Monday, April 14, 2008


U.S. Cellular Field a.k.a. "The Cell" or (formerly New Comiskey Park) is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at Comiskey Park. The new park, completed at a cost of $167 million, also opened with the Comiskey Park name, but became U.S. Cellular Field in 2003 after U.S. Cellular bought the naming rights at $68 million over 20 years. It hosted the MLB All-Star Game that same year. A few sportscasters and fans, however, continue to use the former name, (new) Comiskey Park. Prior to the demolition of the Old Comiskey Park, Comiskey was the oldest in-use ballpark in Major League Baseball, a title now held by Fenway Park in Boston.
The stadium is situated at 35th Street and Shields Avenue in Chicago's Armour Square neighborhood ajacent to the Bridgeport neighborhood. It was built in the parking lot of old Comiskey Park, which was torn down and became a parking lot for the current park.
The stadium was the first new sports venue built in Chicago since The United Center opened in 1995. It was also the first baseball-only park since Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) opened in 1973, and the last built before the recent wave of new "retro-classic" stadiums. However, a few design features from the old park were retained. Most notable among them is the "exploding scoreboard," which is a replica of the one installed by Bill Veeck at the old park in 1960. At the beginning of all games, after a White Sox player hits a home run, and after a White Sox victory, the scoreboard lights up in color and fireworks explode in the sky. The entrance has several arched windows. The Sox Shower, located in left-center field, is a place where fans can cool off during hot gamedays.
As originally built, the park was criticized by many fans. To avoid overhang problems that were present in many stadiums built in the modern era, the upper deck was set back over the lower deck. However, this created one of the highest upper decks in baseball. The first row of seats in the upper deck at the new stadium is farther from the field than the highest row of seats in the upper deck at the old stadium. The new park's roof was much smaller than the old park's roof, and didn't completely cover the upper deck. Mike Veeck, son of the former White Sox' owner, once said, "It had everything but a soul."
In response to fan complaints, the stadium has undergone numerous renovations since its opening in order to retrofit the facility to current architectural trends. These new features have included building a multi-tiered concourse beyond center field, adjusting the fences to make the outfield less symmetrical and, most significantly, the removal of 6,000 seats at the top of the upper deck.
The uppermost story of the park now has a white and black screen behind the top row of seats and is topped by a flat canopy roof supported by poles that obstruct the view of a few seats. To give the park a "retro" feel the roof has black steel truss supports. The original blue seats were also replaced by forest green seats. The new green and black color scheme, upper level screen set back from the outer wall and canopy roof resembles the old Comiskey Park as well as other classic baseball stadiums. The White Sox have also added murals to the interior concourses, a prominent feature of the old stadium.
The stadium houses 84 luxury suites located on two levels, as well as thousands of "club seats" on 300-level mezzanine between the lower deck and upper deck. The club seats receive in-seat wait-staff and benefit from an enclosed concourse with multiple television viewing areas and bar-style concessions.

Renovations

Three rows of seats were added along the field between the dugouts and the foul poles.
Bullpens were moved and replaced with additional bleachers.
Distances to the outfield wall were changed, most noticeably down the foul lines, where the bullpens and the Bullpen Sports Bar are now located.
Batter's eye in center field was redesigned.
Restaurant was added in the outfield. U.S. Cellular Field Phase I (2001 season)

Old backstop with netted roof was replaced with a new "roofless" backstop which allows foul balls to drop into seats.
Improvements were made to the main and club level concourses.
Scoreboard and video boards were upgraded. Phase II (2002 season)

New center field video board and LED "ribbon" boards were added.
Outfield/Upper Deck Concourse upgrades were made.
Fan Deck in center field was added.
Ballpark was painted and stained.
A life size bronze statue of Charles Comiskey.
Phase III renovations cost approximately $20 million. Phase III (2003 season)

Upper Deck Seating Area - Eight rows and 6,600 seats were removed from the top of ballpark's upper deck.
A flat roof, elevated 20 feet above the seating area, has replaced the old roof, covering all but eight rows of seating.
Upper Deck Concourse was partially enclosed from the weather by a translucent wall.
Fan Deck in center field upgraded to feature tiered seating and standing room.
Lower Terrace balcony added to provide an additional party area and outdoor seating.
A life sized bronze statue of Minnie Minoso.
Phase IV renovations cost approximately $28 million. Phase IV (2004 season)

