specially calibrated test instruments have higher accuracies, with laboratory instruments capable of measuring to accuracies of a few parts per million. Part of the problem of making an accurate voltmeter is that of calibration to check its accuracy. In laboratories, the Weston cell is used as a standard voltage for precision work. Precision voltage references are available based on electronic circuits.


title: Voltmeter

text: In circuit diagrams, a voltmeter is represented by the letter "V" in a circle, with two emerging lines representing the two points of measurement.


title: Voltmeter

text: A moving coil galvanometer can be used as a voltmeter by inserting a resistor in series with the instrument. The galvanometer has a coil of fine wire suspended in a strong magnetic field. When an electric current is applied, the interaction of the magnetic field of the coil and of the stationary magnet creates a torque, tending to make the coil rotate. The torque is proportional to the current through the coil. The coil rotates, compressing a spring that opposes the rotation. The deflection of the coil is thus proportional to the current, which in turn is proportional to the applied voltage, which is indicated by a pointer on a scale.


title: Voltmeter

text: One of the design objectives of the instrument is to disturb the circuit as little as possible and so the instrument should draw a minimum of current to operate. This is achieved by using a sensitive galvanometer in series with a high resistance, and then the entire instrument is connected in parallel with the circuit examined.


title: Voltmeter

text: The sensitivity of such a meter can be expressed as "ohms per volt", the number of ohms resistance in the meter circuit divided by the full scale measured value. For example, a meter with a sensitivity of 1000 ohms per volt would draw 1 milliampere at full scale voltage; if the full scale was 200 volts, the resistance at the instrument's terminals would be ohms and at full scale, the meter would draw 1 milliampere from the circuit under test. For multi-range instruments, the input resistance varies as the instrument is switched to different ranges.


title: Voltmeter

text: Moving-coil instruments with a permanent-magnet field respond only to direct current. Measurement of AC voltage requires a rectifier in the circuit so that the coil deflects in only one direction. Some moving-coil instruments are also made with the zero position in the middle of the scale instead of at one end; these are useful if the voltage reverses its polarity.


title: Voltmeter

text: Voltmeters operating on the electrostatic principle use the mutual repulsion between two charged plates to deflect a pointer attached to a spring. Meters of this type draw negligible current but are sensitive to voltages over about 100 volts and work with either alternating or direct current.


title: Voltmeter

text: The sensitivity and input resistance of a voltmeter can be increased if the current required to deflect the meter pointer is supplied by an amplifier and power supply instead of by the circuit under test. The electronic amplifier between input and meter gives two benefits; a rugged moving coil instrument can be used, since its sensitivity need not be high, and the input resistance can be made high, reducing the current drawn from the circuit under test. Amplified voltmeters often have an input resistance of 1, 10, or 20 megohms which is independent of the range selected. A once-popular form of this instrument used a vacuum tube in the amplifier circuit and so was called the vacuum tube voltmeter (VTVM). These were almost always powered by the local AC line current and so were not particularly portable. Today these circuits use a solid-state amplifier using field-effect transistors, hence FET-VM, and appear in handheld digital multimeters as well as in bench and laboratory instruments. These largely replaced non-amplified multimeters except in the least expensive price ranges.


title: Voltmeter

text: Most VTVMs and FET-VMs handle DC voltage, AC voltage, and resistance measurements; modern FET-VMs add current measurements and often other functions as well. A specialized form of the VTVM or FET-VM is the AC voltmeter. These instruments are optimized for measuring AC voltage. They have much wider bandwidth and better sensitivity than a typical multifunction device.


title: Voltmeter

text: A digital voltmeter (DVM) measures an unknown input voltage by converting the voltage to a digital value and then displays the voltage in numeric form. DVMs are usually designed around a special type of analog-to-digital converter called an integrating converter.


title: Voltmeter

text: DVM measurement accuracy is affected by many factors, including temperature, input impedance, and DVM power supply voltage variations. Less expensive DVMs often have input resistance on the order of 10 MΩ. Precision DVMs can have input resistances of 1 GΩ or higher for the lower voltage ranges (e.g. less than 20 V). To ensure that a DVM's accuracy is within the manufacturer's specified tolerances, it must be periodically calibrated against a voltage standard such as the Weston cell.


title: Voltmeter

text: The first digital voltmeter was invented and produced by Andrew Kay of Non-Linear Systems (and later founder of Kaypro) in 1954.


title: Voltmeter

text: Simple AC voltmeters use a rectifier connected to a DC measurement circuit, which responds to the average value of the waveform. The meter can be calibrated to display the root mean square value of the waveform, assuming a fixed relation between the average value of the rectified waveform and the RMS value. If the waveform departs significantly from the sinewave assumed in the calibration, the meter will be inaccurate, though for simple wave shapes the reading can be corrected by multiplying by a constant factor. Early "true RMS" circuits used a thermal converter that responded only to the RMS value of the waveform. Modern instruments calculate the RMS value by electronically calculating the square of the input value, taking the average, and then calculating the square root of the value. This allows accurate RMS measurements for a variety of waveforms. .


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Harriet the Spy is a 1996 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Bronwen Hughes in her feature film directorial debut, and starring Michelle Trachtenberg in her major film acting debut. It co-stars Rosie O'Donnell, J. Smith-Cameron, Gregory Smith, and Vanessa Lee Chester. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Louise Fitzhugh, the film follows a sixth-grade student who aspires to become a writer and spy.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Filming began in the fall of 1994 in Toronto and was completed by the end of 1995. Produced by Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and Rastar, it was the first film produced under the Nickelodeon Movies banner and the first of two film adaptations of the "Harriet the Spy" books. In theaters, the pilot episode of "Hey Arnold!" called "Arnold" was shown before the film.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: The film was released in theaters on July 10, 1996. It made $26.6 million worldwide on a production budget of $12 million. The film was released on home video on February 25, 1997, with an orange clamshell packaging.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Eleven-year-old aspiring spy and writer Harriet M. Welsch lives a privileged life in New York City with her parents, Violetta and Ben, and her nanny, Katherine "Ole Golly", in whom Harriet confides. Harriet and her best friends Simon "Sport" Rocque and Janie Gibbs are enemies with elitist rich girl, editor of the sixth-grade newspaper, and class president Marion Hawthorne.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: One night when Harriet's parents are out, Golly invites her friend George to dinner which she burns, so the three go out for dinner and a movie. Violetta is enraged that Harriet was allowed to stay out past her curfew and fires Golly. Golly concedes that it is time Harriet were on her own. Before leaving, Golly encourages Harriet not to give up on her love of observing people and promises to be the first to buy an autographed copy of Harriet's first novel. Depressed and withdrawn, Harriet breaks into the mansion of Agatha Plummer and is caught hiding in her dumbwaiter.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: After school, Marion discovers Harriet's private notebook and begins reading aloud Harriet's comments about her friends, such as how she suspects Janie will grow up to be "a total nutcase", and criticizing Sport's father's low earnings. Sport and Janie turn their backs on Harriet, and her classmates create a Spy-Catcher club to torment her.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: When Harriet begins avoiding her homework her parents take away her notebooks and ask her teacher, Miss Elson, to search her for notebooks daily. During art class, Marion and her friends pour paint on Harriet, who slaps Marion's face and flees the school. She exacts revenge by exposing that Marion's father left her family for his secretary, cutting off a chunk of Laura's hair, sabotaging Janie's science experiment, and humiliating Sport with a picture of him in a maid outfit. She is further alienated by her classmates


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Harriet's parents send her for evaluated by a psychologist who assures them that Harriet is fine. Harriet gets her notebook back, and in a surprise visit Golly tells her that in order to make things right again, she must do two things which she will not like: apologize and lie. Harriet says it is not worth it but Golly disagrees, saying Harriet is worth it as an individual, and her individuality will make others nervous. She adds: "Good friends are one of life's blessings. Don't give them up without a fight."


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Harriet tries to apologize to Sport and Janie, who initially reject her before accepting her apology after being treated unfairly by Marion. Harriet opines to Miss Elson that Marion's appointment as editor was done unfairly, and Miss Elson opens it up for a vote. Harriet is voted in to replace Marion as editor. She writes an article apologizing to the class, all of whom (except Marion) accept her apology. At the opening of the 6th grade pageant, Janie, Sport, and Harriet set off a stink bomb as revenge on Marion, and dance to James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing".


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: The screenplay was adapted from Louise Fitzhugh's 1964 novel of the same name. Director Bronwen Hughes commented on the adaptation: "Certain things about the '60s story, especially the relationship between kids and their parents, had to be adjusted to make sense because you don't have that same kind of formality that you had in the book in the '60s between parents and kids. So those things needed to be made more natural for the 1990s kids audience. But it was very important to me that the things that really affected Harriet in the book would be the things that really affected Harriet in the movie." The result mixed elements from various decades, but Hughes aspired to create a "timeless" film that featured little technology.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: "Harriet the Spy" was filmed in Toronto during the fall of 1994 and winter of 1995. Director Bronwen Hughes recalled: "It was Paramount's financial decision to make Toronto look like New York, although to tell you the truth, nothing looks like a row of brownstones and stoops like New York, so we just started choosing great locations to create a visual experience."


