prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who started out his career on adult contemporary radio along with the performer of All That Echoes?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
CJRL-FM
CJRL-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 89 5 FM in Kenora, Ontario  The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format branded as 89 5 The Lake 
The station was originally launched in 1938 as CKCA 1420 kHz  In 1941, CKCA moved to 1450  In 1943, Kenora Broadcasting Co  Ltd  took ownership of CKCA and changed the frequency to 1220 with a new callsign CJRL 
CJRL went through different ownerships over the years 
In 2004, CJRL was given approval by the CRTC to convert to 89 5 FM and began broadcasting in November 2004 as 89 5 Mix FM  Following the flip to FM, the station shifted format to adult contemporary from hot adult contemporary 
Formerly owned and operated by Fawcett Broadcasting, the station was acquired in 2007 by Acadia Broadcasting Limited of Saint John, New Brunswick 
As of June 30, 2011, CJRL was rebranded 89 5 The Lake, continuing as an adult contemporary station, the station's playlist now primarily includes pop and rock hits from the 1970s to today  Following the unexpected passing of Charlie Tuna in early 2016, the 70's Show that aired on weekends was replaced with the Totally Awesome 80's show with Kent Jones 
Passage 2:
KLAG
The following is a list of full-power radio stations, HD Radio subchannels and low-power translators in the United States broadcasting K-Love programming, which can be sorted by their call signs, frequencies, city of license, state and broadcast area 

Blue background indicates a low-power FM translator 
Gray background indicates an HD Radio subchannel 

External links
Master Station List
Passage 3:
WAJI
WAJI (95 1 FM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format  Licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, the station is owned by Bloomington–based Sarkes Tarzian, Inc WAJI broadcasts in HD, with its HD2 channel simulcasting sister station WGBJ, and its HD3 channel broadcasting a "Top 20" CHR format 

History
WAJI was known as WPTH throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a sister station to WPTA television, and in the summer of 1974 branded themselves as "Rock 95", using TM Productions' "Stereo Rock" Top 40 reel to reel automation package  The station went live in 1979, and changed calls in 1981 to WFWQ (95Q), continuing to do battle with 97 3 WMEE for the Top 40 audience in Fort Wayne  The station mellowed to Adult Contemporary, eventually changing to its current WAJI calls and imaging in 1985  "Majic 95" soon once again became one of Fort Wayne's top-rated stations, reaching #1 in the market several times during the late 1980s 
On March 20, 2014, the first day of spring WAJI changed names to BEST FM 95 1 WAJI reflecting the music they play today 
The station lineup consisted of "The BEST-FM Morning Show" with Sid Kelly, Angie Nash and James Raggi   Mandi Michaels, Program Director Dan Kennedy and Dave B  Goode (who also serves as the station's Promotions Director) 
Angie Nash spent the previous ten years of her career at cross-town WJFX Hot 107 9 before joining the morning show   Afternoons were handled by Dan Kennedy who also serves as the stations Director of Programming   Kennedy was VP/Programming for five station Grenax Broadcasting in Arizona prior to his arrival in Fort Wayne in 2012  Dave B  Goode hosts weeknights after spending several years at stations such as crosstown WBTU and WNHT  Dave also serves as the station's Promotions Director 
After changing formats, BEST-FM has brought in several new staff members  On June 23, 2014 it was announced that James Raggi would join Angie Nash for mornings after spending three years as an intern/producer in Boston on Kiss 108 
In September 2014 Mandi Michaels joined the staff as the new mid-day personality 
On October 24, 2014 Best FM announced the hiring of Sid Kelly  Sid was brought in to be the new host of the morning show, joining Angie and James  Sid Kelly came to WAJI after spending 3 and-a-half years at WVKS 92 5 Kiss FM in Toledo 
In July 2015 Program Director/afternoon personality Dan Kennedy announced he was leaving the station after 4 years to take a job outside of radio 
In September 2015 Captain Chris (Didier) Program Director of sister station WLDE, Fun 101 7 was named Program Director for WAJI and Operations Manager for the all 3 Fort Wayne, IN, Sarkes Tarzian radio stations 
On September 4, 2015, 95 1 rebranded back to "Majic 95 1"  The new Majic is being positioned as “Songs You Can Sing Along To” and comes with the exit of several staffers over the previous few weeks, with the first song being "You and Me" by Lifehouse  Program Director Dan Kennedy left in July for a non-radio industry position  Morning host Sid Kelly, producer James Raggi, and middayer Mandi Michaels were let go earlier that week leading up to the change  Later on, they changed their slogan to "Songs that make you feel good" 
The current WAJI line-up consists of Angie Nash, Andy Beckman, and Katrina Walburn live in mornings  According to WAJI, Katrina Walburn helps you through the Afternoons, and Andy and "Kat" in the morning do a live podcast from 5:30 AM to 10 AM EDT and EST 
On September 8, 2022, WAJI moved its CHR format and "The Twenty FM" branding from its HD2 subchannel to its HD3 subchannel 

Awards and charitable activities
In 2002, Majic 95 1 began an annual 2-day telethon called the "Majic Riley Radiothon" to raise funds for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana  In 2006,  this fundraising effort expanded to include local Fort Wayne recording facility Sweetwater Studios  The radio station and recording studio partnered to record live, acoustic music from nationally recognized artists and bands traveling through Fort Wayne  These recordings, along with others, have been used to produce an ongoing series of "Majic Miracle Music" charity CDs  100% of proceeds from the sale of these CDs benefits Riley Hospital for Children  Artists who recorded at Sweetwater Studios for "Majic Miracle Music" CDs include REO Speedwagon, Ingrid Michaelson, Lenka, Aimee Allen, Jars of Clay, Rick Springfield, Ben Jelen, Josh Kelley, Sara Bareilles, Jon McLaughlin, Gin Blossoms, and Collective Soul In 2005, 2006 and again in 2007, WAJI won Radio&Records Hot AC station of the year for their community support and programming excellence 
In late 2010, WAJI MidDay Host Barb Richards received the Bob Lind Supporter of the Year national award from the Children's Miracle Network for her active involvement in helping Riley Hospital for Children with the Majic Riley Radiothon, Majic Miracle Music releases, and involvement in other Riley Hospital-related activities In 2011, WAJI Program Director Dan Kennedy received the distinguished Edison 30 Under 30 Award for his programming achievements under the age of 30   He was also awarded the Copper Radio Award for his service to the communities of Arizona while programming a group of stations in that state  In 2015, WAJI Program Director Dan Kennedy was awarded the Fort Wayne 40 Under 40 award for service and excellence to the community 

Previous logo
Passage 4:
WEBZ
WEBZ (99 3 FM) is a commercial urban adult contemporary radio station located in Mexico Beach, Florida (Panama City metro)  The station is owned by iHeartMedia 

External links
Official Website

WEBZ in the FCC FM station database
WEBZ on Radio-Locator
WEBZ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Passage 5:
Light Sings
"Light Sings" is a song written by Will Holt and Gary William Friedman and performed by The 5th Dimension   It reached #12 on the U S  adult contemporary chart, #15 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart, #22 on the Canadian pop chart, and #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971   It was featured on their 1971 album, Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes The song was produced by Bones Howe and arranged by Bob Alcivar 

In media
The song was featured in the 1970 musical, The Me Nobody Knows 
Passage 6:
All That Echoes
All That Echoes is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, produced by Rob Cavallo  The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 145,000 copies in its first week  The album has sold 532,000 copies in the United States as of April 2015 

Background
On November 18, 2012, the album was announced, revealing the cover art, title, and date of release: February 5, 2013  It was available for preorder through retailer Amazon com on November 27  Groban has recorded cover songs by Stevie Wonder and Glen Hansard for the album  The first track, "Brave", was released as a single on December 18, 2012  Groban promoted the album with the All That Echoes World Tour 

Track listing
Personnel
Josh Groban – vocals, piano, e-bow, additional drums
Curt Bisquera – drums
Chris Chaney – bass guitar
Tim Pierce – guitar
Ramon Stagnaro – acoustic guitar, charango
Carlos del Puerto – bass guitar
Arturo Sandoval – trumpet
Walter Afanasieff – piano
Paul Bushnell – bass guitar
Luis Conte – percussion
Matt Chamberlain – drums
Eleanore Choate – harp
Sean Hurley – bass guitar
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, piano
Abe Laboriel Jr  – drums, percussion
Rob Cavallo – acoustic guitar, piano, additional bass guitar
Dan Chase – drum programming, synthesizer
André Manga – bass guitar
Eric Rigler – bagpipes, low whistle
Lester Mendez – synthesizer, programming

Charts
Certifications
Passage 7:
WOKH
WOKH (102 7 FM) is an adult contemporary–formatted radio station licensed to serve Springfield, Kentucky, as well as Lebanon and Bardstown  The station is owned by Bardstown Radio Team, LLC as part of a duopoly with Bardstown–licensed country music station WBRT (1320 AM)  The two stations share studios on South Third Street in downtown Bardstown, while its transmitter facilities are located off Lanham Road in rural Washington County west of Springfield 

History
Choice Radio sold WOKH to current ownership Bardstown Radio Team, owner of WBRT, in 2017 The station has been assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since January 12, 2006 

Previous logos
Passage 8:
WNWZ
WNWZ (1410 AM, "Magic 104 9") is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format, licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan 
The station is simulcast on FM translator W285FO (104 9), licensed to Grand Rapids 

History
WGRD
The station first began broadcasting under the WGRD call sign in 1948  As AM 1410 was originally a daytime-only station, the WGRD calls stood for Grand Rapids Daytime  The station adopted the Top 40 music format in 1959 and was a top-rated station in the Grand Rapids market during the late 1950s and early 1960s, though the station had lost ground to WLAV 1340 and WZZM-FM 95 7 by the end of the decade  WGRD made a number of format adjustments in the mid-1960s in response to its falling ratings, shifting to an adult contemporary format in 1964 and then to a Top 40/oldies mix the following year before tweaking back to Top 40 in 1967  WGRD reclaimed its market dominance after it added an FM signal at 97 9 MHz in 1971 (formerly WXTO), though AM 1410 was relegated to being a simulcast of the FM signal mornings and afternoons  For part of that time middays were "shadowcast " Same format, different dj 

WXQT/Great Gold 14-K
In 1981, WGRD dropped its simulcast (middays were shadowcast) of the FM station and switched to a "Big Band" Music of Your Life format as WXQT  In 1984, WXQT flipped to oldies as "GREAT GOLD 14-K",  which stood for "14 Karat Gold", focusing on pop oldies from 1958-1972  Under the direction of PD Allen Jackson, "The NEW 14-K" featured Jack Stack (who had done mornings on WGRD and WLAV back in the 1960s) mornings, Rich Kennedy middays, Larry Olek afternoons and Pugs Stella evenings  The station earned a respectable 2 4 share 12+ in the Summer 1984 Arbitron  In 1986, the local lineup was dropped in favor of the ABC/Satellite Music Network "Pure Gold" satellite format  Ratings crashed to a 0 9 share in the summer of 1986 Arbitron, under the new call sign WKTH 

More changes
In 1988, the station adopted Satellite Music Network's Z-Rock format, keeping the WKTH call letters  The station reverted to the WGRD calls in 1991, moving back to a simulcast of 97 9 FM's CHR format (which changed to Modern Rock in 1994)  In 1996, WGRD changed calls to WRCV and switched to ABC Radio's syndicated "Real Country" format  The station continued to be a non-factor in the ratings  In September 1998, 1410 changed its calls to WNWZ and adopted a simulcast of CNN Headline News, which was replaced by News/Talk in October 2001 (mostly syndicated from the Michigan Talk Radio Network) 

La Maquina Musical
A Spanish pop hits format was adopted on January 1, 2003, and was somewhat successful in the ratings given its poor signal, often ranking as Grand Rapids' third most popular AM station (behind only WOOD and WBBL) (see: 1)  WNWZ was the first radio station to cater to the Spanish-speaking community in Grand Rapids 24 hours a day  In August 2010, a reunion of more than 60 former WGRD staff members was held in Grand Rapids, which included market legend Bruce Grant, the original program director from 1948, and dozens of other personalities from the AM 1410/97 9 history 

Funny 1410
On November 14, 2011, the station changed its format to comedy calling itself "Funny 1410" 

Touch 1410
On August 3, 2013, WNWZ flipped to Urban Adult Contemporary, branded as "The Touch"  The station became the West Michigan home of the Steve Harvey Morning Show and remains as such today  Outside of the morning show, the station aired Westwood One's "The Touch" full-time 

Magic 94 1
On June 10, 2016, WNWZ began simulcasting on FM translator W231DD (94 1, licensed to Grand Rapids), and rebranded as "Magic 94 1 " The station also dropped the "Touch" feed for locally originated programming 

Magic 104 9
On October 24, 2016, WNWZ rebranded as "Magic 104 9" as translator W231DD moved from 94 1 FM to 104 9 FM as W285FO and raised power from 88 watts to 250 watts In March 2020, WNWZ began adding more hip hop tracks, and shifted to urban contemporary, while retaining the "Magic" moniker 

Previous logo
(WNWZ's logo under previous 94 1 translator frequency)
 (WNWZ's logo under previous Urban Adult Contemporary format)
Passage 9:
I Can Only Imagine (MercyMe song)
"I Can Only Imagine" is a song by Christian rock band MercyMe  Written and composed by lead singer Bart Millard, it was originally recorded for the band's 1999 independent album The Worship Project before being included on their 2001 major-label debut album Almost There  The song was the last to be written for The Worship Project; in writing it, Millard drew upon his thoughts about his father's death  Lyrically, it imagines what it would be like to be in front of God in heaven; it opens with just a piano before building to include guitar and drums 
After being released on October 12, 2001, as the second single from Almost There, "I Can Only Imagine" became a major success on Christian radio; it spent two weeks at No  1 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart and became the most-played Christian single of 2002  It became an unexpected mainstream hit in 2003, peaking at No  71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No  5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart while also hitting top 40, adult top 40, and country radio charts  The song returned to the charts after its story was adapted into a 2018 film of the same name, peaking at No  1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and No  10 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart 
"I Can Only Imagine" received positive reviews from critics  Particular praise was given to its lyrics, and some critics called it the best song on Almost There  It received the Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 33rd GMA Dove Awards, also garnering Millard the award for Songwriter of the Year; he also won the Songwriter of the Year award at the 25th American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Christian Music Awards  In 2004, CCM Magazine ranked it as the fourth-best song in Christian music, and it has since become the most-played song in the history of Christian radio as well as the best-selling Christian song of all time; it has been certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and as of April 2018, it has sold over 2 5 million copies 

Background and recording
MercyMe was formed in 1994 by vocalist Bart Millard, guitarist Mike Scheuchzer, and keyboardist Jim Bryson  The band later brought on drummer Robby Shaffer and bassist Nathan Cochran  In their early years, they independently released four Christian alternative rock albums, drawing influence from the grunge style of rock music popular at the time  However, they realized that their original songs from these albums failed to connect with their audiences while their covers of popular worship songs were much more popular  Because of this, the band decided to write and produce an album of original worship songs  This album,  The Worship Project, utilized a simple verse–chorus format designed to easily fit on a PowerPoint screen In the last phases of production, MercyMe needed one more song to include on the album  Late at night on the band's bus, Millard found an old notebook with the phrase "I can only imagine" written in it  He began to write a song, basing it on his personal feelings about his father Arthur's death  Early in Bart's life, Arthur had been physically and emotionally abusive towards his family, with Bart being beaten severely at points; Arthur and his wife Adele eventually divorced, and Bart was sent to live with his mother after an especially extreme whipping  Bart kept in contact with his father, however, who  was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when Bart was 15  His father began to make amends for his actions and started becoming more religiously observant, reading the Bible and going to church regularly  As Arthur progressively became more ill, his relationship with his son improved dramatically; by the time Arthur died in 1991, when Bart was 18, the two were very close  Millard said that "I got a front row seat to see this guy go from being a monster to falling desperately in love with Jesus  By the time he passed away when I was a freshman in college, not only was he my best friend, he was like the Godliest man I’d ever known"  After Arthur's death, Bart became obsessed with the phrase "I can only imagine" after hearing his grandmother say that she could only imagine what Arthur was seeing in heaven  Millard found comfort in the thought and began to write it on anything he could find Once Millard started writing the song, he estimated that it took him only about ten minutes to write the lyrics  Millard said that it was one of the few songs he had ever written where there were not any mistakes in the writing process; "it was just written the way it is and left at that"  MercyMe initially attempted to record "I Can Only Imagine" as a fast song, but after several failed attempts, Millard talked with Bryson about arranging it into a slower version  As the band was tearing down the equipment in their recording studio, Bryson began playing a piano intro  Millard immediately decided to use the intro, and the rest of the song was completed in around five minutes  Although the rest of the band did not see how it would fit on the record, as it didn't meet the basic verse-chorus format the rest of the album had, they felt it needed to be included on it because it meant so much to Millard The Worship Project was released on October 14, 1999  Sales for the album far exceeded the band's previous efforts; Millard estimated the album's overall sales at 100,000, which other sources peg the album's sales as of 2006 at 60,000 or 65,000 copies  The difficulty of meeting sales demands when selling the album directly, in addition to having to book and manage for themselves, led the band to pursue a contract with a record label; MercyMe would sign with INO Records in 2000  "I Can Only Imagine" was one of several songs from the band's independent records that were selected to be included on their debut album with INO, Almost There (2001) 

Composition
"I Can Only Imagine" is set in the key of E major and has a tempo of 80 beats per minute  Bart Millard's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of B3 to the high note of G♯5  Millard is credited with writing and composing the song  A contemporary Christian and pop song, "I Can Only Imagine" has been considered both a ballad and a power ballad  The song opens up with only a piano, building up to include guitar and drums The song has a directly Christian message; its religious lyrics weren't edited for mainstream radio  In the song, the narrator wonders what it would be like to stand before God in heaven  In the refrain, the singer ponders "Will I dance for You Jesus/or in awe of you be still/Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall/Will I sing hallelujah/will I be able to speak at all/I can only imagine/I can only imagine"  Regarding the lyrical theme of "I Can Only Imagine", Millard explained to Fox News that "I was always told that if [my father] could choose, he would rather be in Heaven than here with me  As a Christian I believed that, but as an 18-year-old it was a little hard to swallow  So the questions in the song came from me asking God what was so great about Him that my dad would rather be there "

Critical reception
Critical reception for "I Can Only Imagine" was positive  Steve Losey of AllMusic praised it as being "passionate" and "emotionally compelling"  Kevin Chamberlin of Jesus Freak Hideout said the song's lyrics were "amazing"  It was called the "definite highlight" of Almost There by New Release Tuesday's Kevin McNeese, who also praised its piano intro, saying it "instantly invokes chills", as well as the song's lyrical content  Charisma writer Margaret Feinburg lauded the song's "heart-gripping" lyrics, and it was cited as the centerpiece of the album by Megumi Nakamura of Cross Rhythms, who called it "beautiful and touching"  Writing for CCM Magazine, Adam Woodroof described the song as "heavenly" and said it was the highlight of Almost There  Although Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today called it "beautiful and inspiring", he questioned if "I Can Only Imagine" was actually a worship song At the 33rd GMA Dove Awards in 2002, I Can Only Imagine" earned the GMA Dove Awards for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year and Song of the Year  Millard won the award for Songwriter of the Year at the same ceremony as well as at the 25th American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Christian Music Awards, held on June 2, 2003   In 2004, CCM Magazine ranked "I Can Only Imagine" as the fourth-greatest song in Christian music 

