Parapsychology (from the Greek: παρά para, "alongside" + psychology) is the study of paranormal psychological phenomena, such as extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, and survival of consciousness after death. Parapsychologists call these processes psi, a term non-suggestive of what causes the phenomena or experiences. To date, no evidence has been accepted by the mainstream scientific community as irrefutably supporting paranormal phenomena.

History
The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London in 1882. The SPR was the first systematic effort to organize scientists and scholars for a critical and sustained investigation of paranormal phenomena. The early membership of the SPR included philosophers, scholars, scientists, educators and politicians, such as Henry Sidgwick, Arthur Balfour, William Crookes, and Charles Richet.

Early psychical research
In 1911, Stanford University became the first academic institution in the United States to study extra-sensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK) in a laboratory setting. The effort was headed by psychologist John Edgar Coover. In 1930, Duke University became the second major U.S. academic institution to engage in the critical study of ESP and psychokinesis in the laboratory. Under the guidance of psychologist William McDougall, and with the help of others in the department, including psychologists Karl Zener, Joseph B. Rhine and Louisa E. Rhine, laboratory ESP experiments began, using volunteer subjects from the undergraduate student body. As opposed to the approaches of psychical research, which generally sought qualitative evidence for paranormal phenomena, the experiments at Duke University proffered a quantitative, statistical approach using cards and dice. As a consequence of the ESP experiments at Duke, standard laboratory procedures for the testing of ESP developed and came to be adopted by interested researchers throughout the world.

Rhine era
The Parapsychological Association (PA) was created in Durham, North Carolina, on June 19, 1957. Its formation was proposed by J. B. Rhine at a workshop on parapsychology, which was held at the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University. Rhine proposed that the group form itself into the nucleus of an international professional society in parapsychology. The aim of the organization, as stated in its Constitution became "to advance parapsychology as a science, to disseminate knowledge of the field, and to integrate the findings with those of other branches of science".

Decade of increased research (1970s)
Contemporary parapsychological research has waned considerably.

Parapsychology today

Research
Parapsychologists study a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including but not limited to:
The definitions for the terms above may not reflect their mainstream usage, nor the opinions of all parapsychologists and their critics. Many critics, for example, feel that parapsychologists are engaged in the study of phenomena that disappear under stringent experimental conditions and are thus normal processes.
According to the Parapsychological Association, parapsychologists do not study all paranormal phenomena, nor are they concerned with astrology, UFOs, Bigfoot, paganism, vampires, alchemy, or witchcraft.

Telepathy: Transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses.
Precognition: Perception of information about future places or events before they occur.
Clairvoyance: Obtaining information about places or events at remote locations, by means unknown to current science.
Psychokinesis: The ability of the mind to influence matter, time, space, or energy by means unknown to current science.
Reincarnation: The rebirth of a soul or other non-physical aspect of human consciousness in a new physical body after death.
Hauntings: Phenomena often attributed to ghosts and encountered in places a deceased individual is thought to have frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. Scope
Parapsychologists employ a variety of approaches during the study of apparent paranormal phenomena. These methods include qualitative approaches used in traditional psychology, but also quantitative empirical methodologies. Their more controversial studies involve the use of meta-analyses in examining the statistical evidence for psi.

Methodology

Experimental research

Main article: Ganzfeld experiment Ganzfeld

Main article: Remote viewing Remote viewing

Main article: Psychokinesis Psychokinesis on random number generators
This experimental domain was previously called "bio-PK." More recently, researchers refer to it as 'direct mental interactions with living systems' (DMILS). It studies the effects of one person's intentions on a distant person's psychophysiological state. One type of DMILS experiment looks at the commonly reported "feeling of being stared at." The "starer" and the "staree" are isolated in different locations, and the starer is periodically asked to simply gaze at the staree via closed circuit video links. Meanwhile the staree's nervous system activity is automatically and continuously monitored.
Parapsychologists have interpreted the cumulative data on this and similar DMILS experiments to suggest that one person's attention directed towards a remote, isolated person, can significantly activate or calm that person's nervous system. In a meta-analysis of these experiments published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2004, researchers found that overall there was a small, but significant DMILS effect. However, the study also found that when a small number of the highest quality studies from one laboratory were analyzed, the effect size was not significant. The authors concluded that although the existence of some anomaly related to distant intentions cannot be ruled out, there was also a shortage of independent replications and theoretical concepts.

Direct mental influence on living systems

Main article: Near-death experience Near death experiences
A number of studies conducted in the American, European, and Australasian continents have found that a majority of people surveyed report having had experiences that could be interpreted as telepathy, precognition, and similar phenomena. Variables that have been associated with reports of psi-phenomena include belief in the reality of psi, the tendency to have hypnotic, dissociative, and other alterations of consciousness, and, less reliably so, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience. Although psi-related experiences can occur in the context of such psychopathologies as schizotypal personality, dissociative, and other disorders, most individuals who endorse a belief in psi are well-adjusted, lack serious pathology, and are not intellectually deficient or lacking critical abilities.

Anomalous psychology
Scientists who are critical of parapsychology begin with the assertion that extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. Proponents of hypotheses that contradict centuries of scientific research must provide extraordinary evidence if their hypotheses are to be taken seriously.

Criticism
There have been instances of fraud in the history of parapsychology research. The Soal-Goldney experiments of 1941–43 (suggesting precognitive ability in subjects) were long regarded as some of the best in the field because they relied upon independent checking and witnesses to prevent fraud. However, many years later, suspicions of fraud were confirmed when statistical evidence, uncovered and published by other parapsychologists in the field, indicated that Dr. Soal had cheated by altering the raw data. Such methodological failures have been cited as evidence that most, if not all, extraordinary results in parapsychology derive from error or fraud.

Fraud
Although some critical analysts feel that parapsychological study is scientific, they are not satisfied with its experimental results.