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Michelle Trachtenberg recalled the shoot beginning on October 11, 1994, her ninth birthday. She and co-star Vanessa Lee Chester had known each other prior, having filmed a commercial together in New York City when they were five years old. Charlotte Sullivan recalled of the shoot: "When [Bronwen] would direct us, if we were walking she's like, 'Okay, you'll go bop-bop this way then bop-bop this way', she was always dancing. I don't remember her not dancing on set. And music was always playing. It was very cool and in terms of performance art she was pretty ahead of her time. It was a great way also to direct children. It was a way to keep things alive."


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: The film was released in U.S. theaters on July 10, 1996, and the film grossed $6,601,651 on its opening weekend, averaging about $3,615 per each of the 1,826 screens it was shown on. The film went on to gross a total of $26,570,048 by November 10, 1996, and is considered a modest box office success, earning back more than double its $12 million budget.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: "Harriet the Spy" was released on VHS by Paramount Home Video on February 25, 1997. The cassette also contained two "Rugrats" music videos, and customers were able to receive $5 rebate if they bought the movie in an orange clamshell case plus two eligible "Rugrats" videos.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 48% based on reviews from 31 critics. The site's consensus: ""Harriet the Spy" is a rapid-fire mystery movie that doesn't have much to offer beyond the two decent lead performances." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade B+.


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" was critical of the film, deeming it a "tedious" adaptation of the source novel, adding: ""Harriet the Spy" isn't really a story, but a dark slice of this ruminative child's inner life. Like the more clearly comic "Welcome to the Dollhouse", this film finds more wrong than wonder in these terrible, tenderfoot years." Roger Ebert praised the performance of Trachtenberg, but conceded: "It is not a very technically accomplished movie--the pacing is slow and there are scenes that seem amateurish--but since Harriet doesn't intend to inspire anyone to become a movie critic, perhaps it will work a certain charm for its target audience." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly", a self-proclaimed fan of the novel, wrote that the film "has its sticky, "Afterschool Special" side (the ending is way too pat), but at its best it’s like a "Welcome to the Dollhouse" for preadolescents. What Fitzhugh’s book had, and what the movie gets, is the glee and neurotic terror of a kid lurching into adult consciousness, learning just how dangerous that notebook we all carry around in our heads really is."


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: John Anderson of the "Los Angeles Times" also commented on the film's darker elements, writing that it is "fun, yes, but [it] isn't afraid to expose the nastiness of youth or the offhanded cruelty of one girl's ego. This is not a happy little movie about the sweetness of childhood." Barbara Shulgasser of "The San Francisco Examiner" dismissed the film, describing the protagonist as "the kind of kid I'm not looking forward to meeting as a grownup...  While the well-loved novel was apparently about the admirable battle a kid must wage in order to become an artist in the face of peer disapproval, the movie seems to be about a mean-spirited tyke who has no scruples. If that kind of person wants to become an artist, it's OK by me, but I don't have to root for her."


title: Harriet the Spy (film)

text: Another adaptation of "Harriet the Spy" was released as a television movie in 2010 entitled "", with Jennifer Stone in the title role.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama television series, produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network, first broadcast between 7 April 1991 and 4 April 1993. The first six episodes of Series 1 and the first two of Series 2 are adaptations of the 1958 novel of the same name, and three of its four sequels, by H. E. Bates. The remaining episodes are original storylines based on the same format.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Set in rural 1950s Kent, it follows the life of the Larkin family. It starred David Jason as "Pop" Larkin alongside Pam Ferris as "Ma" Larkin, with Catherine Zeta-Jones playing their eldest daughter Mariette, who marries tax inspector Cedric "Charley" Charlton, played by Philip Franks. A ratings success, it was Zeta-Jones's breakout role.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Featuring a total of 20 episodes, it was broadcast as three series of six double-episode story lines in the spring of 1991, 1992 and 1993, plus two single-episode Christmas specials aired in 1991 and 1992.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The Larkin family lives on a farm in rural England, in the county of Kent. Sidney ("Pop") and his common law wife Florence ("Ma") have six children, eldest daughter Mariette, followed by their only son Montgomery, and other daughters Primrose, twins Zinnia and Petunia, and Victoria. Ma is a housewife while Pop supplements his farm income with various other not entirely legitimate enterprises. Tax collector Cedric ("Charley") visits to audit Pop, but falls in love with Mariette and quits his job to live the rural life. As Ma and Pop raise their other children, Charley attempts to provide for his now wife Mariette. Ma and Pop soon have a seventh child, Oscar, followed around a year later by Charley and Mariette's first baby, John Blenheim.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Pop and Ma's relationship is depicted as loving and affectionate throughout, although Pop is flirtatious and subject to numerous advances, most of which Ma is aware of and evidently unconcerned by. Proud of all his children, Pop's schemes evidently provide well for the family, enough to fund boarding school for the twins, naval boarding school for Monty, a swimming pool, a fairground, and a holiday to France, although he is just as motivated by doing good and helping others as making a profit. Ma occasionally becomes involved in Pop's schemes, or creates a scheme of her own. Possessing some very close friends, their lifestyle, in particular the fact they have never been married, nonetheless raises eyebrows in the stuffy environs of the local village.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Mariette and Charley's relationship is more torrid, in part due to his insecurity over Mariette being so attractive, and Charley's varying success in providing financially, with their newly acquired hop garden struggling. Mariette's business skills eventually come to bear as they purchase a local brewery. Primrose is depicted as a frustrated romantic, moving to France to live with a boy her own age and attempting to seduce both Charley and the village minister upon her return. Monty meanwhile contends with bullying, both at home and at naval boarding school. The increasingly mischievous twins gradually grow apart from their younger sibling Victoria, who delights in teasing and embarrassing all her siblings, especially Primrose.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: All the episodes are seemingly set during 1958–59, despite the timespan of events across all three series making this a logical impossibility. The first serial is based on the first book, written and set in 1958, during which Florence finds out she is pregnant. In the second serial ("When the green woods laugh") Sidney is accused of committing indecent assault on 23 August 1958, with the trial taking place on the same day as Charley and Mariette's wedding. The date of the trial is given as 7 July; this would seem to be a continuity error, because it cannot be July of the following year, as Florence's baby had not yet been born. By the time of the third serial ("A breath of French air"), Florence has already given birth to Oscar, and the Larkins have a late-August holiday in Brittany, during which Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary. The fourth serial ("Christmas is coming") is set at Christmas, and it is established Mariette is five months pregnant; she gives birth in the fifth serial ("Oh! to be in England!"), which would be some time in the spring of 1960 at the earliest, according to the dating of the first series and the chronology of events up to that point.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: However, in the sixth serial ("Stranger at the gates") the twins celebrate their birthday, which a close-up of a wall calendar reveals to be 15 August 1959. In the eighth serial ("Le Grand Weekend"), the Larkins' weekend getaway coincides with Charles de Gaulle's state visit, which would date the events of the episode to April 1960, if it does indeed coincide with the real-life visit. Primrose's birthday was revealed to be in May in "Stranger at the gates", and she celebrates it in the ninth serial, "The happiest days of your life", dating the events either to May 1960 (using the retconned second series date) or 1961 (going by the date given in the first series).


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: By the eleventh serial ("Climb the greasy pole"), when the children are older and the babies have grown to toddlerhood, another close-up of a calendar reveals the month to be October 1959. At the end of the final episode, Sidney is elected to the Rural District Council on 5 November 1959 (Guy Fawkes Night).


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Of the four main cast members, Jason and Ferris appeared in all twenty episodes, while Zeta-Jones and Franks appeared in eighteen, their only absences being in the third series' double episode "Cast Not Your Pearls Before Swine" (3.3 & 3.4).


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The actors playing the other Larkin children and grandchild were as below (listed in descending character age). All the children except those yet to be born appeared in the first episode. After appearing in the first six episodes, the actor playing Primrose was replaced, the second appearing from the seventh episode (the first Christmas special) onwards. The actors playing the roles of Oscar and John Blenheim first appear in episodes 1.5 and 2.1, respectively. Although a male character, John Blenheim was played by Daisy-May Bates, granddaughter of the author of the books.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Having been sold to MGM films in 1959, it was not until 1989 that Richard Bates, son of the author of the original books H. E. Bates, was able to purchase the rights to the novels. At the same time, Yorkshire Television were looking for a new project for David Jason, who had starred for them in "A Bit of a Do". Richard Bates went on to executive produce the show, alongside Vernon Lawrence of Yorkshire Television.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Bates had originally considered Bob Hoskins as ideal for the role of Pop, but Lawrence was of the view his increasing fame as a film actor would create problems. Jason was cast first, followed by Ferris and Franks. Finding an actor to fit with the novel's description of Mariette as a black-haired and olive-skinned beauty proved difficult, with over 300 hopefuls being rejected until Zeta-Jones was cast. With filming due to start, she had been spotted appearing in "42nd Street" at the Drury Lane Theatre.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Much of the series was filmed in and around the village of Pluckley in Kent; executive producer Richard Bates lived just a few miles away.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The location for "Home Farm", the Larkin residence, was Buss Farm, a few miles south of Pluckley, owned by the Holmes family. All four main buildings of the Grade II listed farm were utilised: the farmhouse itself, a square oast house (depicted in the title sequence), a Tudor barn and cart lodge. After being put up for sale by the family in 2012, it was purchased in 2013 by a businessman. It was renamed "Darling Buds Farm", and several buildings were converted into guest accommodation themed around the show.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Other locations in Pluckley village itself were used extensively; the Black Horse pub in The Street was renamed the Hare and Hounds and used as the Larkins' local. Church Gate Cottage and Fig Tree Cottage in The Street served as Edith Pilchester's and The Brigadier's homes, respectively. Pluckley primary school, also in The Street, served as the village hall. The butcher's shop also featured, and the Post Office (dressed as the grocer's). Church scenes were filmed at St Nicholas Church in the village.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Further afield, in and around Tenterden, Kent, Halden Place in Halden Lane, Cranbrook, served as Mrs Kinthley's hop garden, Wentwood Cottage in Swain Road served as Charley and Mariette's cottage, and the Kent & East Sussex Railway was the location of Charley's arrival in Kent, and the station used by Ma, Charley and Mariette shopping for her wedding dress. Other scenes shot in Kent included the Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham, and scenes of the Larkins' beach holiday, filmed in Folkestone, including a backdrop of the Leas Lift. Mlle. Dupont is met by the Larkins at Folkestone Harbour after her channel crossing.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Little filming was done inside the farmhouse, the interiors having been shot in a studio at Yorkshire Television. Scenes shot in the former Wennington School near Wetherby in Yorkshire, which stood in for Bluff Hall, were included. Other filming locations in Yorkshire include the Hotel Metropole in Leeds, which stood in for the 'Marble Arch Hotel'.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: To mark the series' 20th anniversary, Kent County Council established a tourist trail featuring the various film locations, other local attractions, and Kent food.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The series' music producer Pip Burley wrote the title theme, "Perfick!". He had submitted the piece anonymously, having deemed the submissions received from a shortlist of composers missed the point of the essential romanticism of the show. Although it also featured lyrics, drawn from the words used in the novels, the theme music for the series did not feature them. The song with lyrics was later sung by David Jason for the radio adaptation of the last book in the Larkin series, "A Little of What You Fancy".