Legacy
"I Can Only Imagine" has been regarded as MercyMe's "breakthrough hit" as well as their signature song  It is the most-played song in the history of Christian radio and one of the most-played songs in the history of contemporary music  As of April 2018, it is the best-selling Christian song of all-time  It has consistently ranked among the best-selling Christian digital songs each year in the Billboard year-end charts, ranging from number 19 in 2016 to number three in 2018  It is often requested to be played at funerals  "I Can Only Imagine" was named the official inspirational song for the state of Oklahoma in 2018; the measure was passed by the Oklahoma Legislature and signed by Governor Mary Fallin The story behind "I Can Only Imagine" was adapted into a film  Directed by the Erwin Brothers and starring J  Michael Finley as Bart Millard and Dennis Quaid as Arthur Millard, the movie was released to theaters on March 16, 2018  It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and exceeded initial expectations at the box office, grossing $17 1 million in its opening week  This was the fourth best-ever opening for a faith-based film, behind only The Passion of the Christ, Son of God, and Heaven Is for Real  The film finished its theatrical run having grossed $83 4 million in the United States and Canada and $1 8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $85 2 million  As of August 2019, it ranks as the fifth-highest grossing music biopic of all-time in the United States (behind Bohemian Rhapsody, Straight Outta Compton, Walk the Line, and Rocketman) and was the highest-grossing independent film of 2018 

Release and promotion
Originally, "I Can Only Imagine" was set to be released by fellow Christian artist Amy Grant  Millard had initially declined a request from Grant's record label to allow her to record the song; some segments of the Christian community had reacted negatively to her divorce, and Millard wasn't sure if he wanted to be involved  After consulting with his pastor, who felt Millard should accept the opportunity, he began to reconsider, and finally agreed to let her cover it after talking with Grant over the phone  Grant had planned to release her version of the song as the lead single from her upcoming album and MercyMe would release a different song as their first single, hoping to capitalize on having written what would presumably become a major hit for Grant  The band released their first single from Almost There, "Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)", which performed poorly at Christian radio, leading to poor sales of the album  Plans were made to release another single from the record, but the band's manager, Scott Brickell, decided to reach out to Grant to see if she still planned to release her version as a single  Grant gave MercyMe her blessing to release the song as a single and signed the rights back to the band; "I Can Only Imagine" was released on October 12, 2001, as the album's second single The song debuted on the Christian AC chart on November 2, 2001, reached the No  1 position on February 22, 2002, and spent two weeks at the top spot  It also peaked at No  15 on the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart  The song became the most-played song on Christian radio in 2002  As a result of its success on radio, Almost There experienced a "surge" in sales, debuting on the Billboard 200 in December 2001 and entering the top ten on the Christian Albums chart in January 2002  The song stayed on Christian radio for so long that plans to release a third single from Almost There were cancelled, with the band instead beginning work on a new album In 2003, a Dallas mainstream radio station, 100 3 Wild-FM, played the song on its morning show, The Fitz Radio Program  They had responded to a caller's repeated requests and the urgings of the program's producer, Todd Sheppard, a former seminary student  Although it had been played almost as joke, it soon became the most requested and most played song on the station  After hearing the song played on the station, Millard called-in and spoke with the crew, and MercyMe then came in and played the song live  Big Gay Steven, one of the show's hosts, described their audience's response to the song as "overwhelming"  As other mainstream stations around the country began to play the song, MercyMe's label, INO Records, partnered with Curb Records to market the single to mainstream radio  Its initial success was seen as surprising due to its overtly religious themes, although several other Christian artists had begun achieving mainstream success at the same time, including Stacie Orrico, whose singles "Stuck" and "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life" had both hit the Billboard Hot 100  Curb began to promote the song to adult contemporary and Top 40 radio, and INO and Curb released a double A-side physical single, "I Can Only Imagine/Word of God Speak", in September 2003 "I Can Only Imagine" debuted on the Adult Contemporary chart on May 23, 2003, eventually peaking at No  5 for the chart week of September 8, 2003  "I Can Only Imagine" spent 30 weeks on the chart  The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of October 11, 2003 at No  76  The song peaked at No  71 and spent 16 non-consecutive weeks on the chart  "I Can Only Imagine" also peaked at No  1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, a component chart of the Billboard Hot 100 that ranks the best-selling physical single releases, for 10 weeks  During the week of November 22, 2003, it became the first No  1 physical single to be outsold by the highest-selling digital single of the week; for that week, "I Can Only Imagine" sold 7,500 physical copies in the United States while Outkast's "Hey Ya!" sold 8,500 digital downloads  The song also charted on the Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Country Songs charts In 2012, "I Can Only Imagine" appeared on France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) chart, spending two weeks and peaking at No  65  In March 2018, following the release of the film I Can Only Imagine, which was based on the song's story, it appeared on the Billboard Christian Songs chart; because the chart had been created after the song's original run on Christian radio, it was eligible to chart for the first time  It debuted at No  2 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and also spent a third week at No  1 on the Billboard Christian Digital Songs chart; the song had spent 425 weeks on the chart at that point, the longest run of any song in the chart's history  "I Can Only Imagine" peaked at No  1 on the Christian Songs chart on March 31, 2018, and spent three weeks at the top spot  It also peaked at No  10 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart and ranked at No  8 on the 2018 year-end Christian Songs chart In April 2010, "I Can Only Imagine" was certified platinum by the RIAA, signifying sales of over 1 million digital downloads  It was the first single by any artist in the Christian music genre to go platinum  The song was certified double platinum in September 2014, triple platinum in June 2018, and quadruple platinum in September 2019  As of March 2018, it has sold 2 5 million copies, making it the best-selling Christian single of all time 

Music video
A music video was released for "I Can Only Imagine"  According to Millard, the video's inspiration came from seeing people holding empty picture frames at their concerts, symbolizing their deceased loved ones  Millard said that the "I've had so many people after a show pull out a picture of someone they've lost  These people embrace these photos and I just thought how can we tap into that"  The video features everyday people as well as several music artists including Michael Tait, Tammy Trent, Bob Herdman, and Jesse Katina, each holding an empty picture frame to signify their loss of a loved one; as the video progresses, they are holding pictures of their loved ones including Millard with his father's photograph 

Live performances
Despite including "I Can Only Imagine" on The Worship Project, MercyMe initially did not perform the song in concerts because they felt it did not fit with the rest of the record  The band's first performance of the song did not come until the summer after the release of The Worship Project at a summer camp at the request of a camp counselor  The band has played the song at every show since as of February 2009 MercyMe's 2004 concert tour (the Imagine Tour) and 2018–19 tour (the Imagine Nation Tour) both took their name from the song MercyMe performed "I Can Only Imagine" at the 33rd GMA Dove Awards, with an accompanying "inspiring video that underscored the emotional and inspirational power of song"  The band also performed the song at the 40th GMA Dove Awards, held on April 23, 2009, in a medley with "Finally Home"  At the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, MercyMe performed the song with President Donald Trump in attendance  In March 2018, MercyMe performed "I Can Only Imagine" live on Fox & Friends to promote the film 

Other versions
Both an acoustic and live version of "I Can Only Imagine" were included in the Platinum edition of Almost There, which was released in August 2006  MercyMe released a new recording of the song on their iTunes Originals album, which was released in March 2008  On their compilation album 10, MercyMe released a new recording of the song featuring the London Session Orchestra as well as a live version  For their 2018 compilation album I Can Only Imagine: The Very Best of MercyMe, released to commemorate the release of the movie, the band recorded an updated recording titled "I Can Only Imagine (The Movie Session)", which peaked at No  19 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart "I Can Only Imagine" has been covered by several artists  In 2002, Amy Grant released her reworked version of the song, titled "Imagine" and paired with "Sing the Wondrous Love of Jesus", on her album Legacy    Hymns and Faith  Country singer Jeff Carson's 2003 cover peaked at No  50 on the Country Songs chart, and in 2014, gospel singer Tamela Mann's cover of the song spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard Gospel Songs chart  In May 2017, Aliyah Moulden, the third-place finisher on the 12th season of the reality competition show The Voice, performed the song on the show; her version debuted and peaked at No  4 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, selling 15,000 copies in its first week and spending two weeks on the chart in total 

Track listing
CD release
"I Can Only Imagine" – 4:06 (Bart Millard)
"Word of God Speak" – 3:07 (Peter Kipley, Millard)

Personnel
(Credits from the album liner notes)MercyMe

Bart Millard – vocals
Jim Bryson – keyboards
Nathan Cochran – bass guitar, background vocals
Mike Scheuchzer – guitar, background vocals
Robby Shaffer – drumsAdditional performers

Paltrow Performance Group – stringsTechnical

Julian Kindred – engineer
Pete Kipley – producer, programming
Skye McCaskey  – engineer
Salvo – mixing
Shane Wilson – mixing

Release and radio history
Charts and certifications
Certifications
Passage 10:
Minipops
Minipops is a television series broadcast in 1983 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom  Designed primarily for younger viewers, it consisted of music performances on a brightly coloured set featuring preteen children singing then-contemporary pop music hits and older classics  The children were usually made to look like the original performers, including clothing and make-up  Controversy over children singing songs that often contained a subtext of adult content (in adult costumes and make-up) led to the show's cancellation after one series 

History
Minipops was the brainchild of Martin Wyatt, who created a new child group from London called the MiniPops and released an album in 1982 which reached the top 30 in the UK and Europe  This resulted in a French record label releasing a single from the album, "Stupid Cupid",  which was sung by Martin Wyatt's young daughter Jo  The song reached number 1 in France, knocking "Ebony and Ivory" off the top spot Head of Entertainment Cecil Korer at Channel 4 and record producer Mike Mansfield embraced the idea of producing a TV show around the MiniPops; Korer believed it would boost and broaden the group's audience appeal  On 4 July 1982, thousands of amateur child performers from across Britain descended on a London theatre for the audition in a search to find additional children to sing and star in the television show with the original five members of the group 

Criticism
The programme began attracting criticism from commentators in the British media for the portrayal of children in this manner (one caller on Channel 4's Right to Reply programme stated, "Minipops should be called MiniWhores  Are you people out of your mind?") 

Discography
Seven albums were produced and released in the UK, Europe and Canada 

Albums
Before the television show:

The Mini Pops (1982)After the television show:

We're the Mini Pops (1983)
Christmas (1984)
Let's Dance (1984)
Wanna Have Fun (1985)
Magic Juke Box (1986)
Rocket to the Stars (1989)In Canada We're the Mini Pops was successful, becoming the third-highest-selling album in Canada at the time  This prompted the Minipops to hold a three-week tour in 1983, enjoying controversy-free success A number of singles were released across Europe 

See also
Kidz Bop
Mini Pop Kids
Passage 11:
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence  Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated  It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, and is inoffensive and pleasurable enough to work well as background music  Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure  The format is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which mostly use acoustic instruments (though bass guitar is usually used) such as acoustic guitars, pianos, saxophones, and sometimes an orchestral set  The electric guitars are normally faint and high-pitched  However, recent adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines) An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip-hop and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop, as these are less popular among adults, the target demographic  AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group, the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s  A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts   This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart Over the years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (also known as "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), "urban AC" (a softer type of urban contemporary music), "rhythmic AC" (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary), and "Christian AC" (a softer type of contemporary Christian music)  Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres  Therefore, it is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many different genres 

History
1960s: Early roots; easy listening and soft rock
Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70—80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix  A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental  The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as "rock and roll" stations  Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was "Boll Weevil Song" by Brook Benton  The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction" Initially, the vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and others  The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out  Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band-era recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced  Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically  As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s  Roger Miller, Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock  These middle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs 
Another big impetus for the evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or "beautiful music" stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient  Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create a similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists 

1970s: Soft rock forms as a radio format
By the late 1960s hard rock had been established as one of the rock genres leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene, and as major radio formats in the US  Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies  Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Bread In the early 1970s, softer songs by The Carpenters, Anne Murray, John Denver, Barry Manilow, and even Barbra Streisand, began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio  Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre   As the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar  Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll or R&B  Much of the music recorded by singer-songwriters such as Diana Ross, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carole King and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations  AC stations also began playing softer songs by Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, and other rock-based artists  Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into the sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago and the Eagles, becoming associated with the format  In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format 
Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Air Supply, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade  By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC-owned WYNY, and Boston's WEEI, had switched to an all-soft rock format  As Softrock 103, WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as "Joni, without the baloni " and "The Byrds, without the nyrds "  However, different forms of popular music  targeted to different demographic groups, such as disco vs  hard rock, began to emerge in the late-1970s  This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres 

1980s: Adult contemporary succeeds as radio format
On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since  Adult contemporary music became one of the most popular radio formats of the 1980s  The growth of AC was a natural result of the generation that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in the heavy metal and rap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in the Top 40 charts by the end of the decade 
Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such as Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, John Denver, and Olivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of the Contemporary Hit Radio format, such as Richard Marx, Michael Jackson, Bonnie Tyler, George Michael, Phil Collins, Laura Branigan and Journey began crossing over to the AC charts with greater frequency  Collins has been described by AllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond"  However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at the time 
The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners  Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio 
Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated the 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks to Sheena Easton, Amy Grant, Lionel Richie, Christopher Cross, Dan Hill, Leo Sayer, Billy Ocean, Julio Iglesias, Bertie Higgins, and Tommy Page  No song spent more than six weeks at No  1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat  Two of these were by Lionel Richie, "You Are" in 1983 and "Hello" in 1984, which also reached No  1 on the Hot 100 
In 1989, Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singer Aaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks  The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe  The Grammy Award-winning singles, "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life", were both long-running No  1 Adult Contemporary hits  Several additional singles from the disc made the AC Top 10 as well  The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play 

1990s: Subgenre formations/radio crossovers
The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence  This in part led to a widening of the market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles  At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts  "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from the beautiful music format—many AC stations carried the format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s 
Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such as All-4-One, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and Savage Garden generally crossed over to the AC charts  Latin pop artists such as Lynda Thomas, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Selena, Enrique Iglesias and Luis Miguel also enjoyed success in the AC charts 
In addition to Celine Dion, who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s include Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Whitney Houston and Shania Twain  Newer female Adult album alternative singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow also broke through on the AC chart during this time In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40, which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music  Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other  In addition, hot AC is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name 
In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently  The urban adult contemporary format (a term coined by Barry Mayo) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimes Caucasian listeners through playing a great deal of R&B (without any form of rapping), gospel music, classic soul and dance music (including disco) 
Another format, rhythmic AC, in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis on disco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those by Amber, and Black Box, and includes dance remixes of pop songs, such as the Soul Solution mix of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" 
In its early years of existence, the smooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music  For many years, George Benson, Kenny G and Dave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations 

2000s–present: AC music goes mainstream and mainstream music goes AC
During the 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt"  This led to the presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play 
Josh Groban's single "You Raise Me Up" and Michael Bublé's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC, often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences  Artists such as Nick Lachey, James Blunt, Jamie Cullum, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also achieved great success during this period  During most of the 2000s, country music/countrypolitan musicians such as Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states  A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixing dance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of "Heaven" by DJ Sammy, "Listen To Your Heart" by D H T , and "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada) 
Key to the success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became too alternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily by dance-pop, hip-hop and electronic dance music  At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche" 
During the late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100  Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music for RCA Music Group, said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play"  Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 and adult top 40, but only after the hits had become established  An article on MTV's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death  Or, to optimists, to get a second life " As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of "Perfect" by P!nk, and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, both in 2011 AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the 2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession, as advertisers preferred more profitable chart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups  Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved a major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that the portable people meter, a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s included Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Adele, Arcade Fire, Meghan Trainor, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran, featuring a more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of the Motown sound and the so-called Wall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced  The earlier years of the decade also saw alternative and indie rock acts such as Wilco, Feist, The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays, although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such as Panic! at the Disco, Neon Trees, X Ambassadors, Sheppard, Bastille, American Authors, Fitz and the Tantrums, Foster the People, Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon and Milky Chance 
During the middle of the decade, newer artists such as CeeLo Green, OneRepublic, Rachel Platten, Christina Perri, Andy Grammer, James Bay, Sara Bareilles, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Sam Smith, Gavin Degraw, Charlie Puth and Colbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations 
As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Taio Cruz and Pitbull as well as EDM artists like Avicii, Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Tiesto  Meanwhile, younger artists like Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas and the Jonas Brothers and Halsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations 

Adult contemporary formats
In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting  Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptempo rotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience  A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream adult contemporary", generally has a similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses on R&B and soul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses on dance music and other rhythmic genres 

Hot adult contemporary
Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play a wide range of the present day's popular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group; it serves as a middle ground between the youth-oriented contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic  They generally feature uptempo hit music with wide appeal, such as pop and pop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such as hip-hop  Recurrents usually reflect familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with  Likewise, mature material from pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Pink have also been prominent within the format The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s, to describe adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts  An early example of the format, Houston's KHMX Mix 96 5, climbed from 14th place in the market to 3rd in the six months after its launch  The station's format and branding was widely replicated by other stations  Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music, while alternative and indie rock crossovers (such as Foster the People, Imagine Dragons, Lovelytheband, and Twenty One Pilots) became more prevalent within the format during the 2010s These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such as millennials; Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop and country music  Of the format's expanding demographic reach, WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's a radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that' " The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR and urban contemporary  As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only the current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period  This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such as Adele, Rachel Platten ("Fight Song", which gained prominence for its use during Hillary Clinton's 2016 US presidential election campaign), and Max Schneider (whose 2016 single "Lights Down Low", over a year after its original release, became a sleeper hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay) The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations 

Modern adult contemporary
Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with a stronger lean towards modern rock and pop rock 
In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino of KMXB in Las Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs " The format typically focused on female rock acts such as Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan, and folk rock-influenced bands such as Counting Crows and The Wallflowers  Today, the format is fairly uncommon, with KTCZ in the Minnesota Twin Cities being one of the few modern AC stations left 

Soft adult contemporary
The Soft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 and at-work listening  Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing on pop and power ballads, soft rock, and other familiar, light hits  Upon its establishment in the 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version of easy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumental beautiful music  Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners In a 1990 article, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and a more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations  In particular, Chicago's WLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaning WFYR), and played Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonite" but not "Old Time Rock and Roll" (which was part of WTMX's playlist)  The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut, WEZN-FM, told Warren that he had barred the reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to an all-news station to learn more Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits  Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such as Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, and Barbra Streisand  By the 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such as Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Roxette, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Elton John, Cher, Whitney Houston, Journey, and Queen  On the other hand, by 1996, New York's WLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of a more uptempo direction In 2017, Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind only adult standards and oldies—a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealing classic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period)  Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that the soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due to PPM markets preferring uptempo music At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence  In April 2016, iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul station KISQ to soft AC as The Breeze; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area  The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending its Breeze brand to other soft AC flips, and the brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such as Entercom  Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such as music streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such as Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such as Adele and Michael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of the format  In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" and not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting Examples such as Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", as well as the retroactively-defined genre of yacht rock  Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such as MeTV FM, which have also grown in popularity) 

Urban adult contemporary
The Urban adult contemporary format focuses primarily on current and classic R&B and soul music,  The format typically targets African-American adults: July 2018 numbers from Nielsen Audio recorded it as the top format among African-Americans 25–54 and 35–64  It also has a sizable popularity among younger listeners, ranking behind urban contemporary as the second-most popular format among African-American adults 18–34 in the same report, with an 18 9 audience share The format typically excludes youthful rhythmic music, such as commercial hip-hop and rap, that are usually associated with the urban contemporary format  The urban AC format is also associated with the "quiet storm"—mellower R&B ballads and slow jams, often in a jazz-influenced style  The syndicated evening program Keith Sweat Hotel focuses specifically on such music As urban contemporary stations prefer hit-driven hip-hop songs, labels typically service R&B songs to the urban AC format only  Some current R&B musicians have complained that this is an artificial divide that prevents them from reaching a wider, mainstream audience (citing the relatively smaller number of urban AC outlets in comparison to urban and rhythmic), even with attempts to give some singles a hip-hop-influenced sound to improve the potential for crossover appeal  Some acts have attempted to disassociate themselves from "R&B" to reduce the effect of this stigma, although streaming services have helped to expose R&B to a wider audience beyond urban AC radio 

