text:
|Anthem: God Defend New Zealand|
Location of New Zealand within the Realm of New Zealand
|Ethnic groups (2013)|
|Government||Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy|
|-||Governor-General||Dame Patsy Reddy|
|-||Prime Minister||Jacinda Ardern|
|-||Chief Justice||Dame Sian Elias|
(House of Representatives)
|Stages of Independence from the United Kingdom|
|-||Responsible government||7 May 1856|
|-||Dominion||26 September 1907|
|-||Statute of Westminster adopted||25 November 1947|
|-||Total||268,021 km2 (76th)
103,483 sq mi
|-||2017 estimate||5,070,200 (123rd)|
|GDP (PPP)||2016 estimate|
|-||Total||$173.2 billion (67th)|
|GDP (nominal)||2016 estimate|
|HDI (2015)|| 0.915
very high · 13th
|Currency||New Zealand dollar ($) (NZD)|
|Time zone||NZST (UTC+12)|
|-||Summer (DST)||NZDT (UTC+13)|
|Drives on the||left|
New Zealand i// (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
Sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire and in 1907 it became a Dominion. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.7 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.
New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, regulated economy to a market economy. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, who is currently Bill English. Queen Elizabeth II is the country's head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, supposing it was connected to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America. In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand.
Aotearoa (often translated as "land of the long white cloud") is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans, with Aotearoa originally referring to just the North Island. Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui (the fish of Māui) for the North Island and Te Waipounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka o Aoraki (the canoe of Aoraki) for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island) and South (Stewart Island / Rakiura). In 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu. For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together.
New Zealand was one of the last major landmasses settled by humans. Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within Māori populations suggest New Zealand was first settled by Eastern Polynesians between 1250 and 1300, concluding a long series of voyages through the southern Pacific islands. Over the centuries that followed, these settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) who would sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other. At some point, a group of Māori migrated to the Chatham Islands (which they named Rēkohu) where they developed their distinct Moriori culture. The Moriori population was all but wiped out between 1835 and 1862, largely because of Taranaki Māori invasion and enslavement in the 1830s, although European diseases also contributed. In 1862, only 101 survived and the last known full-blooded Moriori died in 1933.
The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Tasman and his crew in 1642. In a hostile encounter, four crew members were killed and at least one Māori was hit by canister shot. Europeans did not revisit New Zealand until 1769 when British explorer James Cook mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing and trading ships. They traded European food, metal tools, weapons and other goods for timber, Māori food, artefacts and water. The introduction of the potato and the musket transformed Māori agriculture and warfare. Potatoes provided a reliable food surplus, which enabled longer and more sustained military campaigns. The resulting intertribal Musket Wars encompassed over 600 battles between 1801 and 1840, killing 30,000–40,000 Māori. From the early 19th century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population. The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor.
In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip assumed the position of Governor of the new British colony of New South Wales which according to his commission included New Zealand. The British Government appointed James Busby as British Resident to New Zealand in 1832 following a petition from northern Māori. In 1835, following an announcement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry, the nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent a Declaration of the Independence to King William IV of the United Kingdom asking for protection. Ongoing unrest, the proposed settlement of New Zealand by the New Zealand Company (which had already sent its first ship of surveyors to buy land from Māori) and the dubious legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson to claim sovereignty for Great Britain and negotiate a treaty with the Māori. The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. In response to the New Zealand Company's attempts to establish an independent settlement in Wellington and French settlers purchasing land in Akaroa, Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, even though copies of the Treaty were still circulating throughout the country for Māori to sign. With the signing of the Treaty and declaration of sovereignty the number of immigrants, particularly from the United Kingdom, began to increase.
New Zealand, still part of the colony of New South Wales, became a separate Colony of New Zealand on 1 July 1841. The colony gained a representative government in 1852 and the first Parliament met in 1854. In 1856 the colony effectively became self-governing, gaining responsibility over all domestic matters other than native policy. (Control over native policy was granted in the mid-1860s.) Following concerns that the South Island might form a separate colony, premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution to transfer the capital from Auckland to a locality near the Cook Strait. Wellington was chosen for its harbour and central location, with parliament officially sitting there for the first time in 1865. As immigrant numbers increased, conflicts over land led to the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, resulting in the loss and confiscation of much Māori land.
In 1891 the Liberal Party led by John Ballance came to power as the first organised political party. The Liberal Government, later led by Richard Seddon, passed many important social and economic measures. In 1893 New Zealand was the first nation in the world to grant all women the right to vote and in 1894 pioneered the adoption of compulsory arbitration between employers and unions. In 1898 Seddon's government passed the Old-age Pensions Act of 1898, the first general pensions scheme in the British Empire.
In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion within the British Empire, reflecting its self-governing status. Accordingly, the title "Dominion of New Zealand" dates from 1907. In 1947 the country adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for New Zealand without the consent of New Zealand.
Early in the 20th century, New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars and suffering through the Great Depression. The depression led to the election of the First Labour Government and the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy. New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following the Second World War and Māori began to leave their traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work. A Māori protest movement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greater recognition of Māori culture and of the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985. The government has negotiated settlements of these grievances with many iwi, although Māori claims to the foreshore and seabed have proved controversial in the 2000s.