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: In 2016, having filmed a cinema adaptation of another classic TV series, "Dad's Army", Zeta-Jones responded positively to suggestions that "The Darling Buds of May" might also be similarly remade, stating "I'd be playing Ma Larkin, but I'm up for it". However, by 2020, any plans for a film were put on hold, with the "Radio Times" reporting that ITV was to remake the series, with Simon Nye writing the scripts and with Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan in the cast. The series, with the title "The Larkins", first aired in October 2021 starring Walsh and Scanlan, with Sabrina Bartlett and Peter Davison also amongst the cast.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Locally produced food and drink intentionally played a core role in the series. Due to not being ripe at the right time, the strawberries used in the series were imported from Holland. One of the most iconic scenes features Pop and Ma eating a meal together whilst having a bath. With several scenes featuring eating, the fact Ferris was a vegetarian had to be worked around by the production staff. Both Ferris and Jason gained weight due to the amount of food they had to consume, often doing multiple takes for several scenes at one time, to make the scenes look realistic.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Another theme of the series was the Larkin family's habit of giving their children unusual or themed first and middle names. Mariette was created by combining 'Marie' and 'Antoinette'. Montgomery was named after wartime officer Field Marshall Montgomery. Victoria was named for being born during the plum season (Victoria plum). While Monty and Victoria have no middle names, the other children have several: Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa, twins Petunia June Florence Nightingale and Zinnia June Florence Nightingale, and Oscar Columbus Septimus Dupont, the last one being in tribute to the French hotelier Madamoiselle Dupont, who features in the series. Mariette and Charlie continue the family penchant for elaborate naming by christening their son John Marlborough Churchill Blenheim.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Note: The 2008 and 2011 DVD sets from ITV Studios list that there are 11 episodes; this is due to the fact that all episodes in series 1–3 (not including the specials) contain two parts, making them count as a whole.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The series was a ratings success, its "feel-good" factor during economic recession often noted as the reason. Whilst Yorkshire TV classified it as a drama, audiences and critics have generally considered it to be a comedy/drama.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The first episode broke a British broadcasting record, becoming the first instance of a new series topping the national ratings, beating the soap opera "Coronation Street" (also an ITV production) on the night. This came as a shock to producers, although they had been hopeful of good ratings due to dull weather and the belief that people would be looking for something to lift their spirits following the end of the Gulf War.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: Jason attributed the series' popularity to the public wanting a more wholesome, inclusive and inoffensive viewing option at a time when violence on television was increasing. This was one of the main reasons he decided to take the role.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The series is based on the works of H. E. Bates, who died in 1974. Having moved from the industrialised English Midlands to a granary in Little Chart in Kent in 1930 in search of new inspirations for his work, he was initially frustrated in his efforts to create a novel based on the Kent way of life. His inspiration for the Larkin stories eventually came in 1955 while on a trip to Sittingbourne. Pausing at Faversham, he observed the joyful camaraderie of a large boisterous family as they emerged from a shop and departed in a large blue truck. Combining this with observations of another family on a nearby small-holding, he set about writing about how these families might live. Originally a short story, he expanded it into a novel, followed by a further four books, the titles of the first four of which were used as episode titles for the TV series:


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The first novel in the series was originally adapted to the screen in 1959 as "The Mating Game", starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall as Mariette and Charley.


title: The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

text: The fifth novel, "A Little of What You Fancy?", was never adapted for television, but it was adapted into a six-part series by Eric Pringle for BBC Radio, with Jason and Ferris reprising their roles, first airing in February 1996.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931), commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors of India. He is credited with having revolutionised the South Indian cinema with experimental films. He has directed about sixty films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, and English languages across multiple genres. He has garnered two National Film Awards, five Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, three Karnataka State Film Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Singeetam worked as an assistant to noted director K. V. Reddy from 1955 to 1968 in films like "Mayabazar" (1957), "Jagadeka Veeruni Katha" (1961). He made his directorial debut with the Telugu film "Neethi Nijayithi" (1972). He then directed social problem films like "Dikkatra Parvathi" (1974), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, and "Tharam Marindi" (1977), which won Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He went on to direct notable films like "Panthulamma" (1978), "Mayuri" (1985), "Anand" (1986), "Pushpaka Vimana" (1987), "Aditya 369" (1991), "Brundavanam" (1992), "Magalir Mattum" (1994), "Bhairava Dweepam" (1994), "Madam" (1994), and "Son of Aladdin" (2003). "Mayuri" won a record 14 Nandi Awards, and the dialogue-less film, "Pushpaka Vimana" received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. "Aditya 369" and "Bhairava Dweepam" are considered landmark films in science fiction and fantasy genres respectively in Telugu cinema.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He is particularly noted for his collaboration with two actors Dr. Rajkumar and Kamal Haasan which resulted in commercially successful and critically acclaimed films. With Kamal Haasan, he collaborated on "Sommokadidhi Sokokadidihi" (1979), "Raja Paarvai" / "Amavasya Chandrudu" (1981), "Pushpaka Vimana" (1987), "Apoorva Sagodharargal" (1990) and "Michael Madana Kama Rajan" (1990) among others. With Rajkumar, he directed films like "Haalu Jenu" (1982), "Chalisuva Modagalu" (1982), "Eradu Nakshatragalu" (1983), and "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" (1986).


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao was born on 21 September 1931 into a Telugu-speaking family in Udayagiri of Nellore district in present-day Andhra Pradesh. His father Ramachandra Rao was a headmaster and his mother Sakunthala Bai was a violinist. As a school student, he showed glimpses of talent both in plays and music. He graduated with a Physics Degree from Presidency College, Chennai. In college, he honed his skills in plays such as "Windows" under Harindranath Chattopadhyay.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: After graduation his ambition was to get into films. As his attempts to meet the director K. V. Reddy failed, he took up the job of a teacher in Sullurupeta. But he continued writing and wrote two experimental award-winning plays "Bhrama" and "Anthyaghattam." He also wrote "Chitrarjuna", a musical play adopted from Tagore's "Chitra - Prince of the Dark Chamber". It was translated into English by Scottish dramatist Tom Buchan for an American television channel. He also worked as a journalist at the time writing for "Telugu Swatantra."


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He continued his efforts to meet his favourite director K. V. Reddy and in 1954 he was finally able to meet him. K. V. Reddy gave him a copy of "The Monkey's Paw" and asked him to write a script based on it. Srinivasa Rao wrote the script along with dialogues in three months. K. V. Reddy was impressed and took him as an apprentice. He later graduated as an associate director under K. V. Reddy and worked with him for all his films from "Donga Ramudu" (1955) until "Uma Chandi Gowri Sankarula Katha" (1968) including "Mayabazar" (1957), "Jagadeka Veeruni Katha" (1961), "Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddham" (1963).


