title: Civic technology

text:
Civic technology, or civic tech, enhances the relationship between the people and government with software for communications, decision-making, service delivery, and political process. It includes information and communications technology supporting government with software built by community-led teams of volunteers, nonprofits, consultants, and private companies as well as embedded tech teams working within government.

Definition

There are four different types of e-government services and civic technology falls within the category of government-to-citizen (or G2C), the other categories include government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G), and government-to-employees (G2E).

A 2013 report from the Knight Foundation, an American non-profit, attempts to map different focuses within the civic technology space. It broadly categorizes civic technology projects into two categories: open government and community action.

Citizens are also now given access to their representatives through social media. They are able to express their concerns directly to government officials through sites like Twitter and Facebook. There have even been past cases of online voting being a polling option for local elections, which have seen vastly increased turnouts, such as in an Arizona election in 2000 which saw a turnout double that of the previous election. It is asserted though that civic technology in government provides for a good management technique but lacks in providing fair democratic representation. Social media is also becoming a growing aspect of government, towards furthering the communication between the government and its citizenry and towards greater transparency within the governmental sectors. This innovation is facilitating a change towards a more progressive and open government, based on civic engagement and technology for the people. With social media as a communicating platform, it enables the government to provide information to the constituents and citizens on the legislative processes and what is occurring in the Congress, for the sake of the citizens' concerns with the government procedures.

The definition of what constitutes civic technology is contested to a certain extent, especially with regards to companies engaged in the sharing economy, such as Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb. For example, Airbnb's ability to provide New York residents with housing during the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy could be considered a form of civic technology. However, Nathaniel Heller, managing director of the Research for Development Institute's Governance Program contends that for-profit platforms definitively fall outside of the scope of civic technology: Heller has said that "while citizen-to-citizen sharing is indeed involved, the mission of these companies is focused on maximizing profit for their investors, not any sort of experiment in building social capital." From a goal perspective, civic technology can be understood as "the use of technology for the public good".

Microsoft's Technology & Civic Engagement Team have attempted to produce a precise taxonomy of civic technology through a bottom-up approach. They inventoried the existing initiatives and classified them according to:
 their functions
 the social processes they involved
 their users and customers
 the degree of change they sought
 the depth of the technology.
Microsoft's Civic Graph is guiding the developing network of civic innovators, expanding "its visualizations of funding, data usage, collaboration and even influence". It is a new tool that is opening up the access to track the world of civic technology towards improving the credibility and progress of this sector. This graph will enable more opportunities for access by governmental institutions and corporations to discover these innovators and use them for progressing society towards the future of technology and civic engagement. To create an informed and insightful community, there needs to be a sense of civic engagement in this community, where there is the sharing of information through civic technology platforms and applications. "Community engagement applied to public-interest technology requires that members of a community participate." With communal participation in civic tech platforms, this enables more informed residents to convene in a more engaged, unified community that seeks to share information, politically and socially, for the benefit of its citizenry and their concerns. This work resulted in the Civic Tech Field Guide, a free, crowdsourced collection of civic technology tools and projects. Individuals from over 100 countries have contributed to the documentation of technology, resources, funding and general information concerning "tech for social good".

Technology that is designed to benefit the citizenry places the governments under pressure "to change and innovate the way in which their bureaucracies relate to citizens". E-government initiatives have been established and supported in order to strengthen the democratic values of governmental institutions, which can include transparency in government, along with improving the efficiency of the legislative processes to make the government more accountable and reactive to citizens' concerns. These will further civic engagement within the political spectrum for the sake of greater direct representation and a more democratic political system.

Civic hacking is a way to refer to problem solving by programmers, designers, data scientists, communicators, organizers, entrepreneurs, and government employees. Some projects are led by nonprofits, such as Code for America and mySociety. The work often includes paid staff and the contributions of volunteers.

As the field of civic technology advances further through the coming years it seems as though apps and handheld devices will become a key focus for development as more companies and municipalities reach out to developers to help with specific issues. Apps are being used in conjunction with hand held devices to make life easier. Tasks such as communication, data tracking, and safety are just a few of the topics app developers and communities have tried to make easier. The cheapest way for citizens to get help and information is through neighbors and others around them. By linking people through apps and websites that harbor conversation and promote civil service cities have found an inexpensive way to provide services to its people.

As civic technology is "just a piece of the $25.5 billion that government spends on external information technology (IT)", it is not difficult to see how this sector will grow from here on out towards fostering more innovation in the public and private sectors and towards furthering civic engagement within these sectors and with these platforms of technology.

Worldwide
A worldwide organization that supports civic tech is the Open Government Partnership (OGP). It "is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance". Created in 2011 by eight founding governments (Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States), the OGP gathers every year for a summit. Countries involved are located mainly in America (North and South), Europe and South-Asia (Indonesia, Australia, South Korea). Only a few African countries are part of the OGP, though South Africa is one of the founding countries.

Technological progress is rampant throughout the nations of the world, but there are dividing efforts and adoption techniques in how rapid certain countries are progressing compared to others. How countries are able to use information pertains to how devoted nations are to integrating technology into the lives of their citizens and businesses. Local and national governments are funding tens of billions of dollars towards information technology, for the sake of improving the functions and operations of this technology to work for the people and the governments. With more governments attaining a grasp on these technologies, it is paving the way towards more progressive and democratic political systems, for the concerns of future society and for those of the citizens of these nations.

Civic technology in Africa

Burkina Faso

Government-led initiatives
The government of Burkina Faso has a government website portal offering citizens online information about the government structure, their constitution, and laws.

Kenya

Citizen-led initiatives
Launched in Kenya in 2014, "MajiVoice" is a joint initiative by the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB- the Water Sector Regulator in Kenya) and the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program. As opposed to walk-in complaint centers, the initiative enables Kenyan citizens to report complaints with regards to water services via multiple channels of technology. The platform allows for communication between citizens and water service providers with the intention to improve service delivery in impoverished areas and user satisfaction. Users are given four options to report their water complaints. They can dial a number and report a complaint, send a text message (SMS) through their cell phone, or login to an online portal through a web browser on their phone or their laptop. One evaluation highlights the citizen engagement achieved after its implementation, from 400 complaints a month to 4000 complaints, and resolution rates from 46 percent to 94 percent.

South Africa

Government-led initiatives
The South African government has a website portal for citizens called www.gov.za  this was created by Center for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) in partnership with the Department of Public Service and Administration and the State Information Technology Agency. The government portal allows the citizens to interact with their government and provide feedback, request forms online, as well as access online to laws and contact information for lawmakers. GovChat is the official citizen engagement platform for the South African Government  accessible via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS and USSD, it offers information to citizens about a wide-array of services provided by the Government.

Citizen-led initiatives

Grassroot is a technology platform that supports community organizers to mobilize citizens, built for low-bandwidth, low-data settings that allows for smart-messaging through text message. Research by the MIT Governance Lab suggests that Grassroot can have important effects on the leadership capacity of community leaders, an effect that is most likely to be achieved through careful design, behavioral incentives, active coaching and iteration.

Uganda

Government-led initiatives
The Ugandan government has a website portal created for citizens called Parliament Portal, which gives citizens online access to laws, their constitution, and election related news.

Citizen-led initiatives
U-Report, a mobile platform introduced by UNICEF Uganda in 2011, is an initiative that runs large scale polls with Ugandan youth on a wide range of issues, ranging from safety to access to education to inflation to early marriage. The goal of the initiative was to have Ugandan youth play a role in civic engagement within the context of local issues.  U-Report is still active (as of April 2018), with over 240,000 users across Uganda. Support for the initiative primarily came from the aid of the government, NGO's, youth organizations, faith based organizations, and private companies.  Users sign up for the program for free by sending a text on their phone, then every week "U-Reporters" answer a question regarding a public issue. Poll results are published in public media outlets such as newspapers, radio, etc. UNICEF takes these responses and provides members of parliament (MP's) a weekly review of these results, acting as a bridge between government and Ugandan youth.

Civic technology in Asia

Taiwan
Taiwan is highly ranked internationally for its technological innovations including open data, digital inclusivity, and widespread internet participation.

As of 2019, approximately 87% of Taiwan's citizens over 12 years old had connectivity to the internet. The widespread use of internet has facilitated online political participation by giving citizens a platform to express their political opinions. Through the internet, Taiwanese citizens can directly contact political figures through online channels and publicly voice their political beliefs.  New innovations have continued to be made in Taiwan that foster more political participation. The online platform called "Join," for example, was created in 2015 to give Taiwanese citizens a way to discuss, review, and propose governmental policy. Overall, the development of the internet and the emergence of new technologies in Taiwan has shown to increase political participation among its citizens.

Government-led initiatives
Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang has made strides to increase communication and collaboration between the government and the general public. Networks of Participation Officers have been established in each minister to jointly create new governmental policies between the public sector, citizens. and other government departments through collaborative meetings. Taiwan has taken on a collaborative approach to civic technology as a way to encourage increased participation from the public. New governmental policies in Taiwan have helped foster technological advancement, such as the Financial Technology Development and Innovative Experimentation Act which passed in 2017 that created a Regulatory Sandbox platform to support the development of FinTech in Taiwan. This sandbox was created to support industry creativity by enabling entrepreneurs and companies to experiment freely with new technologies without legal constraints for a year.