Criticism of experimental results
Selective reporting has been offered by critics as an explanation for the positive results reported by parapsychologists. Selective reporting is sometimes referred to as a "file drawer" problem, which arises when only positive study results are made public, while studies with negative or null results are not made public.

Organizations and publications

Coordinates: 53°26′33″N 2°59′34″W / 53.4424, -2.9929
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.
Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's economy has been around the docks and their associated industries for decades.

Geography and administration

History
Bootle derives from Old English botl 'building', although what building referred to exactly is unknown as of now. It was recorded as Boltelai in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Etymology
Bootle was originally a small hamlet built near the 'sand hills' or dunes of the river estuary. The settlement began to grow as a bathing resort for wealthy residents of Liverpool in the early 19th century. Some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do commuters to Liverpool are located in the area known locally as 'Bootle Village'.

Port
The docks made Bootle a target for German bombers during the Liverpool Blitz and approximately 90% of the houses in the town were damaged.
Bootle played an important role in the 'Battle of the Atlantic'. The famous u-boat hunter Captain Frederic John 'Johnny' Walker, would rest in the Mayor's Parlour of Bootle Town Hall. His ship, HMS Starling, sailed out of Bootle and the ship's bell and flags signalling the General Chase can still be seen in Bootle Town Hall's council chamber today.

Second World War
After The Second World War large social housing estates were built inland from the town centre, including the area of Netherton which was built on New Town principles. The Liverpool Overhead Railway and Liverpool Tramways Company closure in the 50s reduced Bootle's connection to Liverpool.
Bootle did share in the postwar boom. The centre of the town was redeveloped and the 'Bootle New Strand' shopping centre was opened in the late 1960s. At the same time new offices and were built in the town centre. The town lost it access to the beach when neighbouring Seaforth Sands was redeveloped in the early 1970s, but the Seaforth Container Port brought new jobs into the area.
The local authority, and other 'social' landlords, saw to it that new housing was built and older stock rennovated. Bootle did not go down the route of massive housing clearance and many local communities remained intact.
The borough celebrated its centenary in 1968 and civic pride was much in evidence.

Post-War
The docks declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s, and Bootle suffered high unemployment and a declining population. The establishment of large office blocks housing government departments and the National Girobank provided employment, but this was filled largely by middle class people from outside the town.
A further blow came in the early 1970s when local government reorganisation saw Bootle lose its borough status, to be absorbed into the new local authority of Sefton. While in the long run this was to be beneficial, the old borough being too small to support modern local government services, the town was robbed of its identity and few could muster any civic pride for the new creation.
More fundamental that political change was economic change. The very reason for Bootle's existence, the access to the Mersey, became almost irrelevant as the docks closed and the new container port required far fewer workers than the old docks had. This in turn affected practically every other industry in the town. The problems slowly gathered pace until Merseyside hit crisis point in the early 1980s.

Decline
Bootle is undergoing a massive regeneration project, which has already begun with the new HSE buildings and the new-look Strand Road. Many old houses are being demolished to make way for new housing projects and lots of regeneration projects for existing properties and council buildings are to begin shortly.
A number of other development projects have recently been submitted for planning permission and should commence development within Late 2006 or 2007 after being accepted. These include the significant refurbishment of Oriel Road Station, promoted by Merseytravel, the creation of a new block of apartments on the site of the Stella Maris building and a Lidl store on Stanley Road. Walmart stores inc, owners of Asda superstores have invested in building a new superstore on Strand Road.
It is perhaps in this new spirit of optimism, that banners have appeared, adorning the town centre with the Latin motto of the former borough: 'Respice, Aspice, Prospice.'

Regeneration
There are two railway stations served by frequent electric services from Liverpool to Southport. These are Oriel Road near the Victorian civic centre, and New Strand, serving the Shopping Centre. A freight line, the Bootle Branch, is still in use. Sefton has pushed for the reopening of the North Mersey Branch.
The Bus Station is underneath the New Strand Shopping Centre.

Amenities

Tom Baker, of Doctor Who fame, born in Fountains Road, Bootle (1934).
Will Hanrahan, a BBC news and features presenter (Watchdog, Good Morning). Particularly notable for reporting from the Rwandan Civil War. Currently producing an eclectic mix of programmes, factual entertainment programmes for ITV and Sky one (Star Lives, Vorderman's Brain Game), and most recently produced a documentary marking the 10th anniversary of the Dublane massacre. Born in Netherton and schooled at St. Benet's and St. Mary's College in Crosby.
Ste McNally: (born Stephen Patrick McNally, on 4 July 1978, in Bootle) electric guitar and vocals for pop group BBMac
Jamie Carragher (born January 28, 1978 in Knowsley Road, Bootle, Sefton) is an English international footballer. He currently plays his club football, where he is vice-captain, at Liverpool F.C.., where he was taken on as a trainee youngster and wears the number 23 shirt. He plays almost always on the back line, most of the time at centre-half, though he has been featured in a variety of positions.
Steve McManaman (born February 11, 1972 in Bootle, England) was a famous English footballer of the 1990s and early 2000s who played as a midfielder in a career that spanned two of European football's biggest club sides in Liverpool and Manchester City.
Tom O'Connor (born October 31, 1939 in Bootle) is a British comedian. He is best known for presenting game shows such as Crosswits and Gambit. His TV break came when he appeared on The Comedians. During the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the most popular faces on British TV.
George Davies (born 1941, in Bootle) is a British fashion retailer who founded 'Next' in the 1980s and 'George at Asda' in the 1990s. Subsequently, he has also produced the successful Per Una fashion collection, launched in September 2001 at Marks & Spencer stores.
Alvin Martin (born July 29, 1958 in Bootle) is one of West Ham United's all-time greats, a true professional respected by fans and players alike. Alvin was rejected by his local club Everton before joining West Ham United straight from school
Roy Evans (born Bootle, 4th October 1948) was a Liverpool player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.
Craig Charles (born Bootle, July 11, 1964) is a British actor, poet and radio and television presenter. He is best known for playing Dave Lister in Red Dwarf. The character, Lister, lost his virginity at Bootle Municipal Golf Course, and once appeared naked onstage at the Bootle-players' amateur production of "The Importance Of Being Earnest".
Nick Dougherty born in Bootle on 24 May 1982) is an English golfer. He is a protégé of Nick Faldo and had an exceptional amateur career with numerous tournament wins including the 1999 World Boys Championship and three in Faldo Junior Series events. He was a member of the victorious Great Britain and Ireland 2001 Walker Cup team.
Billy J. Kramer was born Billy Ashton the youngest of seven children and lived in Hankey Drive in Bootle. He and his band "The Dakotas" played the Hamburg clubs at the same time as "The Beatles". There first hit was the "Lennon and McCartney" composition "Do You Want To Know A Secret" which reached No2 in May 1963. He had two number one hits with "Bad To Me" and "Little Children"
Mark Ford the poet and intellectual is one of the more famous residents of Bootle; the family home there owing to his father's past manufacturing interests, long since abandoned.

