Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, the German state of Lower Saxony to the east; as of November 2019, Drenthe had a population of 493,449 and a total area of 2,680 km2. Drenthe has been populated for 150,000 years; the region has subsequently been part of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch Republic, Batavian Republic, Kingdom of Holland and Kingdom of the Netherlands. Drenthe has been an official province since 1796; the capital and seat of the provincial government is Assen. The King's Commissioner of Drenthe is Jetta Klijnsma; the Labour Party is the largest party in the States-Provincial, followed by the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democratic Appeal. Drenthe is a sparsely populated rural area, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands. Except for the cities of Assen and Emmen, the land in Drenthe is used for agriculture.
The name Drenthe is said to stem from thrija-hantja meaning "three lands". Drenthe has been populated by people since prehistory. Artifacts from the Wolstonian Stage are among the oldest found in the Netherlands. In fact, it was one of the most densely populated areas of the Netherlands until the Bronze Age; the most tangible evidence of this are the dolmens built around 3500 BC. 53 of the 54 dolmens in the Netherlands can be found in Drenthe, concentrated in the northeast of the province. In 2006, the archaeological reserve of Strubben-Kniphorstbos, located between Anloo and Schipborg, was created to preserve part of this heritage. Drenthe was first mentioned in a document from 820, it was called Pago Treanth. In archives from Het Utrechts Archief, from 1024 to 1025, the "county Drenthe" is mentioned, when Emperor Henry II gave it to Bishop Adalbold II of Utrecht. After long being subject to the Utrecht diocese, Bishop Henry of Wittelsbach in 1528 ceded Drenthe to Emperor Charles V of Habsburg, who incorporated it into the Habsburg Netherlands.
When the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was declared in 1581, Drenthe became part of it as the County of Drenthe, although it never gained full provincial status due to its poverty. The successor Batavian Republic granted it provincial status on 1 January 1796. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Dutch government built a camp near the town of Hooghalen to intern German Jewish refugees. During the Second World War, the German occupiers used the camp as a Durchgangslager. Many Dutch Jews, Roma, resistance combatants and political adversaries were imprisoned before being transferred to concentration and extermination camps in Germany and occupied Poland. Anne Frank was deported on the last train leaving the Westerbork transit camp on 3 September 1944. In the 1970s, there were four hostage crises where South Moluccan terrorists demanded an independent Republic of South Maluku, they held hostages in hijacked trains in 1975 and 1977, in a primary school in 1977, in the province hall in 1978.
Drenthe is situated at 52°55′N 6°35′E in the northeast of the Netherlands. Drenthe is the 9th largest province of the Netherlands, it has a total area of 2,683 km2, with 44 km2 of water. About 72% of the land or 1,898 km2 is used for agriculture. Drenthe has no significant rivers or lakes; the national parks Drents-Friese Wold and Dwingelderveld and the national landscape Drentsche Aa are all located in the province. The major urban centers of the province are the capital Assen in the north and Emmen, Meppel and Coevorden in the south; the province is divided into three COROP regions: North Drenthe, Southeast Drenthe, Southwest Drenthe. The COROP regions are used for statistical purposes; the Netherlands has been subject to a large amount of municipal mergers during the last decades. Drenthe is no exception; as of 2014 Drenthe consists of 12 municipalities. The municipalities Assen and Tynaarlo are part of the interprovincial Groningen-Assen Region and the municipalities Aa en Hunze, Borger-Odoorn, Emmen, Midden-Drenthe and Westerveld are part of the international Ems Dollart Region.
Drenthe has an oceanic climate. On 1 January 2014, Drenthe had a total population of 488,957 and a population density of 182.2/km2. It is the 3rd least populous and least densely populated province of the Netherlands, with only Flevoland and Zeeland having fewer people. Emmen is the most populous municipality in the province. Agriculture is an important employer; the quietness of the province is attracting a growing number of tourists. Drenthe is known as the "Cycling Province" of the Netherlands and is an exceptional p
The River Penk is a small river flowing through Staffordshire, England. Its course is within South Staffordshire, it drains most of the northern part of that district, together with some adjoining areas of Cannock Chase, Stafford and Shropshire, it flows into the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent, so its waters flow into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The name "Penk" is a back-formation from the toponym Penkridge; this was understood to mean "ridge by the Penk". In reality the settlement name is from Celtic roots: pen crug, signifying the crest of a hill, or a main mound or tumulus. From this was derived the name of a Roman fort in the area, from which the present town takes its name. Margaret Gelling has proposed a precise location for the mound, now destroyed by ploughing, that gave both the town and the river the names; the general course of the Penk is a descent from the mid-Severn sandstone section of the Midlands Plateau to the Cheshire-Shropshire-Staffordshire plain. Along much of its length, the Penk is shadowed to within a few miles by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
The Penk rises in Tettenhall Wood east of the village of Perton, South Staffordshire three miles west-north-west of Wolverhampton OS grid reference SO878999 at an altitude of 148msl. The Penk itself flows within Staffordshire, skirting around the Wolverhampton suburbs of Tettenhall and Pendeford, although it is joined on its right by a number of streams from within Wolverhampton, as well, on the left, the Moat Brook, which drains Oaken and Bilbrook, it flows through the village of Coven and is joined by a major tributary, the Saredon Brook, which drains the area around Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley. It flows north to the market town of Penkridge, where it turns east and is joined by the Whiston Brook - a tributary which drains a substantial area, stretching out into Shropshire. Turning north again, it flows across the plain, past Acton Trussell and into a marshy area, where numerous drains have been constructed and brooks canalised to contain flooding. Passing on to Baswich on the outskirts of Stafford, it joins the River Sow, which itself soon empties into the River Trent - a major river which will empty via the Humber into the North Sea.
The river contains many species of fish including Chub, Perch and Barbel. The Penk is at its most beautiful between the villages of Brewood and Penkridge. Here the river meanders through the picturesque Staffordshire farmland and plays host to a variety of waterfowl and mammals; the Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve is situated on the Penk to the north of Pendeford, within South Staffordshire but owned by the City of Wolverhampton. A 24-hectare area of lakes, ancient grass meadow and woodland, it occupies a part of the site of a large former country estate, Pendeford Hall, which possessed an osier bed and watermill, dated to the 13th century, it was developed by Wolverhampton council after 1976 and is now host to a wide range of wildlife birds. An environmentally-sensitive area on the edge of a conurbation, it is open to the public only by advance booking or on specific open days; the main tributaries of the Penk, travelling south from its confluence with the Sow, are: the Deepmoor Drain, a canalised brook which collects the water from a network of brooks and drains to the east of the lower Penk, runs parallel to it for several kilometres, before emptying into it just before its confluence with the Sow. the Rickerscote Drain, which performs a similar function in the marshy areas to the west of the Penk, running parallel to it, channelling the waters of the Rising Brook, the Silkmore and the Pen Pleck Drain into the river.
The Pothooks Brook, a small river that originates to the north-west of Penkridge. The Whiston Brook, which joins the Penk just above Penkridge, channels into it the waters of the Longnor, Church Eaton and Wheaton Aston Brooks, draining an area that extends into Shropshire in the west; the Saredon Brook, which drains a substantial area to the east, around Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley, joins the Penk north of Coven. The Watershead Brook, which joins the Penk just south of Coven, drains the Fordhouses and Bushbury areas of Wolverhampton; the Moat Brook, which channels water from numerous smaller brooks and drains around Oaken and Bilbrook, joins the Penk by the Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve. Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve
Leverage-point modeling is a demonstrated approach for improved planning and spending for operations and support activities. LPM is a continuous-event simulation technique that uses the system dynamics approach of model building. Dr. Nathaniel Mass championed the potential of LPM, adapted it for the Department of Defense as a tool for jumping to a higher performance curve as a means of offsetting higher costs and declining budgets; the purpose of LPM is to test policies and investments that improve mission capability for a given level of investment or funding. It is used to evaluate investments in component reliability and parts availability. DoD is moving towards a performance-based strategy and contracting focus as the preferred weapon systems sustainment plan, streamlining contracting and financing mechanisms in order to buy availability and readiness measured by performance criteria. Performance Based Logistics strategy is applied to achieve near-term improvements in end-to-end sustainment, material readiness, Total life-cycle systems management through public-private partnerships that combine best practice capabilities of industry and organic support.
Leverage point models illustrate where small differences in operational thinking can make a large impact on cost, readiness or productivity. In DoD context, these models are built with a perspective that makes clear purpose, emphasize variables such as the accumulations of end items and components in states of repair and disrepair. LPM identifies high-level leverage points such as reliability investment, improved parts availability, investment in Diagnosis/Test. LPM results may be used to support Program Objective Memorandum or Reduced Total Ownership Cost efforts. Leverage point models are expressed through differential equations that reflect analysis based on system dynamics, focusing on how important variables of a system interact to produce behavior of a system over time. System Dynamics is appropriate for the analysis of dynamic problems where there is change in the system over time; the important variables interact to generate the dynamics of mission capability and other system variables.
There are three elements of the system dynamics method that differentiate it from other modeling methods. First, is to explain why a system changes over time as opposed to why a system is in a particular state at a point in time. For example, statistical analysis could be useful for understanding the factors that were correlated with mission capability in 2005. System Dynamics could be useful in understanding relationships that caused mission capability to change over the last 5 years. Second, the method takes a broad view of the factors that cause changes in MC as opposed to a more detailed microscopic view. One way to analyze MC is to focus on the detailed technological factors that cause components to fail; this would involve root cause analysis and the design of experiments. A complementary LPM/system dynamics perspective considers how the major subsystems of a supply chain interact to affect MC; the broad view is important for anticipating otherwise unanticipated side effects. The benefits of productive investments in one part of a system can be nullified by unanticipated negative reactions, or'rogue outcomes', to those investments in another part of the system.
System dynamics modeling has been shown to provide some early warning of'unintended consequences'. The system dynamics perspective has important implications for the type of detail included in the model. Other modeling methods, for example discrete event simulation involve many complex details, where LPM focuses on a few major components that are responsible for most end item failures, yet includes a great deal of dynamic complexity by modeling the interactions between multiple subsystems. Dynamic and detail complexity are both important to understand but are best approached through different modeling methods. Third, the System Dynamics method, unlike other modeling approaches, shows reciprocal feedback relationships between variables instead of simple one-way causality. Most statistical models are based on one- way causal relationship between a set of independent variables and a dependent variable. For example, component failures could be correlated with various conditions on the production line.
System Dynamics models, such as those underlying LPM, include two way causality in which a variable “a” has a causal effect on variable “b” and “b” feeds back to affect “a”. For example, end-item failures reduce the number of planes’ available flying hours. A fleet’s fewer available flying hours increases the required number of hours flown per plane which increases end-item failures; the interaction between failures and hours flown creates a self-reinforcing relationship, called a positive feedback loop. Positive feedback loops are known as vicious or virtuous circles. Leverage is found during analysis of modeling results, by exploring positive or negative behaviors, looking for sources of pressure and imbalance that cause things to change, determining changes to structure, so that behavior is improved and bad events become less frequent; each model structure represents logic that determines behavior, events are snapshots of that behavior: •An event is an occurrence or happening of significance to our understanding of complex system behavior.
• A behavior pattern is something. • Structure is the set of physical and information interconnections. In the language of system dynamics, important system variables are represented as stocks and feedback loops. Stocks are the accumulation
The Global Country of World Peace was inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, on October 7, 2000. It is a non-profit organization that claims to promote Transcendental Meditation and the construction of "buildings for peace" in the world's major cities; the GCWP was conceived as "a country without borders for peace-loving people everywhere." It has issued a currency called its leader is neurologist Tony Nader. In 2002, the GCWP was incorporated in the state of Iowa, USA with its headquarters in Maharishi Vedic City, it has administrative or educational centres in the U. S. the Netherlands and Ireland. According to a report from Bloomberg, the GCWP's tax filings describe its mission as the creation of world peace'by unifying all nations in happiness prosperity and perfect health'; the mission of the US-based division of the GCWP, according to a 2005 article, is to promote "enlightenment, good health, peace through the practice of Transcendental Meditation" and to build palaces of peace in 3000 of the world's major cities.
Raam is a bearer bond and local currency issued by Global Country of World Peace. It was designed for the development of agricultural projects and to combat poverty in third world countries; as of 2003, it had limited acceptance in some European and U. S. cities. The currency has been used in Iowa and has been given approval in The Netherlands where more than 100 Dutch shops, department store chains, in 30 villages and cities, are using the notes at a fixed rate of 10 euros per raam; the Raam is issued in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 Raams, with one Raam equal to 10 Euros in Europe, one Raam equal to 10 dollars in the U. S. Raam notes are printed by Joh. Enschedé. In 2002, Maharishi Vedic City Mayor Bob Wynne estimated that there was $40,000 worth of Raam in circulation; the Raam differs from other complementary currencies because its focus is on the export of products rather than improving local circulation to benefit the lives of local people. According to the Minister of Finance for the Global Country of World Peace, the Raam "could be used" for agricultural projects in developing nations.
CATO Institute currency expert James Dorn expressed doubt about the viability of the plan, suggesting that other economic approaches would be a better way to establish a network of collective farms. According to the issuer, the Raam is a bearer bond that earns a total of 3% interest after five years; the Raam was used, as of 2003, alongside Euros in accordance with Dutch law in more than 100 shops in the Netherlands. The Raam was convertible in the Netherlands at the Fortis Bank in Roermond; as of 2003, the Dutch Central Bank estimated that there were 100,000 Raam notes in circulation. It had limited acceptance in the Iowan cities called Maharishi Vedic City and Fairfield. According to Maharishi Global Financing, agreements were made in 2004 with a farmers' association in South America and with traditional leaders in Africa to start using the Raam for agricultural development projects. Maharishi Vedic City is the "Capital of the Global Country for World Peace." The city's plan and building code follow principles of Vedic architecture.
Architecture professor Keller Easterling says that Maharishi Vedic City reflects the GCWP's interest in achieving a "benign form of global sovereignty". From 2004 to 2010 the GCWP owned the American Bank Note Company Building in New York City, USA which it called The Financial Capital of the GCWP, it was intended to be an administrative center for a project to raise funds for 3,000 peace palaces, hospitals, organic farms, clinics in developing countries, but over time, its primary use was as a Transcendental Meditation center. When the building became a financial burden it was sold in 2010 and the organization's $5.5 million profit were earmarked for a new Manhattan teaching center and other programs. The "US Peace Government" has announced plans to build a national capital near Smith Center, Kansas in Washington Township, Smith County. A ceremony was held March 28, 2006. Over 1,000 acres were purchased. Plans called for the construction of 12 to 15 buildings, including Peace Palaces and a broadcast center, at an estimated cost of up to $15 million.
The plans divided the community. Nine pastors wrote to the local newspaper with concerns about the souls of area residents while the Chamber of Commerce looked forward to the creation of new jobs; the county planning commission placed a moratorium on any changes in land use in an effort to prevent the use of agricultural land for the capital, but they withdrew it after the movement threatened to sue in federal court. In April 2009, a spokesman announced. In 2009 the GCWP opened the West Virginia Retreat Center in Three Churches, West Virginia, USA; the men-only facility is used for weekend retreats as well as residences for those who want to spend years living a simple life involving meditation. As of 2012, the center consisted of 10 buildings with 90 male residents plus various staff. Larger plans include the development of the 175 acres, purchased at a cost of $750,000 into an "environmentally friendly retreat" that will include 150 to 200 rooms for professional meditators, according to the project director, Raja Bob LoPinto.
In 2008, the Global Country of World Peace undertook the construction of "Peace Palaces" in major US cities, which would teach courses in the Transcendental Meditation technique and offer ayurvedic spa treatments and herbal food supplements. The buildings, being built according to Vedic guidelines, were planned to be two-story, buildings of about 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and are intended to be replacements f
The Hacienda Hotel is a historic site in New Port Richey, Florida. It is located at 5621 Main Street. On October 24, 1996, it was added to the U. S. National Register of Historic Places, it was designed by Thomas Reed Martin. The City of New Port Richey bought the hotel at the height of the real estate boom and has struggled to find a willing buyer to restore it; until recent funding and expressions of interest, the hotel had been falling into disrepair. A lease-to-buy deal was signed in February 2015 between the City of New Port Richey and Abraham Rosner, with the intent to develop the property as a boutique hotel. References Pasco County listings at National Register of Historic Places Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs Hacienda Hotel
Return to Krondor is a role-playing video game set in Raymond Feist's fictional fantasy setting of Midkemia. A sequel to 1993's Betrayal at Krondor, it was released for Windows 95 on the PC in time for the 1998 Thanksgiving and Christmas season, it was re-released on GOG.com in 2010 and again for Steam in 2016. Within the game, the player commands a group of heroes with different attributes and weaknesses which the player may upgrade over the course of the game. Feist wrote a novelization of this game, entitled Krondor: Tear of the Gods, it is the third part of his Riftwar Legacy trilogy. Starting in the city of Krondor and venturing out into other specific parts of the Midkemia world, the game focuses on battling humans and evil creatures of various kinds. Although the story is linear in nature, the game offers a range of possibilities while the player is adventuring in Krondor. While the computer graphics of the game is now visually outdated by games like the plotwise similar Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, the game featured some unique or seen features at the time of release, including elaborate alchemy and thieving.
Using alchemical equipment, it is possible to brew custom potions from a variety of ingredients. In order to open locked or trapped chests and doors, a simulation of the process of disarming and lockpicking is initiated. Facing a variety of different mechanisms, it is necessary to pick the right lockpicking tools and use them with care, simulated by timed mouse clicking. James is the player character in the game, he is a thief who has become a squire by favor of Prince of Krondor. Jazhara is a mage from a Middle-Eastern-inspired land called Kesh. William is exceptional fighter. Kendaric is both an alchemist. Solon is a body that blocks all blows. In 1994 Dynamix, at this time a division of Sierra On-line, reorganized their staff and canceled a planned sequel to Betrayal at Krondor named Thief of Dreams. Computer Gaming World reported in April 1994 that As it presently stands, Dynamix has no intentions of doing a sequel to Betrayal at Krondor, although the company has the option to do a sequel should they begin work prior to 1995.
A significant amount of design work had been completed on the sequel, but Dynamix elected to terminate both the project and the project's guiding force on the computer side, John Cutter. Cutter and his design talents are looking for home. Fans organized a letter/e-mail campaign to persuade Dynamix to reverse their decision, to no avail.7th Level purchased the license for the game in 1995 and renamed it Return to Krondor. Shortly after, Sierra began work on an unlicensed sequel to Betrayal at Krondor called Betrayal in Antara, setting the two games up to be in direct competition; this is why Return to Krondor was billed as "The official sequel to the best selling RPG". Designer Andy Ashcraft stated, "Dynamix was a flight sim company, their engine was a flight sim engine, tweaked into an RPG. Our strength is in animation, so we're tweaking an animation engine into an RPG." 7th Level developed the game basics, produced the screen backgrounds and added the character voices. They turned to Cincinnati-based Pyrotechnix for the more technical aspects of the game development.
Pyrotechnix was sold to Sierra On-line in 1997. In 1998 Pyrotechnix completed the game, it was published in November. The game was updated for compatibility with modern systems and re-released on GOG.com on March 4, 2010. Mark Asher of CNET Gamecenter reported in December 1998 that Return to Krondor was "selling well". Writing for PC Gamer US, Michael Wolf summarized Return to Krondor as "a fun, quick RPG with a good story." John Altman of Computer Games Strategy Plus found the game to be "very engaging" and "a stunning return to form for the Krondor series". He noted that it features "some of the juiciest turn-based battles to grace a role-playing game."Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, stated that "The game is well-made, the plot will keep gamers on the edge of their seats. It's just too bad they won't stay there long."Computer Gaming World's Petra Schlunk called the game "completely underdeveloped" and "a lightweight RPG", which failed to match Betrayal at Krondor's quality.
However, she believed that it has "a good combat system, a fair story, a definite fun factor." In PC Zone, Paul Mallinson wrote, "Return To Krondor a frustrating experience initially. If you're the patient type and are prepared to put the hours in, you may just warm to it. Just like I did."Reviewing the game for PC Games, Barry Brenesal wrote, "Though Return doesn't retain the innovations of its predecessor, the newer game remains good fun, with attractive visuals, a solid plot, an excellent combat system."Return to Krondor was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' "Role Playing Game of the Year", Computer Gaming World's "Best RPG", CNET Gamecenter's "Best RPG of 1998" and GameSpot's "Role-playing Game of the Year" awards, all of which went to Baldur's Gate. Return to Krondor at MobyGames 1998 Gamespot Review Website of Neal Hallford, original writer and designer on "Return to Krondor" chazzle.tripod.com