As of June 2016, the population of New Zealand is estimated at 4.69 million and is increasing at a rate of approximately 2.1% per year. New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 73.0% of the population living in the seventeen main urban areas (i.e. population 30,000 or greater) and 53.7% living in the four largest cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Hamilton. New Zealand cities generally rank highly on international livability measures. For instance, in 2010 Auckland was ranked the world's fourth most liveable city and Wellington the twelfth by the Mercer Quality of Life Survey.
Life expectancy for New Zealanders in 2012 was 84 years for females, and 80.2 years for males. Life expectancy at birth is forecast to increase from 80 years to 85 years in 2050 and infant mortality is expected to decline. New Zealand's fertility rate of 2.1 is relatively high for a developed country, and natural births account for a significant proportion of population growth. Consequently, the country has a young population compared to most industrialised nations, with 20% of New Zealanders being 14 years old or younger. By 2050 the population is forecast to reach 5.3 million, the median age to rise from 36 years to 43 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age and older to rise from 18% to 29%. In 2008, the leading cause of premature death was cancer, at 29.8%, followed by ischaemic heart disease, 19.7%, and then cerebrovascular disease, 9.2%.
Largest urban areas in New Zealand
Statistics New Zealand June 2016 estimate
|5||Tauranga||Bay of Plenty||134,400||15||Whanganui||Manawatu-Wanganui||39,600|
|10||Rotorua||Bay of Plenty||57,800||20||Taupo||Waikato||24,100|
Ethnicity and immigration
In the 2013 census, 74.0% of New Zealand residents identified ethnically as European, and 14.9% as Māori. Other major ethnic groups include Asian (11.8%) and Pacific peoples (7.4%), of which two-thirds live in the Auckland region. The population has become more diverse in recent decades: in 1961, the census reported that the population of New Zealand was 92% European and 7% Māori, with Asian and Pacific minorities sharing the remaining 1%.
While the demonym for a New Zealand citizen is New Zealander, the informal "Kiwi" is commonly used both internationally and by locals. The Māori loanword Pākehā has been used to refer to New Zealanders of European descent, although others reject this appellation. The word Pākehā today is increasingly used to refer to all non-Polynesian New Zealanders.
The Māori were the first people to reach New Zealand, followed by the early European settlers. Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland and Australia because of restrictive policies similar to the white Australian policies. There was also significant Dutch, Dalmatian, German, and Italian immigration, together with indirect European immigration through Australia, North America, South America and South Africa. Following the Great Depression policies were relaxed and migrant diversity increased. In 2009–10, an annual target of 45,000–50,000 permanent residence approvals was set by the New Zealand Immigration Service—more than one new migrant for every 100 New Zealand residents. Just over 25% of New Zealand's population was born overseas, with the majority (52%) living in the Auckland region. The United Kingdom remains the largest source of New Zealand's overseas population, with a quarter of all overseas-born New Zealanders born there; other major sources of New Zealand's overseas-born population are China, India, Australia, South Africa, Fiji and Samoa. The number of fee-paying international students increased sharply in the late 1990s, with more than 20,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in 2002.
English is the predominant language in New Zealand, spoken by 96.1% of the population. New Zealand English is similar to Australian English and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell the accents apart. The most prominent differences between the New Zealand English dialect and other English dialects are the shifts in the short front vowels: the short-"i" sound (as in "kit") has centralised towards the schwa sound (the "a" in "comma" and "about"); the short-"e" sound (as in "dress") has moved towards the short-"i" sound; and the short-"a" sound (as in "trap") has moved to the short-"e" sound.
After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged from speaking their own language (te reo Māori) in schools and workplaces and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas. It has recently undergone a process of revitalisation, being declared one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987, and is spoken by 3.7% of the population. There are now Māori language immersion schools and two television channels that broadcast predominantly in Māori. Many places have both their Māori and English names officially recognised.
As recorded in the 2013 census, Samoan is the most widely spoken non-official language (2.2%), followed by Hindi (1.7%), "Northern Chinese" (including Mandarin, 1.3%) and French (1.2%). About 20,000 people use New Zealand Sign Language. It was declared one of New Zealand's official languages in 2006.
Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although its society is among the most secular in the world. In the 2013 census, 55.0% of the population identified with one or more religions, including 49.0% identifying as Christians. Another 41.9% indicated that they had no religion. The main Christian denominations are Roman Catholicism (12.6%), Anglicanism (11.8%), Presbyterianism (8.5%) and "Christian not further defined" (i.e. people identifying as Christian but not stating the denomination, 5.5%). The Māori-based Ringatū and Rātana religions (1.4%) are also Christian. Other significant minority religions include Hinduism (2.3%), Buddhism (1.5%) and Islam (1.2%). The indigenous Māori Christians tend to be associated with the Anglican and Catholic churches, while Pacific people tend to be Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic and Latter-day Saint adherents.
Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16, with the majority attending from the age of 5. There are 13 school years and attending state (public) schools is free to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents from a person's 5th birthday to the end of the calendar year following their 19th birthday. New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99%, and over half of the population aged 15 to 29 hold a tertiary qualification. There are five types of government-owned tertiary institutions: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, specialist colleges, and wānanga, in addition to private training establishments. In the adult population 14.2% have a bachelor's degree or higher, 30.4% have some form of secondary qualification as their highest qualification and 22.4% have no formal qualification. The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's education system as the seventh best in the world, with students performing exceptionally well in reading, mathematics and science.
Early Māori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture in line with the challenges associated with a larger and more diverse environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organisation was largely communal with families (whanau), sub-tribes (hapu) and tribes (iwi) ruled by a chief (rangatira) whose position was subject to the community's approval. The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Zealand and also influenced Māori culture, particularly with the introduction of Christianity. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples. More recently American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Zealand. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland.
The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem solvers. Modesty was expected and enforced through the "tall poppy syndrome", where high achievers received harsh criticism. At the time New Zealand was not known as an intellectual country. From the early 20th century until the late 1960s, Māori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation of Māori into British New Zealanders. In the 1960s, as tertiary education became more available and cities expanded urban culture began to dominate. However, rural imagery and themes have been pervasive in New Zealand's art, literature and media.