Cleves is a village located on the Ohio River in western Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2000 census. The village is named for John Cleves Symmes who lived here, laid out the original town site, and sold lots.

Geography
Cleves is located at 39°9′40″N, 84°45′1″W (39.161241, -84.750288).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land.

The plazas de soberanía ("places of sovereignty"), also referred as "África Septentrional Española" (Spanish North Africa) or simply "África Española" (Spanish Africa) are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa, bordering Morocco.
Since the Reconquista, the Spanish have held numerous emplacements in North Africa. Many of them, such as Oran, have been lost, and nowadays, with an approximate population of 143,000 people, only the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which constitute the two Plazas de Soberanía Mayores (or Large Places of Sovereignty), and the Islas Chafarinas, the Peñón de Alhucemas and the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, which constitute the three Plazas de Soberanía Menores (or Lesser Sovereignty Places), still forming part of Spain.

Demographics
Castile intervened in Northern Africa, competing with the Portuguese Empire, when Henry III of Castile began the colonization of the Canary Islands in 1402, sending Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt.
The coastal villages and towns of Spain, Italy and Mediterranean islands were frequently attacked by Barbary pirates from North Africa, the Formentera was even temporarily left by its population and long stretches of the Spanish and Italian coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. In 1514, 1515 and 1521 coasts of the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland were raided by infamous Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa. According to Robert Davis between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by North African pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 17th century. Slaves were captured mainly from seaside villages in Spain, Italy and Portugal.
In 1481 the papal Bull Æterni regis had granted all land south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. Only this archipelago and the cities of Sidi Ifni (1476–1524), known then as "Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña", Melilla (conquered by Pedro de Estopiñán in 1497), Villa Cisneros (founded in 1502 in current Western Sahara), Mazalquivir (1505), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508), Oran (1509–1790), Algiers (1510–29), Bugia (1510–54), Tripoli (1511–51), Tunis (1535–69) and Ceuta (ceded by Portugal in 1668) remained as Spanish territory in Africa.
In 1848, Spanish troops conquered the Islas Chafarinas.
When Spain relinquished its protectorate over the North of Morocco, Spanish Morocco, and recognized Morocco's independence in 1956, it did not give over the plazas de soberanía, since Spain had held them since before its acquiring its protectorate. They are, however, part of the Greater Morocco claimed by nationalist movements in Morocco. Isla Perejil was occupied on July 11, 2002 by the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie and troops, who were evicted without bloodshed by Spanish naval forces.

The desktop metaphor is a set of unifying concepts currently used in a number of graphical user interfaces in computer operating systems. The monitor of a computer represents the user's desktop upon which documents and folders of documents can be placed. A document can be opened into a window, which represents a paper copy of the document placed on the desktop. Small applications called desk accessories are also available, such as a desk calculator, etc.
The desktop metaphor itself has been extended and stretched with various implementations, since access to features and usability of the computer are usually more important than maintaining the 'purity' of the metaphor. Hence we find trash cans on the desktop, as well as disks and network volumes (which can be thought of as filing cabinets — not something normally found on a desktop). Other features such as menu bars, task bars, or docks have no counterpart on a real-world desktop.
In recent times the filing cabinet and desktop metaphor has become less important, especially since the advent of very large storage media, which can make the easy navigation of large numbers of files and folders problematic. A more user-oriented approach is gaining favour, where the user can organise documents in a manner that facilitates his or her particular needs, rather than being forced to use a file-system view of the system. The addition of 'smart folders' and the like leads to a method of locating files that is based on search criteria important to the user, rather than its physical arrangement on disk, which, according to recent thought, is of no importance to the user.

Paper Paradigm

Interface Metaphor
History of the GUI
Desktop environment
WIMP (computing)
Virtual desktop
Tiling window manager
Operating system
File browser

Louis Rudolph Franz Schlegelberger (born 23 October 1876 in Königsberg, East Prussia, now Kaliningrad, Russia; died 14 December 1970 in Flensburg) was State Secretary in the German Reich Ministry of Justice (RMJ) and served awhile as Justice Minister during the Third Reich. He was the highest-ranking defendant at the Nuremberg Judges' Trial.

