title: Lhasa content: and army barracks are built over the rest. The Guāndì miào (關帝廟) or Gesar Lhakhang temple was erected by the Amban in 1792 atop Mount Bamare south of the Potala to celebrate the defeat of an invading Gurkha army. The main gate to the city of Lhasa used to run through the large Pargo Kaling chorten and contained holy relics of the Buddha Mindukpa. Between 1987–1989 Lhasa experienced major demonstrations, led by monks and nuns, against the Chinese Government. After Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, Lhasa was mandated by the government to undergo economic liberalization. All government employees, their


title: Lhasa content: families and students were forbidden from practicing their religion, while monks and nuns were not allowed to enter government offices and the Tibet University campus. Subsequent to the introduction of the economic development policies, the influx of migrants has dramatically altered the city's ethnic mix in Lhasa. In 2000 the urbanised area covered , with a population of around 170,000. Official statistics of the metropolitan area report that 70 percent are Tibetan, 34.3 are Han, and the remaining 2.7 Hui, though outside observers suspect that non-Tibetans account for some 50–70 percent. Among the Han immigrants, Lhasa is known as ‘Little


title: Lhasa content: Sichuan'. Lhasa has an elevation of about and lies in the centre of the Tibetan Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to . The air only contains 68 percent of the oxygen compared to sea level. The Lhasa River, also Kyi River or Kyi Chu, a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River (Brahmaputra River), runs through the southern part of the city. This river, known to local Tibetans as the "merry blue waves", flows through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqêntanglha mountains, extending , and emptying into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Qüxü, forms an area of great


title: Lhasa content: scenic beauty. The marshlands, mostly uninhabited, are to the north. Ingress and egress roads run east and west, while to the north, the road infrastructure is less developed. Chengguan District is located on the middle reaches of the Lhasa River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, with land that rises to the north and south of the river. It is from east to west and from north to south. Chengguan District is bordered by Doilungdêqên District to the west, Dagzê County to the east and Lhünzhub County to the north. Gonggar County of Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture lies to the south.


title: Lhasa content: Chengguan District has an elevation of and covers . The urban built-up area covers . The average annual temperature of . Annual precipitation is about , mostly falling between July and September. The term "Chengguan District" is the administrative term for the inner urban area or the urban centre within a prefecture, in this case the Prefectural-city of Lhasa. Outside of the urban area much of Chengguan District is mainly mountainous with a near nonexistent rural population. Chengguan District is at the same administrative level as a county. Chengguan District of Lhasa was established on 23 April 1961. It currently


title: Lhasa content: has 12 fully urban subdistricts. Due to its very high elevation, Lhasa has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwb) that very closely borders a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk) and a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwb), with very dry, frosty winters and wet, warm summers, yet the valley location protects the city from intense cold or heat and strong winds. Monthly possible sunshine ranges from 53 percent in July to 84 percent in November, and the city receives nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight annually. It is thus sometimes called the "sunlit city" by Tibetans. The coldest month is January


title: Lhasa content: with an average temperature of and the warmest month is June with a daily average of , though nights have generally been warmer in July. The annual mean temperature is , with extreme temperatures ranging from . Lhasa has an annual precipitation of with rain falling mainly in July, August and September. The driest month is December at and the wettest month is August, at . The rainy season is widely regarded the "best" of the year as rains come mostly at night and Lhasa is still sunny during the daytime. The 11th edition of "Encyclopædia Britannica" published between 1910–1911


title: Lhasa content: noted the total population of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity was about 30,000; a census in 1854 made the figure 42,000, but it is known to have greatly decreased since. "Britannica" noted that within Lhasa, there were about a total of 1,500 resident Tibetan laymen and about 5,500 Tibetan women. The permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000). The city's residents included traders from Nepal and Ladak (about 800), and a few from Bhutan, Mongolia and other places. The "Britannica" noted with interest that the Chinese had a crowded burial-ground at Lhasa, tended carefully after


title: Lhasa content: their manner and that the Nepalese supplied mechanics and metal-workers at that time. In the first half of the 20th century, several Western explorers made celebrated journeys to the city, including William Montgomery McGovern, Francis Younghusband, Alexandra David-Néel and Heinrich Harrer. Lhasa was the centre of Tibetan Buddhism as nearly half of its population were monks, Though this figure may include monks from surrounding monasteries who travelled to Lhasa for various celebrations and were not ordinarily resident there. The majority of the pre-1950 Chinese population of Lhasa were merchants and officials. In the Lubu section of Lhasa, the inhabitants were


title: Lhasa content: descendants of Chinese vegetable farmers, some of whom married Tibetan wives. They came to Lhasa in the 1840s–1860s after a Chinese official was appointed to the position of Amban. According to one writer, the population of the city was about 10,000, with some 10,000 monks at Drepung and Sera monasteries in 1959 Hugh Richardson, on the other hand, puts the population of Lhasa in 1952, at "some 25,000–30,000—about 45,000–50,000 if the population of the great monasteries on its outskirts be included." The total population of Lhasa Prefecture-level City is 521,500 (including known migrant population but excluding military garrisons). Of this,


title: Lhasa content: 257,400 are in the urban area (including a migrant population of 100,700), while 264,100 are outside. Nearly half of Lhasa Prefecture-level City's population lives in Chengguan District, which is the administrative division that contains the urban area of Lhasa (i.e. the actual city). The urban area is populated by ethnic Tibetans, Han, Hui and other ethnic groups. The 2000 official census gave a total population of 223,001, of which 171,719 lived in the areas administered by city street offices and city neighborhood committees. 133,603 had urban registrations and 86,395 had rural registrations, based on their place of origin. The census


title: Lhasa content: was taken in November, when many of the ethnic Han workers in seasonal industries such as construction would have been away from Tibet, and does not count the military. A 2011 book estimated that up to two-thirds of the city's residents are non-Tibetan, although the government states that Chengguan District as a whole is still 63% ethnic Tibetan. Competitive industry together with feature economy play key roles in the development of Lhasa. With the view to maintaining a balance between population growth and the environment, tourism and service industries are emphasised as growth engines for the future. Many of Lhasa's


title: Lhasa content: rural residents practice traditional agriculture and animal husbandry. Lhasa is also the traditional hub of the Tibetan trading network. For many years, chemical and car making plants operated in the area and this resulted in significant pollution, a factor which has changed in recent years. Copper, lead and zinc are mined nearby and there is ongoing experimentation regarding new methods of mineral mining and geothermal heat extraction. Agriculture and animal husbandry in Lhasa are considered to be of a high standard. People mainly plant highland barley and winter wheat. The resources of water conservancy, geothermal heating, solar energy and various


title: Lhasa content: mines are abundant. There is widespread electricity together with the use of both machinery and traditional methods in the production of such things as textiles, leathers, plastics, matches and embroidery. The production of national handicrafts has made great progress. With the growth of tourism and service sectors, the sunset industries which cause serious pollution are expected to fade in the hope of building a healthy ecological system. Environmental problems such as soil erosion, acidification, and loss of vegetation are being addressed. The tourism industry now brings significant business to the region, building on the attractiveness of the Potala Palace, the


title: Lhasa content: Jokang, the Norbulingka Summer Palace and surrounding large monasteries as well the spectacular Himalayan landscape together with the many wild plants and animals native to the high altitudes of Central Asia. Tourism to Tibet dropped sharply following the crackdown on protests in 2008, but as early as 2009, the industry was recovering. Chinese authorities plan an ambitious growth of tourism in the region aiming at 10 million visitors by 2020; these visitors are expected to be domestic. With renovation around historic sites, such as the Potala Palace, UNESCO has expressed "concerns about the deterioration of Lhasa's traditional cityscape." Lhasa contains


title: Lhasa content: several hotels. Lhasa Hotel is a 4-star hotel located northeast of Norbulingka in the western suburbs of the city. Completed in September 1985, it is the flagship of CITS's installations in Tibet. It accommodates about 1000 guests and visitors to Lhasa. There are over 450 rooms (suites) in the hotel, and all are equipped with air conditioning, mini-bar and other basic facilities. Some of the rooms are decorated in traditional Tibetan style. The hotel was operated by Holiday Inn from 1986 to 1997 and is the subject of a book, "The Hotel on the Roof of the World". Another hotel


title: Lhasa content: of note is the historical Banak Shöl Hotel, located at 8 Beijing Road in the city. It is known for its distinctive wooden verandas. The Nam-tso Restaurant is located in the vicinity of the hotel and is frequented especially by Chinese tourists visiting Lhasa. Lhasa contains several businesses of note. Lhasa Carpet Factory, a factory south of Yanhe Dong Lu near the Tibet University, produces traditional Tibetan rugs that are exported worldwide. It is a modern factory, the largest manufacturer of rugs throughout Tibet, employing some 300 workers. Traditionally Tibetan women were the weavers, and men the spinners, but both


title: Lhasa content: work on the rugs today. The Lhasa Brewery Company was established in 1988 on the northern outskirts of Lhasa, south of Sera Monastery and is the highest commercial brewery in the world at and accounts for 85 percent of contemporary beer production in Tibet. The brewery, consisting of five-story buildings, cost an estimated US$20–25 million, and by 1994, production had reached 30,000 bottles per day, employing some 200 workers by this time. Since 2000, the Carlsberg group has increased its stronghold in the Chinese market and has become increasingly influential in the country with investment and expertise. Carlsberg invested in