Citizen-led initiatives
The g0v movement was created in 2012 with the goal of engaging more citizens in public affairs. It is a grassroots and decentralized civic tech community composed of coders, designers, NGO workers, civil servants and citizens designed to increase transparency of government information. All of g0v's projects are open-source and created by citizens. The g0v community has participated in a variety of social movements, including the Sunflower Student Movement where it provided a crowdsourcing platform, and the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement where it provided live broadcasting and a logistics system. The  (v for virtual) was created initially by members of g0v and later as a collaboration with the Taiwan's government.  is a digital space where participants can discuss controversial topics. It uses a conversation tool called pol.is that leverages machine learning to scale online discussion.

Civic technology in Taiwan was a key component of the country's successful response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Partnering with the Taiwanese government, the civic tech community used open data to create maps available to citizens that visualized the availability of masks to make the distribution of PPE more efficient. Big data analytics and QR code scanning also were used in Taiwan's response to the pandemic, which enabled the government to send out real-time alerts during clinical visits and track citizens' travel history and health symptoms. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan is representative of the country's shift towards a 'techno-democratic statecraft' and positioned them as a new leader in the international sphere for digital infrastructure. Taiwan's handling and early response to the epidemic has gained them international praise, with the country having significantly fewer COVID-19 cases than their neighbors.

Japan

In Japan, the Civic Tech movement has been rapidly growing since around 2013. Japan's civic tech initiatives have been primarily citizen-led, but more recently, Japan has taken on government-led initiatives as well.

Citizen-led initiatives
The purpose of civic tech initiatives are to educate the population to use technology as a democratization tool and to access public information.

Although the rapid growth of the civic tech movement in Japan started around 2013, the movement first came about in 2011 after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns that occurred in the Tōhoku region.  After the Fukushima disaster, citizen-led initiative Safecast, which allows citizens to collect and distribute radiation data, was created.

The mission of citizen-led initiative Code for All is to make data more accessible to the public and to encourage the use of technology for the democratization of governance. The Code for Japan chapter is one of several chapters started by Code for All. Although Code for Japan is a citizen-led initiative, it also works closely with the government. Policy Advisor of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs, Naoki Ota, who is a promoter of Code for Japan's civic tech projects. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Code for Japan also developed stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that informs the public about the number of coronavirus cases and reductions in metropolitan subway usage.

A different citizen-led project led by JP-Mirai is working to release an app that allows migrant workers to file complaints and address issues regarding items like visas and taxation. The app currently remains unnamed.

Government-led initiatives
While civic technology initiatives in Japan had mostly been citizen-led, the inception of the coronavirus pandemic encouraged the Japanese government to transition to digitization.

This is because former in-person practices moved to the digital space in lieu of the coronavirus. The government plans to focus on the digitization aspect of its functions: the implementation of more sophisticated systems in the central and local governments in order to increase the security of private and personal information and the transference from the primary use of Hanko –– a seal used in lieu of a signature on printed documents –– to digital verifications and documents in order to increase efficiency.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has also made strides in light of the pandemic. Through the use of a copyright that allows for malleable content distribution Creative Commons licensing, and open-source development platform GitHub, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has allowed other collaborators to add to the data and code of the project created by Code for Japan.

Nepal
Civic technology in Nepal is growing, and has been utilized for tasks like mapping, migrant work technology, digital literacy and open data understanding in Nepal thus far.

Citizen-led initiatives

 Kathmandu Living Labs (KLL), founded in 2013, is a civic technology company based in Nepal that works actively to train residents in Nepal and other Asian countries in mapping their communities via OpenStreetMap (OSM). During the 2015 earthquake in Nepal (magnitude of 7.3), organizations responsible for aid relief and reconstruction used OSM to navigate the disaster.
 In 2016, a new migration tool called Shuvayatra (Safe Journey) was launched in Nepal for the migrant workers of Nepal. The Asia Foundation worked with the Non-Residential Nepali Association (NRNA) and software firm, Young Innovations, in order to develop this mobile app that provides Nepali migrant workers with financial, education and training resources, as well as reliable employment services. The technology was developed in response to the often exploitative promises of working abroad as a migrant worker.
 In its beginnings, Code for Nepal, a non-profit organization that began in the United States, provided workshops in digital literacy for women in Kathmandu. Since, the organization has evolved to launching open data and civic tech products, as well as organizing conferences and scholarships for young men and women.
 Another civic tech non-profit called Open Knowledge Nepal has also been working to make data open and accessible to Nepali residents.

Civic technology in Oceania

Australia

Citizen-led initiatives

In Australia, a platform and proposed political party called MiVote has a mobile app for citizens to learn about policy and cast their vote for the policies they support. MiVote politicians elected to office would then vote in support of the majority position of the people using the app.

Snap Send Solve is a mobile app for citizens to report to local councils and other authorities quickly and easily. In 2020, 430,000 reports where sent via the app. A January 2021 report in Melbourne's Herald Sun noted an increased number of reports for dumped rubbish.

Civic technology in Europe

Denmark

Government-led initiatives
In 2002, MindLab an innovation public sector service design group was established by the Danish ministries of Business and Growth, Employment, and Children and Education. MindLab was the one of the world's first public sector design innovation labs and their work inspired the proliferation of similar labs and user-centered design methodologies deployed in many countries worldwide. The design methods used at MindLab are typically an iterative approach of rapid prototyping and testing to evolve not just their government projects, but also government organizational structure using ethnographic-inspired user research, creative ideation processes, and visualization and modeling of service prototypes. In Denmark, design within the public sector has been applied to a variety of projects including rethinking Copenhagen's waste management, improving social interactions between convicts and guards in Danish prisons, transforming services in Odense for mentally disabled adults and more.

Estonia

Government-led initiatives
The process of digitalization in Estonia began in 2002, when local and central governments began building an infrastructure that allowed autonomous and interconnected data. That same year in 2002, Estonia launched a national ID system that was fully digitalized and paired with digital signatures. The national ID system allowed Estonians to pay taxes online, vote online, do online banking, access their health care records, as well as process 99% of Estonian public services online 24 hours a day, seven days. Estonia is well known internationally for its e-voting system. Internet voting (where citizens vote remotely with their own equipment) was piloted in Estonia in 2005 and has been in use since then. As of 2016, Estonia's Internet voting system has been implemented in three local elections, two European Parliament elections, and three parliamentary elections.

In 2007, Estonia faced a politically motivated, large cyber attack which damaged most of the country's digital infrastructure, and as a result became the home of NATO Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence. The National Security Response was updated and approved in 2010 in response to the cyber attacks, and recognizes the growing threat of cyber crime in Estonia.

In 2014, Estonia launched the e-Residency, which allowed users to create and manage a location independent business online from anywhere in the world. That was followed by an immigration visa for digital nomads, which was a novel way of approaching immigration policy.

Citizen-led initiatives

Several citizen designed e-democracy platforms have launched in Estonia. In 2013, the online platform People's Assembly (Rahvakogu) was launched for crowdsourcing ideas and proposals to amend Estonia's electoral laws, political party law, and other issues related to democracy. Citizen OS is another e-democracy platform and is free and open source. The platform was created with the goal of enabling Estonian citizens to engage in collaborative decision-making, encouraging users to initiate petitions and participate in meaningful discussion on issues in society.

France
The most dynamic French city regarding civic tech is Paris, with many initiatives moving in the Sentier, a neighborhood known for being a tech hub. According to Le Monde, French civic tech is "already a reality" but lacks investments to scale up.

Government-led initiatives
In France, public data are available on data.gouv.fr by the Etalab mission, located under the authority of the Prime Minister.

Government agencies are also leading large citizen consultation through the Conseil national du numérique (National digital council), for example with the law about the digital republic (Projet de loi pour une république numérique).

Citizen-led initiatives
The French citizen community for civic tech is gathered in the collective Démocratie ouverte (Open democracy). The main purpose of this collective is to enhance democracy to increase citizen power, improve the way to decide collectively and update the political system. Démocratie ouverte gathers many projects focused on understanding politics, renewing institutions, participating in democracy, and public action. Several open-source, non-profit web platforms have been launched nationwide to support citizen's direct involvement: Communecter.org, Demodyne.org as well as Democracy OS France (derived from the Argentinian initiative).

LaPrimaire.org organizes open primaries to allow the French to choose the candidates they wish to run for public elections

Iceland

The Icelandic constitutional reform, 2010–13 instituted a process for reviewing and redrafting their constitution after the 2008 financial crisis, using social media to gather feedback on twelve successive drafts.

Beginning in October 2011, a Citizens Foundation platform called Betri Reykjavik had been implemented for citizens to inform each other and vote on issues. Each month the city council formally evaluates the top proposals before issuing an official response to each participant. As of 2017, the number of proposals approved by the city council reached 769.

The Pirate Party (Iceland) uses the crowdsourcing platform Píratar for members to create party policies.

Italy

Citizen-led initiatives
A consortium made by TOP-IX, FBK and RENA created the Italian civic tech school. The first edition was in May 2016 in Turin.

The Five Star Movement, an Italian political party has a tool called Rousseau which gives members a way to communicate with their representatives.

Spain

The Madrid City Council has a department of Citizen Participation that facilitates a platform called Decide Madrid for registered users to discuss topics with others in the city, propose actions for the City Council, and submit ideas for how to spend a portion of the budget on projects voted on through participatory budgeting.

Podemos (Spanish political party) uses a reddit called Plaza Podemos where anybody can propose and vote on ideas.

Sweden

The City of Stockholm has a make-a-suggestion page on stockholm.se and available as an app, allowing citizens to report any ideas for improvement in the city along with a photo and GPS. After receiving a suggestion, it is sent to the appropriate office that can place a work order. During 2016, one hundred thousand requests were recorded. This e-service began in September 2013.