New Zealand's national symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and Māori sources. The silver fern is an emblem appearing on army insignia and sporting team uniforms. Certain items of popular culture thought to be unique to New Zealand are called "Kiwiana".
As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. Most Māori carvings feature human figures, generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking, detailed head or a grotesque head. Surface patterns consisting of spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings. The pre-eminent Māori architecture consisted of carved meeting houses (wharenui) decorated with symbolic carvings and illustrations. These buildings were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs.
Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red ochre and shark fat) and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls. Māori tattoos (moko) consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand. Portraits of Māori were also common, with early painters often portraying them as "noble savages", exotic beauties or friendly natives. The country's isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to developed their own distinctive style of regionalism. During the 1960s and 70s many artists combined traditional Māori and Western techniques, creating unique art forms. New Zealand art and craft has gradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the Venice Biennale in 2001 and the "Paradise Now" exhibition in New York in 2004.
Māori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patterned with black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other geometric shapes. Greenstone was fashioned into earrings and necklaces, with the most well-known design being the hei-tiki, a distorted human figure sitting cross-legged with its head tilted to the side. Europeans brought English fashion etiquette to New Zealand, and until the 1950s most people dressed up for social occasions. Standards have since relaxed and New Zealand fashion has received a reputation for being casual, practical and lacklustre. However, the local fashion industry has grown significantly since 2000, doubling exports and increasing from a handful to about 50 established labels, with some labels gaining international recognition.
Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known. Although still largely influenced by global trends (modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished. Dunedin is a UNESCO City of Literature.
Media and entertainment
New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. Māori developed traditional chants and songs from their ancient South-East Asian origins, and after centuries of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful" sound. Flutes and trumpets were used as musical instruments or as signalling devices during war or special occasions. Early settlers brought over their ethnic music, with brass bands and choral music being popular, and musicians began touring New Zealand in the 1860s. Pipe bands became widespread during the early 20th century. The New Zealand recording industry began to develop from 1940 onwards and many New Zealand musicians have obtained success in Britain and the United States. Some artists release Māori language songs and the Māori tradition-based art of kapa haka (song and dance) has made a resurgence. The New Zealand Music Awards are held annually by Recorded Music NZ; the awards were first held in 1965 by Reckitt & Colman as the Loxene Golden Disc awards. Recorded Music NZ also publishes the country's official weekly record charts.
Radio first arrived in New Zealand in 1922 and television in 1960. The number of New Zealand films significantly increased during the 1970s. In 1978 the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers and many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement. The highest grossing New Zealand movies include: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, The World's Fastest Indian, Once Were Warriors, and Whale Rider. Deregulation in the 1980s saw a sudden increase in the numbers of radio and television stations. New Zealand television primarily broadcasts American and British programming, along with a large number of Australian and local shows. The country's diverse scenery and compact size, plus government incentives, have encouraged some producers to film big budget movies in New Zealand, including Avatar, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong and The Last Samurai. The New Zealand media industry is dominated by a small number of companies, most of which are foreign-owned, although the state retains ownership of some television and radio stations. Since 1994, Freedom House has consistently ranked New Zealand's press freedom in the top twenty, with the 19th freest media in 2015[update].
Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins. Rugby union is considered the national sport and attracts the most spectators. Golf, netball, tennis and cricket have the highest rates of adult participation, while netball, rugby union and football (soccer) is popular among young people. Around 54% of New Zealand adolescents participate in sports for their school. Victorious rugby tours to Australia and the United Kingdom in the late 1880s and the early 1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity. Horseracing was also a popular spectator sport and became part of the "Rugby, Racing and Beer" culture during the 1960s. Māori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby and the country's team performs a haka, a traditional Māori challenge, before international matches.
New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugby union, netball, cricket, rugby league and softball, and has traditionally done well in triathlons, rowing, yachting and cycling. New Zealand participated at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as a joint team with Australia, before first participating on its own in 1920. The country has ranked highly on a medals-to-population ratio at recent Games. The "All Blacks", the national men's rugby union team, are the most successful in the history of international rugby and the reigning World Cup champions. New Zealand is known for its extreme sports, adventure tourism and strong mountaineering tradition, as seen in the success of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary. Other outdoor pursuits such as cycling, fishing, swimming, running, tramping, canoeing, hunting, snowsports and surfing are also popular. The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has increased in popularity and is now an international sport involving teams from all over the Pacific.
The national cuisine has been described as Pacific Rim, drawing inspiration from Europe, Asia and Polynesia. Popular ingredients or dishes include lamb, salmon, crayfish (lobster), dredge oysters, whitebait, pāua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (both are types of New Zealand shellfish), kumara (sweet potato), kiwifruit, tamarillo and pavlova (considered a national dish). A hāngi is a traditional Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven. After European colonisation, Māori began cooking with pots and ovens and the hāngī was used less frequently, although it is still used for formal occasions such as tangihanga.
Images for kids
Milford Sound is one of New Zealand's most famous tourist destinations.
The snow-capped Southern Alps dominate the South Island, while the North Island's Northland Peninsula stretches towards the subtropics.
The endemic flightless kiwi is a national icon.
The extinct moa (Megalapteryx didinus).
A statue of Richard Seddon, the "Beehive" (Executive Wing), and Parliament House (right), in Parliament Grounds, Wellington
Anzac Day service at the National War Memorial.
Māori Battalion haka in Egypt, 1941.
Rural scene near Queenstown
Autumn in Wellington
Central Plateau in winter
New Zealand Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

domain: history


text:
Wild Scottish venison, is their a better product? Our friendly game keeper Ian supplies us with the finest, freshest venison for these pie. Combined with rich red wine, heather honey, baby onions and sweet carrots. It’s a winning combo for sure.
Allergens: Gluten, dairy, eggs
- Please preheat your oven to 180oC
- Cook your pie for between 20 and 30 mins until piping hot in the centre when tested- all appliances vary.
- Once cooked check the pie is piping hot in the centre with a probe, temperature in excess on 72oC is required.
- Our should be stored in a fridge at 5oC to 1oC
- Our pies have a 2 day shelf life
- Our pies are well suited to home freezing. If you are freezing it must be before the use by date.
- Our pies are not suitable for cooking from frozen. To defrost, please defrost entirely in refrigerated conditions.

domain: food


text:
Virgil’s Anna: Unanima Soror
The present study concerns Anna, the sister of Dido in Book Four of Virgil’s foundational, Roman epic poem, the Aeneid. I analyze the intertextual relationship Anna’s character shares with the nurse figure of tragedy, and how Virgil builds a new kind of tragic figure out of the Greek material—the tragic, maternal sister. Virgil further links Anna to the nurse figure by using specific incendiary language and by utilizing her deep religious and etymological origins as a mother/nurse goddess. These connections link her to the other two sisters of the Aeneid, Juturna and Acca, who are also fundamentally associated with motherhood. Within Virgil’s narrative, these three sisters are employed to assist in the founding of Rome, the telos of the Aeneid.

domain: library


text:
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered.
 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
- Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, four days journey north of Bethlehem.
- Mary was pregnant. A journey late in pregnancy is arduous for her. But if she stays in Nazareth she has to face scandal alone.
- An arduous journey in winter; a pregnant teenage mom.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Mary and Joseph came into town with Mary ready to deliver. We are told that Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the census - as all had been ordered to do - in his own town.
We are also told that Joseph was a descendant of King David, whose home town was Bethlehem. The authorities would want each person to return to the place they were already listed as having property or assets. This suggests that Joseph was born in Bethlehem and had family and assets there.
Arriving at Joseph's ancestral home, it is said that they found it already full of other family members who had arrived earlier. While the exact reason space was not made for a pregnant woman is unknown. Did the elder members of Joseph's family have priority? Or were mary and Joseph chastised for her pregnancy and "early" delivery? Were they ashamed and not wanting to admit the truth? Perhaps they were even too ashamed to go to any of his relatives.
Was Mary - like so many women who conceived "out of wedlock" after her - SHUNNED to protect Joseph's family - the House of David - from shame?
Some renditions of the story conjure up images of the couple going from inn to inn only to have the owners barking at them to go away and slamming the door on this man of aristocratic lineage and his beautiful, expecting bride.
Wouldn't supporting all unwed mothers and bringing gifts to those who are homeless be wonderful and approriate Christmas tradition?


President Muhammadu Buhari may have asked the Senate to probe the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, and other governors over how they spent the bailout disbursed to them by the Federal Government.
Subsequently, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has ordered the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration to proceed on a fact-finding mission to Osun State to investigate how the Aregbesola administration spent the N34.988,900 given to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria as […]
According to reports, the Nigerian Army and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are investigating a serving senior officer and Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Brig-Gen. Umar Mohammed, over fraud allegations running into billions of naira.
Mohammed, who was the Chairman of the defunct Presidential Committee on the lease of Federal Government properties, is also being accused of laundering several billions of naira on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
According to sources, trouble started for the senior officer […]
According to reports, the Senate has resolved to probe the country’s Ministry of Transport headed by Rotimi Amaechi over the procedure leading to concession of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri and Lagos-Kano rail lines to General Electric, GE, a U.S. conglomerate.
Amaechi had in an interview with CNBC in June announced Nigeria’s engagement with GE regarding the concession of Western and Eastern rail lines – Lagos to Kano and Port Harcourt to Maiduguri respectively – worth around $2 billion.
“GE is already in; we are […]
It was gathered that the Senate on Tuesday launched a probe into the alleged abandonment of an N8bn Code of Conduct Bureau permanent site under construction for the purchase of a building valued at N9bn.
The lawmaker representing Kogi-West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, who moved the motion for the probe during the day’s plenary, alleged that after the CCB got an approval from the National Executive Council to build its permanent site, the contract for its permanent site was reviewed […]
It was gathered that the Senate is currently probing the payment of over N20bn “debts” to some Federal Government contractors between 2015 and 2016.
The government also planned to pay a contractor for a job executed in 1974, it was learnt.
One of the beneficiaries was Albarka Airlines, grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority in December 2005, which was paid about N1bn in two installments in 2015.
A document issued to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts by the Debt […]
Strong indications have emerged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has opened investigations into activities of some serving ministers in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Investigation revealed that operatives involved in the discreet probe had gathered some evidence against the affected ministers.
A top operative of the EFCC said investigations on two of the ministers had got to an advanced level.
The source said the two ministers were being probed in connection with financial crimes.
It was learnt that one of the ministers […]
It was gathered that the University of Abuja is to look into the academic performance of its students over an eight-year period with a view to improving the academic performance of the students of the University.
The University Senate had at its 159th regular meeting held on Wednesday, 27th July, 2016, set up a 13-man Committee with Professor M.A. Maisamari, Dean, Faculty of Education as Chairman to investigate the academic performance of students of the University from 2008-2015 with a view […]
A former state military administrator is not telling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) how he came about the N4billion in Abuja with which he built a four-star hotel in Abuja that was later sold to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The anti-graft agency has already invited all those connected with the transaction between the ex-MILAD and the embattled ex-Minister.
It was gathered authoritatively last night that the hotel could be seized by the EFCC.
The ex-MILAD is also […]
According to reports, the National Assembly is set to probe two alleged fraud cases involving $29 billion.
While the Senate yesterday resolved to investigate an alleged fraudulent movement of $12 billion from Nigeria by some key government officials in collaboration with a telecommunications outfit, the House of Representatives is probing over $17 billion allegedly stolen from undeclared crude oil and liquidity natural gas exports to global destinations.
The upper chamber gave approval to Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) to put together […]
Nigeria’s House of Representatives is set to probe three members alleged to have committed sexual misconduct in the United States.
A report today said the allegedly randy members will appear before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges to state their case.
The accused lawmakers are the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Mr. Mark Gbillah ( APC, Benue); Mr. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom); and Mr. Mohammed Garba-Gololo (APC, Bauchi).
According to the report, the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, had […]
A former Works Minister under the Jonathan administration may be recalled to refund hundreds of millions of Naira of public funds, which he and his family members allegedly wasted under the guise of attending official trips while in office. Already, federal auditors looking into the books of the ministry, have discovered shocking details of how the minister siphoned millions of Naira in the name of sending top officials of the ministry abroad for official functions.
The checks have also unearthed how […]


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Multiple Dental Implants
When a number of teeth are missing, multiple dental implants are the best option to give you the feeling of real teeth and easy maintenance of oral hygiene. In this case, all the premolars and molars are missing, which means there is no back teeth to chew on. A lower partial denture was made but the patient couldn't stand it because of lack of stability and comfort. Eventually three implants resolved all the problems.

domain: medical


The Boost is often a great help with speeding up web sites of small to medium size and/or hosted on shared hosts.
It works by writing the entire cached page to a disk file, and serving it entirely from the web server, bypassing PHP and MySQL entirely.
This works well in most cases, but we have observed a few cases where boost itself becomes a bottleneck.
One example was when 2bits.com were called to investigate and solve a problem for a Fortune 500 company's Drupal web site.
The site was configured to run on 12 web servers, each being a virtual instance on VMWare, but all of them sharing a single RAID-5 pool for disk storage.
The main problem was when someone posts a comment: the site took up to 20 seconds to respond, and all the web instances were effectively hung.
We investigated and found out that what happens is that boost's expiry logic kicked in, and tries to delete cached HTML intelligently for the node, the front page, ...etc. All this while the site is busy serving pages from the same disk from boost's cache, as well as other static files.
This disk contention from deleting files caused the bottleneck observed.
By disabling boost, and using memcache instead, we were able to bring down the time from 20 seconds to just 8 seconds.
Further improvement could be achieved by using Varnish as the front tier for caching, reducing contention.


Porirua refugees honoured at Cultural Diversity Day
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as former refugees shared their stories at a free community event to celebrate Cultural Diversity Day.
New Zealanders with refugee backgrounds now living in Porirua told their tales for the Porirua City Council Refugee Stories Event, held on May 26.
Former refugees from Burma, Iraq and Laos spoke about their journeys to New Zealand and settling in Porirua.
Ku Reh Nga from the Kayah region of Burma spoke about his life as a subsistence farmer before coming to New Zealand.
Moses Viliamu, a member of Porirua Arts Council, created a live mural of one of the stories told on the evening.
Abbie McKoy, event organiser, said the evening was a chance to celebrate former refugees and acknowledge the work of organisations who help settle them into their new lives. If you’re interested in getting involved with helping refugees in the Porirua community please contact NZ Red Cross Porirua, English Language Partners Porirua, Volunteer Porirua, or Literacy Aotearoa Porirua.


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Overpopulation of stray animals in Fiji is a major concern.
This, according to Pacific Animal Shelter and Hospital (PASH) co-founder and trustee Marie Peyman.
“The impact it has on the community and also on the animals themselves who lead a very very difficult life,” she said.
Ms Peyman said neutering would significantly reduce the stray dog population from the streets.
“If say for example there are 600 stray dogs on the streets it would produce a large number of puppies who will then go on to produce more puppies.”
She said if a lot of stray male dogs and cats are de-sexed, then it would make a significant difference in the stray animal population on the streets.
“The large number of stray animals also makes a bad impression on our tourism sector and we urge dog and cat owners to bring in their pets for de-sexing in the days ahead,” said Ms Peyman.

domain: pet


text:
Leeds Wins Roads for the Future Competition
Leeds City Council and City Science win the national Roads for the Future competition.
09:55 06 November 2018
Leeds City Council and City Science have won the national Roads for the Future competition launched in January by the National Infrastructure Commission with Highways England and Innovate UK.
The contest was joined by 81 applicants, including Aecom, which examined how smart signals from traffic lights could cut congestion, and Arup, which proposed the use of flexible-use kerbs. Applicants were shortlisted based on the following criteria:
· Focus on outcomes and next steps
· Justification / evidence of benefits of idea
· Justification / evidence of feasibility of idea
· Quality and clarity of presentation to jury
Leeds City Council proposed on analysing the data gathered by digitally connected cars and use it to better manage traffic, reduce tailbacks and improve traffic light sequencing.
Sir John Armitt, the chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “The vehicles of tomorrow will be very different to those we see around us today. We need to make sure our roads are ready for this revolution.
“With such a strong shortlist narrowing down the entries was no easy task, but the ideas put forward by City Science and Leeds set them apart. I’ve been really pleased by the enthusiasm for our competition, and I hope it leads to ever-greater interest not just in the technology in the vehicles, but also in the roads they will travel on.”

domain: news


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The April episode of We Are Montgomery spotlights the Blue-Ribbon Award winning Montgomery Elementary School. MES teacher Christina Reuter shares some interesting stories about the school’s Dual-Language Program and brings along some of her students to give first-hand accounts of what it’s like to learn two languages in elementary school. MES Principal Jada Mullins is also a guest this month and reveals why MISD is a great place to work. In addition, MISD Board of Trustee Steve Williams stops by to visit with Dr. Rees and talk about the upcoming election in May. Assistant Superintendent Bobby Morris closes out the show with a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for Montgomery ISD in the near future.
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Engineers began creating Honda Fit at the end of 1999 and the microvan was debuted in 2001. Later, on June 22 2002, the first orders for the car began registering. The explosive success of Honda Fit began literally from the first day of sales, surpassed all expectations, even Honda Motor Company. During the first 10 days, the company received 23000 Honda Fit orders from dealers (the previous record was set Honda Stream - 14000). Manufacturer literally was not ready for such breathtaking success that by the end of the month, the sales resulted failures. By December 2001, the number of sales of Honda Fit overtook the leader Toyota Corolla, in 2001-2002 and 2007-2008. The model received the title of "Car of the year" in Japan, and in 2009, Fit was voted "Japanese car of the Decade".
Starting with headlights and ending with hub bearings, everything was recreated. Honda Fit positioned as unisex style and was incredibly popular among both women and men. The name Fit was called in Japan, US, and China, and the microvan is known as Honda Jazz in Europe and some countries in Asia, Middle East and African continent.
Specially for has been developed fundamentally new 1.3 litre powerplant, capacity of 86 HP. The second important feature was the development of new generation of transmission using Variator CVT, specifically designed to Honda Fit. The base complete set includes: four airbags, air conditioning, audio system, and many other electric devices. The car turned out to be really spacious, compared to the exterior microvan. The Interior came out almost perfect Salon as looks stylish with quality finishes without any pretentiousness.
Featured Reviews 2016-2017
2016 Chevrolet Equinox - redesigned exterior and Interior, new engines, price
The second generation of the crossover Chevrolet Equinox made its debut at the Detroit Motor Show in 2009. Since then the car has repeatedly been subjected to minor upgrades only, but in February 2015 at the Auto Show in Chicago the GM concern presented completely updated 2016 Chevrolet Equinox. The redesigned SUV got completely renewed front with a different front ... read more
2016 Audi A3 Sportback - specifications, interior and video
The German automaker announced the release of 2016 Audi A3 Sportback which would be presented at the exhibition in New York Auto Show in summer 2016 and the novelty will join to the line-up of legendary Audi A3 family. 2016 Audi A3 Sportback is the first five-door hatchback in the world which by design and technical characteristics looks like more powerful ... read more
2016 Suzuki Baleno - interior, exterior, price, video
Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corporation officially presented a new compact hatchback 2016 Suzuki Baleno at International Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015. The new compact hatchback delight car enthusiasts with its modern bodywork designed by Liquid Flow, rich basic equipment, high-quality interior, the existence of a super modern platform, highly technologically advanced engines as well as hybrid system SHVS. The ... read more
2017 Honda CR-V - release, exterior, equipment, video
Last year in Spring, 2017 Honda CR-V was introduced for European market. Updated crossover Honda CR-V whose exterior slightly redesigned from 2015-2016 Honda CR-V. Changes include new multimedia complex, advanced security systems, new engines with gearboxes, modified steering and suspension settings, improved sound and insulation, expanded color palette of the body, and increased alloy wheels. The exterior of crossover 2017 ... read more
2017 Audi A5 Coupe - redesign, interior, specs, transmission, video
Designers have used many common stylistic elements of new version of Audi A4 in the process of developing 2017 Audi A5 Coupe, including massive front grille with angular headlights on the sides. Assuming that interior decoration will be also simular with Audi A4, most likely, the model will be equipped with new steering wheel, digital instruments and separate display for ... read more


A Sheffield man whose gambling habit landed him in prison says more support is needed to prevent fellow addicts taking their own lives.
David Bradford was jailed after stealing from his employers, having amassed debts of more than £500,000 feeding his addiction.
The 61-year-old, of Waterthorpe, has welcomed the Government's decision to slash the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) from £100 to £2, but he says more must be done to help problem gamblers.
READ MORE: Sheffield family shattered by secret gambling addiction delighted at clampdown on 'crack cocaine' of betting
While numerous support groups exist for drug and alcohol addicts, he says there is just one NHS clinic in the whole of England for gambling addicts despite suicide rates being higher among that group.
"The one thing that's missing is someone to catch people when they become addicted, and to support them and their family," said the former finance director, who now works as a courier.
"There are lots of NHS clinics for drug addicts and alcoholics but there's just one for gambling addicts, which is in London. You would have thought there would be a dozen or so covering different areas and helping people turn their lives around.
READ MORE: Sheffield cutlery keeps place at parliamentary table after battle
"More people die of suicide through gambling than through drug or alcohol addiction.
"If my family had disowned me, which would have been quite understandable, I dread to think where I would have ended up."
Mr Bradford began gambling as a teenager on horse racing and the pools, and his problem gradually grew, really spiralling out of control when he began playing fixed-odds machines before moving to online betting.
READ MORE: Outrage from Sheffield customers as Wetherspoon axes popular dishes from menu
He described slashing the maximum stake on FOBTs as a 'step in the right direction', which he claimed would give many gamblers a 'better future'.
But he fears it could encourage gamblers to move online, where there is less personal interaction and it is harder to spot problems developing.
To reduce this risk, he wants the Government to go further by requiring online bookmakers to monitor for patterns which could indicate a problem, introduce affordability checks and ban the use of credit cards.


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Diggy (born Matt Kirkman on July 27, 1979 is a DJ and producer of Drum and Bass and Nu Disco. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his music as Diggy, which is a nickname from his childhood.
Diggy started to learn his DJ trade in 1993 when he got his first pair of Technics 1210's and started collecting vast amounts of Drum and Bass, Garage and Hip Hop. He was also in a Hip Hop outfit called (Middle Earth) which used to produce and upload songs to the internet mainly Reason Station. After Middle Earth parted Diggy switched up his production and started producing Drum and Bass..
Diggy is now a resident DJ for the Twisted Bass nights which is a Drum and Bass event held at Bunka in Leicestershire, Ashby de la zouch, which has a Funktion one sound system. DJs that have played at Bunka include B Traits, Claude Von Stroke, Andy C, Eats Everything and many more. Diggy Has his own night at the Bunka club (Mammal) which is dedicated to Nu Disco and House music.
This year Diggy has been mixing with the cream of the crop of the Drum and Bass scene including Nicky Blackmarket, DJ SS, Jumping Jack Frost, Silent Code, and more brilliant up and coming DJs. Diggy has big plans for the future with his production and Mammal nights at Bunka, and with a digital label on the horizon and also being a member of the Twisted Bass Crew.
Dj Bookings or Remixes please contact me on email@example.com


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The Duncan Banner
DUNCAN — There were plenty of new faces and lasting memories during the 2012-13 high school basketball season, all of which gave Stephens County something to cheer about.
One thing is for certain, if you ever got to watch the Central High Bronchos in action this season, you definitely got your money’s worth.
With senior Dallin Ferrin and junior Kevin Harris providing a solid one-two punch on offense, the Bronchos gave crowds everywhere plenty of oohs and aahs to cheer about.
Along with solid role players such as seniors Connor Albiston and Matthew Quisenberry, juniors John Repp and Zarek Hickman, the Bronchos achieved their greatest success at the Stephens County Tournament, winning the title for the first time since 2003, defeating Marlow in the finals.
Even though the playoffs ended suddenly for Central High, head coach John Nease and his squad put together a 13-10 overall record, and will return multiple players for next season, in which the new Broncho Gymnasium will be introduced.
Meanwhile for the Lady Bronchos, many questions were raised before the season on how the squad would cope with the graduation of Austyn Taylor and Nikole Repp.
The answer came in the form of seniors Lora-Lynn Loomis, Caitlyn White, Aleia Daniels and Lacie Phillips, along with the emergence of sophomore post Faith Harris.
With a talented group of players, the Lady Bronchos reached the third place game of the Black Diamond Tournament, as well as the finals of the Stephens County tournament for the first time since 1999.
After winning the district title over Empire, the Lady Bronchos playoff run was derailed due to losses against No. 2 Dale, and Hinton in the regional round of the playoffs.
CHHS finished with an overall record of 17-8.
Head coach Jason Allensworth and his Empire Lady Bulldogs sure made a splash to begin the season, hanging 84 points on Geronimo at home.
But, the rest of the season didn’t prove to be quite as fruitful as the Lady Bulldogs struggled in tournament play, with EHS winning only two games at one tournament (Wilson) while going 1-2 and 0-2 in their other appearances (Alex and Stephens County).
Seniors Alyssa George, Ashlie Atkinson, along with juniors Melaina Yearby and Kaelyn Allensworth helped give Empire a solid finish to the season, which saw the Lady Bulldogs reach the regional round of the playoffs.
EHS will have plenty of talent returning with freshman Sherre Dewey and junior Jessica Carney coming back next season.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs struggled during the season as injuries and tough losses haunted EHS all year.
As a result, Empire struggled to a 4-18 record to finish the season.
Braden Hill and Evan Whitt will be among the players returning for the Bulldogs next season.
VELMA-ALMA LADY COMETS
Last, but certainly not least this season was the amazing performance put on by the Velma-Alma Lady Comets, which saw them face tragedy before the season even began.
However, with sadness came a united team as the Lady Comets dedicated the 2012-13 season to the memory of Braylee Henry, compiling a resume that will forever be remembered.
After finishing fourth in the Bullet Energy Comet Classic, V-A claimed third place in the Black Diamond and Stephens County Tournaments, before sweeping through districts, and being named regional runners-up.
Then, V-A won two games at the area tournament, falling just one game short of state.
V-A finished with an overall record of 21-8, with seniors Teddi Southerland, Kylee Saville, and Shalyn Files along with juniors Jordan Layn, Samantha Moore and Bita Humphreys all contributing.
There was also the debut for junior Ariah Johnson, who stole the show in her first game at the Black Diamond Tournament.
Needless to say, the 2012-13 season set the bar very high for next season.


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Cape Town – Former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, has addressed the immigration policy, saying the country can not have a policy that chases away foreign nationals.
Mbeki addressed students of the University of South Africa on Wednesday at an event in Pretoria.
“Part of the reality here is that you have many people crossing from Eswatini into SA to collect grants. It is the same for Lesotho.
“Now, do you want to put an electric fence there to stop those people coming? These are foreign nationals who are coming to take your grants. SA has got to be bigger than that,” Mbeki said.
He added: “The black population of South Africa is not xenophobic.
Mbeki said it was more an issue of traders who were being out-competed by foreign nationals inciting the perception of the public.
When addressing the migration of foreign nationals, he said that South Africans needed to start thinking about the matter correctly.
“We see ourselves, certainly from the ANC side, as an important engine for the transformation of the continent for the better.
“And indeed the rest of the continent, when it engaged us in the struggle against Apartheid, the hope was exactly that. That a liberated South Africa would be in the front ranks in terms of the transformation of the continent for the better,” Mbeki added.
He said that building a wall or an electric fence to keep out foreigners as Donald Trump did would not work, as people would still come to the country. Mbeki said that he would never want to see such a South Africa.
He said integration was important for the transformation of the African continent.
“We have had a SADC agreement which provides for free movement of people as part of that process of integration. The African continent has a similar protocol which addresses the same thing — free movement of people.
“Does SA say, ‘please move freely among yourselves except here’? Then SA ceases to be part of the African continent which I do not think should happen,” Mbeki said.
Picture: Twiter / @thee_adv
Compiled by Junaid Benjamin

domain: sociology


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Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in terrestrial ecosystems and agroecosystems. Changes in the agricultural sector in the Czech Republic within the past 25 years have had a negative impact on SOM content and contribute to gradual soil degradation. The aim of this study is to estimate the effect of long-term application of different mineral fertilizers (NPK) and organic manures (manure, cattle slurry) on soil chemical properties (quality of humus, available nutrients, and soil reaction).
Materials and methods
Soil samples were collected from Luvisol during two selected periods 1994–2003 and 2014–2016 from long-term field experiment carried out in Prague-Ruzyně (Czech Republic). Average annual temperature is 8.5 °C, and annual precipitations are 485 mm. Different fertilization regimes have been applied for 62 years. The crop rotation was as follows: cereals (45%), root crops (33%) and legumes (22%). Soil analysis—soil organic carbon (SOC) was determined by oxidimetric titration method. Short fractionation method for evaluation of humic substance (HS), humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) content was used. Absorbance of HS in UV-VIS spectral range was measured by Varian Carry 50 Probe UV-VIS spectrometer. Degree of humification (DH) and color index (Q4/6) were calculated from fractional composition data. Soil reaction was measured by potentiometric method. Available nutrients (phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium) were determined by Mehlich II and Mehlich I methods and by ICP-OES. For data analysis, the following are used: exploratory data analysis, ANOVA, and principal component analysis (PCA).
Results and discussion
PCA analysis differentiated fertilizers into two categories: (1) variant NPK (lower quality of humus)—higher acidity, lower SOC and HS content, predomination of FA, higher DH and lower content of available nutrients; (2) variants with organic manures (higher quality of humus)—lower acidity, higher SOC and HS content, predomination of HA, middle DH, and high content of available nutrients. The main result of presented study is to give a synthesis of effect of different type of fertilizers on a sustainable organic matter management in arable soils, with respect to yields, food security and adaptation to predict climate changes.
Long-term application of mineral fertilizers (NPK) without organic matter input can accelerate humus mineralization and soil quality degradation with all negative consequences such as (nitrogen leaching, higher availability of toxic element for plants, slow energy for soil microorganisms etc.). Application of organic fertilizers (manure and cattle slurry) helps to achieve the long-term stable yields while maintaining soil at optimum quality (long-term sustainable management with SOM). Principal component analysis is a useful tool for evaluation of soil quality changes.
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This paper is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic project ČR-RO0417, by H2020-SFS-2015-2 no. 677407 “SOILCARE” and by Czech Agricultural Agency NAZV QK1810233.
Responsible editor: Elżbieta Jamroz
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Cite this article
Menšík, L., Hlisnikovský, L., Pospíšilová, L. et al. The effect of application of organic manures and mineral fertilizers on the state of soil organic matter and nutrients in the long-term field experiment. J Soils Sediments 18, 2813–2822 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-1933-3
- Humus fractionation
- Long-term field experiment
- Mineral fertilizers
- Organic manures
- Soil reaction

domain: chemistry


text:
Earlier this week, New York state released the tourism economics research study for 2017, which provides analyses on the economic impact of tourism across the state. The study revealed the total traveler spend in Niagara County in 2017 reached $708,276,000, which is an increase of 8.8 percent over 2016.
That number has grown significantly over the past five years. In the 2013 tourism economics report, the total traveler spend in Niagara County was $525,079,000.
Other key highlights from the 2017 report include:
•$45,524,612 million was collected in local taxes (a 3.5 percent increase over 2016).
•The tourism industry generates 13.2 percent of Niagara County's labor income.
•Were it not for tourism generated state and local taxes, Niagara County residents would pay an additional $964.
Destination Niagara USA President and CEO John Percy said, "We are absolutely thrilled with the results shown in this latest report and by the continued growth of the tourism industry here in Niagara County. To see a nearly 35 percent increase in tourism spending over the last five years is further evidence that the investments being made in downtown Niagara Falls and across the county, combined with our strategic marketing efforts, are paying off in an extremely significant way."
to view the complete 2017 report.
Tourism Economics, headquartered in Philadelphia, is an Oxford Economics company that is one of the world's leading providers of economic analysis and forecasting. For more information about Tourism Economics, visit tourismeconimics.com
Destination Niagara USA works to ensure Niagara County is a preferred domestic and international destination for group and leisure travel. It supports its mission to expand the economic prosperity of Niagara County by generating individual and group visitation. For more information, visit NiagaraFallsUSA.com

domain: travel