title: Lhasa content: the Lhasa Brewery in recent years and has drastically improved the brewing facility and working conditions, renovating and expanding the building to what now covers 62,240 square metres (15.3 acres). Lhasa has many sites of historic interest, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery and Norbulingka. The Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka are UNESCO world heritage sites. However, many important sites were damaged or destroyed mostly, but not solely, during China's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Many have been restored since the 1980s. The Potala Palace, named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara, was


title: Lhasa content: the chief residence of the Dalai Lama. After the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the government converted the palace into a museum. The site was used as a meditation retreat by King Songtsen Gampo, who in 637 built the first palace there in order to greet his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang dynasty of China. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of


title: Lhasa content: government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The palace underwent restoration works between 1989 and 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million) and was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. The Lhasa Zhol Pillar, below the Potala, dates as far back as circa 764 CE. and is inscribed with what may be the oldest known example of Tibetan writing. The pillar contains dedications to a famous Tibetan general and gives an account of his services to the king including campaigns against China which culminated in the brief capture of


title: Lhasa content: the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xian) in 763 CE during which the Tibetans temporarily installed as Emperor a relative of Princess Jincheng Gongzhu (Kim-sheng Kong co), the Chinese wife of Trisong Detsen's father, Me Agtsom. Chokpori, meaning 'Iron Mountain', is a sacred hill, located south of the Potala. It is considered to be one of the four holy mountains of central Tibet and along with two other hills in Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet.", Chokpori (Vajrapani), Pongwari (Manjushri), and Marpori (Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara). It was the site of the most famous medical school Tibet, known as the Mentsikhang,


title: Lhasa content: which was founded in 1413. It was conceived of by Lobsang Gyatso, the "Great" 5th Dalai Lama, and completed by the Regent Sangye Gyatso (Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho) shortly before 1697. Lingkhor is a sacred path, most commonly used to name the outer pilgrim road in Lhasa matching its inner twin, Barkhor. The Lingkhor in Lhasa was long enclosing Old Lhasa, the Potala and Chokpori hill. In former times it was crowded with men and women covering its length in prostrations, beggars and pilgrims approaching the city for the first time. The road passed through willow-shaded parks where the Tibetans used to


title: Lhasa content: picnic in summer and watch open air operas on festival days. New Lhasa has obliterated most of Lingkhor, but one stretch still remains west of Chokpori. The Norbulingka palace and surrounding park is situated in the west side of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace and with an area of around , it is considered to be the largest man made garden in Tibet. It was built from 1755. and served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas until the 14th's self-imposed exile. Norbulingka was declared a ‘National Important Cultural Relic Unit”, in


title: Lhasa content: 1988 by the State council. In 2001, the Central Committee of the Chinese Government in its 4th Tibet Session resolved to restore the complex to its original glory. The Sho Dun Festival (popularly known as the "yogurt festival") is an annual festival held at Norbulingka during the seventh Tibetan month in the first seven days of the Full Moon period, which corresponds to dates in July/August according to the Gregorian calendar. The Barkhor is an area of narrow streets and a public square in the old part of the city located around Jokhang Temple and was the most popular devotional


title: Lhasa content: circumambulation for pilgrims and locals. The walk was about one kilometre () long and encircled the entire Jokhang, the former seat of the State Oracle in Lhasa called the Muru Nyingba Monastery, and a number of nobles' houses including Tromzikhang and Jamkhang. There were four large incense burners ("sangkangs") in the four cardinal directions, with incense burning constantly, to please the gods protecting the Jokhang. Most of the old streets and buildings have been demolished in recent times and replaced with wider streets and new buildings. Some buildings in the Barkhor were damaged in the 2008 unrest. The Jokhang is


title: Lhasa content: located on Barkhor Square in the old town section of Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa. This temple has remained a key center of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries. The circumambulation route is known as the "kora" in Tibetan and is marked by


title: Lhasa content: four large stone incense burners placed at the corners of the temple complex. The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is based on the Indian vihara design, and was later extended resulting in a blend of Nepalese and Tang dynasty styles. It possesses the statues of Chenresig, Padmasambhava and King Songtsan Gampo and his two foreign brides, Princess Wen Cheng (niece of Emperor Taizong of Tang) and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and other important items. Ramoche Temple is considered the most important temple in Lhasa after the Jokhang Temple. Situated


title: Lhasa content: in the northwest of the city, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang, covering a total area of 4,000 square meters (almost one acre). The temple was gutted and partially destroyed in the 1960s and its famous bronze statue disappeared. In 1983 the lower part of it was said to have been found in a Lhasa rubbish tip, and the upper half in Beijing. They have now been joined and the statue is housed in the Ramoche Temple, which was partially restored in 1986, and still showed severe damage in 1993. Following the major restoration of


title: Lhasa content: 1986, the main building in the temple now has three stories. The Tibet Museum in Lhasa is the official museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region and was inaugurated on October 5, 1999. It is the first large, modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region and has a permanent collection of around 1000 artefacts, from examples of Tibetan art to architectural design throughout history such as Tibetan doors and construction beams. It is located in an L-shaped building west of the Potala Palace on the corner of Norbulingkha Road. The museum is organized into three main sections: a main exhibition hall,


title: Lhasa content: a folk cultural garden and administrative offices. The Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was unveiled in the Potala Square in May 2002 to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, and the work in the development of the autonomous region since then. The 37-metre-high concrete monument is shaped as an abstract Mount Everest and its name is engraved with the calligraphy of former president Jiang Zemin, while an inscription describes the socioeconomic development experienced in Tibet in the past fifty years. There are some night spots that feature cabaret acts


title: Lhasa content: in which performers sing in Chinese, Tibetan, and English. Dancers wear traditional Tibetan costume with long flowing cloth extending from their arms. There are a number of small bars that feature live music, although they typically have limited drink menus and cater mostly to foreign tourists. Tibet University (Tibetan: བོད་ལྗོངས་སློབ་གྲྭ་ཆེན་མོ་) is the main university of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Its campus is in Chengguan District, Lhasa, east of the city-centre. A forerunner was created in 1952 and the university was officially established in 1985, funded by the Chinese government. About 8000 students are enrolled at the university. Lhasa has been


title: Lhasa content: served by rail since 2006, when the Qinghai–Tibet Railway opened for passenger operations. Reaching an elevation of 5,072 metres above sea level, the Qinghai-Tibet railway is the world's highest railway by elevation. It connects Lhasa with Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, some away, and ultimately links Lhasa with other major cities with China's extensive railway network. Five trains arrive at and depart from Lhasa railway station each day. Train number Z21 takes 40 hours and 53 minutes from Beijing West, arriving in Lhasa at 13:03 every day. Train Z22 from Lhasa to Beijing West departs at 15:30 and arrives


title: Lhasa content: in Beijing at 08:20 on the third day, taking 40 hours, 50 minutes. Trains also arrive in Lhasa from Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou, Xining, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other cities. To counter the problem of altitude differences giving passengers altitude sickness, extra oxygen is pumped in through the ventilation system and available directly on each berth with close open control by a flap for convenience of passenger, and personal oxygen masks are available on request. Within the soft sleeper cabins there are 64 seats per train and are well equipped and have a socket to plug electronics. Lhasa is also connected to


title: Lhasa content: the second largest city in Tibet, Xigazê, by rail service, since 2014. A third railway, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which links Lhasa with Nyingchi County and into the interior ultimately terminating in Chengdu, began construction in June 2015. For onward rail travel in South Asia, the closest major station in India is New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri in West Bengal. However, extension of the Indian railway system to Sikkim will make it easier for onward connections through the South Asian railway network. There are preliminary plans to link Lhasa by rail with Kathmandu. As per a Chinese Tibetan spokesperson, extension of this rail


title: Lhasa content: line to Kathmandu with tunneling under Mount Everest is expected to be completed by 2020. Lhasa Gonggar Airport (IATA: LXA), built in 1965, is the aviation hub of Tibet. It is located south of the city proper. It takes around half an hour to get there by car via the Lhasa Airport Expressway; prior to the completion of the expressway in 2011, the trip to the airport took over an hour. , there are daily flights serving major Chinese cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, and there are also occasional scheduled services to Kathmandu in Nepal. Lhasa Airport is


title: Lhasa content: the hub of Tibet Airlines, which offers regional services to other destinations in Tibet such as Nyingchi, Ngari Prefecture, Shigatse, and Qamdo. The Qinghai–Tibet Highway (part of G109) runs northeast toward Xining and eventually to Beijing and is the most-used road in Tibet. The Sichuan–Tibet Highway (part of G318) runs east towards Chengdu and eventually to Shanghai. G318 also runs west to Zhangmu on the Nepal border. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (G219) runs north from Lhasa to Yecheng, and then to Xinjiang. This road is rarely used due to the lack of amenities and petrol stations. A new , four-lane highway