The city government of Gothenburg has an online participatory voting system, open for every citizen to propose changes and solutions. When a proposal receives more than 200 votes, it is delivered to the relevant political committee.

United Kingdom

Government-led initiatives
In 2007 and 2008 documents from the British government explore the concept of "user-driven public services" and scenarios of highly personalized public services. The documents proposed a new view on the role of service providers and users in the development of new and highly customized public services, utilizing user involvement. This view has been explored through an initiative in the UK. Under the influence of the European Union, the possibilities of service design for the public sector are being researched, picked up, and promoted in countries such as Belgium.

Care Opinion was set up to strengthen the voice of patients in the NHS in 2005. Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) (also known as Nudge) was originally part of the British cabinet and was founded in 2010, in order to apply nudge theory to try to improve British government policy, services and save money. As of 2014, BIT became a decentralized, semi-privatized company with Nesta (charity), BIT employees and the British government each owning a third of this new business. That same year a Nudge unit was added to the United States government under president Obama, referred to as the 'US Nudge Unit,' working within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Citizen-led initiatives
FixMyStreet.com is a website and app developed by mySociety, a UK based civic technology company that works to make online democracy tools for British citizens. FixMyStreet allows citizens in the United Kingdom to report public infrastructure issues (such as potholes, broken streetlights, etc.) to the proper local authority.  FixMyStreet became inspiration to many countries around the world that followed suit to use civic technology to better public infrastructure. The website was funded by the Department for Constitutional Affairs Innovation fund and created by mySociety. Along with the platform itself, mySociety released FixMyStreet, a free and open-source software framework that allows users to create their own website to report street problems. mySociety has many different tools, like parliamentary monitoring ones, that work in many countries for different types of governance. When such tools are integrated into government systems, citizens can not only understand the inner workings of their now transparent government, but also have the means to "exert influence over the people in power". Newspeak House is a community space and venue focused on building a community of civic and political technology practitioners in the United Kingdom.

Spacehive is a crowdfunding platform for civic improvement projects that allows citizens and local groups to propose project ideas such as improving a local park or starting a street market. Projects are then funding by a mix of citizens, companies and government bodies. The platform is used by several councils including the Mayor of London to co-fund projects.

Democracy Club is a community interest company, founded in 2009 to provide British voters with easy access to candidate lists in upcoming elections. Democracy Club uses a network of volunteers to crowdsource information about candidates which is then presented to voters via a postcode search on the website whocanivotefor.co.uk. Democracy Club also works with the Electoral Commission to provide data for a national polling station finder at wheredoivote.co.uk and on the commission's own website.

Ukraine

Government-led initiatives
In Ukraine, major civic tech movement started out with open data reform in 2014. As for now, public data are available on data.gov.ua, national open data portal.

Citizen-led initiatives
Some widely used Ukrainian civic tech projects are donor recruitment platform DonorUA, Ukrainian companies' data and court register monitoring service Open Data Bot, participatory budgeting platform "Громадський проект". The latter accounts for over 3 million users.

In 2017, to foster the growth of civic tech initiatives, Ukrainian NGO SocialBoost launched 1991 Civic Tech Center, a dedicated community space in country's capital, Kyiv. The space opened following a $480,000 grant from Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

Civic technology in North America

Canada

Government-led initiatives
Canadian Digital Service (CDS) was launched in 2017, as part of an attempt to bring better IT to the Canadian government. The CDS was established within the Treasury Board of Canada the Canadian agency that oversees spending within departments and the operations of the public service. Scott Brison, the president of the Canadian Treasury Board, launched CDS and was Canada's first minister of Digital Government.

Citizen-led initiatives

As in other countries, the Canadian civic technology movement is home to several organizations. Code for Canada is a non-profit group, following somewhat the model of Code for America. Several cities or regions host civic technology groups with regular meetings (in order from West to East): Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Waterloo Region, Toronto, Ottawa, Fredericton, Saint John, and Halifax.

United States

Government-led initiatives

The Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations sought initiatives to further openness of the government, through either increased use of technology in political institutions or efficient ways to further civic engagement. The Obama administration pursued an Open Government Initiative based on principles of transparency and civic engagement. This strategy has paved the way for increased governmental transparency within other nations to improve democratically for the citizens' benefit and allow for greater participation within politics from a citizen's perspective. During his run for president, Obama was "tied directly to the extensive use of social media by the campaign".

According to a study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), an estimated $6.4 billion will be spent on civic technology in 2015 out of approximately $25.5 billion that governments in the United States will spend on external-facing technology projects. A Knight Foundation survey of the civic technology field found that the number of civic technology companies grew by roughly 23% annually between 2008 and 2013.

Citizen-led initiatives

Civic technology is built by a variety of companies, organizations and volunteer groups. One prominent example is Code for America, a not-for-profit based in San Francisco, working toward addressing the gap between the government and citizens. College students from Harvard University created the national non-profit Coding it Forward that creates data science and technology internships for undergraduate and graduate students in United States federal agencies. Another example of a civic technology organization is the Chi Hack Night, based in Chicago. The Chi Hack Night is a weekly, volunteer-run event for building, sharing and learning about civic technology. Civic Hall is a coworking and event space in New York City for people who want to contribute to civic-minded projects using technology. And OpenGov creates software designed to enable public agencies to make data-driven decisions, improve budgeting and planning, and inform elected officials and citizens.

OneBusAway, a mobile app that displays real-time transit info, exemplifies the open data use of civic technology. It is maintained by volunteers and has the civic utility of helping people navigate their way through cities. It follows the idea that technology can be a tool for which government can act as a society-equalizer.

Princeton University Professor Andrew Appel set out to prove how easy it was to hack into a voting machine. On February 3, 2007, he and a graduate student, Alex Halderman, purchased a voting machine, and Halderman picked the lock in 7 seconds. They removed the 4 ROM chips and replaced them with modified versions of their own: a version of modified firmware that could throw off the machine's results, subtly altering the tally of votes, never to betray a hint to the voter. It took less than 7 minutes to complete the process.

In September 2016, Appel wrote a testimony for the Congress House Subcommittee on Information Technology hearing on "Cybersecurity: Ensuring the Integrity of the Ballot Box", suggesting to for Congress to eliminate touchscreen voting machines after the election of 2016, and that it require all elections be subject to sensible auditing after every election to ensure that the systems are functioning properly and to prove to the American people that their votes are counted as cast.

Mexico

Government-led initiatives
Within the Mexican president's office, there is a national digital strategy coordinator who works on Mexico's national digital strategy. The office has created the gob.mx portal, a website designed for Mexican citizen to engage with their government, as well as a system to share open government data. According to McKinsey & Company, in a 2018 survey Mexico had the worst-rated citizen experience (4.4 out of 10) for convenience and accessibility of Mexican government services, of the group of countries surveyed (Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States).

Citizen-led initiatives
Arena Electoral was an online platform created by Fundación Ethos during the Mexican electoral process of 2012 to promote responsible voting. An online simulation was created by taking the four presidential candidates in that election cycle and each were given policy issues based on the Mexican national agenda that they had to come up with a solution to. Once each candidate gave their solutions, the platform published it on their website and left it to the Mexican citizens to vote for the best policy.

Civic technology in Latin America

Argentina

Partido de la Red (Net Party) is an Argentinean political party using the DemocracyOS open-source software with the goal of electing representatives who vote according to what citizens decide online. Caminos de la Villa is a citizen action platform where citizens can monitor the urbanization of the City of Buenos Aires. Users are able to view detailed information of the work the government is doing in the neighborhoods. Additionally, users are able to download documents, along with photos of what the government is doing. Users can also make reports of issues with public services to the platform.

Bolivia
Observatorio de Justicia Fiscal desde las Mujeres (English: The Women's Fiscal Justice Observatory), is an organization that reviews the fiscal policies of the country. They do this by using a system with the same name to process information regarding the spending of the country with a gender focus. This is done to have better equality in the expenditure of the country.

Brazil
In 2011, NOSSAS, a Brazilian organization that helps citizens and groups express their struggles and make change was founded. They have also made their own tech platform, BONDE. It is a platform in which other organizations can use to make their own website and use tools to spread their reach. Apart from BONDE, NOSSAS also provides support and programs to those who want to become activists.

Chile
CitizenLab is a civic technology company that is in many countries and local governments. Citizen Lab works so citizens are better informed in democracy to make public decisions. In 2019, they expanded to Chile and made teams to support them with engagement, budgeting, planning, and more.

Colombia
Founded in 2016, Movilizatorio was made to encourage and promote citizen participation in democracy. Movilizatorio works on many projects to address various issues in the country including political, social, behavioral, and cultural issues. One of their projects was able to get the local community together because an elementary school had not started classes. Shortly after the movement started, after getting signatures and going to the Secretary of Education, classes started.

Panama
Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana (English: Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom) is an organization founded in 1995. The main goal is to improve democracy in Panama. Ways of achieving this is promoting transparency with the government to prevent corruption and engaging with citizens to increase democratic citizen participation.

Paraguay
TEDIC is an organization founded in 2012 that defends digital rights of citizens. TEDIC researches information on cybersecurity, copyright, artificial intelligence, and more. They also promote and develop their own software for people to use to make social change. They have worked on topics such as personal data, freedom of expression, gender and digital inclusion, and more.