314-seat "Scout" seating area directly behind home plate added.
FUNdamentals, an area for kids, was added above the left field concourse.
Green seats replaced the old blue seats in the Club level, bleachers and some scattered areas around home plate.
A life size bronze statue of Carlton Fisk. Phase VI (2006 season)

Green seats replaced the old blue seats in the Lower Deck from the dugouts and the entire outfield seating area (including the left-center field bleachers which were previously renovated).
A new premium seating/restaurant area located in the former press box behind home plate in the stadium's "club level".
A new press box located on the first base side of the upper level of club level seating.
A new custom T-shirt shop
The beginning of a brick plaza in front of the stadium
A life size bronze statue of Billy Pierce placed on the center field concourse. Phase VII (2007 season)

Although the most of the blue seats have been replaced with green seats, two blue seats remain in the outfield. One is in the left field section, while the other is in right-center. The seats are the very seats where Paul Konerko's grand-slam and Scott Podsednik's walk-off home run from the 2005 World Series landed.
Notoriously located near the former sites of the Robert Taylor Homes and Stateway Gardens housing projects, at one time one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the United States. Notes

U.S. Cellular Arena - an indoor sports arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
U.S. Cellular Center - an indoor multipurpose arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
U.S. Cellular Coliseum - an indoor sports arena in Bloomington, Illinois.

Sunday, April 13, 2008


The Third Crusade (11891192), also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin.
After the failure of the Second Crusade, the Zengid dynasty controlled a unified Syria and engaged in a conflict with the Fatimid rulers of Egypt, which ultimately resulted in the unification of Egyptian and Syrian forces under the command of Saladin, who employed them to reduce the Christian states and to recapture Jerusalem in 1187. Spurred by religious zeal, Richard I of England and Philip II of France ended their conflict with each other to lead a new Crusade. The elderly Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa responded to the call to arms, and lead a massive army across Anatolia, but died from drowning before reaching the Holy Land. His discouraged troops left to go home.
After some military successes, the Christian powers argued over the spoils of war; frustrated with Richard, Frederick's successor Leopold V of Austria and Philip left the Holy Land in August 1191. On September 2, 1192, Richard and Saladin finalized a treaty by which Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control, but which also allowed unarmed Christian pilgrims to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on October 9. The failure of the Third Crusade would lead to the call for a Fourth Crusade six years later.

Background
After the failure of the Second Crusade, Nur ad-Din had control of Damascus and a unified Syria.
Eager to expand his power, Nur ad-Din set his sights on the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt. In 1163, Nur ad-Din's most trusted general, Shirkuh set out on a military expedition to the Nile. Accompanying the general was his young nephew, Saladin.
With Shirkuh's troops camped outside of Cairo, Egypt's sultan, Shawar called on King Amalric I of Jerusalem for assistance. In response, Amalric sent an army into Egypt and attacked Shirkuh's troops at Bilbeis in 1164.
In an attempt to divert Crusader attention from Egypt, Nur ad-Din attacked Antioch, resulting in a massacre of Christian soldiers and the capture of several Crusader leaders, including Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch. Nur ad-Din sent the scalps of the Christian defenders to Egypt for Shirkuh to proudly display at Bilbeis for Amalric's soldiers to see. This action prompted both Amalric and Shirkuh to lead their armies out of Egypt.
In 1167, Nur ad-Din once again sent Shirkuh to conquer the Fatimids in Egypt. Shawar also opted to once again call upon Amalric for the defence of his territory. The combined Egyptian-Christian forces pursued Shirkuh until he retreated to Alexandria.
Amalric then breached his alliance with Shawar by turning his forces on Egypt and besieging the city of Bilbeis. Shawar pleaded with his former enemy, Nur ad-Din to save him from Amalric's treachery. Lacking the resources to maintain a prolonged siege of Cairo against the combined forces of Nur ad-Din and Shawar, Amalric retreated. This new alliance gave Nur ad-Din rule over virtually all of Syria and Egypt.

Muslim unification
Shawar was executed for his treacherous alliances with the Christian forces, and Shirkuh succeeded him as vizier of Egypt. In 1169, Shirkuh died unexpectedly after only weeks of rule. Shirkuh's successor was his nephew, Salah ad-Din Yusuf, commonly known as Saladin. Nur ad-Din died in 1174, leaving the new empire to his 11-year old son, As-Salih. It was decided that the only man competent enough to uphold the jihad against the Crusaders was Saladin, who became sultan of both Egypt and Syria, and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.
Amalric also died in 1174, leaving Jerusalem to his 13-year old son, Baldwin IV. Although Baldwin suffered from leprosy, he was an effective and active military commander, defeating Saladin at the battle of Montgisard in 1177, with support from Raynald of Châtillon, who had been released from prison in 1176. Later, he forged an agreement with Saladin to allow free trade between Muslim and Christian territories.
Raynald also raided caravans throughout the region. He expanded his piracy to the Red Sea by sending galleys not only to raid ships, but to assault the city of Mecca itself. These acts enraged the Muslim world, giving Raynald a reputation as the most hated man in the Middle East.
Baldwin IV died in 1185 and the kingdom was left to his nephew Baldwin V, whom he had crowned as co-king in 1183. Raymond III of Tripoli again served as regent. The following year, Baldwin V died before his ninth birthday, and his mother Princess Sybilla, sister of Baldwin IV, crowned herself queen and her husband, Guy of Lusignan, king.
It was at this time that Reynald, once again, raided a rich caravan and had its travelers thrown in his prison. Saladin demanded that the prisoners and their cargo be released. The newly crowned King Guy appealed to Reynald to give in to Saladin's demands, but Reynald refused to follow the king's orders.

Saladin's conquests
Full article: Battle of Hattin; Siege of Jerusalem
It was this final act of outrage by Raynald which gave Saladin the opportunity he needed to take the offensive against the kingdom. He laid siege to the city of Tiberias in 1187. Raymond advised patience, but King Guy, acting on advice from Raynald, marched his army to the Horns of Hattin outside of Tiberias.
The Crusader army, thirsty and demoralized, was destroyed in the ensuing battle. King Guy and Raynald were brought to Saladin's tent, where Guy was offered a goblet of water. Guy took a drink but was forbidden to pass the goblet to Raynald, because the Muslim rule of hospitality states that one who receives food or drink is under the protection of the host. Saladin would not be forced to protect the treacherous Raynald by allowing him to drink. Raynald, who had not had a drop of water in days, grabbed the goblet out of Guy's hands. Upon seeing Raynald's disrespect for Muslim custom, Saladin beheaded Raynald for past betrayals. Saladin honored tradition with King Guy; Guy was sent to Damascus and eventually ransomed to his people, one of the few captive crusaders to avoid execution.
By the end of the year, Saladin had taken Acre and Jerusalem. Pope Urban III is said to have collapsed and later died upon hearing the news. However, at the time of his death, the news of the fall of Jerusalem could not yet have reached him, although he knew of the battle of Hattin and the fall of Acre.

Fall of the Latin Kingdom
The new pope, Gregory VIII proclaimed that the capture of Jerusalem was punishment for the sins of Christians across Europe. The cry went up for a new crusade to the Holy Land. Henry II of England and Philip II of France ended their war with each other, and both imposed a "Saladin tithe" on their citizens to finance the venture. In Britain, Baldwin of Exeter, the archbishop of Canterbury, made a tour through Wales, convincing 3,000 men-at-arms to take up the cross, recorded in the Itinerary of Giraldus Cambrensis.

Preparations
The elderly Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa responded to the call immediately. He took up the Cross at Mainz Cathedral on March 27, 1188 and was the first to set out for the Holy Land in May of 1189 with an army of over 15,000 men of which 3,000 were knights. The army was so huge that it could not be transported across the Mediterranean Sea, but instead had to cross Asia Minor by foot.
The Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus made a secret alliance with Saladin to impede Frederick's progress in exchange for his empire's safety. On May 18, 1190, the German army captured Iconium, the capital of the Sultanate of Rüm. However, on June 10, 1190, Frederick was thrown from his horse in the crossing of the Saleph River and drowned. After this, much of his army returned to Germany. His son Frederick of Swabia led the rest to Antioch. There, the emperor's body was boiled to remove the flesh, which was interred in the Church of St. Peter; his bones were put in a bag to continue the crusade. In Antioch, however, the German army was further reduced by fever. Young Frederick had to ask the assistance of his kinsman Conrad of Montferrat to lead him safely to Acre, by way of Tyre, where his father's bones were buried.

Barbarossa's crusade
Henry II of England died on July 6, 1189 following a defeat by his son Richard I (Lionheart) and Philip II. Richard inherited the crown and immediately began raising funds for the crusade. In July 1190, Richard and Philip set out jointly with 10,000 men each from Marseille, France for Sicily.
William II of Sicily had died the previous year, and was replaced by Tancred, who placed Joan of England — William's wife and Richard's sister — in prison. Richard captured the capital city of Messina on October 4, 1190 and Joan was released. Richard and Philip fell out over the issue of Richard's marriage, as Richard had decided to marry Berengaria of Navarre, breaking off his long-standing betrothal to Philip's half-sister Alys. Philip left Sicily directly for the Middle East on March 30, 1191, and arrived in Tyre in mid-May. He joined the siege of Acre on May 20. Richard did not set off from Sicily until April 10.
Shortly after setting sail from Sicily, Richard's armada was struck by a violent storm. Several ships ran aground, including one holding Joan, his new fiancée Berengaria, and a large amount of treasure that had been amassed for the crusade. It was soon discovered that Isaac Dukas Comnenus of Cyprus had seized the treasure. The young women were unharmed. Richard entered Limassol on May 6, and met with Isaac, who agreed to return Richard's belongings and send 500 of his soldiers to the Holy Land. Once back at his fortress of Famagusta, Isaac broke his oath of hospitality and began issuing orders for Richard to leave the island. Isaac's arrogance prompted Richard to conquer the island within days.

Richard and Philip's departure
Full article: Siege of Acre
King Guy was released from prison by Saladin in 1189. He attempted to take command of the Christian forces at Tyre, but Conrad of Montferrat held power there after his successful defence of the city from Muslim attacks. Guy turned his attention to the wealthy port of Acre. He amassed an army to besiege the city and received aid from Philip's newly-arrived French army. However, it was still not enough to counter Saladin's force, which besieged the besiegers. In summer 1190, in one of the numerous outbreaks of disease in the camp, Queen Sibylla and her young daughters died. Guy, although only king by right of marriage, endeavoured to retain his crown, although the rightful heir was Sibylla's half-sister Isabella. After a hastily arranged divorce from Humphrey IV of Toron, Isabella was married to Conrad of Montferrat, who claimed the kingship in her name.
During the winter of 1190-91, there were further outbreaks of dysentery and fever, which claimed the lives of Frederick of Swabia, Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem, and Theobald V of Blois. When the sailing season began again in spring 1191, Leopold V of Austria arrived and took command of what remained of the imperial forces. Philip of France arrived with his troops from Sicily in May.
Richard arrived at Acre on June 8, 1191 and immediately began supervising the construction of siege weapons to assault the city. The city was captured on July 12.
Richard, Philip, and Leopold quarrelled over the spoils of their victory. Richard cast down the German standard from the city, slighting Leopold. Also, in the struggle for the kingship of Jerusalem, Richard supported Guy, while Philip and Leopold supported Conrad, who was related to them both. It was decided that Guy would continue to rule, but that Conrad would receive the crown upon his death.
Frustrated with Richard (and in Philip's case, in poor health), Philip and Leopold took their armies and left the Holy Land in August.
When it became apparent that Saladin was not willing to pay the terms of the treaty at Acre, Richard had more than 3,000 Muslim prisoners executed on August 20 outside of Acre in full view of Saladin's camp.

Third Crusade Siege of Acre
Full article: Battle of Arsuf
After the capture of Acre, Richard decided to march to the city of Jaffa, where he could launch an attack on Jerusalem but on September 7, 1191, at Arsuf, 30 miles north of Jaffa, Saladin attacked Richard's army.
Saladin attempted to lure Richard's forces out to be easily picked off, but Richard maintained his formation until the Hospitallers rushed in to take Saladin's right flank, while the Templars took the left. Richard then won the battle.

Battle of Arsuf
Following his victory, Richard took Jaffa and established his new headquarters there. He offered to begin negotiations with Saladin, who sent his brother, Al-Adil to meet with Richard. Negotiations (which had included an attempt to marry Richard's sister Joan to Al-Adil) failed, and Richard marched to Ascalon.
Richard called on Conrad to join him on campaign, but he refused, citing Richard's alliance with King Guy. He too had been negotiating with Saladin, as a defence against any attempt by Richard to wrest Tyre from him for Guy. However, in April, Richard was forced to accept Conrad as king of Jerusalem after an election by the nobles of the kingdom. Guy had received no votes at all, but Richard sold him Cyprus as compensation. Before he could be crowned, Conrad was stabbed to death by two Hashshashin in the streets of Tyre. Eight days later, Richard's nephew Henry II of Champagne married Queen Isabella, who was pregnant with Conrad's child. It was strongly suspected that the king's killers had acted on instructions from Richard.
In July 1192, Saladin suddenly attacked and captured Jaffa with thousands of men, but the city was re-captured by Richard and a much smaller force of 55 men on July 31. A final battle was fought on August 5 in which Richard once again emerged triumphant.
On September 2, 1192, Richard and Saladin finalized a treaty by which Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control, but which also allowed unarmed Christian pilgrims to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on October 9.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Victorian England
The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. Although commonly used to refer to the period of Queen Victoria's rule between 1837 and 1901, scholars debate whether the Victorian period—as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians—actually begins with the passage of the Reform Act 1832. The era was preceded by the Regency era and succeeded by the Edwardian period.

Introduction
This inescapable sense of newness resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities. Gothic Revival architecture became increasingly significant in the period, leading to the Battle of the Styles between Gothic and Classical ideals. Charles Barry's architecture for the new Palace of Westminster, which had been badly damaged in an 1834 fire, built on the medieval style of Westminster Hall, the surviving part of the building. It constructed a narrative of cultural continuity, set in opposition to the violent disjunctions of Revolutionary France, a comparison common to the period, as expressed in Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution: A History and Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Gothic was also supported by the critic John Ruskin, who argued that it epitomised communal and inclusive social values, as opposed to Classicism, which he considered to epitomise mechanical standardisation.
The middle of the century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was The Crystal Palace, an enormous, modular glass and iron structure - the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very model of mechanical dehumanisation in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype of Modern architecture. The emergence of photography, which was showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art. John Everett Millais was influenced by photography (notably in his portrait of Ruskin) as were other Pre-Raphaelite artists. It later became associated with the Impressionistic and Social Realist techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such as Walter Sickert and Frank Holl.

Culture
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Britain had a very rigid social structure consisting of three distinct classes: the Church and aristocracy, the middle class, and the working poorer class.
The top class was known as the aristocracy. It included the Church and nobility and had great power and wealth. This class consisted of about two percent of the population, who were born into nobility and who owned the majority of the land. It included the royal family, lords spiritual and temporal, the clergy, great officers of state, and those above the degree of baronet. These people were privileged and avoided taxes.
The middle class consisted of the bourgeoisie - the middle working class. It was made up of factory owners, bankers, shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers, engineers, businessmen, traders, and other professionals. These people could be sometimes extremely rich, but in normal circumstances they were not privileged, and they especially resented this. There was a very large gap between the middle class and the lower class.
The British lower class was divided into two sections: "the working class" (labourers), and "the poor" (those who were not working, or not working regularly, and were receiving public charity). The lower class contained men, women, and children performing many types of labour, including factory work, seamstressing, chimney sweeping, mining, and other jobs. Both the poorer class and the middle class had to endure a large burden of tax. This third class consisted of about eighty-five percent of the population.
Industrialisation changed the class structure dramatically in the late 18th century. Hostility was created between the upper and lower classes. As a result of industrialisation, there was a huge boost of the middle and working class. As the Industrial Revolution progressed there was further social division. Capitalists, for example, employed industrial workers, who were one component of the working classes (each class included a wide range of occupations of varying status and income; there was a large gap, for example, between skilled and unskilled labour), but beneath the industrial workers was a submerged "under class" sometimes referred to as the "sunken people," which lived in poverty. The under class were more susceptible to exploitation and were therefore exploited.
The government consisted of a constitutional monarchy headed by Queen Victoria. Only the royalty could rule. Other politicians came from the aristocracy. The system was criticised by many as being in favour of the upper classes, and during the late 18th century, philosophers and writers began to question the social status of the nobility.

Social institutions
In 1842, a law was passed to ban women and children working in mines.
In 1849, 2,000 people a week died in a cholera epidemic.
In 1851, The Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was held in The Crystal Palace, with great success and international attention.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species", which led to great religious doubt and insecurity.
In 1861, Prince Albert died; Queen Victoria refused to go out in public for many years, and when she did she wore a widow's bonnet instead of the crown.
In 1888, the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper murdered and mutilated five (and possibly more) prostitutes on the streets of London, leading to world-wide press coverage and hysteria. Newspapers used the deaths to bring greater focus on the plight of the unemployed and to attack police and political leaders. The killer was never caught, and the affair contributed to Sir Charles Warren's resignation.
In 1891, education became free for every child.

Entertainment
The impetus of the Industrial Revolution had already occurred, but it was during this period that the full effects of industrialisation made themselves felt, leading to the mass society of the 20th century. The revolution led to the rise of railways across the country and great leaps forward in engineering, most famously by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Another great engineering feat in the Victorian Era was the sewage system in London. It was designed by Joseph Bazalgette in 1858. He proposed to build 82 miles of sewerage linked with over 1,000 miles of street sewers. Many problems were found but the sewers were completed. After this, Bazalgette designed the Thames Embankment which housed sewers, water pipes and the London Underground.
During the Victorian era, science grew into the discipline it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time to the study of natural history.
Photography was realised in 1839 by Louis Daguerre in France and William Fox Talbot in England. By 1900, hand-held cameras were available.
Although initially developed in the early years of the 19th century, gas lighting became widespread during the Victorian era in industry, homes, public buildings and the streets. The invention of the incandescent gas mantle in the 1890s greatly improved light output and ensured its survival as late as the 1960s. Hundreds of gas works were constructed in cities and towns across the country. In 1882, incandescent electric lights were introduced to London streets, although it took many years before they were installed everywhere.

Science, technology and engineering
Beginning in the late 1840s, major news organisations, clergymen and single women became increasingly interested in prostitution, which came to be known as "The Great Social Evil." Although estimates of the number of prostitutes in London by the 1850s vary widely (in his landmark study, Prostitution, William Acton reported that the police estimated there were 8,600 in 1857 London alone), it is enough to say that the number of women working the streets became increasingly difficult to ignore.
When the 1851 census publicly revealed a 4% demographic imbalance in favour of women (i.e. 4% more women than men), the problem of prostitution began to shift from a moral/religious cause to a socio-economic one. The 1851 census showed that the population of Great Britain was roughly 18 million; this meant that roughly 750,000 women would remain unmarried simply because there were not enough men. These women came to be referred to as "superfluous women" or "redundant women," and many essays were published discussing what, precisely, ought to be done with them.
While the Magdalen Hospital had been "reforming" prostitutes since the mid-18th century, the years between 1848 and 1870 saw a veritable explosion in the number of institutions working to "reclaim" these "fallen women" from the streets and retrain them for entry into respectable society—usually for work as domestic servants. The theme of prostitution and the "fallen woman" (an umbrella term used to describe any women who had sexual intercourse out of wedlock) became a staple feature of mid-Victorian literature and politics. In the writings of Henry Mayhew, Charles Booth and others, prostitution began to be seen as a social problem, rather than just a fact of urban life.
When Parliament passed the first of the Contagious Diseases Acts in 1864 (which allowed the local constabulary to force any woman suspected of venereal disease to submit to its inspection), Josephine Butler's crusade to repeal the CD Acts yoked the anti-prostitution cause with the emergent feminist movement. Butler attacked the long-established double standard of sexual morality.
Prostitutes were often presented as victims in sentimental literature such Thomas Hood's poem The Bridge of Sighs, Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Mary Barton and Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. The emphasis on the purity of women found in such works as Coventry Patmore's The Angel in the House led to the portrayal of the prostitute and fallen woman as soiled, corrupted, and in need of cleansing.
This emphasis on female purity was allied to the stress on the homemaking role of women, who helped to create a space free from the pollution and corruption of the city. In this respect the prostitute came to have symbolic significance as the embodiment of the violation of that divide. The double standard remained in force. Divorce legislation introduced in 1857 allowed for a man to divorce his wife for adultery, but a woman could only divorce if adultery was accompanied by cruelty. The anonymity of the city led to a large increase in prostitution and unsanctioned sexual relationships. Dickens and other writers associated prostitution with the mechanisation and industrialisation of modern life, portraying prostitutes as human commodities consumed and thrown away like refuse when they were used up. Moral reform movements attempted to close down brothels, something that has sometimes been argued to have been a factor in the concentration of street-prostitution in Whitechapel by the late 1880s.
By the time the CD Acts were repealed in 1886, Victorian England had been completely transformed. This era, which at its outset looked no different from the century before it, would end resembling far more the era that would follow.

See also

Altick, Richard Daniel. Victorian People and Ideas: A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature. W.W. Norton & Company: 1974. ISBN 0-393-09376-X.
Burton, Antoinette (editor). Politics and Empire in Victorian Britain: A Reader. Palgrave Macmillan: 2001. ISBN 0-312-29335-6.
Gay, Peter, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, 5 volumes, Oxford University Press, 1984-1989
Flanders, Judith. Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England. W.W. Norton & Company: 2004. ISBN 0-393-05209-5.
Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. Greenwood Press: 1996. ISBN 0-313-29467-4.
Wilson, A. N. The Victorians. Arrow Books: 2002. ISBN 0-09-945186-7

Friday, April 11, 2008

Edinburgh United F.C.
Edinburgh United F.C. are a Scottish junior football club from Edinburgh. Formed in 1985, the club quickly entered the junior grade of football. They presently compete in the East Region and play their home games at Paties Road Recreation Ground in the Colinton area of the city. This ground holds around 2,500 spectators, 200 of whom can be seated in the fairly well developed stand at the site.
Edinburgh United play in black and white strips (uniforms) and usually attract a home following somewhere between 50 and 100 spectators.
They are also the only "junior" club in Edinburgh, with all other "non-league" clubs either playing in the "senior" East of Scotland Football League or the local amateur leagues.

Thursday, April 10, 2008


In thermodynamics, chemical thermodynamics is the mathematical study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with a physical change of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics can be generally thought of as the application of mathematical methods to the study of chemical questions and is concerned with the spontaneity of processes.
The structure of chemical thermodynamics is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics. Starting from the first and second laws of thermodynamics, four equations called the "fundamental equations of Gibbs" can be derived. From these four, a multitude of equations, relating the thermodynamic properties of the thermodynamic system can be derived using relatively simple mathematics. This outlines the mathematical framework of chemical thermodynamics.

History
The primary objective of chemical thermodynamics is the establishment of a criterion for the determination of the feasibility or spontaneity of a given transformation. In this manner, chemical thermodynamics is typically used to predict the energy exchanges that occur in the following processes:
The following state functions are of primary concern in chemical thermodynamics:
Most identities in chemical thermodynaimcs arise from application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, particularly the law of conservation of energy, to these state functions.

Chemical reactions
Phase changes
The formation of solutions
Internal energy (U)
Enthalpy (H).
Entropy (S)
Gibbs free energy (G) Chemical thermodynamics Overview
It is the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or transform other chemical substances. Breaking or making of chemical bonds, involves energy, that may be either absorbed or evolved from a chemical system.
Energy that can be released (or absorbed) because of a reaction between a set of chemical substances is equal to the difference between the energy content of the products and the reactants.This change in energy is called the change in internal energy of a chemical reaction. It can be calculated using the formula
ΔUproducts is the internal energy of formation of the product molecules. The internal energy change of a process is equal to the heat change if it is measured under conditions of constant volume, as in a closed rigid container such as a bomb calorimeter. However, under conditions of constant pressure, as in reactions in vessels open to the atmosphere, the heat change measured is not always equal to the internal energy change, because pressure-volume work also releases or absorbs energy. (The heat change at constant pressure is called the enthalpy change, in this case the enthalpy of formation).
Another useful term is the heat of combustion, it is the energy released due to a combustion reaction and often applied in the study of fuels. Food is similar to hydrocarbon fuel and carbohydrate fuels, and when it is oxidized, its caloric content is similar (though not assessed in the same way as a hydrocarbon fuel-- see food energy).
In chemical thermodynamics the term used for the chemical potential energy is chemical potential and for chemical transformation an equation most often used is Gibbs-Duhem equation
 sum_iN_imathrm{d}mu_i  =  - Smathrm{d}T + Vmathrm{d}P ,

Chemical energy
In most cases of interest in chemical thermodynamics there are internal degrees of freedom and processes, such as chemical reactions and phase transitions, which always create entropy unless they are at equilibrium, or are maintained at a "running equilibrium" through "quasi-static" changes by being coupled to constraining devices, such as pistons or electrodes, to deliver and receive external work. Even for homogeneous "bulk" materials, the free energy functions depend on the composition, as do all the extensive thermodynamic potentials, including the internal energy. If the quantities { Ni }, the number of chemical species, are omitted from the formulae, it is impossible to describe compositional changes.

Gibbs function

Main article: Chemical affinity Chemical affinity
In solution chemistry and biochemistry, the Gibbs free energy decrease (∂G/∂ξ, in molar units, denoted cryptically by ΔG) is commonly used as a surrogate for (−T times) the entropy produced by spontaneous chemical reactions in situations where there is no work being done; or at least no "useful" work; i.e., other than perhaps some ± PdV. The assertion that all spontaneous reactions have a negative ΔG is merely a restatement of the combined law of thermodynamics, giving it the physical dimensions of energy and somewhat obscuring its significance in terms of entropy. When there is no useful work being done, it would be less misleading to use the Legendre transforms of the entropy appropriate for constant T, or for constant T and P, the Massieu functions −F/T and −G/T respectively.

Solutions

Main article: non-equilibrium thermodynamics Non equilibrium
In this regard, it is crucial to understand the role of walls and other constraints, and the distinction between independent processes and coupling. Contrary to the clear implications of many reference sources, the previous analysis is not restricted to homogenous, isotropic bulk systems which can deliver only PdV work to the outside world, but applies even to the most structured systems. There are complex systems with many chemical "reactions" going on at the same time, some of which are really only parts of the same, overall process. An independent process is one that could proceed even if all others were unaccountably stopped in their tracks. Understanding this is perhaps a "thought experiment" in chemical kinetics, but actual examples exist.
A gas reaction which results in an increase in the number of molecules will lead to an increase in volume at constant external pressure. If it occurs inside a cylinder closed with a piston, the equilibrated reaction can proceed only by doing work against an external force on the piston. The extent variable for the reaction can increase only if the piston moves, and conversely, if the piston is pushed inward, the reaction is driven backwards.
Similarly, a redox reaction might occur in an electrochemical cell with the passage of current in wires connecting the electrodes. The half-cell reactions at the electrodes are constrained if no current is allowed to flow. The current might be dissipated as joule heating, or it might in turn run an electrical device like a motor doing mechanical work. An automobile lead-acid battery can be recharged, driving the chemical reaction backwards. In this case as well, the reaction is not an independent process. Some, perhaps most, of the Gibbs free energy of reaction may be delivered as external work.
The hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and phosphate can drive the force times distance work delivered by living muscles, and synthesis of ATP is in turn driven by a redox chain in mitochondria and chloroplasts, which involves the transport of ions across the membranes of these cellular organelles. The coupling of processes here, and in the previous examples, is often not complete. Gas can leak slowly past a piston, just as it can slowly leak out of a rubber balloon. Some reaction may occur in a battery even if no external current is flowing. There is usually a coupling coefficient, which may depend on relative rates, which determines what percentage of the driving free energy is turned into external work, or captured as "chemical work", a misnomer for the free energy of another chemical process.

System constraints
In the preface section to popular book Basic Chemical Thermodynamics by physical chemist Brian Smith, originally published in 1973, and now in the 5th edition, we find the following overview of the subject as it is perceived in college:

See also

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Scottish Institute of Sport
The Scottish Institute of Sport (SIS) is the national sports development body in Scotland. It is part of sportscotland, a publicly owned company which is partly funded by the UK's National Lottery.
The SIS was established in 1998. In 2002 it moved into a custom-built facility in the grounds of the University of Stirling, adjacent to the university's own sports facilities and the Scottish National Swimming Academy.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

History
Cityjet operates the following routes (April 2007):

Destinations
CityJet There is speculation that the airline may start services from Shannon Airport, following Aer Lingus's decision to end the Heathrow flights there. Destinations that may be served from Shannon are Paris (Charles de Gaulle International Airport), Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and London City Airport

Paris (Charles de Gaulle International Airport) to Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Gothenburg (Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport) and Zurich.
Paris (Orly Airport) to London (London City Airport).
Dublin to London (London City Airport). Cityjet for Air France
The CityJet fleet consists of the following aircraft as of May 2007:
In July 2006, the average age of the CityJet fleet was 19.7 years old and it is thus one of the oldest passenger fleets in Europe. The airline will replace the 146's with second-hand Avro RJ85 aircraft, which have been sourced from Mesaba in the USA. Deliveries are ongoing.
At early July 2007 the average fleet age has dropped to 16.1 years due to some of the new RJ85 aircraft entering the fleet.
At late October 2007 the average fleet age has further dropped to 14.2 years.
New aircraft registrations are EI-RJA to EI-RJP AND EI-RJR to EI-RJX