title: Lhasa content: between Lhasa and the Gonggar Airport was built by the Transportation Department of Tibet at a cost of RMB 1.5 billion. This road is part of National Highway 318 and starts from the Lhasa Railway Station, passes through Caina Township in Qushui County, terminating between the north entrance of the Gala Mountain Tunnel and the south bridgehead of the Lhasa River Bridge, and en route goes over the first overpass of Lhasa at Liuwu Overpass. The closest seaport is Kolkata, India. The Nathu La pass offers Chinese companies access to the port of Kolkata (Calcutta), situated about from Lhasa, for


title: Lhasa content: transshipments to and from Tibet. Lhasa Lhasa or Chengguan is a district and administrative capital of Lhasa City in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The inner urban area of Lhasa City is equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District, which is part of the wider prefectural Lhasa City. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and, at an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city has been the religious and administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. It


title: "Purple heron" content: Purple heron The purple heron ("Ardea purpurea") is a wide-ranging species of wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. The scientific name comes from Latin "ardea" "heron", and "purpureus", "coloured purple". It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements. It is similar in appearance to the more common grey heron but is slightly smaller, more slender and has darker plumage. It is also a more evasive bird, favouring densely vegetated habitats


title: "Purple heron" content: near water, particularly reed beds. It hunts for a range of prey including fish, rodents, frogs and insects, either stalking them or standing waiting in ambush. Purple herons are colonial breeders and build a bulky nest out of dead reeds or sticks close to the water' edge among reeds or in dense vegetation. About five bluish-green eggs are laid and are incubated by both birds. The young hatch about four weeks later and fledge six weeks after that. The International Union for Conservation of Nature notes that the global population trend is downwards, largely because of the drainage of wetlands,


title: "Purple heron" content: but assesses the purple heron's conservation status as being of "least concern". The purple heron is a large bird, in length with a standing height from and a wingspan. However, it is slender for its size, weighing only . It is somewhat smaller than the grey heron, from which it can be distinguished by its darker reddish-brown plumage, and, in adults, its darker grey back. Adults have the forehead and the crown of the head black, with a dark stripe down the back of the neck that terminates in a slender, dangling crest. This is shorter than the crest of


title: "Purple heron" content: the grey heron and does not exceed . The sides of the head and the neck are buffish chestnut, with dark streaks and lines down either side of the whole the neck. The mantle is oily brown and the upper scapular feathers are elongated but not the lower ones. The rest of the upper parts and the tail are brownish grey. The front of the neck is paler than the sides and there are some elongated feathers at the base of the neck which are streaked with white, chestnut and black. The breast is chestnut brown, with some blackening at


title: "Purple heron" content: the side, and the belly and under-tail coverts are black. The brownish-yellow beak is long, straight and powerful, and is brighter in colour in breeding adults. The iris is yellow and the legs are brown at the front and yellowish behind. The call is a harsh "frarnk", but is quieter and more high-pitched than that of the grey heron. It is generally a less noisy bird, though similar guttural sounds are heard emanating from the heronry. It is also less robust, and appears somewhat hollow-chested. Its head and neck are more slender and snake-like than the grey heron and its


title: "Purple heron" content: toes much longer. Unlike that bird, it often adopts a posture with its neck extending obliquely, and even nestlings tend to use this stance. There are three or four subspecies: The purple heron has a mostly palaearctic distribution and breeds in Europe, Asia and Africa. The range of the western race extends from southern Spain and North Africa eastwards across southern and eastern Europe as far as Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan. In Africa, the bird breeds in Senegal, down the east coast of Africa and in Madagascar. The eastern race extends from the Indian Subcontinent, eastwards to eastern China and


title: "Purple heron" content: the Philippines, and northwards to the basins of the Amur River and the Ussuri River at about 49°N. The southern race is restricted to Madagascar, and a small population of purple herons on the Cape Verde Islands is regarded as a separate race by some authorities. Between August and October, birds of the western population migrate southwards to tropical Africa, returning northwards in March. Purple herons often overshoot their normal range on their return, and are vagrants to northern Europe including Britain. The eastern population is largely resident, though some birds from the northern part of the range fly southwards


title: "Purple heron" content: to Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. The African birds are resident. The purple heron inhabits marshes, lagoons and lakes surrounded by dense vegetation. It may frequent mangrove swamps on the coast but it usually chooses freshwater habitats, particularly locations with reed beds ("Phragmites"). It also visits mudflats, river banks, ditches and canals. In the Cape Verde Islands, it is more likely to be seen in the open, on arid slopes. Flight is slow, with the neck retracted and the legs extending a long way behind the tail. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and


title: "Purple heron" content: spoonbills, which extend their necks in flight. It is a secretive bird, spending less time out in the open than the grey heron and tending to skulk in reed beds. Its long toes mean it can walk on floating vegetation, and it sometimes walks over bushes in the same way, not making any attempt to grip the branches. It seldom perches in trees, preferring more terrestrial sites to rest. It is most active at dawn and dusk, roosting with other birds in the middle of the day and at night, but increasing its diurnal activity while rearing young. It feeds


title: "Purple heron" content: in shallow water, grabbing its prey with its powerful beak. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim. The diet consists mainly of fish, small mammals and amphibians, but nestling birds, snakes, lizards, crustaceans, water snails, insects and spiders are also eaten. Terrestrial beetles are the commonest insect prey, followed by water beetles and aquatic larvae, with grasshoppers, dragonflies, bees and flies also being consumed. The purple heron usually breeds in colonies but sometimes the nests are solitary. It sometimes associates with other species such as the goliath heron ("Ardea goliath") or grey heron at multi-species


title: "Purple heron" content: nesting colonies. The site chosen is generally in reed beds, canebrakes or low bushes close to large lakes or other extensive wetlands. It builds a bulky nest of dead reeds, sticks or whatever is available, carelessly pulling the material together. The eggs are bluish-green, averaging . The clutch is usually four or five eggs, with occasionally seven or eight eggs being laid, though these large clutches may have resulted from two females laying in the same nest. The eggs are laid at intervals of three days, and incubation may begin with the first egg, or start when the clutch is


title: "Purple heron" content: complete. Both parents share the incubation, which lasts between 24 and 28 days, and the care of the young. When an adult brings food, its beak is dragged down by the chicks and it regurgitates food from the crop onto the nest, or the young may take food directly from the beak. The young fledge at about six weeks and become independent at two months. They then disperse widely. There are estimated to be a total of between 270,000 and 570,000 purple herons in the world and the population is probably decreasing slowly. The International Union for Conservation of Nature


title: "Purple heron" content: has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern because the rate of decline is insufficient to justify rating it in a more threatened category. The chief threat the bird faces is drainage and disturbance of its wetland habitats, particularly destruction of the reed beds. The purple heron is one of the species to which the "Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds" (AEWA) applies. Purple heron The purple heron ("Ardea purpurea") is a wide-ranging species of wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. The scientific name comes from Latin "ardea" "heron", and "purpureus", "coloured purple". It breeds


title: "Centennial Olympic Park bombing" content: the subject of intense media interest and surveillance, including a media siege of his home. After Jewell was exonerated, he initiated defamation lawsuits against NBC News, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", and other media entities, and insisted on a formal apology from them. Jewell's lawsuit accused Piedmont College President Raymond Cleere of falsely describing Jewell as a "badge-wearing zealot" who "would write epic police reports for minor infractions". The cases were later settled after 15 years of litigation with the Georgia Court of Appeals decision in July 2012, that the newspapers accurately reported that Jewell was the key suspect in the bombing,


title: "Gino Capponi" content: della Repubblica di Firenze"; but he followed political affairs with great interest, and helped to convince Lord John Russell, who stayed with him in 1859, of the hopelessness of the grand duke's position. On Leopold's second flight (27 April 1859) a Tuscan assembly was summoned, and Capponi elected member of it. He voted for the grand duke's deposition and for the union of Tuscany with Piedmont. King Victor Emmanuel made him senator in 1860. His last years were devoted almost exclusively to his Florentine history, which was published in 1875 and achieved an immediate success. This was Capponi's last work,


title: "Great egret" content: Great egret The great egret ("Ardea alba"), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water. Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family, Ardeidae. Traditionally classified with the storks in the Ciconiiformes, the Ardeidae are closer relatives of pelicans and belong in the Pelecaniformes, instead.


title: "Great egret" content: The great egret—unlike the typical egrets—does not belong to the genus "Egretta", but together with the great herons is today placed in "Ardea". In the past, however, it was sometimes placed in "Egretta" or separated in a monotypic genus "Casmerodius". The Old World population is often referred to as the "great white egret". This species is sometimes confused with the great white heron of the Caribbean, which is a white morph of the closely related great blue heron. The scientific name comes from Latin "ardea", "heron", and "alba", "white". Four subspecies are found in various parts of the world, which


title: "Great egret" content: differ but little. Differences are bare-part coloration in the breeding season and size; the smallest "A. a. modesta" from Asia and Australasia some taxonomists consider a full species, the eastern great egret ("Ardea modesta"), but most scientists treat it as a subspecies. The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to tall, this species can measure in length and have a wingspan of . Body mass can range from , with an average around . It is thus only slightly smaller than the great blue or grey heron ("A. cinerea"). Apart from size, the great egret


title: "Great egret" content: can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. In breeding plumage, delicate ornamental feathers are borne on the back. Males and females are identical in appearance; juveniles look like nonbreeding adults. Differentiated from the intermediate egret ("Mesophoyx intermedius") by the gape, which extends well beyond the back of the eye in case of the great egret, but ends just behind the eye in case of the intermediate egret. It has a slow flight, with its neck retracted.