Uruguay
A Tu Servicio, a civic tech platform, informs users and citizens on the country's public health services so that they are able to make informed decisions on medical providers. The platform was founded in 2015. It features a list users can use to compare 2 different health care providers. The data includes wait times, prices, number of users, workers, and more. DATA Uruguay is an organization that works on issues surrounding data. They work with other organizations and community to create tools with open data. DATA Uruguay promotes open data and transparency of public information.

Venezuela
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that was happening in Venezuela, programmers have made various apps with civic uses. One of which was Docti.App, it was an app that had a list of locations citizens can go to for emergencies. It had a filterable list to find whatever users needed, including medicine and oxygen bottles. Another example is Javenda, it was a web application used to find nearby hospitals. He gathered data from health centers, added it to a map, and made it accessible for users to locate them.

Effects of civic technology

Effects on social behavior and civic engagement

Because of the conveniences provided by civic technology, there are benefits as well as growing concern about the effects it may have on social behavior and civic engagement. New technology allows for connectivity and new communications, as well as changing how we interact with issues and contexts beyond one's intimate sphere. Civic technology affords transparency in government with open-government data, and allows more people of diverse socioeconomic levels to be able to build and engage with civic matters in a way that was not possible prior.

Communication
The importance of face-to-face interactions has also been called to question with the increase in e-mails and social media and a decrease in traditional, in-person social interaction. Technology as a whole may be responsible for this change in social norm, but it also holds potential for turning it around with audio and video communication capabilities. More research needs to be conducted in order to determine if these are appropriate substitutes for in-person interaction, or if any substitute is even feasible.

Preece & Shneiderman discuss the important social aspect of civic technology with a discussion of the "reader-to-leader framework", which follows that users inform readers, who inform communicators, who then inform collaborators, before finally reaching leaders. This chain of communication allows for the interests of the masses to be communicated to the implementers.

Elections
Regarding elections and online polling, there is the potential for voters to make less informed decisions because of the ease of voting. Although many more voters will turn out, they may only be doing so because it is easy and may not be consciously making a decision based on their own synthesized opinion. It's suggested that if online voting becomes more common, so should constituent-led discussions regarding the issues or candidates being polled. Voting advice applications helps voters find candidates and parties closest to their preferences, with studies suggesting that the use of these applications tend to increase turnout and affect the choice of voters. An experiment during assembly elections in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh showed that sending villages voice calls and text messages informing them of criminal charges of candidates increased the vote share of clean candidates and decreased the vote shares of violent criminal candidates.

Effects on socioeconomics

With advanced technologies coming at higher costs and with an increased reliance on civic technologies may leave low-income families in the dark if they cannot afford the platforms for civic technology, such as computers and tablets. This causes an increase in the gap between lower and middle/high socioeconomic class families.

Knowledge of how to use computers is equally important when considering factors of accessing civic technology applications online, and is also generally lower in low-income households. According to a study performed by the National Center for Education Statistics, 14% of students between the age range of 3 and 18 do not have access to the internet. Those with a lower socio-economic status tend to cut their budgets by not installing internet in their homes. Public Schools have taken the lead in ensuring proper technology access and education in the classroom to better prepare children for the high-tech world, but there is still a clear difference between online contributions from those with and without experience on the internet.

See also
 Civic technology companies
 Collaborative e-democracy
 Comparison of civic technology platforms
 Digital citizen
 E-government
 Government by algorithm
 Open government
 Service design

References

E-government
Information Age
Information technology consulting
Open government


title: Scott Allen Nollen

text:
Scott Allen Nollen is an American author known for writing about the history of film, music, literature and African American studies. He was born on April 2, 1963, in Harlan, Iowa. His father, Harold N. Nollen, served in the United States Coast Guard prior to running a successful petroleum distribution business, to which his mother, Shirley A. (Stoltz) Nollen, also contributed.  Nollen was educated at the University of Iowa (1984-1989), where he received Bachelor's Degrees in Broadcasting and Film and Honors History, Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master's Degree in U.S., Modern European and African-American History.  From 1991 to 2001, he served as an archivist and historian for the National Archives and Records Administration.

Life and work
Scott Allen Nollen became intrigued with Boris Karloff when his mother had him watch James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) at the age of five in 1968. He identified with Karloff's "monster", who never spoke in the film, but effectively conveyed a portrait of the misunderstood individual cast out by society.

Nollen knew he wanted to write a book about Karloff and had begun in high school. In 1981, Nollen's parents took him to England and Wales as a graduation present. While there, he contacted Karloff's widow, who appreciated Nollen's interest in and respect for Karloff; they remained in correspondence for the twelve years remaining of her life.

Nollen's literary collaborators include science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury, author-filmmakers Nicholas Meyer and Michael A. Hoey (son of actor Dennis Hoey), British musicians Ian Anderson and Dave Pegg, R&B singer Ruth Pointer, celebrity offspring Dame Jean Conan Doyle (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), Sara Jane Karloff (Boris Karloff) and Chris Costello (Lou Costello), and film historians Paul M. Jensen and Gregory William Mank.

Nollen says about the 26 books he has produced in 32 years,
Writing scholarly books is a poverty-generating career: One spends far more on the projects than is recouped in royalties. Book sales are now about 25% of what they were just a few years ago, so these volumes are always a labor of love and an attempt to discover the truth for people who like to read, a group dwindling rapidly. The challenge, as a trained research historian—a detective, really—is always the effort to remain as “objective” as possible, to whatever extent that is possible.

Cliff Aliperti states regarding Nollen's incredibly prolific output, "This large body of work is all the more amazing when I take my experience with Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life into account... it's as exhaustively-researched a biography as you're going to find on the market, not just about Karloff, but any subject."

Nollen was chosen by the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress to write permanently held essays to accompany a group of films selected by the registry for preservation. Specifically, Nollen wrote the essays for Stagecoach, The Quiet Man, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance all of which were directed by John Ford.  He also wrote the essay for The Emperor Jones, with actor Paul Robeson.

Nollen died in 2021. His wife, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen, made this announcement on Facebook: "My husband, Scott Allen Nollen had passed away in Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 20:20 o'clock local time at Indonesia." No further details were released.

Literary and Cinematic Works
Nollen's Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television and Recording Work (1991) and Boris Karloff: A Gentleman’s Life (1999) were highly praised by classic film site Immortal Ephemera.  His other well-regarded books include  Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature and the Silver Screen (1994), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema: A Critical Study of the Film Adaptations (1996), Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001 (2001), Louis Armstrong: The Life, Music and Screen Career (2004), Warners Wiseguys: All 112 Films that Robinson, Cagney and Bogart Made for the Studio (2007), Abbott and Costello on the Home Front: A Critical History of The Wartime Films (2009),  Paul Robeson: Film Pioneer (2010), Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond (2013) and Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hardboiled Dame (2014).

In 2016, Nollen published The Making and Influence of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, regarding the 1932 film. The book was reviewed as "a fascinating account of the film's production," for which Robert E. Burns, the author of the autobiography on which it was based, served as an advisor."

Also a well-known authority on the life, music and films of Frank Sinatra, Nollen wrote The Cinema of Sinatra: The Actor, on Screen and in Song (2003), co-wrote the Grammy-nominated book for the Time-Warner CD box set Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964 (2002), and frequently can be heard on the Hawaii Public Radio show Sinatra: The Man and the Music, hosted by Guy Steele.

In July 2018, Nollen was included as a commentator in the BBC2 Radio program Double Acts: Abbott and Costello, hosted by Dame Barbara Windsor, also featuring archival recordings of Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, The Andrews Sisters, Martha Raye and Ella Fitzgerald.

Nollen's 2019 book, Takashi Shimura: Chameleon of Japanese Cinema, was praised by journalist Jordan R. Young as "likely to stand as the definitive study of this versatile character actor."  Jordan wrote that Nollen "is to be commended not only for his research but his erudite discourse on Japanese cinema...and Shimura’s role in it—something few Westerners could hope to attempt with such intelligent results."

Nollen and his wife, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen, collaborated on Chester Morris: His Life and Career in 2019.  In his review of the book, author James L. Neibaur called Nollen "one of the foremost film historians in the literary world, [who] now benefits from the assistance of his wife, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen."  Together, they have completed the third volume of Nollen's "Karloff Trilogy," Karloff and the East: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Oceanian Characters and Subjects in His Screen Career, a massive tome covering the actor's entire life and career while devoting separate chapters to many neglected films, and are collaborating on the first-ever book on Asian American trailblazers Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung and Benson Fong.  They also are collaborating on one further classic actor biography and cinematic study, Charlie Red: The Life and Career of Charles Bickford.

In 2019, Nollen provided new commentary for seven films included in a first-ever blu-ray set of the Universal career of Abbott and Costello.  He also has completed two new books on specific classic films based on literature: The Body Snatcher: Cold-Blooded Murder, Robert Louis Stevenson and the Making of a Horror Film Classic and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes at Universal (1942-1946), a collaboration with collector Kris Marentette.  Another volume on "golden-age" Japanese cinema, The Films of Setsuko Hara: Madonna of Japanese Cinema is also forthcoming.   Alternately, he narrates "audio book" versions of his own works and those of other authors.

Nollen's film work includes writing and directing a series of U.S. government documentaries, co-writing and co-directing (with his nephew, Ryan Baumbach) the independent feature Lofty (2005), and co-writing the scripts for the award-winning documentaries Kreating Karloff (2006) and Finnigan's War (2013), directed by Conor Timmis.  Shot entirely on location in West Java, Indonesia, the independent film Five Indo Samurai, an homage to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, featuring Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen in the lead role and other performers from Indonesia, Japan and the United States, and written and directed by Nollen, was released in August 2019.