In the Nazi Party
At the Nuremberg Judges' Trial Schlegelberger was one of the main accused. He was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to perpetrate war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In the reasons given for the judgment, it says:
'…that Schlegelberger supported the pretension of Hitler in his assumption of power to deal with life and death in disregard of even the pretense of judicial process. By his exhortations and directives, Schlegelberger contributed to the destruction of judicial independence. It was his signature on the decree of 7 February 1942 which imposed upon the Ministry of Justice and the courts the burden of the prosecution, trial, and disposal of the victims of Hitler's Night and Fog. For this he must be charged with primary responsibility.
'He was guilty of instituting and supporting procedures for the wholesale persecution of Jews and Poles. Concerning Jews, his ideas were less brutal than those of his associates, but they can scarcely be called humane. When the "final solution of the Jewish question" was under discussion, the question arose as to the disposition of half-Jews. The deportation of full Jews to the East was then in full swing throughout Germany. Schlegelberger was unwilling to extend the system to half-Jews.'
In 1950 the 74-year-old Schlegelberger was released owing to incapacity. For years afterward, he drew a monthly pension of DM 2,894 (for comparison, the average monthly income in Germany at that time was DM 535). Schlegelberger then lived in Flensburg.

Works

Michael Förster, Jurist im Dienst des Unrechts: Leben und Werk des ehemaligen Staatssekretärs im Reichsjustizministerium, Franz Schlegelberger, 1876-1970, Baden-Baden 1995
Eli Nathans, Franz Schlegelberger, Baden-Baden 1990
Arne Wulff, Staatssekretär Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Franz Schlegelberger, 1876-1970, Frankfurt am Main 1991

Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins (born February 6, 1976), is the writer of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade. Holkins goes by the pseudonym "Tycho Brahe" online. This is also the name of one of the two main characters of Penny Arcade, who is a cartoonized self-insertion of Holkins. However, as the character of Tycho was not originally meant to represent Holkins, the two have few physical similarities; they are primarily similar in their various interests and attitudes.

The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an art gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England.

History
The RBSA continues its core activities today as an independent society promoting artists in the Birmingham area and exhibiting their work. The society also has a permanent collection of over 400 works, including pieces from illustrious figures from its past such as David Cox and Edward Burne-Jones.

A route nationale, or simply nationale, is a trunk road in France. Trunk roads are in France are significantly important roads which cross broad portions of the French territory, in opposition to secondary or communal roads who only serve local areas.
Their use is free, except for crossing of certain structures subjected to toll. They are opened for vehicles, except on certain sections having the status of motorway (autoroute).
France currently counts 30,500 km of nationales and not privately owned motorways. By way of comparison, Routes départementales cover a total distance of 365,000 km. The main trunk road network reflects the centralising tradition of France: the majority of them leave the gates of Paris. Indeed, trunk roads begin on the parvis of Notre-Dame of Paris at Kilometre Zero. To ensure an effective road network, new roads not serving Paris were created.

History

Routes nationales 1 to 25



Routes nationales 26 to 50



Routes nationales 51 to 75



Routes nationales 76 to 100



Routes nationales 101 to 125



Routes nationales 126 to 150



Routes nationales 176 to 200

About the work
The work is divided into the prologue and 15 books (book summaries below are, of course, modern interpretations).

Prologue The difficulties of writing history, reasons to write this work, mourning for her husband
Book 1 : Alexius becomes general and Domestikos ton Scholon (Alexius youth - Urselius' revolt - Nicephorus Bryennios revolt - Normans prepare invasion)
Book 2 : The Komnenian revolt (Envy against the family - Causes of uprising - The escape - Rebels proclaim Alexius as emperor - Melissenos revolts - Komnenians seize Constantinople - Emperor Nikephoros III Votaneiates abdicates)
Book 3 : Alexius as Emperor (1081) and the internal problems with Doukas family (Maria of Alania and her son Constantine - Dismissal of her rumoured relationship with Alexius - About Alexius and his wife Irene - Alexius invents new ranks - Alexius publicly regrets for his soldiers crimes - Anna Dalassena (Alexius mother) is given imperial authority - About Anna Dalassena - Alexius' military preparations and alliances - Turks spread in Asia Minor - Normans cross Adriatic Sea).
Book 4 : War against Normans (1081-1082) (Robert Guiscard besieges Dyrrhachium - Venetian allies defeat Normans - Alexius arrives with his army - Normans win the Battle of Dyrrhachium, Alexius hardly escapes)
Book 5 : War against Normans (1082-1083) and first clash with the heretics (Financial collapse - Seizure of church property - Bohemund against Alexius - Alexius finally wins with a strategem - Prosecution of John Italus)
Book 6 : End of war against Normans (1085), death of Robert Guiscard, the Turks (Alexius recaptures Kastoria - Persecution of Manicheans (Paulicians)- Alexius in front of the Church Court - Conspiracy and revolt - The alliance with Venice - Death of Guiscard - Persecution of wizards and astrologers - Births of porphyrogenitoi - Alexius against the Turks - The Scythian threat (Pechenegs))
Book 7 : War against Scythians (1087-1090) (Beginning of hostilities - Crushing defeat of the imperial army - Cumans defeat Scythians, truce - Scythians violate truce - Activity of Turkish pirate Tzachas in western Anatolia - Expedition against Scythians)
Book 8 : End of Scythian war (1091), plots against the Emperor (Hostilities continuing - Crushing of Scythians at Levunium - Final success - Conspiracies and revolts)
Book 9 : Operations against Tzachas and Dalmatians (1092-1094), conspiracy of Nicephorus Diogenes (1094) (Operations against Tzachas - Operation in Crete and Cyprus - Elimination of Tzachas - Conspiracy of Nicephorus Diogenes - Capitulation of Dalmatians - Complementary to Diogenes)
Book 10 : One more heresy, war against Cumans, Beginning of 1st Crusade (1094-1097) (Neilos and Vlahernites - War against Cumans - Operations against Turks - Arrival of the first Crusaders - Crushing of Crusaders under Koukoupetros (Peter the Hermit) - Hugh of France - Sea surveillance by the Romans - Godfrey of Bouillon - Count Raul - Crusade leaders make homage to the Emperor - Bohemund)
Book 11 : 1st Crusade (1097-1104) (Crusaders besiege Nicaea - Liberation of Nicaea - Crusaders' successful operations - siege of Antioch - Successful Roman operations in Asia Minor - Capture of Antioch and Jerusalem - Operations in Asia - Massacre of Normans (Lombards) Crusaders by the Turks - Bohemund refuses to return Antioch to the Empire - Operations in Cilicia - Pisan fleet invades islands - Naval war with Genoans -Operations against Bohemund - Bohemund pretends to be dead)
Book 12 : Domestic conflicts, Norman preparations for the 2nd invasion (1105-1107) (Bohemond prepares landing to Illyrian coast - Operations of Tancred in Cilicia against the Empire - Queen Irene - Alexius organizes defense in the west - Conspiracy of Anemades - Georgios Taronites revolts in Trapezous - Isaacius Kontostefanos fails to guard the coast against Norman fleet - Beginning of Norman invasion)
Book 13 : Aaron's conspiracy, second Norman invasion (1107-1108) (Aaron's conspiracy - Siege of Dyrrhachium - Alexius tricks - Operations in mainland - Naval operations - Bohemund asks for peace - Peace negotiations - Bohemund's profile - Negotiations between Alexius and Bohemund - The Treaty of Devol)
Book 14 : Turks, Franks, Cumans and Manicheans (1108-1115) (Roman successes against the Turks - Problems with the Franks - Naval and land operations - Emperor's health problems - Operations against the Turks - Anna speaks for her methods in writing history - Prevention of a Cuman raid - Alexius fights manichaeism by persuasion or persecution)
Book 15 : Last expeditions, the Bogomils, death of Alexius (1116-1118) (War against the Turks and the new battle tactics - Victorious battle - Peace with the Turks - Sultan is murdered by his brother - Alexius builds the Orphanage - Suppression of Bogomils, burning of their leader Basil - last Illness and death of Alexius)