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: In 1972, Srinivasa Rao ventured into film direction with "Neethi Nijayithi", an offbeat Telugu film. The film won critical acclaim but was not commercially successful. He then directed the social problem film "Tharam Marindi" (1977) which won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He made other successful Telugu films like "Zamindaru gari Ammayi" (1975), "America Ammayi" (1976), "Panthulamma" (1978), "Sommokadidhi Sokokadidhi" (1979), "Mayuri" (1985), "Aditya 369" (1991), "Brundavanam" (1992), "Bhairava Dweepam" (1994), "Madam" (1994). "Mayuri" won a record 14 Nandi Awards including the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film. Srinivasa Rao won the Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer for "Brundavanam" and the Nandi Award for Best Director for "Bhairava Dweepam". "Aditya 369" and "Bhairava Dweepam" are considered classic films in science fiction and fantasy genres respectively in Telugu cinema.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Srinivasa Rao collaborated with Balakrishna in three films the science fiction film "Aditya 369", fantasy film "Bhairava Dweepam", and the mythological film "Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam" (1996). He worked with Rajendra Prasad in two films "Brundavanam" and "Madam". Both were commercially successful.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He made over half of his films in Telugu. He directed nearly 30 Telugu films across genres. His most recent film was "Welcome Obama" (2013). The story deals with commercial surrogacy in India where women are used as surrogates by foreigners and tells the story of one such surrogate mother who bears a foreigner's child.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He is also roped in as a mentor for the upcoming Telugu science fiction film "Project K". Made at an estimated budget of ₹500 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made. Srinivasa Rao gave his inputs and opinion on the film's script as a part of the mentorship.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Srinivasa Rao was the executive director of the 1970 Kannada movie "Samskara" directed by Pattabhirama Reddy. It won the President's gold medal for National Film Award for Best Feature Film. Singeetam made his Kannada directorial debut with the 1982 blockbuster "Haalu Jenu" starring Rajkumar. He went on to direct six more Kannada blockbusters with Rajkumar - "Chalisuva Modagalu" (1982), "Eradu Nakshatragalu" (1983), "Shravana Banthu" (1984), "Jwaalamukhi" (1985), "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" (1986) and "Devatha Manushya" (1988). Two of these were based on novels. He was selected to direct the historical "Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga" which was supposed to be Rajkumar's 200th movie but eventually dropped. However, he subsequently went on to direct "Devatha Manushya" (1988) which happened to be Rajkumar's 200th film.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: His other non-Rajkumar Kannada directorials include "Anand" (1986) and "Chiranjeevi Sudhakara" (1988) apart from "Ksheera Sagara" (1992), "Tuvvi Tuvvi Tuvvi" (1999) and "Make-up" (2002) in the latter part of his career. He co-wrote the screenplay for two Kannada movies produced by Rajkumar's banner that were not directed by him - "Shruthi Seridaaga" (1987) and "Samyuktha" (1988). He was also the script-writer of "Belliyappa Bangarappa" (1992). A disciple of legendary composer S. Rajeswara Rao, he has composed music for two Kannada films - "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" and "Samyuktha."


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Most of the films he directed in Kannada were produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar and all were critically and commercially successful. Of the seven films Srinivasa Rao directed with Rajkumar in lead roles, four movies were remade in Telugu.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Singeetam's association with Rajkumar was a rare one where he not only directed cult classics and landmark movies but also co-wrote screenplay and composed music for movies produced by the actor even though they were not directed by him. This stands as a testimony for the faith Rajkumar had in the abilities of Rao and the admiration Srinivasa had for Rajkumar.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: In 1988, when Rajkumar announced his desire to temporarily retire from acting, Singeetam decided to concentrate on Tamil movies where he mostly had Kamal Haasan in the lead roles.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: The "Kannada Film Journalists Association" has honoured Srinivasa Rao with a Special Biography. Srinivasa Rao received three Karnataka State Film Awards two for Best Screenplay and one for Best movie.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He composed lyrics for films like "Bhairava Dweepam" (1994) and soundtracks for a few Kannada films. He edited many magazines in Telugu such as "Bharati", and scripted plays like "Brahma", "Antya Ghattam", and "Chitrārjuna". "Chitrārjuna" was also translated into English, and was telecasted in American Television. A disciple of legendary composer S. Rajeswara Rao, he has also composed music for two Kannada movies of matinee idol Rajkumar's banner - "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" (which was directed by him) and "Samyuktha" - (which was not directed by him).


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: The 1984 Telugu biographical dance film, "Mayuri", which won the "National Film Award – Special Mention (Feature Film)", was premiered at the 1985 International Film Festival of India, has also received several state Awards, including the State Nandi Award for Best Feature Film, and Filmfare Award South for Best Direction. The film was later remade into Hindi as "Naache Mayuri".


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: In 1988, he co-produced, scripted and directed the first Indian dialogue-less film, "Pushpaka Vimana" which received special mention at Shanghai Film Festival. When he was working with Rajkumar, Srinivasa Rao was introduced to Rajkumar's relative, actor Shringar Nagaraj who decided to co-produce "Pushpaka Vimana". The film was listed among CNN-IBN's 'Hundred greatest Indian films of all time'.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: The comedy-drama blockbuster "Apoorva Sagodharargal" (1989) was one of the enduring works on dwarfism in popular media. The film won the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil, and was premiered at the International Film Festival of India. The Telugu crossover films like "America Ammayi" (1976), and "America Abbayi" (1987) were box office hits. The 1990 action comedy, "Michael Madana Kama Rajan" - a movie about quadruplets - became an instant hit at the box office.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: The Telugu science fiction film "Aditya 369" was one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 1991, grossing 9 crore at the box office. A sequel, entitled "Aditya 999", was delayed indefinitely in July 2016. Another science fiction in Tamil, "Chinna Vathiyar" was also an instant hit. The 1994, folklore "Bhairava Dweepam" garnered the state Nandi Award for Best Direction.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: The 2003 animation film, "Son of Aladdin", had 1100 shots and 125 characters. The film won "Special Mention in the Competition section" at the 2003 "International Children’s Film Festival Hyderabad", and subsequently premiered at the 37th International Film Festival of India. The 2008 animation film "Ghatothkach" received special mention at the "Grand Finale - Children's Film Festival 2014" of the 44th International Film Festival of India.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Srinivasa Rao plans to make a sequel to "Aditya 369" in the future. He also expressed his wish to direct a pre-recorded experimental film a musical in which he wants to use pre-recorded sequences and dialogues while shooting. He also wants to make a documentary on the making of "Apoorva Sagodhararkal." He also wants to write a book on the making of "Pushpaka Vimana", and his autobiography in the form of a screenplay.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Srinivasa Rao is particularly noted for his collaboration with two actors - Dr. Rajkumar and Kamal Haasan - which resulted in commercially successful and critically acclaimed movies. With Kamal Haasan he made films such as "Pushpaka Vimana" (1987), "Apoorva Sagodharargal" (1990) and "Michael Madana Kama Rajan" (1991) among others, He also directed Kamal Haasan in his 100th film "Raja Paarvai" / "Amavasya Chandrudu" (1981).


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: He directed Rajkumar in seven Kannada films in the 1980s. Notable among them are "Haalu Jenu" (1982), "Chalisuva Modagalu" (1982), "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" (1986), and Rajkumar's 200th film "Devatha Manushya" (1988). He was also the first person to direct Dr. Rajkumar and all his three sons. He directed Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar in their debut movies, "Anand" (1986) and "Chiranjeevi Sudhakara" (1988) respectively. He had also directed Puneeth Rajkumar as a child artiste in "Eradu Nakshatragalu" in which he played dual role. Most of his Kannada films were produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar whose ability to judge what would work with the audience and whose story-picking knack he believed in. He was the only director to have worked with her on at least one film in each of the seven years during 1982 to 1988.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Srinivasa Rao also collaborated with Balakrishna in three films the science fiction film "Aditya 369" (1991), fantasy film "Bhairava Dweepam" (1994), and the mythological film "Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam" (1996). "Aditya 369" and "Bhairava Dweepam" are considered landmark films in science fiction and fantasy genres respectively in Telugu cinema. He directed Rajendra Prasad in two films "Brundavanam" (1992) and "Madam" (1994). Both were commercially successful.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: Kannada actor Shivaram has been a part of all seven movies of Srinivasa Rao starring Rajkumar. B. C. Gowrishankar, a regular cameraman for Rajkumar movies, was selected as the cinematographer for Srinivasa Rao's later movies - "Pushpaka Vimana" and "Michael Madana Kama Rajan". Another regular technician of Rajkumar movies - art director Peketi Ranga - was also selected as the art director for Srinivasa Rao's "Michael Madana Kama Rajan".


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: His favourite litterateurs are Vemana, Mark Twain, and P. G. Wodehouse. He feels no one has expressed the truths of everyday life better than Vemana. He was introduced to Mark Twain by an American missionary when he was eight. He considers Robin Hood to be his favourite hero of fiction.


title: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

text: In 2010, Srinivasa Rao headed the Jury of the Indian Panorama at the 8th Chennai International Film Festival. In 2011, Srinivasa Rao received the Life Achievement Award from the Film Federation of India at the 4th "Global Film Festival". Srinivasa Rao was also the Guest of honor alongside Barrie Osbourne at the "Media and Entertainment Business Conclave 2012" hosted by FICCI and FFI. In 2012, Srinivasa Rao served as one of the selection committee members for the Sundance Institute's screenwriters lab.


title: Grignard reagent

text: A Grignard reagent or Grignard compound is a chemical compound with the general formula , where X is a halogen and R is an organic group, normally an alkyl or aryl. Two typical examples are methylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromide . They are a subclass of the organomagnesium compounds.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Grignard compounds are popular reagents in organic synthesis for creating new carbon-carbon bonds. For example, when reacted with another halogenated compound in the presence of a suitable catalyst, they typically yield and the magnesium halide as a byproduct; and the latter is insoluble in the solvents normally used. In this aspect, they are similar to organolithium reagents.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Pure Grignard reagents are extremely reactive solids. They are normally handled as solutions in solvents such as diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran; which are relatively stable as long as water is excluded. In such a medium, a Grignard reagent is invariably present as a complex with the magnesium atom connected to the two ether oxygens by coordination bonds.