Books
 The Boys: The Cinematic World of Laurel and Hardy.  McFarland, 1989.  .
 Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television and Recording Work.  McFarland, 1991.  .
 Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature and the Silver Screen.  McFarland, 1994.  .
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema: A Critical History of the Film Adaptations.  McFarland, 1996.  .
 Midnight Marquee Actors Series: Vincent Price.  Midnight Marquee, 1998.  .
 Boris Karloff: A Gentleman’s Life.  Midnight Marquee, 1999.  .
 Midnight Marquee Actors Series: Peter Lorre.  Midnight Marquee, 1999.  .
 Robin Hood: A Cinematic History of the English Outlaw and His Scottish Counterparts.  McFarland, 1999.  .
 Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001.  McFarland, 2001.  .
 Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964.  Reprise/Warner Bros., 2002.  ASIN B000066BN9.
 The Cinema of Sinatra: The Actor, on Screen and in Song. Luminary Press, 2003.  .
 Louis Armstrong: The Life, Music and Screen Career.  McFarland, 2004.  .
 Midnight Marquee Actors Series: Peter Cushing.  Midnight Marquee, 2004.  .
 Warners Wiseguys: All 112 Films that Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart Made for the Studio.  McFarland, 2007.  .
 Abbott and Costello on the Home Front: A Critical Study of the Wartime Films.  McFarland, 2009.  .
 Jilly!  Sinatra's Right-Hand Man.  Vegas Broom Press, 2009.  .
 Paul Robeson: Film Pioneer.  McFarland, 2010.  .
 Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond.  McFarland, 2013.  .
 Black Diamond: The Real Illusion.  Midnight Marquee, 2013.  .
 Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hardboiled Dame.  Midnight Marquee, 2014.  .
 It's the Disney Version!. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. .
 The Making and Influence of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.  McFarland, 2016.  .
 The American Civil War on Film and TV: Blue and Gray in Black and White and Color.  Lexington Books, 2017.  .
 Takashi Shimura: Chameleon of Japanese Cinema. McFarland, 2019.  .
 Chester Morris: His Life and Career. With Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen.  McFarland, 2020. .
 Karloff and the East: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Oceanian Characters and Subjects in His Screen Career. With Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen.  McFarland, 2021. .
 The Body Snatcher: Cold-Blooded Murder, Robert Louis Stevenson and the Making of a Horror Film Classic. With Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen.  BearManor Media, 2021. .
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes at Universal (1942-1946). With Kris Marentette.  BearManor Media, forthcoming.
 Sons of Charlie Chan: Keye Luke, Sen Yung, Benson Fong. With Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen.  BearManor Media, forthcoming.
 The Films of Setsuko Hara: Madonna of Japanese Cinema. McFarland, forthcoming. .
 Charlie Red: The Life and Career of Charles Bickford. With Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen.  BearManor Media, forthcoming.
 Lawman: A Companion to the Classic TV Western Series. By Bill Levy.  Narrated by Scott Allen Nollen.  BearManor Media/Blackstone Audio book, 2020..
 Henry Brandon: King of the Bogeymen. By Bill Cassara and Richard S. Greene.  Narrated by Scott Allen Nollen.  BearManor Digital, 2020.

References

External links

Globally recognized historian for 30 years at creators.co
Nollen's Life is One of Many Talents and Challenges at harlanonline.com

Living people
1963 births


title: 2014 Micronesian Games

text:
The 8th Micronesian Games were held from July 20 to July 30, 2014, in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

The Games began with an opening ceremony on the track and field grounds. They included "traditional war dances", and the unfurling of the Games flag in the air as it was delivered by parachute.

At the closing of the Games, Guam had topped the medal table with eighty-one medals, of which forty-two were gold.

Participating countries
All Micronesian nations, states and territories participated in the Games. The host country was represented by four teams, one for each of its federated states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap. The other participants included four independent countries (Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau) and two unincorporated organised territories of the United States: the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The 2014 Games were the second hosted by the FSM, the 2002 Games having also taken place in Pohnpei State.

The scheduling of the Games conflicted with the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which began on 23 July. Two Micronesian countries, Kiribati and Nauru, are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and thus had to split their athletes between the two events, both of which they were participating in. (See Kiribati at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Nauru at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.)

Sports
Participants competed in fourteen sports, reportedly a record. The tournament included football, which had also been played in the 1998 edition, with the explicit aim for some of the teams to improve their credentials and gain associate member status with FIFA. At the time of the Games, the only Micronesian country or territory to be a member of FIFA was Guam.

The sports were: athletics, baseball, basketball, football, the "Micronesian all-around", softball, spearfishing, swimming, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, va'a (canoeing), weightlifting, and wrestling.

For results by sport, see:
 Athletics at the 2014 Micronesian Games

Medal table
The final medal table was as follows. Only Kiribati failed to obtain any medals.

References

Micro
Micronesian Games
2014
Micro
International sports competitions hosted by the Federated States of Micronesia
July 2014 sports events in Oceania


title: 2015 KBO League season

text:
The 2015 KBO League season was the 34th season in the history of the Korea Professional Baseball league.

Season structure

Regular season
Due to the addition of the KT Wiz into the KBO, the 2015 KBO league schedule was increased to each team playing 144 games during the regular season (each team had played 128 games during the 2014 regular season), with each team playing each other 16 times.

All-Star Game
In July, the best players participated in the 2015 KBO All-Star Game. The participating franchises were divided into two regions, the Dream All-Stars (Samsung Lions, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, SK Wyverns, KT Wiz) and Nanum All-Stars (Kia Tigers, Hanwha Eagles, LG Twins, Nexen Heroes, NC Dinos). The Korean All-Star Game did not determine home-field advantage in the Korean Series. The All-Star Game was played on 18 July 2015 at the Suwon Baseball Stadium and won by the Dream All-Stars 6–3.

Postseason
2015 KBO League season culminated in its championship series, known as the Korean Series. The Semi-Playoff format was tweaked. Previously, the top four teams after the end of the regular season qualified for the postseason, but in 2015, the top five teams qualified for the postseason. The team with the best record gained a direct entry into the Korean Series, while the other four teams competed for the remaining place in a step-ladder playoff system. Starting in 2015, the fourth-place and the fifth-place teams played in a "Wildcard" game.

Wildcard (best-of-two)
Regular-season 4th place vs. regular-season 5th place
Semi-playoff (best-of-five, added from 3 games starting from 2008)
Regular-season 3rd place vs. Wild Card winner
Playoff (best-of-five, reduced from 7 games starting from 2009)
Regular-season 2nd place vs. semi-playoff winner
Korean Series (best-of-seven)
Regular-season 1st place vs. playoff winner

To determine the final standings
Champion (1st place): Korean Series winner
Runner-up (2nd place): Korean Series loser
3rd–10th place: sort by regular-season record except teams playing in the Korean Series.

Standings

Source

Foreign hitters
Each team could have signed up to three foreign players. Due to the high proportion of pitchers signed in previous years, beginning in 2014 the league mandated that at least one of the foreign players must be a position player.

Postseason

Wild Card
The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the fourth-placed team.

Semi-playoff

Playoff

Korean Series

References

External links
Official website

KBO League seasons
KBO League season
KBO League season


title: New Hope Farm (Wellford, South Carolina)

text:
New Hope Farm, also known as New Hope Post Office and Snoddy Farm, is a historic farm complex located at Wellford, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.  The main house was built in 1885, and is a one-story farmhouse with Folk Victorian decorative elements. It features a steeply-pitched pressed metal-shingled roof, weatherboard siding, and a wraparound hip-roofed porch. Also on the property is a complex of domestic and agricultural outbuildings dating from about 1885 to 1905. They include a small two-story frame servant's house, a smokehouse, a privy, a corn crib, a buggy barn and a garage.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

References

Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Victorian architecture in South Carolina
Houses completed in 1885
Houses in Spartanburg County, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg County, South Carolina


title: Mahkonce, Minnesota

text:
Mahkonce is an unincorporated community in Clover and Twin Lakes Townships, Mahnomen County, Minnesota, United States.

Notes

Unincorporated communities in Mahnomen County, Minnesota
Unincorporated communities in Minnesota


title: Holy Water Joe

text:
Holy Water Joe () is a 1971 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Mario Gariazzo.

Plot
In the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War (1861-1865), Jeff Donovan's outlaw gang, disguised as soldiers of both the Confederacy and the Union, rob banks using a cannon concealed in a wagon. A man about town by the name of Holy Water Joe, called such to differentiate between him and his father, Fire Water Joe, finds himself penniless when all his savings are gone due to a bank robbery by the Donovan gang. Joe finds an opportunity to recoup some of his losses when he captures a deserter from the gang and sells him to Donovan, that creates double dealing and gunplay.