title: "Great egret" content: This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes, ibises, and spoonbills, which extend their necks in flight. The great egret walks with its neck extended and wings held close. The great egret is not normally a vocal bird; it gives a low, hoarse croak when disturbed, and at breeding colonies, it often gives a loud croaking "cuk cuk cuk" and higher-pitched squawks. The great egret is generally a very successful species with a large and expanding range, occurring worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. It is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States


title: "Great egret" content: and in the Neotropics. In North America, large numbers of great egrets were killed around the end of the 19th century so that their plumes could be used to decorate hats. Numbers have since recovered as a result of conservation measures. Its range has expanded as far north as southern Canada. However, in some parts of the southern United States, its numbers have declined due to habitat loss, particularly wetland degradation through drainage, grazing, clearing, burning, increased salinity, groundwater extraction and invasion by exotic plants. Nevertheless, the species adapts well to human habitation and can be readily seen near wetlands


title: "Great egret" content: and bodies of water in urban and suburban areas. The great egret is partially migratory, with northern hemisphere birds moving south from areas with colder winters. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. In 1953, the great egret in flight was chosen as the symbol of the National Audubon Society, which was formed in part to prevent the killing of birds for their feathers. On 22 May 2012, a pair of great egrets was announced to be nesting in the UK for the first time at the Shapwick


title: "Great egret" content: Heath nature reserve in Somerset. The species is a rare visitor to the UK and Ben Aviss of the BBC stated that the news could mean the UK's first great egret colony is established. The following week, Kevin Anderson of Natural England confirmed a great egret chick had hatched, making it a new breeding bird record for the UK. In 2017, seven nests in Somerset fledged 17 young, and a second breeding site was announced at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk where a pair fledged three young. In 2018, a pair of great egrets nested in Finland for the


title: "Great egret" content: first time, raising four young in a grey heron colony in Porvoo. The species breeds in colonies in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, preferably at height of . It begins to breed at 2–3 years of age by forming monogamous pairs each season. If the pairing carries over to the next season is not known. The male selects the nest area, starts a nest, and then attracts a female. The nest, made of sticks and lined with plant material, could be up to 3 feet across. Up to six bluish green eggs are


title: "Great egret" content: laid at one time. Both sexes incubate the eggs and the incubation period is 23–26 days. The young are fed by regurgitation by both parents and they are able to fly within 6–7 weeks. The great egret feeds in shallow water or drier habitats, feeding mainly on fish, frogs, small mammals, and occasionally small reptiles and insects, spearing them with its long, sharp bill most of the time by standing still and allowing the prey to come within its striking distance of its bill, which it uses as a spear. It often waits motionless for prey, or slowly stalks its


title: "Great egret" content: victim. A long-running field study (1962–2013) suggested that the central European great egrets host 17 different helminth species. Juvenile great egrets were shown to host fewer species, but the intensity of infection was higher in the juveniles than in the adults. Of the digeneans found in central European great egrets, numerous species likely infected their definitive hosts outside of central Europe itself. The great egret is depicted on the reverse side of a 5-Brazilian reais banknote. "White Egrets" is the title of Saint Lucian poet Derek Walcott's 14th collection of poems. The great egret is the symbol of the National


title: "Great egret" content: Audubon Society. The name of venerable Shariputra, one of the Buddha's best-known followers, signifies "the son of the egret" (among other possibilities), his mother is said to have had eyes like a great egret. In Belarus, a commemorative coin has the image of a great egret. The great egret also features on the New Zealand $2 coin and on the Hungarian 5-forint coin. Great egret The great egret ("Ardea alba"), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found


title: "Lily of the valley" content: Lily of the valley Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis ), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a sweetly scented, highly poisonous woodland flowering plant that is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe. Other names include May bells, Our Lady's tears, and Mary's tears. Its French name, muguet, sometimes appears in the names of perfumes imitating the flower's scent. It is possibly the only species in the genus "Convallaria" (depending on whether "C. keiskei" and "C. transcaucasica" are recognised as separate species). In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae


title: "Lily of the valley" content: (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like many lilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae. "Convallaria majalis" is a herbaceous perennial plant that forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer, these upright dormant stems are often called pips. These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground, often forming extensive colonies. The stems grow to 15–30 cm tall, with one or two leaves 10–25 cm long;


title: "Lily of the valley" content: flowering stems have two leaves and a raceme of 5–15 flowers on the stem apex. The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell-shape, 5–10 mm diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm diameter that contains a few large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm wide. Plants are self-sterile, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed. "Convallaria


title: "Lily of the valley" content: majalis" is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins. An eastern variety, "C. majalis" var. "keiskei" occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. A limited native population of "C. majalis" var. "montana" (synonym "C. majuscula") occurs in the Eastern United States. There is, however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety. Like many perennial flowering plants, "C. majalis" exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes. "Convallaria majalis" is a plant of partial shade, and mesophile type


title: "Lily of the valley" content: that prefers warm summers. It likes soils that are silty or sandy and acid to moderately alkaline, with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favoured. It is an Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1,500 m altitude. "Convallaria majalis" is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) species including the grey chi. Adults and larvae of the leaf beetle "Lilioceris merdigera" are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves. There are three


title: "Lily of the valley" content: varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists. "Convallaria transcaucasica" is recognised as a distinct species by some authorities, while the species formerly called "Convallaria japonica" is now classified as "Ophiopogon japonicus". "Convallaria majalis" is widely grown in gardens for its scented flowers and ground-covering abilities in shady locations. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. (confirmed 2017). In favourable conditions it can form large colonies. Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-colored flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical


title: "Lily of the valley" content: species. Traditionally "Convallaria majalis" has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both for as potted plants and as cut flowers. All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. If ingested—even in small amounts—the plant can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, reduced heart rate, blurred vision, drowsiness, and red skin rashes. Roughly 38 different cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) have been found in the plant, including among others: The plant also contains saponins. Although deadly, the plant has been used as a folk remedy in moderate


title: "Lily of the valley" content: amounts, and is currently used by herbalists as a restricted herbal remedy. It also contains the unusual, poisonous amino acid azetidine-2-carboxylic acid. The odor of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, was thought to attract mammalian sperm. The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted research into odor reception, but a 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odor reception. In 1956, the French firm Dior produced a fragrance simulating lily of the valley, which was Christian Dior's favorite flower. Diorissimo was


title: "Lily of the valley" content: designed by Edmond Roudnitska. Although it has since been reformulated, it is considered a classic. Other perfumes imitating or based on the flower include Henri Robert's Muguet de Bois (1936), Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley (1976), and Olivia Giacobetti's En Passant (2000). Lily of the valley has been used in weddings and can be very expensive. Lily of the valley was featured in the bridal bouquet at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Lily of the valley was also the flower chosen by Princess Grace of Monaco to be featured in her bridal bouquet. At the beginning of


title: "Lily of the valley" content: the 20th century, it became tradition in France to sell lily of the valley on international labour day, 1 May (also called "La Fête du Muguet" (Lily of the Valley Day) by labour organisations and private persons without paying sales tax (on that day only) as a symbol of spring. Lily of the valley is worn in Helston (Cornwall, UK) on Flora Day (8 May each year, see Furry Dance) representing the coming of "the May-o" and the summer. There is also a song sung in pubs around Cornwall (and on Flora Day in Cadwith, near Helston) called "Lily of


title: "Lily of the valley" content: the Valley"; the song, strangely, came from the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Lily of the valley was the floral emblem of Yugoslavia, and it also became the national flower of Finland in 1967. In the "language of flowers", the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness. In terms of musical influence, “Lily of the Valley” is also a song by Queen on their album Sheer Heart Attack. Lily of the Valley was featured in the TV show Breaking Bad, as it was used by Walter White as a naturally occurring poison. Two of the


title: "Lily of the valley" content: flower's alternative names — Our Lady's tears and Mary's tears — derive from Christian legends that it sprang from the weeping of the Virgin Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus. Other etiologies have its coming into being from Eve's tears after she was driven with Adam from the Garden of Eden or from the blood shed by Saint Leonard of Noblac during his battles with a dragon. The name "lily of the valley" is used in some English translations of the Bible in Song of Songs 2:1, but the Hebrew phrase ""shoshannat-ha-amaqim"" in the original text (literally ""lily of the


title: "Lily of the valley" content: valleys"") does not refer to this plant. It is possible, though, that the biblical phrase may have had something to do with the origin or development of the modern plant-name. It is a symbol of humility in religious painting. Lily of the valley is considered the sign of Christ's second coming. The power of people to envision a better world was also attributed to the lily of the valley. Lily of the valley Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis ), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a sweetly scented, highly poisonous woodland flowering plant that is native throughout the cool temperate Northern


title: Bazooka content: Bazooka Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely fielded by the United States Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the first generation of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid-propellant rocket for propulsion, it allowed for high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads to be delivered against armored vehicles, machine gun nests, and fortified bunkers at ranges beyond that of a standard thrown grenade or mine. The universally-applied nickname arose from the M1 variant's vague resemblance to the musical instrument called a "bazooka" invented and popularized by


title: Bazooka content: 1930s U.S. comedian Bob Burns. During World War II, German armed forces captured several bazookas in early North Africa and Eastern Front encounters and soon reverse engineered their own version, increasing the warhead diameter to 8.8 cm (among other minor changes) and widely issuing it as the "Raketenpanzerbüchse" "Panzerschreck" ("Tank terror"). Near the end of the war, the Japanese developed a similar weapon, the Type 4 70 mm AT Rocket Launcher, which featured a rocket propelled grenade of a different design. The term "bazooka" still sees informal use as a generic term referring to any ground-to-ground shoulder-fired missile weapon (mainly


title: Bazooka content: rocket propelled grenade launchers or recoilless rifles). The development of the bazooka involved the development of two specific lines of technology: the rocket-powered weapon, and the shaped-charge warhead. It was also designed for easy maneuverability and access. The rocket-powered weapon was the brainchild of Dr. Robert H. Goddard as a side project (under Army contract) of his work on rocket propulsion. Goddard, during his tenure at Clark University, and while working at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's magnetic lab and Mount Wilson Observatory (for security reasons), designed a tube-fired rocket for military use during World War I. He and his co-worker, Dr.