title: Grignard reagent

text: The discovery of the Grignard reaction in 1900 was awarded with the Nobel prize in 1912. For more details on the history see Victor Grignard.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Traditionally Grignard reagents are prepared by treating an organic halide (normally organobromine) with magnesium metal. Ethers are required to stabilize the organomagnesium compound. Water and air, which rapidly destroy the reagent by protonolysis or oxidation, are excluded using air-free techniques. Although the reagents still need to be dry, ultrasound can allow Grignard reagents to form in wet solvents by activating the magnesium such that it consumes the water.


title: Grignard reagent

text: As is common for reactions involving solids and solution, the formation of Grignard reagents is often subject to an induction period. During this stage, the passivating oxide on the magnesium is removed. After this induction period, the reactions can be highly exothermic. This exothermicity must be considered when a reaction is scaled-up from laboratory to production plant.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Most organohalides will work, but carbon-fluorine bonds are generally unreactive, except with specially activated magnesium (through Rieke metals).


title: Grignard reagent

text: Typically the reaction to form Grignard reagents involves the use of magnesium ribbon. All magnesium is coated with a passivating layer of magnesium oxide, which inhibits reactions with the organic halide. Many methods have been developed to weaken this passivating layer, thereby exposing highly reactive magnesium to the organic halide. Mechanical methods include crushing of the Mg pieces in situ, rapid stirring, and sonication. Iodine, methyl iodide, and 1,2-dibromoethane are common activating agents. The use of 1,2-dibromoethane is advantageous as its action can be monitored by the observation of bubbles of ethylene. Furthermore, the side-products are innocuous:


title: Grignard reagent

text: The amount of Mg consumed by these activating agents is usually insignificant. A small amount of mercuric chloride will amalgamate the surface of the metal, enhancing its reactivity. Addition of preformed Grignard reagent is often used as the initiator.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Specially activated magnesium, such as Rieke magnesium, circumvents this problem. The oxide layer can also be broken up using ultrasound, using a stirring rod to scratch the oxidized layer off, or by adding a few drops of iodine or 1,2-Diiodoethane. Another option is to use sublimed magnesium or magnesium anthracene.


title: Grignard reagent

text: An alternative preparation of Grignard reagents involves transfer of Mg from a preformed Grignard reagent to an organic halide. Other organomagnesium reagents are used as well. This method offers the advantage that the Mg transfer tolerates many functional groups. An illustrative reaction involves isopropylmagnesium chloride and aryl bromide or iodides:


title: Grignard reagent

text: A further method to synthesize Grignard reagents involves reaction of Mg with an organozinc compound. This method has been used to make adamantane-based Grignard reagents, which are, due to C-C coupling side reactions, difficult to make by the conventional method from the alkyl halide and Mg. The reductive transmetalation achieves:


title: Grignard reagent

text: Because Grignard reagents are so sensitive to moisture and oxygen, many methods have been developed to test the quality of a batch. Typical tests involve titrations with weighable, anhydrous protic reagents, e.g. menthol in the presence of a color-indicator. The interaction of the Grignard reagent with phenanthroline or 2,2'-biquinoline causes a color change.


title: Grignard reagent

text: The most common application of Grignard reagents is the alkylation of aldehydes and ketones, i.e. "the" Grignard reaction:


title: Grignard reagent

text: Such reactions usually involve an aqueous acidic workup, though this step is rarely shown in reaction schemes. In cases where the Grignard reagent is adding to an aldehyde or a prochiral ketone, the Felkin-Anh model or Cram's Rule can usually predict which stereoisomer will be formed. With easily deprotonated 1,3-diketones and related acidic substrates, the Grignard reagent RMgX functions merely as a base, giving the enolate anion and liberating the alkane RH.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Grignard reagents are nucleophiles in nucleophilic aliphatic substitutions for instance with alkyl halides in a key step in industrial Naproxen production:


title: Grignard reagent

text: Grignard reagents serve as a base for protic substrates (this scheme does not show workup conditions, which typically includes water). Grignard reagents are basic and react with alcohols, phenols, etc. to give alkoxides (ROMgBr). The phenoxide derivative is susceptible to formylation by paraformaldehyde to give salicylaldehyde.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Grignard reagents react with many metal-based electrophiles. For example, they undergo transmetallation with cadmium chloride (CdCl) to give dialkylcadmium:


title: Grignard reagent

text: Most Grignard reactions are conducted in ethereal solvents, especially diethyl ether and THF. Grignard reagents react with 1,4-dioxane to give the diorganomagnesium compounds and insoluble coordination polymer MgX(dioxane) and (R = organic group, X = halide):


title: Grignard reagent

text: Grignard reagents do "not" typically react with organic halides, in contrast with their high reactivity with other main group halides. In the presence of metal catalysts, however, Grignard reagents participate in C-C coupling reactions. For example, nonylmagnesium bromide reacts with methyl "p"-chlorobenzoate to give "p"-nonylbenzoic acid, in the presence of Tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III) (Fe(acac)), after workup with NaOH to hydrolyze the ester, shown as follows. Without the Fe(acac), the Grignard reagent would attack the ester group over the aryl halide.


title: Grignard reagent

text: For the coupling of aryl halides with aryl Grignard reagents, nickel chloride in tetrahydrofuran (THF) is also a good catalyst. Additionally, an effective catalyst for the couplings of alkyl halides is dilithium tetrachlorocuprate (LiCuCl), prepared by mixing lithium chloride (LiCl) and copper(II) chloride (CuCl) in THF. The Kumada-Corriu coupling gives access to [substituted] styrenes.


title: Grignard reagent

text: Treatment of a Grignard reagent with oxygen gives the magnesium organoperoxide. Hydrolysis of this material yields hydroperoxides or alcohol. These reactions involve radical intermediates.


title: Grignard reagent

text: The simple oxidation of Grignard reagents to give alcohols is of little practical importance as yields are generally poor. In contrast, two-step sequence via a borane ("vide supra") that is subsequently oxidized to the alcohol with hydrogen peroxide is of synthetic utility.


title: Grignard reagent

text: The synthetic utility of Grignard oxidations can be increased by a reaction of Grignard reagents with oxygen in presence of an alkene to an ethylene extended alcohol. This modification requires aryl or vinyl Grignards. Adding just the Grignard and the alkene does not result in a reaction demonstrating that the presence of oxygen is essential. The only drawback is the requirement of at least two equivalents of Grignard although this can partly be circumvented by the use of a dual Grignard system with a cheap reducing Grignard such as n-butylmagnesium bromide.


title: Grignard reagent

text: In the Boord olefin synthesis, the addition of magnesium to certain β-haloethers results in an elimination reaction to the alkene. This reaction can limit the utility of Grignard reactions.


title: Grignard reagent

text: An example of the Grignard reaction is a key step in the (non-stereoselective) industrial production of Tamoxifen (currently used for the treatment of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer in women):


title: Mimaropa

text: Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016. It is one of two regions in the country having no land border with another region (the other being Eastern Visayas). The name is an acronym combination of its constituent provinces: Mindoro (divided into Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro), Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.


title: Mimaropa

text: The region was part of the now-defunct Southern Tagalog region until May 17, 2002. On May 23, 2005, Palawan and the highly urbanized city of Puerto Princesa were moved to the region of Western Visayas by "Executive Order No. 429". However, on August 19, 2005, then-President Arroyo issued "Administrative Order No. 129" to put in abeyance "Executive Order No. 429" pending a review. On July 17, 2016, "Republic Act No. 10879" formally established the "Southwestern Tagalog Region" to be known as Mimaropa discontinuing the "Region IV-B" designation, however no boundary changes were involved.


title: Mimaropa

text: Calapan is Mimaropa's regional center. However, most regional government offices such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Budget and Management are in Quezon City, Metro Manila.


title: Mimaropa

text: Mimaropa, together with Calabarzon, were officially created with the partitioning of Southern Tagalog (Region IV) into the two regions on May 17, 2002, with the issuance of "Executive Order No. 103" by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; for the purpose of promoting efficiency in the government, accelerating social and economic development and improving public services in the provinces covered. Region IV-B was designated as Mimaropa, which stands for the island provinces belonging to the Southern Tagalog region—Mindoro (Oriental and Occidental), Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. Region IV-A was designated as Calabarzon.


title: Mimaropa

text: On May 23, 2005, "Executive Order 429" was issued, moving the province of Palawan to the region of Western Visayas, designating Region IV-B as "Mimaro". However, Palawan residents criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa and nearly all municipalities preferring to stay with Region IV-B. Consequently, "Administrative Order No. 129" was issued on August 19, 2005, to address this backlash. This order directed the abeyance of "Executive Order 429" pending the approval of an implementation plan for the orderly transfer of Palawan from Mimaropa to Region VI.


title: Mimaropa

text: The 2010 Philippine Census of Population reported the region's name as "Mimaropa" and included Palawan as part of the region. , it is not clear whether the transfer of Palawan to Western Visayas is still considered pending by the Philippine government. , the National Statistical Coordinating Board of the Philippines continued to list Palawan province as part of the Mimaropa region.


title: Mimaropa

text: On July 17, 2016, "Republic Act No. 10879" formally established the "Southwestern Tagalog Region" to be known as the Mimaropa Region. This involved no boundary changes but was in effect merely a renaming and discontinuation of the "Region IV-B" designation.