Cast
 Lincoln Tate as Holy Water Joe
 Ty Hardin as Jeff Donovan
 Richard Harrison as Charlie Bennett
  Giulio Baraghini as Jim (credited as Lee Banner)
  Silvia Monelli as Estella
 Tuccio Musumeci as The Sicilian
  Pietro Ceccarelli as Sergeant Butch
 Dante Maggio as The Banker
 Mario Novelli as Donovan Henchman

References

External links

1971 films
1970s Western (genre) comedy films
Spaghetti Western films
1970s Italian-language films
English-language Italian films
Films scored by Marcello Giombini
Films set in the 1860s
1971 comedy films
1970s Italian films


title: Thomas Bere

text:
Thomas Bere may refer to:
 Thomas Bere (Bodmin MP), Member of Parliament for Bodmin 1391, 1395–7
 Thomas Bere, High Sheriff of Cornwall 1464–5
 Thomas Bere (1652–1725), Member of Parliament for Tiverton 1690–1710, 1715–25
Several other Thomas Beres of the Bere family of Huntsham


title: Skalice (Frýdek-Místek)

text:
Skalice (, ) is a village and administrative part of Frýdek-Místek in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Frýdek-Místek in 1980. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.

History
The village was first mentioned in a Latin document of Diocese of Wrocław called Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis from around 1305 as item in Scali(c)za. It meant that the village was in the process of location (the size of land to pay a tithe from was not yet precised). The creation of the village was a part of a larger settlement campaign taking place in the late 13th century on the territory of what will be later known as Upper Silesia.

Politically the village belonged initially to the Duchy of Teschen, formed in 1290 in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland and was ruled by a local branch of Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became a fee of Kingdom of Bohemia, which after 1526 became part of the Habsburg monarchy.

In 1573, it was sold as one of 16 villages and the town of Friedeck and formed a state country split from the Duchy of Teschen.

After World War I and fall of Austria-Hungary it became a part of Czechoslovakia. In March 1939 it became a part of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. After World War II it was restored to Czechoslovakia.

References

Villages in Frýdek-Místek District
Neighbourhoods in the Czech Republic
Frýdek-Místek
Cieszyn Silesia


title: James M. Davis House

text:
James M. Davis House is a historic house and national historic district located at Pelham, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

Description and history
It was built in 1915, and is a large two-story, wood-frame, central hall modified American Foursquare dwelling. It features a pyramidal roof with wide overhanging eaves and a one-story, full-width wraparound porch. The property includes a landscaped yard with a stacked stone wall. The house is associated with prominent local merchant and community leader James Marvin Davis, who operated Davis Mercantile from 1905 until his death in 1943. The general store was torn down in 2007.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 2010.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Houses completed in 1915
Houses in Spartanburg County, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg County, South Carolina
American Foursquare architecture in South Carolina


title: 40 Años

text:
40 Años (Spanish "cuarenta años") or 40 Anos (Portuguese "quarenta anos") may refer to:

40 Años (album), by Marco Antonio Solís, 2016
40 Años, an album by Amigos de Gines, 2010
40 Años, an album by Orquesta Filarmómoca de Bogotá, winner of the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Album
40 Años de la Sonora Matancera, an album by Sonora Matancera
40 Anos Depois, an album by João Bosco, 2012


title: Young Man with a Skull

text:
Young Man with a Skull is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, created in 1626-1628, now in the National Gallery, in London. The painting was previously thought to be a depiction of Shakespeare's Hamlet holding the skull of Yorick, but is now considered to be a vanitas, a reminder of the precarious nature of life and the inevitability of death.

Painting
The painting shows a young man wearing a feathered red bonnet and swathed with a cloak across his chest, gesturing dramatically towards the viewer with his right hand while holding a skull in his left hand.  It was first documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1910, who described it as a life-size half-length portrait of Hamlet.  De Groot also wrote that it was exhibited on loan in the Dublin National Gallery in 1895.  He noticed this painting's similarity to another painting by Hals, and he remarked that in this work the subject's right hand "formerly rested on a skull which has been painted out".

The interpretation as a theatrical portrayal of Hamlet was called into question by W.R. Valentiner in 1923. In his 1989 catalog of the international Frans Hals exhibition, Slive claims it is a vanitas and compares it to several other examples of men portrayed with skulls. He rejects the identification as Hamlet, because Shakespeare's plays have not been recorded in the Northern Netherlands in the 1620s.

It was bought by the National Gallery, London in 1980.  They write that: "The Netherlandish tradition of showing young boys holding skulls is well-established and can be traced back to engravings of the early 16th century."

The National Gallery also notes the exotic costume of the subject, similar to that shown by the Caravaggisti (followers of Caravaggio) based in Utrecht.  Hals' depiction of the subject's costume, holding a skull with a draped cloak over the chest, is similar to at least four other known paintings:

See also
List of paintings by Frans Hals

References

 Hofstede de Groot on two paintings of young men with skulls (one painted out); catalog numbers 102 & 103

External links
Blog about Young Man with a Skull
Young Man with a Skull on the National Gallery website
Information in the Web Gallery of Art

Paintings by Frans Hals
Collections of the National Gallery, London
Memento mori
Skulls in art
1620s paintings
17th-century portraits


title: Amigos de Gines

text:
The Amigos de Gines are a traditional Spanish singing group for the singing of sevillanas formed in Gines, Seville in 1969. The original members were the brothers Luis Baras and Carlos Baras, with Alfredo Santiago and Juan Antonio Hurtado. The group celebrated their 40th anniversary with the record 40 Años in 2010.

References

Spanish musical groups


title: Long Live Robin Hood

text:
Long Live Robin Hood () is a 1971 swashbuckler film directed by Giorgio Ferroni. It is based on the Robin Hood legend. It also has been known under its translated Italian name Archer of Fire.

Cast
Giuliano Gemma as Robin Hood
Mark Damon as Allan
Luis Dávila as Sir Robert
Silvia Dionisio as Lady Marianne
Mario Adorf as Brother Tuck
Manuel Zarzo as Will Scarlet
Nello Pazzafini as Little John
Pierre Cressoy as Sir Guy
Daniele Dublino as Prince John
Helga Liné as Matilde
Neno Zamperla as one of Robin's men
Lars Bloch as King Richard Lionheart (as Lars Block)
Pupo De Luca as Wrong Priest (as Gianni De Luca)
Giulio Donnini as Priest at Wedding Ceremony
Furio Meniconi as Innkeeper

Production
Long Live Robin Hood was partially shot at Colegiata y Castillo de Cardona in Barcelona, Spain.

Release
Long Live Robin Hood was released in Italy on March 12, 1971. It was released in the United States in 1976.

Footnotes

References

External links

1971 films
1970s adventure films
Italian historical adventure films
Spanish historical adventure films
French historical adventure films
Robin Hood films
Films directed by Giorgio Ferroni
Films set in London
Films scored by Gianni Ferrio
Cultural depictions of Richard I of England
Cultural depictions of John, King of England
1970s Italian films
1970s French films


title: Jevrem Obrenović

text:
Prince Jevrem Teodorović Obrenović (18 March 1790 – 20 September 1856) was a Serbian politician and revolutionary. He was the younger brother of Prince Miloš Obrenović I of Serbia, the founder of the Obrenović dynasty.

Early life
Jevrem's mother Višnja Urošević (d. 1817) was married twice, first to Obren Martinović, with whom she had three children. After the death of Obren, she married a poor widower, Teodor Mihailović, in the village of Dobrinja. Višnja and Teodor had three sons: Miloš, Jovan and Jevrem. Both Višnja and Teodor's ancestors were migrants from Herzegovina, having arrived in the late 17th or early 18th century. Teodor Mihailović died in 1802, leaving the family in poverty. A few years later, the older brothers, Jakov and Milan, took their mother and half-siblings to live on their estate.

Milan Obrenović had a great influence on the upbringing and development of his two younger brothers; as evidenced by the fact that Miloš, Jovan and Jevrem took on their half-brothers surname Obrenović.

Two months after the formation of the government's military, the Office of Military Police (Vojnopolicijna kancelarija), Prince Miloš Obrenović, by the order of 29 May 1837, established that the highest military title would be the rank of General.

At that time military ranks were equated with civilian ranks, and the rank of general corresponded to dejstviteljni državni savetnik or "working government advisor". The newly introduced rank had two grades: major-general (general-major)  and divisional general (general-diviziar). Those who had both ranks were the leaders  or gospodari Jevrem (Obrenović) and Jovan Obrenović.

Serbian Revolution
Active in the Serbian independence movement from his youth, Jevrem travelled to Ostružnica to sell oxen for weapons and ammunition. He and his brother Miloš joined the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13), led by Karađorđe. Miloš conspired against Karađorđe and was involved in his assassination. During peacetime (1813–15), Jevrem lived for a while in Belgrade.

Miloš led the Second Serbian Uprising that broke out in the beginning of April 1815, and Jevrem again took up arms. Sulejman-paša Skopljak, the Vizier of Belgrade, had Jevrem captured and sentenced to death, but in August 1815 Miloš and the Ottoman governor Ali Pasha agreed to have Jevrem released from prison. In 1816, Miloš made Jevrem governor of the Šabac nahija (district); and in 1817 he was sent to govern Sokol district. In 1817, Miloš concluded peace with the Ottomans and was recognized as the "Prince of Serbia" by the Ottoman Sultan, subject to tribute to the Porte. As such; Jevrem was in line to the succession to the Serbian throne behind his brother Jovan and the sons of Miloš.

Later life

In 1816, the same year he married Tomanija Bogićević (1796–1881), with whom he had eight children - seven daughters (the eldest, Jelena, married Miloš's secretary Konstantin Hadija) and one son, Miloš Jevremov Obrenović.

In 1819, he was appointed governor of Valjevo. Jevrem ruled autocratically in the districts under his governance, decisions being made only with his consent.

Jevrem, as the younger brother of the ruler, had numerous responsibilities. His role in the organization and work of the nascent Serbian judiciary was of paramount importance. He was instrumental in combating banditry, which was especially rampant after 1817. Applying harsh, sometimes even cruel measures, Miloš and Jevrem managed to reduce, virtually eradicate brigandage to a reasonable level. In the period from 1817 to 1835, Jevrem participated in the suppression of several rebellions, during the Russo-Turkish War his task was to prevent the transfer of Ottoman troops from Bosnia through Serbia over to the eastern front. Until 1842, Jevrem at first secretly, but later publicly, fought for power. The opposition was able to remove Miloš from power, but then Jevrem realised that his chances of being elected Prince collapsed, and therefore committed his support to Miloš's second son Mihailo Obrenović III.

The town of Šabac, where Jevrem lived from 1816 until 1831, was completely modernized and "Europeanized" under Jevrem's auspices. His house, which was completed in 1824, was a multi-storey building of which "symmetry, architecture and beauty precedes all residences and palaces in Serbia." Understanding the importance of popular education, Jevrem built schools and invited many teachers, doctors, pharmacists, and artisans to the town. Šabac also had a well-stocked pharmacy with drugs valued at 5,000 pence. The same year, Jevrem also built the town hospital, and the first barracks with four departments, which could each accommodate 60 soldiers.

Jevrem headed a "literary circle" which included members archpriest Ignjat Savić, physician and writer Jovan Stejić, polymath Dimitrije P. Tirol, writer Princess Anka Obrenović and others. In 1829, he appointed Joseph Schlesinger the music teacher for his children. Schlesinger soon formed his own "music chapel" in the town. After a written order from Prince Miloš Obrenović in 1830 that the Serbian army needed military music, Schlesinger was on 1 June 1831 appointed kapellmeister of military music in Kragujevac.

Jevrem hosted many of the intelligentsia of Europe, and played a significant role in raising the general cultural level in the country. His library at his residence in Šabac, with the works of La Fontaine, Schiller and others, is among the richest in Serbia. Under Jevrem's auspices, the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade was founded in 1832.

After a long illness, Jevrem died at his home in Wallachia, on 9 September 1856.

References

Sources

 Сећање на Јеврема и шабачко „златно“ доба (РТС, 15. фебруар 2016)

19th-century Serbian nobility
1790 births
1856 deaths
Serbian revolutionaries
People from the Principality of Serbia
People from Požega, Serbia
Jevram


title: Montgomery Building (Spartanburg, South Carolina)

text:
The Montgomery Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is an iconic building located on Church Street in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1924, and is a ten-story, nine-bay-wide, steel frame skyscraper faced in precast concrete. It originally housed the offices of textile companies, cotton brokers, and factories. The building also contained a theatre/auditorium space, a radio and television station. The Montgomery Building was the tallest building in Spartanburg until the 1950s. In 2016, a developer announced a $29 million plan to renovate the building for mixed-use to include apartments, offices and retail. Restoration began in Spring 2017 and was completed in December 2018.

History

Carolina Theatre
The theatre built alongside the office building was originally called the Montgomery Theatre. Including floor seating and two balconies, the theatre seated a total of 1300 patrons. It was the largest theatre in Spartanburg, and hosted a variety of touring musicals, plays, and vaudeville acts. In 1932, the Wilby-Kincey Company took over management and renamed it the Carolina Theatre, installing a dazzling exterior marquee. In addition to stage shows, the Carolina began showing motion pictures and became the city's premier first-run movie theater. In 1956, though now primarily a movie theater, the Carolina hosted a live performance by Elvis Presley. Over the years, the Carolina underwent a series of renovations to "modernize" the interior for moviegoers. A 1970 renovation in particular removed or covered most of the theatre's original architectural details and flourishes. Soon after, the Carolina closed, as audiences now preferred to patronize suburban cinemas and multiplexes.

Renovation

In 2016, Charleston SC based developers James Bakker and Tom Finnegan(BF Spartanburg LLC) revealed its $29 million plan to renovate the historic building, which it purchased in February 2017 from Florida-based Cypress Lending Group for $680,000.

The plan for this mixed-use project included retail and restaurant space on the ground floor, office space on the second and third floors, and 63 apartment units on the upper seven floors. Residential amenities including a fitness center and storage units were planned the basement, as well as additional office space.

It was a unique renovation project in that the building's thousands of precast concrete exterior panels were replaced with replicated panels made of modern materials and fit to historic standards. The original facade panels were cast using an inferior concrete mix and flawed techniques which, over time, caused the panels to buckle and deteriorate. Molds were made from the original panels, sharpened by an artist to capture all the details, and new panels were created as exact replicas (to historic standards) using the molds.

The developer began renovations on the 10-story building in early 2017 and completed the project in December 2018.

The Carolina Theatre was not part of the renovation project completed in 2018. However, the same developers plan to manage a restoration of the theatre in the coming years.  Input from the local community will be sought to determine the end use for the theatre.

The Montgomery Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Awards and recognition
The Montgomery Building's renovation has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2020 Gignilliat Preservation Award from the Spartanburg County Historical Association; the 2021 Palladio Award for Commercial Adaptive Reuse and/or Sympathetic Addition from Traditional Building Magazine; and the 2021 Preservation Honor Award from Preservation South Carolina, SCDAH, and the Office of the Governor.

References

External links

 The Montgomery Building website

Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Buildings and structures completed in 1924
Buildings and structures in Spartanburg, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Skyscrapers in South Carolina
Skyscraper office buildings in South Carolina
1924 establishments in South Carolina
Chicago school architecture in the United States


title: Purainia

text:
Purainia is a village in West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Purainia had a population of 3538 in 653 households. Males constitute 51.75% of the population and females 48.24%. Purainia has an average literacy rate of 48.9%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 62%, and female literacy is 37.9%. In Purainia, 21.6% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

Villages in West Champaran district


title: Rajpur, Narkatiaganj

text:
Rajpur is a village in Narkatiaganj block of West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Rajpur had a population of 2757 in 522 households. Males constitute 52.7% of the population and females 47.2%. Rajpur has an average literacy rate of 38.7%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 64.38%, and female literacy is 35.61%. In Rajpur, 21.6% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

Villages in West Champaran district


title: Candidates of the 2014 Victorian state election

text:
This is a list of candidates for the 2014 Victorian state election. The election was held on 29 November 2014.

At the close of nominations on 14 November 2014, there were a total of 896 candidates in the election (a 26 per cent increase to the 711 candidates in the 2010 election). There were 545 candidates contesting the 88 seats of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (up from 501, an 8.6 per cent increase); and 351 candidates contesting the 40 seats in the Legislative Council (up from 206, a 68 per cent increase).

Redistribution and seat changes
A redistribution of Victoria's state electoral boundaries was finalised on 17 October 2013. It saw the abolition of the Labor seats of Ballarat East, Ballarat West, Clayton, Derrimut, Keilor and Lyndhurst; the Liberal seats of Doncaster, Kilsyth, Mitcham, Scoresby and Seymour; and the Nationals seats of Benalla, Murray Valley, Rodney and Swan Hill.

The fifteen seats created to replace the fifteen abolished seats were the notionally Labor seats of Buninyong, Clarinda, Keysborough, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham and Werribee; the notionally Liberal seats of Croydon, Eildon, Ringwood, Rowville and Wendouree; and the Nationals seats of Euroa, Murray Plains and Ovens Valley. In addition, the Labor-held seats of Bellarine, Monbulk, Ripon and Yan Yean became notionally Liberal.

The member for Ballarat East, Geoff Howard (Labor), contested Buninyong.
The member for Ballarat West, Sharon Knight (Labor), contested Wendouree.
The member for Clayton, Hong Lim (Labor), contested Clarinda.
The member for Derrimut, Telmo Languiller (Labor), contested Tarneit.
The member for Doncaster, Mary Wooldridge (Liberal), contested the Legislative Council region of Eastern Metropolitan.
The member for Eltham, Steve Herbert (Labor), contested the Legislative Council region of Northern Victoria.
The member for Keilor, Natalie Hutchins (Labor), contested Sydenham.
The member for Kilsyth, David Hodgett (Liberal), contested Croydon.
The member for Lyndhurst, Martin Pakula (Labor), contested Keysborough.
The member for Mitcham, Dee Ryall (Liberal), contested Ringwood.
The member for Murray Valley, Tim McCurdy (Nationals), contested Ovens Valley.
The member for Rodney, Paul Weller (Nationals), contested the Legislative Council region of Northern Victoria.
The member for Scoresby, Kim Wells (Liberal), contested Rowville.
The member for Seymour, Cindy McLeish (Liberal), contested Eildon.
The member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh (Nationals), contested Murray Plains.
The member for Tarneit, Tim Pallas (Labor), contested Werribee.
Northern Metropolitan MLC Matthew Guy (Liberal) contested Bulleen.