Rhythmic adult contemporary
The Rhythmic adult contemporary format generally focuses on a variety of current and classic dance music, such as dance-pop, hip-hop, and R&B (often resembling a blend of the Classic hits and hot AC formats in practice)  The exact composition of current and recurrent content can vary between stations, depending on local cultures and the heritage of rhythmic formats in the market, ranging from late-80s/early-90s dance hits (including latin freestyle), to disco and Motown  Rhythmic hot AC has also been used as a format, popularized by stations such as New York's WKTU 

Smooth adult contemporary
The Smooth adult contemporary format is a variant of the smooth jazz format that incorporates mainstream and/or urban adult contemporary songs; they are designed to appeal to a wider range of demographics than a straight smooth jazz format  Some smooth AC stations may limit their airplay of jazz instrumentals to those by better-known performers such as Kenny G 

Christian adult contemporary
Contemporary Christian music (CCM) has several subgenres, one being "Christian AC"  Radio & Records, for instance, lists Christian AC among its format charts  There has been crossover to mainstream and hot AC formats by many of the core artists of the Christian AC genre, notably Amy Grant, Michael W  Smith, Kathy Troccoli, Steven Curtis Chapman, Plumb, and more recently Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, For King & Country, Lauren Daigle, MercyMe, and Newsboys 

Adult album alternative
The Adult album alternative (triple-A or AAA) format generally features a diverse playlist of music that appeals to an adult audience, with a focus on emerging songs and artists, and often featuring songs that were not released as singles  The exact composition of a triple-A station's playlist can vary, with alternative rock, indie rock, and indie pop commonly used as core genres, and some stations featuring more uncommon genres such as alternative country, Americana, blues, folk music, and world music  NPR observed in 2018 that roughly half of all triple-A stations in the U S  were non-commercial stations  With the wide variety of music that is serviced to the format, adult album alternative charts have often served as a feeder for the Adult Top 40, and have been credited for breaking acts such as Dave Matthews Band and Lorde 

Christmas music
Since the 1990s it has become common for many AC stations, particularly soft AC stations, to play primarily or exclusively Christmas music during the Christmas season in November and December  While these tend mostly to be contemporary seasonal recordings by the same artists featured under the normal format, most stations will also air at least some vintage holiday tunes from older pop, MOR, and adult standards artists – such as  
Boney M , The Carpenters, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Percy Faith, Mannheim Steamroller, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Andy Williams – many of whom would never be played on these stations during the rest of the year 
These Christmas music marathons typically start a few weeks before Thanksgiving Day and end after Christmas Day, or sometimes extending to New Year's Day  Afterwards, the stations usually resume their normal music fare  Several stations begin the holiday format much earlier, at the beginning of November especially after Halloween  The roots of this tradition can be traced back to the beautiful music and easy listening stations of the 1960s and 1970s 

Syndicated radio shows and networks carrying the adult contemporary format
Delilah – One of the US's most popular radio shows, Delilah airs primarily in the evening  Its Christmas Edition airs from mid-November to late December 
Intelligence for Your Life – Hosted by John Tesh, this show also airs evenings and also on weekends 
American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest – One version of AT40 airs on US hot AC stations, which is a little different from its Top-40/CHR counterpart 
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40/Weekly Top 30 – Began offering Hot AC versions of the popular countdown show in June 1996  These shows feature the top 20 Hot AC songs in the US along with about 10 past hits from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s (decade)  A softer "AC" version was added in July 2009 to try to fill in the void left by Casey Kasem ending his AC countdown 
Radio Disney Music Top 30 Countdown, One version is for Hot AC stations, the other version is for Mainstream AC stations  Plays the USA Top 30 songs of the week according to Mediabase and a music rating service called ratethemusic com  This show, like Rick Dees' show, is distributed by Compass Media Networks 
Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly – Weekend programs focusing on the '80s and '90s, targeted for hot AC stations 
ABC and Dial Global both offer AC 24-hour networks programming soft and hot AC 
Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey have popular morning shows that air on urban AC (and sometimes Hip-Hop) stations  Both shows are often heard on competing stations in the same city, such as St  Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta  Joyner's show is syndicated by ABC Radio, and Harvey's show by Premiere Radio Networks 
Retro Rewind with Dave Harris is a weekend-based radio show highlighting a massive playlist of songs from the 1980s and 1990s, interviews, spotlights and contests  The show is done live across the US on Saturday nights, taking audience requests  The show is targeted towards HOT AC and AC radio stations 
The EZ Rock network is a brand/network of soft AC heard in Canada 
Heart - A radio network in the UK that grew throughout 2009 as more stations were rebranded as "Heart" 
Smooth Radio – A UK-wide radio network that formed from six regional Smooth Radio stations 
Smoothfm – A network of two Australian commercial radio stations (based in Sydney and Melbourne) that are focused on providing an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually featuring ballads 
Nova – A network of five Australian commercial radio station (based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) that are very similar to Smoothfm 
The Breeze – A group of New Zealand adult contemporary radio stations owned by MediaWorks Radio  There are 20 stations currently broadcasting throughout New Zealand 
The Bob and Sheri Show – American morning drive show based in Charlotte, North Carolina  Heard on more than 50 AC stations and the American Forces NetworkFormer syndicated programming includes Dick Clark's US Music Survey (1996–2005), Casey's Hot 20/Casey's Countdown/American Top 20/10 (1992–2009) and Top 30 USA 

See also
Adult Contemporary, a chart appearing in Billboard since 1961  This chart is typically (but not exclusively) closer to soft AC 
New-age music
Yacht rock
Context 2: Passage 1:
The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (Titian)
The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence is a 1558 painting by Titian, now in the church of I Gesuiti in Venice  It so impressed Philip II of Spain that he commissioned a second version in 1567 for the basilica at El Escorial 

See also
List of works by Titian
Passage 2:
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353  It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the deaths of 75–200 million people, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351  Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis spread by fleas, but during the Black Death it probably also took a secondary form, spread by person-to-person contact via aerosols, causing pneumonic plague The Black Death was the beginning of the second plague pandemic  The plague created religious, social and economic upheavals, with profound effects on the course of European history 
The origin of the Black Death is disputed  Genetic analysis points to the evolution of Yersinia pestis in the Tian Shan mountains on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China 2,600 years ago  The immediate territorial origins of the Black Death and its outbreak remains unclear with some pointing towards Central Asia, China, the Middle East and Europe  The pandemic was reportedly first introduced to Europe during the siege of the Genoese trading port of Kaffa in Crimea by the Golden Horde army of Jani Beg in 1347  From Crimea, it was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that travelled on Genoese ships, spreading through the Mediterranean Basin and reaching North Africa, Western Asia and the rest of Europe via Constantinople, Sicily and the Italian Peninsula  There is evidence that once it came ashore, the Black Death mainly spread person-to-person as pneumonic plague, thus explaining the quick inland spread of the epidemic, which was faster than would be expected if the primary vector was rat fleas causing bubonic plague  In 2022, it was discovered that there was a sudden surge of deaths in what is today Kyrgyzstan from the Black Death in the late 1330s; when combined with genetic evidence, this implies that the initial spread may not have been due to Mongol conquests in the 14th century, as previously speculated The Black Death was the second great natural disaster to strike Europe during the Late Middle Ages (the first one being the Great Famine of 1315–1317) and is estimated to have killed 30 percent to 60 percent of the European population, as well as about one-third of the population of the Middle East  The plague might have reduced the world population from c  475 million to 350–375 million in the 14th century  There were further outbreaks throughout the Late Middle Ages and, with other contributing factors (the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages), the European population did not regain its level in 1300 until 1500  Outbreaks of the plague recurred around the world until the early 19th century 

Names
European writers contemporary with the plague described the disease in Latin as pestis or pestilentia, 'pestilence'; epidemia, 'epidemic'; mortalitas, 'mortality'  In English prior to the 18th century, the event was called the "pestilence" or "great pestilence", "the plague" or the "great death"  Subsequent to the pandemic "the furste moreyn" (first murrain) or "first pestilence" was applied, to distinguish the mid-14th century phenomenon from other infectious diseases and epidemics of plague The 1347 pandemic plague was not referred to specifically as "black" in the time of occurrence in any European language, though the expression "black death" had occasionally been applied to fatal disease beforehand  "Black death" was not used to describe the plague pandemic in English until the 1750s; the term is first attested in 1755, where it translated Danish: den sorte død, lit  'the black death'  This expression as a proper name for the pandemic had been popularized by Swedish and Danish chroniclers in the 15th and early 16th centuries, and in the 16th and 17th centuries was transferred to other languages as a calque: Icelandic: svarti dauði, German: der schwarze Tod, and French: la mort noire  Previously, most European languages had named the pandemic a variant or calque of the Latin: magna mortalitas, lit  'Great Death' The phrase 'black death' – describing Death as black – is very old  Homer used it in the Odyssey to describe the monstrous Scylla, with her mouths "full of black Death" (Ancient Greek: πλεῖοι μέλανος Θανάτοιο, romanized: pleîoi mélanos Thanátoio)  Seneca the Younger may have been the first to describe an epidemic as 'black death', (Latin: mors atra) but only in reference to the acute lethality and dark prognosis of disease  The 12th–13th century French physician Gilles de Corbeil had already used atra mors to refer to a "pestilential fever" (febris pestilentialis) in his work On the Signs and Symptoms of Diseases (De signis et symptomatibus aegritudium)  The phrase mors nigra, 'black death', was used in 1350 by Simon de Covino (or Couvin), a Belgian astronomer, in his poem "On the Judgement of the Sun at a Feast of Saturn" (De judicio Solis in convivio Saturni), which attributes the plague to an astrological conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn  His use of the phrase is not connected unambiguously with the plague pandemic of 1347 and appears to refer to the fatal outcome of disease The historian Cardinal Francis Aidan Gasquet wrote about the Great Pestilence in 1893 and suggested that it had been "some form of the ordinary Eastern or bubonic plague"  In 1908, Gasquet said use of the name atra mors for the 14th-century epidemic first appeared in a 1631 book on Danish history by J  I  Pontanus: "Commonly and from its effects, they called it the black death" (Vulgo & ab effectu atram mortem vocitabant) 

Previous plague epidemics
Research from 2017 suggests plague first infected humans in Europe and Asia in the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age  Research in 2018 found evidence of Yersinia pestis in an ancient Swedish tomb, which may have been associated with the "Neolithic decline" around 3000 BCE, in which European populations fell significantly  This Y  pestis may have been different from more modern types, with bubonic plague transmissible by fleas first known from Bronze Age remains near Samara The symptoms of bubonic plague are first attested in a fragment of Rufus of Ephesus preserved by Oribasius; these ancient medical authorities suggest bubonic plague had appeared in the Roman Empire before the reign of Trajan, six centuries before arriving at Pelusium in the reign of Justinian I  In 2013, researchers confirmed earlier speculation that the cause of the Plague of Justinian (541–542 CE, with recurrences until 750) was Y  pestis  This is known as the first plague pandemic  In 610, the Chinese physician Chao Yuanfang described a "malignant bubo" "coming in abruptly with high fever together with the appearance of a bundle of nodes beneath the tissue " The Chinese physician Sun Simo who died in 652 also mentioned a "malignant bubo" and plague that was common in Lingnan (Guangzhou)  Ole Jørgen Benedictow believes that this indicates it was an offshoot of the first plague pandemic which made its way eastward to Chinese territory by around 600 

14th-century plague
Causes
Early theory
The most authoritative contemporary account is found in a report from the medical faculty in Paris to Philip VI of France  It blamed the heavens, in the form of a conjunction of three planets in 1345 that caused a "great pestilence in the air" (miasma theory)  Muslim religious scholars taught that the pandemic was a "martyrdom and mercy" from God, assuring the believer's place in paradise  For non-believers, it was a punishment  Some Muslim doctors cautioned against trying to prevent or treat a disease sent by God  Others adopted preventive measures and treatments for plague used by Europeans  These Muslim doctors also depended on the writings of the ancient Greeks 

Predominant modern theory
Due to climate change in Asia, rodents began to flee the dried-out grasslands to more populated areas, spreading the disease  The plague disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is enzootic (commonly present) in populations of fleas carried by ground rodents, including marmots, in various areas, including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, North India, Uganda and the western United States Y  pestis was discovered by Alexandre Yersin, a pupil of Louis Pasteur, during an epidemic of bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894; Yersin also proved this bacillus was present in rodents and suggested the rat was the main vehicle of transmission  The mechanism by which Y  pestis is usually transmitted was established in 1898 by Paul-Louis Simond and was found to involve the bites of fleas whose midguts had become obstructed by replicating Y  pestis several days after feeding on an infected host  This blockage starves the fleas and drives them to aggressive feeding behaviour and attempts to clear the blockage by regurgitation, resulting in thousands of plague bacteria being flushed into the feeding site, infecting the host  The bubonic plague mechanism was also dependent on two populations of rodents: one resistant to the disease, which act as hosts, keeping the disease endemic, and a second that lacks resistance  When the second population dies, the fleas move on to other hosts, including people, thus creating a human epidemic 

DNA evidence
Definitive confirmation of the role of Y  pestis arrived in 2010 with a publication in PLOS Pathogens by Haensch et al  They assessed the presence of DNA/RNA with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques for Y  pestis from the tooth sockets in human skeletons from mass graves in northern, central and southern Europe that were associated archaeologically with the Black Death and subsequent resurgences  The authors concluded that this new research, together with prior analyses from the south of France and Germany, "ends the debate about the cause of the Black Death, and unambiguously demonstrates that Y  pestis was the causative agent of the epidemic plague that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages"  In 2011, these results were further confirmed with genetic evidence derived from Black Death victims in the East Smithfield burial site in England  Schuenemann et al  concluded in 2011 "that the Black Death in medieval Europe was caused by a variant of Y  pestis that may no longer exist" Later in 2011, Bos et al  reported in Nature the first draft genome of Y  pestis from plague victims from the same East Smithfield cemetery and indicated that the strain that caused the Black Death is ancestral to most modern strains of Y  pestis Since this time, further genomic papers have further confirmed the phylogenetic placement of the Y  pestis strain responsible for the Black Death as both the ancestor of later plague epidemics including the third plague pandemic and as the descendant of the strain responsible for the Plague of Justinian  In addition, plague genomes from significantly earlier in prehistory have been recovered DNA taken from 25 skeletons from 14th century London have shown plague is a strain of Y  pestis almost identical to that which hit Madagascar in 2013  Further DNA evidence also proves the role of Y  Pestis and traces the source to the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan 

Alternative explanations
It is recognised that an epidemiological account of plague is as important as an identification of symptoms, but researchers are hampered by the lack of reliable statistics from this period  Most work has been done on the spread of the disease in England, and even estimates of overall population at the start vary by over 100% as no census was undertaken in England between the time of publication of the Domesday Book of 1086 and the poll tax of the year 1377  Estimates of plague victims are usually extrapolated from figures for the clergy 
Mathematical modelling is used to match the spreading patterns and the means of transmission  A research in 2018 challenged the popular hypothesis that "infected rats died, their flea parasites could have jumped from the recently dead rat hosts to humans"  It suggested an alternative model in which "the disease was spread from human fleas and body lice to other people"  The second model claims to better fit the trends of death toll because the rat-flea-human hypothesis would have produced a delayed but very high spike in deaths, which contradict historical death data Lars Walløe complains that all of these authors "take it for granted that Simond's infection model, black rat → rat flea → human, which was developed to explain the spread of plague in India, is the only way an epidemic of Yersinia pestis infection could spread", whilst pointing to several other possibilities  Similarly, Monica Green has argued that greater attention is needed to the range of (especially non-commensal) animals that might be involved in the transmission of plague Archaeologist Barney Sloane has argued that there is insufficient evidence of the extinction of numerous rats in the archaeological record of the medieval waterfront in London and that the disease spread too quickly to support the thesis that Y  pestis was spread from fleas on rats; he argues that transmission must have been person to person  This theory is supported by research in 2018 which suggested transmission was more likely by body lice and fleas during the second plague pandemic 

Summary
Although academic debate continues, no single alternative solution has achieved widespread acceptance  Many scholars arguing for Y  pestis as the major agent of the pandemic suggest that its extent and symptoms can be explained by a combination of bubonic plague with other diseases, including typhus, smallpox and respiratory infections  In addition to the bubonic infection, others point to additional septicaemic (a type of "blood poisoning") and pneumonic (an airborne plague that attacks the lungs before the rest of the body) forms of plague, which lengthen the duration of outbreaks throughout the seasons and help account for its high mortality rate and additional recorded symptoms  In 2014, Public Health England announced the results of an examination of 25 bodies exhumed in the Clerkenwell area of London, as well as of wills registered in London during the period, which supported the pneumonic hypothesis  Currently, while osteoarcheologists have conclusively verified the presence of Y  pestis bacteria in burial sites across northern Europe through examination of bones and dental pulp, no other epidemic pathogen has been discovered to bolster the alternative explanations 

Transmission
Lack of hygiene
The importance of hygiene was recognised only in the nineteenth century with the development of the germ theory of disease; until then streets were commonly filthy, with live animals of all sorts around and human parasites abounding, facilitating the spread of transmissible disease By the early fourteenth century so much filth had collected inside urban Europe that French and Italian cities were naming streets after human waste  In medieval Paris, several street names were inspired by merde, the French word for "shit"  There were rue Merdeux, rue Merdelet, rue Merdusson, rue des Merdons and rue Merdiere—as well as a rue du Pipi Pigs, cattle, chickens, geese, goats and horses roamed the streets of medieval London and Paris  Medieval homeowners were supposed to police their housefronts, including removing animal dung, but most urbanites were as careless as William E  Cosner, a resident of the London suburb of Farringdon Without  A complaint lodged against Cosner charges that "men could not pass [by his house] for the stink [of]       horse dung and horse piss "One irate Londoner complained that the runoff from the local slaughterhouse had made his garden "stinking and putrid", while another charged that the blood from slain animals flooded nearby streets and lanes, "making a foul corruption and abominable sight to all dwelling near " In much of medieval Europe, sanitation legislation consisted of an ordinance requiring homeowners to shout, "Look out below!" three times before dumping a full chamber pot into the street Early Christians, who thought self-abnegation a cardinal virtue, considered bathing, if not a vice, then a temptation  "Who knows what impure thoughts might arise in a tub of warm water? With this danger in mind, St  Benedict declared, "To those who are well, and especially to the young, bathing shall seldom be permitted " St  Agnes took the injunction to heart and died without ever bathing 