title: Mimaropa

text: In 2007, Mimaropa's economy surged by 9.4%, making it the fastest growing region in the country in that year. It was aided by robust growth in the industrial sector which grew by 19.1% from -6.1% in 2006. Mimaropa experienced a big slowdown in 2006, posting a decelerated growth of 2.3% from a 6.4% increase in 2005. This resulted mainly from the slump in the industry sector, which shrunk by 5.4% in 2006 from its 10.8% increase in 2005.


title: Mimaropa

text: The agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, which contributed 42.1% to the total regional economy, grew by 9.1% in 2006, accelerating from 3.2% the previous year. The higher production of rice, maize, other crops, livestock and fishery resulted in the accelerated growth in the total agriculture and fishery sector.


title: Mimaropa

text: The industry sector, which contributed 38.3% to the region's total economy, was the second largest contributor next to agriculture. Its decline of 5.4% was largely attributed to the decrease in the mining and quarrying sub-sector, which went down by 15.4% due to the reduced production of natural gas in Palawan. Mining and quarrying contributed 16.6% to the total regional economy. The positive growth in the electricity and water, construction and manufacturing sub-sectors were not able to compensate to the drop in the mining and quarrying sub-sector.


title: Mimaropa

text: The service sector, on the other hand, posted an accelerated growth of 5.1%, which was attributed to the increase in the TCS, finance, private services, government services and trade sub-sectors, which managed to post accelerated growths of 6.0%, 5.5%, 5.1%, 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively. The other sub-sector, however, had a decelerated growth due to the slowdown in the ownership of dwelling.


title: Mimaropa

text: There are many scenic spots in Mimaropa. Some of them are the Bathala Cave, Balanacan Bay, and Tres Reyes Islands in the province of Marinduque; White Island in Mindoro; Fort San Andres, Mount Guiting-Guiting, and Bonbon Beach in Romblon; and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and El Nido Marine Reserve Park in Palawan.


title: Mimaropa

text: Mimaropa comprises 5 provinces, 1 "highly urbanized" city (Puerto Princesa), 1 "component" city (Calapan), 71 municipalities and 1,458 barangays.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: Chernobylite is a science fiction survival video game developed by The Farm 51 and published by All in! Games. It was released on 28 July 2021 for Microsoft Windows, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 28 September 2021, and the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions were released on 21 April 2022. The game is set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where the player's objective is to explore, as Ukrainian physicist Igor Khymynuk, and find his fiancée in the radioactive wasteland.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: "Chernobylite" is a survival game in which the player controls Igor Khymynuk, a former Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant physicist who must explore the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in search of his fiancée. Most of the single-player gameplay revolves around exploring the exclusion zone, gathering supplies and tools while encountering "Stalkers" and hostile military personnel. The player is also forced to make decisions which affect the nonlinear story line. There is also a crafting system, which allows the player to craft their own equipment and weapons. Any character can die and any task can be failed. Deep in the contaminated environment also lie strange supernatural threats, due to the "chernobylite" created from the nuclear aftermath.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: The game is set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster. Following the disaster, a strange material dubbed "Chernobylite" began to appear in the Zone. Interested in Chernobylite's potential applications, the military contractor NAR has leased the entire Zone in order to carry out experiments that are led by Chernobylite specialist Dr. Semonov. The presence of Chernobylite also attracts Shadows, extradimensional creatures that are hostile to humans. In order to secure their investment, the NAR enlists the services of former Soviet General Kozlov and the mysterious and dangerous Black Stalker to remove any intruders into the Zone by any means necessary.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: Meanwhile, Ukrainian physicist Igor Khymynuk arrives in the Zone to search for his missing fiancée Tatyana, who disappeared shortly before the Chernobyl disaster. In order to find her and uncover the conspiracy behind her disappearance, Igor may recruit allies in the Zone, such as the Canadian mercenary Olivier, guerilla freedom fighter Olga, the mysterious hermit Tarakhan, outlaw Sashko, and local Stalker Mikhail.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: After receiving a picture of his missing wife Tatyana and being haunted by her in his dreams, Igor decides to travel to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and sneak into the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to find answers, as both he and Tatyana used to work at the plant and Tatyana disappeared shortly before the disaster. Igor successfully breaks into the power plant and recovers a Chernobylite crystal, which he uses to power a special portal gun he had developed. However, he is then attacked by the Black Stalker and forced to flee before he can find Tatyana.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: With his first intrusion a failure, Igor realizes that he will need a better plan, along with resources and allies to help him break through the NAR defenses around the plant. As he journeys around the Zone, he has the option of recruiting allies such as Olivier, Olga, Tarakhan, Sashko, and Mikhail, as well as negotiating with or killing Dr. Semonov and General Kozlov. Meanwhile, Chernobylite continues to spread around the zone, bringing more Shadows in its wake. Igor also discovers that thanks to his connection to Tatyana and Chernobylite, whenever he dies, he will be sent to an alternate timeline. In addition, while dead, he can change past decisions in order to change their outcomes.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: Eventually, Igor learns that Tatyana was abducted by the KGB after she was reported by their close friend Boris, who was jealous of Igor and Tatyana's relationship. Both Tatyana and Boris were subjected to Chernobylite experiments, with Boris eventually becoming the Black Stalker while Tatyana serves as a conduit to open a portal to the source of Chernobylite. Igor also learns that Chernobylite itself is actually a living organism that has its own intelligence and will.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: When all preparations are complete, Igor and his allies manage to break into the power plant once again. Igor decides to travel deeper into the plant alone, where he confronts the Black Stalker. The Black Stalker reveals that he is not actually Boris, but the real Igor who killed Boris and assumed his identity. He further reveals that Igor is in fact Tatyana's son, created as a clone of the original Igor by the Chernobylite. Concerned for Igor's safety, Tatyana had the Black Stalker break Igor out of NAR custody, though thanks to Igor's flawed mental development as a child, he has no memory of it. Igor somehow inherited the original Igor's memories, making himself believe he is Igor, and it was Dr. Semonov that originally sent the picture of Tatyana to him to lure him to the Zone. Since shutting down the portal will kill Tatyana, the Black Stalker decides to fight Igor, with Igor ultimately becoming the victor.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: At this point, the Black Stalker pleads with Igor, telling him that instead of destroying the portal and killing Tatyana, he can instead enter the portal and destroy the Chernobylite at its source, which should free Tatyana. If Igor does choose to enter the portal, the Chernobylite reveals it created Igor to serve as its method of fully manifesting on Earth, intending to save Humanity by purging it and remaking it. Igor then has the option of communing with the Chernobylite to allow it to carry out its plans, or killing himself to deny the Chernobylite a foothold on Earth.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: "Chernobylite" was developed by The Farm 51. The game's map was developed from 3D scans and recreations of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: The Farm 51 started a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to help fund further development. The funds were said to be needed to complete the 3D scanning process. On 11 May 2019 the Kickstarter campaign ended having exceeded the $100,000 funding goal and raising $206,671 in total from 3,350 backers. The game entered Steam and GOG.com early access programs on 19 October 2019 and achieved full release on 28 July 2021 for Microsoft Windows.


title: Chernobylite (video game)

text: "Chernobylite" received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic; the PlayStation 4 and Xbox Series X/S versions received "mixed or average" reviews.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The sabre (US English: "saber", both pronounced ) is one of the three disciplines of modern fencing. The sabre weapon is for thrusting and cutting with both the cutting edge and the back of the blade (unlike other modern fencing weapons, the épée and foil, where the methods of making a hit are scored using only the point of the blade).


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The informal term sabreur refers to a male fencer who follows the discipline; sabreuse is the female equivalent.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: "The blade, which must be of steel, is approximately rectangular in section. The maximum length of the blade is 88 cm. The minimum width of the blade, which must be at the button, is 4 mm; its thickness, also immediately below the button, must be at least 1.2 mm."


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The cross-sectional profile of the sabre blade is commonly a V-shaped base which transitions to a flat rectangular shaped end with most blade variants, but this is dependent on how it is manufactured. This allows the blade to be flexible towards the end. According to regulation, manufacturers must acknowledge that the blade must be fixed horizontally at a point from the tip of the blade.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Standardised adult (size 5) blades are in length (excluding other components). At the end of the blade, the point is folded over itself to form a "button" which, when viewed end on, must have a square or rectangular section of 4–6 mm no larger or smaller. The button must not be any more than 3 mm from the end of the 88 cm blade section.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The guard is full in shape, made in one piece and is externally smooth; the curvature of the guard is continuous without any aesthetic perforations or rims. The interior of the guard is fully insulated by either paint or a pad. The guard is designed to provide the hand adequate protection to ensure that injury does not occur which may hinder the performance of the fencer. Guards are dimensionally measured 15 cm by 14 cm in section where the blade is parallel with the axis of the gauge.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: On electrical sabres, a socket for the body wire is found underneath the bell guard. A fastener known as a pommel is attached to the end of the sword to keep the bell guard and handle on. It electrically separates the handle and the guard.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The conventional handle of the sabre is shaped so that it may be held so that the hand may slide down to gain further extension of the weapon relative to the fencer. Other grips which form various shapes are incompatible and impractical with sabre as they limit the movement of the hand, and are likely to be ergonomically incompatible with the guard.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The entire weapon is generally long; the maximum weight is 500 g, but most competition swords are closer to 400 g. It is shorter than the foil or épée, and lighter than the épée, hence physically easier to move swiftly and decisively. However the integrity of the sabre blade is not as strong as other weapons as it is more likely to break due to the design.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Like other weapons used in fencing, the modern sabre uses an electrical connection to register touches. The sabreur wears a lamé, a conductive jacket, to complete the circuit and register a touch to a valid target.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Sabre was the last weapon in fencing to make the transition over to using electrical equipment. This occurred in 1988, 32 years (1956) after the foil and 52 years (1936) after the épée. In 2004, immediately following the Athens Summer Olympics, the timing for recording a touch was shortened from its previous setting, dramatically altering the sport and method in which a touch is scored.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Unlike the other two weapons, there is very little difference between an electric sabre and a steam or dry (non-electric) one. The blade itself is the same in steam and electric sabres, as there is no need for a blade wire or pressure-sensitive tip in an electric sabre. An electric sabre has a socket, which is generally a 2-prong or bayonet foil socket with the two contacts shorted together. The electric sabre also has insulation on the pommel and on the inside of the guard to prevent an electrical connection between the sabre and the lamé. This is undesirable because it effectively extends the lamé onto the sabre, causing any blade contact to be registered as a valid touch.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Early electric sabres were equipped with a capteur socket. The capteur was a small mechanical accelerometer that was intended to distinguish between a good cut and a mere touch of the blade against the target. In November 2019 the FIE announced their intention to re-introduce the capteur to sabre using modern accelerometer technology.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The general target area for the discipline, that is, all areas where a valid hit may be scored, comprises the entire torso above the waist, the head, and the arms up to the wrist. The legs, hands and feet are excluded from the target area.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: A single circuit for the entire target area used in scoring systems is formed by multiple conductive equipment:


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Because touches can be scored using the edge of the blade, there is no need for a pressure-sensitive head (the "button") to be present on the end of the blade. When fencing "electric" (as opposed to "steam" or "dry") a current runs through the sabre blade. When the blade comes into contact with the lamé, the electrical mask, or the manchette, current flows through the body cord and interacts with the scoring equipment.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The scoring apparatus or box aids the referee's final judgement. As for all electrical apparatus used in modern fencing, the referee must take into account the possibility of mechanical failure. Most sabre hits are registered by light signals placed on top of the sabre apparatus (red and green distinguishable for each fencer, with the light indicating the fencer who registered a hit) and accompanied by audible signal(s) consisting of either a short ring or a continuous note limited to two seconds.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The lockout period is the minimum amount of time between registered touches respective of the target area. This period is set into the electrical apparatus to aid judgement.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Recent regulation adjustments to the "functioning times of the scoring apparatuses" following from the 2016 Olympic Games modified the registering times from 120 ms to 170 ms Scoring apparatuses with the new modification are marked with a magenta identification label bearing in black text "FIE 2016".


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Changing the lockout timing effectively changed the way with which the sabre was fenced, making it faster with greater emphasis on footwork. Although the essential nature of the game would remain the same, the strategies for attack and defense would need to be rethought.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The timing change was initially greeted with a degree of controversy, as many fencers were accustomed to having the longer timings. This made the techniques then employed vulnerable to fast stop-cuts (a hit made by the defender that lands whilst the attacker is still beginning an attack, also known as a skyhook) or (a second attack made by the original attacker after the first has technically finished). It was commonly regarded that the shorter timings would only encourage poor technique and an "attack only" mentality, negating much of the art of the sport.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Remises and stop-cuts would not normally score a point, as a hit by the attacker would take priority. However, the hit made with priority may arrive too late under the shorter timings to register, and so the stop-cuts and remises would indeed score.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: As a result of the narrower timings, the efficacy of attacks into preparation was increased, meaning that it was now more critical that the preparing fencer must already have begun an attack by the time the two fencers were in hitting distance of each other.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The techniques of how to parry and riposte have been extended. The solid parries, used extensively before the change of timings, would be supplemented by an additional step back by the defender to avoid the attacker remising (continuing to push their blade after their attack has technically done) or else the defence to be performed as a beat-attack, an extending arm that deflects the oncoming attack halfway through the extension before hitting the original attacker's target area.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: With hindsight, the shorter timings seem to have encouraged a tightening and refinement of the original techniques with smaller, neater moves so that, on the whole, sabre fencing became faster and more precise than it had ever been before.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: When both signals indicate, it rests upon the referee to decide which fencer scores the point. The decision is based on the concept of right of way which gives the point to the fencer who had priority, i.e. the attacking fencer. As with foil, the other right of way weapon, priority is gained in many ways, which can be broken down into active, passive, and defensive categories:


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: If neither fencer has 'right of way' in a double touch situation (typically, if both initiate the attack simultaneously in so far as the director can determine), the action is called a "simultaneous attack" and no point is awarded unless an attack is initiated first and is not parried or missed.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Right of way rules were initially established to encourage fencers to use parries and other techniques in order to hit without being hit, as they would logically desire to do if they were using sharp swords. Subsequently, the rules of right of way have been altered simply to keep the strategy and technique of sabre interesting and (relatively) easy to understand.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The referee may halt the action for reasons such as a safety hazard, fencer injury, or violation of the rules. When the referee says "halt", no further action may score a point. For cases of rules violations, the referee may choose to either warn the offender or show him or her a penalty card. A warning has no scoring implication. Cards, on the other hand, have further penalties:


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: The referee will traditionally score the bout in French, but most non-French speaking referees tend to make calls in the relevant local language. However, in international competitions, the referees are required to use French. There are also associated hand motions the referees will make to indicate specific calls in order to bridge a potential language barrier. Most current referees are required to make calls both verbally and with the relevant hand motions to avoid any type of confusion.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: At sabre, it is generally easier to attack than to defend (for example, the timing favours remises) and high-level international sabre fencing is often very fast and very simple, although when required, top sabreurs do display an extended repertoire of tactical devices. In response to the relatively high speed of sabre fencing (sabre is the fastest sport in the world combat wise), the rules for sabre were changed to prohibit the forward cross-over (where the back foot passes the front foot) – it is now a cardable offence. Thus, the flèche attack is no longer permissible, so sabre fencers have instead begun to use a "flunge" (flying lunge). This attack begins like a flèche, but the fencer pushes off from the ground and moves quickly forward, attempting to land a hit before their feet cross over. Similarly, "running attacks" – consisting of a failed flèche followed by continuous remises – have also been eliminated.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Another parry, lesser-known, but which works against opponents of the same handedness, is referred to as "the Hungarian". This parry is most useful when both fencers charge off the line towards each other. To perform the Hungarian, a fencer throws a "prime" parry when the opponent is within striking distance and sweeps upward into a "quinte" position, covering (in the process) nearly all target area, and performs the riposte as with a normal "quinte" parry. The Hungarian technique often works best if a step or angle is taken in the opposite direction of the "prime" parry. This technique will not work with two fencers of opposite handedness.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: It follows from the nature of sabre parries (they block an incoming attack rather than deflecting it as in foil and épée) that they are static and must be taken as late as possible to avoid being duped by a feint attack, committing to a parry in the wrong line and being unable to change parry (which often involves completely altering the orientation of the blade while moving and rotating the wrist and forearm) to defend against the real attack quickly enough.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Circles, such as Circle 3, 4, and 5, defend against stabs to the body, which an ordinary parry would not block. This is extremely useful, as it is highly versatile, covering much of the target area.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: There are variations of the primary and secondary parries where the fencer uses their body along with the blade. The most popular is when the fencer jumps into the air and throws a "Seconde." If done correctly, the defender can block an attack to the "Tierce" sector while taking advantage of the high ground. Another example is when the fencer squats to the floor and takes a "Quinte" to both make themselves a smaller target and block their only weak point.


title: Sabre (fencing)

text: Each fencing weapon has a different tempo, and the tempo for épée and foil is rather slow with sudden bursts of speed. Sabre is fast throughout the entire touch. However, many coaches are urging pupils to slow down the pace by taking smaller steps instead of larger ones.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: Akbar Al Baker (; born 1962) is the Group CEO of Qatar Airways and the Chairman of Qatar Tourism. under Qatar Airways Group, Al-Baker is also the CEO of Hamad International Airport, which opened in 2014. In May 2021, Al-Baker was appointed as chairman of Oneworld.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: Al-Baker was born in Doha, Qatar. As a child, he studied at St.john's School, Panchgani, a boarding school, in the Panchgani hills in Maharashtra, India. He later moved to Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. He holds a private pilot license.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: Al-Baker became Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways in 1997. Prior to this appointment, he worked at the Civil Aviation Directorate of Qatar. He is also the former Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority. He is CEO of several divisions of Qatar's national airline, including Qatar Executive, Qatar Airways Holidays, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Duty Free Company, Doha International Airport, Internal Media Services, Qatar Distribution Company and Qatar Aircraft Catering Company.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: Al-Baker led the development of Hamad International Airport, which opened its first phase in May 2014 and is now home to Qatar Airways. As of 2017 the airport services all inbound and outbound flights out of Doha.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In June 2019, Al Baker announced that Qatar Airways would be buying a stake in a sixth overseas airline before the end of the year. The company has not yet been named, but would join the airlines interests on the International Airlines Group, LATAM Airlines Group, Cathay Pacific, and China Southern Airlines Co.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: Al-Baker is a member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organization, a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association, and a non-executive director of Heathrow Airport Holdings.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In May 2021, Al-Baker was appointed to the role of Governing Board Chairman of the Oneworld alliance.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In 2015, it was reported that Qatar Airways told its female flight attendants that they could lose their jobs if they were pregnant.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: On 26 August 2015, Qatar airways updated its policy on marriage and pregnancy for its female cabin crew. In June, after the International Labour Organization's (ILO) report on Qatar to change its employment rules to end discrimination, Qatar Airways has loosened its restrictions prohibiting female cabin crew from getting married and having children. Pregnant women will now be provided temporary ground jobs under the new contract and they can get married whenever they choose as long as they notify the company.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In May 2016, "The Daily Telegraph" reported that Al Baker said backpackers were not welcome in Qatar because they "are just there to lie on the beach and spend as little as possible" and the country wanted to "attract people of higher standard".