title: Bazooka content: Clarence N. Hickman, successfully demonstrated his rocket to the US Army Signal Corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on November 6, 1918, but as the Compiègne Armistice was signed only five days later, further development was discontinued. The delay in the development of the bazooka was as a result of Goddard's serious bout with tuberculosis. Goddard continued to be a part-time consultant to the US government at Indian Head, Maryland, until 1923, but soon turned his focus to other projects involving rocket propulsion. Hickman later became head of the National Defense Research Committee in the 1940s where he guided rocket


title: Bazooka content: development for the war effort, including completing the development of the bazooka. Shaped charge technology was developed in the US into a shaped charge hand grenade for use by infantry, effective at defeating up to 60 mm (2.4 in) of vehicle armor. The grenade was standardized as the M10. However, the M10 grenade weighed 3.5 lb (1.6 kg), was difficult to throw by hand, and too heavy to be launched as a rifle grenade. The only practical way to use the weapon was for an infantryman to place it directly on the tank, an unlikely means of delivery in most


title: Bazooka content: combat situations. A smaller, less powerful version of the M10, the M9, was then developed, which could be fired from a rifle. This resulted in the creation of a series of rifle grenade launchers, the M1 (Springfield M1903), the M2 (Enfield M1917), the M7 (M1 Garand), and the M8 (M1 Carbine). However, a truly capable anti-tank weapon had yet to be found, and following the lead of other countries at the time, the U.S. Army prepared to evaluate competing designs for a more effective man portable anti-tank weapon. The combination of rocket motor and shaped charge warhead would lead to


title: Bazooka content: Army development of light antitank weapons. In 1942, U.S. Army Colonel Leslie Skinner received the M10 shaped-charge grenade which was capable of stopping German tanks. He gave Lieutenant Edward Uhl the task of creating a delivery system for the grenade. Uhl created a small rocket, but needed to protect the firer from the rocket exhaust and aim the weapon. According to Uhl, By late 1942, the improved Rocket Launcher, M1A1 was introduced. The forward hand grip was deleted, and the design simplified. The production M1A1 was 54 inches (1.37 m) long and weighed only 12.75 pounds (5.8 kg). The ammunition


title: Bazooka content: for the original M1 launcher was the M6, which was notoriously unreliable. The M6 was improved and designated M6A1, and the new ammunition was issued with the improved M1A1 launcher. After the M6, several alternative warheads were introduced. Many older M1 launchers were modified to M1A1 standards in July and August 1943, with batches of M6 rockets also being modified with the latest ignition systems to be able to be fired from the modified M1 launchers; these rockets were designated M6A2. The M6A3 rocket featured a blunt, rounded nose to lessen the chances of it ricocheting off of angled armor,


title: Bazooka content: and was meant to be fired from the M9, and later M9A1, launchers. Late in World War II, the M6A4 and M6A5 rockets with improved fuses were developed. These rockets arrived too late to see service during the war, but were used post-war. The 2.36 inch (60 mm) Smoke Rocket M10 and its improved subvariants (M10A1, M10A2, M10A4) used the rocket motor and fin assembly of the M6A1, but replaced the anti-tank warhead with a white phosphorus (WP) smoke head. WP smoke not only acts as a visible screen, but its burning particles can cause severe injuries to human skin.


title: Bazooka content: The M10 was therefore used to mark targets, to blind enemy gunners or vehicle drivers, or to drive troops out of bunkers and dugouts. The 2.36-Inch Incendiary Rocket T31 was an M10 variant with an incendiary warhead designed to ignite fires in enemy-held structures and unarmored vehicles, or to destroy combustible supplies, ammunition, and materiel; it was not often utilized. The original M1 and M1A1 rocket launchers were equipped with simple fixed sights and used a launch tube without reinforcements. During the war, the M1A1 received a number of running modifications. The battery specification was changed to a larger, standard


title: Bazooka content: battery cell size, resulting in complaints of batteries getting stuck in the wood shoulder rest (the compartment was later reamed out to accommodate the larger cells). The M1 and M1A1 used a rear iron sight and a front rectangular "ladder" sight positioned at the muzzle. The vertical sides of the ladder sight were inscribed with graduations of 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards, with the user elevating the bazooka so the rear sight lined up with the selected "rung" on the front sight. On the M9, the ladder sight was replaced by the General Electric T43 aperture sight. Ranging was


title: Bazooka content: accomplished by looking through the rear sight's peep hole while rotating the assembly (which had graduations of 100, 200, and 300 yards) so it lined up with the blade positioned at the muzzle. In September 1944, during the production of the M9A1, the T43 sight was replaced by the Polaroid T90 optical reflector sight, which used an etched reticle for aiming. The T43 and T90 sights were interchangeable. Various types of blast deflectors were tried, and an additional strap iron shoulder brace was fitted to the M9 launcher. The bazooka required special care when used in tropical or arctic climates


title: Bazooka content: or in severe dust or sand conditions. Rockets were not to be fired at temperatures below 0 °F or above 120 °F (−18 °C to +49 °C). In 1943, field reports of rockets sticking and prematurely detonating in M1A1 launch tubes were received by Army Ordnance at Ogden Arsenal and other production facilities. At the US Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, various metal collars and wire wrapping were used on the sheet metal launch tube in an effort to reinforce it. However, reports of premature detonation continued until the development of bore slug test gauges to ensure that the rocket did


title: Bazooka content: not catch inside the launch tube. The original M6 and M6A1 rockets used in the M1 and M1A1 launchers had a pointed nose, which was found to cause deflection from the target at low impact angles. In late 1943, another 2.36-in rocket type was adopted, the M6A3, for use with the newly standardized M9 rocket launcher. The M6A3 was 19.4 inches (493 mm) long, and weighed 3.38 lb (1.53 kg). It had a blunted, more round nose to improve target effect at low angles, and a new circular fin assembly to improve flight stability. The M6A3 was capable of penetrating


title: Bazooka content: of armor plate. Battery problems in the early bazookas eventually resulted in replacement of the battery-powered ignition system with a magneto sparker system operated through the trigger. A trigger safety was incorporated into the design that isolated the magneto, preventing misfires that could occur when the trigger was released and the stored charge prematurely fired the rocket. The final major change was the division of the launch tube into two discrete sections, with bayonet-joint attachments. This was done to make the weapon more convenient to carry, particularly for use by airborne forces. The final two-piece launcher was standardized as the


title: Bazooka content: M9A1. In September 1944, the fragile folding aperture sight was replaced by a Polaroid optical reflector sight However, the long list of incorporated modifications increased the launcher's tube length to 61 inches (1.55 m), with an overall empty weight of 14.3 lb (6.5 kg). From its original conception as a relatively light, handy, and disposable weapon, the final M9A1 launcher had become a heavy, clumsy, and relatively complex piece of equipment. In October 1944, after receiving reports of inadequate combat effect of the M1A1 and M9 launchers and their M6A1 rockets, and after examining captured examples of the German 8.8


title: Bazooka content: cm RPzB 43 and RPzB 54 "Panzerschreck", the US Ordnance Corps began development on a new, more powerful anti-tank rocket launcher, the 3.5-inch (90 mm) M20. However, the weapon's design was not completed until after the war and saw no action against an enemy until Korea. In 1945, the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service standardized improved chemical warfare rockets intended for the new M9 and M9A1 launchers, adopting the M26 Gas Rocket, a cyanogen chloride (CK)-filled warhead for the 2.36-in rocket launcher. CK, a deadly blood agent, was capable of penetrating the protective filter barriers in some gas masks, and


title: Bazooka content: was seen as an effective agent against Japanese forces (particularly those hiding in caves or bunkers), whose gas masks lacked the impregnants that would provide protection against the chemical reaction of CK. While stockpiled in US inventory, the CK rocket was never deployed or issued to combat personnel. Following Operation Overlord in 1944, the military version of the slow-flying Piper J-3 Cub high-wing civilian monoplane, the L-4 Grasshopper, began to be used in a light anti-armor role by a few U.S. Army artillery spotter units over France; these aircraft were field-outfitted with either two or four bazookas attached to the


