title: Slave (Slave album)

abstract: Slave is the self-titled debut studio album by the American R&B/funk band Slave. It was released in 1977 through Cotillion Records. Recording sessions took place at Century Sound Studios in Sayreville, New Jersey. Production was handled by Jeff Dixon. The album peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on June 14, 1977. Its lead single, "Slide", made it to number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and also reached number 58 in Canadian Singles Chart.

text:
# Slave (Slave album)

Professional ratings
| Review scores | |
| --- | --- |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |

***Slave*** is the self-titled debut studio album by the American R&B/funk band Slave. It was released in 1977 through Cotillion Records. Recording sessions took place at Century Sound Studios in Sayreville, New Jersey. Production was handled by Jeff Dixon.

The album peaked at number 22 on the *Billboard* 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on June 14, 1977. Its lead single, "Slide", made it to number 32 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, topped the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and also reached number 58 in Canadian Singles Chart.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Stephen C. Washington, Mark Hicks, Mark Leslie Adams, Daniel Webster, Tom Dozier, Floyd Miller, Tom Lockett Jr., Orion Wilhoite and Carter Bradley

| No. | Title | Length |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "Slide" | 6:47 |
| 2. | "Screw Your Wig on Tite" | 5:29 |
| 3. | "Party Hardy" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Son of Slide" | 5:29 |
| 5. | "You and Me" | 6:41 |
| 6. | "Love Me" | 4:39 |
| 7. | "The Happiest Days" | 5:17 |
| 8. | "Separated" | 5:30 |
| Total length: | | 43:34 |

| No. | Title | Length |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 9. | "Slide" (Single Version) | 3:21 |
| Total length: | | 47:02 |

## Personnel

* Floyd "The Brother Slide" Miller – lead and backing vocals, percussion, trumpet, trombone
* Daniel "Danny" Webster – lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
* Mark "Drac" Hicks – backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
* Carter Charles Bradley – keyboards
* Mark Leslie "Mr. Mark"/"The Hansolor" Adams – bass
* Tom Lockett Jr. – alto and tenor saxophone
* Orion "Bimmy" Wilhoite – alto and tenor saxophone
* Stephen C. "The Fearless Leader" Washington – backing vocals, percussion, trumpet, concept
* Tom "Tiny" Dozier – lead vocals, drums, percussion

## Production

* Jeff Dixon – producer, concept
* Bob Ligotino – recording
* Jimmy Douglass – re-mixing
* Abie Sussman – art direction
* Bob Defrin – art direction
* Shig Ikeda – photography
* Benno Friedman – photography

## Charts

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
 | | |

## InfoBox

| Slave | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Slave | |
| Released | April 1977 |
| Recorded | 1977 |
| Studio | Century Sound Studios (Sayreville, New Jersey) |
| Genre |  |
| Length | 43:34 |
| Label | Cotillion |
| Producer | Jeff Dixon |
| Slave chronology | |
| ***Slave***
(1977) *The Hardness of the World*
(1977) | |
|  | |
| Singles from  *Slave* | |
| 1. "Slide"
Released: 1977 2. "You And Me"
Released: 1977 | |
|  | |


title: Small Town Boy (album)

abstract: Small Town Boy is the debut studio album by Dutch singer Duncan Laurence. It was released on 13 November 2020 by Spark Records. The album includes the singles "Arcade", "Love Don't Hate It", "Someone Else", "Last Night" and "Feel Something". A deluxe edition of the album was released on 21 May 2021, containing three additional tracks: "Stars", "Sad Old Me" and "I Got You".

text:
# Small Town Boy (album)

***Small Town Boy*** is the debut studio album by Dutch singer Duncan Laurence. It was released on 13 November 2020 by Spark Records. The album includes the singles "Arcade", "Love Don't Hate It", "Someone Else", "Last Night" and "Feel Something". A deluxe edition of the album was released on 21 May 2021, containing three additional tracks: "Stars", "Sad Old Me" and "I Got You".

## Background

Laurence wrote the album with the help of his boyfriend Jordan Garfield. He said, "We really got to know each other way better through writing music too because you share stories together in a whole different way and you go really deep into those stories and maybe sometimes you get to express emotions that you wouldn't normally express if it's not in writing a song." Laurence also produced a lot of songs on the album and directed many of his music videos. By being involved in the process of both, he believed "that he would be able to merge the two creative worlds together more seamlessly". He said, "It is a good way to not only express yourself via music but also via visuals because they go so well with each other."

## Singles

"Arcade" was released as the lead single from the album on 7 March 2019. The song peaked at number one on the Dutch Singles Chart. The song represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, in which it won. "Love Don't Hate It" was released as the second single from the album on 23 October 2019. The song peaked at number forty-one on the Dutch Singles Chart. "Someone Else" was released as the third single from the album on 13 May 2020. The song peaked at number seventy-two on the Dutch Singles Chart. "Last Night" was released as the fourth single from the album on 1 October 2020. "Feel Something" was released as the fifth single from the album on 6 November 2020. The song peaked at number eighty-five on the Dutch Singles Chart.

## Track listing

*Small Town Boy* track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "Beautiful" | * Bradley Richard Mair * de Moor * Martin Konijnenburg * Tom Martin |  | 4:17 |
| 2. | "Yet" | * de Moor * Lodewijk Martens * Matthijs De Ronden * Will Knox | * Duncan Laurence * Lodewijk Martens * Will Knox | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Between Good and Goodbye" | * Chris Ayer * de Moor * Matt Simons | * Arjen Mensinga * Duncan Laurence | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Loves You Like I Couldn't Do" | * Daniel Bryer * de Moor * Mike Needle | * Mensinga * Duncan Laurence | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Sleeping on the Phone" | * de Moor * Jordan Garfield | * Mensinga * Duncan Laurence | 3:09 |
| 6. | "Arcade" | * de Moor * Joel Sjöö * Knox * Wouter Hardy | * Oscar Holleman * Wouter Hardy | 3:05 |
| 7. | "Figure It Out" | * de Moor * Garfield | * Mensinga * Duncan Laurence * Jordan Garfield | 2:53 |
| 8. | "Last Night" | * Ashley Hicklin * de Moor * Garfield * Mikolaj Trybulec | * Mensinga * Duncan Laurence * Miki Trybulec | 2:52 |
| 9. | "Someone Else" |  |  | 3:04 |
| 10. | "Love Don't Hate It" |  | Tofer Brown | 2:53 |
| 11. | "Umbrella" | * de Moor * Garfield | * Mensinga * Duncan Laurence | 5:08 |
| 12. | "Feel Something" (Armin van Buuren featuring Duncan Laurence) |  | * van Buuren * de Goeij | 3:04 |
| Total length: | | | | 41:23 |

Digital re-release bonus track
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 13. | "Arcade" (featuring Fletcher) | * Laurence * Joel Sjöö * Knox * Wouter Hardy * Cari Fletcher | * Oscar Holleman * Wouter Hardy | 3:07 |
| Total length: | | | | 44:30 |

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 12. | "Stars" | * de Moor * McLaughlin * Garfield * Hardy | Hardy | 2:52 |
| 13. | "Sad Old Me" | * de Moor * Garfield | Inscore | 3:23 |
| 14. | "I Got You" | * de Moor * Inscore * Garfield | Inscore | 3:08 |
| 15. | "Feel Something" (Armin van Buuren featuring Duncan Laurence) | * de Moor * van Buuren * de Goeij * McLaughlin * Palmer * Cubit | * van Buuren * de Goeij | 2:37 |
| 16. | "Arcade" (featuring Fletcher) | * de Moor * Sjöö * Knox * Hardy * Fletcher | * Holleman * Hardy | 3:05 |
| 17. | "Arcade" (Sam Feldt remix) | * de Moor * Sjöö * Knox * Hardy |  | 2:36 |
| Total length: | | | | 55:59 |

## Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

* Rens Dekker – artwork
* Duncan Laurence – liner notes
* Elise Hama – grooming
* Anouk van Griensven – styling
* Paul Bellaart – photography

## Charts

Chart performance for *Small Town Boy*
| Chart (2020) | Peak
position |
| --- | --- |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 94 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 6 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (*Billboard*) | 8 |

## Certifications

Certifications for *Small Town Boy*
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Netherlands (NVPI) | Platinum | 40,000 |
| Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
 | | |

## Release history

Release history for *Small Town Boy*
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Netherlands | 13 November 2020 |  | Spark |

## InfoBox

| Small Town Boy | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Duncan Laurence | |
| Released | 13 November 2020 |
| Length | 41:23 |
| Label | Spark |
| Producer |  |
| Duncan Laurence chronology | |
| *Worlds on Fire*
(2020) ***Small Town Boy***
(2020) *Skyboy*
(2023) | |
|  | |
| Singles from  *Small Town Boy* | |
| 1. "Arcade"
Released: 7 March 2019 2. "Love Don't Hate It"
Released: 23 October 2019 3. "Someone Else"
Released: 13 May 2020 4. "Last Night"
Released: 1 October 2020 5. "Feel Something"
Released: 6 November 2020 6. "Stars"
Released: 21 May 2021 | |
|  | |


title: Slavic revolt of 983

abstract: In the Slavic revolt of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Emperor Otto I.

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# Slavic revolt of 983

In the **Slavic revolt** of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Emperor Otto I.

## Background

The Slavic peoples between the Elbe and the Baltic coast had been conquered and nominally converted to Christianity in the campaigns of the German king Henry the Fowler and his son Otto I, who in 962 was crowned Holy Roman emperor. Otto had most recently defeated an alliance of Obotrite and Circipani tribes at the 955 Battle on the Raxa. The conquered area east of the German Duchy of Saxony was initially organized within the vast Saxon Eastern March under Margrave Gero, but divided into smaller marches upon his death in 965.

In order to stabilize his rule, Otto promoted the conversion of the Slavic population, establishing the bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg in 948, followed by the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 968, which in particular carried out active missionary work.

## Uprising

In 981 Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg, the *Apostle of the Slavs*, died and his successor Gisilher had to struggle with the resistance by the Magdeburg chapter. He was backed by Emperor Otto II, who, however, was on campaign in Italy, where he suffered a disastrous defeat against the Sicilian Kalbids in the 982 Battle of Stilo and died the next year without having returned to Germany, leaving his minor son Otto III under the tutelage of the Empresses Theophanu and Adelaide.

While there was internal dissention in the Holy Roman Empire, Slavic forces led by the Lutici revolted and drove out the political and religious representatives of the Empire. Starting from the Slavic sanctuary at Rethra, the bishops' seat of Havelberg on 29 June 983 was occupied and plundered, followed by Brandenburg three days later and numerous settlements up to the Tanger River in the west. According to the contemporary chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg, the Obotrites joined the Lutici, devastated a St Lawrence monastery in Kalbe, the bishopric of Oldenburg and even assaulted Hamburg.

A hastily assembled Saxon army was only able to retain the Slavs behind the Elbe. The Northern March and the Billung March were lost. The March of Lusatia as well as the adjacent marches of Zeitz, Merseburg and the Meissen in the south did not take part in the uprising.

## Aftermath

From 985, several princes of the Empire carried out annual campaigns together with the Christian Polish princes Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave to subjugate the area, however these campaigns were unsuccessful. In 1003 King Henry II of Germany tried a different approach: he allied himself with the Lutici and waged war against Bolesław. This stabilized the independence of the Lutici and ensured that the area remained ruled by Polabian Slavs and unchristianized into the 12th century.

The immediate consequences of the uprising were an almost complete stop on further German eastward expansion for the next 200 years. For most of the time, the dioceses of Brandenburg and Havelberg existed in titular form only, with the bishops residing at the royal court. Only in the 12th century after the Wendish Crusade of 1147 and the establishment of the Margraviate of Brandenburg under the Ascanian prince Albert the Bear in 1157, the settlements east of the Elbe were resumed; followed by the northern lands of Mecklenburg, where after several years of fighting against the Obotrite prince Niklot, his son Pribislav in 1167 declared himself a vassal of the Saxon Duke Henry the Lion.

## Bibliography

* Wolfgang Fritze: *Der slawische Aufstand von 983 - eine Schicksalswende in der Geschichte Mitteleuropas*. In: Eckart Henning, Werner Vogel (ed.): *Festschrift der landesgeschichtlichen Vereinigung für die Mark Brandenburg zu ihrem hundertjährigen Bestehen 1884–1984*. Berlin 1984, pp. 9–55.
* Herbert Ludat: *An Elbe und Oder um das Jahr 1000. Skizzen zur Politik des Ottonenreiches und der slawischen Mächte in Mitteleuropa*. Cologne 1971, ISBN 3-412-07271-0.
* Christian Lübke: *Slawenaufstand*. In: *Lexikon des Mittelalters*. vol. 7, col. 2003f.
* Lutz Partenheimer: *Die Entstehung der Mark Brandenburg. Mit einem lateinisch-deutschen Quellenanhang*. Cologne/Weimar/Vienna 2007 (with sources material on the Slav Rising pp. 98–103), ISBN 3-412-17106-9.


title: Slender Rising

abstract: Slender Rising is a 2012 horror and indie game by Michael Hegemann. It is based on the creepypasta called Slender Man, a tall, faceless man who hunts people down. The first-person game tasks players with collecting notes across various maps whilst trying to avoid the Slender Man. Slender Man received mixed reviews, with praise directed towards its atmosphere, graphics and sound design. Two critics called Slender Rising the best Slender Man mobile game. A sequel, Slender Rising 2, was released early 2014.

text:
# Slender Rising

***Slender Rising*** is a 2012 horror and indie game by Michael Hegemann. It is based on the creepypasta called Slender Man, a tall, faceless man who hunts people down. The first-person game tasks players with collecting notes across various maps whilst trying to avoid the Slender Man.

*Slender Man* received mixed reviews, with praise directed towards its atmosphere, graphics and sound design. Two critics called *Slender Rising* the best Slender Man mobile game. A sequel, ***Slender Rising 2***, was released early 2014.

## Gameplay

*Slender Rising* is a single-player horror game played from a first-person perspective. There are two game modes. In "A Chance To Escape", the player is tasked with collecting seven pages. In "The Endless Stare", they must collect as many pages as they can and survive as long as possible. The player is alerted by sound cues when they are in a page's vicinity.

Throughout *Slender Rising*, they are hunted by the Slender Man, who will kill them with his tendrils if the player looks at him too long. The player's vision automatically moves towards Slender Man when he is nearby, requiring them to "swipe and claw at \[the\] screen to tear free". This becomes more difficult each time he catches them.

*Slender Rising* features several customizable options, including difficulty levels, filters that obscure or change the player's perspective and four different maps.

## Development

*Slender Rising* was created by indie developer Michael Hegemann in Unreal Engine. It was published for iOS on November 15, 2012, and was released on the App Store. The game is based on the infamous creepypasta of the Slender Man; it came at a time when Slender Man games were ubiquitous after the release of the PC game *Slender: The Eight Pages* (2012). Hegemann himself admitted to being inspired by *The Eight Pages*.

## Reception

David Craddock of *TouchArcade* and Paul Devlin of *Pocket Gamer* considered *Slender Rising* the best mobile game based on Slender Man. Craddock suggested that it was the best Slender Man game; he believed that the variety offered by the game modes kept it "fresh" and appreciated the use of sound design to build tension.

Devlin and *Slide to Play*'s Chris Reed were more ambivalent: while he praised the atmosphere, graphics and sound design, Devlin felt that *Slender Rising* lacked enough originality to distinguish it from other Slender Man games in order to scare players familiar with the genre. Reed similarly praised the graphics and atmosphere, but considered the actual gameplay boring and unengaging. *Lifewire* criticized the lack of storyline.

By January 2014, *Slender Rising* had received over seven million downloads.

## Sequel

On January 16, 2014, Hegemann released *Slender Rising 2* on the App Store. The sequel has two game modes and four maps, two of which are from the first game. In one game mode, the player uses visual and sound cues to locate and save lost souls; in the other, the player must collect mysterious notes  they are pursued by Slender Man in both modes. James Paterson of *TouchArcade* wrote that it was a "worthy sequel" despite offering little new underlying gameplay.

## InfoBox

| Slender Rising | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Developer(s) | Michael Hegemann |
| Publisher(s) | Michael Hegemann |
| Engine |  |
| Platform(s) | iOS |
| Release | November 15, 2012 |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |


title: Slender Oncoceratidae

abstract: Slender Oncoceratidae are those in the family Oncoceratidae, which have slender, commonly curved, shells. Some like Oocerina are gently curved, almost straight, and with only slight expansion. Others like Dunleithoceras are strongly curved with a more notable rate of expansion. Inclusion in this somewhat arbitrary category is based on illustrations in the Treatise Part K, 1964.

text:
# Slender Oncoceratidae

**Slender Oncoceratidae** are those in the family Oncoceratidae, (Nautiloidea, Oncocerida) which have slender, commonly curved, shells. Some like *Oocerina* are gently curved, almost straight, and with only slight expansion. Others like *Dunleithoceras* are strongly curved with a more notable rate of expansion. Inclusion in this somewhat arbitrary category is based on illustrations in the Treatise Part K, 1964.

## Included genera

***Loganoceras*** and ***Romingoceras*** from the Middle Ordovician of North America have strongly curved shells. *Loganoceras*, named by Foerste in 1921, (K284) has a circular cross section and an empty siphuncle ventral of the center. The genotype, *L. regulare*, comes from Ontario. *Romingoceras*, also named by Foerste in 1932, differs in having a depressed, ovoid, cross section. *Romingoceras* expands slowly and like *Loganoceras* is strongly curved, may even be gyroconic (openly coiled). The ventral siphuncle is small, with oblong segments. The genotype, *R. josephianum* also comes from Ontario.

Also from the Middle Ordovician of North America is the long, slightly curved ***Ehlersoceras*** (K284), named by Foerste, 1932. *Ehlersoceras* has a small subventral siphuncle, depressed cross section and almost no expansion. As with *Longanoceras* and *Romingoceras*, the genotype of *Ehlersoceras*, *E. huronense* comes from Ontario. *Ehlersoceras* differs from *Longanoceras* and *Romingoceras* in having a much gentler exogastric curvature.

***Richardsonoceras*** (K288), named also by Foerste in 1932, and ***Dunleithoceras*** (K284), named by him in 1924, come from both the Middle and Upper Ordovician of North America. Both are strongly curved with a notable rate of expansion; ventral sides, as with the previous genera, are on the outside, convex curvature, making them, again, exogastric.

*Dunleithoceras* has a subcircular cross sections with a rounded longitudinal ridge on the venter. *Richardsonoceras*, has a sharply rounded, keel-like, venter. *Richardsonoceras* is less rapidly expanding and not as strongly curved as *Dunleithoceras*. The genotype of *Dunleithoceras*, *D. dunleithense*, comes from the Middle Ordovician of Illinois, that of *Richardsonoceras*, *R. simplex*, is from the Middle Ordovician of Ontario.

***Oonoceras*** (K288), from the Middle Ordovician to Middle Silurian of Europe and North America named by Hyatt in 1884, has a slender compressed exogastrically curved shell with a gradual expansion. The genotype, *O. acinaces*, is from Middle Silurian of central Europe. The sutures in *Oonoceras* form lateral lobes. The camerae (chambers) and body chamber are short. The siphuncle, which is close to the venter, is cyrtochoanitic, empty, with expanded segments. ***Oocerina*** (K288), named by Foerste, 1926, is a slender, exogastric genus, like Oonoceras, from the Upper Silurian of Europe, Russia and possibly North America. Oocerina differs primarily in having an actinosiphonate siphuncle composed of numuloidal (beaded) segments. ***Paroocerina*** (K288), named by Zhurevleva in 1961, is a slender oncoceratid from the Middle and Upper Silurian of eastern Europe and ex-USSR (Russia), similar to *Oocerina*, but with a hyponomic sinus. The genotypes of *Oocerina* and *Paroocerina*, respectively *O.lentigratum* and *P. podolskensis*, are from the Upper Silurian of central Europe and Russia

## Relationships

A close relationship can be inferred between *Loganoceras* and *Romingoceras* and between *Dunleithoceras* and *Richardsonoceras* from the Middle and Upper Ordovician of North America as they are respectively from the same area from the same time. *Ehlersoceras* seems to stand more alone. A close relationship may also be inferred between the primarily Silurian genera from Europe, including Russia; *Oonoceras*, *Oocerina* and *Paroocerina*, which are very similar in overall form.

The slender type oncoceratids give way to the strongly compressed *Digenuoceras* with sharply acute dorsum and venter, and to the more conical *Miamiceras* and *Rizoceras*.

* Walter C.Sweet, Nautiloidea-Oncocerida, in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part K, Teichert C and Moore R.C Eds, Geological Society of America and University of Kansas press, 1964 (K283-K290)

## InfoBox

| Slender Oncoceratidae
Temporal range: M Ord\- U Sil | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| *Oonocerina plebeia*, Barrande from Slivenec, Prague, (Czech Republic) at the National Museum (Prague) | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Subclass: | Nautiloidea |
| Order: | Oncocerida |
| Family: | **Oncoceratidae**
Hyatt, 1884 |
|
| Genera | |
| See text | |


title: Slough experiment

abstract: The Slough experiment was a two-year road safety trial carried out in Slough, Berkshire, England, from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957. Different road safety innovations were tested to determine if they would reduce the number of road accidents. Amongst other innovations the experiment trialled the first linked traffic signals in the country, single yellow no-waiting lines, a keep left system for pedestrians and yield signs at junctions. The experiment also saw the first use of 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits in the UK. The experiment cost at least £133,100 and resulted in a 10% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities.

text:
# Slough experiment

The Slough experiment trialled the use of 20mph and 40mph speed limits, crossroad advanced warning signs and yield/give way signs (modern road signs shown).

The **Slough experiment** was a two-year road safety trial carried out in Slough, Berkshire, England, from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957. Different road safety innovations were tested to determine if they would reduce the number of road accidents. Amongst other innovations the experiment trialled the first linked traffic signals in the country, single yellow no-waiting lines, a keep left system for pedestrians and yield signs at junctions (the latter developed into the modern give way sign). The experiment also saw the first use of 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits in the UK. The experiment cost at least £133,100 and resulted in a 10% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities.

## Background

The British Government's Road Research Laboratory's (RRL) Traffic and Safety Division was established at Langley, near Slough in 1946. The division was soon tasked with developing a new type of pedestrian crossing that would be visible in all weather conditions. These had previously been marked only by lines of metal studs across the road and poles on the footway at either side. Several different crossings were trialled in Slough from 1951 with the first zebra crossing being laid out on 31 October. The very first zebra crossing has since been lost as the road it was sited on was pedestrianised. RRL testing revealed that of all the crossings trialled the zebra crossing was the best solution and this was adopted for nationwide use.

## Planning

In 1954 Slough was selected as the site for a study of road safety measures. This was at the instigation of the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation John Boyd-Carpenter, who wanted the measures tested in a live highways environment. Slough was selected as the urban area was relatively compact and the roads were characteristic of the typical British town centre. The study was carried out by the RRL with the assistance of a "management body" that included Slough Borough Council, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, the RRL, Buckinghamshire Police, the Social Survey Unit of the Central Office of Information, the Slough Road Safety Council and Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The experiment ran from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957, with the public given no prior warning so that the data for the preceding period was not affected. During the experiment Slough was designated as a "safety town" and this term was widely circulated by means of posters and leaflets. In addition a "safety town" song was composed which was played in Slough's cinemas and taught to school children in music lessons. A short ditty that ran: "Slough is the safety town, let us keep it so, road safety is the code everyone should know" was also promoted. The experiment was described at the time as one of the world's biggest road safety experiments. To improve public awareness a beacon was erected in the town's shopping centre that showed a red light following a fatal road accident.

## Measures trialled

The experiment trialled a wide variety of different road safety measures, many of them unique in the country at that time. On the town's High Street four existing zebra crossings were replaced with six light-controlled pedestrian crossings, these contained pedestrian push buttons to activate a set of vehicle control lights. Three different types of signals for pedestrians at these crossings were trialled: a round signal, backlit rectangular signals and neon rectangular signals. A set of 11 traffic signals were introduced along Bath Road, with their sequencing linked to that of the signals on the High Street and linked to the speed limit of the road with the intention of minimising delays for motorists. These were the first linked traffic signals in the country. Bath Road also saw the introduction of pedestrian crossing islands and refuge areas for waiting right-turning cycles which were described as particularly novel.

The trial experimented with the use of a single yellow line to mark the extent of no waiting areas and yellow stripes on kerbs to denote no loading areas. Two types of luminous road marking paint were also trialled and the use of amber cat's eyes on the approach to junctions. Road marking footprints were also trialled on footways to attempt to encourage pedestrians to follow certain routes and to follow a "keep left" system.

Various new road signs were also trialled. This included the use of T-junction and crossroad advanced warning signs on the A4 trunk road, a development of a scheme first trialled during blackout conditions in the Second World War. The use of 6-inch reflective metal discs mounted on posts at the edge of carriageways on bends was also trialled. The experiment also trialled the use of yield road signs at junctions (these later developed into "give way" signs) where previously only a generic "slow" sign had been used. It had been intended to trial American and European-style directional signage but it proved too short notice to include these in the experiment. Road signs indicating 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits were trialled for the first time in the UK. In order to maximise compliance police activity in the town was intensified for the duration of the experiment. The police also ran a series of road safety courses on the Slough Trading Estate that included cycling proficiency tests for school children.

## Results

The Slough experiment cost £124,900 in infrastructure and £8,200 in training and publicity. This did not include staff costs which were borne by the budgets of the providing organisations. The experiment provided enough data for years of ongoing study afterwards. By November 1955 it was shown that road accident injuries and fatalities were steady in Slough, in spite of an increase of 11% nationwide. By the end of the experiment it was shown that Slough had achieved a 10% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries compared to a 9% rise nationwide over the same period. A rise in the number of minor injuries was attributed to better reporting due to greater public awareness and the heightened police presence. The experiment led to an increase in the number of people surveyed who considered that Slough was safer than other towns.

The new light-controlled pedestrian crossings proved to be three times safer than an uncontrolled crossing. The neon rectangular pedestrian signals were selected as the most appropriate of the three types trialled and were adopted for future crossings. Light-controlled pedestrian crossings were further developed into the panda crossing which were in use from 1961 and the pelican crossing which were implemented from 1969 and remain in use.

The use of luminous road markings was not adopted as it proved no more effective than existing markings in areas with a good level of street lighting. The use of amber cat's eyes at junction approaches did not prove effective and was discontinued. The "keep left" pedestrian footpath markings did not prove effective as the majority of the pedestrians proved to walk on the right-hand side or else walked adjacent to shop frontages for ease of window shopping. The experiment's final report recommended the adoption of the no waiting and no loading kerbside markings and further experimentation with the 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits – these measures would later be adopted across the country. Slough continued to promote itself as the "safety town" for at least the next fifty years, a fact that was highlighted in news reports of 2007 when it was revealed that Slough had an accident rate 35.7% above the national average.


title: Smart gun

abstract: A smart gun, also called a smart-gun, or smartgun, is a firearm that can detect its authorized user(s) or something that is normally only possessed by its authorized user(s). The term is also used in science fiction to refer to various types of semi-automatic firearms. Smart guns have one or more systems that allow them to fire only when activated by an authorized user. Those systems typically employ RFID chips or other proximity tokens, fingerprint recognition, magnetic rings, or mechanical locks. They can thereby prevent accidental shootings, gun thefts, and criminal usage by persons not authorized to use the guns. Related to smart guns are other smart firearms safety devices such as biometric or RFID activated accessories and safes.

text:
# Smart gun

A **smart gun**, also called a **smart-gun**, or **smartgun**, is a firearm that can detect its authorized user(s) or something that is normally only possessed by its authorized user(s). The term is also used in science fiction to refer to various types of semi-automatic firearms.

Smart guns have one or more systems that allow them to fire only when activated by an authorized user. Those systems typically employ RFID chips or other proximity tokens, fingerprint recognition, magnetic rings, or mechanical locks. They can thereby prevent accidental shootings, gun thefts, and criminal usage by persons not authorized to use the guns.

Related to smart guns are other smart firearms safety devices such as biometric or RFID activated accessories and safes.

## Commercial availability

No smart gun has ever been sold on the commercial market in the United States. The Armatix iP1, a .22 caliber handgun with an active RFID watch used to unlock it, is the most mature smart gun developed. It was briefly planned to be offered at a few retailers before being quickly withdrawn due to pressure from gun-rights advocates concerned that it would trigger the New Jersey Childproof Handgun Law.

As of 2019, a number of startups and companies including Armatix, Biofire, LodeStar Firearms, and Swiss company SAAR are purportedly developing various smart handguns and rifles, but none have brought the technology to market.

## Reception

Reception to the concept of smart gun technology has been mixed. There have been public calls to develop the technology, most notably from President Obama. Gun-rights groups including the National Rifle Association of America have expressed concerns that the technology could be mandated, and some firearms enthusiasts are concerned that the technology wouldn't be reliable enough to trust.

### National Rifle Association

The NRA and its membership boycotted Smith & Wesson after it was revealed in 1999 that the company was developing a smart gun for the U.S. government.

More recently, the official policy of the NRA-ILA, the lobbying arm of the NRA, with regards to smart guns, is as follows: "The NRA doesn't oppose the development of 'smart' guns, nor the ability of Americans to voluntarily acquire them. However, NRA opposes any law prohibiting Americans from acquiring or possessing firearms that don't possess "smart" gun technology."

### Law enforcement

Some smart gun proponents have called for federal, state, and local police organizations to take the lead on adopting smart gun technology, either voluntarily or via purchasing mandate. There has been scattered support for voluntary test programs from some law enforcement leaders, including San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, who has said, "Officer safety is huge, so you wouldn't want to compel that upon officers. But we have so many officers who are so into technology, I am all but certain there are officers that would be willing to do such a pilot.".

Richard Beary, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said there would be "plenty of agencies interested in beta testing the technology" and that "\[a smart gun\] can't be 99 percent accurate, it has to be 100 percent accurate. It has to work every single time." James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 325,000 officers nationwide, has stated, "Police officers in general, federal officers in particular, shouldn't be asked to be the guinea pigs in evaluating a firearm that nobody's even seen yet. We have some very, very serious questions."

### New Jersey mandate

In the United States, New Jersey passed the Childproof Handgun Bill into state law on December 23, 2002, which would have required that all guns sold in the state of New Jersey have a mechanism to prevent unauthorized users from firing it, taking effect three years after such a smart gun is approved by the state. Weapons used by law enforcement officers would be exempt from the smart gun requirement. In July 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill which repealed substantially all of the original Childproof Handgun Law and replaced it with a requirement that after the state Attorney General approves a production model each firearms retailer in the state would be required to carry and display at least one smart gun on their shelves with "a sign... disclosing the features of personalized handguns that are not offered by traditional handguns".

The potential effects of New Jersey's smart gun law has also influenced opposition to the technology in the United States; two attempts to sell the Armatix iP1 smart gun in California and Maryland were met with opposition from gun rights groups, who argued that allowing the gun to be sold in the United States would trigger the law. In December 2014, the Attorney General of New Jersey determined that the Armatix iP1 would not meet the legal criteria sufficient to trigger the mandate.

### Reliability concerns

Many firearm enthusiasts object to smart guns on a philosophical and regulatory basis. Gun ownership advocate Kenneth W. Royce, writing under the pen name of "Boston T. Party", wrote that "no defensive firearm should ever rely upon any technology more advanced than Newtonian physics. That includes batteries, radio links, encryption, scanning devices and microcomputers."

TechCrunch technology and outdoors journalist Jon Stokes summarizes the reliability concerns with smart guns stating,

> "First, no electronic technology is 100% reliable, and very few people will trust a gun that can be turned into a brick by a failure of some on-board circuitry. Second, whenever you attach software to some new category of things — especially software that has any kind of connection to the outside world, whether via RFID or an actual network — then in addition to whatever problems that thing had before, you've introduced a whole host of brand new security and identity problems that are new to that thing and that must be discovered and patched, and then the patches will have problems that must be discovered and patched, and on it goes."

## Potential advantages

### Gun owners

Smart firearms safety technology is intended to prevent the accidental use and misuse of firearms by children and teens, as well as reducing accidental discharges or the use of a firearm against its owner if the firearm is stolen or taken away. Smart guns may also reduce incidents of suicide by unauthorized users of a firearm.

### Law enforcement

Law enforcement applications also hold promise; San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr went on record supporting smart guns for their potential to reduce the risk of having a law enforcement officer's gun used against him or her, and for rendering stolen guns unfireable. Richard Beary, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying there would be "plenty of agencies interested in beta testing the \[smart gun\] technology."

In October 2013 the European Commission published a document by commissioner Cecilia Malmström, stating that "the Commission will work with the firearms industry to explore technological solutions, such as biometric sensors where personal data is stored in the firearm, for ensuring that purchased firearms may only be used by their legal owner. It will carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis on the question of making such 'smart gun' security features mandatory for firearms lawfully sold in the EU."

## Potential disadvantages

Joseph Steinberg writes that "biometrics take time to process and are often inaccurate – especially when a user is under duress – as is likely going to be the case in any situation in which he needs to brandish a gun.... it is not ideal to add a requirement for power to devices utilized in cases of emergency that did not need electricity previously. How many fire codes allow fire extinguishers that require a battery to operate?" Steinberg further writes that "smartguns might be hackable" or "susceptible to government tracking or jamming...Firearms must be able to be disassembled in order to be cleaned and maintained. One of the principles of information security is that someone who has physical access to a machine can undermine its security." In a follow-up piece published in January 2016, Steinberg noted that smartguns that utilize wireless communications to detect that the shooter is wearing a watch, bracelet, or other device may "allow criminals (and police) to identify who is carrying a weapon" undermining "one of the reasons that some states require people to carry their weapons concealed; if all civilian-carried guns are concealed, criminals do not know who is carrying and who is not, so they have to fear mugging everyone, which protects the unarmed as well as the armed."

According to an article on an NRA website, other concerns are that smart guns may make a firearm more likely to fail when needed for self-defense. "Batteries go dead, temperature or moisture can harm electronics and many 'smart gun' designs, such as Armatix's iP1, require that a person wear a watch, bracelet, or other device." Smart guns may also take considerable time to be ready for firing from a "cold start."

## In science fiction

Smart guns are commonly used in science fiction, where they may not only have biometric identification, but also have auto-aiming capabilities or smart bullets. A prominent example is the Lawgiver used by Judge Dredd, which is linked to his DNA. Another is the M56 Smart Gun from *Aliens*, which is carried via a waist-mounted robotic arm. The concept was later used in a U.S. Army prototype, although engineers moved the mount from the waist to the back, due to ergonomic issues.


title: Smart home hub

abstract: A smart home hub, sometimes also referred to as a "smart hub", "gateway'", "bridge", "controller" or "coordinator", is a control center/centre for a smart home, and enables the components of a smart home to communicate and respond to each other via communication through a central point. The smart home hub can consist of dedicated computer appliance, software appliance, or software running on computer hardware, and makes it possible to gather configuration, automation and monitoring of a smart house by communicating and controlling different smart devices that consist of for example home appliances, sensors and relays or robots, many of which are commonly categorized under Internet of things. A smart home can contain one, several, or even no smart home hubs. When using several smart home hubs it is sometimes possible to connect them to each other. Some smart home hubs support a wider selection of components, while others are more specialized for controlling products within certain product groups or using certain wireless technologies. A smart speaker with a virtual assistant can often be used for speech input to a smart home hub.

text:
# Smart home hub

A **smart home hub**, sometimes also referred to as a "smart hub", "gateway'", "bridge", "controller" or "coordinator", is a control center/centre for a smart home, and enables the components of a smart home to communicate and respond to each other via communication through a central point. The smart home hub can consist of dedicated computer appliance, software appliance, or software running on computer hardware, and makes it possible to gather configuration, automation and monitoring of a smart house by communicating and controlling different smart devices that consist of for example home appliances, sensors and relays or robots, many of which are commonly categorized under Internet of things.

A smart home can contain one, several, or even no smart home hubs. When using several smart home hubs it is sometimes possible to connect them to each other. Some smart home hubs support a wider selection of components, while others are more specialized for controlling products within certain product groups or using certain wireless technologies (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and/or Zigbee).

A smart speaker with a virtual assistant can often be used for speech input to a smart home hub.

## Open or closed source code

Smart home hubs can have software with open source code or use proprietary software with closed source code, and independently of this the application programming interface can be public or closed. Some smart home hubs must run on proprietary hardware, while others (like for example Home Assistant) can be installed on generic hardware (like for example a laptop or single-board computer with Linux).

## Examples of commercial smart home hubs

Some examples of smart home hubs with closed source code are:

Some examples of smart home hubs based on free and open-source software are:

Some examples of smart home hubs with closed source code, but an open application programming interface are:

## Communication protocols

Various communication protocols can be used between smart home hubs and smart house components. The protocols can be grouped into wired and wireless technologies.

### Wireless protocols

Some examples of wireless protocols commonly used in smart home hubs are:

### Wired protocols

There are several cabled bus systems, some of which are built directly into electric panels. Some examples of wired protocols commonly used in smart home hubs are:

* DALI, open standard for network-based lighting control in buildings, well suited for dimming.
* KNX, older and well-established open standard for network-based control of lighting, sensors, HVAC, etc. in buildings. There is also a wireless extension of KNX called KNX-RF.
* DMX, a standard for control of stage lighting, smoke machines and more, but also used to a certain extent for home automation due to the widespread use in professional stage equipment and good availability on the market
* X10, widespread in older home automation equipment in the USA, but only used to a small extent in new installations.
* LonWorks, an open standard for networking platforms used for control applications of lighting and HVAC.
* MQTT, an open network protocol for machine to machine communication, particularly used for transmission of telemetry data in Internet of things components.
* BACnet, an open protocol (ISO 16484-5) for information exchange between building automation systems, regardless of the particular building service they perform. Designed for applications such as automation and control of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control (HVAC), lighting control, access control, fire detection systems, and associated equipment.
* Modbus, an openly published and royalty free data communications protocol, especially popular in industrial environments.
* Meter-Bus (M-Bus), an open standard for remote reading of consumption meters, e.g. water, gas or electricity meters.

1. The best smart home hubs of 2021 | Tom's Guide
2. "Home Automation Made Easy: Combine Home Assistant, ESPHome and MySensors". 16 September 2020.
3. "What Is a Smart Home Hub and Do You Need One?". Retrieved 2021-08-04.
4. "Logitech Harmony Hub Review". Retrieved 2021-08-04.
5. "Tek.no - Tester, guider, teknologi" (in Norwegian). 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
6. Steinung, Av Truls (2021-05-05). "Test: Google Nest Hub" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2021-08-04.
7. Nordby, Geir Gråbein (17 March 2021). "En ny og bedre Google Nest Hub" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2021-08-04.
8. "Amazon unveils new Echo Show, Dot, and much more". *Android Authority*. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
9. Delaney, John R.; Colon, Alex; Moscaritolo, Angela (2021-02-10). "What Is a Smart Home Hub (And Do You Need One)?". *PCMag UK*. Retrieved 2021-08-04.


title: Snatched (1973 film)

abstract: Snatched is a 1973 American made-for-television crime film directed by Sutton Roley and starring Howard Duff, Leslie Nielsen, Sheree North, Barbara Parkins, Robert Reed, John Saxon, Tisha Sterling and Anthony Zerbe.

text:
# Snatched (1973 film)

***Snatched*** is a 1973 American made-for-television crime film directed by Sutton Roley and starring Howard Duff, Leslie Nielsen, Sheree North, Barbara Parkins, Robert Reed, John Saxon, Tisha Sterling and Anthony Zerbe.

## Plot

The wives of three wealthy men are kidnapped and held for a $3 million ransom-$1 million for each of them. One of the wives, a diabetic, needs her insulin medication or she will soon die. One of the husbands refuses to pay his share of the ransom because he believes that his wife is having an affair with another man. There is also an unseen mastermind behind the kidnapping.

## Cast

## InfoBox

| *Snatched* | |
| --- | --- |
| Genre | Crime
Drama
Thriller |
| Teleplay by | Rick Husky |
| Story by | Sandra Bruzzese |
| Directed by | Sutton Roley |
| Starring | Howard Duff
Leslie Nielsen
Sheree North
Barbara Parkins
Robert Reed
John Saxon
Tisha Sterling
Anthony Zerbe |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Aaron Spelling
Leonard Goldberg |
| Producer | Tony Thomas |
| Cinematography | Leonard J. South |
| Editor | Howard Kunin |
| Running time | 74 minutes |
| Production companies | ABC Circle Films
Spelling-Goldberg Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 31, 1973 (1973-01-31) |


title: Snow, Glass, Apples

abstract:
"Snow, Glass, Apples" is a 1994 short story written by Neil Gaiman. It was originally released as a benefit book for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and was reprinted in the anthology Love in Vein II, edited by Poppy Z. Brite.
It is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White, but from her stepmother's point of view.

text:
# Snow, Glass, Apples

"**Snow, Glass, Apples**" is a 1994 short story written by Neil Gaiman. It was originally released as a benefit book for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and was reprinted in the anthology *Love in Vein II*, edited by Poppy Z. Brite. It is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White, but from her stepmother's point of view.

## Plot

The short story begins with a magical woman telling the reader that had she been wise, she would have killed herself instead of meeting her husband and stepdaughter, who killed her own mother during childbirth.

Eight years prior, the narrator meets the widowed king of the land after sixteen years of dreaming of their first encounter. The king and the narrator fall in love, with him visiting her regularly until he takes her to his palace and marries her. The king has a six-year-old white-skinned, black-haired, and red-lipped daughter the queen becomes stepmother to. The queen, however, is scared of her husband's child, who never dines with them.

One night in winter, the queen is sewing in her chambers when the princess enters asking for some food. The queen gives the princess an apple, observing her bite into the fruit with unusually sharp teeth. Briefly losing her fear, the queen caresses the princess's cheek with her right hand, only for the child to bite into her stepmother's thumb and drink the blood. The queen is horrified by her stepdaughter's actions, and when the girl has finished, her stepmother's wound instantly heals and scars. Fearing for her life, the queen has the blacksmith forge iron bars for her windows and nightly locks herself in her chambers.

As time passes, the king himself also falls prey to his own daughter. Every night, the princess bites her father and drinks his blood, leaving his entire body covered in scars similar to his wife's. The king eventually succumbs to his daughter's vampirism, leaving his widow to rule the kingdom as queen. After her husband's funeral and her own coronation, the queen has her huntsmen take the princess to the forest and cut out her heart, which continues to beat even days after being removed. The queen ties her stepdaughter's heart with rowan berries and garlic bulbs before hanging it in her private chambers and having the iron bars removed from her windows.

For six years, the queen's reign over her kingdom is mostly peaceful, with the people respecting her authority and looking forward to the annual spring fair. With each succeeding spring fair, however, a number of travelers and merchants disappear, depriving the people of their livelihood and driving them into poverty. To solve the mystery, the queen looks into her mirror and sees the culprit: the undead princess killing a pedophilic monk before feasting on his blood. To save the kingdom from her monstrous stepdaughter, the queen uses magic and her own blood to create three enchanted apples which she brings to the princess, who has been living in a cave with dwarfs.

The queen flees but knows that the princess has eaten one of the apples when the girl's heart finally stops beating. Come the next spring fair, the people are able to trade in business again. Although the queen is displeased to see the dwarfs buying pieces of glass, she does not respond due to her stepdaughter's heart being silent, thus ensuring the safety of the kingdom.

Two years after poisoning her stepdaughter, the queen is visited by a prince and she plans to marry him and unite their kingdoms. However, the queen is unable to sexually satisfy the prince, who is clearly a necrophiliac, and he leaves. On his way home, he encounters the princess's corpse encased in glass and being guarded by the dwarfs. Indulging his necrophilia, the prince rapes the princess and unwittingly dislodges the piece of apple stuck in her throat, resurrecting her.

Back in her chambers, the queen awakes to her scarred right thumb aching and to blood dripping from her stepdaughter's heart which has begun to beat again. The prince and the princess barge into the queen's chambers and have her arrested on the charge of witchcraft. The princess then reinserts her heart into her chest, and she and the prince announce their plans to marry and unite the kingdoms.

The prince and the princess have the queen imprisoned throughout the autumn, turning the people against her by vilifying her with lies that would morph into the famous fairy tale of Snow White.

Come midwinter, the prince and the princess have their wedding, the queen is incinerated in a kiln, and the story is revealed to be her final thoughts as she begins to burn to death.

## Publication

*Snow, Glass, Apples* was written in 1994, and was first published by Dreamhaven Press as benefit book for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It was included in Gaiman's short story collection *Smoke and Mirrors* (1998).

The story was adapted by the author into an audio drama, which was produced by Seeing Ear Theatre in 2001, starring Bebe Neuwirth. This was the second of two collaborations between Gaiman and Seeing Ear Theatre, following *Murder Mysteries*, and the two adaptations have been released together on CD under the title *Two Plays for Voices*. In 2012 it was adapted into a play by the Edinburgh University Theatre Company.

In 2019 it was adapted by Colleen Doran into a graphic novel published by Dark Horse Comics. The adaptation won the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium. The Horror Writers Association also presented the "Snow, Glass, Apples" graphic novel with the Bram Stoker Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel Award.


title: Snow's Island

abstract: Snow's Island is an area of swampy lowlands along the Pee Dee River in Florence County, South Carolina. The area is historically significant as the headquarters during the American Revolutionary War for forces led by Francis Marion (1732-1795), a South Carolina militia officer who is celebrated as the "Swamp Fox." Employing guerrilla war tactics, Marion significantly contributed to the American war effort by conducting numerous raids on British outposts." The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

text:
# Snow's Island

**Snow's Island** is an area of swampy lowlands along the Pee Dee River in Florence County, South Carolina. The area is historically significant as the headquarters during the American Revolutionary War for forces led by Francis Marion (1732-1795), a South Carolina militia officer who is celebrated as the "Swamp Fox." Employing guerrilla war tactics, Marion significantly contributed to the American war effort by conducting numerous raids on British outposts." The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

## Description

Snow's Island is located in a remote and swampy area of Florence County, on private land south of the main channel of the Pee Dee River east of Johnsonville.

The property is not open to the public, but may be visible from the end of Dunham Bluff Road, off U.S. Route 378 on the north side of the river. The contours of the land have been altered over time due to logging activities that have changed the course of the river, and there are no definitively identified remains associated with the American Revolutionary War period.

The site was in 1780 a plantation, whose exact boundaries have not been identified, and the area has been logged several times and used as a private hunting preserve.

## Marion's stronghold

The area's historical significance lies in its four-month occupation by the militia forces of General Francis Marion, who orchestrated guerilla-style attacks on British targets from this base between December 1780 and March 1781. At that time, British forces dedicated to locating Marion found the camp and destroyed it; Marion and most of his band of several hundred men were not there at the time. The only known potential artifact associated with the Marion occupation is an earthen formation that may be a military defensive works.

At the time of the American Revolution, this so-called “island,” named after an early owner of the property, comprised about five square miles (metric area) of the largely undeveloped swamp bounded by the Lynches and Pee Dee rivers and Clark’s Creek.

The canopy of cypress and pines, and the dense understory of “cane breaks, briars, and vines” offered an ideal sanctuary for Marion’s rebel militia who were pursued by British and Loyalist forces seeking to eradicate them. The abundant fish and game was sufficient to sustain his soldiers numbering at their peak, perhaps 250 men. Snow’s Island, as occupied by Marion, formed a complex of multiple camps that afforded mobility to his troops in defending the stronghold, surrounded by farms of both patriot and loyalist families.

Marion’s moniker as the “Swamp Fox” is largely associated with his sojourn on Snow’s Island, eliciting comparisons to the mythology of Robin Hood and the Sherwood Forest, including legends of his largesse to patriot families from plunder taken from British and Loyalist resources. Little evidence exists that Marion was addressed as “The Swamp Fox” in his lifetime.

In early 1781, shortly after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March of 1781, Marion’s forces dealt a blow to British forces under John Watson Tadwell Watson at the Sampit River outside Georgetown, and just 30 miles from Snow’s Island.

While operating 30-miles south of his base at Snow Island, Marion was informed that a Loyalist force under Lieutenant John Doyle had penetrated his island refuge and overwhelmed the small patriot force left to defend it, seven who were killed. When Marion returned to assess the damage he found its supplies despoiled and structures burned. As such, he decided to abandon the former stronghold.

The only known struction associated with the Marion occupation is an earthen formation that may be a military defensive works.

## Sources

## InfoBox

|  | |
| --- | --- |
| Snow's Island | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Location | Along the Pee Dee River, east of Johnsonville, South Carolina |
| Coordinates | 33°49′39″N 79°20′38″W / 33.82750°N 79.34389°W / 33.82750; -79.34389 |
| Built | 1781 |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001708 (original)<br>13000464 (increase) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 14, 1973 |
| Boundary increase | July 3, 2013 |
| Designated NHL | December 2, 1974 |


title: Smoothing spline

abstract: Smoothing splines are function estimates, f ^, obtained from a set of noisy observations y i of the target f, in order to balance a measure of goodness of fit of f ^ to y i with a derivative based measure of the smoothness of f ^. They provide a means for smoothing noisy x i, y i data. The most familiar example is the cubic smoothing spline, but there are many other possibilities, including for the case where x is a vector quantity.

text:
# Smoothing spline

**Smoothing splines** are function estimates, $\hat {f}(x)$, obtained from a set of noisy observations $y\_{i}$ of the target $f(x\_{i})$, in order to balance a measure of goodness of fit of $\hat {f}(x\_{i})$ to $y\_{i}$ with a derivative based measure of the smoothness of $\hat {f}(x)$. They provide a means for smoothing noisy $x\_{i},y\_{i}$ data. The most familiar example is the cubic smoothing spline, but there are many other possibilities, including for the case where $x$ is a vector quantity.

## Cubic spline definition

Let $\\{x\_{i},Y\_{i}:i=1,\dots ,n\\}$ be a set of observations, modeled by the relation $Y\_{i}=f(x\_{i})+\epsilon \_{i}$ where the $\epsilon \_{i}$ are independent, zero mean random variables. The cubic smoothing spline estimate $\hat {f}$ of the function $f$ is defined to be the unique minimizer, in the Sobolev space $W\_{2}^{2}$ on a compact interval, of

$$\sum \_{i=1}^{n}\\{Y\_{i}-{\hat {f}(x\_{i})\\}^{2}+\lambda \int {\hat {f}^{\prime \prime }(x)^{2}\\,dx.}}$$

Remarks:

* $\lambda \geq 0$ is a smoothing parameter, controlling the trade-off between fidelity to the data and roughness of the function estimate. This is often estimated by generalized cross-validation, or by restricted marginal likelihood (REML) which exploits the link between spline smoothing and Bayesian estimation (the smoothing penalty can be viewed as being induced by a prior on the $f$).
* The integral is often evaluated over the whole real line although it is also possible to restrict the range to that of $x\_{i}$.
* As $\lambda \to 0$ (no smoothing), the smoothing spline converges to the interpolating spline.
* As $\lambda \to \infty $ (infinite smoothing), the roughness penalty becomes paramount and the estimate converges to a linear least squares estimate.
* The roughness penalty based on the second derivative is the most common in modern statistics literature, although the method can easily be adapted to penalties based on other derivatives.
* In early literature, with equally-spaced ordered $x\_{i}$, second or third-order differences were used in the penalty, rather than derivatives.
* The penalized sum of squares smoothing objective can be replaced by a *penalized likelihood* objective in which the sum of squares terms is replaced by another log-likelihood based measure of fidelity to the data. The sum of squares term corresponds to penalized likelihood with a Gaussian assumption on the $\epsilon \_{i}$.

## Derivation of the cubic smoothing spline

It is useful to think of fitting a smoothing spline in two steps:

1. First, derive the values $\hat {f}(x\_{i});i=1,\ldots ,n$.
2. From these values, derive $\hat {f}(x)$ for all *x*.

Now, treat the second step first.

Given the vector $\hat {m}=({\hat {f}(x\_{1}),\ldots ,{\hat {f}(x\_{n}))^{T}}}$ of fitted values, the sum-of-squares part of the spline criterion is fixed. It remains only to minimize $\int {\hat {f}''(x)^{2}\\,dx}$, and the minimizer is a natural cubic spline that interpolates the points $(x\_{i},{\hat {f}(x\_{i}))}$. This interpolating spline is a linear operator, and can be written in the form

$$\hat {f}(x)=\sum \_{i=1}^{n}{\hat {f}(x\_{i})f\_{i}(x)}$$

where $f\_{i}(x)$ are a set of spline basis functions. As a result, the roughness penalty has the form

$$\int {\hat {f}''(x)^{2}dx={\hat {m}^{T}A{\hat {m}.}}}$$

where the elements of *A* are $\int f\_{i}''(x)f\_{j}''(x)dx$. The basis functions, and hence the matrix *A*, depend on the configuration of the predictor variables $x\_{i}$, but not on the responses $Y\_{i}$ or $\hat {m}$.

*A* is an *n*×*n* matrix given by $A=\Delta ^{T}W^{-1}\Delta $.

*Δ* is an *(n-2)*×*n* matrix of second differences with elements:

$\Delta \_{ii}=1/h\_{i}$, $\Delta \_{i,i+1}=-1/h\_{i}-1/h\_{i+1}$, $\Delta \_{i,i+2}=1/h\_{i+1}$

*W* is an *(n-2)*×*(n-2)* symmetric tri-diagonal matrix with elements:

$W\_{i-1,i}=W\_{i,i-1}=h\_{i}/6$, $W\_{ii}=(h\_{i}+h\_{i+1})/3$ and $h\_{i}=\xi \_{i+1}-\xi \_{i}$, the distances between successive knots (or x values).

Now back to the first step. The penalized sum-of-squares can be written as

$$\\{Y-{\hat {m}\\}^{T}\\{Y-{\hat {m}\\}+\lambda {\hat {m}^{T}A{\hat {m},}}}}$$

where $Y=(Y\_{1},\ldots ,Y\_{n})^{T}$.

Minimizing over $\hat {m}$ by differentiating against $\hat {m}$. This results in: $-2\\{Y-{\hat {m}\\}+2\lambda A{\hat {m}=0}}$ and $\hat {m}=(I+\lambda A)^{-1}Y.$

## De Boor's approach

De Boor's approach exploits the same idea, of finding a balance between having a smooth curve and being close to the given data.

$$p\sum \_{i=1}^{n}\left({\frac {Y\_{i}-{\hat {f}\left(x\_{i}\right)}{\delta \_{i}\right)^{2}+\left(1-p\right)\int \left({\hat {f}^{\left(m\right)}\left(x\right)\right)^{2}\\,dx}}}}$$

where $p$ is a parameter called smooth factor and belongs to the interval $\[0,1\]$, and $\delta \_{i};i=1,\dots ,n$ are the quantities controlling the extent of smoothing (they represent the weight $\delta \_{i}^{-2}$ of each point $Y\_{i}$). In practice, since cubic splines are mostly used, $m$ is usually $2$. The solution for $m=2$ was proposed by Christian Reinsch in 1967. For $m=2$, when $p$ approaches $1$, $\hat {f}$ converges to the "natural" spline interpolant to the given data. As $p$ approaches $0$, $\hat {f}$ converges to a straight line (the smoothest curve). Since finding a suitable value of $p$ is a task of trial and error, a redundant constant $S$ was introduced for convenience. $S$ is used to numerically determine the value of $p$ so that the function $\hat {f}$ meets the following condition:

$$\sum \_{i=1}^{n}\left({\frac {Y\_{i}-{\hat {f}\left(x\_{i}\right)}{\delta \_{i}\right)^{2}\leq S}}}$$

The algorithm described by de Boor starts with $p=0$ and increases $p$ until the condition is met. If $\delta \_{i}$ is an estimation of the standard deviation for $Y\_{i}$, the constant $S$ is recommended to be chosen in the interval $\left\[n-{\sqrt {2n},n+{\sqrt {2n}\right\]}}$. Having $S=0$ means the solution is the "natural" spline interpolant. Increasing $S$ means we obtain a smoother curve by getting farther from the given data.

## Multidimensional splines

There are two main classes of method for generalizing from smoothing with respect to a scalar $x$ to smoothing with respect to a vector $x$. The first approach simply generalizes the spline smoothing penalty to the multidimensional setting. For example, if trying to estimate $f(x,z)$ we might use the Thin plate spline penalty and find the $\hat {f}(x,z)$ minimizing

$$\sum \_{i=1}^{n}\\{y\_{i}-{\hat {f}(x\_{i},z\_{i})\\}^{2}+\lambda \int \left\[\left({\frac {\partial ^{2}{\hat {f}{\partial x^{2}\right)^{2}+2\left({\frac {\partial ^{2}{\hat {f}{\partial x\partial z}\right)^{2}+\left({\frac {\partial ^{2}{\hat {f}{\partial z^{2}\right)^{2}\right\]{\textrm {d}x\\,{\textrm {d}z.}}}}}}}}}}}}}}$$

The thin plate spline approach can be generalized to smoothing with respect to more than two dimensions and to other orders of differentiation in the penalty. As the dimension increases there are some restrictions on the smallest order of differential that can be used, but actually Duchon's original paper, gives slightly more complicated penalties that can avoid this restriction.

The thin plate splines are isotropic, meaning that if we rotate the $x,z$ co-ordinate system the estimate will not change, but also that we are assuming that the same level of smoothing is appropriate in all directions. This is often considered reasonable when smoothing with respect to spatial location, but in many other cases isotropy is not an appropriate assumption and can lead to sensitivity to apparently arbitrary choices of measurement units. For example, if smoothing with respect to distance and time an isotropic smoother will give different results if distance is measure in metres and time in seconds, to what will occur if we change the units to centimetres and hours.

The second class of generalizations to multi-dimensional smoothing deals directly with this scale invariance issue using tensor product spline constructions. Such splines have smoothing penalties with multiple smoothing parameters, which is the price that must be paid for not assuming that the same degree of smoothness is appropriate in all directions.

Smoothing splines are related to, but distinct from:

* *Regression splines*. In this method, the data is fitted to a set of spline basis functions with a reduced set of knots, typically by least squares. No roughness penalty is used. (See also multivariate adaptive regression splines.)
* *Penalized splines*. This combines the reduced knots of regression splines, with the roughness penalty of smoothing splines.
* *Thin plate splines* and Elastic maps method for manifold learning. This method combines the least squares penalty for approximation error with the bending and stretching penalty of the approximating manifold and uses the coarse discretization of the optimization problem.

## Source code

Source code for spline smoothing can be found in the examples from Carl de Boor's book *A Practical Guide to Splines*. The examples are in the Fortran programming language. The updated sources are available also on Carl de Boor's official site .

## Further reading

* Wahba, G. (1990). *Spline Models for Observational Data*. SIAM, Philadelphia.
* Green, P. J. and Silverman, B. W. (1994). *Nonparametric Regression and Generalized Linear Models*. CRC Press.
* De Boor, C. (2001). *A Practical Guide to Splines (Revised Edition)*. Springer.


title: Sno-ball

abstract: A sno-ball is a confection made with finely shaved ice and flavored sugar syrup. Commonly confused with the snow cone, the ice of a sno-ball is fine and fluffy; while a snow cone's ice is coarse, crunchy, and granular. Moreover, whereas in a snow cone the flavored syrup sinks to the bottom of the cup, in a sno-ball the ice absorbs the syrup. Sno-balls are a seasonal treat as they are generally sold only from roughly March to October. They are vended from "sno-ball stands" throughout Maryland and the Deep South.

text:
# Sno-ball

A **sno-ball** is a confection made with finely shaved ice and flavored sugar syrup. Commonly confused with the snow cone, the ice of a sno-ball is fine and fluffy; while a snow cone's ice is coarse, crunchy, and granular. Moreover, whereas in a snow cone the flavored syrup sinks to the bottom of the cup, in a sno-ball the ice absorbs the syrup.

Sno-balls are a seasonal treat as they are generally sold only from roughly March to October. They are vended from "sno-ball stands" throughout Maryland and the Deep South.

## History

The sno-ball's history is contentious, with both New Orleans and Baltimore laying claim to the dessert.

Baltimore's sno-cone roots can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution. In the mid-1800s, ice houses shipped wagons with huge blocks of ice from New York to the South and, when they passed through Baltimore, children would beg for some ice shavings on humid summer days. Soon, moms in town began to make flavorings to sweeten the ice. The most common was a simple golden-hued egg custard—made with eggs, vanilla, and sugar—and that's still the most popular flavor to this day, now mimicked with a vanilla-laced syrup. Melted marshmallow, which is sticky but pourable, became a common topping, adding a dollop of sweetness and a creamy texture to the snowball.

The New Orleans sno-cone history begins in the 1930s. In a pre-electric era, ice was manually scraped from a block of ice, producing a coarser, crunchier version of the sno-ball. In 1934, Ernest Hansen invented the first motor-driven ice-shaving machine. For two years, Hansen kept the machine within his family, making sno-balls for only his children and relatives. In 1936, Ernest and his wife Mary took their machine to the streets of New Orleans and opened Hansen's Sno-Bliz. The business ran discontinuously for the following two years because Mary needed to care for her children. In 1939, they opened the shop and remained in business for the next 67 years.

By this time, grocer George Ortolano had invented his own ice-shaving machine, which he later called the Sno-Wizard. Ortolano redeveloped his wooden machine into one made of galvanized metal after he began receiving requests from people who wanted to use his machine to start their own businesses. Soon thereafter, he drew up blueprints for his machine and set his product into automated production. Ortolano's Sno-Wizards are now the primary sno-ball machines used in Louisiana and throughout the Gulf Coast.

The Great Depression only heightened the snowball's popularity because the treat was cheap to make and cheap to buy (today, most will still cost you under $3). In 1932, the stands were so numerous that people complained there were too many in their neighborhoods. Baltimore's mayor at the time, Harold W. Jackson, defended the purveyors, saying, "Some of us may be down to eating snowballs soon, and I don't want to put any limitations on the trade.".

## Flavors

The following list contains many of the sno-ball flavors available at sno-ball stands around New Orleans.

* Almond
* Banana
* Bahama Mama
* Blackberry
* Blue Bubble Gum
* Blueberry
* Blue Raspberry
* Buttered popcorn
* Cake batter
* Cherry
* Chocolate
* Coconut
* Coffee
* Cotton Candy
* Cream soda
* Dreamsicle
* Daiquiri
* French vanilla
* Grape
* Green apple
* Hawaiian Punch
* Ice cream
* Joker
* Key lime pie
* King cake
* Kiwi
* Lemon
* Lemon-ice
* Lemon-lime
* Lime
* Margarita
* Nectar
* Orange
* Orchid vanilla
* Peach
* Peanut butter
* Piña colada
* Pineapple
* Pink lemonade
* Raspberry
* Rocket 88
* Root beer
* Silver fox
* Spearmint
* Strawberry
* Tamarind
* Tangerine
* Tiger's blood
* Tutti frutti
* Vanilla malt
* Watermelon
* Wedding cake

## Variations

* Cheesecake Stuffed Snowball: created by Sno-La Snowballs, the snowball is stuffed with cheesecake in the center, surrounded by the snowball flavor of choice.
* Stuffed sno-ball: a sno-ball stuffed with vanilla or chocolate softserve ice cream
* Cream-flavored sno-ball: a sno-ball made with flavored syrup mixed with evaporated milk
* Sugar-free sno-ball: a sno-ball made with sugar-free syrup
* Toppings: soft-serve ice cream, condensed milk, marshmallow fluff, Oreos

## Further reading

| External videos | |
| --- | --- |
| "How It's Done: Hansen's Atomic Sno-Ball". WWLTV News. | |

## InfoBox

Sno-ball
| A sno-ball stand in Baltimore | |
| --- | --- |
| Type | Frozen dessert |
| Region or state | Baltimore, Maryland and New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Main ingredients | Water, cane syrup, flavoring |


title: Social firm

abstract: Social firm is the British term for a work integration social enterprise (WISE), a business created to employ people who have a disability or are otherwise disadvantaged in the labour market. Its commercial and production activities are undertaken in the context of a social mission, with profits going back into the company to further its goals. A significant number of the employees of social firms will be people with a disability or disadvantage, including mental health issues. The firms grew out of disillusionment with mainstream businesses, and the failure to recognise or enable everyone's potential. All workers are paid a market-rate wage or salary appropriate to the work. All employees are intended to have the same employment opportunities, rights and obligations. Social Firms England, which supports the development of the social firm sector in England, suggests that there are two types of social firm, those which provide employment in businesses producing marketable goods and services, and those which work to improve the employability of those they work with.

text:
# Social firm

**Social firm** is the British term for a **work integration social enterprise** (**WISE**), a business created to employ people who have a disability or are otherwise disadvantaged in the labour market. Its commercial and production activities are undertaken in the context of a social mission, with profits going back into the company to further its goals. A significant number of the employees of social firms will be people with a disability or disadvantage, including mental health issues. The firms grew out of disillusionment with mainstream businesses, and the failure to recognise or enable everyone's potential. All workers are paid a market-rate wage or salary appropriate to the work. All employees are intended to have the same employment opportunities, rights and obligations.

Social Firms England, which supports the development of the social firm sector in England, suggests that there are two types of social firm, those which provide *employment* in businesses producing marketable goods and services, and those which work to improve the *employability* of those they work with.

## History

The original social firms were established well before the term came into use in 1980s. Firms in Europe started to prosper and employ increasing numbers of people with a disability. Schemes, and coordinating organisations, became more established and numerous in the 1990

Iain Duncan Smith visited Pluss, a social firm in Exeter which makes cushions for wheelchairs and car upholstery, in March 2015. The firm is owned by four councils: Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay and is facing potential closure of its manufacturing operations in Exeter and Bridgwater, and rationalisation of corporate services could result in up to 75 redundancies.

## Star Social Firm

Star Social Firm is an externally validated standard ensuring that a social firm meets a set of quality measures.


title: Smoko at the Pet Food Factory

abstract: Smoko at the Pet Food Factory is the eighth studio album by Australian punk band Frenzal Rhomb. It was released in Australia on Shock Records on 19 August 2011. The album's title refers to singer Jay Whalley's recording studio located in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, which is named the Pet Food Factory. During the demo sessions for the album, the band spent a large amount of time sitting on the balcony outside the studio having a 'smoko break', rather than actually recording the tracks. By contrast, the recording sessions with producer Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado were tracked at a rapid pace, with multiple parts of the recording process happening simultaneously. It was nominated at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, but lost to DZ Deathrays for Bloodstreams.

text:
# Smoko at the Pet Food Factory

***Smoko at the Pet Food Factory*** is the eighth studio album by Australian punk band Frenzal Rhomb. It was released in Australia on Shock Records on 19 August 2011.

The album's title refers to singer Jay Whalley's recording studio located in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, which is named **the Pet Food Factory**. (The studio's name refers to his tongue-in-cheek view that the studio does not create music of very high *quality*, but it does produce a large *quantity* of recordings.) During the demo sessions for the album, the band spent a large amount of time sitting on the balcony outside the studio having a 'smoko break', rather than actually recording the tracks. By contrast, the recording sessions with producer Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado were tracked at a rapid pace, with multiple parts of the recording process happening simultaneously.

It was nominated at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, but lost to DZ Deathrays for *Bloodstreams*.

## Track listing

| No. | Title | Length |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "Bird Attack" | 1:15 |
| 2. | "Mummy Doesn't Know You're a Nazi" | 1:23 |
| 3. | "5000 Cigarettes" | 1:40 |
| 4. | "Cockroach Light Switch" | 1:26 |
| 5. | "Knuckleheads" | 2:18 |
| 6. | "Just Because It's Soap Doesn't Mean It's Clean" | 1:37 |
| 7. | "My Dearest Friend" | 0:54 |
| 8. | "Back to the Suburbs" | 2:10 |
| 9. | "Edward Sausage Fangs" | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Alvarez" | 1:48 |
| 11. | "Hungry Jacks Carpark" | 1:48 |
| 12. | "Snouts in the Trough" | 1:28 |
| 13. | "Dead Celebrity" | 1:53 |
| 14. | "Metrognome" | 1:22 |
| 15. | "When My Baby Smiles at Me I Go to Rehab" | 1:04 |
| 16. | "The Rude Tourist" | 2:11 |

## Charts

| Chart (2011) | Peak
position |
| --- | --- |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 14 |

## InfoBox

| Smoko at the Pet Food Factory | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Frenzal Rhomb | |
| Released | 19 August 2011 (Australia) |
| Recorded | Colorado, USA |
| Genre | Pop punk
Punk rock
Skate punk
Melodic hardcore |
| Length | 26:40 |
| Label | Shock Records, Fat Wreck Chords |
| Producer | Bill Stevenson |
| Frenzal Rhomb chronology | |
| *Forever Malcolm Young*
(2006) ***Smoko at the Pet Food Factory***
(2011) *We Lived Like Kings (We Did Anything We Wanted)*
(2016) | |


title: Sokunthary Svay

abstract: Sokunthary Svay is a Pushcart-nominated Khmer poet, writer and musician from the Bronx. She and her family were refugees from Cambodia who survived the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. As of 2016, Svay is the poetry editor for Newtown Literary, and a founding member and Board President of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA). Svay was a subject in New York magazine’s “Living in a Sanctuary City” portfolio and featured in the New York Immigration Coalition's This is Our NY, broadcast in Times Square. She has been published in Women's Studies Quarterly, Prairie Schooner, LONTAR, and Mekong Review, Perigee, and Margins. She is a recipient of the American Opera Projects' Composer & the Voice Fellowship for 2017-2019. Her first poetry collection, Apsara in New York, was published in 2017 and had a debut at Poets House. Svay is the author of the memoir Put It On Record: A Memoir-Archive (2023).

text:
# Sokunthary Svay

**Sokunthary Svay** is a Pushcart-nominated Khmer poet, writer and musician from the Bronx. She and her family were refugees from Cambodia who survived the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. As of 2016, Svay is the poetry editor for *Newtown Literary*, and a founding member and Board President of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA). Svay was a subject in New York magazine’s “Living in a Sanctuary City” portfolio and featured in the New York Immigration Coalition's This is Our NY, broadcast in Times Square. She has been published in *Women's Studies Quarterly*, *Prairie Schooner*, *LONTAR*, and *Mekong Review*, *Perigee*, and *Margins*. She is a recipient of the American Opera Projects' Composer & the Voice Fellowship for 2017-2019. Her first poetry collection, Apsara in New York (Willow Books), was published in 2017 and had a debut at Poets House. Svay is the author of the memoir *Put It On Record: A Memoir-Archive* (2023).

## InfoBox

| Sokunthary Svay | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Sokunthary Svay<br>Thailand (refugee camp), Thailand |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Poetry |


title: Soft butch

abstract: A soft butch, or stem (stud-fem), is a lesbian who exhibits some stereotypical butch traits without fitting the masculine stereotype associated with butch lesbians. Soft butch is on the spectrum of butch, as are stone butch and masculine, whereas on the contrary, ultra fem, high femme, and lipstick lesbian are some labels on the spectrum of lesbians with a more prominent expression of femininity, also known as femmes. Soft butches have gender expressions of women, but primarily display masculine characteristics; soft butches predominantly express masculinity with a touch of femininity. The "hardness", or label depicting one's level of masculine expression as a butch is dependent upon the fluidity of her gender expression. Soft butches might want to express themselves through their clothing and hairstyle in a more masculine way, but their behavior in a more traditionally feminine way. For example, these traits of a soft butch may or may not include short hair, clothing that was designed for men, and masculine mannerisms and behaviors. Soft butches generally appear androgynous, rather than adhering to strictly feminine or masculine norms. Soft butches generally physically, sexually, and romantically express themselves in more masculine than feminine ways in the majority of those categories. In addition to a soft butch's gender expression through her outward appearance, she also has a distinctive way of sexually expressing herself. Soft butch women might want to have a more passive role sexually or romantically in their relationships, which is generally associated with feminine sexual behavior. This is an example of how a soft butch's sexuality and outward appearance are not completely masculine, but have some feminine traits. This desire to express both masculinity and femininity through one's gender and sexuality is clearly seen in soft butch women, but also across many people of a variety of sexual orientations.

text:
# Soft butch

A **soft butch**, or **stem** (**stud-fem**), is a lesbian who exhibits some stereotypical butch traits without fitting the masculine stereotype associated with butch lesbians. Soft butch is on the spectrum of butch, as are stone butch and masculine, whereas on the contrary, ultra fem, high femme, and lipstick lesbian are some labels on the spectrum of lesbians with a more prominent expression of femininity, also known as femmes. Soft butches have gender expressions of women, but primarily display masculine characteristics; soft butches predominantly express masculinity with a touch of femininity.

The "hardness", or label depicting one's level of masculine expression as a butch is dependent upon the fluidity of her gender expression. Soft butches might want to express themselves through their clothing and hairstyle in a more masculine way, but their behavior in a more traditionally feminine way. For example, these traits of a soft butch may or may not include short hair, clothing that was designed for men, and masculine mannerisms and behaviors. Soft butches generally appear androgynous, rather than adhering to strictly feminine or masculine norms. Soft butches generally physically, sexually, and romantically express themselves in more masculine than feminine ways in the majority of those categories.

In addition to a soft butch's gender expression through her outward appearance, she also has a distinctive way of sexually expressing herself. Soft butch women might want to have a more passive role sexually or romantically in their relationships, which is generally associated with feminine sexual behavior. This is an example of how a soft butch's sexuality and outward appearance are not completely masculine, but have some feminine traits. This desire to express both masculinity and femininity through one's gender and sexuality is clearly seen in soft butch women, but also across many people of a variety of sexual orientations.

## Further reading

Books and journals Collections


title: Snapper Rocks

abstract: Snapper Rocks is a small rocky outcrop on the northern side of Point Danger at the southern end of Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a famous surf break and today the start of the large sand bank known to surfers as the Superbank.

text:
# Snapper Rocks

**Snapper Rocks** is a small rocky outcrop on the northern side of Point Danger at the southern end of Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a famous surf break and today the start of the large sand bank known to surfers as the **Superbank**.

## History

It is believed that Snapper Rocks were named by W.L. Edwardson, captain of HM Colonial Cutter Snapper which passed by Point Danger in July 1822.

## Surfing

Snapper Rocks is a point break, which as of 2007, forms the first part of the man-made "**Superbank**" surf break.

Since 1995 the Tweed River sand bypass system has pumped sand from the Tweed River mouth to beaches to the north to ensure the river mouth is safe for shipping, and to stabilise coastal erosion north of the river. This has resulted in a large build-up of sand between Snapper Rocks to Kirra, which as of 2007, has extended the beaches in this area seawards around 100-200m, and created a new, world-class sandbar surf break called "the Superbank".

The Superbank extends from Snapper Rocks Point, through Rainbow Bay, Greenmount Point, Coolangatta Beach, and Kirra, for a distance of around 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Multiple barrel sections can now occur at any point along this length. The quality of the surf in the first 4 of these sections has markedly improved since the 1990s, creating one of the longest, hollowest and best waves in the world. However, the quality of the last section, Kirra, which has long been regarded as one of the world's best waves prior to the formation of the Superbank, has suffered. There have been calls to modify aspects of the sand bypass system to attempt to restore Kirra to its former quality, although exactly how this is to be done is not clear. It is possible that an optimum, medium build-up of sand (such as was reportedly the state in the early 2000s) may create the longest and best waves over the entire length, including Kirra.

The sheer quality of the man-made wave has greatly increased the level of surf tourism in the region, which has also resulted in extreme crowding of the wave. On a good day, over 500 surfers can be counted over the 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) distance, with multiple drop-ins.

## Pool

In 1956 Jack Evans built the Snapper Rocks Sea Baths, with an adjacent shark pool for public viewing. Later that year the Boyd brothers, local fishermen, caught two bottlenose dolphins in the Terranora Creek which Evans took and put in the pool for the Jack Evans Porpoise Pool show. The pools moved to the mouth of the Tweed River near to Duranbah beach in 1961. Only remnants of the pools remain today.

28°09′45″S 153°33′00″E / 28.1625°S 153.550°E / -28.1625; 153.550


title: Society of Thoracic Surgeons

abstract: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a Chicago, Illinois (US)-based medical specialty professional society in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. Membership worldwide includes more than 7,500 surgeons, researchers, and other health care professionals who are part of the cardiothoracic surgery team. The Society's official journal is The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

text:
# Society of Thoracic Surgeons

**The Society of Thoracic Surgeons** is a Chicago, Illinois (US)-based medical specialty professional society in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. Membership worldwide includes more than 7,500 surgeons, researchers, and other health care professionals who are part of the cardiothoracic surgery team. The Society's official journal is *The Annals of Thoracic Surgery*.

## Work

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database has four components—the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), and the Intermacs Database—and now houses more than 7.5 million surgical records. The STS National Database has grown to be the largest database of its kind in medicine and is one of the pioneers in the analysis and reporting of risk-adjusted outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery.

In late 2010, the Society launched an initiative through which participants of the ACSD could voluntarily report their performance on coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgeries. Since then, ACSD public reporting has evolved to include aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery and CABG+AVR; outcomes for isolated mitral valve replacement or mitral valve repair (MVRR) and combined MVRR+CABG are planned to be reported in early 2019. Public reporting from the CHSD was added in 2015, and public reporting from the GTSD began in 2017. *Consumer Reports* and *U.S. News & World Report* have both relied upon STS Public Reporting Online data for their respective hospital ratings programs.

## History

To meet the needs of an expanding specialty, a group of established young thoracic surgeons, led primarily by Dr. R. Adams Cowley of Baltimore, met in the late 1950s to exchange ideas concerning the feasibility of another thoracic surgical society.

By April 1963, a committee comprising Dr. Cowley (Chairman), Dr. Francis X. Byron of Los Angeles, Dr. Clifford F. Storey of San Diego, Dr. J. Maxwell Chamberlain of New York, Dr. John D. Steele of San Fernando, Calif., Dr. Byron H. Evans of Fresno, Calif., Dr. Edgar P. Mannix of Manhasset, NY, Dr. Earle B. Kay of Cleveland, and Dr. John E. Miller of Baltimore, recommended that the a new society for thoracic and cardiovascular surgery be established. A planning committee was appointed, and an STS constitution was finalized in August 1963 at the home or Dr. Robert K. Brown in Denver. Officers and councilors were elected on October 31, 1963, and included Dr. Paul C. Samson as president, Dr. Thomas H. Burford as vice president, Dr. Byron as secretary, and Dr. John E. Steele as editor of *The Annals of Thoracic Surgery*.

The first STS Annual Meeting was held in St. Louis in January 1965.

The initial management activities of STS were conducted from the office of Dr. J. Maxwell Chamberlain in New York. By 1969, when membership in the Society had grown to approximately 700, it was decided that management activities would be handled by a professional management organization. Smith, Bucklin and Associates (SBA) managed STS from 1969 to 2002, but in the later years of the SBA era, the Society's leadership felt the organization had grown so robust that it was time to hire a staff of dedicated STS employees.

The transition to self-management was successfully implemented under the direction of Mark B. Orringer, MD, who completed his term as STS President, and William A. Baumgartner, MD, his successor as President.

On June 1, 2002, STS opened its headquarters office in the American College of Surgeons building in Chicago with 9.5 full-time employee equivalents, including Executive Director & General Counsel Robert A. Wynbrandt, and a membership that had grown to more than 4,100. In 2004, a dedicated STS office in Washington, DC, was established; by 2018, the STS staff in Chicago and Washington had grown to approximately more than 65 full-time employees, and membership had grown to more than 7,500.

STS manages and provides staff support for five affiliate organizations, including its charitable arm, The Thoracic Surgery Foundation.


title: Society for News Design

abstract: The Society for News Design (SND), formerly known as the Society of Newspaper Design, is an international organization for professionals working in the news sector of the media industry, specifically those involved with graphic design, illustration, web design and infographics.

text:
# Society for News Design

The **Society for News Design** (**SND**), formerly known as the **Society of Newspaper Design**, is an international organization for professionals working in the news sector of the media industry, specifically those involved with graphic design, illustration, web design and infographics.

## History

The Society of Newspaper Designers was founded in 1979. It was renamed The Society of Newspaper Design in September 1981, and Society for News Design in October 1997.

From October 23 to 25, 2015, SND organized the second edition of the Creative News Design at Dubai Knowledge Village at Dubai (UAE).

On 3 November 2017, SND organized the first London conference: "The Future of Media is Visual". Keynote speakers were *The New York Times Magazine* art director Matt Willey and the graphic designer Neville Brody. A few months earlier, *The New York Times*' website had been awarded 86 design awards by the Society.

## Description

The Society of Newspaper Design is a United States-registered non-profit organization with about 1,500 members worldwide. Among other activities, it runs an annual Best of News Design competition open to newspapers from around the world at Syracuse University every February, an updated Best of Digital Design international competition at Ball State University, and a yearly conference (rotating through various cities) that brings in visual journalists from all over the world.

SND also has a number of offshoot organizations, including student chapters (the largest including those at Ohio University, Michigan State University, the University of Missouri and Syracuse University) and international chapters.

SND holds a number of regional and international events, with the purpose of educating and allowing opportunities for members to network. The society's annual fall workshop rotates through various cities around the world. Although generally in the United States, the workshop has visited locations in Canada, Puerto Rico, Denmark and Spain and Argentina (2009). The weekend-long event has featured a number of guest speakers on a variety of topics along with critiques, an auction and an awards dinner.

Throughout the year, SND members put on a number of one-to-two-day educational quick courses held throughout the world and designed to focus on a specific visual journalism topic.

Officers serve a one-year term and are selected by election of the SND membership. While the positions are decided on by election, historically most positions are held by prior position holders in a hierarchical style, in this way officers have generally progressed up a leadership ladder through other areas on the board of directors.

## Publications

The organization publishes a number of publications throughout the year:

* *Best of News Design*, a yearly full-color book featuring images of the winners of the society's annual news design competition (OCLC 687736742), formerly called *Best of Newspaper Design* through volume 30, 2008 (ISSN 1520-4251, OCLC 39484124)
* *Design* magazine, a biannual full-color magazine notable for changing its typography with every issue and focusing on the latest news design trends (ISSN 1520-4243, OCLC 9667091)
* *SND Update*, a web-based (formerly print) newsletter that tends to focus more on breaking industry news and organization-related events (ISSN 1520-426X, OCLC 23294875)
* *Área-11*, the digital newsletter in Spanish for Mexico, Central & South America (R-11 & 12)