Ratification is the act of giving official sanction to a formal document such as a treaty or constitution. It includes the process of adopting an international treaty by the legislature, a constitution, or another nationally binding document (such as an amendment to a constitution) by the agreement of multiple sub-national entities. The process of ratifying a constitution is most commonly observed in federations such as the United States, confederations or international organisations sui generis such as the European Union. A good example would be George Read ratifying the United States Constitution.
In unionized workplaces, during negotiations, a contract proposal by an employer, that may be acceptable to the collective bargaining committee, will be brought back for ratification, or a vote by the general membership, before the union can either accept or decline such a contract proposal. A ratified proposal means a "Yes" vote and will form the basis for the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) for that workplace.
Different organizations have different rules for how a constitutional change is ratified. Federations usually require the support of both the federal government and a certain percentage of the subsidiary entities. Some ratification processes also require a supermajority within legislatures.
The ratification of international treaties follows the same rules as the passing of laws in most democracies. Important exceptions are the United Kingdom, where treaty making is still a royal prerogative exercised by Her Majesty's Government, and the United States, where treaty ratification must be advised and consented to by a two-thirds majority in the U.S. Senate. The Senate does not actually ratify treaties. Once the Senate has given its advice and consent to ratification, the President ratifies the treaty by signing an instrument of ratification. While the United States House of Representatives does not vote on it at all, the requirement for Senate advice and consent to ratification makes it considerably more difficult in the US than in other democracies to rally enough political support for international treaties.
The application of the treaty or legislation is not possible until it has been ratified, so we think. Usually this must be done first by both parties (in July 2006 British bankers contested their extradition to the US in application of a treaty not yet ratified in America), or in a multilateral agreement it may be provided that a quorum (e.g. half) of the signatories must have ratified it.

Ireland
The ratification of the current Contitución was achieved by plebiscite

Ciudad Rodrigo (Rodrigo City) is a small cathedral city in Salamanca Province in western Spain (approximately a population of 14000 inhabitants, and head of the judicial district).
The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right bank of the River Águeda, has been occupied since the Neolithic Age.
Known as Mirobriga to the Celtic people known as the Vettones, the town was conquered by the Romans and renamed Augustobriga in honor of Caesar Augustus.
In 1110, Count Rodrigo González Girón repopulated the site and gave it his name: Civitas Roderici (Latin 'City of Roderick'; translates in Spanish to the present name).
King Ferdinand II of León completed the repopulation of the city, walled it and reconstructed the old Roman bridge spanning the River Águeda.
Ferdinand also re-established the bishopric as suffragan of the Diocese of Santiago de Compostella; comprises the greater part of the province of Salamanca, and a portion of the province of Cáceres, an act confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1175. This led to the construction of the city's cathedral, an architectural hybrid of the Gothic and late Romanesque styles. The see finally succeeded that of Caliabria, which dated from the Visigothic era, and existed from 621 to 693. King Alfonso VIII gave the city of Caliabria to the Diocese of Ciudad Rodrigo in 1191. The first bishop of whom anything certain is known was called Pedro (1165); the most celebrated was the learned jurist Don Diego de Covarruvias y Leyva (1560).
Its position as a fortified town on the main road from Portugal to Salamanca made it militarily important in the middle years of the Napoleonic Peninsular War. The French marshal Michel Ney took Ciudad Rodrigo in 1810 after a 24-day siege. The British general Wellington began his 1812 campaign by taking Ciudad Rodrigo by storm on the night of January 19 - January 20, 1812 after preparatory operations lasting about 10 days. Allied losses were relatively light (about 600 casualties; 125 dead), although amongst the dead was General Mackinnon. Wellington then moved on Badajoz, whose taking was a much more bloody affair. There were two cannons embedded in the wall of the breach that caused most casualties. The 88th (an Irish regiment) took one of the guns while the 45th (Nottinghamshire Regiment) took the other.
In 1812, the then Viscount Wellington (later created a Duke) was rewarded for his victorious liberation of Spain with the hereditary Spanish ducal victory title of Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo.
Ciudad Rodrigo is also the birthplace of Siglo de Oro writer Feliciano de Silva.

Ayrton Senna da Silva (pronounced /aˈiɾtõ ˈsenɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ (help•info/, March 21, 1960 – May 1, 1994) was a Brazilian three-times Formula One world champion. Many aspects of Senna's talent marked him out as a remarkable driver: particularly his qualifying skill that yielded 65 pole positions in 162 races, and his wet-weather ability. But he also attracted criticism for his uncompromising race craft, a number of controversial incidents, and his bitter rivalry with Frenchman Alain Prost. He is also the last Formula 1 driver to have been killed in a race, while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy. In 2000, Senna was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Early life

Racing career
Senna entered karting competition at the age of 13.

Formula One
Senna scored his first World Championship point in his second Grand Prix at Kyalami in South Africa. He repeated the same finish two weeks later at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.
But his performance in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix brought him a lot of attention. He qualified 13th on the grid and made rapid progress through the soaking streets of Monte Carlo. By Lap 19, he passed second place man Niki Lauda and began to cut the gap to race leader Prost. But before he could pass Prost the race was stopped on lap 31 for safety reasons as the rain grew even heavier.
He also entered an exhibition race to celebrate the opening of the new Nürburgring. Several top F1 drivers took part in the event, driving identical Mercedes 190E 2.3-16. Senna won from Lauda and Carlos Reutemann.

1984: Toleman
At Lotus in 1985 he was partnered by Italian driver Elio de Angelis. He set his first pole position at the season opener in Brazil at the Jacarepaguá Circuit in Rio de Janeiro, but retired with an electrical problem.
At the second round, held at the Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal on April 21, 1985, he scored his first Grand Prix victory, winning from pole position in heavy rain which even saw second-place man Prost spin off into the wall.

1985-7: Lotus
In 1988, thanks to the relationship he had built up with Honda throughout the 1987 season with Lotus, and with the approval of McLaren's number one driver and then-double world champion, Alain Prost, Senna joined the McLaren team. [4] The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid, culminating in a number of dramatic race incidents between the two.

1988-93: McLaren
Senna had tried to join Williams in 1993 but was balked by Alain Prost who vetoed the move. Senna had even offered to drive for nothing such was the desire to be in the team of the early nineties, but a clause in Prosts contact meant that 1993 was out of the question. The clause in Prosts contract didn't extend to 1994 however and instead of taking on his greatest rival, Prost retired with a year on his contract left. For 1994, Senna finally signed with the Williams-Renault team. Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favorite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Pre-season testing showed the car had speed but now electronic drivers aids were banned and the car proved difficult to drive. The surprise of testing was the Benetton, it was more nimble than the Williams but had less power. The first race of the season was in Brazil, where Senna took Pole. In the race Senna took an early lead but the nimble Benetton was never far behind. After the pit stops Schumacher got lead the race after passing Senna in the pits. Second wasn't enough of a reward for the Brazilian crowd and Senna refused to settle instead opting to push for a win. Senna pushed too hard, spun the car which then stalled, the race over.
The second race was the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida where Senna again placed the car on Pole. However Senna was involved in a collision at the first corner. He was hit from behind by Mika Häkkinen and his race came to a definitive end when a Ferrari driven by Nicola Larini also crashed into his Williams. No points scored from a possible twenty made this his worst start to an F1 season.
At the third race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna declared this was where his season would start, fourteen races as opposed to sixteen in which to win the title. Senna again placed the car on what would be his final Pole but the weekend had not been smooth. Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in a horrific crash during qualifying, Senna visited the scene to see for himself what had happened for which he was later chastised for commandeering a marshals car to get to the scene of the accident. Senna and the other drivers all opted to start the Grand Prix and the race set off only for a huge accident at the start line. Instead of the race being stopped a safety car was deployed and the drivers followed it for several laps. On the restart Senna immediately set a quick pace with the third quickest lap of the race, followed by Schumacher. Senna started what was to be his final lap, the car passed the start line towards Tamburello where the car appeared to not attempt to take the corner. Senna scrubbed the speed from around 195mph down to around 135mph before it hit the concrete retaining wall. The car bounced back on to the run off area and came to rest. Course officials arrived at the scene quickly but none approached the car until the medical team arrived suggesting the accident was not going to be one from which Senna would simply walk away from. For a moment Senna's head twitched but and the world thought he might be okay, however the twitch was a sign off a massive brain injury. Senna was removed from the car by Sid Watkins and his medical team and treated by the side of the car before being airlifted to Bologna hospital where Senna was later declared dead.
The suspension of the detached front right wheel had pierced his helmet, causing a fatal injury. Senna was kept alive despite his heart stopping twice but the situation was hopeless. Formula One lost its most controversial and brilliant driver. To this day, the cause of the accident has still not been fully determined.

1994: Williams
Senna was renowned for his qualifying skill, a discipline he mastered like none before to produce a record 65 pole positions from 161 races. This record stood for 12 years after his death, before it was surpassed by Michael Schumacher after taking pole position for the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix, his 236th race.
"Magic" Senna, as he was known to his fans, also won the Monaco Grand Prix six times, a record which stands today and a tribute to his skills which earned him the title "Master of Monaco".
Ayrton described in detail an odd feeling that he got during his qualifying laps. His experience when qualifying for the 1988 Monaco GP for example he described as being in a tunnel or dreamlike state:
Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down. I drove slowly back to the pits and I didn't want to go out any more that day. It frightened me because I was well beyond my conscious understanding. It happens rarely but I keep these experiences very much alive inside me because it is something that is important for self-preservation.
In that session, lap after lap he broke his own pole position time, until he felt ill at ease, backed off and returned to the pits.
During the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix ten year anniversary remembrance of Ayrton Senna in a series of interviews, Gerhard Berger, Senna's team mate at McLaren from 1990-1992 and a very close friend, expressed a memory of what it was like qualifying with Senna:
This competition could perhaps be attributed to not only Senna's determination and desire to be first (including qualifying), but Senna and Berger's close friendship and horseplay, as the two were always playing practical jokes on each other in attempt to outdo each other.
Berger is quoted as saying "He taught me a lot about our sport, I taught him to laugh".

Qualifying
In F1, wet weather racing is considered to be a great equaliser of cars; that is, the driver makes more of a difference. Speeds must be reduced and car superiority in power or grip is greatly reduced. The rain demands great driver car control, ability and driving finesse. Senna had some of his best performances in such conditions.
One of his tactics was not to change into the rain tyres at the start of the rain but to keep racing using slick tyres. Although it made racing much more difficult Senna often gained several seconds of time ahead of his competitors because most of them were driving into pitstop to change into rain tyres.
The 1984 season was Senna's first in F1. He came into a field of competitors from whose ranks 16 world championships would be reaped. Participating as a rookie in a relatively uncompetitive car, the Toleman TG184, Senna had racked up three race retirements, a 6th and a 7th place from his first 5 races.
He started the first wet race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix in 13th place. The race was stopped for safety reasons after only 31 laps due to monsoon conditions. At the time the race was stopped, Senna was classified in 2nd place, and catching up to race leader Alain Prost, at 4 seconds per lap. Senna's performance in this race, on a track on which it is notoriously difficult to pass other competitors, should be contrasted with the events of recent races at Monaco in which passing has been the exception rather than the norm, especially in dry conditions.
In 1993, at the European GP at Donington Park, Senna drove for the McLaren team. The MP4/8, although one of the front running cars, was considered inferior to the leading Williams FW15C of Prost and Hill, and the Benetton B193 - which used a factory-supplied Ford engine - driven by Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese.

Wet weather driving
Beyond his exceptional driving skills Senna was one of the sport's most compelling personalities.

Character

Main article: Death of Ayrton Senna The fatal accident at Imola in 1994
To take advantage of the close relationship Honda had with the Brazilian prodigy during his tenure as #1 driver for the McLaren/Honda F1 Team, Ayrton Senna was called in to fine-tune the Honda NSX's suspension setting during its final development stages. The tests were conducted at Suzuka Circuit with chief NSX engineer Shigeru Uehara and his engineering team present to gather Senna's direct input. As a result of his suspension tuning, Senna subsequently found the prototype NSX initially lacked chassis stiffness to the level he was accustomed to, so the final production version was further reinforced to his satisfaction.

Senna and the NSX

Senna's personal sponsor associated with him through his career was Banco Nacional, a now defunct Brazilian Insurance and Banking Co.
In 1992, he endorsed Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II, a video game by Sega.
MV Agusta have a special edition of their F4 model called the F4 1000 senna, which is produced in limited numbers every year in his honour.
Ayrton Senna was a very passionate Sport Club Corinthians Paulista supporter.
Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he still believed Ayrton Senna was and remained the best F1 driver he'd ever seen. Trivia

"Winning is like a drug, I cannot justify in any circumstances coming second or third."
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose."
"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the limit'. And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high."
"One particular thing that Formula-1 can provide you, is that you know you're always exposed to danger. Danger of getting hurt, danger of dying. This is part of your life, and you either face it in a professional, in a cool manner, or you just drop it, just leave it and don't do it anymore really. And I happen to like too much what I do to just drop it, I can't drop it."
"Racing, competing, it's in my blood. It's part of me, it's part of my life; I have been doing it all my life and it stands out above everything else."
"There are no small accidents on this circuit." - talking about the Imola circuit before the fatal 1994 race.
"It's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying that we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen." - pre-season 1994.
"I continuously go further and further learning about my own limitations, my body limitation, psychological limitations. It's a way of life for me."
"Of course there are moments that you wonder how long you should be doing it because there are other aspects which are not nice, of this lifestyle. But I just love winning."
"If you have a target in your life, a real target, doesn't matter if you are very poor or rich people, if you work hard and believe in God, you can get the success, success in the life."
"I know that it is impossible to win always. I just hope that defeat doesn't come this weekend."
"I don't know driving in another way which isn't risky. Each one has to improve himself. Each driver has its limit. My limit is a little bit further than other's."
"If I ever happen to have an accident that eventually costs me my life, I hope it is in one go. I would not like to be in a wheelchair. I would not like to be in a hospital suffering from whatever injury it was. If I'm going to live, I want to live fully. Very intensely, because I am an intense person. It would ruin my life if I had to live partially." (January 1994, 4 months prior to his death) Notable quotations
During his quite long career Senna was involved in several incidents which caused considerable controversy. Senna was vilified in the British media for his involvement in title-deciding collisions in 1989 and 1990. German and Italian newspapers widely condemned his actions in 1990.

Controversies and criticism
Going into the penultimate race, the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, the Brazilian needed to win again to keep the World Championship open. Senna duly took pole position from the World Championship leader Alain Prost. At the start Prost made a good start and took the lead and for the first half of the race he chipped away to build up a lead of five seconds. Then Senna began to come back at him and by lap 40 they were only a second apart. Prost had the advantage on the straights, Senna was better in the corners. Senna was desperate to get past Prost and at the end of lap 46 Senna made his move at the chicane. Prost was already turning into the corner when Senna drove halfway alongside on the inside. The two interlocked McLarens slid up the chicane escape road. Prost, thinking the World Championship was over, climbed out. To separate the cars the marshals pushed Senna backwards on to the track. They put the car into a dangerous position and so had to push it forwards again. As they did so Senna bump-started the engine. He drove through the chicane and rejoined. The nose of his car was damaged and he had to pit but he rejoined only five seconds behind leader Alessandro Nannini. Senna's chase was furious and merciless. On lap 50 Ayrton sliced past Nannini at the chicane to retake the lead and win the race. But it was Nannini who appeared on the podium as the winner. Senna had been excluded for missing the chicane and creating a serious accident. McLaren appealed the decision but the FIA Court of Appeal not only upheld the decision but fined Senna $100,000 and gave him a suspended six-month ban.
Going into the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix Senna was the Championship leader. After qualifying there was a huge a political battle going on over pole position. McLaren wanted it to be changed so that Senna would be on a clean piece of track but the request was blocked. Senna saw it as collusion between Prost and the officials and it helped to decide him on a frightening deliberate course of action at the start. If his position proved to be a disadvantage Senna was not going to back off in the first corner. Prost made the better start as expected and as they went into the first corner he was half a car length ahead. Senna did not lift off. The two cars collided with enough force to remove Prost's rear wing and spun into the sand trap. Senna was the World Champion. With one race left, Prost was no longer able to get the necessary points to beat Senna. There was lots of controversy after the collision between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. FISA announced plans for a special enquiry into safety after Ferrari threatened to withdraw from F1 unless sanctions were taken against Senna's dangerous driving. Senna, however, only emerged with a warning and a fine. Surprisingly at a press conference following the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix, Senna admitted his part in the first corner accident of the year before claiming it had been done in frustration at the FISA decision not to move pole position to the clean side of the track. Another surprising feature of the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix was that Senna moved over on the last corner of the last lap to let his team mate Gerhard Berger of Austria through to win.

Championship-deciding collisions
Senna took the pole position during the qualifying for the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix, but was accused of deliberately baulking other drivers during the final qualifying session by running more laps than necessary. Niki Lauda and Michele Alboreto were most upset by events; Alboreto going so far as to force Senna up an escape road during the session. Senna pointed out that even on the 13th of his 16 qualifying laps he nearly equalled his pole position time.
At the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix Prost discovered that winning meant everything to Senna when he was almost forced into the pit wall at Estoril at more than 180 mph. Prost got away slightly faster than Senna at the start but the Brazilian dived into the first corner ahead. Prost responded and went to pass Senna at the end of the first lap. Senna swerved to block Prost, forcing the Frenchman nearly to run into the pitwall. Prost kept his foot down and soon edged Senna into the first corner and started pulling away fast. After the race Prost was not happy with Senna's maneuver. Senna got away with a warning from the FIA.

Complete Formula One Results

A haplotype (Greek haploos = simple) is a combination of alleles at multiple linked loci that are transmitted together. Haplotype may refer to as few as two loci or to an entire chromosome depending on the number of recombination events that have occurred between a given set of loci. The term haplotype is a portmanteau of "haploid genotype."
In a second meaning, haplotype is a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a single chromatid that are statistically associated. It is thought that these associations, and the identification of a few alleles of a haplotype block, can unambiguously identify all other polymorphic sites in its region. Such information is very valuable for investigating the genetics behind common diseases, and is collected by the International HapMap Project.

Haplotype Resolution

Main article: Genealogical DNA test UEP results (SNP results)
The other possible part of the genetic results is the Y-STR haplotype, the set of results from the Y-STR markers tested.
Unlike the UEPs, the Y-STRs mutate much more easily, which gives them much more resolution to distinguish recent genealogy. But it also means that, rather than the population of descendents of a genetic event all sharing the same result, the Y-STR haplotypes are likely to have spread apart, to form a cluster of more or less similar results. Typically, this cluster will have a definite most probable center, the modal haplotype (presumably close to the haplotype of the original founding event), and also a haplotype diversity - the degree to which it has become spread out. The further in the past the defining event occurred, and the more that subsequent population growth occurred early, the greater the haplotype diversity for a particular number of descendents will be. On the other hand, if the haplotype diversity is smaller for a particular number of descendents, this may indicate a more recent common ancestor, or that a population expansion has occurred more recently.
It is important to note that, unlike for UEPs, there is no guarantee that two individuals with a similar Y-STR haplotype will necessarily share a similar ancestry. There is no uniqueness about Y-STR events. Instead, the clusters of Y-STR haplotype results inheriting from different events and different histories all tend to overlap.
Thus, although sometimes a Y-STR haplotype may be directly indicative of a particular Y-DNA haplogoup, it is in most cases a long time since the haplogoups' defining events, so typically the cluster of Y-STR haplotype results associated with descendents of that event has become rather broad, and will tend to significantly overlap the (similarly broad) clusters of Y-STR haplotypes associated with other haplogroups, making it impossible to predict with absolute certainty to which Y-DNA haplogroup a Y-STR haplotype would point. All that can be done from the Y-STRs, if the UEPs are not actually tested, is to predict probabilities for haplogroup ancestry (as this online program does), but not certainties.
A similar scenario exists for surnames. A cluster of similar Y-STR haplotypes may indicate a shared common ancestor, with an identifiable modal haplotype, but only if the cluster is sufficiently distinct from what may have arisen by chance from different individuals historically having adopted the same name independently. This may require the typing of quite an extensive haplotype to establish, which has fuelled DNA testing companies to offer ever-larger sets of markers - 24 then 37 then 67, and perhaps soon even more.
Plausibly establishing relatedness between different surnames data-mined from a database is significantly harder, because now it must be established not that a randomly-selected member of the population is unlikely to have such a close match by accident, but rather that the very nearest member of the population in question, chosen purposely from the population for that very reason, would even under those circumstances be unlikely to match by accident. This is for the foreseeable future likely to be impossible, except in special cases where there is further information to drastically limit the size of that population of candidates under consideration.

See also
The following software is available for estimating hapltoypes
The following software is available for testing haplotypes for disease associations

snphap — EM based software for estimating haplotype frequencies from unphased genotypes.
Haploview — haplotype based association analysis.