Territorial origins
According to a team of medical geneticists led by Mark Achtman that analysed the genetic variation of the bacterium Yersinia pestis "evolved in or near China" over 2,600 years ago  Later research by a team led by Galina Eroshenko places the origins more specifically in the Tian Shan mountains on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China  However more recent research notes that the previous sampling had a very heavy East Asian bias and that sampling since then has discovered strains of Y  pestis in the Caucasus region that were previously thought to be restricted to China  There is also no physical or specific textual evidence of the Black Death in 14th century China  As a result, China's place in the sequence of the plague's spread is still debated to this day  According to Charles Creighton, records of epidemics in 14th century China suggest nothing more than typhus and major Chinese outbreaks of epidemic disease post-date the European epidemic by several years  The earliest Chinese descriptions of the bubonic plague do not appear until the 1640s Nestorian graves dating to 1338–1339 near Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan have inscriptions referring to plague, which has led some historians and epidemiologists to think they mark the outbreak of the epidemic; this is supported by recent direct findings of Y  pestis DNA in teeth samples from graves in the area with inscriptions referring to "pestilence" as the cause of death  Epidemics killed an estimated 25 million across Asia during the fifteen years before the Black Death reached Constantinople in 1347 
The evidence does not suggest, at least at present, that these mortality crises were caused by plague  Although some scholars, including McNeill and Cao, see the 1333 outbreak as a prelude to the outbreaks in Europe from the late 1340s to the early 1350s, scholars of the Yuan and Ming periods remain skeptical about such an interpretation  Nonetheless, the remarkably high mortality rates during the Datong mortality should discourage us from rejecting the possibility of localized/regional outbreaks of plague in different parts of China, albeit differing in scale from, and unrelated to, the pandemic mortality of the Black Death  What we lack is any indication of a plague pandemic that engulfed vast territories of the Yuan Empire and later moved into western Eurasia through Central Asia 
According to John Norris, evidence from Issyk-Kul indicates a small sporadic outbreak characteristic of transmission from rodents to humans with no wide-scale impact  According to Achtman, the dating of the plague suggests that it was not carried along the Silk Road, and its widespread appearance in that region probably postdates the European outbreak  There are no records of the symptoms of the Black Death from Mongol sources or writings from travelers east of the Black Sea prior to the Crimean outbreak in 1346  Finally, the Silk Road had already been heavily disrupted before the spread of the Black Death  Western and Middle Eastern traders found it difficult to trade on the Silk Road by 1325 and impossible by 1340, making spread of the plague less likely Others still favor an origin in China or even Kurdistan, and not Central Asia  According to the theory of Chinese origin, the disease may have traveled along the Silk Road with Mongol armies and traders, or it could have arrived via ship, but this theory is still contested  It is speculated that rats aboard Zheng He's ships in the 15th century may have carried the plague to Southeast Asia, India and Africa 
Research on the Delhi Sultanate and the Yuan Dynasty shows no evidence of any serious epidemic in fourteenth-century India and no specific evidence of plague in fourteenth-century China, suggesting that the Black Death may not have reached these regions  Ole Benedictow argues that since the first clear reports of the Black Death come from Kaffa, the Black Death most likely originated in the nearby plague focus on the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea 
Demographic historians estimate that China's population fell by at least 15 percent, and perhaps as much as a third, between 1340 and 1370  This population loss coincided with the Black Death that ravaged Europe and much of the Islamic world in 1347–52  However, there is a conspicuous lack of evidence for pandemic disease on the scale of the Black Death in China at this time  War and famine – and the diseases that typically accompanied them – probably were the main causes of mortality in the final decades of Mongol rule 
Monica H  Green suggests that the reason why other parts of Eurasia outside the west do not contain the same evidence of the Black Plague is because there were actually four strains of Yersinia pestis that became predominant in different parts of the world  Mongol records of illness such as food poisoning may have been referring to the Black Plague  Another theory is that the Black Death originated near Europe and cycled through the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Russia before making its way to China  Other historians such as John Norris and Ole Benedictaw believe the Black Death likely originated in Europe or the Middle East and never reached China 

European outbreak
Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via Genoese traders from their port city of Kaffa in the Crimea in 1347  During a protracted siege of the city, in 1345–1346 the Mongol Golden Horde army of Jani Beg, whose mainly Tatar troops were suffering from the disease, catapulted infected corpses over the city walls of Kaffa to infect the inhabitants, though it is more likely that infected rats travelled across the siege lines to spread the epidemic to the inhabitants  As the disease took hold, Genoese traders fled across the Black Sea to Constantinople, where the disease first arrived in Europe in summer 1347 The epidemic there killed the 13-year-old son of the Byzantine emperor, John VI Kantakouzenos, who wrote a description of the disease modelled on Thucydides's account of the 5th century BCE Plague of Athens, but noting the spread of the Black Death by ship between maritime cities  Nicephorus Gregoras also described in writing to Demetrios Kydones the rising death toll, the futility of medicine, and the panic of the citizens  The first outbreak in Constantinople lasted a year, but the disease recurred ten times before 1400 Carried by twelve Genoese galleys, plague arrived by ship in Sicily in October 1347; the disease spread rapidly all over the island  Galleys from Kaffa reached Genoa and Venice in January 1348, but it was the outbreak in Pisa a few weeks later that was the entry point to northern Italy  Towards the end of January, one of the galleys expelled from Italy arrived in Marseilles From Italy, the disease spread northwest across Europe, striking France, Spain (the epidemic began to wreak havoc first on the Crown of Aragon in the spring of 1348), Portugal and England by June 1348, then spread east and north through Germany, Scotland and Scandinavia from 1348 to 1350  It was introduced into Norway in 1349 when a ship landed at Askøy, then spread to Bjørgvin (modern Bergen) and Iceland  Finally, it spread to northwestern Russia in 1351  Plague was somewhat more uncommon in parts of Europe with less developed trade with their neighbours, including the majority of the Basque Country, isolated parts of Belgium and the Netherlands, and isolated Alpine villages throughout the continent According to some epidemiologists, periods of unfavourable weather decimated plague-infected rodent populations and forced their fleas onto alternative hosts, inducing plague outbreaks which often peaked in the hot summers of the Mediterranean, as well as during the cool autumn months of the southern Baltic region  Among many other culprits of plague contagiousness, malnutrition, even if distantly, also contributed to such an immense loss in European population, since it weakened immune systems 

Western Asian and North African outbreak
The disease struck various regions in the Middle East and North Africa during the pandemic, leading to serious depopulation and permanent change in both economic and social structures  As infected rodents infected new rodents, the disease spread across the region, entering also from southern Russia 
By autumn 1347, plague had reached Alexandria in Egypt, transmitted by sea from Constantinople; according to a contemporary witness, from a single merchant ship carrying slaves  By late summer 1348 it reached Cairo, capital of the Mamluk Sultanate, cultural centre of the Islamic world, and the largest city in the Mediterranean Basin; the Bahriyya child sultan an-Nasir Hasan fled and more than a third of the 600,000 residents died  The Nile was choked with corpses despite Cairo having a medieval hospital, the late 13th century bimaristan of the Qalawun complex  The historian al-Maqrizi described the abundant work for grave-diggers and practitioners of funeral rites, and plague recurred in Cairo more than fifty times over the following one and a half centuries During 1347, the disease travelled eastward to Gaza by April; by July it had reached Damascus, and in October plague had broken out in Aleppo  That year, in the territory of modern Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine, the cities of Ascalon, Acre, Jerusalem, Sidon and Homs were all infected  In 1348–1349, the disease reached Antioch  The city's residents fled to the north, but most of them ended up dying during the journey  Within two years, the plague had spread throughout the Islamic world, from Arabia across North Africa  The pandemic spread westwards from Alexandria along the African coast, while in April 1348 Tunis was infected by ship from Sicily  Tunis was then under attack by an army from Morocco; this army dispersed in 1348 and brought the contagion with them to Morocco, whose epidemic may also have been seeded from the Islamic city of Almería in al-Andalus Mecca became infected in 1348 by pilgrims performing the Hajj  In 1351 or 1352, the Rasulid sultan of the Yemen, al-Mujahid Ali, was released from Mamluk captivity in Egypt and carried plague with him on his return home  During 1348, records show the city of Mosul suffered a massive epidemic, and the city of Baghdad experienced a second round of the disease 

Signs and symptoms
Bubonic plague
Symptoms of the disease include fever of 38–41 °C (100–106 °F), headaches, painful aching joints, nausea and vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise  Left untreated, of those that contract the bubonic plague, 80 percent die within eight days Contemporary accounts of the pandemic are varied and often imprecise  The most commonly noted symptom was the appearance of buboes (or gavocciolos) in the groin, neck and armpits, which oozed pus and bled when opened  Boccaccio's description:

In men and women alike it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg     From the two said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, now minute and numerous  As the gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they showed themselves 
This was followed by acute fever and vomiting of blood  Most people died two to seven days after initial infection  Freckle-like spots and rashes, which could have been caused by flea-bites, were identified as another potential sign of plague 

Pneumonic plague
Lodewijk Heyligen, whose master the Cardinal Colonna died of plague in 1348, noted a distinct form of the disease, pneumonic plague, that infected the lungs and led to respiratory problems  Symptoms include fever, cough and blood-tinged sputum  As the disease progresses, sputum becomes free-flowing and bright red  Pneumonic plague has a mortality rate of 90 to 95 percent 

Septicaemic plague
Septicaemic plague is the least common of the three forms, with a mortality rate near 100%  Symptoms are high fevers and purple skin patches (purpura due to disseminated intravascular coagulation)  In cases of pneumonic and particularly septicaemic plague, the progress of the disease is so rapid that there would often be no time for the development of the enlarged lymph nodes that were noted as buboes 

Consequences
Deaths
There are no exact figures for the death toll; the rate varied widely by locality  In urban centres, the greater the population before the outbreak, the longer the duration of the period of abnormal mortality  It killed some 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia  A study published in 2022 of pollen samples across Europe between 1250 and 1450 was used to estimate changes in agricultural output before and after the Black Death  The authors found great variability in different regions, with evidence for high mortality in areas of Scandinavia, France, western Germany, Greece and central Italy, but uninterrupted agricultural growth in central and eastern Europe, Iberia and Ireland The mortality rate of the Black Death in the 14th century was far greater than the worst 20th-century outbreaks of Y  pestis plague, which occurred in India and killed as much as 3% of the population of certain cities  The overwhelming number of deceased bodies produced by the Black Death caused the necessity of mass burial sites in Europe, sometimes including up to several hundred or several thousand skeletons  The mass burial sites that have been excavated have allowed archaeologists to continue interpreting and defining the biological, sociological, historical and anthropological implications of the Black Death According to medieval historian Philip Daileader, it is likely that over four years, 45–50% of the European population died of plague  Norwegian historian Ole Benedictow suggests it could have been as much as 60% of the European population  In 1348, the disease spread so rapidly that before any physicians or government authorities had time to reflect upon its origins, about a third of the European population had already perished  In crowded cities, it was not uncommon for as much as 50% of the population to die  Half of Paris' population of 100,000 people died  In Italy, the population of Florence was reduced from between 110,000 and 120,000 inhabitants in 1338 down to 50,000 in 1351  At least 60% of the population of Hamburg and Bremen perished, and a similar percentage of Londoners may have died from the disease as well, with a death toll of approximately 62,000 between 1346 and 1353  Florence's tax records suggest that 80% of the city's population died within four months in 1348  Before 1350, there were about 170,000 settlements in Germany, and this was reduced by nearly 40,000 by 1450  The disease bypassed some areas, with the most isolated areas being less vulnerable to contagion  Plague did not appear in Douai in Flanders until the turn of the 15th century, and the impact was less severe on the populations of Hainaut, Finland, northern Germany and areas of Poland  Monks, nuns and priests were especially hard-hit since they cared for people with the Black Death 

The physician to the Avignon Papacy, Raimundo Chalmel de Vinario (Latin: Magister Raimundus, lit  'Master Raymond'), observed the decreasing mortality rate of successive outbreaks of plague in 1347–48, 1362, 1371 and 1382 in his 1382 treatise On Epidemics (De epidemica)  In the first outbreak, two thirds of the population contracted the illness and most patients died; in the next, half the population became ill but only some died; by the third, a tenth were affected and many survived; while by the fourth occurrence, only one in twenty people were sickened and most of them survived  By the 1380s in Europe, it predominantly affected children  Chalmel de Vinario recognised that bloodletting was ineffective (though he continued to prescribe bleeding for members of the Roman Curia, whom he disliked), and said that all true cases of plague were caused by astrological factors and were incurable; he himself was never able to effect a cure The most widely accepted estimate for the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran and Syria, during this time, is for a death toll of about a third of the population  The Black Death killed about 40% of Egypt's population  In Cairo, with a population numbering as many as 600,000, and possibly the largest city west of China, between one third and 40% of the inhabitants died within eight months Italian chronicler Agnolo di Tura recorded his experience from Siena, where plague arrived in May 1348:

Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another; for this illness seemed to strike through the breath and sight  And so they died  And none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship  Members of a household brought their dead to a ditch as best they could, without priest, without divine offices     great pits were dug and piled deep with the multitude of dead  And they died by the hundreds both day and night     And as soon as those ditches were filled more were dug     And I, Agnolo di Tura     buried my five children with my own hands  And there were also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city  There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death  And so many died that all believed it was the end of the world 

Economic
It has been suggested that the plague, like some others in history, disproportionately affected the poorest people, who were already in generally worse physical condition than the wealthier citizens   Nevertheless, with such a large overall population decline from the pandemic, wages soared in response to a labour shortage  On the other hand, in the quarter century after the Black Death in England, it is clear many labourers, artisans and craftsmen, those living from money-wages alone, did suffer a reduction in real incomes owing to rampant inflation  Landowners were also pushed to substitute monetary rents for labour services in an effort to keep tenants 

Environmental
A study performed by Thomas Van Hoof of the Utrecht University suggests that the innumerable deaths brought on by the pandemic cooled the climate by freeing up land and triggering reforestation  This may have led to the Little Ice Age 

Persecutions
Renewed religious fervour and fanaticism bloomed in the wake of the Black Death  Some Europeans targeted "various groups such as Jews, friars, foreigners, beggars, pilgrims", lepers and Romani, blaming them for the crisis  Lepers, and others with skin diseases such as acne or psoriasis, were killed throughout Europe 
Because 14th-century healers and governments were at a loss to explain or stop the disease, Europeans turned to astrological forces, earthquakes and the poisoning of wells by Jews as possible reasons for outbreaks  Many believed the epidemic was a punishment by God for their sins, and could be relieved by winning God's forgiveness There were many attacks against Jewish communities  In the Strasbourg massacre of February 1349, about 2,000 Jews were murdered  In August 1349, the Jewish communities in Mainz and Cologne were annihilated  By 1351, 60 major and 150 smaller Jewish communities had been destroyed  During this period many Jews relocated to Poland, where they received a warm welcome from King Casimir the Great 

Social
One theory that has been advanced is that the devastation in Florence caused by the Black Death, which hit Europe between 1348 and 1350, resulted in a shift in the world view of people in 14th-century Italy and led to the Renaissance  Italy was particularly badly hit by the pandemic, and it has been speculated that the resulting familiarity with death caused thinkers to dwell more on their lives on Earth, rather than on spirituality and the afterlife  It has also been argued that the Black Death prompted a new wave of piety, manifested in the sponsorship of religious works of art This does not fully explain why the Renaissance occurred in Italy in the 14th century  The Black Death was a pandemic that affected all of Europe in the ways described, not only Italy  The Renaissance's emergence in Italy was most likely the result of the complex interaction of the above factors, in combination with an influx of Greek scholars following the fall of the Byzantine Empire  As a result of the drastic reduction in the populace the value of the working class increased, and commoners came to enjoy more freedom  To answer the increased need for labour, workers travelled in search of the most favorable position economically Prior to the emergence of the Black Death, the workings of Europe were run by the Catholic Church and the continent was considered a feudalistic society, composed of fiefs and city-states  The pandemic completely restructured both religion and political forces; survivors began to turn to other forms of spirituality and the power dynamics of the fiefs and city-states crumbled Cairo's population, partly owing to the numerous plague epidemics, was in the early 18th century half of what it was in 1347  The populations of some Italian cities, notably Florence, did not regain their pre-14th century size until the 19th century  The demographic decline due to the pandemic had economic consequences: the prices of food dropped and land values declined by 30–40% in most parts of Europe between 1350 and 1400  Landholders faced a great loss, but for ordinary men and women it was a windfall  The survivors of the pandemic found not only that the prices of food were lower but also that lands were more abundant, and many of them inherited property from their dead relatives, and this probably destabilised feudalism The word "quarantine" has its roots in this period, though the concept of isolating people to prevent the spread of disease is older  In the city-state of Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik, Croatia), a thirty-day isolation period was implemented in 1377 for new arrivals to the city from plague-affected areas  The isolation period was later extended to forty days, and given the name "quarantino" from the Italian word for "forty" 

Recurrences
Second plague pandemic
The plague repeatedly returned to haunt Europe and the Mediterranean throughout the 14th to 17th centuries  According to Jean-Noël Biraben, the plague was present somewhere in Europe in every year between 1346 and 1671  (Note that some researchers have cautions about the uncritical use of Biraben's data ) The second pandemic was particularly widespread in the following years: 1360–63; 1374; 1400; 1438–39; 1456–57; 1464–66; 1481–85; 1500–03; 1518–31; 1544–48; 1563–66; 1573–88; 1596–99; 1602–11; 1623–40; 1644–54; and 1664–67  Subsequent outbreaks, though severe, marked the retreat from most of Europe (18th century) and northern Africa (19th century)  The historian George Sussman argued that the plague had not occurred in East Africa until the 1900s  However, other sources suggest that the Second pandemic did indeed reach Sub-Saharan Africa According to historian Geoffrey Parker, "France alone lost almost a million people to the plague in the epidemic of 1628–31 " In the first half of the 17th century, a plague killed some 1 7 million people in Italy  More than 1 25 million deaths resulted from the extreme incidence of plague in 17th-century Spain The Black Death ravaged much of the Islamic world  Plague could be found in the Islamic world almost every year between 1500 and 1850  Sometimes the outbreaks affected small areas, while other outbreaks affected multiple regions  Plague repeatedly struck the cities of North Africa  Algiers lost 30,000–50,000 inhabitants to it in 1620–21, and again in 1654–57, 1665, 1691 and 1740–42  Cairo suffered more than fifty plague epidemics within 150 years from the plague's first appearance, with the final outbreak of the second pandemic there in the 1840s  Plague remained a major event in Ottoman society until the second quarter of the 19th century  Between 1701 and 1750, thirty-seven larger and smaller epidemics were recorded in Constantinople, and an additional thirty-one between 1751 and 1800  Baghdad has suffered severely from visitations of the plague, and sometimes two-thirds of its population had died 

Third plague pandemic
The third plague pandemic (1855–1859) started in China in the mid-19th century, spreading to all inhabited continents and killing 10 million people in India alone  The investigation of the pathogen that caused the 19th-century plague was begun by teams of scientists who visited Hong Kong in 1894, among whom was the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, after whom the pathogen was named Twelve plague outbreaks in Australia between 1900 and 1925 resulted in well over 1,000 deaths, chiefly in Sydney  This led to the establishment of a Public Health Department there which undertook some leading-edge research on plague transmission from rat fleas to humans via the bacillus Yersinia pestis The first North American plague epidemic was the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904, followed by another outbreak in 1907–1908 

Modern-day
Modern treatment methods include insecticides, the use of antibiotics, and a plague vaccine  It is feared that the plague bacterium could develop drug resistance and again become a major health threat  One case of a drug-resistant form of the bacterium was found in Madagascar in 1995  A further outbreak in Madagascar was reported in November 2014  In October 2017, the deadliest outbreak of the plague in modern times hit Madagascar, killing 170 people and infecting thousands An estimate of the case fatality rate for the modern bubonic plague, following the introduction of antibiotics, is 11%, although it may be higher in underdeveloped regions 

See also
Black Death in England
Black Death in medieval culture
Crisis of the Late Middle Ages
Flagellant
Globalization and disease
List of epidemics
Second plague pandemic
Timeline of plague
Passage 3:
Black Death in England
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic, which reached England in June 1348  It was the first and most severe manifestation of the second pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria  The term Black Death was not used until the late 17th century 
Originating in Asia, it spread west along the trade routes across Europe and arrived on the British Isles from the English province of Gascony  The plague was spread by flea-infected rats, as well as individuals who had been infected on the continent  Rats were the reservoir hosts of the Y  pestis bacteria and the Oriental rat flea was the primary vector 
The first-known case in England was a seaman who arrived at Weymouth, Dorset, from Gascony in June 1348  By autumn, the plague had reached London, and by summer 1349 it covered the entire country, before dying down by December  Low estimates of mortality in the early twentieth century have been revised upwards due to re-examination of data and new information, and a figure of 40–60 percent of the population is widely accepted 
The most immediate consequence was a halt to the campaigns of the Hundred Years' War  In the long term, the decrease in population caused a shortage of labour, with subsequent rise in wages, resisted by the landowners, which caused deep resentment among the lower classes  The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was largely a result of this resentment, and even though the rebellion was suppressed, in the long term serfdom was ended in England  The Black Death also affected artistic and cultural efforts, and may have helped advance the use of the vernacular 
In 1361–62 the plague returned to England, this time causing the death of around 20 per cent of the population  After this the plague continued to return intermittently throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, in local or national outbreaks  From this point on its effect became less severe, and one of the last outbreaks of the plague in England was the Great Plague of London in 1665–1666 

Background
England in the mid-14th century
It is impossible to establish with any certainty the exact number of inhabitants in England at the eve of the Black Death, and estimates range from 3 to 7 million  The number is probably in the higher end, and an estimate of around 6 million inhabitants seems likely  Earlier demographic crises—in particular the Great Famine of 1315–1317—had resulted in great numbers of deaths, but there is no evidence of any significant decrease in the population prior to 1348  England was still a predominantly rural and agrarian society; close to 90 per cent of the population lived in the countryside  Of the major cities, London was in a class of its own, with perhaps as many as 70,000 inhabitants  Further down the scale were Norwich, with around 12,000 people, and York with around 10,000  The main export, and the source of the nation's wealth, was wool  Until the middle of the century the export had consisted primarily of raw wool to cloth makers in Flanders  Gradually though, the technology for cloth making used on the Continent was appropriated by English manufacturers, who started an export of cloths around mid-century that would boom over the following decades Politically, the kingdom was evolving into a major European power, through the youthful and energetic kingship of Edward III  In 1346, the English had won a decisive battle over the Scots at the Battle of Neville's Cross, and it seemed that Edward III would realise his grandfather Edward I's ambition of bringing the Scots under the suzerainty of the English crown  The English were also experiencing military success on the continent  Less than two months before the Battle of Neville's Cross, a numerically inferior English army led by the king himself won a spectacular victory over the French royal forces at the Battle of Crécy  The victory was immediately followed by Edward laying siege to the port city of Calais  When the city fell the next year, this provided the English with a strategically important enclave that would remain in their possession for over two centuries 

The Black Death
The term "Black Death"—which refers to the first and most serious outbreak of the second pandemic—was not used by contemporaries, who preferred such names as the "Great Pestilence" or the "Great Mortality"  It was not until the 17th century that the term under which we know the outbreak today became common, probably derived from Scandinavian languages  It is generally agreed today that the disease in question was plague, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria  These bacteria are carried by fleas, which can be transferred to humans through contact with rats  Flea bites carry the disease into the lymphatic system, through which it makes its way to the lymph nodes  Here the bacteria multiply and form swellings called buboes, from which the term bubonic plague is derived  After three or four days the bacteria enter the bloodstream, and infect organs such as the spleen and the lungs  The patient will then normally die after a few days  A different strain of the disease is pneumonic plague, where the bacteria become airborne and enter directly into the patient's lungs  This strain is far more virulent, as it spreads directly from person to person  These types of infection probably both played a significant part in the Black Death, while a third strain was more rare  This is the septicaemic plague, where the flea bite carries the bacteria directly into the blood stream, and death occurs very rapidly A study reported in 2011 of skeletons exhumed from the Black Death cemetery in East Smithfield, London, found Yersinia pestis DNA  An archaeological dig in the vicinity of Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire was reported in the science section of The Guardian for 30 November 2016, not only confirming evidence of the Y  pestis DNA in the human remains exhumed there but also dating the remains to mid-1349 
Genotyping showed that it was [at that time] a newly evolved strain, ancestor of all modern strains and proved the Black Death was bubonic plague  Modern medical knowledge suggests that because it was a new strain, the human immune system would have had little or no defence against it, helping to explain the plague's virulence and high death rates The Black Death seems to have originated in Central Asia, where the Y  pestis bacterium is endemic in the rodent population  It is unknown exactly what caused the outbreak, but a series of natural occurrences likely brought humans into contact with the infected rodents  The epidemic reached Constantinople in the late spring of 1347, through Genoese merchants trading in the Black Sea  From here it reached Sicily in October that same year, and by early 1348 it had spread over the entire Italian mainland  It spread rapidly through France, and had reached as far north as Paris by June 1348  Moving simultaneously westward, it arrived in the English province of Gascony around the same time 

Progress of the plague
According to the chronicle of the grey friars at King's Lynn, the plague arrived by ship from Gascony to Melcombe in Dorset—today normally referred to as Weymouth—shortly before the Feast of St  John the Baptist on 24 June 1348  Other sources mention different points of arrival, including Bristol and Southampton  Though the plague might have arrived independently at Bristol at a later point, the Grey Friars' Chronicle is considered the most authoritative account  If it is assumed that the chronicle reports the first outbreak of the plague, rather than its actual arrival, then the arrival most likely happened around 8 May From Weymouth the disease spread rapidly across the south-west  The first major city to be struck was Bristol  The disease reached London in the autumn of 1348, before most of the surrounding countryside  This had certainly happened by November, though according to some accounts as early as 29 September  Arrival in London happened by three principal roads: overland from Weymouth—through Salisbury and Winchester—overland from Gloucester, and along the coast by ship  The full effect of the plague was felt in the capital early the next year  Conditions in London were ideal for the plague: the streets were narrow and flowing with sewage, and houses were overcrowded and poorly ventilated  By March 1349 the disease was spreading haphazardly across all of southern England During the first half of 1349 the Black Death spread northwards  A second front opened up when the plague arrived by ship at the Humber, after which it spread both south and north  In May it reached York, and during the summer months of June, July and August, it ravaged the north  Certain northern counties, like Durham and Cumberland, had been the victim of violent incursions from the Scots, and were therefore left particularly vulnerable to the devastations of the plague  Pestilence is less virulent during the winter months, and spreads less rapidly  The Black Death in England had survived the winter of 1348–49, but during the following winter it gave in, and by December 1349 conditions were returning to relative normality  It had taken the disease approximately 500 days to traverse the entire country 

Medical practice
Various methods were used including sweating, bloodletting, forced vomiting and urinating to treat patients infected with the plague  Several symptoms of the illness included blotches, hardening of the glands under the groin and underarms, and dementia  Within the initial phase of the disease, bloodletting was performed on the same side of where the physical manifestations of the buboes or risings appeared  For instance, if a rising appeared on the right side of the groin the physician would bleed a vein in the ankle on the same side  In the case of sweating, it was achieved with such medicines as Mithridate, Venice-Treacle, Matthiolus, Bezoar-Water, Serpentary Roots and Electuarium de Ovo  Sweating was used when measures were desperate; if a patient had tokens, a severe version of risings, the physician would wrap the naked patient in a blanket drenched in cold water  This measure was only performed while the patient still had natural heat in his system  The desired effect was to make the patient sweat violently and thus purge all corruption from the blood which was caused by the disease Another practice was the use of pigeons when treating swellings  Swellings which were white in appearance and deep were unlikely to break and were anointed with Oil of Lillies or Camomil  Once the swelling rose to a head and was red in appearance and not deep in the flesh, it was broken with the use of a feather from a young pigeon's tail  The feather's fundament was held to the swelling and would draw out the venom  However, if the swelling dropped and became black in appearance, the physician had to be cautious when drawing the cold from the swelling  If it was too late to prevent, the physician would take the young pigeon, cut it open from breast to back, break it open and apply the pigeon (while still alive) over the cold swelling  The cupping therapy was an alternative method which was heated and then placed over the swellings  Once the sore was broken, the physician would apply Mellilot Plaister with Linimentum Arcei and heal the sore with digence 

Victims
Death toll
Although historical records for England were more extensive than those of any other European country, it is still extremely difficult to establish the death toll with any degree of certainty  Difficulties involve uncertainty about the size of the total population, as described above, but also issues regarding the proportion of the population that died from the plague  Contemporary accounts are often grossly inflated, stating numbers as high as 90 per cent  Modern historians give estimates of death rates ranging from around 25 per cent to more than 60 per cent of the total population 
The pioneering work in the field was made by Josiah William Russell in his 1948 British Medieval Population  Russell looked at inquisitions post mortem (IPMs)—taken by the crown to assess the wealth of the greatest landowners after their death—to assess the mortality caused by the Black Death, and from this arrived at an estimate of 23 6 per cent of the entire population  He also looked at episcopal registers for the death toll among the clergy, where the result was between 30 and 40 per cent  Russell believed the clergy was at particular risk of contagion, and eventually concluded with a low mortality level of only 20 per cent Several of Russell's assumptions have been challenged, and the tendency since has been to adjust the assessment upwards  Philip Ziegler, in 1969, estimated the death rate to be at around one third of the population  Jeremy Goldberg, in 1996, believed a number closer to 45 per cent would be more realistic  A 2004 study by Ole Jørgen Benedictow suggests the exceptionally high mortality level of 62 5 per cent  Assuming a population of 6 million, this estimate would correspond to 3,750,000 deaths  Such a high percentage would place England above the average that Benedictow estimates for Western Europe as a whole, of 60 per cent  A death rate at such a high level has not been universally accepted in the historical community In 2016, Carenza Lewis reported the results of a new method of assessing the death toll  She argued that pottery before and after the Black Death is datable because there was a change at that time from the high medieval to the late medieval style, and that counts of pottery of each type therefore provide a useful proxy for long term changes in population  She and her colleagues analysed pottery sherds from test pits in more than 50 continuously occupied rural settlements in eastern England, and found a decline in the number of pottery producing pits of 45 per cent  Norfolk had the greatest drop of 65 per cent, while there was no drop in 10 per cent of settlements, mostly commercial centres 

Impact of the Black Death: 1349
Archbishop Zouche of York issued a warning throughout the diocese in July 1348 (when the epidemic was raging further south) of "great mortalities, pestilences and infections of the air" 
The Great Mortality, as it was then known, entered Yorkshire around February 1349 and quickly spread through the diocese  The clergy were on the front line of the disease, bringing comfort to the dying, hearing final confessions and organising burials  This, almost by necessity, put them at a greater risk of infection 
Estimates suggest that the death rate of clergy in some parts of the archdiocese could have been as high as 48 per cent  This is reflected in the Ordination Register, which shows a massive rise in ordained clergy over the period—some being recruited before the arrival of plague in a clerical recruitment drive, but many once plague had arrived, replacing those who had been killed  In 1346, 111 priests and 337 acolytes were recruited  In 1349, 299 priests and 683 acolytes are named, with 166 priests being ordained in one session alone in February 1350 "

Social distribution
Russell had trusted the IPMs to give a true picture of the national average, because he assumed death rates to be relatively equal across the social spectrum  This assumption has been proven wrong, and studies of peasant plague mortality from manor rolls have returned much higher rates  This could be a consequence of the elite's ability to avoid infection by escaping plague-infected areas  It could also result from lower post-infection mortality among those more affluent, due to better access to care and nursing  If so, this would also mean that the mortality rates for the clergy—who were normally better off than the general population—were no higher than the average 

The manorial records offer a good opportunity to study the geographical distribution of the plague  Its effect seems to have been about the same all over England, though a place like East Anglia, which had frequent contact with the Continent, was severely affected  On a local level, however, there were great variations  A study of the Bishop of Worcester's estates reveal that, while his manors of Hartlebury and Hanbury had a mortality of only 19 per cent, the manor of Aston lost as much as 80 per cent of its population  The manor rolls are less useful for studying the demographic distribution of the mortality, since the rolls only record the heads of households, normally an adult male  Here the IPMs show us that the most vulnerable to the disease were infants and the elderly There seem to have been relatively few deaths from the Black Death at higher levels of society  The only member of the royal family who can be said with any certainty to have died from the Black Death was in France at the time of her infection  Edward III's daughter Joan was residing in Bordeaux on her way to marry Pedro of Castile in the summer of 1348  When the plague broke out in her household she was moved to a small village nearby, but she could not avoid infection, and died there on 2 September  It is possible that the popular religious author Richard Rolle, who died on 30 September 1349, was another victim of the Black Death  The English philosopher William of Ockham has been mentioned as a plague victim  This, however, is an impossibility  Ockham was living in Munich at the time of his death, on 10 April 1347, two years before the Black Death reached that city 

Consequences
Economic, social and political effects
Among the most immediate consequences of the Black Death in England was a shortage of farm labour, and a corresponding rise in wages  The medieval world-view was unable to interpret these changes in terms of socio-economic development, and it became common to blame degrading morals instead  The landowning classes saw the rise in wage levels as a sign of social upheaval and insubordination, and reacted with coercion  In 1349, King Edward III passed the Ordinance of Labourers, fixing wages at pre-plague levels  The ordinance was reinforced by Parliament's passing of the Statute of Labourers in 1351  The labour laws were enforced with ruthless determination over the following decades 

These legislative measures proved largely inefficient at regulating the market, but the government's repressive measures to enforce them caused public resentment  These conditions were contributing factors to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381  The revolt started in Kent and Essex in late May, and once the rebels reached London they burnt down John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace, and killed both the Chancellor and the Treasurer  They then demanded the complete abolition of serfdom, and were not pacified until the young King Richard II personally intervened  The rebellion was eventually suppressed, but the social changes it promoted were already irreversible  By around 1400 serfdom was virtually extinct in England, replaced by the form of tenure called copyhold It is conspicuous how well the English government handled the crisis of the mid-fourteenth century, without descending into chaos and total collapse in the manner of the Valois government of France  To a large extent this was the accomplishment of administrators such as Treasurer William de Shareshull and Chief Justice William Edington, whose highly competent leadership guided the governance of the nation through the crisis  The plague's greatest effect on the government was probably in the field of war, where no major campaigns were launched in France until 1355 Another notable consequence of the Black Death was the raising of the real wage of England (due to the shortage of labour as a result of the reduction in population), a trait shared across Western Europe, which in general led to a real wage in 1450 that was unmatched in most countries until the 19th or 20th century  The higher wages for workers combined with sinking prices on grain products led to a problematic economic situation for the gentry  As a result, they started to show an increased interest for offices like justice of the peace, sheriff and member of parliament  The gentry took advantage of their new positions and a more systematic corruption than before spread  A result of this was that the gentry as a group became highly disliked by commoners 

Religious and cultural consequences
The omnipresence of death also inspired greater piety in the upper classes, which can be seen in the fact that three Cambridge colleges were founded during or shortly after the Black Death  England did not experience the same trend of roving bands of flagellants, common on the continent  Neither were there any pogroms against the Jews, since the Jews had been expelled by Edward I in 1290 The high rate of mortality among the clergy naturally led to a shortage of priests in many parts of the country  The clergy were seen to have an elevated status among ordinary people and this was partly due to their purported closeness with God, being his envoys on earth  However, as the church itself had given the cause of the Black Death to be the impropriety of the behaviour of men, the higher death rate among the clergy led the people to lose faith in the Church as an institution—it had proved as ineffectual against the horror of Y  pestis as every other medieval institution  The corruption within the Catholic priesthood also angered the English people  Many priests abandoned the terrified people  Others sought benefits from the rich families who needed burials  The dissatisfaction led to anti-clericalism and the rise of John Wycliffe, an English priest  His ideas paved a path for the Christian reformation in England  Some people did not lose their Christian faith, if anything it was renewed; they began to long for a more personal relationship with God—around the time after the Black Death many chantries (private chapels) began to spread in use from not just the nobility, but to among the well-to-do  This change in the power of the papacy in England is demonstrated by the statutes of Praemunire 
The Black Death also affected arts and culture significantly  It was inevitable that a catastrophe of such proportions would affect some of the greater building projects, as the amount of available labour fell sharply  The building of the cathedrals of Ely and Exeter was temporarily halted in the years immediately following the first outbreak of the plague  The shortage of labour also helped advance the transition from the Decorated style of building to the less elaborate Perpendicular style  The Black Death may also have promoted the use of vernacular English, as the number of teachers proficient in French dwindled, contributing to the late-14th-century flowering of English literature, represented by writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower 

Recurrences
The Black Death was the first occurrence of the second pandemic, which continued to strike England and the rest of Europe more or less regularly until the 18th century  The first serious recurrence in England came in the years 1361−62  Little is known about the death rates caused by these later outbreaks, but the so-called pestis secunda may have had a mortality of around 20 per cent  Genetic analysis performed on remains recovered from the abbey of St  Mary's Graces dating between 1353 and 1364 found the pPCP1 plasmid, a plasmid only found in Yersinia pestis and not the related environmental agent Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, revealing that this outbreak was also caused by Yersinia pestis just as the initial outbreak had been  This epidemic was also particularly devastating for the population's ability to recover, since it disproportionately affected infants and young men  This was also the case with the next occurrence, in 1369, where the death rate was around 10−15 per cent Over the following decades the plague would return—on a national or a regional level—at intervals of five to 12 years, with gradually dwindling death tolls  Then, in the decades from 1430 to 1480, the disease returned in force  An outbreak in 1471 took as much as 10–15 per cent of the population, while the death rate of the plague of 1479–80 could have been as high as 20 per cent  From that point outbreaks became fewer and more manageable, due largely to conscious efforts by central and local governments—from the late 15th century onward—to curtail the disease  This included quarantines on people and goods coming from infected places, bans on public gatherings (such as fairs), enforced household quarantine for the infected (known as 'locking up') and quarantines on ships and crews coming from ports where Plague outbreaks had occurred  From the early seventeenth century there was also greater use of quarantine facilities, called pesthouses, in preference to household quarantine  Some of these, such as the Forlorn Hope Pesthouse established by Bristol in 1665–6, appear to have been proper quarantine hospitals, staffed by doctors  The establishment of such a hospital may help to explain why the death rate in Bristol in the 1665–66 outbreak was "only" c 0 6 percent  This was much lower than the mortality rate of 10–20 percent witnessed in Bristol's Plague epidemics of 1565, 1575, 1603–04 and 1645  The Great Plague of 1665–66 was the last major outbreak in England  It is best known for the famous Great Plague of London, which killed 100,000 people (20 per cent of the population) in the capital  Other places hit hard included Eyam in Derbyshire, Derby itself and Norwich 

See also
Passage 4:
2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede
The 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede occurred as crowds departed a New Year's Eve fireworks display in the early hours of 1 January 2013 near the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast  It resulted in 61 deaths and over 200 injuries, mostly women and children  This was the second time in four years that a fatal stampede occurred at the stadium 
President Alassane Ouattara declared three days of mourning and promised an investigation 

Incident
At some time between 1 and 4 am according to sources, following the New Year's Eve celebration and fireworks display, crowds stampeded as they exited the stadium into the Boulevard de la République near the Hotel Tirama  This was the second year that fireworks had been held by the government to commemorate the end of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis and the Second Ivorian Civil War, following the controversial 2010 presidential election  According to official reports, 61 individuals were killed, with upwards of 200 injured  According to Alain Lobognon, the Minister of Youth, 26 children were among the dead, most of whom were between the ages of 8 and 15, as well as 28 women and six men 

Investigation and reaction
The cause of the stampede is not yet clear, however a senior police spokesman has confirmed they are investigating  Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako, the officer in charge of the military responding to the disaster, said that the deaths were caused when "people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd"  According to an Ivorian government official, approximately "50,000 people [were] on the streets     going home" after the New Year's celebrations  Witnesses have alternatively claimed that two large crowds moving in opposite directions collided, and that security forces attempting to break up the crowd leaving the stadium caused a panic Visiting the injured in hospital, President Alassane Ouattara said that the national tragedy would be investigated  Minister of the Interior Hamed Bakayoko stated in a national television broadcast on Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne that "the government extends its condolences to the families of those deceased and assures them of its solidarity" and that the Ivorian government would help by "all means possible " Bakayoko went on to say that "the precise circumstances of this tragic occurrence are being looked into by the security services" 
Passage 5:
2010 Elazığ earthquake
The 2010 Elazığ earthquake was a 6 1 Mw earthquake that occurred on 8 March 2010 at 02:32 UTC (04:32 local time)  The epicentre was Başyurt in Elazığ Province, in eastern Turkey  Initial reports in global media said as many as 57 people had died  By 10 March, reports in the Turkish media placed the death toll at 41 and later, the death toll rose to 42  Another 74 were injured, many after falling and jumping from buildings  A stampede through the streets led to further injuries The earthquake came one week to the day after the Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers sent a report to parliament detailing inadequate building projects and the possibility that Istanbul would be destroyed by an earthquake, which could kill tens of thousands of people, at some point in the next three decades 

Earthquake
The quake occurred on the East Anatolian Fault, a major transform fault which represents  the boundary between the Anatolian Plate and the Arabian Plate 

Damage
According to officials, most of the deaths occurred in three villages: Okçular, Yukarı Kanatlı and Kayalı  At least five villages, though, suffered loss of life  Villagers fled buildings, spending the night outside and lighting fires in the streets for warmth Thirty houses collapsed in Okçular, and the death toll is at least 17  Reports from the scene indicate "the village is totally flattened" and "everything has been knocked down – there is not a stone in place" At least 25 people died in Yukarı Demirci, and emergency services went to Kovancılar Many people used vehicles and taxis to drive to the hospital  Most were asleep at the time the quake struck, with four sleeping sisters perishing in one house  Farm animals were also killed, and minarets fell down 

Aftershocks
Several aftershocks were felt, the strongest measuring 5 5 (at 09:47 local time), 5 1 (at 12:14) and 5 3 (at 13:12)  A total of over 20 aftershocks were counted within a short time following the quake  Villagers were told to stay away from buildings for several days due to the potential of further aftershocks Onur Tan et al  (2011) analyzed 2130 aftershocks (ML≥0 3) and reported in Geophysical Research Letters 

Response
Turkey: Four government ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, visited the scene as soon as news of the earthquake was reported  The Red Crescent and Turkey's disaster management centre donated blankets and tents  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later arrived  Pakistan: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani sent a condolence message to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the loss of lives and property and said that "We have learnt with utter sense of shock and profound sadness the news of the massive earthquake that has hit your beautiful country, today  Our hearts go out to our Turkish brethren over the loss of precious lives and destruction of property  I wish to convey, on behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan and on my own behalf our deepest condolences and commiserations to the people and Government of Turkey in bearing this enormous natural calamity " Israel: Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered an aid proposal to be put together but later said that Turkey informed Israel that it did not require assistance at this time 

See also
2020 Elazığ earthquake
List of earthquakes in 2010
List of earthquakes in Turkey
Passage 6:
Flora (Titian)
Flora is an oil painting by Italian late Renaissance painter Titian, dated to around 1515 and now held at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence 

History
The work was reproduced in numerous 16th century etchings  Later, it followed an unclear series of changes of hands at Brussels and Vienna  In the 17th century, it was sold by the Spanish ambassador at Amsterdam to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and was cited by Rembrandt in his Saskia Dressing as Flora  of London and in two portraits in Dresden and New York  Later included in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, it was one of the works exchanged with the Uffizi 
In the 18th century, it was erroneously attributed to Palma the Elder 

Description
It portrays an idealized beautiful woman, a model established in the Venetian school by Titian's master Giorgione with his Laura  Her left hand holds a pink-shaded mantle, and her right holds a handful of flowers and leaves 
The woman was portrayed by Titian in numerous other works of the period, including the Woman at the Mirror, the Vanity, Salome and Violante, as well as some Holy Conversations  The meaning of the painting is disputed: some, basing for example to inscriptions added to the 16th century reproductions, identifies the woman as a courtesan; other consider it a symbol of nuptial love, although her dress is not a dressing one  The identification with Flora, the ancient goddess of Spring and vegetation, derives from the presence of Spring flowers in her hands 

See also
List of works by Titian

Notes
Context 3: Passage 1:
Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Félix Enríquez Alcalá (sometimes credited as Felix Alcala) (born March 7, 1951, in Bakersfield, California) is an Argentinean-American film and television director 

Career
Alcalá's first major breakthrough came in 1991 when he was hired by Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick to direct an episode of ABC's short lived drama series Homefront  Since then he has guest directed on a vast number of series including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER, Dollhouse and House  In 1997, Alcalá made his theatrical film directing debut with the film Fire Down Below starring Steven Seagal 
In 2007, Alcalá was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for directing the Battlestar Galactica episode Exodus, Part II

Selected directing credits
Passage 2:
Larry Alcala
Lauro "Larry" Zarate Alcala (August 18, 1926 – June 24, 2002) was a well-known editorial cartoonist and illustrator in the Philippines  In 2018, he was posthumously conferred the National Artist for Visual Arts title and the Grand Collar of the Order of National Artists (Order ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) 

Biography
He was born on August 18, 1926, to Ernesto Alcala and Elpidia Zarate in Daraga, Albay  Through a scholarship from Manila Times granted by the publisher Ramón Roces, he obtained a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1950  He became a professor at the same university from 1951 to 1981  He also received the Australian Cultural Award accompanied by a travel study grant in 1975 He started his cartooning career in 1946 while still attending school  After World War II, he created his very first comic strip, Islaw Palitaw, which was printed on the pages of the Filipino weekly magazine Liwayway  In 1947, he created the comic strip Kalabog en Bosyo, using Taglish as the medium of communication of his characters 
He pioneered animated cartoons for television commercials of products such as Darigold Milk in 1957 and Caltex in 1965  His campaign for the advancement of illustration and commercial art in the Philippines resulted to the establishment of the Visual Communication Department at the UP College of Fine Arts In 1997, the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) granted him the title Dean of Filipino Cartoonists, an achievement award for his lifetime dedication to the art of capturing humor in the character and everyday life in the Philippines  In 1991, he promoted the formation of a group of young children's book illustrators called Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) All in all, he made over 500 cartoon characters, twenty comic strips, six movies, two murals, and 15,000 published pages in his 56 years of professional cartooning career  He believed in the far-reaching role of cartoons in education and value formation 

Death
Alcala died at the age of 75 on June 24, 2002, due to heart failure on Monday night at the Riverside Medical Centre, Bacolod City, central Philippines  His remains will lie in state at the Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel in the Visayas 

His Cartoons
His most popular cartoon series was Slice of Life, which is a reflection of the many unique aspects of everyday life in the Philippines  He captured the interest of his weekend patrons by giving them the task of looking for his image cleverly concealed within the weekend cartoon  He did the same with his other comic strip Kalabog en Bosyo  His cartoons had been tapped in advertising campaigns, such as corporate calendars, print ads, promotional T-shirts and in San Miguel Beer cans In 1988, his Slice of Life received the Best in Humor award and was also cited for helping to keep alive the Filipino's ability to laugh at himself, through the lively marriage of art and humor, and through commentaries that are at once critical and compassionate, evoking laughter and reflection Slice of Life appeared on the pages of the Weekend Magazine 

Mang Ambo
Mang Ambo is the personification of the Filipino according to Larry Alcala  Mang Ambo, the character, is an incorrigible cock-eyed innocent, possessing a small town charm amidst urban sophistication  Through Mang Ambo and the other characters of a fictional place called Barrio Bulabog, Alcala exposed the follies and foibles of Philippine society in general and of cosmopolitan life in particular  In this cartoon strip's characters, he also affirmed the Filipino's peculiar coping mechanism of laughing at himself in the face of adversity but still absorbing life's vicissitudes with resilience  Mang Ambo made its debut in 1960 as a full-page feature in the Weekly Graphic  The cartoon series later became the first Alcala comic strip to be compiled in book form 

Kalabog en Bosyo
Alcala's most enduring comic strip was Kalabog en Bosyo that first appeared on the pages of Pilipino Komiks in 1947  It eventually became the longest running cartoon series created by a Filipino Decades before Slice of Life, Alcala was already doing cameo roles in his Kalabog en Bosyo comic strips, but instead of portraying himself with a moustach, spectacles and side burns, he rendered himself in a crew-cut, younger and about 100-pounds thinner profile An onomatopoeic Tagalog word, the name of the character, Kalabog, refers to the thud sound produced after the impact of a falling object finally reaching solid ground  In Kalabog en Bosyo, Alcala pioneered in the blending of Tagalog and English or Taglish as the medium of communication among his characters  The comic misadventures of the two bungling detectives namely Kalabog and Bosyo had been transposed into films by Sampaguita Pictures in 1957, starring the Filipino actors-comedians, Dolphy and Panchito Alba 

Summary of published works
The following is a summary of Alcala's published works:
International Cartoons, Athens, Greece (1980)
Salon of Cartoons, Montreal, Canada (1980)
Laugh and Live, Life Today (1981–2002)
Slice of Life, Weekend (1980–1986), Sunday Tribune (1986–1987), Sunday Times (1987–1995), Philstar (1995–2002)
Bing Bam Bung, Pilipino Funny Komiks (1978–1989)
Asiong Aksaya, Daily Express, Tagalog Klasiks (1976–1984)
Mod-Caps, Mod Magazine (1974–2002)
Snickerteens, TSS Magazine (1973–1984)
Smolbateribols, Darna Komiks (1972–1984)
Siopawman, Daily Express (1972–1983, 2002)
Kalambogesyons, Pinoy Komiks (1966–1972)
Congressman Kalog, Aliwan Komiks (1966–1972)
Barrio Pogspak, Holiday Komiks (1966–1972)
Project 13, Pioneer Komiks (1966–1972)
Loverboy, Redondo Komiks (1964–1969)
Cartoon Feature, Asia Magazine (1963)
Mang Ambo, Weekly Graphic (1963–1965), Weekly Nation (1965–1972) Manila Standard (1993–1998)
This Business of Living, Weekly Graphic (1951–1965), Weekly Nation (1965–1972)
Best Cartoons from Abroad, New York, US (1955–1956)
Tipin, Hiwaga Komiks (1951–1965)
Kalabog en Bosyo, Pilipino Komiks (1949–1983), Manila Times (1984–1995)
Islaw Palitaw (1946–1948)
A Cover for Asiaweek Magazine, February 10, 1984
Mga Salawikain ni Lolo Brigido, Pambata Magazine
A Cartoon Mural for the Philippine Village Hotel
A Mural for the Philippine Commission on Audit
Contributions for Duty Free
Contributions for Jollibee restaurant
Caricatures and Cartoons, Private collections
Cover designs, brochures and catalogs, University of the Philippines
San Miguel Corporation Calendar, 1983
SPIC Cartoonists Exhibit on Wheels, 1967 Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists (SPIC)
Asiong Aksaya TV show, Energy Conservation Movement of the Philippines, 1977

Contributions to Philippine education
The following are Alcala's contributions to education in the Philippines:
Introduced the first college degree course on Commercial Design in the Philippines, 1953
Introduced the first 8 mm film production of animated cartoons in Visual Communications course, 1972
Chairman Department of Visual Communications, University of the Philippines, 1978–1981
Professor, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, 1976–1979
Associate Professor, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, 1971–1976
Assistant Professor, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, 1962–1970
Instructor, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, 1951–1962

Cartoon exhibitions
The following are exhibitions of Alcala's cartoons:
1999 Larry Alcala & Friends: Cartoons and Caricatures Show, The Westin Philippine Plaza (now Sofitel Philippine Plaza), CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard,
1998 Larry Alcala, Life and Times of a Cartoonist, Museo Pambata Foundation, Inc 
1998 Cartoon Festival, Seoul, Korea
1995 Asian Cartoonist Exhibition and Symposium, Japan
1995 Slices of Larry's Art, SM Megamall Art Center & Liongoren Art Gallery
1993 Cartoons, Solo exhibit, San Jose & San Francisco, California, U S A 
1991 Cartoons, Group exhibit, Japan
1990 ASEAN Cartoonist Exhibit, Tokyo, Japan
1989 Cartoon Exhibit, China
1988 Slices of Life Part 2, Art Association of Bacolod Gallery
1987 Slices of Life Here and Abroad, Hyatt Regency Manila
1987 Cartoons, Group exhibit, Hiroshima, Japan
1986 Cartoons, Solo exhibit, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
1985 Cartoons, Group exhibit, Chicago, San Francisco & Los Angeles, U S A 
1984 1st Asian Cartoonist Conference, Hiroshima, Japan
1984 Larry Alcala's First One-Man Exhibition, Heritage Art Center
1982 SKP Exhibit in Australia

Professional and journalistic achievements
The following is an enumeration of Alcala's professional and journalistic accomplishments:
Art Director, Weekly Nation, 1965–1972
Editorial Cartoonist and Illustrator, Weekly Graphic, 1961–1964
TV Art Consultant, Citizens Award for Television (CCMM) 1971–1972
TV Animated Cartoon Commercial for Darigold Milk, 1969
Art Consultant, U P  Public Affairs TV, Channel 13, 1963–1964
Design artist, Mobil Philippines, 1961–1962
Supervising Animator, Universal Animated Productions, 1959–1960
Movie Consultant, Kalabog and Bosyo, 1986
Movie Consultant, Asiong Aksaya, GP Productions, 1977
Movie Consultant, Kalabog and Bosyo, Sampaguita Pictures, 1957
Movie Consultant, Tipin, Sampaguita Pictures, 1956
Scriptwriter, Dos por Dos, Channel 2, 1974
Advertising Artist, Pan Pacific Advertising, 1948–1949

Clubs and organizations
Alcala had been affiliated with the following clubs and organizations:
Adviser, Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas (SKP), 1989–2002
President, Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas (SKP), 1979– 1989
President, Art Directors Club of the Philippines, 1963–1964
Vice President, Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists (SPIC) 1962–1963

Awards, citations and recognitions
He received recognition from the following entities:
U P  College of Fine Arts
The Board of Directors of the U P  Alumni Association,
The Office of the Mayor of the City of Manila, Philippines
The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY)
The Archdiocese of Manila Catholic Press Awards
The Citizens' Council for Mass Media 1970 CAM Awards
The Komiks Operation Brotherhood, Inc  (Komopeb) (Life Achievement Award)
Samahan ng mga Manunulat, Artist, at Patnugot at mga Manggagawa sa Komiks
SPIC-NPC Annual Art Awards
The Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists
The Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists (3rd SPIC Annual Art Awards)
The Galleria Bernice L
The U P  College of Fine Arts Alumni Foundation, Inc 
The University of the Philippines Alumni Association
The Philippine Council of Industrial Editors
The United Artists and Core Corporation, the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc 
Operation Smile
The Bureau of Land Transportation
The Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc 
The Veterans Memorial Medical Center Diabetes Association
The University of St  La Salle, Bacolod City
The Positive Artists Group (Pamana award)
The U P  College of Fine Arts
The University of the Philippines (Service Award, 25 years of service)
Caltex and D O S T
Philips -Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Parol Festïval 1986
The National Manpower and Youth Council Office of Vocational Preparation
The Department of Laboratories Veterans Memorial Medical Center
NAFC, DECS, DENR, DA
The Gawad CCP Para sa Telebisyon sa Taong 1988
St  Patrick Commercial Appreciation Award
The National Environmental Protection Council Awards
The City of Bacolod
Caltex-DECS-DOST Science Art Contest
Passage 3:
Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy
Al-Ameen Educational Society was started in the year 1966 to meet the needs of education in the city of Bangalore and of the minority Muslim community  Mumtaz Ahmed Khan is the founder of al-Ameen Educational Society  Number of social workers supported him to start and establish around 20 branches of Al-Ameen Educational Society and 200 institutions throughout India 

History
Mumtaz Ahmed Khan is the founder of Al-Ameen Educational Society  At the age of 31, in 1966 Khan founded the Al-Ameen Movement  He had decided to name it The Bangalore Educational Society  He was advised against this by his friend Khader Hussein who suggested Al-Ameen Educational Society as a reference to the title given to Prophet Muhammad which meant The Trustworthy  Hussein later became the principle of Saboo Siddiq Polytechnic, Bombay 
Abbasiya Begum, a female member of the Karnataka Legislative Council was elected the first chairperson of this society A number of social workers supported him for starting and establishing around 20 branches of Al-Ameen Educational Society and 200 institutions throughout India 

Structure
Activities
Planning Commission of India member Syeda Saiyidain Hameed was awarded Al-Ameen All India Community Leadership Award - 2006 by the Secretary, Chairman and Vice Chairman on 23 January 2007 

Institutions
Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy
Al-Ameen College of Law
Al-Ameen Arts, Science and Commerce Degree College
Al-Ameen College of Education
Al-Ameen Institute of Management Studies
Al-Ameen Institute of Information Sciences
Al-Ameen Pre University College
Al-Ameen Primary & High School
Passage 4:
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Philippines)
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in the Philippines is one of three components of the National Service Training Program, the civic education and defense preparedness program for Filipino college students  ROTC aims to provide military education and training for students to mobilize them for national defense preparedness  Its specific objectives include preparation of college students for service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the event of an emergency and their training to become reservists and potential commissioned officers of the AFP 
Graduates of the ROTC advance program serve in all branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines  In 2008, ROTC graduates of the officer candidate schools of the various services constituted roughly 75% of the AFP officer corps  The ROTC grants qualified student-cadets scholarship benefits through a merit-based incentive program in return for an obligation of military service in the reserve force, or active duty in the AFP if given the opportunity, after graduation 
ROTC student-cadets attend college like other students, but also receive basic military training and officer training from the branch of service that handles their school's ROTC unit  The students participate in regular ROTC instruction during the school year (one school year for Basic ROTC student-cadets and three school years for Advance ROTC cadet-officers), and extended training activities during the summer, such as the ROTC Summer Camp Training (RSCT) and the Advance ROTC Academic Phase Training (ARAPT) 
ROTC units in colleges and universities are organized through the Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST) which is under joint supervision by the school administration and the Department of National Defense  These ROTC units are in turn managed by active duty officers of the AFP and the reservist organization representatives of the major services, the Philippine Army Reserve Command of the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy Reserve Command of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command of the Philippine Air Force 

Nomenclature
Commonwealth Act No  1, the National Defense Act of 1935, referred to the ROTC as the "Reserve Officers Training Corps", whereas Republic Act No  7077, the Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act of 1991, referred to the ROTC as the "Reserve Officers' Training Corps", ascribing the possessive form to the word "officers"  
Republic Act No  9163, the National Service Training Program Act of 2001 likewise uses the same possessive form as RA 7077 

History
ROTC in the Philippines began in 1912 when the Philippine Constabulary commenced with military instruction at the University of the Philippines  The university's Board of Regents then made representations to the United States Department of War through the Governor-General and received the services of a United States Army officer who took on the duties of a professor of Military Science  Through this arrangement, the first official ROTC unit in the Philippines was established in the University of the Philippines on July 3, 1922 In 1921, National University became the first private college in the Philippines to have an ROTC unit   Later in the same year, Ateneo de Manila University, Liceo de Manila, and Colegio de San Juan de Letran soon followed suit and organized their own respective ROTC units  In 1936, the Office of the Superintendent for ROTC Units under the Philippine Army was activated to supervise all ROTC units in the country 

National Defense Act of 1935
President Manuel L  Quezon issued Executive Order No  207 in 1939 in order to implement the National Defense Act of 1935, otherwise known as Commonwealth Act No  1, the embodiment of the national defense plan formulated by General Douglas MacArthur for the Philippine Commonwealth  This executive order made ROTC obligatory at all colleges and universities with a total enrollment of 100 students and greater  This measure was made in order to help fill out the reserve force requirement of 400,000 men by 1946 and especially for junior reserve officers 

World War II
At the onset of World War II in 1941, thirty-three colleges and universities in the Philippines had organized ROTC units, the cadets and officers of which would see action for the first time  Elements from different ROTC units in Metro Manila took part in the Battle of Bataan  ROTC cadets of Silliman University in the Visayas made up 45% of the strength of the 75th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE)  Various ROTC units joined volunteers from the Philippine Military Academy to form the Hunters ROTC guerrilla group, which took part in the resistance movement during the Japanese occupation after the last American and Filipino forces had surrendered 

Post-World War II
On September 13, 1946, the Philippine Army Headquarters reactivated the pre-war ROTC units  The Philippine Army became the Armed Forces of the Philippines on December 23, 1950, at which time the Philippines was divided into four military areas and ROTC units operating within these areas fell under the supervision of their respective Area Commanders  On February 8, 1967, President Ferdinand Marcos rescinded Executive Order No  207 of 1939, promulgating Executive Order No  59 in its place  This executive order made ROTC mandatory at all colleges, universities, and other institutions with an enrollment of 250 male students and greater  President Marcos also issued Presidential Decree No  1706, otherwise known as the "National Service Law", on August 8, 1980  It made national service obligatory for all Filipino citizens and specified three categories of national service: civic welfare service, law enforcement service, and military service 

Republic Act 7077
Republic Act 7077, otherwise known as the "Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act", was enacted by the 8th Congress of the Philippines on June 27, 1991  The Reservist Act provided for the organization, training, and utilization of reservists, referred to in the Act as "Citizen Soldiers"  The primary pool of manpower for the reservist organization is graduates of the ROTC basic and advanced courses 

Controversy
A period of discontent over ROTC's conduct and the corruption that often plagued its individual units had long been fermenting prior to 2000  Filipino student websites often contain short essays regarding the alleged pointlessness of the program  Student groups would occasionally include ROTC in their roster of grievances, whereas lawmakers would introduce resolutions intended to abolish ROTC Into this national mood of resentment fell a tragedy that would have a significant impact on the Philippine ROTC program  Mark Welson Chua, a student of the University of Santo Tomas and a member of the UST ROTC unit, was found dead, his body floating in the Pasig River on March 18, 2001  Prior to his death, he and another student had reported an account of alleged corruption within the UST ROTC unit to the school's student publication  The National Bureau of Investigation would later conclude that members of the UST ROTC unit were responsible for Chua's death  One of the suspects would be sentenced to death three years later The incident set off an explosion of anti-ROTC sentiment as student associations, school administrators and other cause-oriented groups focused on protests and parliamentary approaches to the matter  The Congress of the Philippines took up the legal challenge; generating no less than seventeen bills and resolutions in both houses of Congress, in response to the clamor  Many of the bills mentioned Mark Chua in the text, acknowledging his death as the catalyst for reform 

Republic Act 9163
Republic Act 9163, otherwise known as the "National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001", was Congress' answer to the clamor for change in the ROTC program  It was promulgated by the 12th Congress of the Philippines on January 23, 2002  Under the NSTP Program, both male and female college students of any baccalaureate degree course or technical vocational course in public or private educational institutions are obliged to undergo one of three program components, one of which is ROTC, for an academic period of two semesters  However, ROTC as a pre-requisite for graduation was rescinded 

Impact on Philippine society
The ROTC program of the Philippines was for many decades a compelling aspect affecting the lives of male youths whom many despises it and even question it as to its relevance in pursuing a college education  It was also a significant contributor to the corruption and abuses within the ranks of the subject as expose by Mark Welson Chua before being murdered by his fellow ROTC Officers  But unbeknownst to the public, the ROTC program has undergone numerous unacknowledged name changes, like in the 1960s through the mid-1970s it was called "Philippine Military Training" or PMT, and then from the late 1970s up to the early 1990s it was called "Citizen Military Training" or CMT, also advance training did not begin until the mid-1970s when cadets who desired to be cadet officers underwent what was called "Cadet Officers Candidate Course" or COCC 

Armed Forces of the Philippines
As of 2008, ROTC graduates of the various services constituted roughly 75% of the AFP officer corps; the rest come from the ranks of the Philippine Military Academy  Among the more prominent graduates of the Philippine ROTC program are Gen  Alfredo M  Santos, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1962 to 1965 and the first four-star general of the AFP, Gen  Rigoberto J  Atienza, 9th Chief of Staff of the AFP and for whom Camp Atienza in Quezon City is named, and Gen  Romeo C  Espino, the longest-serving AFP Chief of Staff who served from January 15, 1972, to August 16, 1981  Gen  Santos was a civil engineering graduate of Mapua Institute of Technology and was the Corp Commander of the Mapua Institute of Technology Reserve Officers' Training Corps; Gen  Atienza, a civil engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines, and Gen  Espino an agriculture graduate of University of the Philippines Los Baños  Another notable ROTC graduate was Gen  Fabian C  Ver, AFP Chief of Staff under Ferdinand Marcos and director general of the National Intelligence and Security Authority 

Post-2001 ROTC
At present, ROTC is no longer a mandatory program for college students, but an optional program component of the NSTP  The ROTC program accepts both male and female cadets  According to the latest available data, there has been a significant reduction in the number of students enrolling in ROTC  From more than 800,000 enrolled cadets during the 1999-2000 school year, ROTC enrollment has dropped to 150,000 as of 2011  During the first quarter of 2011, 500 colleges and universities were participating in the ROTC program  This is a sharp decline from the 2,000 schools offering ROTC before the National Service Training Program was enforced According to the Commission on Higher Education, the ROTC component of NSTP has produced 1,435,000 graduates over a ten-year period from 2002 to 2012  In comparison, the CWTS and LTS components of NSTP has produced 8,614,000 and 538,700 graduates respectively 

Proposals for and against mandatory implementation
In 2006, Alfredo Lim sponsored Senate Bill 2224 and Representative Eduardo Gullas sponsored House Bill 5460, seeking to make ROTC again mandatory  In June 2013, Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin aired a proposal to make ROTC once again mandatory for college students, a move ardently being protested by progressive youth groups such as Anakbayan



ground_truth: Michael Bublé

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: How many times did the plague occur in the city where Flora's painter died?

The following are given passages.
Context 3:  There have also been reports of schools offering merchant marine courses that want to retain the ROTC program as mandatory, arguing that maritime companies prefer mariners with ROTC training Members of the House of Representatives of the 16th Congress of the Philippines have filed at least six house bills related to the ROTC program  Congressmen Francis Abaya, Rodolfo Biazon, Erico Aumentado, Sherwin Gatchalian and Manny Pacquiao have proposed reinstating the mandatory nature of ROTC training, while Kabataan Party-list representative Terry Ridon has proposed the outright abolishment of the program 
In February 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the proposal to revive the mandatory nature of ROTC training for senior high school students in both public and private schools  Duterte certified the proposal as urgent and forwarded it to the Congress of the Philippines - House of Representatives (Lower House) and Senate (Upper House)  On May 21, 2019, the Lower House passed their version of the proposed law  Some camps have criticized Duterte's inclination on this issue for admitting in a speech in 2016 that he himself did not finish his supposed ROTC service during his university days,  and two years later, expounded that he even falsified medical documents to be able to do so After the 2022 presidential elections, Vice President-elect Sara Duterte stated that she wants mandatory ROTC training under priority legislation  In July, Senators Francis Tolentino and Robin Padilla announced support for a bill by Senator Ronald Dela Rosa that would introduce mandatory ROTC for students in grades 11 and 12, with a voluntary advanced ROTC program available for the first two years of higher education  President Bongbong Marcos stated in his first State of the Nation address, also in July, that reinstituting the ROTC as a mandatory component of senior high school programs in all public and private tertiary-level educational institutions is one of his priority bills  
Groups such as the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines denounced Marcos, Jr  for prioritizing the reinstitution of mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps as was said in his 2022 State of the Nation Address, saying that it will teach students blind obedience and make them vulnerable to abuses 

Notable Philippine ROTC units
The University of the Philippines Diliman ROTC Unit
University of Santo Tomas Golden Corps of Cadets
Mapúa Institute of Technology ROTC Unit
FEATI University ROTC Unit
Ateneo de Manila University ROTC Unit 131st Department of Air Science and Tactics

See also
Conscription in the Philippines
Student Regiment (Indonesia)
Reserve Officer Training Unit (Malaysia)
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (South Korea)
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Taiwan)
University Regiments (Australia)
Officers' Training Corps (United Kingdom)
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (United States)
Passage 5:
Helmut Schmidt University
The Helmut Schmidt University (German: Helmut-Schmidt-Universität), located in Hamburg, Germany, is a German military educational establishment that was founded in 1973 at the initiative of the then-Federal Minister of Defence, Helmut Schmidt  Originally known as the "University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg" (Universität der Bundeswehr), its complete official name today is "Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg"  Teaching first started in Autumn of 1973  It is one of two universities that were established by the Bundeswehr to train and educate its future and existing officers 
In general, it is accessible only to officers and officer candidates of the Bundeswehr, hence its original name  However, since it started teaching, there have been cooperation agreements with allied countries, on the basis of which a handful of selected officers from these states have been able to study in Hamburg 
Since 2002 there has been a small number of civilian students at the university  A prerequisite for studying as a civilian at the Helmut Schmidt University is a business scholarship  These scholarships are usually awarded by foundations with close relationships to industry – thus, these students are at least indirectly being supported by their future employer, usually large companies  As of 2022 tuition costs are currently 2941 euros (humanities), 4403 euros (economics) or 3423 euros (engineering) per academic term Academic degrees and titles obtained at HSU are equivalent to those awarded by state universities and are equally valid, since the courses comply with the requirements of Hamburg's higher education legislation  The university is authorised to confer habilitations and doctoral degrees 

History
Chronology of establishment
On 11 June 1970, the Federal Minister of Defense at the time, Helmut Schmidt, for whom the university was later named and who later would become chancellor of Germany, published a decree that a university be established for the purpose of schooling certain members of the German Federal Armed Forces 
On 17 May 1971 the decree, passed a year earlier by Schmidt, was appraised The German Federal Armed Forces agreed 29 June 1972 to collaborate with Schmidt's ideas for the university  The agreement was finalised 3 October 1972 and legally concluded 
The first classes of students began schooling on 1 October 1973 and the first graduate left the university on 30 September 1976 

Presidents
Since the beginning of the university in 1973, there have been eight presidents of the institution, including the current president, Wilfried Seidel, who has been in office since 2010 

Renaming
It was in the December 2003 that the University of the German Federal Armed Forces Hamburg was rechristened "Helmut Schmidt University / University of the German Federal Armed Forces Hamburg" to honour the man who passed the decree for the university's establishment  The idea of a university is his brainchild  Schmidt was present at the ceremony and was awarded an honorary degree 

Organisation and courses
At the Helmut Schmidt University there is a specific organizational structure, in addition to the division between the areas of teaching and administration that is common to all universities, there is a military side, to accommodate the HSU's dual function as an educational establishment and a military authority for the students 

Academic division
The academic division takes care of teaching and research, to which end it maintains 4 faculties  The number of departments was designed so as to allow for intensive study through teaching in small groups, and for the pursuing of research at the same time 

Faculty of Electrical Engineering: 13 professorships
Electrical Engineering
Parts of Industrial Engineering
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: 7 departments, 19 professorships
Mechanical Engineering
Computational Science and Engineering
Parts of Industrial Engineering
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: 9 departments, 28 professorships
Educational Sciences
History
Psychology
Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences: 19 departments, 40 professorships
Business Administration
Economics
Political Science
Parts of Industrial Engineering
Notes:The course Industrial Engineering is not assigned to any one faculty, due to its mixed nature, but the Faculty of Electrical Engineering has taken the leading role in teaching it  The exam board consists of members of the 3 participating faculties in equal number 
The "ISA-Modul", with ISA standing for "Interdisziplinäre Studienanteile" (Interdisciplinary parts of study) is not assigned to a particular faculty  Its classes take place in all faculties  All ISA courses are coordinated by a research associate, who liaises with the teaching staff of the 4 faculties 

Student Body Regiment
The student body of the university is organised in the Student Body Regiment (German: "Studierendenbereich", short: StudBer, lit : "student area")  The regiment is commanded by an officer of the rank of colonel or captain at Sea (NATO Rank Code OF-5)  Apart from headquarters staff, they oversee 3 battalions (German: "Studierendenfachbereiche", short: StudFBer, lit : "student subject area")  These are commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel or Commander (NATO Rank Code OF-4)  To ensure parity between the branches, A battalion is usually commanded by a member of the navy (German: Marine), B battalion by a member of the air force (German: Luftwaffe) and C battalion by a member of the army (German: Heer)  They usually also hold the title of Senior Branch Officer (i e  Senior Naval/Air Force/Army Officer on Campus) 

A Battalion: Engineering
B Battalion: Educational Sciences, History, Psychology
C Battalion: Political and Economic SciencesEach battalion consists of several companies (German: "Studierendenfachbereichsgruppen", short: StudFBerGrp, lit : "student subject area groups"), commandend by an army or air force captain or a naval lieutenant (NATO Rank Code OF-2)  In the course of the reforms of army training and the correspondingly higher student numbers in 2007 and 2008, further company commanders were added for the period 2007–2011 and again in 2019  A battalion currently has 5 companies, B battalion has 8 companies and C battalion has 9  Each company has between 100 and 150 student officers and cadets  Apart from the administrative management of the soldiers, the Student Body Regiment undertakes the military training and advanced education of their personnel, in order to hone individual common core skills 

Studying
The academic year at the HSU usually begins on 1 October  The officers and officer candidates are generally posted to the university a week before that date  An orientation week takes place first, during which the students may settle into their accommodation and receive an introduction to studying at the HSU from the more advanced students 
In contrast to the semester format usually practised in Germany, a year at the HSU is divided into 3 terms (trimesters) which means that it consists not of a winter and summer semester, but of autumn, winter and spring terms, 3 blocks of 3 months each  There are no classes in the summer quarter (1 July – 30 September)  This period may be used for performing required periods of practical training and internships, and for holidays 
Exams are taken at the end of every term, and test the material that was studied in that term  In a few cases, exams at the end of a term may concern the material of more than one term  For the purpose of revision, one or two weeks in mid-December, late March and late June may be devoid of classes 
Due to the short length of revision time and the fact that all the exams are "en bloc", resits are greatly feared by the students, particularly the engineering students  Resit exams occur during the exam block of the next term, and in this way a "bow wave" of an ever-increasing number of exams to take can accumulate, which may be very difficult to remain on top of 
The standard period of study for the master's degree (the standard degree) is 4 years  A Bachelor's degree can be obtained in 3 years  The maximum period of study is 4 years, which means that one's Master's thesis must be submitted on 30 September of the 4th year of study at the latest  The study period may only be extended over 4 years with the permission of the Personnel Office of the Bundeswehr, and even then, one requires a certificate from the university stating that the student is likely to successfully complete his or her studies in the near future 
After completion of one's studies, that is after one has submitted one's final dissertation, the officer will return to a post in the army or the fleet relatively quickly, according to availability of vacant posts, the officer's leave entitlement and course plans 
The award of the study diplomas always occurs in mid-October in a formal ceremony  As part of the graduation ceremony, the Böttcher-Preis, founded by the Hamburg businessman Johann Max Böttcher, is awarded to the highest-performing students of each year 
Some alumni officers will return to their alma mater as researchers or doctoral students 

Facilities
The maintains some central facilities  These include the computer centre, the language centre, the media centre, and the Centre for Technology-Assisted Education (Zentrum für technologiegestützte Bildung: ZTB)  A further facility is the library of the HSU  According to the library ranking list "Bibliotheksindex" (BIX), it has been amongst the best libraries in Germany for years  The library primarily exists to support the teaching and research of the HSU, but is also accessible to the general public 

Research focus
In Mechanical Engineering, one of the areas of research is in automotive engineering  7 professorships work on projects in this area, including:
Acoustics,
Propulsion,
Computer-aided engineering,
Chassis,
Production engineering, and
Simulators 
For example, a hybrid drive unit is being researched for industrial trucks in cooperation with industry 
In Electrical Engineering, one of the areas of research is telecommunications, which includes: 
Audio coding,
Wireless transmission systems, and
Video recognition systems 
In educational sciences, the focus is on the areas of professional and organizational education, adult education and history  The establishment of a uniform German Qualifications Framework in the context of the European Qualifications Framework may be traced back in no small part to the work of the professor for professional and organizational education in the working group of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, through expert advice and support 
In economic and management sciences, the emphasis is on logistics, business administration and economics, and political science  Gender topics have also been researched for years 

Student life
Campus and accommodation
The HSU is designed as a campus university, and its campus in the Wandsbek district consists of 3 parts  Studying activities take place on the premises of the former Douaumont barracks on the Holstenhofweg in Hamburg-Jenfeld  The university administration is located here, as well as all departments and faculties, lecture theatres and laboratories and central facilities; it also contains sports facilities, the canteen and the management of the Student Division  Students of Engineering are accommodated here in 10 quite modern-looking residential buildings  South of the BAB 24, on the premised of the former Hanseatic barracks in the Stoltenstraße in Horn, is the accommodation for students of humanities and social sciences, and economics, and the medical facility  A third residence, rapidly constructed, is located since 2007 on the Jenfelder Allee and will be used until 2010  In addition, from 2007 to 2010, flats will be rented on the private market, in order to absorb the overload of students, which is due to the unusually well-attended years of 2007 and 2008  In the private flats, 2 to 3 students will be accommodated together  In principle, every student receives a single room with area of 14 to 20 m2 (151 to 215 sq ft), mostly with en-suite bathroom and toilet  During the time of higher than usual student numbers however, there will inevitably be some instances where 2 students share a larger room  Residents may cook in the shared kitchens, where the social life between studies and the Hamburg night life will take place  Due to structural changes in military training, several external residences had to be acquired including the former Lettow-Vorbeck Barracks, which is now used by the Federal Police (Bundespolizei)  Another facility frequented by students and staff is the casino, the officer's club of the HSU (not a gambling establishment), located opposite the campus 

Financing
Whilst studying, the soldiers are paid according to their rank and length of service, sometimes including a residence allowance and a family allowance  They pay a fixed fee for their accommodation, which is waived if the student takes up a private residence 

Leisure activities and nightlife
Due to the quite strict study plan, compared with public universities, it is often not easy for students to pursue leisure activities  In the course of the years, however, many different clubs and societies have been formed, to enable leisure activities without clashing with study obligations 
One large event in the academic year is the "TAF ("Trimesteranfangsfeier" or "Start of term ceremony")  This takes place annually to greet the new students  It is organized by the members of the "Studentischer Konvent" and enjoys widespread popularity  The Studentischer Konvent is the students' representation at the HSU  The offers first-term students a possibility to get to know each other, and more advanced students the possibility to swap tales from their holidays 
Further events are organized in the faculties  These include:

"WI-Party" (last weekend of October, organized by the senior year of engineering students, with about 900 guests the largest closed event at the HSU)
"Päd-Party" (mid- to late June, an open-air party in the Douaumont area, the home of the engineering students, organized by Education Sciences students)

Conditions of enrollment
There are several conditions of enrollment which are strictly observed at the university 
In general, studying at the HSU entails a mandatory service of 12 years as an officer in the Bundeswehr  Since 2008, that time has been increased to 13 years, in response to changes in the education caused by the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system  To join the officer corps, a 3-day selection process must be successfully completed at the officer candidates selection centre in Köln-Porz at the Mudra barracks  Depending on which service branch and which specialty one chooses, one will complete the requisite military training with that unit, before being posted to the university and completing the academic education there, which is a part of the training for becoming an officer 
The educational requirement for attending the HSU is a general higher education entrance qualification that is recognized by the law on higher education of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg 

Military aspects of student life
Prior to their studies, soldiers must train at one of the three respective Officer Training school: for the Army in Dresden /('OSH'), for the Air Force in Fürstenfeldbruck ('OSLw') and for the Navy in Flensburg ('MSM') 
During their stay at the HSU, military personnel are required to complete certain standard procedures every year  These include:

6/12 km marches on foot with 15 kg backpack
German Sports Badge
Basic Fitness Tests
NBC Training
First Aid Training
Small Arms TrainingOn occasion:

political education
Training courses (such as MOUT etc )
Military ceremonies (such as changing of Commandants etc )

See also
Education in Hamburg
List of universities in Germany
University of the German Federal Armed Forces
Bundeswehr University Munich
Passage 6:
North Dakota School for the Deaf
The North Dakota School for the Deaf (NDSD) is a state-funded residential school located in Devils Lake, North Dakota that provides services to meet the educational needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing  NDSD is under the direction, control, and management of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction  The current superintendent of the school is Dr  Connie Hovendick 

History
Before the Dakota Territory was divided, deaf children living in the part of the territory now known as North Dakota had to do without an education or attend the school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota  Because of poor roads, great distances, meager railroads, and general financial inability, few of the North Dakota children could attend the South Dakota School for the Deaf  In the fall of 1889 Anson R  Spear, a deaf man from Minneapolis, Minnesota, came to North Dakota to establish a school for the deaf  Mr  Spear's political backers, Senator Swanston and Representative McCormick, introduced a bill in the Legislature for the immediate establishment for the proposed school in Devils Lake  The bill passed March 15, 1890, over the veto of Governor John Miller The citizens of Devils Lake furnished free for two years a wooden building located at the corner of Third Avenue and Fifth Street  Mr  Spear was appointed superintendent on August 1, 1890, and the first term began September 10, 1890  The first student to be enrolled was 10-year-old Mabel Alice Newton  By the end of the first school year, 23 children were enrolled  The combined method of communication - use of signs, hand alphabet, and oral method - was used to teach the students  In January 1891, money was appropriated by the State Legislature for a permanent building 
The Great Northern Railway donated an 18-acre (73,000 m2) tract of land one mile (1 6 km) north of the heart of Devils Lake for the permanent site of NDSD, and construction of the first building "Old Main" began on May 30, 1892  "Old Main" was designed by Olof Hanson, a rising Deaf architect from Faribault, Minnesota 
The school previously had an in-house high school  In the late 1930s it had 140 students, its peak enrollment  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), first passed in the 1970s, started a trend of deaf students enrolling at local public schools as well as in specialized programs in the larger towns around the state  The average enrollment in the 1980s was 97 students  By the 1990s the average enrollment was down to 48  The last graduating class was in 2004, and in 2012 it ended direct high school operations  In 2019 the school had 18 students 

Campus
It includes dormitory facilities  The Blackhurst Dormitory and the cafeteria serve the students 

Operations
NDSD directly teaches grades K-8 while it sends students in grades 9-12 to Devils Lake High School, operated by Devils Lake Public Schools 

Athletics
In the past, NDSD fielded teams in baseball, football, basketball, track and field, etc  Back then, the school had a large enough student population to have enough athletes to compete with various small towns in the area  Due to the reduction in the number of students through mainstream school placement, the school entered into co-op athletic agreements with a couple towns - one was with Crary, although the school now has a co-op agreement with the Devils Lake public schools  In the past, the nickname for the school's teams has always been the Bulldogs; the school's team colors have also always been green and white 

Boys' Sports
Football (with Devils Lake High School)
Basketball (began in 1914)
Track
Girls' Sports
Basketball
Track

Newsletter
The Banner, the official newsletter of NDSD, was first published in 1891  Clara Halvorson, the first teacher employed at the school, is credited with naming the Banner  The purpose of the newsletter was to keep parents informed on what happened at the school, publish pupils’ school work, and to provide publishing experience to students  The Banner is still published today 

Superintendents
Past Superintendents of the North Dakota School for the Deaf include:
Anson R



ground_truth: 22

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: When did military instruction start at the place where Larry Alcala was educated?

The following are given passages.
Context 3:  Spear
Dwight F  Bangs
J  W  Blattner
Frank Read
W  C  McClure
Burton W  Driggs
Arthur P  Buchanan
Carl F  Smith
Allen J  Hayek
Gary L  Holman
Alan J  Mealka
Jaime D  Galloway
Rocklyn Cofer
Roger Riefer
Carmen Grove Suminski
Dennis J  Fogelson
Connie Hovendick

Notable alumni / past students
John L  Clarke - wood carver
Phyllis Frelich - actress
Michael J  Olson - archivist & actor
Passage 7:
Tiberius Coruncanius
Tiberius Coruncanius (died 241 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 280 BC  As a military commander in that year and the following, he was known for the battles against Pyrrhus of Epirus that led to the expression "Pyrrhic victory"  He was the first plebeian Pontifex Maximus, and possibly the first teacher of Roman law to offer public instruction 

Biography
Coruncanius, of plebeian descent, is believed to have hailed from Tusculum He was first elected consul in 280 BC with Publius Valerius Laevinus, and led an expedition into Etruria against the Etruscan cities   When Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italia, and defeated the Roman legions of Laevinus at the Battle of Heraclea, Tiberius' legions were recalled to Rome to bolster the defense of Roman territory 
In 254 BC or 253 BC, he was the first plebeian elected Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest of the Roman Republic, which position had been previously monopolized by patricians  He died in 241 BC and was succeeded by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, another plebeian 

Impact
He was the first who publicly professed law (publice professus est), known to be both eloquent and full of knowledge  Like Socrates, he left no writings 
His public legal instruction had the effect of creating a class of legally skilled non-priests (jurisprudentes), a sort of consultancy  After Coruncanius' death, instruction gradually became more formal, with the introduction of books on law beyond the then scant official Roman legal texts It is possible that as the first plebeian Pontifex Maximus, Coruncanius allowed members of the public and students of the law of Ancient Rome to attend his consultations tasked with giving legal advice to citizens  These consultations were probably held outside the College of Pontiffs, and thus accessible to all those interested  As such, he became the first teacher of Roman law (how students of law learned their material earlier is unknown) 
Passage 8:
Grace Fernald
Grace Maxwell Fernald (November 29, 1879 – January 16, 1950) was an educational psychologist and influential figure in early twentieth century literacy education  Fernald established "the first clinic for remedial instruction in 1921 at the University of California, Los Angeles"  Tracing tactile learning tendencies back to Quintilian, Séguin, and Montessori, Fernald's kinesthetic spelling and reading method prompted struggling students to trace words  Years of research culminated in 1943 with her classic work, Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects  The popular kinesthetic method anchors modern instruction in the areas of special education and remedial reading  Kinesthetic learning is also included as one of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences  Fernald's notion of incorporating the physical with the auditory, verbal, and visual elements of reading instruction, now known as "VAKT", multimodal learning, or multisensory imagery, continues to guide educators today 

Early years and education
Grace Maxwell Fernald was born on November 29, 1879 in Clyde, Ohio  Following a youth spent in New York and New Jersey, Fernald graduated from high school and then attended college at Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr  In 1907 she received her doctorate in psychology from the University of Chicago  By 1911 Fernald had accepted a position at UCLA  She eventually became head of the Psychology Department and Laboratory at the State Normal School  It was at the UCLA clinic where her research into the reading and writing processes gained fame 

Early research of the Fernald method
The 1921 Journal of Educational Research contains Fernald's foundational study of four boys who learn to spell and read by her kinesthetic method  This method influenced other researchers working at the same time in the field of reading difficulties  Notable examples include Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham  The article in the Journal of Educational Research, "The Effect of Kinaesthetic Factors in the Development of Word Recognition in the Case of Non-Readers", outlines five phases of the kinesthetic method  With an emphasis on student choice, focal words are generated by the students during the first stage  Each word is introduced by the teacher who writes it on the chalkboard  The student repeats the word while tracing it on the board  When the student is confident that he knows the word, he attempts to write it while saying each syllable  Successful word study is followed by phase two where sentences are created in a similar fashion  The third step incorporates a student-selected book where words from specific paragraphs are isolated for reading  In the fourth phase, the student is asked to read whole phrases from the paragraphs  Finally, the student is encouraged to do silent reading on his own for the fifth phase  After some time all four boys successfully learned to read well enough to perform at grade level  Follow-ups with the participants reflected the maintenance of reading levels and for some avid readers, additional leaps in reading proficiency  Though not asserting widespread generalizability, Fernald and Keller enumerate several findings  One conclusion of interest today describes each student learning by analogy, demonstrating the "ability to pronounce new words if they resemble words he has already learned " This is a compensatory strategy currently used 
Warren's 1977 dissertation study with children exhibiting mild forms of reading problems demonstrated 147% and 77% superior word recognition and comprehension respectively by Fernald tracing compared to Orton-Gillingham phonics, although O-G was 10% more effective in word decoding 

Career summary
On the eve of Fernald's retirement from the UCLA clinic, Time magazine (July 12, 1948) highlights the story of one boy's reading adventure in Fernald's clinic  The title of the article, "Reading by Touch" aptly reflects the Fernald method  Stepping down after 27 years, Fernald sums up the theory behind her "kinesthetic method" with the explanation that "reading difficulties occur most frequently in people who lack the ability to summon up a mental picture of the way a word looks"  Her only requirements for entrance into the clinic program were for students to have average intelligence and for parents to continue with the clinic as long as necessary  According to Time, remediation required from "two months to two years" for the students to reach their grade level reading equivalent  Though the article includes some criticism of the Fernald method, in the end it is a positive portrayal of a committed educator   A clinic at UCLA bears her name to this day   Critics typically do not follow the tracing directions with fidelity, such making small changes such as orally spelling the individual letters in the word rather than saying/blending the sounds of the word   Strict adherence to the steps is required for the process to be "Fernald," and any changes interfere with the development of automatic mastery  The Fernald tracing approach to spelling, traditionally speaking, is not oral spelling at all; it is creating the mental visualization of the word for the purpose of correct written spelling and proofing  Oral spelling for students experiencing problems creates interference with acquiring correct visualization 

A child's view of Fernald's method
A more powerful account of the influence of the kinesthetic method practiced in Fernald's clinic is presented by the International Reading Association’s Special Interest Group in the history of reading  In the spring 1998 edition of the History of Reading News a former student of Fernald's kinesthetic method recalls his experiences in the clinic setting  He describes a typical session with one of the student teachers where there was even finger painting  The student, now an esteemed doctor, researcher, and chair of psychiatry at a major New York hospital, wonders about the "life changes for some of the other boys as a result of her help and ministrations " He admits that he "still uses aspects of the Fernald method to this day "

A parent's view of Fernald's method
An additional article written by the mother of the same former student was also included in the 1998 edition of the History of Reading News  Though not as detailed, the passage reminds educators that their work impacts not only the student, but the entire family  The parents contacted Grace Fernald in an effort to support their intelligent second-grade son who was struggling in school  The mother even recounts a visit to Fernald's home  Grace Fernald, the caring teacher, comes alive through these two touching accounts of one boy's success story 

Influence on education
Upon Fernald's passing in 1950, her peers praised the tremendous impact of her UCLA clinic endeavors  "Grace Fernald developed and directed the clinical school  The children and adults helped by study and treatment in this clinic and the teachers and psychologists observing and learning in the clinic school run into the thousands "The Fernald Center for Early Care and Education at UCLA is named in her honor 
Fernald's Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects was favourably reviewed by J Bald in The Times Educational Supplement, 9 7 1982  The book contains valuable techniques for teaching grammar, arithmetic and foreign languages  It remains one of the most important collections of case study research in its field (the case studies were omitted from the reprinted edition) 
Passage 9:
Alexander Military Law Academy
Alexander Military Law Academy (Russian: Александровская военно-юридическая академия) (1867–1917) was an educational institution in Russian Empire that provided military law education for officers of Russian Army and Fleet   It was established in 1867 and named after his founder, Emperor Alexander II of Russia in 1908  The Academy was situated in St  Petersburg by 96 Moika Embankment, along with many other institutions of military education 
Since 1878 it was reformed into a 3-year higher educational institution, with admittance to any of the three classes, depending on prior education of the admitted  Since 1880 officers from Serbian and Bulgarian Armies were admitted  About 1,000 officers graduated from the academy, as well as a small number or civil officials (which were admitted until 1882) 

Academy History
In 1866, by Auditor School, the two-year officers’ courses were established  In 1867, the courses were transformed into a Military Law Academy 
Since 1908, it received the name of Alexander in honour of Alexander the IIIrd  Officers of all types of military service in the rank up to the captain, who served in the ranks for at least 4 years, were admitted to the academy  Graduates received the right to occupy positions in the military judicial department  Since 1880, Serbian and Bulgarian officers also have studied at the academy  Totally, about 1,000 military lawyers graduated from Academy  It was closed in December 1917 after the unsuccessful Junker mutiny  It was located in Saint Petersburg on the Moika embankment, 96 

External links
Alexander Academy (in Russian)
Passage 10:
Brothers of Christian Instruction
The Brothers of Christian Instruction (Latin: Institutum Fratrum Instructionis Christianae de Ploërmel, F I C P ), commonly known as the La Mennais Brothers, is a Catholic educational organization founded in 1819 by Gabriel Deshayes and Jean-Marie de la Mennais for the instruction of youth  Their aim remains that of their Founder: "to educate the young and to make Jesus Christ better known and better loved" The brothers are bound by the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience 

History
On June 16, 1819, Gabriel Deshayes, pastor at Auray and vicar general of Vannes, and Jean-Marie de Lamennais, vicar of Saint-Brieuc, two Catholic priests in France, established the Daughters of Providence and the Brothers of Christian Instruction 
The first brothers took their novitiates with the Christian Brothers, whose rule was to a large extent adopted  The organization dedicated itself to promoting education among the working class in France and, eventually, across the world  The motherhouse was established at Ploërmel in November 1824  In 1876, the Brothers of Gascony, founded by Bishop de la Croix d’Azolette, then Archbishop of Auch, and in 1880, the Brothers of Sainte-Marie de Tinchebray, founded by Father Charles-Augustin Duguey, subsumed themselves within the Brothers of Ploërmel The Brothers received canonical approval by Pope Leo XIII on March 13, 1891 From the motherhouse at Ploërmel, the brothers founded sites in England, Africa, Asia, North America, and Oceania  In 1886 the first brothers arrived in Montreal and were shortly afterwards introduced into the United States  To escape the effects of a 1901 French law curtailing certain kinds of religious schooling, the motherhouse was transferred to Taunton, England  In 1903, following through on the strict secularism of the 1901 law, the French government dissolved the brotherhood's French presence and confiscated its properties  At the same time, they established a presence in Bulgaria, Turkey, and Egypt The Brothers of Christian Instruction grew, extending their mission to the Philippines and Spain, and expanding it in the United Kingdom  In 2015, 1,300 members of the Brothers of Christian Instruction were spread across 25 countries 

Institutions
Collège Jean de la Mennais
St  Francis Xavier's College (Liverpool)
St  John Fisher Ibanda Secondary School
St Mary's Independent School, Southampton
St  Mary's International School
Walsh University
Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague in Delmas, Haiti
St  Charles Lwanga Secondary School, Kasasa in Masaka, Uganda
St  Henry's College Kitovu in Masaka, Uganda
St  Mary's College, Kisubi in Wakiso, Uganda
St  Mary's Duluti Secondary School, Arusha
Seiko Gakuin Junior and Senior High School

See also
Pell Wall Hall
Cheswardine
Consecrated life
Passage 11:
United States Society for Education through Art
The United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) is an American national association whose members work in curriculum development, teaching and research related to art education and cultural differences, and who share interests in art educational content and strategies which promote tolerance and appreciation of the arts of non-mainstream cultural peoples  The mission of the society is to promote greater understanding and respect for learners from all ethnic, minority, and socio-cultural backgrounds through research, art curricula, instruction, and practices that are inclusive and culturally sensitive The society provides a platform for networking and a resource base for art educators nationally and internationally, who seek to work collaboratively on projects of interest to multicultural or cross-cultural communities and students, publishes instructional resources for classroom teachers, encourages and sponsors cross-cultural research, and facilitates international and intra-national professional relationships through online sites, symposia, conferences, and publications Each year, USSEA honors one national and one international art educator, each of whom has demonstrated exemplary teaching, service, or research in the area of multicultural or cross-cultural art education with the Ziegfeld Art Education award  The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education is a publication of USSEA that is made available to all members of the art educational profession  Through the website, members may access suggestions and recommendations for appropriate multi-culturally oriented K-12 art lessons, and receive up-to-date news and information about USSEA initiatives, programs and opportunities  Additionally, exhibitions of children's art from countries around the world are presented at national conferences of art educators and through an online gallery of children's art, which is organized by topical themes and maintained on the USSEA website 

History
USSEA was founded in 1977 as an affiliate of the International Society for Education Through Art (InSEA) and the National Art Education Association (NAEA)  The goals of USSEA reflect, on a national level, the goals of its international parent organization InSEA, which in turn, was inspired by the spirit of postwar hope and optimism of its parent affiliate UNESCO  In a paper describing the early history of InSEA, the motivational energy and overarching goals of UNESCO and InSEA are explained 
"The world had just come through a terrible and protracted war, one initiated by false philosophies working on ignorance through massive control of free speech  The impulse in 1945, to try to ensure that it did not happen again, and that people should understand each other better through education and all forms of cultural and scientific exchanges, the passionate emphasis on truth, justice, peace and the importance of the individual – these impulses were irresistible "These sentiments, which gave root to InSEA in 1954, are also guiding principles of USSEA  Art educator Kenneth Marantz was instrumental in establishing the United States organization and served as its first president  Other founding members who served as officers included Maryl Fletcher De Jong, Larry Kantner, Eugenia Oole, Helen Patton, and Tom Sletterhaugh 

Sponsored Activities
As a means of disseminating shared ideas about the importance of teaching art to increasingly diverse populations and to develop research agenda for determining effective practices of multicultural art education, USSEA began sponsored conferences and symposia  Fourteen such events were held between 1977 and 2010  The topics addressed included "Limits and Extents of International Research in Art Education" (1977), "Art Education: The Pacific Basin" (1982), "International Aspects of Teaching Aesthetics and Critical Skills" (1987), "Indigenous People, Art, and Place: Interactions of Culture and Environment in Contemporary Life" (1994) and "Crossing Cultural, Artistic, and Cyber Borders" (2000), and "Youth and Community Development: How the Arts Serve Economically Impoverished Communities" (2010)  The 1991 USSEA Symposium, "Beyond the Traditional in Art: Facing a Pluralistic Society," resulted in the publication of working papers and research agenda that helped focus cultural art educational research and practices during the late 20th and early 21st century Since 1986, USSEA has presented two annual awards in the name of Edwin Ziegfeld, founding president of InSEA (1954–1960) and NAEA (1947–1951), to honor an American art educator and a foreign art educator who have made distinguished leadership contributions to international art education  These awards are presented to the recipients during a USSEA Awards banquet held during the annual NAEA conference The first issue of the USSEA publication The Journal of Multicultural and Cross-cultural Research in Art Education was issued in 1983 with Larry Kantner as senior editor  In 2001, the title of the journal was changed to the Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education (JCRAE)  Articles published in JCRAE focus on social/cultural research relevant for art education, including cultural foundations of art education, cross-cultural and multicultural research in art education, and cultural aspects of art in education  These areas may be interpreted in a broad sense to include arts administration, art therapy, community arts organizations, and other disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches relevant to art education  Articles considered for publication may feature theoretical research and research in which qualitative and/or quantitative methods as well as other formats and strategies are employed  In addition to the publication of a journal, USSEA sponsors monographs and sponsors or endorses books that address issues of interest and concern to art educators 



ground_truth: 1912