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In July 2017, in a speech at a dinner in Ireland, Al Baker said US airlines were "crap" and their passengers were "always being served by grandmothers". He stated that the average age of Qatar airways cabin crew was 26. He later said that his remarks might not reflect his "true sentiments about cabin crew".


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: On June 5, 2018, speaking at a press conference following his election to chairman of the International Air Transport Association at the association's annual meeting in Sydney, Australia, he told reporters that, regarding Qatar Airways' management, "Of course it has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position." Although Al-Baker later apologized, he stopped short of recanting his belief that being CEO of an international airline is too challenging a job for a woman. He claimed he was attempting to make a joke at the time.


title: Akbar Al Baker

text: In 2019, Al-Baker alleged that Changi Airport's Jewel was a copy of previously announced expansion plans for Hamad International Airport. Al-Baker was quoted as saying: "When I show you the images later (of the planned enhancements), you will realize that somebody copied our design, which was already on the table nearly six years ago... We had individuals from that country, I will not name it, that took our design and did it." Changi Airport Group's chief executive, Lee Seow Hiang, however, has rebutted the allegation, telling "The Straits Times": "We value the originality and creativity of ideas as we innovate to elevate the Changi experience for all our visitors. We respect intellectual property rights and expect the same of all our partners."


title: George Medal

text: The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI, is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate.


title: George Medal

text: In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward many acts of civilian courage. Existing awards open to civilians were not considered suitable to meet the new situation, so the George Cross and the George Medal were instituted to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy bombing, and brave deeds more generally.


title: George Medal

text: The warrant for the GM (along with that of the GC), dated 24 January 1941, was published in "The London Gazette" on 31 January 1941.


title: George Medal

text: The medal is granted in recognition of "acts of great bravery". The original warrant for the George Medal did not explicitly permit it to be awarded posthumously. The position was clarified in December 1977 expressly to allow posthumous awards, several of which have subsequently been made.


title: George Medal

text: The medal is primarily a civilian award, but it may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct that is not in the face of the enemy. As the warrant states:


title: George Medal

text: Bars to the GM may be awarded in recognition of further acts of bravery meriting the award. In undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette is worn on the ribbon to indicate each bar.


title: George Medal

text: Details of all awards to British and Commonwealth recipients are published in "The London Gazette". Approximately 2,122 medals have been awarded since inception in 1940, with 27 second-award bars.


title: George Medal

text: The GM is a circular silver medal in diameter, with the ribbon suspended from a ring. It has the following design.


title: George Medal

text: The reverse shows Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon on the coast of England, with the legend around the top edge of the medal.


title: George Medal

text: The ribbon is wide, crimson with five narrow blue stripes. The blue colour is taken from the George Cross ribbon. The medal is worn on the left chest by men; women not in uniform wear the medal on the left shoulder, with the ribbon fashioned into a bow.


title: George Medal

text: The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim of the medal, although some Army awards have impressed naming.


title: George Medal

text: The first recipients, listed in "The London Gazette" of 30 September 1940, were Chief Officer Ernest Herbert Harmer and Second Officer Cyril William Arthur Brown of the Dover Fire Brigade, and Section Officer Alexander Edmund Campbell of the Dover Auxiliary Fire Service, who on 29 July had volunteered to return to a ship loaded with explosives in Dover Harbour to fight fires aboard while an air raid was in progress. Seven other people were also awarded the medal, including the first women; Ambulance Driver Dorothy Clarke and Ambulance Attendant Bessie Jane Hepburn of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, for rescuing a man badly injured in an explosion.


title: George Medal

text: The first recipient chronologically was Coxswain Robert Cross, commander of the RNLI lifeboat "City of Bradford", based at Spurn Point, whose award was gazetted on 7 February 1941. It was awarded for an incident on 2 February 1940 when Cross took the lifeboat out in gale force winds, snow squalls, and very rough seas to rescue the crew of a steam trawler.


title: George Medal

text: The youngest recipient was Charity Anne Bick, who lied about her age to join the ARP service at 14 years old, and who delivered several messages by bicycle during a heavy air raid in West Bromwich in late 1940.


title: George Medal

text: The first person to receive a second award was George Samuel Sewell, an engineer working for Shell-Mex and BP Ltd., based at the oil terminal at Salt End, near Hull, for his actions during an air raid. Having been one of the first recipients (in September 1940) his bar to the George Medal was gazetted on 4 July 1941.


title: George Medal

text: The year 2015 included the 75th anniversary of the creation of the award, and was marked by a ceremony in London.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: In the Philippines, local government is divided into three levels: provinces and independent cities, component cities and municipalities, and barangays, all of which are collectively known as local government units (LGUs). In one area, above provinces and independent cities, is an autonomous region, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Below barangays in some cities and municipalities are sitios and puroks. All of these, with the exception of sitios and puroks, elect their own executives and legislatures. Sitios and puroks are often but not necessarily led by an elected barangay councilor.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Provinces and independent cities are organized into national government regions but those are administrative regions and not separately governed areas with their own elected governments.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: According to the Constitution of the Philippines, the local governments "shall enjoy local autonomy", and in which the Philippine president exercises "general supervision". Congress enacted the Local Government Code of the Philippines in 1991 to "provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum, allocate among the different local government units their powers, responsibilities, and resources, and provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries, powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the organization and operation of local units."


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Local government units are under the control and supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Autonomous regions have more powers than other local governments. The constitution limits the creation of autonomous regions to Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras but only one autonomous region exists: the Bangsamoro, which replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). In 1989, a plebiscite established the ARMM. In 2001, a plebiscite in the ARMM confirmed the previous composition of the autonomous region and added Basilan (except for the city of Isabela) and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. Isabela City remains a part of the province of Basilan despite rejecting inclusion in the ARMM. In 2019, another plebiscite confirmed the replacement of the ARMM with the Bangsamoro, and added Cotabato City and 63 barangays in Cotabato.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: A Cordillera Autonomous Region has never been formed because two plebiscites, in 1990 and 1998, both resulted in just one province supporting autonomy; this led the Supreme Court ruling that autonomous regions should not be composed of just one province.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Each autonomous region has a unique form of government. The ARMM had a regional governor and a regional legislative assembly, mimicking the presidential system of the national government. The Bangsamoro will have a chief minister responsible to parliament, with parliament appointing a wa'lī, or a ceremonial governor, in a parliamentary system.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Outside the lone autonomous region, the provinces are the highest-level local government. The provinces are organized into component cities and municipalities. A province is governed by the governor and a legislature known as the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Municipal government in the Philippines is divided into three – independent cities, component cities, and municipalities (sometimes referred to as towns). Several cities across the country are "independent cities" which means that they are not governed by a province, even though like Iloilo City the provincial capitol might be in the city. Independent city residents do not vote for nor hold provincial offices. Far more cities are "component cities" and are a part of a province. Municipalities are always a part of a province except for Pateros which was separated from Rizal to form Metro Manila.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Cities and municipalities are governed by mayors and legislatures, which are called the Sangguniang Panlungsod in cities and the Sangguniang Bayan in municipalities.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Every city and municipality in the Philippines is divided into barangays, the smallest of the local government units. Barangays can be further divided into sitios and puroks but those divisions do not have leaders elected in formal elections supervised by the national government.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: A barangay's executive is the Punong Barangay or barangay captain and its legislature is the Sangguniang Barangay, composed of barangay captain, the Barangay Kagawads (barangay councilors) and the SK chairman. The SK Chairman is the head of Sangguniang Kabataan which is composed of 1 SK Chairperson and 7 SK Kagawads that also leads the assembly for youth, the or KK.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Local governments have two branches: executive and legislative. All courts in the Philippines are under the Supreme Court of the Philippines and therefore there are no local-government controlled judicial branches. Nor do local governments have any prosecutors or public defenders, as those are under the jurisdiction of the national government.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: The executive branch is composed of the Wali as the head of region and Chief Minister as the head of government for the Bangsamoro, governor for the provinces, mayor for the cities and municipalities, and the barangay captain for the barangays.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: The legislatures review the ordinances and resolutions enacted by the legislatures below. Aside from regular and "ex-officio" members, the legislatures above the barangay level also have three sectoral representatives, one each from women, agricultural or industrial workers, and other sectors.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: All elected officials have 3-year terms, save for the wa'lī which is six years, and can only serve a maximum of three consecutive terms before being ineligible for reelection.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: There are 44 offices in a government, whether it is municipal, city or provincial. There are some mandatory and optional offices to the government.


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: Among the social services and facilities that local government should provide, as stipulated in Section 17 of the Local Government Code, are the following:


title: Local government in the Philippines

text: As a matter of principle, higher legislative entities have the power to create, divide, merge, abolish, or substantially alter boundaries of any lower-level local government through a law or ordinance, all subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite to be conducted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in the local government unit or units directly affected. The Local Government Code has also set requisites for creating local government units. A summary can be found in the table below: