title: San Pascual Academy

abstract: San Pascual Academy is a Catholic and private high school located in barangay San Pascual, Ubay, in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Established in 1968, it became the second Catholic high school in the municipality of Ubay. The other one being, the Holy Child Academy which is located in barangay Poblacion. St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Church is just beside the school and supervised the institution.

text:
# San Pascual Academy

**San Pascual Academy** is a Catholic and private high school located in barangay San Pascual, Ubay, in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Established in 1968, it became the second Catholic high school in the municipality of Ubay. The other one being, the Holy Child Academy which is located in barangay Poblacion. St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Church is just beside the school and supervised the institution.

## InfoBox

| San Pascual Academy | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Address | |
|  | |
| National Highway, San Pascual
Ubay, Bohol 6315
Philippines | |
| Coordinates | 9°58′2.46″N 124°25′48.83″E / 9.9673500°N 124.4302306°E / 9.9673500; 124.4302306 |
| Information | |
| School type | Private, Catholic |
| Established | 1968 |
| Sister school | Holy Child Academy - Ubay |
| School district | 2nd District of Bohol |
| Director | Rev. Fr. Noel Abregana |
| Principal | Sr. Ma. Ernanita P. Mindajao, DST |
| Faculty | 13 |
| Grades | 7 to 12 |
| Enrollment | 500 - 600 |
| Language | English, Filipino |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Nickname | **SPA** |
| Affiliations | DepED \- Division of Bohol
Bohol Association of Catholic Schools |
| Website | San Pascual Academy |


title: Mouna Benabderrassoul

abstract: Mouna Benabderrassoul is a Moroccan taekwondo athlete. She won the bronze medal in lightweight (-63 kg) at the 2001 World Taekwondo Championships in Jeju City, South Korea. Benabderrassoul represented her country in the -67 kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

text:
# Mouna Benabderrassoul

**Mouna Benabderrassoul** (born May 12, 1984) is a Moroccan taekwondo athlete. She won the bronze medal in lightweight (-63 kg) at the 2001 World Taekwondo Championships in Jeju City, South Korea.

Benabderrassoul represented her country in the -67 kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

## InfoBox

Mouna Benabderrassoul
| Medal record | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Representing  Morocco | | |
| Women's taekwondo | | |
| World Championships | | |
|  | 2001 Jeju | Lightweight |


title: The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

abstract: The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies is a think tank focused on strategic decision making and policy advice on national and international security issues. Established in 2003, the institute is based on Lange Voorhout in The Hague. The HCSS undertakes strategic research and analysis on topics such as international peace and security, geopolitical developments and trends, conflict management, defence policy and terrorism. The HCSS undertakes commissions both for the public and private sectors. Partners of HCSS are political, economic and military decision makers in Netherlands, Europe as well as international organisations such as NATO, the EU and academic organisations over the entire world. The HCSS also participates in consortia such as the Water Peace and Security partnership, and the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS). Analysts and experts from HCSS regularly contribute to national and international media to provide commentary of geopolitical developments and international security issues. In 2023, the HCSS was heavily criticised by the Volkskrant newspaper for a lack of transparency in stating its financial sources. The accompanying implication was that those commissioning reports were influencing their content, and thereby negating the independent status of HCSS.

text:
# The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

**The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies** (HCSS, in Dutch: *Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies*) is a think tank focused on strategic decision making and policy advice on national and international security issues. Established in 2003, the institute is based on Lange Voorhout in The Hague.

The HCSS undertakes strategic research and analysis on topics such as international peace and security, geopolitical developments and trends, conflict management, defence policy and terrorism. The HCSS undertakes commissions both for the public and private sectors. Partners of HCSS are political, economic and military decision makers in Netherlands, Europe as well as international organisations such as NATO, the EU and academic organisations over the entire world. The HCSS also participates in consortia such as the Water Peace and Security partnership, and the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS).

Analysts and experts from HCSS regularly contribute to national and international media to provide commentary of geopolitical developments and international security issues.

In 2023, the HCSS was heavily criticised by the Volkskrant newspaper for a lack of transparency in stating its financial sources. The accompanying implication was that those commissioning reports were influencing their content, and thereby negating the independent status of HCSS.

## History

HCSS was founded as part of the non-governmental organisation TNO in 2003; it was part of the department Strategy and Policy Studies (Dutch: *Strategie en Beleidsstudies*) of the Business Unit of TNO Defence and Security. In 2003 TNO and the Clingendael Institute agreed to cooperate on a new unit with the name (Dutch: *Clingendael Centrum voor Strategische Studies)*. Professor Rob de Wijk, then professor of international relations at the University of Leiden, started the think-tank. He included a small team of senior experts and analysts from organisations such as TNO, RAND, Clingendael, the Dutch Ministry of Defence and the United Nations.

Since March 2007, HCSS has been an independent strategic think tank. TNO was a 100% shareholder of *TNO Bedrijven*, which is a 100% shareholder of *TNO Deelnemingen*, which in turn held 80% of the shares in HCSS. On 30 March 2017, TNO sold 55% of its interest in TNO Bedrijven to First Dutch Innovations in Delft.

Since December 2019 the HCSS management team has been the 100% shareholder of HCSS.


title: When the "Yanks" Come Marching Home

abstract: "When the 'Yanks' Come Marching Home" is a World War I era song released in 1917. William Jerome wrote the lyrics. Seymour Furth composed the music. It was published by A.J. Stansy Music Co. of New York City. Artist Albert Wilfred Barbelle designed the sheet music cover. It features a group of smiling soldiers marching and a steam ship sailing away. There is also an inset photo that varies per edition. One version has a photo of Nora Bayes, who also performed the song. Another cover features William J. Reilly, USN, who also performed the song. The song was written for both voice and piano. The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library. The lyrics carry a hopeful tone, although it begins with soldiers off at war. The person speaking prays that God will keep them safe and that they come home soon. The chorus is as follows:

text:
# When the "Yanks" Come Marching Home

**"When the 'Yanks' Come Marching Home"** is a World War I era song released in 1917. William Jerome wrote the lyrics. Seymour Furth composed the music. It was published by A.J. Stansy Music Co. of New York City.

Artist Albert Wilfred Barbelle designed the sheet music cover. It features a group of smiling soldiers marching and a steam ship sailing away. There is also an inset photo that varies per edition. One version has a photo of Nora Bayes, who also performed the song. Another cover features William J. Reilly, USN, who also performed the song. The song was written for both voice and piano. The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

The lyrics carry a hopeful tone, although it begins with soldiers off at war. The person speaking prays that God will keep them safe and that they come home soon. The chorus is as follows:

> For there'll be smiles and cheers and miles of tears
> When the "Yanks" come marching home
> There'll be tears enough you know
> to make a dozen rivers flow
> Dressed in their torn and tattered suits of tan
> From battlefields across the foam
> Hearts will beat with joy for every boy
> When the "Yanks" come marching home

## InfoBox

| "When the "Yanks" Come Marching Home" | |
| --- | --- |
| Sheet music cover | |
| Song | |
| Released | 1917 |
| Composer(s) | Seymour Furth |
| Lyricist(s) | William Jerome |


abstract: The 1990 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson was elected to a third term in office.

text:
# 1990 United States Senate election in Wyoming

The **1990 United States Senate election in Wyoming** was held November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson was elected to a third term in office.

## Democratic primary

### Candidates

* Dale Bulman
* Al Hamburg
* Kathy Helling, college student
* Don C. Joliffe
* Emmett Jones
* Howard O'Connor, perennial candidate from Torrington

### Results

Democratic primary results
| Party | | Candidate | Votes | % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | **Democratic** | **Kathy Helling** | **12,103** | **35.07%** |
|  | Democratic | Al Hamburg | 7,196 | 20.85% |
|  | Democratic | Howard O'Connor | 6,483 | 18.75% |
|  | Democratic | Emmett Jones | 4,455 | 12.91% |
|  | Democratic | Dale Bulman | 2,291 | 6.64% |
|  | Democratic | Don C. Joliffe | 1,983 | 5.75% |
| Total votes | | | **34,511** | **100.00%** |

## Republican primary

### Candidates

* Douglas W. Crook
* Nora M. Lewis, candidate for Senate in 1988
* Alan K. Simpson, incumbent Senator

### Results

Republican primary results
| Party | | Candidate | Votes | % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | **Republican** | **Alan K. Simpson (incumbent)** | **69,142** | **84.40%** |
|  | Republican | Nora M. Lewis | 6,577 | 8.03% |
|  | Republican | Douglas W. Crook | 6,201 | 7.57% |
| Total votes | | | **81,920** | **100.00%** |

## General election

### Results

General election results
| Party | | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | **Republican** | **Alan K. Simpson (incumbent)** | **100,784** | **63.94%** | **14.38** |
|  | Democratic | Kathy Helling | 56,848 | 36.06% | 14.38 |
| Turnout | | | 211,077 | 70.88% | 7.00 |
|  | Republican **hold** | | Swing |  |  |

## InfoBox

1990 United States Senate election in Wyoming
| --- | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Nominee **Alan K. Simpson** Kathy Helling   Party Republican Democratic  Popular vote **100,784** 56,848  Percentage **63.94%** 36.06% | |
| ---  County results
**Simpson:**      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% | |
| ---  **U.S. senator before election**
Alan K. Simpson
Republican **Elected U.S. Senator**
Alan K. Simpson
Republican | |


abstract:
The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) was founded in 1988 and hosted at three member campuses: The University of California, Santa Barbara; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of Maine. The center was founded after receiving a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Ron Abler—then at NSF—described the rationale for the NCGIA and compared it to corresponding efforts in the UK. Notable faculty involved with the NCGIA include Michael Goodchild, Michael Batty, David Mark, A. Stewart Fotheringham, Andrew Frank, Helen Couclelis, Keith Clarke, Luc Anselin, Waldo R. Tobler amongst others. David William Rhind and Mike Goodchild compare later US and the UK approach. The research plan was organized along so-called Research Initiatives, which generally started and ended with "specialist meetings", where interdisciplinary teams discussed pressing research issues. Often a publication followed:
  - Initiative 1: Accuracy of spatial databases, led by Michael Goodchild
  - Initiative 2: Languages of Spatial Relations, led by David Mark and Andrew U. Frank
  - Initiative 3: Multiple Representations, led by Barbara Buttenfield
  - Initiative 4: The Use and Value of Geographic Information, led by Harlan Onsrud and Hugh Calkins
  - Initiative 5: Architecture of Very Large Spatial Databases, led by Terence Smith and Andrew U. Frank
  - Initiative 6: Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), led by Paul Densham and Michael Goodchild
  - Initiative 7: Visualizing the Quality of Spatial Information, led by Kate Beard and Barbara Buttenfield
  - Initiative 8: Formalizing Cartographic Knowledge, led by Barbara Buttenfield
  - Initiative 9: Institutions Sharing Geographic Information, led by Harlan Onsrud and Gerard Rushton
  - Initiative 10: Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in GIS, led by Max Egenhofer and Reginald Golledge
  - Initiative 12: Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS, led by John Estes, Frank Davis and Jeffrey Star In 1992 the list of publications resulting from these research initiatives and other efforts of the NCGIA were published in the International Journal of Geographical Information Systems. The NCGIA produces a Core Curriculum for teaching Geographic Information Systems

text:
# National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

The **National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis** (**NCGIA**) was founded in 1988 and hosted at three member campuses: The University of California, Santa Barbara; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of Maine.

The center was founded after receiving a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Ron Abler—then at NSF—described the rationale for the NCGIA and compared it to corresponding efforts in the UK.

Notable faculty involved with the NCGIA include Michael Goodchild, Michael Batty, David Mark, A. Stewart Fotheringham, Andrew Frank, Helen Couclelis, Keith Clarke, Luc Anselin, Waldo R. Tobler amongst others. David William Rhind and Mike Goodchild compare later US and the UK approach.

The research plan was organized along so-called Research Initiatives, which generally started and ended with "specialist meetings", where interdisciplinary teams discussed pressing research issues. Often a publication followed:

* Initiative 1: Accuracy of spatial databases, led by Michael Goodchild
* Initiative 2: Languages of Spatial Relations, led by David Mark and Andrew U. Frank
* Initiative 3: Multiple Representations, led by Barbara Buttenfield
* Initiative 4: The Use and Value of Geographic Information, led by Harlan Onsrud and Hugh Calkins
* Initiative 5: Architecture of Very Large Spatial Databases, led by Terence Smith and Andrew U. Frank
* Initiative 6: Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), led by Paul Densham and Michael Goodchild
* Initiative 7: Visualizing the Quality of Spatial Information, led by Kate Beard and Barbara Buttenfield
* Initiative 8: Formalizing Cartographic Knowledge, led by Barbara Buttenfield
* Initiative 9: Institutions Sharing Geographic Information, led by Harlan Onsrud and Gerard Rushton
* Initiative 10: Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in GIS, led by Max Egenhofer and Reginald Golledge
* Initiative 12: Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS, led by John Estes, Frank Davis and Jeffrey Star

In 1992 the list of publications resulting from these research initiatives and other efforts of the NCGIA were published in the *International Journal of Geographical Information Systems*.

The NCGIA produces a Core Curriculum for teaching Geographic Information Systems


title: WHBK

abstract: WHBK is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Marshall, North Carolina, serving Madison County, North Carolina and Northern Buncombe County, North Carolina. WHBK is owned and operated by Seay Broadcasting Company.

text:
# WHBK

**WHBK** is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Marshall, North Carolina, serving Madison County, North Carolina and Northern Buncombe County, North Carolina. WHBK is owned and operated by Seay Broadcasting Company.

## History/Programming

WHBK began broadcasting in 1954 as WMMH.

WHBK currently carries a Southern Gospel format fed from Salem Radio Networks Solid Gospel network. The station also carries SRN Radio News, also from Salem, along with weather forecasts from Greenville, South Carolina NBC-affiliate WYFF. Local programming consists of area farm reports, a Trading Post program, a Community Bulletin Board (featuring local events) and other programming. Local sports from Madison High School and college sports from the North Carolina Tar Heels are also heard.

## InfoBox

WHBK
|  | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Broadcast area | Madison County, North Carolina
Northern Buncombe County, North Carolina |
| Frequency | 1460 AM kHz |
| Branding | *"Solid Gospel WHBK"* |
| Programming | |
| Format | Southern Gospel |
| Affiliations | Solid Gospel (Salem)
SRN Radio News (Salem)
Tar Heel Sports Network
WYFF |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | * Seay Broadcasting Company * (Seay Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| History | |
| First air date | 1954 |
| Former call signs | WMMH (1954–1988) |
| Call sign meaning | Hurley and Karen Buff
former owners |
| Technical information | |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 61264 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000 Watts daytime
139 Watts nighttime |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°48′4.0″N 82°40′48.0″W / 35.801111°N 82.680000°W / 35.801111; -82.680000 |
| Translator(s) | 95.9 W240DS (Marshall) |
| Links | |
| Public license information |  |
| Webcast | WHBK Webstream |
| Website | WHBK Online |


title: Mark Levy (rugby league)

abstract: Mark Levy is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Balmain Tigers, Parramatta Eels and Penrith as a fullback in Sydney's NSWRFL competition in the 1980s.

text:
# Mark Levy (rugby league)

**Mark Levy** (born 19 March 1955) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Balmain Tigers, Parramatta Eels and Penrith as a fullback in Sydney's NSWRFL competition in the 1980s.

## Playing career

Levy's rugby league career started at the powerhouse Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. He was a Parramatta junior but made his debut for Balmain in 1974. Levy spent two uneventful years at Balmain with the club finishing between mid and lower table. In 1976, Levy signed with Parramatta as the club qualified for the first grand final in its history against Manly. In the grand final itself, Parramatta went into half time level with Manly at 7-7. In the second half and with 10 minutes remaining, Parramatta made a play to the right hand side of the field and the ball eventually reached Neville Glover. With the try line wide open, Glover dropped the ball over the line which would have given Parramatta the match winning try. In the final five minutes Manly held on after a Parramatta onslaught to win the premiership 13-10.

The following year, Levy was a member of the Parramatta side which claimed their first ever minor premiership after finishing first during the regular season. Parramatta qualified for their second consecutive grand final that year against St George. Levy was moved from fullback to five-eighth for that match due to John Peard being injured. The grand final finished in a 9-9 draw and a replay was rescheduled to determine the winner. In the 1977 replay, Levy shifted to fullback as Peard had returned as Parramatta were defeated 22-0. Levy played with Parramatta up until the end of 1980 until he was told by coach Jack Gibson he was not required for the 1981 season.

Levy later moved to Penrith and played over 100 games for them and was a member of the 1985 side which qualified for the finals for the first time in the club's history.

## Post playing

In retirement, Levy became an ABC commentator on rugby league matches in the 1980s. He then joined the Parramatta board and worked under CEO Denis Fitzgerald. In the 1990s, Levy became CEO at Penrith and was in charge of the club as it moved from the ARL to the Super League in 1997. Levy stepped down as Penrith CEO after the club finished last in 2001.

## InfoBox

Mark Levy
| Personal information | |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Mark Levy |
| Born | (1955-03-19) 19 March 1955<br>Waverley, New South Wales, Australia |
| Playing information | |
| Position | Fullback |
| Club  Years Team Pld T G FG P  1974–75 Balmain Tigers 28 5 4 0 23  1976–80 Parramatta Eels 87 19 65 1 188  1981–85 Penrith Panthers 103 17 135 0 330  Total 218 41 204 1 541 | |
| Source: | |


title: Sandy Rosario

abstract: Sandy Rosario is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida/Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants.

text:
# Sandy Rosario

**Sandy Rosario** (born August 22, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida/Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants.

## Career

### Florida Marlins

Rosario signed as an international free agent with the then-Florida Marlins in 2004. He was called up to the Majors for the first time on September 19, 2010, after winning the Southern League championship with the Jacksonville Suns. In his MLB debut on September 23, 2010 against the Milwaukee Brewers, Rosario's first and third pitches thrown were hit as home runs.

The Marlins again promoted Rosario in September 2011. He made four relief appearances, yielding one run over 3 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two.

Rosario started the 2012 season at the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate New Orleans Zephyrs and later pitched in four games for Miami, yielding six runs in three innings over four relief appearances. He was sent back down to the minors.

### Boston Red Sox

After not receiving a September callup, Rosario was claimed by the Boston Red Sox on waivers on October 17, 2012. On November 20, Rosario was designated for assignment along with 4 others.

### Oakland Athletics

On November 28, 2012, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. He only lasted on the roster for a couple weeks.

### Second Stint with Red Sox

He was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox on December 10, 2012,

### Chicago Cubs

His trip on the waiver wire continued when he was claimed by the Chicago Cubs on December 12.

### San Francisco Giants

On December 20, he was claimed off waivers yet again, this time by the San Francisco Giants. Rosario became a free agent on December 2, 2013 after being non-tendered by the Giants. He was re-signed later that month.

### Delfines del Carmen

On February 20, 2015, Rosario signed with the Delfines del Carmen of the Mexican Baseball League. He was released on May 12, 2015.

## InfoBox

| Sandy Rosario | |
| --- | --- |
| **Pitcher** | |
| **Born:**  (1985-08-22) August 22, 1985<br>Salcedo, Dominican Republic | |
| **Batted:** Right**Threw:** Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 23, 2010, for the Florida Marlins | |
| Last appearance | |
| September 17, 2013, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 3–2 |
| Earned run average | 4.93 |
| Strikeouts | 28 |
|  | |
| Teams | |
|  | |


title: Space Cowboy (Kacey Musgraves song)

abstract: "Space Cowboy" is a song by American country singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves, released as a single from her fourth studio album Golden Hour on February 23, 2018.

text:
# Space Cowboy (Kacey Musgraves song)

"**Space Cowboy**" is a song by American country singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves, released as a single from her fourth studio album *Golden Hour* on February 23, 2018.

## Background

In February 2018, Musgraves posted a photo with the caption: "One day I was out at the barn watching this stallion charging powerfully from one end of the arena to the other, bucking and galloping at full speed all alone. Though I was 'safe' on the other side of the arena wall, it kinda scared me when he came flying toward me..barely stopping in time. My riding teacher saw him coming at me and yelled at me to move away. I said 'I'm fine! The gate is closed!' to which she said, 'Girl – when they wanna go they will go…there ain't no point in even shuttin' the gate.' It really made a mark on me when she said that and I wrote it down. Space Cowboy came a couple days after with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird ✨Make peace with what doesn't belong. You'll find something better."

## Critical reception

Chris DeVille from *Stereogum* wrote, "The melody is so gorgeously wistful, the wordplay so subtly pristine, the heartache so profound. Also, given that it actually sounds like a country song floating through outer space, we all ought to stand up and applaud the levels of compositional genius."

## Commercial performance

On March 10, 2018, "Space Cowboy" peaked at number 30 on the *Billboard* Hot Country Songs chart. The song spent eight weeks on the chart.

On August 3, 2020, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming data of over 500,000 units in the United States.

## Composition

"Space Cowboy" is originally in the key of D-flat major, with a tempo of 117 beats per minute. Written in common time, Musgraves vocal range spans from A3 to C5 during the song. Musgraves is saying that she is "okay" with her significant other leaving for some time. She recognizes the fact that they had their good times together, but it is time to move on because it is the best for the both of them. He is claiming he needs space, and she is willing to give it to him because their love has "faded".

## Live performances

Musgraves performed the song for the first time on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*. She also performed the single on *The Ellen DeGeneres Show*.

## Music video

A music video for the single "Space Cowboy" was released on April 30, 2018. *Rolling Stone* described it as: "Filmed in Mexico City by director Courtney Phillips, the cinematic video tells its story through color and shadow while Musgraves' wounded ballad slowly transforms into an empowering anthem. Her post-romance world is hazy and clouded at first, confined to empty rooms with broken windows while her ex gallops through a tropical village. But the power dynamic soon shifts, with golden rays of morning sun shining down on Musgraves and black clouds gathering over her now-disillusioned cowboy." The video has over seven million views on YouTube.

## Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Genius.

* Songwriting – Kacey Musgraves, Luke Laird & Shane McAnally
* Mixing – Shawn Everett
* Acoustic guitar – Todd Lombardo and Daniel Tashian
* Bass – Daniel Tashian
* Keyboards – Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk
* Piano – Ian Fitchuk
* Drums and percussion – Ian Fitchuk

## Cover versions

Chevel Shepherd covered the song on *The Voice*'s Top 11 Performances in 2018.

## Accolades

Awards
| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Song | Won |  |
| | ACM Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated |  |
| | CMT Music Awards | Female Video of the Year | Nominated |  |
|

## Charts

Chart performance for "Space Cowboy"
| Chart (2018) | Peak
position |
| --- | --- |
| US Hot Country Songs (*Billboard*) | 30 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,000,000 |
| Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
 | | |

## InfoBox

| "Space Cowboy" | |
| --- | --- |
| Spotify Exclusive Golden Hour 7 (Vinyl, 7", Single, Limited Edition, White) - Side 1 | |
| Single by Kacey Musgraves | |
| from the album  *Golden Hour* | |
| A-side | "Butterflies" (double A-side) |
| Released | February 23, 2018 |
| Recorded | 2018 |
| Genre | Country |
| Length | 3:36 |
| Label | MCA Nashville |
| Songwriter(s) |  |
| Producer(s) |  |
| Kacey Musgraves singles chronology | |
| "Dime Store Cowgirl"
(2015) "**Space Cowboy**" / "Butterflies"
(2018) "High Horse"
(2018) | |
|  | |
| Music video | |
| "Space Cowboy" on YouTube | |
|  | |


title: Spearman's rank correlation coefficient

abstract: In statistics, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient or Spearman's ρ, named after Charles Spearman and often denoted by the Greek letter ρ (rho) or as r s, is a nonparametric measure of rank correlation. It assesses how well the relationship between two variables can be described using a monotonic function. The Spearman correlation between two variables is equal to the Pearson correlation between the rank values of those two variables; while Pearson's correlation assesses linear relationships, Spearman's correlation assesses monotonic relationships. If there are no repeated data values, a perfect Spearman correlation of +1 or −1 occurs when each of the variables is a perfect monotone function of the other. Intuitively, the Spearman correlation between two variables will be high when observations have a similar rank between the two variables, and low when observations have a dissimilar rank between the two variables. Spearman's coefficient is appropriate for both continuous and discrete ordinal variables. Both Spearman's ρ and Kendall's τ can be formulated as special cases of a more general correlation coefficient.

text:
# Spearman's rank correlation coefficient

In statistics, **Spearman's rank correlation coefficient** or **Spearman's *ρ***, named after Charles Spearman and often denoted by the Greek letter $\rho $ (rho) or as $r\_{s}$, is a nonparametric measure of rank correlation (statistical dependence between the rankings of two variables). It assesses how well the relationship between two variables can be described using a monotonic function.

The Spearman correlation between two variables is equal to the Pearson correlation between the rank values of those two variables; while Pearson's correlation assesses linear relationships, Spearman's correlation assesses monotonic relationships (whether linear or not). If there are no repeated data values, a perfect Spearman correlation of +1 or −1 occurs when each of the variables is a perfect monotone function of the other.

Intuitively, the Spearman correlation between two variables will be high when observations have a similar (or identical for a correlation of 1) rank (i.e. relative position label of the observations within the variable: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) between the two variables, and low when observations have a dissimilar (or fully opposed for a correlation of −1) rank between the two variables.

Spearman's coefficient is appropriate for both continuous and discrete ordinal variables. Both Spearman's $\rho $ and Kendall's $\tau $ can be formulated as special cases of a more general correlation coefficient.

## Applications

The coefficient can be used to determine how well data fits a model, like when determining the similarity of text documents.

## Definition and calculation

The Spearman correlation coefficient is defined as the Pearson correlation coefficient between the rank variables.

For a sample of size $\ n\ ,$ the $\ n\ $ pairs of raw scores $\ \left(X\_{i},Y\_{i}\right)\ $ are converted to ranks $\ \operatorname {R} \[{X\_{i}\],\operatorname {R} \[{Y\_{i}\]\ ,}}$ and $\ r\_{s}\ $ is computed as

$$r\_{s}=\operatorname {\rho } {\bigl \[}\ \operatorname {R} \[X\],\operatorname {R} \[Y\]\ {\bigr \]}={\frac {\ \operatorname {\mathsf {cov} {\bigl \[}\ \operatorname {R} \[X\],\operatorname {R} \[Y\]\ {\bigr \]}\ }{\ \sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[X\]}\ \sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[Y\]}\ },}}$$

where

$\operatorname {\rho } \ $ denotes the conventional Pearson correlation coefficient operator, but applied to the rank variables, $\operatorname {\mathsf {cov} {\bigl \[}\ \operatorname {R} \[X\],\operatorname {R} \[Y\]\ {\bigr \]}\ }$ is the covariance of the rank variables, $\sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[X\]}\ $ and $\ \sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[Y\]}\ $ are the standard deviations of the rank variables.

Only when all $\ n\ $ ranks are *distinct integers* (no ties), it can be computed using the popular formula

$$r\_{s}=1-{\frac {6\sum d\_{i}^{2}{\ n\left(n^{2}-1\right)\ }\ ,}}$$

where

$d\_{i}\equiv \operatorname {R} \[X\_{i}\]-\operatorname {R} \[Y\_{i}\]\ $ is the difference between the two ranks of each observation, $\ n\ $ is the number of observations.  \[Proof\]

Consider a bivariate sample $\ (X\_{i},Y\_{i})\ ,\ i=1,\ldots \ n\ $ with corresponding rank pairs $\ \left(\operatorname {R} \[X\_{i}\],\operatorname {R} \[Y\_{i}\]\right)=(R\_{i},S\_{i})~.$ Then the Spearman correlation coefficient of $\ (X,Y)\ $ is

$$r\_{s}={\frac {{\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}R\_{i}\ S\_{i}-{\overline {R}\ {\overline {S}{\sigma \_{R}\sigma \_{S}\ ,}}}}}}$$

where, as usual,

$$\overline {R}=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}R\_{i}\ ,}$$

$$\overline {S}=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}S\_{i}\ ,}$$

$$\sigma \_{R}^{2}=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}\left(R\_{i}-{\overline {R}\right)^{2}\ ,}}$$

and

$$\sigma \_{S}^{2}=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}\left(S\_{i}-{\overline {S}\right)^{2}~.}}$$

We shall show that $\ r\_{s}\ $ can be expressed purely in terms of $\ d\_{i}\equiv R\_{i}-S\_{i}\ ,$ provided we assume that there be no ties within each sample.

Under this assumption, we have that $\ R,S\ $ can be viewed as random variables distributed like a uniformly distributed discrete random variable, $\ U\ ,$ on $\ \\{\ 1,2,\ \ldots ,\ n\ \\}~.$ Hence $\ {\overline {R}={\overline {S}=\operatorname {\mathbb {E} } \left\[\ U\ \right\]\ }}$ and $\ \sigma \_{R}^{2}=\sigma \_{S}^{2}=\operatorname {\mathsf {Var} \left\[\ U\ \right\]=\operatorname {\mathbb {E} } \left\[\ U^{2}\ \right\]-\operatorname {\mathbb {E} } \left\[\ U\ \right\]^{2}\ ,}$ where

$$\operatorname {\mathbb {E} } \left\[\ U\ \right\]=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}i=\textstyle {\frac {\ n+1\ }{2}\ ,}}$$

$$\operatorname {\mathbb {E} } \left\[\ U^{2}\ \right\]=\textstyle {\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \textstyle \sum \_{i=1}^{n}i^{2}=\textstyle {\frac {\ \left(n+1\right)\left(2n+1\right)\ }{6}\ ,}}$$

and thus

$$\operatorname {\mathsf {var} \left\[\ U\right\]=\textstyle {\frac {\ \left(n+1\right)\ \left(2n+1\right)\ }{6}-\left(\textstyle {\frac {\ n+1\ }{2}\right)^{2}=\textstyle {\frac {\ n^{2}-1\ }{12}~.}}}}$$

(These sums can be computed using the formulas for the triangular numbers and square pyramidal numbers, or basic summation results from umbral calculus.)

Observe now that

$$\begin{aligned}{\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ &\sum \_{i=1}^{n}R\_{i}S\_{i}-{\overline {R}{\overline {S}\\\&={\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}{\frac {\ 1\ }{2}\left(R\_{i}^{2}+S\_{i}^{2}-d\_{i}^{2}\right)-{\overline {R}^{2}\\\&={\frac {\ 1\ }{2}{\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}R\_{i}^{2}+{\frac {\ 1\ }{2}{\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}S\_{i}^{2}-{\frac {\ 1\ }{2n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}-{\overline {R}^{2}\\\&=\left({\frac {\ 1\ }{n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}R\_{i}^{2}-{\overline {R}^{2}\right)-{\frac {\ 1\ }{2n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}\\\&=\sigma \_{R}^{2}-{\frac {\ 1\ }{2n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}\\\&=\sigma \_{R}\ \sigma \_{S}-{\frac {\ 1\ }{2n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}\\\end{aligned}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}$$

Putting this all together thus yields

$$\begin{aligned}r\_{s}&={\frac {\ \sigma \_{R}\ \sigma \_{S}-{\frac {\ 1\ }{2n}\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}\ }{\sigma \_{R}\ \sigma \_{S}\\\&=1-{\frac {\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}\ }{2n\cdot {\frac {\ n^{2}-1\ }{12}\\\&=1-{\frac {\ 6\ \sum \_{i=1}^{n}d\_{i}^{2}{\ n(n^{2}-1)\ }~.\end{aligned}}}}}}}}}$$

Identical values are usually each assigned fractional ranks equal to the average of their positions in the ascending order of the values, which is equivalent to averaging over all possible permutations.

If ties are present in the data set, the simplified formula above yields incorrect results: Only if in both variables all ranks are distinct, then $\ \sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[X\]}\ \sigma \_{\operatorname {R} \[Y\]}=$ $\ \operatorname {{\mathsf {v}ar} {\bigl \[}\ \operatorname {R} \[X\]\ {\bigr \]}=}$ $\ \operatorname {{\mathsf {v}ar} {\bigl \[}\ \operatorname {R} \[Y\]\ {\bigr \]}=}$ $\ {\tfrac {\ 1\ }{12}\left(n^{2}-1\right)\ }$ (calculated according to biased variance). The first equation — normalizing by the standard deviation — may be used even when ranks are normalized to \[0, 1\] ("relative ranks") because it is insensitive both to translation and linear scaling.

The simplified method should also not be used in cases where the data set is truncated; that is, when the Spearman's correlation coefficient is desired for the top *X* records (whether by pre-change rank or post-change rank, or both), the user should use the Pearson correlation coefficient formula given above.

There are several other numerical measures that quantify the extent of statistical dependence between pairs of observations. The most common of these is the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, which is a similar correlation method to Spearman's rank, that measures the “linear” relationships between the raw numbers rather than between their ranks.

An alternative name for the Spearman rank correlation is the “grade correlation”; in this, the “rank” of an observation is replaced by the “grade”. In continuous distributions, the grade of an observation is, by convention, always one half less than the rank, and hence the grade and rank correlations are the same in this case. More generally, the “grade” of an observation is proportional to an estimate of the fraction of a population less than a given value, with the half-observation adjustment at observed values. Thus this corresponds to one possible treatment of tied ranks. While unusual, the term “grade correlation” is still in use.

## Interpretation

Positive and negative Spearman rank correlationsA positive Spearman correlation coefficient corresponds to an increasing monotonic trend between *X* and *Y*.A negative Spearman correlation coefficient corresponds to a decreasing monotonic trend between *X* and *Y*.

The sign of the Spearman correlation indicates the direction of association between *X* (the independent variable) and *Y* (the dependent variable). If *Y* tends to increase when *X* increases, the Spearman correlation coefficient is positive. If *Y* tends to decrease when *X* increases, the Spearman correlation coefficient is negative. A Spearman correlation of zero indicates that there is no tendency for *Y* to either increase or decrease when *X* increases. The Spearman correlation increases in magnitude as *X* and *Y* become closer to being perfectly monotonic functions of each other. When *X* and *Y* are perfectly monotonically related, the Spearman correlation coefficient becomes 1. A perfectly monotonic increasing relationship implies that for any two pairs of data values *X**i*, *Y**i* and *X**j*, *Y**j*, that *X**i**X**j* and *Y**i**Y**j* always have the same sign. A perfectly monotonic decreasing relationship implies that these differences always have opposite signs.

The Spearman correlation coefficient is often described as being "nonparametric". This can have two meanings. First, a perfect Spearman correlation results when *X* and *Y* are related by any monotonic function. Contrast this with the Pearson correlation, which only gives a perfect value when *X* and *Y* are related by a *linear* function. The other sense in which the Spearman correlation is nonparametric is that its exact sampling distribution can be obtained without requiring knowledge (i.e., knowing the parameters) of the joint probability distribution of *X* and *Y*.

## Example

In this example, the arbitrary raw data in the table below is used to calculate the correlation between the IQ of a person with the number of hours spent in front of TV per week \[fictitious values used\].

| IQ, $X\_{i}$ | Hours of TV per week, $Y\_{i}$ |
| --- | --- |
| 106 | 7 |
| 100 | 27 |
| 86 | 2 |
| 101 | 50 |
| 99 | 28 |
| 103 | 29 |
| 97 | 20 |
| 113 | 12 |
| 112 | 6 |
| 110 | 17 |

Firstly, evaluate $d\_{i}^{2}$. To do so use the following steps, reflected in the table below.

1. Sort the data by the first column ( $X\_{i}$). Create a new column $x\_{i}$ and assign it the ranked values 1, 2, 3, ..., *n*.
2. Next, sort the augmented (with $x\_{i}$) data by the second column ( $Y\_{i}$). Create a fourth column $y\_{i}$ and similarly assign it the ranked values 1, 2, 3, ..., *n*.
3. Create a fifth column $d\_{i}$ to hold the differences between the two rank columns ( $x\_{i}$ and $y\_{i}$).
4. Create one final column $d\_{i}^{2}$ to hold the value of column $d\_{i}$ squared.

| IQ, $X\_{i}$ | Hours of TV per week, $Y\_{i}$ | rank $x\_{i}$ | rank $y\_{i}$ | $d\_{i}$ | $d\_{i}^{2}$ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 86 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | 20 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 16 |
| 99 | 28 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 25 |
| 100 | 27 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 9 |
| 101 | 50 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 25 |
| 103 | 29 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 9 |
| 106 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 110 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 112 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 49 |
| 113 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 36 |

With $d\_{i}^{2}$ found, add them to find $\sum d\_{i}^{2}=194$. The value of *n* is 10. These values can now be substituted back into the equation

$$\rho =1-{\frac {6\sum d\_{i}^{2}{n(n^{2}-1)}}}$$

to give

$$\rho =1-{\frac {6\times 194}{10(10^{2}-1)},}$$

which evaluates to *ρ* = −29/165 = −0.175757575... with a *p*-value = 0.627188 (using the *t*-distribution).

That the value is close to zero shows that the correlation between IQ and hours spent watching TV is very low, although the negative value suggests that the longer the time spent watching television the lower the IQ. In the case of ties in the original values, this formula should not be used; instead, the Pearson correlation coefficient should be calculated on the ranks (where ties are given ranks, as described above).

## Confidence intervals

Confidence intervals for Spearman's *ρ* can be easily obtained using the Jackknife Euclidean likelihood approach in de Carvalho and Marques (2012). The confidence interval with level $\alpha $ is based on a Wilks' theorem given in the latter paper, and is given by

$$\left\\{\theta :{\frac {\\{\sum \_{i=1}^{n}(Z\_{i}-\theta )\\}^{2}{\sum \_{i=1}^{n}(Z\_{i}-\theta )^{2}\leq \chi \_{1,\alpha }^{2}\right\\},}}}$$

where $\chi \_{1,\alpha }^{2}$ is the $\alpha $ quantile of a chi-square distribution with one degree of freedom, and the $Z\_{i}$ are jackknife pseudo-values. This approach is implemented in the R package spearmanCI.

## Determining significance

One approach to test whether an observed value of *ρ* is significantly different from zero (*r* will always maintain −1 ≤ *r* ≤ 1) is to calculate the probability that it would be greater than or equal to the observed *r*, given the null hypothesis, by using a permutation test. An advantage of this approach is that it automatically takes into account the number of tied data values in the sample and the way they are treated in computing the rank correlation.

Another approach parallels the use of the Fisher transformation in the case of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. That is, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests relating to the population value *ρ* can be carried out using the Fisher transformation:

$$F(r)={\frac {1}{2}\ln {\frac {1+r}{1-r}=\operatorname {arctanh} r.}}$$

If *F*(*r*) is the Fisher transformation of *r*, the sample Spearman rank correlation coefficient, and *n* is the sample size, then

$$z={\sqrt {\frac {n-3}{1.06}F(r)}}$$

is a *z*-score for *r*, which approximately follows a standard normal distribution under the null hypothesis of statistical independence (*ρ* = 0).

One can also test for significance using

$$t=r{\sqrt {\frac {n-2}{1-r^{2},}}}$$

which is distributed approximately as Student's *t*-distribution with *n* − 2 degrees of freedom under the null hypothesis. A justification for this result relies on a permutation argument.

A generalization of the Spearman coefficient is useful in the situation where there are three or more conditions, a number of subjects are all observed in each of them, and it is predicted that the observations will have a particular order. For example, a number of subjects might each be given three trials at the same task, and it is predicted that performance will improve from trial to trial. A test of the significance of the trend between conditions in this situation was developed by E. B. Page and is usually referred to as Page's trend test for ordered alternatives.

## Correspondence analysis based on Spearman's *ρ*

Classic correspondence analysis is a statistical method that gives a score to every value of two nominal variables. In this way the Pearson correlation coefficient between them is maximized.

There exists an equivalent of this method, called grade correspondence analysis, which maximizes Spearman's *ρ* or Kendall's τ.

## Approximating Spearman's *ρ* from a stream

There are two existing approaches to approximating the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient from streaming data. The first approach involves coarsening the joint distribution of $(X,Y)$. For continuous $X,Y$ values: $m\_{1},m\_{2}$ cutpoints are selected for $X$ and $Y$ respectively, discretizing these random variables. Default cutpoints are added at $-\infty $ and $\infty $. A count matrix of size $(m\_{1}+1)\times (m\_{2}+1)$, denoted $M$, is then constructed where $M\[i,j\]$ stores the number of observations that fall into the two-dimensional cell indexed by $(i,j)$. For streaming data, when a new observation arrives, the appropriate $M\[i,j\]$ element is incremented. The Spearman's rank correlation can then be computed, based on the count matrix $M$, using linear algebra operations (Algorithm 2). Note that for discrete random variables, no discretization procedure is necessary. This method is applicable to stationary streaming data as well as large data sets. For non-stationary streaming data, where the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient may change over time, the same procedure can be applied, but to a moving window of observations. When using a moving window, memory requirements grow linearly with chosen window size.

The second approach to approximating the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient from streaming data involves the use of Hermite series based estimators. These estimators, based on Hermite polynomials, allow sequential estimation of the probability density function and cumulative distribution function in univariate and bivariate cases. Bivariate Hermite series density estimators and univariate Hermite series based cumulative distribution function estimators are plugged into a large sample version of the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient estimator, to give a sequential Spearman's correlation estimator. This estimator is phrased in terms of linear algebra operations for computational efficiency (equation (8) and algorithm 1 and 2). These algorithms are only applicable to continuous random variable data, but have certain advantages over the count matrix approach in this setting. The first advantage is improved accuracy when applied to large numbers of observations. The second advantage is that the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient can be computed on non-stationary streams without relying on a moving window. Instead, the Hermite series based estimator uses an exponential weighting scheme to track time-varying Spearman's rank correlation from streaming data, which has constant memory requirements with respect to "effective" moving window size. A software implementation of these Hermite series based algorithms exists and is discussed in Software implementations.

## Software implementations

* 's statistics base-package implements the test `cor.test(x, y, method = "spearman")` in its "stats" package (also `cor(x, y, method = "spearman")` will work. The package spearmanCI computes confidence intervals. The package hermiter computes fast batch estimates of the Spearman correlation along with sequential estimates (i.e. estimates that are updated in an online/incremental manner as new observations are incorporated).
* Stata implementation:  `spearman *varlist*`  calculates all pairwise correlation coefficients for all variables in *varlist*.
* MATLAB implementation: `[r,p] = corr(x,y,'Type','Spearman')` where `r` is the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, `p` is the p-value, and `x` and `y` are vectors.
* Python has many different implementations of the spearman correlation statistic: it can be computed with the spearmanr function of the `scipy.stats` module, as well as with the `DataFrame.corr(method='spearman')` method from the pandas library, and the `corr(x, y, method='spearman')` function from the statistical package pingouin.

## Further reading


abstract: The Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, or 'SCIPSA', is a body created under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 to scrutinise the UK's Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. The committee's purposes are to approve the members of IPSA and to scrutinize and approve its estimate. The chair and members of IPSA are selected on an Address to the King from the House of Commons, but the names are chosen by the Speaker with the agreement of SCIPSA.

text:
# Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

The **Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority**, or 'SCIPSA', is a body created under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 to scrutinise the UK's Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. The committee's purposes are to approve the members of IPSA and to scrutinize and approve its estimate (or budget). The chair and members of IPSA are selected on an Address to the King from the House of Commons, but the names are chosen by the Speaker with the agreement of SCIPSA.

## Composition

The committee comprises eight MPs and three lay members. The MPs are: the Speaker of the House of Commons (who also serves as its chair), the Leader of the House of Commons, the chair of the Standards and Privileges Select Committee, and five others appointed by the House of Commons who are not Ministers of the Crown. The Shadow Leader of the House has been appointed as one of the opposition members of the committee since its inception, but the act creating it does not specify she will be a member and does not assign a member to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition as is done to provide that result with the House of Commons Commission.

## Membership

The current members of SCIPSA, as of January 2022 are:

| Member | | Party | Constituency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP | Speaker | Chorley |
|  | Rt Hon Thangam Debbonaire MP | Labour | Bristol West |
|  | Chris Bryant MP | Labour | Rhondda |
|  | Marion Fellows MP | SNP | Motherwell and Wishaw |
|  | Rt Hon Dame Jackie Doyle-Price MP | Conservative | Thurrock |
|  | Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne MP | Conservative | New Forest West |
|  | Sir Charles Walker MP | Conservative | Broxbourne |
|  | Rt Hon Valerie Vaz MP | Labour | Walsall South |

The three lay members, are, as of January 2022 are Cindy Butts, Peter Blausten, and Theresa Middleton.


title: Southern Life Centre

abstract: The Southern Life Centre is an international style skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

text:
# Southern Life Centre

The **Southern Life Centre** is an international style skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

## History

Construction started in 1970 and was completed in 1973. The architects were Monty, Sack, Nurcombe, Summerley, Ringrose and Partners, while the structural engineeriners were Ove Arup and Partners.

## Description

The building has a height of 138 metres (453 ft) and comprises 30 floors. It is also known as African Eagle Life Centre/Momentumn Life Centre. It is notable for having a pyrimide glass shape on its roof. The building is also used for advertising. The skyscraper is located at 45 Commissioner Street 323 m North West of Standard Bank Centre. It is the 15th tallest building in South Africa.

Media related to Southern Life Centre at Wikimedia Commons

## InfoBox

| Southern Life Centre | |
| --- | --- |
| The Southern Life Centre with the Standard Bank Centre in the background | |
|  | |
| General information | |
| Location | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Coordinates | 26°12′21″S 28°02′12″E / 26.2058°S 28.0366°E / -26.2058; 28.0366 |
| Completed | 1973 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 138 m (453 ft) |


abstract: Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police was a radio adventure series written by Virginia Cooke. It was centered on the adventures of Speed Gibson, a fifteen-year-old pilot who, through his uncle Clint Barlow, becomes a member of the International Secret Police. Speed was described as "a typical American boy: interested in short wave radio, aviation and most of all—The International Secret Police."

text:
# Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police

***Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police*** was a radio adventure series written by Virginia Cooke. It was centered on the adventures of Speed Gibson, a fifteen-year-old pilot who, through his uncle Clint Barlow, becomes a member of the International Secret Police. Speed was described as "a typical American boy: interested in short wave radio, aviation and most of all—The International Secret Police."

## The show

*Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police* ran weekly from January 2, 1937, to May 25, 1940. 178 Episodes of the show were produced with each episode lasting approximately fifteen minutes. Elliott Lewis may have starred in the title role of Speed Gibson but this cannot be confirmed. It is believed by some that Lewis played Splinters, one of the Octopus' henchmen. Howard McNear played his uncle Clint Barlow, and John Gibson played his sidekick, Barney Dunlap, known for using such catch phrases as "Suffering wangdoodles!" Other voice actors contributing to the series were Gale Gordon as The Octopus, Hanley Stafford, Jack Mathers, Victor Rodman and Sam Edwards. The opening theme contained the drone of an airplane and the voice of an air traffic controller urgently calling, "Ceiling zero … ceiling zero … ceiling zero!"

The series was divided into two stories. The first 100 episodes cover *The Menace of the Octopus*. They highlight Speed's induction into the International Secret Police and the subsequent pursuit of the Octopus and his gang throughout the Orient. The remaining 78 shows are titled *Speed Gibson And The Atlantian Syndicate*. This series follows Speed as he continues his adventures on the African continent and his quest to defeat the Octopus.

The series is notable in that all 178 episodes have survived intact.


title: Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis

abstract: Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis is a Gram-negative bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from soil from a ginseng field in Pocheon in Korea.

text:
# Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis

***Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis*** is a Gram-negative bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from soil from a ginseng field in Pocheon in Korea.

## Further reading

* Son, Heung-Min; Kook, MooChang; Tran, Hanh T.H.; Kim, Ki-Young; Park, Sang-Yong; Kim, Ju-Han; Yi, Tae-Hoo (5 February 2014). "Sphingomonas kyeonggiense sp. nov., isolated from soil of a ginseng field". *Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*. **105** (4): 791–797. doi:10.1007/s10482-014-0122-7. PMID 24496756. S2CID 16118257.

## InfoBox

| *Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Alphaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Sphingomonadales |
| Family: | Sphingomonadaceae |
| Genus: | *Sphingomonas* |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis***<br>Son et al. 2014 | |
|
| Type strain | |
| JCM 18825, KACC 17173, THG-DT81 | |
| Synonyms | |
| Sphingomonas kyeonggiense | |


title: Sphingomonas laterariae

abstract: Sphingomonas laterariae is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from a dump site which was contaminated with hexachlorocyclohexane in Ummari in India.

text:
# Sphingomonas laterariae

***Sphingomonas laterariae*** is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from a dump site which was contaminated with hexachlorocyclohexane in Ummari in India.

## Further reading

* Kaur, Jasvinder; Kaur, Jaspreet; Niharika, N; Lal, R (December 2012). "Sphingomonas laterariae sp. nov., isolated from a hexachlorocyclohexane-contaminated dump site". *International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology*. **62** (Pt 12): 2891–6. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.034686-0. PMID 22247216.

## InfoBox

| *Sphingomonas koreensis* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Alphaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Sphingomonadales |
| Family: | Sphingomonadaceae |
| Genus: | *Sphingomonas* |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Sphingomonas koreensis***<br>Kaur et al. 2012 | |
|
| Type strain | |
| CCM 7880, DSM 25432, LNB2, MTCC 10873 | |


title: Southern Pacific class MT-5

abstract: The Southern Pacific Class Mt-5 is a class of 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotives built between 1929 and 1930 by the Southern Pacific's own Sacramento shops. There were 10 locomotives built in the class. They were retired between 1953 and 1958. None survived into preservation.

text:
# Southern Pacific class MT-5

The Southern Pacific **Class Mt-5 is a class** of 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotives built between 1929 and 1930 by the Southern Pacific's own Sacramento shops. There were 10 locomotives built in the class. They were retired between 1953 and 1958. None survived into preservation.

* Drury, George H. (1993), *Guide to North American Steam Locomotives*, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, p. 365, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472

## InfoBox

| Southern Pacific Class Mt-5 | |
| --- | --- |
| Type and origin  Power type Steam  Builder Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops  Build date 1929-1930  Total produced 10 | |
| Specifications  Configuration:<br>   Whyte 4-8-2  Driver dia. 73 in (1,854.2 mm)  Wheelbase:   Engine 43 ft  Axle load 61,800 lb (28,000 kg)  Fuel type oil  Boiler pressure 210 psi (1.45 MPa)  Valve gear Walschaerts  Valve type Piston | |
| Performance figures  Maximum speed 60 Mph  Tractive effort 57,511 lbf (255.82 kN) | |
| Career  Operators Southern Pacific Company  Class MT-5  Numbers 4367-4376  Locale California  Retired 1953-1958  Preserved 0  Disposition All scrapped | |


title: Southwest Inn fire

abstract: The Southwest Inn fire in Houston, Texas on May 31, 2013 was a fire in an Indian restaurant that spread to an adjoining hotel. The fire claimed the biggest casualty loss for the Houston Fire Department since its inception. Four firefighters were killed and 13 others were injured that day while fighting the five-alarm fire at the Southwest Inn located in Southwest Houston. On March 7, 2017, Captain Bill Dowling, who lost both his legs battling the fire in 2013, died of complications from his line-of-duty injuries.

text:
# Southwest Inn fire

The **Southwest Inn fire** in Houston, Texas on May 31, 2013 was a fire in an Indian restaurant that spread to an adjoining hotel. The fire claimed the biggest casualty loss for the Houston Fire Department since its inception. Four firefighters were killed and 13 others were injured that day while fighting the five-alarm fire at the Southwest Inn located in Southwest Houston. On March 7, 2017, Captain Bill Dowling, who lost both his legs battling the fire in 2013, died of complications (pneumonia or cellulitis) from his line-of-duty injuries.

## Southwest Inn

The Southwest Inn was located in the Greater Sharpstown district of Southwest Houston, along a portion of Interstate 69 "Southwest Freeway". The hotel was previously called the Roadrunner Inn. It was owned by Criterium Systems, Incorporated, a company in California. An Indian resurant called "Bhojan" was attached to the hotel. The restaurant described itself as a Gujarati-style thali vegetarian restaurant. The hotel could hold up to 100 guests. Some people used the hotel as a rooming house and stayed there for months at a time.

Since 2009, according to fire inspection records, the hotel had received citations for issues in the overall fire alarm system: broken smoke detectors in several rooms, issues with fire suppression systems, expired permits, and obstructed exits. In 2011 HFD's database stated that the hotel was "in compliance" with regulations. In 2012 additional citations appeared on the HFD database. City of Houston inspectors had also cited the restaurant for violations. The restaurant's most recent citation was in March 2013 for failure to clean grease traps. On May 8, 2013, the final inspection of the hotel property stated there was "no action required."

## Fire

The fire was first reported at 12:09 PM CST on May 31, 2013 in the Bhojan Indian restaurant, during its lunch service. At the time of the fire, 45 guests were registered at the hotel. The front desk clerk and another hotel employee began knocking on doors and windows in the hotel, alerting customers that there was a fire and they needed to evacuate. Twenty HFD vehicles arrived at the scene with lights flashing, including fire trucks and ambulances. The four fatalities occurred twelve minutes after the arrival of the first engine, when the roof collapsed.

The hotel's roof had collapsed in the course of the fire. Firefighters, believing that people were trapped inside, entered the building. Two of the deceased were from Station 51 and two were from Station 68. The fire also caused injuries to 14 additional firefighters; one fell into a coma and another required leg amputation.

The four firefighters who died in 2013 were Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud, and Anne Sullivan.

## Aftermath

The four bodies were taken via ambulances to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science. Once autopsies were completed, they were taken to local funeral homes. The fire was investigated by the HFD, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). A total of 50 investigators from city, state, and federal agencies helped.

The long-term patrons at the Southwest Inn were displaced by the fire. The area Plainfield Inn donated rentals of twenty rooms for their short-term recovery stays.

The memorial services for the deceased were scheduled to be held at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday June 5, 2013. Captain William 'Iron Bill' Dowling, who had lost both legs in the roof collapse, died on March 7, 2017, from complications related to his injuries from the fire. A memorial service was held on March 15, 2017.

In June 2015 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released their final report and found eight contributing factors to the death of the firefighters, including:

* Fire burning unreported for three hours
* Delayed notification to the fire department
* Building construction
* Wind impacted fire
* Scene size-up
* Personnel accountability
* Fire ground communications
* Lack of fire sprinkler system

Anne McCormick Sullivan Elementary School, in the Riverstone community and in unincorporated Fort Bend County, was named after one of the firefighters. It is a part of the Fort Bend Independent School District.

In 2018 a lawyer accused Motorola of being responsible for mistakes in the radio network and that they contributed to the deaths. Families of the four firefighters immediately killed filed a lawsuit against Motorola. In 2019 the wife of Dowling filed a lawsuit against Motorola.

## Further reading

Final reports:

## InfoBox

Southwest Inn fire
| Southwest Inn after the fire | |
| --- | --- |
| Date | May 31, 2013 (2013-05-31) |
| Venue | Southwest Inn |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°42′40″N 95°30′13″W / 29.711046°N 95.503516°W / 29.711046; -95.503516 |
| Type | Fire |
| Deaths | 5 firefighters |
| Non-fatal injuries | 12 firefighters |


title: Sphaerovum

abstract: Sphaerovum is an oogenus of dinosaur egg that has only been discovered in South America.

text:
# Sphaerovum

***Sphaerovum*** is an oogenus of dinosaur egg that has only been discovered in South America.

## History

*Sphaerovum* was first described, along with *Tacuarembovum*, in 1980 by paleontologist Álvaro Mones, following their discovery at the Asencio Formation in Uruguay. This was one of the first discoveries of fossil dinosaur eggs in South America.

## Distribution

Fossils of *Sphaerovum* and *Sphaerovum*-like eggs are known from the Puerto Yeruá, Allen and Colorado Formations in Argentina and the Guichón and Asencio Formations of Uruguay. They are always found in Campanian\- or Maastrichtian-aged rocks, leading to their use as index fossils.

## Description

*Sphaerovum* eggs are 15-20 cm in diameter, with a shell between 4.2 and 5.5 mm thick. The ornamentation is compactituberculate, i.e. the eggshell is covered with dome-like nodes formed by the tops of the shell units. The type specimen of *Sphaerovum erbeni* is too silicified to make out its microstructure, however many specimens of South American fossil eggs showing superficial similarities to *Sphaerovum* have been found. These specimens are resemble other Faveoloolithids in their filispherulitic structure and a multicanaliculate pore system. Unlike Faveoloolithids, however, *Sphaerovum* has compactituberculate ornamentation more similar to Megaloolithids. The high density of pores on the eggshell surface suggests that these eggs were laid in a humid environment.

At the Mercedes Formation, *Sphaerovum*-like eggs were found in large, closely packed groups indicating that they were buried in a shallow pit.

## Classification

Due to their poor preservation, classification of *Sphaerovum* has proven difficult.

### Parataxonomy

The holotype specimen of *Sphaerovum* is heavily silicified, making the eggshell structure unrecognizable and assignment to any oofamily difficult. However, other specimens which have strong superficial resemblance to *Sphaerovum* have been found in Uruguay and Argentina. These specimens show morphology similar to members of Faveoloolithidae, supporting the referral of *Sphaerovum* to that oofamily. However, it is occasionally considered to be a Megaloolithid on the basis of its ornamentation.

### Parentage

It is unknown what kind of dinosaur laid *Sphaerovum* eggs because embryonic remains have not been found. However, they have long been considered to be the eggs of titanosaurs. This would be consistent with the fact that titanosaurs were extremely common in the Upper Cretaceous of South America. Also, some eggshell fragments tentatively assigned to *Sphaerovum* were found loosely associated with the remains of a Saltasaurid titanosaur at the Guichón Formation in Uruguay.

## InfoBox

| *Sphaerovum*
Temporal range: | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Egg fossil classification | |
| *Basic shell type*: | Dinosauroid-spherulitic |
| Oofamily: | Faveoloolithidae |
| Oogenus: | *Sphaerovum*
Mones, 1980 |
|
| Oospecies | |
| * ***S. erbeni*** Mones, 1980 (type) | |


abstract: Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum (SNPF) is a neighbourhood forum made up of local Spitalfields residents, business operators and community organisations who represent the range of interests in the 'Spitalfields Neighbourhood Area'. The area covered is a small part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, mainly along that borough's western border with the City of London. The bounds of the neighbourhood area were designed to cover a similar area to the ancient parish of Spitalfields. The Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum was officially designated by Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs in April 2016. The conditions for neighbourhood forum designation are set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the powers of neighbourhood forums to create neighbourhood plans are set out in the Localism Act 2011. Tower Hamlets has several other neighbourhood forums in Limehouse, East Shoreditch and the Isle of Dogs that have been similarly designated by the council and which allow local people to help shape neighbourhood planning policies and local services in their area.

text:
# Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum

**Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum** (**SNPF**) is a neighbourhood forum made up of local Spitalfields residents, business operators and community organisations who represent the range of interests in the 'Spitalfields Neighbourhood Area' (which is a business neighbourhood area). The area covered is a small part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, mainly along that borough's western border with the City of London. The bounds of the neighbourhood area were designed to cover a similar area to the ancient parish of Spitalfields.

The Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum was officially designated by Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs in April 2016. The conditions for neighbourhood forum designation are set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the powers of neighbourhood forums to create neighbourhood plans are set out in the Localism Act 2011. Tower Hamlets has several other neighbourhood forums in Limehouse, East Shoreditch and the Isle of Dogs that have been similarly designated by the council and which allow local people to help shape neighbourhood planning policies and local services in their area.


title: Spitalo Fatalo

abstract:
Spitalo Fatalo was the third album to be released by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It was released in 1983 in Germany and reissued a few times for a few other countries and formats.
  - Originally released on vinyl in Germany in 1983, catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333121
  - Reissued on vinyl in Germany in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333121, weisses Label
  - Reissued on CD in Germany 1988 DE, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900712
  - Issued in The Netherlands on CD in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900712
  - Issued on cassette in Austria in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900714 The track entitled "Tanz Tanz Tanz" does not relate to the song which features on James Last's album "Sing Mit James Last 7"

text:
# Spitalo Fatalo

***Spitalo Fatalo*** was the third album to be released by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It was released in 1983 in Germany and reissued a few times for a few other countries and formats.

* Originally released on vinyl in Germany in 1983, catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333121
* Reissued on vinyl in Germany in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333121, weisses Label
* Reissued on CD in Germany 1988 DE, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900712
* Issued in The Netherlands on CD in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900712
* Issued on cassette in Austria in 1991, catalogue number EMI Electrola 7900714

The track entitled "Tanz Tanz Tanz" does not relate to the song which features on James Last's album "Sing Mit James Last 7"

## Track listing

1. Hallo Hallo
2. Tanz Tanz Tanz
3. Sofa
4. Balkan-Boogie
5. I hob des G'fühl
6. Afrika - Ist der Massa gut bei Kassa
7. Stolzer Falke
8. Alpenrap
9. Es wird Heller
10. Total verunsichert
11. Spitalo Finalo

## Personnel

**EAV**

* Thomas Spitzer: guitars, vocals
* Eik Breit: bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Es wird Heller"
* Nino Holm: keyboards, bass, backing vocals
* Anders Stenmo: drums, backing vocals
* Klaus Eberhartinger: lead vocals on "Tanz Tanz Tanz", "Balkan-Boogie", "Afrika - Ist der Massa gut bei Kassa" and "Alpenrap"
* Mario Bottazzi: piano, lead vocals on "Hallo Hallo", "Sofa", "Stolzer Falke" and "Spitalo Finalo"
* Günther Schönberger: saxophone, backing vocals

**Additional personnel**

* Gert Steinbäcker: lead vocals on "Total verunsichert"
* Günter Timischl: lead vocals on "I hob des G'fühl"
* Wilfried Scheutz: handclaps
* Andi Beit: keyboards
* Erich Buchebner: bass
* Hossein Rastegar: drums
* Siegfried Ritter: drums
* Peter Szammer: drums
* Boris Bukowski: snare drum
* Gottfried Neumeister: trumpet
* Franz Tieber: tuba
* Martin Tieber: trombone
* Günter Meinhart: marimba
* Gottfried Jesernik: backing vocals

## Singles

* Total verunsichert was released in 1982 in Austria only and only on 7 inch. Tanz Tanz Tanz appeared on the B side. Catalogue number UN-Platte 45002.
* Alpen Rap was released on 7 inch only in Austria, however a 7-inch and a 12-inch were released in Germany. The Austrian 7 inch was on catalogue number EMI Columbia 12C 006 33310. The German 7 inch was on catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333107 and the German 12 inch was released on catalogue number EMI Electrola 1333106. All three issues were in 1983. All three issues featured I hob des G'fühlas the B side, however the German 12 inch featured Alpen-Rap (Mega-Alm-Mix) instead of the original Alpen-Rap track.
* A slight variation of Alpen Rap was released on 7 inch in Germany only in 1983 and it was called Alp-Rapp. It was released on catalogue number EMI 1333227 and featured Tanz Tanz Tanz on the B side.
* Afrika - Ist der Massa gut bei Kassa was issued as a 7 inch in Germany only on catalogue number EMI Columbia 1333137. It featured Stolzer Falke on the B side.

## InfoBox

| Spitalo Fatalo | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung | |
| Released | 1983 (1983) |
| Label | EMI |
| Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung chronology | |
| *Café Passé*
(1981) ***Spitalo Fatalo***
(1983) *A la Carte*
(1984) | |


title: Southern fusion

abstract: Southern fusion is a fusion cuisine that blends or combines cuisine elements from the American southern states or other cultures with traditional Southern cooking. The origin of Southern fusion took place before there was a defining phrase for this pattern of cooking. Traditional southern food has originated from African, European and Hispanic cultures. Due to this fact, Southern fusion usually occurs naturally between different regions and cultures through immigration. Southern fusion cuisine can mean a blend of various Southern styles of cooking, or a blend of Southern style with another style of cooking altogether. Prevalent Southern fusion cuisines include Tex-Mex, although there are countless combinations of cuisines that would fall under the category of Southern fusion. Many modern restaurants in the southern states feature elements of Southern fusion cooking.

text:
# Southern fusion

**Southern fusion** is a fusion cuisine that blends or combines cuisine elements from the American southern states or other cultures with traditional Southern cooking. The origin of Southern fusion took place before there was a defining phrase for this pattern of cooking. Traditional southern food has originated from African, European and Hispanic cultures. Due to this fact, Southern fusion usually occurs naturally between different regions and cultures through immigration. Southern fusion cuisine can mean a blend of various Southern styles of cooking, or a blend of Southern style with another style of cooking altogether. Prevalent Southern fusion cuisines include Tex-Mex, although there are countless combinations of cuisines that would fall under the category of Southern fusion. Many modern restaurants in the southern states feature elements of Southern fusion cooking.

## History and Origin

The base of Southern fusion cooking is associated with distinct foods and dishes from the southern states of the United States of America. This may include dishes such as, barbecued meats, fried chicken and grits. This also may include agricultural staples such as okra, sweet potatoes, peaches, or collard greens. The first settlers of the south were of English descent and settled the colonies of Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. Plantations in the American south required African American slaves to do agricultural work, establishing the African American colonial culture. The practice of frying foods can be traced back to African slaves who brought this common way of cooking southern food from their ancestors. African influences on southern cuisine had mostly been looked over until the twentieth century. European countries continued to settle the deep south of America including the French and Spanish in the mid-sixteenth century through the seventeenth century. The Spanish established territories in modern day New Mexico and Florida, while the French had settled in Louisiana. Thus Cajun cuisine, the French-Arcadian style of cooking, was established in Louisiana. Louisiana Creole cuisine, another prevalent mixing of cultural cuisines, features styles of cooking influenced by West Africans, the French, the Spanish and Haitians. This is to be noted as the origin of Southern fusion existed before the modern name was used to identify the natural outcome of food combining by immigration.

## Modern Southern Fusion Cuisines

In southern states the regional Southern fusion cuisine can be used as a reflection of the types of immigrants who live there. In New Orleans, the influence of the French, Lebanese and Italian immigrants can be seen in their food culture. The Hispanic community in the deep south has introduced new flavors to the more rural regions, and coastal cities cuisine of the Southern United States are being influenced by recent Asian immigration. A more modern approach to fusion has been taken to the more purposeful mixing of ingredients, culinary traditions, dishes and methods of cooking. As an example is Floribbean cuisine, the mixing of Caribbean cuisine with Florida's regional southern cuisine. The result emphasizes exotic Caribbean spices, mixed with fresh fruits and garnishes such as lemon grass, ginger and scallions. "Mash-up" or hybridized dishes are also quite popular in Southern fusion with examples such as Thai-mashed potatoes or kimchi tacos. Fusion is not limited to food any may include drinks by putting cultural twists on Southern classics. Many chefs of the southern united states have called southern fusion the flavor of the south due to its deep roots in southern history.

## Cultural Impacts

Acculturation of food into indigenous diets from colonization dates what the public knows as Southern fusion. The result was the unintentional bringing together of two different food cultures. As a contemporary movement, fusion food aims to embrace multiculturalism and transculturation. Eating is an inherently cultural experience and fusion style of cooking has been said to encourage the blend of foods in a creative manner. Chef and scholar, Adrian Miller, calls Southern fusion and soul food an "immigrant cuisine" to emphasize the many influences that traditional Southern cuisine comes from.

American Cuisines

Tex-Mex

New Mexican Cuisine

Creole Cuisine

Cajun Cuisine

Southern Cuisine


title: Southern forest bat

abstract: The southern forest bat is a vesper bat found in Australia.

text:
# Southern forest bat

The **southern forest bat** (***Vespadelus regulus***) is a vesper bat found in Australia.

## Taxonomy

A species of *Vespadelus*, of the diverse and common micro-bats, bats assigned as either suborder Yangochiroptera or Microchiroptera. The description for the species was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1906. The holotype, of indeterminate sex, was collected at King River, Western Australia at sea level. The specimen was obtained on a survey of Southwest Australia, along with several other bat species. The lectotype, a skull held at British Museum of Natural History, was nominated in 1968, providing a single specimen from the material collected by Thomas.

Thomas ascribed the species as *Pipistrellus regulus*, allying it to the genus *Pipistrellus*. The species has also been placed with genus *Eptesicus*. Prior to analysis that led to the description of new species, the population was assigned to a poorly studied *pumilis* group of Australian bat taxa. Taxonomic instability also saw the species placed within a subgenus *Pipistrellus* (*Vespadelus*), while others were elevating that taxon as genus *Vespadelus*.

The taxonomic status of the population west of Adelaide, South Australia, is suspected to be a separate species.

Common names for the *Vespadelus regulus* include little bat, King River little bat, and King River pipistrelle.

## Description

*Vespadelus regulus* is an aerial predator of insects that hunts at night using echolocation. There is reddish-brown fur at the back, the ventral coloration is greyish or light brown. This fur is thick, hairs are slightly greater than five millimetres in length, with an overall coloration at the dorsal side of dark Prout's brown. The ears and wings are dark grey. The range of measurements for the forearm is from 28 to 35 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in), and their weight is 4 to 7 g (0.14 to 0.25 oz). It has a very short snout and large ears. The side profile of the skull is comparatively lower, flattened, and the head in top view is triangular.

The species overall grey and brown fur is characterised by hairs that are coloured dark brown then markedly lighter at the upper part of the shaft. The penis is pendulous, without a sharp bend in the length, the glans penis has a lateral fold and is funnel-shaped in profile. The ratio of the third to second phalanx bone of the wings third finger is greater than 0.84, The measured range of length of the head and body combined is 36 to 46 mm (1.4 to 1.8 in), the tail is 28 to 34 mm (1.1 to 1.3 in) long, and the ear length is 9 to 13 mm (0.35 to 0.51 in). The skull, at its longest measurement, is 12 to 13 mm (0.47 to 0.51 in) They weigh from 3.6 to 7.0 g (0.13 to 0.25 oz).

They are highly energetic and can hunt their prey, insects, with great agility.

Another bat of the genus, the little forest species *Vespadelus vulturnus*, is also found in eastern regions, it is usually smaller, a forearm length of less than 31 mm, probably possesses a whitish tragus, a head has a pronounced brow. The inland forest bat *Vespadelus baverstocki* is distinguished by its smaller size in their common range to the north, and is paler in colour and lacks the distinct fold at the glans penis. The related bats of genus *Vespadelus*, the eastern forest bat *V. pumilus* and large forest species *V. darlingtoni*, are distinctly darker in skin colour and their penis is bent at an acute angle. The structural characteristics of their ultrasound calls are able to be discerned in sonograms, although imperfect recording conditions may not allow them to be distinguished from some other vespadeluses. The echolocation calls are emitted at a frequency of 38 to 46 kHz, and visual output of signals received by bat detectors are classified as "curved calls, tail absent or up-sweeping".

## Distribution and habitat

An endemic of Tasmania and the southern regions of Australia, relatively common in coastal and sub-coastal habitat. The distribution range extends from southeast Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula, then restricted to the coast until their deeper inland ingress to the semiarid and forested regions of southwest Australia. The southwest of the continent, across an area to the north of Perth, is a region of low diversity in microbat taxa and none of the megachiropterans; this species is one of around ten to occur there. The also occur on Kangaroo Island, off the south coast of Australia. The habitat is a variety of mallee and other semi-arid woodland and wet sclerophyll forest in areas of higher rainfall. The species is found in environs at sea level and above, in Victoria they are reported as occurring at altitudes up to 1700 metres. Colonies have been found in remnant bushland in agricultural and urban areas.

The species is found roosting in tree hollows and sometimes in buildings. The sites are often shared by individuals of the same gender. The diverse range of habitat includes wet to dry sclerophyll forests and low shrub woodlands, in mallee and a range of vegetation types of temperate regions. They display a strong preference for roosting in large, mature trees in the mid-decay stages, which correspond to trees with large numbers of suitable hollows.

A study of roosting habitat and preferences for *V. regulus* and *Nyctophilus gouldi* in the Jarrah Forest of Southwest Australia examined the habits of these bats at two locations. This species favoured hollows of trees, predominantly the giants jarrah, *Eucalyptus marginata*, and marri, *Corymbia calophylla*, located in mature and open forest buffers reserved by later forest management practices. The individuals occupied a number of roosts in a confined locality, a hollow at a high elevation on the tree, and seem to favour riparian zones. In a survey of the greater Melbourne area, where they are uncommon, the species did not adopt the bat boxes installed to replace their preferred habitat.

## Ecology

*Vespadelus regulus* forages amongst all levels of their habitat, including at the ground and above the forest canopy. They are fast and agile, able to twist in the air while pursuing small moths and other prey. The species flight is characterised by spiralling and gliding in long arcs. A study in comparative analysis of flight in Australian bats reported this highly energetic species, along with wattled bats *Chalinolobus morio* and *Chalinolobus gouldii*, had the greatest manoeuvrability.

They occur in colonies of up to one hundred individuals, and recorded in association with *Chalinolobus morio*, lesser long-eared *Nyctophilus geoffroyi* and south-eastern freetail bat. A single birth occurs after a three month gestation period.

The conservation status, as *Eptisicus regulus*, was assessed in IUCN 2003 red list as 'lower concern', and in 2008 as 'least concern' with the note that determination of the taxonomic status of populations was required. The species is found in protected parks and reserves, which provides some security from threatening factors. The also appear to be less sensitive to altered land use, primarily the removal of habitat by encroachment of agricultural and suburban development.

## InfoBox

| Southern forest bat | |
| --- | --- |
| Conservation status | |
|
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | *Vespadelus* |
| Species: | ***V. regulus*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Vespadelus regulus***
(Thomas, 1906) | |
|
| Synonyms | |
| * *Eptesicus regulus* (Thomas, 1906) | |


title: Southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat

abstract: The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat or southern Luzon giant cloud rat, also known as bugkon in Filipino, is a vulnerable species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in southern Luzon in the Philippines. It is dark brown, occasionally with some reddish, but lacking the light-coloured sections usually seen in its close relative, the northern Luzon giant cloud rat. The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a large rodent that has a total length of about 67–75 cm (26–30 in) and weighs 1.45–2.1 kg (3.2–4.6 lb). Equally at home high amongst the branches of a tree as on the forest floor, the southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a slow-moving animal only active at night, spending the day in hollow trees or logs. It usually lives singly, or in pairs consisting of an adult male and female, or a female and her young, but larger groups have also been seen. Their diet consists primarily of tender, young leaves, but fruit is also reportedly eaten. The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat typically gives birth to a single pup each year, with data indicating that most births take place during the late rainy season. The young are born in the hollow of a standing or fallen tree, or in a hole in the ground. The mother carries her young firmly attached to a nipple. In captivity, one cloud rat lived for over 13 years.

text:
# Southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat

The **southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat** or **southern Luzon giant cloud rat** (***Phloeomys cumingi***), also known as ***bugkon*** in Filipino, is a vulnerable species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in southern Luzon in the Philippines. It is dark brown, occasionally with some reddish, but lacking the light-coloured sections usually seen in its close relative, the northern Luzon giant cloud rat (*P. pallidus*). The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a large rodent that has a total length of about 67–75 cm (26–30 in) and weighs 1.45–2.1 kg (3.2–4.6 lb).

Equally at home high amongst the branches of a tree as on the forest floor, the southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat is a slow-moving animal only active at night, spending the day in hollow trees or logs. It usually lives singly, or in pairs consisting of an adult male and female, or a female and her young, but larger groups have also been seen. Their diet consists primarily of tender, young leaves, but fruit is also reportedly eaten. The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat typically gives birth to a single pup each year, with data indicating that most births take place during the late rainy season. The young are born in the hollow of a standing or fallen tree, or in a hole in the ground. The mother carries her young firmly attached to a nipple. In captivity, one cloud rat lived for over 13 years.

## InfoBox

| Southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | *Phloeomys* |
| Species: | ***P. cumingi*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Phloeomys cumingi***
(Waterhouse, 1839) | |
|
|  | |
| Synonyms | |
| *Capromys elegans* Cabrera, 1901 | |


title: Spinettone

abstract: The spinettone was a kind of harpsichord invented in the late 17th century by Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was later the inventor of the piano. Other names for this instrument were spinettone da teatro, spinetta traversa.

text:
# Spinettone

The **spinettone** ("big spinet") was a kind of harpsichord invented in the late 17th century by Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was later the inventor of the piano. Other names for this instrument were **spinettone da teatro** ("of the theater"), *spinetta traversa* ("transverse spinet").

## Description

The spinettone was a kind of spinet, which means specifically that its strings were placed in pairs along a diagonal relative to the position of the keyboard. The jacks that plucked the strings were placed in opposite-facing pairs within the larger gaps between strings. Most spinets are smaller than regular harpsichords. The spinettone was very long, but narrower than a regular harpsichord.

The novelty of Cristofori's spinettone was that unlike any other spinet, it deployed multiple choirs of strings. Its disposition was 1 × 8′, 1 × 4′, which means one set of strings in the normal octave and one set that sounded an octave higher. As with all multichoired harpsichords, this necessitated two sets of jacks, one for each choir. The player could choose which choir of strings would sound (8′, 4′, or both together) by sliding the keyboard forward and backward. The internal mechanism that accomplished this was the same as the one that Cristofori had earlier used for his oval spinet.

As Kottick (2003) points out, the design of the spinettone attested to the extraordinary ingenuity of its inventor, which has been remarked on by a number of modern scholars (see Bartolomeo Cristofori). It is not at all straightforward to fit two sets of paired spinet jacks into the ordinary string layout of a spinet, which is more crowded owing to the slant of the strings. Cristofori was able to do this by using iron in the upper strings instead of his customary brass. These strings could then be made tenser — therefore longer, to sustain the same pitch — and thereby create the space needed for the jacks.

## History

The spinettone that Cristofori built were intended for the Medici family of Florence, more specifically for his patron Prince Ferdinando, the son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and heir to the Tuscan throne.

Prince Ferdinando was a great enthusiast for opera, and he organized many operatic productions at the Medici villa at Pratolino. According to Holmes (1999), the prince often participated as the continuo player, seated at a harpsichord among the orchestral musicians. The theatre the Prince had available at Pratolino was not very spacious, so there would be a strong incentive for the prince to have an instrument that was physically compact and able to fit easily in the orchestra, but endowed with multiple choirs of strings so as to be audible in performance. The spinettone was Cristofori's second effort to fulfill this requirement, the first one having been his (less successful) oval spinet.

Besides being smaller than a regular harpsichord, the spinettone had another advantage, pointed out by Kottick: owing to the diagonal geometry of the strings, the player could be seated more or less facing the performers on stage, while the sound was projected in the direction of the audience.

The great length of the spinettone was an advantage in the deep bass; as harpsichord scholar Grant O'Brien noted, "the bass strings are very long with very little bass string-scaling foreshortening" — in other words, their low pitch was achieved almost optimally, through length, rather than having to resort as in many instruments to lower tension or greater thickness. Kottick suggests that the instrument may have been designed to have a powerful bass because it was substituting for the theorbo, a plucked bass instrument, in performances.

The spinettone was a local success among the musicians of the Medici court. Montanari (2002) documents that Cristofori's spinettoni were constantly being loaned out from the Medici collection for use. He eventually built a total of four of them. Yet another was built later by his student Giovanni Ferrini.

* Holmes, William C. (1999), Moniglia and Legrenzi (ed.), "*Operatic commissions and productions at Pratolino* in Ifianassa e Melampo", *Journal of Musicology*, **17** (1): 152–167, doi:10.2307/764015, JSTOR 764015
* Kottick, Edward (2003), *A history of the harpsichord*, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-34166-3
* Montanari, Giuliana (2002), "The oval spinets and Grind Prince Ferdinando de' Medici's collection of quilled instruments", in Rossi-Rognoni, Gabriele (ed.), *La spinetta del 1690* \[*The 1690 Oval Spinet*\], Florence: Sillabe for the Galleria dell’Accademia