title: Bazooka content: lift struts, against German armored fighting vehicles. Upon arriving in France in 1944, US Army Major Charles Carpenter, an Army aviator flying liaison and artillery-spotting lightplanes like the military version of the Piper J-3 Cub, the L-4 Grasshopper, was issued a new L-4H version during the concluding stages of "Overlord", taking this "light attack" role against German armor by himself. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds. This margin allowed him to eventually mount a total of six bazookas, three per side on the lift


title: Bazooka content: struts as other L-4s had done. Within a few weeks, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks. Carpenter's plane was known as "Rosie the Rocketer", and his exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including "Stars and Stripes", the Associated Press, "Popular Science", "The New York Sun", and "Liberty Magazine". Carpenter once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again." During the critical late-September Battle of Arracourt, Carpenter managed to achieve disabling hits on several German armored cars and even two Panther tanks,


title: Bazooka content: along with killing or wounding a dozen or more enemy soldiers. In the opening months of the Korean War era, in August 1950 a joint US Navy and Marine Corps test used a newly acquired Bell HTL-4 helicopter to test if a bazooka could be fired from a helicopter in flight. One of the larger 3.5 inch models of the Bazooka was chosen, and was mounted ahead and to the right of the helicopter to allow the door to remain clear. The bazooka was successfully tested, although it was discovered that it would require shielding for the engine compartment, which


title: Bazooka content: was exposed in the model 47 and other early helicopters. The helicopter itself belonged to HMX-1, a Marine experimental helicopter squadron. Shortly after the first prototype launcher and rockets had been tested by firing into the Potomac River, Skinner and Uhl took the new system to a competitive trial of various types of spigot mortar (at that time seen as the most promising way to deliver a shaped charge), which was held at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1942. The new rocket launcher scored several hits on a moving tank while the five different mortars achieved none; this was


title: Bazooka content: a considerable achievement since the launcher's sights had been fabricated that morning from a wire coat hanger. The trial was being watched by various senior officers, among them the Chief of Research and Engineering in the Ordnance Department, Major General Gladeon M. Barnes. Barnes was delighted by the performance of the system and fired it himself, but commented: "It sure looks like Bob Burns' bazooka". Bob Burns was a popular radio comedian, who used a novelty musical instrument which he had devised himself and called a "bazooka"</ref> Secretly introduced via the Russian front and in November 1942 during Operation Torch,


title: Bazooka content: early production versions of the M1 launcher and M6 rocket were hastily supplied to some of the U.S. invasion forces during the landings in North Africa. On the night before the landings, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was shocked to discover from a subordinate that none of his troops had received any instruction in the use of the bazooka. Initially supplied with the highly unreliable M6 rocket and without training, the M1 did not play a significant armed role in combat in the North African fighting, but did provide a German intelligence coup when some were captured by the Germans in


title: Bazooka content: early encounters with inexperienced US troops. A US general visiting the Tunisian front in 1943 after the close of combat operations could not find any soldiers who could report that the weapon had actually stopped an enemy tank. Further issue of the bazooka was suspended in May 1943. During the Allied invasion of Sicily, small numbers of the M1A1 bazooka (using an improved rocket, the M6A1) were used in combat by US forces. The M1A1 accounted for four medium German tanks and a heavy Tiger I, with the latter being knocked out by an improbable hit through the driver's vision


title: Bazooka content: slot. A disadvantage to the bazooka was the large backblast, which gave away the position of the shooter, although all weapons have some firing signature. Moreover, the bazooka fire team often had to expose their bodies in order to obtain a clear field of fire against a target. When the existence of the bazooka was revealed to the American public, official press releases for the first two years stated that it "packed the wallop of a 155mm cannon"—a great exaggeration, but widely accepted by the American public at the time. In late 1942, numbers of early-production American M1 bazookas were


title: Bazooka content: captured by German troops from Red Army forces who had been given quantities of the bazooka under Lend-Lease as well as during the Operation Torch invasions in the North African Campaign. The Germans promptly developed their own version of the weapon, increasing the diameter of the warhead from 60 mm to 88 mm (2.4 to 3.5 in). In German service, their larger-calibre version of the American bazooka was popularly known as the "Panzerschreck". The German weapon, with its larger, more powerful warhead, had significantly greater armor penetration; ironically, calls for a larger-diameter warhead had also been raised by some ordnance


title: Bazooka content: officers during U.S. trials of the M1, but were rejected. After participating in an armor penetration test involving a German Panther tank using both the "Raketenpanzerbüchse", or RPzB 54 "Panzerschreck" and the U.S. M9 bazooka, Corporal Donald E. Lewis of the U.S. Army informed his superiors that the "Panzerschreck" was "far superior to the American bazooka": 'I was so favorably impressed [by the "Panzerschreck"] I was ready to take after the Krauts with their own weapon.' The M1 bazooka fared much better on the rare occasions when it could be used against the much thinner armor typically fitted to the


title: Bazooka content: lower sides, underside, and top of enemy tanks. To hit the bottom panel of an enemy tank, the bazooka operator had to wait until the tank was surmounting a steep hill or other obstruction, while hitting the top armor usually necessitated firing the rocket from the upper story of a building or similar elevated position. Even the heavy King Tiger tank only possessed hull and turret top armor thicknesses of 44 mm (1-3/4 in) thickness at best, capable of being pierced by the bazooka's shaped-charge rocket ordnance. During the 1944 Allied offensive in France, when some examples of liaison aircraft


title: Bazooka content: with the U.S. Army began to be experimentally field-armed, and were already flying with pairs or quartets of the American ordnance—and most notably used during the Battle of Arracourt—Major Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter mounted a battery of three M9 bazookas on the wing-to-fuselage struts on each side of his L-4 Grasshopper aircraft in order to attack enemy armor, and was credited with destroying six enemy tanks, including two Tiger I heavy tanks. Despite the introduction of the M9 bazooka with its improved rocket—the M6A3—in late 1943, reports of the weapon's effectiveness against enemy armor decreased alarmingly in the latter stages


title: Bazooka content: of World War II, as new German tanks with thicker and better-designed armor plate and "Schurzen" armor skirts/spaced armor were introduced. This development forced bazooka operators to target less well-protected areas of the vehicle, such as the tracks, drive sprockets, wheels, or rear engine compartment. In a letter dated May 20, 1944, Gen. George S. Patton stated to a colleague that "the purpose of the bazooka is not to hunt tanks offensively, but to be used as a last resort in keeping tanks from overrunning infantry. To insure this, the range should be held to around 30 yards." In the


title: Bazooka content: Pacific campaign, as in North Africa, the original bazookas sent to combat often had reliability issues. The battery-operated firing circuit was easily damaged during rough handling, and the rocket motors often failed because of high temperatures and exposure to moisture, salt air, or humidity. With the introduction of the M1A1 and its more reliable rocket ammunition, the bazooka was effective against some fixed Japanese infantry emplacements such as small concrete bunkers and pill boxes. Against coconut and sand emplacements, the weapon was not always effective, as these softer structures often reduced the force of the warhead's impact enough to prevent


title: Bazooka content: detonation of the explosive charge. Later in the Pacific war, Army and Marine units often used the M2 flamethrower to attack such emplacements. In the few instances in the Pacific where the bazooka was used against tanks and armored vehicles, the rocket's warhead easily penetrated the thin armor plate used by the Japanese and destroyed the vehicle. Overall, the M1A1, M9, and M9A1 rocket launchers were viewed as useful and effective weapons during World War II, though they had been primarily employed against enemy emplacements and fixed fortifications, not as anti-tank weapons. General Dwight Eisenhower later described it as one


title: Bazooka content: of the four "Tools of Victory" which won World War II for the Allies (together with the atom bomb, Jeep and the C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft). During the war, Bazookas were lend-leased to United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, China, Free French forces as well as Soviet Union. Some were supplied to French maquis and Yugoslav Partisans. The success of the more powerful German "Panzerschreck" caused the bazooka to be completely redesigned at the close of World War II. A larger, 3.5 in (90 mm) model was adopted, the M20 "Super Bazooka". Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the "Panzerschreck", the M20


title: Bazooka content: had greater effective range, penetrating capability and was nearly 20% lighter than its German counterpart. The M20 weighed 14.3 pounds (6.5 kg) and fired a hollow shaped-charge 9 lb (4 kg) M28A2 HEAT rocket when used in an anti-tank role. It was also operated by a two-man team and had a rate of fire of six shots per minute. As with its predecessor, the M20 could also fire rockets with either practice (M29A2) or WP smoke (T127E3/M30) warheads. Having learned from experience of the sensitivity of the bazooka and its ammunition to moisture and harsh environments, the ammunition for the


title: Bazooka content: new weapon was packaged in moisture-resistant packaging, and the M20's field manual contained extensive instructions on launcher lubrication and maintenance, as well as storage of rocket ammunition. When prepared for shipment from the arsenal, the weapon was protected by antifungal coatings over all electrical contacts, in addition to a cosmoline coating in the hand-operated magneto that ignited the rocket. Upon issue, these coatings were removed with solvent to ready the M20 for actual firing. Budget cutbacks initiated by Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson in the years following World War II effectively canceled the intended widespread issue of the M20,


title: Bazooka content: and initial US forces deploying to Korea were armed solely with the M9/M9A1 2.36-in. launcher and old stockpiled World War II inventories of M6A3 rocket ammunition. During the initial stages of the Korean War, complaints resurfaced over the ineffectiveness of the 2.36-inch M9 and M9A1 against Soviet-supplied enemy armor. In one notable incident, infantry blocking forces of the US Army's Task Force Smith were overrun by 33 North Korean T-34-85 tanks despite repeatedly firing 2.36 inch rockets into the rear engine compartments of the vehicles. Additionally, Ordnance authorities received numerous combat reports regarding the failure of the M6A3 warhead to


title: Bazooka content: properly detonate upon impact, eventually traced to inventories of rocket ammunition that had deteriorated from numerous years of storage in humid or salt air environments. Supplies of 3.5- in M20 launchers with M28A2 HEAT rocket ammunition were hurriedly airlifted from the United States to South Korea, where they proved very effective against the T-34 and other Soviet tanks. Large numbers of 2.36-inch bazookas that were captured during the Chinese Civil War were also employed by the Chinese forces against the American Sherman and Patton tanks, and the Chinese later reverse engineered and produced a copy of the M20 designated the


title: Bazooka content: Type 51. It is considered that the Communist-used bazookas destroyed more tanks than the UN bazookas did. The M20 "Super Bazooka" was used in the early stages of the war in Vietnam by the US Marines before gradually being phased out by the mid-1960s in favor of the M67 recoilless rifle and later, the M72 LAW rocket. The US Army also used it in lesser quantity. While occasions to destroy enemy armored vehicles proved exceedingly rare, it was employed against enemy fortifications and emplacements with success. The M20 remained in service with South Vietnamese and indigenous forces until the late


title: Bazooka content: 1960s. The Vietnam People's Army also developed their own bazooka under the management of Tran Dai Nghia. It was successfully test-fired in 1947. The anti-French Viet Minh received Chinese Type 51 Bazookas. They were used by the Viet Cong as late as 1964. The Portuguese Armed Forces used quantities of M9A1 and M20 rocket launchers in their overseas provinces in Africa against Marxist guerrilla forces during the Portuguese Overseas War. The French Army also used the M9A1 and M20A1 launchers in various campaigns in Indochina, Korea, and Algeria. The M20A1 was replaced in the 1970s by the LRAC F1. Commonwealth


title: Bazooka content: armies also used the M20 and M20A1 under the name M20 Mk I and M20 Mk II. They were used until their replacement by the Carl Gustav L14A1. For instance, British Army used Super Bazookas during the Operation Vantage. The Argentine Army fielded M20s during the Falklands War. Bazooka Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely fielded by the United States Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the first generation of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid-propellant rocket for propulsion, it allowed for


title: "Honey locust" content: Honey locust The honey locust ("Gleditsia triacanthos"), also known as the thorny locust, is a deciduous tree in the Fabaceae family, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey locust is highly adaptable to different environments, has been introduced worldwide, and is an aggressive invasive species. The honey locust, "Gleditsia triacanthos", can reach a height of , with fast growth, and is relatively short-lived, having a life span of about 120 years. The leaves are pinnately compound on older trees but bipinnately compound on vigorous young trees. The leaflets are


title: "Honey locust" content: (smaller on bipinnate leaves) and bright green. They turn yellow in the fall (autumn). Honey locusts leaf out relatively late in spring, but generally slightly earlier than the black locust ("Robinia pseudoacacia"). The strongly scented cream-colored flowers appear in late spring, in clusters emerging from the base of the leaf axils. The fruit of the honey locust is a flat legume (pod) that matures in early autumn. The pods are generally between . The pulp on the insides of the pods is edible, unlike the black locust, which is toxic. The seeds are dispersed by grazing herbivores such as cattle


title: "Honey locust" content: and horses, which eat the pod pulp and excrete the seeds in droppings; the animal's digestive system assists in breaking down the hard seed coat, making germination easier. In addition, the seeds are released in the host's manure, providing fertilizer for them. Honey locust seed pods ripen in late spring and germinate rapidly when temperatures are warm enough. Honey locusts commonly have thorns long growing out of the branches, some reaching lengths over ; these may be single, or branched into several points, and commonly form dense clusters. The thorns are fairly soft and green when young, harden and turn


title: "Honey locust" content: red as they age, then fade to ash grey and turn brittle when mature. These thorns are thought to have evolved to protect the trees from browsing Pleistocene megafauna which may also have been involved in seed dispersal, but the size and spacing of them is less useful in defending against smaller extant herbivores such as deer. Thornless forms ("Gleditsia triacanthos" var. "inermis") are occasionally found growing wild and are available as nursery plants. Hybridization of honey locust with water locust ("G. aquatica") has been reported. Its cultivars are popular ornamental plants, especially in the northern plains of North America


title: "Honey locust" content: where few other trees can survive and prosper. It tolerates urban conditions, compacted soil, road salt, alkaline soil, heat, and drought. The popularity is in part due to the fact that it transplants so easily. The fast growth rate and tolerance of poor site conditions make it valued in areas where shade is wanted quickly, such as new parks or housing developments, and in disturbed and reclaimed environments, such as mine tailings. It is resistant to gypsy moths but is defoliated by another pest, the mimosa webworm. Spider mites, cankers, and galls are a problem with some trees. Many cultivated


title: "Honey locust" content: varieties do not have thorns. Despite its name, the honey locust is not a significant honey plant. The name derives from the sweet taste of the legume pulp, which was used for food and traditional medicine by Native American people, and can also be used to make tea. The long pods, which eventually dry and ripen to brown or maroon, are surrounded in a tough, leathery skin that adheres strongly to the pulp within. The pulp—bright green in unripe pods—is strongly sweet, crisp and succulent in ripe pods. Dark brown tannin-rich beans are found in slots within the pulp. Honey


title: "Honey locust" content: locusts produce a high quality, durable wood that polishes well, but the tree does not grow in sufficient numbers to support a bulk industry. However, a niche market exists for honey locust furniture. It is also used for posts and rails because of the dense, rot-resistant nature of the wood. In the past, the hard thorns of the younger trees were used as nails and the wood itself was used to fashion treenails for shipbuilding. The species is a major invasive environmental and economic weed in agricultural regions of Australia. The plant forms thickets and destroys the pasture required for


title: "Honey locust" content: livestock to survive. The thickets choke waterways and prevent both domestic and native animals from drinking and also harbour vermin. The spines cause damage to both people and domestic and native wildlife and puncture vehicle tires. In much of the Midwest of the United States the honey locust is also considered a weed tree and a pest that establishes itself in farm fields. In other regions of the world, ranchers and farmers who employ monocropping deem honey locust as a nuisance weed; its fast growth allows it to out-compete grasses and other crops. The ability of "Gleditsia" to fix nitrogen


title: "Honey locust" content: is disputed. Many scientific sources state that "Gleditsia" does not fix nitrogen. Some support this statement with the fact that "Gleditsia" does not form root nodules with symbiotic bacteria, the assumption being that without nodulation, no nitrogen fixation can occur. In contrast, many popular sources, permaculture publications in particular, claim that "Gleditsia" does fix nitrogen but by some other mechanism. There are anatomical, ecological, and taxonomic indications of nitrogen fixation in non-nodulating legumes. Both nodulating and non-nodulating species have been observed to grow well in nitrogen-poor soil with non-nodulating legumes even dominating some sites. The litter and seeds of non-nodulating


title: "Honey locust" content: species contains higher nitrogen than non-legumes and sometimes even higher than nodulating legumes growing on the same site. How this happens is not yet well understood but there has been some observations of nitrogenase activity in non-nodulating leguminous plants, including honey locust. Electron microscopy indicates the presence of clusters around the inner cortex of roots, just outside the xylem, that resemble colonies of rhizobial bacterioids. These may well constitute the evolutionary precursors in legumes for nitrogen fixation through nodulation. It is not known whether the non-nodulating nitrogen fixation, if it exists, does benefit neighboring plants as is said to be


title: "Honey locust" content: the case with nodulating legumes. In research using databases, more than 60 phytochemicals were identified from honey locust, including polyphenols, triterpenes, sterols, and saponins, with in vitro studies assessing for possible biological activity. Honey locust The honey locust ("Gleditsia triacanthos"), also known as the thorny locust, is a deciduous tree in the Fabaceae family, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey locust is highly adaptable to different environments, has been introduced worldwide, and is an aggressive invasive species. The honey locust, "Gleditsia triacanthos", can reach a height of ,


title: "BMW in Formula One" content: far came at the Detroit Grand Prix, where engine reliability problems prevented Piquet from qualifying. BMW's fortunes suddenly improved, however, at the next race in Canada, where the cool conditions suited the turbocharged engines and allowed Piquet to lead home Patrese (still in the BT49), to record BMW's first Formula One victory. For the remainder of the season, both drivers raced with the BT50, and used Murray's radical strategy of a planned pit stop for refuelling midway through the race to run at the front of the field on numerous occasions. The car was still unreliable, though, restricting Piquet and


title: Construction content: Construction Construction is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure. Construction differs from manufacturing in that manufacturing typically involves mass production of similar items without a designated purchaser, while construction typically takes place on location for a known client. Construction as an industry comprises six to nine percent of the gross domestic product of developed countries. Construction starts with planning, design, and financing; it continues until the project is built and ready for use. Large-scale construction requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. A project manager normally manages the job, and a construction manager, design engineer, construction engineer or architect supervises


title: Construction content: it. Those involved with the design and execution must consider zoning requirements, environmental impact of the job, scheduling, budgeting, construction-site safety, availability and transportation of building materials, logistics, inconvenience to the public caused by construction delays and bidding. Large construction projects are sometimes referred to as megaprojects. "Construction" is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations, and comes from Latin "constructionem" (from "com-" "together" and "struere" "to pile up") and Old French "construction". Construction is used as a verb: the act of building, and a noun: how a building was built, the nature


title: Construction content: of its structure. In general, there are three sectors of construction: buildings, infrastructure and industrial. Building construction is usually further divided into residential and non-residential (commercial/institutional). Infrastructure is often called heavy civil or heavy engineering that includes large public works, dams, bridges, highways, railways, water or wastewater and utility distribution. Industrial construction includes refineries, process chemical, power generation, mills and manufacturing plants. There are also other ways to break the industry into sectors or markets. "Engineering News-Record" ("ENR"), a trade magazine for the construction industry, each year compiles and reports data about the size of design and construction companies. In


title: Construction content: 2014, ENR compiled the data in nine market segments divided as transportation, petroleum, buildings, power, industrial, water, manufacturing, sewer/waste, telecom, hazardous waste and a tenth category for other projects. In their reporting, they used data on transportation, sewer, hazardous waste and water to rank firms as heavy contractors. The Standard Industrial Classification and the newer North American Industry Classification System have a classification system for companies that perform or engage in construction. To recognize the differences of companies in this sector, it is divided into three subsectors: building construction, heavy and civil engineering construction, and specialty trade contractors. There are


title: Construction content: also categories for construction service firms (e.g., engineering, architecture) and construction managers (firms engaged in managing construction projects without assuming direct financial responsibility for completion of the construction project). Building construction is the process of adding structure to real property or construction of buildings. The majority of building construction jobs are small renovations, such as addition of a room, or renovation of a bathroom. Often, the owner of the property acts as laborer, paymaster, and design team for the entire project. Although building construction projects consist of common elements such as design, financial, estimating and legal considerations, projects of varying


title: Construction content: sizes may reach undesirable end results, such as structural collapse, cost overruns, and/or litigation. For this reason, those with experience in the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure a positive outcome. Commercial building construction is procured privately or publicly utilizing various delivery methodologies, including cost estimating, hard bid, negotiated price, traditional, management contracting, construction management-at-risk, design & build and design-build bridging. Residential construction practices, technologies, and resources must conform to local building authority regulations and codes of practice. Materials readily available in the area generally dictate the construction materials used (e.g. brick versus


title: Construction content: stone, versus timber). Cost of construction on a per square meter (or per square foot) basis for houses can vary dramatically based on site conditions, local regulations, economies of scale (custom designed homes are often more expensive to build) and the availability of skilled tradesmen. Residential construction as well as other types of construction can generate waste such that planning is required. According to McKinsey research, productivity growth per worker in construction has lagged behind many other industries across different countries including in the United States and in European countries. In the United States, construction productivity per worker has declined


title: Construction content: by half since the 1960s. The most popular method of residential construction in North America is wood-framed construction. Typical construction steps for a single-family or small multi-family house are: In the industrialized world, construction usually involves the translation of designs into reality. A formal design team may be assembled to plan the physical proceedings, and to integrate those proceedings with the other parts. The design usually consists of drawings and specifications, usually prepared by a design team including architect, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, structural engineers, fire protection engineers, planning consultants, architectural consultants, and archaeological consultants. The design team


title: Construction content: is most commonly employed by (i.e. in contract with) the property owner. Under this system, once the design is completed by the design team, a number of construction companies or construction management companies may then be asked to make a bid for the work, either based directly on the design, or on the basis of drawings and a bill of quantities provided by a quantity surveyor. Following evaluation of bids, the owner typically awards a contract to the most cost efficient bidder. The best modern trend in design is toward integration of previously separated specialties, especially among large firms. In


title: Construction content: the past, architects, interior designers, engineers, developers, construction managers, and general contractors were more likely to be entirely separate companies, even in the larger firms. Presently, a firm that is nominally an "architecture" or "construction management" firm may have experts from all related fields as employees, or to have an associated company that provides each necessary skill. Thus, each such firm may offer itself as "one-stop shopping" for a construction project, from beginning to end. This is designated as a "design build" contract where the contractor is given a performance specification and must undertake the project from design to construction,


title: Construction content: while adhering to the performance specifications. Several project structures can assist the owner in this integration, including design-build, partnering and construction management. In general, each of these project structures allows the owner to integrate the services of architects, interior designers, engineers and constructors throughout design and construction. In response, many companies are growing beyond traditional offerings of design or construction services alone and are placing more emphasis on establishing relationships with other necessary participants through the design-build process. The increasing complexity of construction projects creates the need for design professionals trained in all phases of the project's life-cycle and develop


title: Construction content: an appreciation of the building as an advanced technological system requiring close integration of many sub-systems and their individual components, including sustainability. Building engineering is an emerging discipline that attempts to meet this new challenge. Construction projects can suffer from preventable financial problems. Underbids happen when builders ask for too little money to complete the project. Cash flow problems exist when the present amount of funding cannot cover the current costs for labour and materials, and because they are a matter of having sufficient funds at a specific time, can arise even when the overall total is enough. Fraud is


title: Construction content: a problem in many fields, but is notoriously prevalent in the construction field. Financial planning for the project is intended to ensure that a solid plan with adequate safeguards and contingency plans are in place before the project is started and is required to ensure that the plan is properly executed over the life of the project. Mortgage bankers, accountants, and cost engineers are likely participants in creating an overall plan for the financial management of the building construction project. The presence of the mortgage banker is highly likely, even in relatively small projects since the owner's equity in the


title: Construction content: property is the most obvious source of funding for a building project. Accountants act to study the expected monetary flow over the life of the project and to monitor the payouts throughout the process. Cost engineers and estimators apply expertise to relate the work and materials involved to a proper valuation. Cost overruns with government projects have occurred when the contractor identified change orders or project changes that increased costs, which are not subject to competition from other firms as they have already been eliminated from consideration after the initial bid. Large projects can involve highly complex financial plans and


title: Construction content: often start with a conceptual estimate performed by a building estimator. As portions of a project are completed, they may be sold, supplanting one lender or owner for another, while the logistical requirements of having the right trades and materials available for each stage of the building construction project carries forward. In many English-speaking countries, but not the United States, projects typically use quantity surveyors. A construction project must fit into the legal framework governing the property. These include governmental regulations on the use of property, and obligations that are created in the process of construction. When applicable, the project


title: Construction content: must adhere to zoning and building code requirements. Constructing a project that fails to adhere to codes does not benefit the owner. Some legal requirements come from malum in se considerations, or the desire to prevent indisputably bad phenomena, e.g. explosions or bridge collapses. Other legal requirements come from malum prohibitum considerations, or factors that are a matter of custom or expectation, such as isolating businesses from a business district or residences from a residential district. An attorney may seek changes or exemptions in the law that governs the land where the building will be built, either by arguing that


title: Construction content: a rule is inapplicable (the bridge design will not cause a collapse), or that the custom is no longer needed (acceptance of live-work spaces has grown in the community). A construction project is a complex net of contracts and other legal obligations, each of which all parties must carefully consider. A contract is the exchange of a set of obligations between two or more parties, but it is not so simple a matter as trying to get the other side to agree to as much as possible in exchange for as little as possible. The time element in construction means


title: Construction content: that a delay costs money, and in cases of bottlenecks, the delay can be extremely expensive. Thus, the contracts must be designed to ensure that each side is capable of performing the obligations set out. Contracts that set out clear expectations and clear paths to accomplishing those expectations are far more likely to result in the project flowing smoothly, whereas poorly drafted contracts lead to confusion and collapse. Legal advisors in the beginning of a construction project seek to identify ambiguities and other potential sources of trouble in the contract structure, and to present options for preventing problems. Throughout the


title: Construction content: process of the project, they work to avoid and resolve conflicts that arise. In each case, the lawyer facilitates an exchange of obligations that matches the reality of the project. Design, finance, and legal aspects overlap and interrelate. The design must be not only structurally sound and appropriate for the use and location, but must also be financially possible to build, and legal to use. The financial structure must accommodate the need for building the design provided, and must pay amounts that are legally owed. The legal structure must integrate the design into the surrounding legal framework, and enforce the


title: Construction content: financial consequences of the construction process. Procurement describes the merging of activities undertaken by the client to obtain a building. There are many different methods of construction procurement; however, the three most common types of procurement are traditional (design–bid–build), design-build and management contracting. There is also a growing number of new forms of procurement that involve relationship contracting where the emphasis is on a co-operative relationship among the principal, the contractor, and other stakeholders within a construction project. New forms include partnering such as Public-Private Partnering (PPPs) aka private finance initiatives (PFIs) and alliances such as "pure" or "project" alliances