Retiring MPs

Labor
 Ann Barker MLA (Oakleigh) – announced 25 November 2013
 Liz Beattie MLA (Yuroke) – announced 25 November 2013
 Christine Campbell MLA (Pascoe Vale) – announced 13 November 2013
 Joanne Duncan MLA (Macedon) – announced 4 November 2013
 Joe Helper MLA (Ripon) – announced 3 December 2012
 Justin Madden MLA (Essendon) – announced 15 November 2013
 John Pandazopoulos MLA (Dandenong) – announced 26 November 2013
 Ian Trezise MLA (Geelong) – announced 3 February 2014
 Kaye Darveniza MLC (Northern Victoria) – announced 29 November 2013
 John Lenders MLC (Southern Metropolitan) – announced 18 November 2013
 Marg Lewis MLC (Northern Victoria) – appointed to a casual vacancy but did not contest preselection
Johan Scheffer MLC (Eastern Victoria)
 Matt Viney MLC (Eastern Victoria) – announced 15 November 2013

Liberal
 Ted Baillieu MLA (Hawthorn) – announced 22 August 2014
 Nicholas Kotsiras MLA (Bulleen) – announced 12 January 2014
 Andrew McIntosh MLA (Kew) – announced 17 December 2013
 Ken Smith MLA (Bass) – announced 13 January 2014
 Andrea Coote MLC (Southern Metropolitan) – announced 19 January 2014
David Koch MLC (Western Victoria) – announced 14 March 2014
Jan Kronberg MLC (Eastern Metropolitan) – announced 19 March 2014

National

 Hugh Delahunty MLA (Lowan) – announced 10 February 2014
 Jeanette Powell MLA (Shepparton) – announced 8 February 2014
 Bill Sykes MLA (Benalla) – announced 9 January 2014

Legislative Assembly
Sitting members are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk (*) is also used.

Legislative Council
Sitting members are shown in bold text. Tickets that elected at least one MLC are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are identified by an asterisk (*).

Eastern Metropolitan
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats.

Eastern Victoria
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal/National Coalition was defending three seats.

Northern Metropolitan
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Greens were defending one seat.

Northern Victoria
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal/National Coalition was defending three seats.

South Eastern Metropolitan
The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats.

Southern Metropolitan
The Labor Party was defending one seat. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. The Greens were defending one seat.

Western Metropolitan
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Greens were defending one seat.

Western Victoria
The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal/National Coalition was defending three seats.

Unregistered parties and groups
A number of parties without registration with the Victorian Electoral Commission nonetheless endorsed candidates, who appeared on the ballot paper as independents:
The Australian Democrats endorsed Clive Jackson and Richard Brummet for Southern Metropolitan Region.
The Australian Restoration Party endorsed Jacqueline Rose in Morwell.
The Australian Stable Population Party endorsed Steven Armstrong in Albert Park.
The Save the Planet Party endorsed Dean O'Callaghan in Brunswick, Reade Smith in Frankston, Jordan Crook in Monbulk, Bryony Edwards in Northcote and Tiffany Harrison in Northern Metropolitan Region.
The Socialist Party endorsed Stephen Jolly in Richmond.

See also
2014 Victorian state election
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 2010–2014
Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 2010–2014
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 2014–2018
Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 2014–2018

References

Green, Antony. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Election Guide
Australian Greens Victoria. 2014 State Election Preselection Noticeboard

2014 Victorian state election
Victoria
Candidates for Victorian state elections


title: Frank Evans High School

text:
Frank Evans High School, also known as Evans Junior High School, is a historic high school building located at Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.  It was built in 1922, with additions completed in 1925 and 1928. It is a three-story, Collegiate Gothic style, masonry school building. The school became a junior high school in 1959 when the new Spartanburg High School was built.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

In summer 2009, Spartanburg Community College announced plans for a downtown Spartanburg presence, utilizing the historic Evans Building. Their goal was to provide a campus that would offer convenient access for under-served city residents.  Classes began in Fall 2013 at the renovated building, referred to by SCC as the Evans Academic Center.

The building renovation received the 2015 Adaptive Reuse Citation Award from the American Institute of Architects’ South Carolina Chapter.  The building also earned a LEED Silver certification.

References

High schools in South Carolina
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
School buildings completed in 1928
Buildings and structures in Spartanburg, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg, South Carolina
1928 establishments in South Carolina


title: Hilda Käkikoski

text:
Hilda Maria Käkikoski (31 January 1864 – 14 November 1912) was a Finnish politician, writer and schoolteacher. She was one of the first nineteen women elected to Finnish parliament in 1907.

Life and career

Käkikoski was born Hilda Maria Sjöström in Lapinjärvi in 1864.  She was described as a tomboyish child growing up in the countryside. She moved to Helsinki by herself at the age of 14 to attend a girls' high school with a scholarship. There, she cut her hair short and changed her Swedish surname to Käkikoski, the Finnish surname of her neighbours. After finishing school, she worked as a home tutor until 1888 when she enrolled in university; she completed a PhD in Finnish and Nordic history in 1895. She went on to become a teacher at a Helsinki school, teaching classes in history and the Finnish language from 1891 until 1902. Her students found her fascinating due to her unconventional habits and interests, such as being a vegetarian, gymnast, cyclist, wearing masculine clothing and having an assertive demeanor.

As Käkikoski developed an interest in feminism and women's suffrage, she became an active member of the Finnish Women's Association, and wrote numerous articles for the association's magazine. She was elected its vice president in 1895 and held the position until 1904. In 1907, she ran for election with the conservative Finnish Party to the newly established Parliament of Finland; the 1907 election marked the first that women were able to vote and be voted in. Käkikoski won the vote in her district, Uusimaa, and became one of the first 19 women elected to parliament. She did not stand for re-election in 1910 due to health problems.

Käkikoski's literary work included children's songs, poetry and short stories. In 1902, she began writing a four-volume account of Finnish history. She continued working on the project until her death in 1912, but the work was never completed.

Personal life

Käkikoski was a lesbian. One of her early relationships was with schoolteacher and activist Fanny Pajula, with whom she lived for six years until 1895. Later in life, Käkikoski was romantically involved with her married friend Hildi Ennola, her American friend Frances Weiss, deaconess Hanna Masalin, and political activist Helmi Kivalo; Käkikoski maintained involvement in all of these relationships until her death in 1912. Käkikoski is buried alongside Ennola at Karjalohja, Finland.  A statue honouring her can be found in Porlammi.

References

External links

1864 births
1912 deaths
People from Lapinjärvi
People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
Finnish Lutherans
Finnish Party politicians
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1907–1908)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1908–1909)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1909–1910)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1910–1911)
Finnish LGBT politicians
Writers from Uusimaa
Finnish suffragists
Finnish women's rights activists
Finnish lesbian writers
University of Helsinki alumni
20th-century Finnish women writers
20th-century Finnish writers
Finnish schoolteachers
Women members of the Parliament of Finland
LGBT legislators
LGBT conservatism
Lesbian politicians
19th-century Lutherans
20th-century Finnish women politicians


title: Rakhahi

text:
Rakhahi is a village in West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Rakhahi had a population of 2984 in 522 households. Males constitute 52.84% of the population and females 47.15%. Rakhahi has an average literacy rate of 38.53%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 63%, and female literacy is 35.9%. In Rakhahi, 22.3% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

shahabuddin ali villg po rakhahi

Villages in West Champaran district


title: Ramauli

text:
Ramauli is a village in West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Ramauli had a population of 919 in 216 households. Males constitute 50.5% of the population and females 49.4%. Ramauli has an average literacy rate of 41.1%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 58.73%, and female literacy is 41.26%. In Ramauli, 20% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

Villages in West Champaran district


title: Drayton Mill

text:
Drayton Mill is a historic textile mill complex located near Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The complex includes the distinctive Tudor Revival company store and office building, constructed in 1919.  Other buildings and structures include the three-story, rectangular, red brick spinning mill (1902-1904) with later additions, a cotton warehouse (1918), a two-story weaving building (1928), a 1,500,000 gallon mill pond, two water towers, two pump buildings, and an information center.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

Redevelopment
From 2014 to 2017, the mill complex underwent a $60 million redevelopment, making it the largest historic renovation project in South Carolina's history.

In 2016, Charlotte-based TMS Development completed a $35 million renovation of the spinning and weaving buildings into 289 apartments as the first phase of the project, known as Drayton Mills Lofts. In addition to apartments, Drayton Mills Lofts includes several common areas, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and artwork made from repurposed textile equipment throughout the interior of the two buildings.

In 2017, Montgomery Development Group completed a second phase of redevelopment of the warehouses and company store into 60,000-square-feet of commercial space, known as Drayton Mills Marketplace.  As of summer 2017, two restaurants, a coffee shop, a fitness studio and a corporate office have opened or announced leases.  The developer hopes to attract additional, similar tenants to the Marketplace as part of their vision for a live-work-play community.

A 2-mile long, public, paved multi-use trail connecting the mill to nearby Mary Black Hospital was completed in 2015. There are plans to connect the trail to others in Spartanburg as part of a larger system of greenways that will eventually span 21 miles.

Future Developments
The renovation of the Drayton Mills complex is expected to spur investment in the adjacent community and on the east side of Spartanburg as a whole.  Already, a new $36 million elementary school is under construction nearby on land donated by Pacolet Milliken. They own a significant amount of land in the Drayton area and plan to develop it into a mix of housing and commercial uses over the next several years.

See also
 American Tobacco Historic District
 Ponce City Market

References

External links
 Drayton Mills Lofts website
 Drayton Mills Marketplace website

Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Tudor Revival architecture in South Carolina
Industrial buildings completed in 1904
Buildings and structures in Spartanburg, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Cotton mills in the United States
Textile mills in South Carolina
Apartment buildings in South Carolina


title: Rampur, Bihar

text:
Rampur is a village in West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Demographics
As of 2011 India census, Rampur had a population of 2191 in 380 households. Males constitute 52.53% of the population and females 47.46%. Rampur has an average literacy rate of 45.59%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 62.86%, and female literacy is 37.13%. In Rampur, 20.3% of the population is under 6 years of age.

See also
Others places with name Rampur

References

Villages in West Champaran district