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= = = The Chase (American game show) = = = |
The Chase is an American television quiz show based on the British program of the same name. The show premiered on August 6, 2013, on Game Show Network (GSN). It is hosted by Brooke Burns, and features Mark Labbett (nicknamed "The Beast") as the "chaser". |
The American version of the show follows the same general format as the original UK version, but with teams of three contestants instead of four. The game is a quiz competition in which contestants attempt to win money by challenging a quiz show genius known as the chaser. Each contestant participates in an individual "chase" called the Cash Builder, in which they attempt to answer as many questions as possible in 60 seconds to earn as much money as possible to contribute to a prize fund for the team. The contestant must answer enough questions to stay ahead of the chaser on the gameboard; otherwise, they lose their winnings for that round. The contestants who successfully complete their individual chases without being caught advance to the Final Chase, in which they answer questions as a team playing for an equal share of the prize fund accumulated throughout the episode. |
"The Chase" received positive critical reception; Burns and Labbett earned positive reviews for their roles, and one critic praised the series for avoiding a slow pace in gameplay. Both the series and Burns received Daytime Emmy Award nominations; the series was nominated in 2014 for Outstanding Game Show, and Burns two years later for Outstanding Game Show Host. Each lost to "Jeopardy!" and Craig Ferguson (host of "Celebrity Name Game") respectively. |
Three new contestants compete on each episode as a team. In the first round, each contestant in turn wins money for their team by answering as many questions correctly as possible during a one-minute rapid-fire round, entitled the "Cash Builder". Each correct answer in this round adds $5,000 to the bank; during celebrity episodes, contestants start with $5,000 already in the bank. At the end of the Cash Builder, the contestant participates in a key element of the show called a "chase". In the chase, the chaser and the contestant each answer questions; the contestant starts with an advantage, and the chaser attempts to catch up. The contestant's goal is to answer enough questions correctly to move the earned winnings along the gameboard into the team bank without being caught by the chaser, whose job is to catch them by capitalizing on their mistakes. |
The chaser starts eight spaces away from the bank. The contestant has the option of starting five steps away from the bank, meaning that they must answer five questions correctly without being caught to bank the money and continue to the next round. Before the chase starts, the chaser will make two offers to the contestant: one offer will be to play for a lower amount, but start one step closer to the bank, meaning that they will have to answer one less question correctly; the other offer will be to play for a higher amount, but start one step further away from the bank. On rare occasions, if the contestant chooses the higher offer, the chaser may escalate the stakes by offering a "super offer" for an even higher amount. In this case, the contestant must answer seven questions correctly without being caught and thus start right in front of the chaser, meaning that the contestant needs to answer every question in that round correctly (assuming the chaser does so as well). |
After the contestant decides for which amount to play, the prize money is displayed on the gameboard. The contestant and chaser are presented with the same multiple choice question, and each locks in their answer, which cannot then be changed; the other has five seconds to answer after them; otherwise, they are locked out and do not advance on the gameboard. For each question the contestant answers correctly, the prize money shown on the gameboard moves one step closer to the team bank. Similarly, the chaser moves one step closer to the contestant's prize money with each correct answer. Further questions are asked until the contestant reaches the end of the board (thus banking the prize money), or the chaser catches the contestant, eliminating them from the game. No movement is made by the contestant or the chaser if an incorrect answer is provided or if they are locked out by the time limit. |
After all three contestants have played a Cash Builder round followed by a chase, the contestants who were not caught by the chaser advance to the Final Chase, with the team bank set to the total that they won in their Cash Builder rounds. If all three contestants fail to win their individual chases, the team selects one contestant to play the Final Chase alone for a total of $15,000 ($5,000 per contestant). During celebrity episodes, contestants who are caught leave with $5,000 for their respective charities. |
The Final Chase is played on a gameboard. The team receives a head start of one space for each member who advanced to this round. During the commercial break, the team chooses between two sets of questions, labeled "A" and "B". The chaser plays the other set. The contestants have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible. After a question is asked, answers must be instantaneous, and contestants are only permitted to respond or pass a question after first ringing in. If a contestant rings in but another contestant answers, the answer is treated as wrong even if it was correct. If there is only one contestant in the Final Chase, then he or she does not need to ring in. Each question answered correctly within the time limit moves the team one space ahead on the board. |
After time expires, the chaser is given two minutes to catch the team by correctly answering a new series of questions, with each correct answer moving him one space along the board. If the chaser answers incorrectly or passes, the clock is stopped briefly and the team is given a chance to answer the question, which they may confirm among themselves before answering. A correct answer pushes the chaser back one space, or moves the team ahead by one if he has not moved on to the gameboard. An incorrect answer provides no movement for the chaser at all. Regardless of the outcome, the clock begins running again and the chaser continues to answer questions. If the chaser runs out of time before catching the team, the team splits the banked money equally, but if he catches them before time expires, the team leaves with no money. During celebrity episodes, if the chaser catches the team before time runs out, the team leaves with $15,000 divided equally. |
"The Chase" originated in the United Kingdom, premiering on ITV in 2009. As the series became increasingly popular in the UK, Fox ordered two pilot episodes in April 2012 to be taped in London for consideration to be added to the network's U.S. programming lineup. Bradley Walsh, presenter of the British version, was featured as the show's host, while UK chaser Mark Labbett (nicknamed "The Beast", which is "la bête" in French) and "Jeopardy!" champion Brad Rutter were the chasers. |
After Fox passed up the opportunity to add the series to its lineup, Game Show Network (GSN), in conjunction with ITV Studios America, picked up the series with an eight-episode order on April 9, 2013, and announced Brooke Burns as the show's host and Labbett as the chaser on May 29. Dan Patrick had originally been considered as the host. The first season premiered on August 6, 2013. Even though the show had not yet premiered at the time, the network ordered a second season of eight episodes on July 1, 2013, which premiered on November 5. Citing the series' status as a "ratings phenom", GSN eventually announced plans to renew it for a third season, which premiered in the summer of 2014. During the third season, the series also premiered its first celebrity edition with celebrity contestants playing for charity. GSN proceeded to renew the series for a fourth season before the end of season three; this new season began airing January 27, 2015. After the seventh episode of the season, the series went on another hiatus; new episodes from the fourth season resumed airing July 16, 2015. No new episodes have aired since the season four finale, which aired December 11, 2015. |
"The Chase" was generally well received by critics. Michael Tyminski of "Manhattan Digest" reviewed the series positively, calling it "a breath of fresh air" and praising Burns and Labbett in their respective roles. Tyminski added that while each question's level of difficulty is not always on par with those on other quiz shows such as "Jeopardy!", the show avoids a "painfully slow pace." Similarly, John Teti of "The A.V. Club" called the show a "pretty good adaptation" of its UK counterpart. While he preferred the British version of the show, saying that it had "a more varied cast and stronger production values", Teti felt that the American version "still holds its own." "The Chase" was also ranked ninth on Douglas Pucci's (of "TV Media Insights") list of best new television shows of 2013. |
"The Chase" was one of two GSN originals (the other being "The American Bible Challenge") to be honored at the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards in 2014 with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show; "Jeopardy!" was the eventual winner. Two years later, Burns received an Emmy nomination at the 43rd Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, losing to Craig Ferguson of "Celebrity Name Game". |
"The Chase" became one of the highest rated original programs in GSN's history. The series debuted to 511,000 total viewers during its premiere while maintaining 90% of its audience with 461,000 total viewers during the second episode airing that night. On January 28, 2014, "The Chase" set a new series high for total viewers and adults 18–49, with 827,000 and 234,000 viewers respectively. Although the season three premiere fell in the ratings from its series high, earning 494,000 viewers with only 73,000 in the 18–49 demographic, the premiere of the fourth season saw a sizeable rise over the previous season's premiere, earning 749,000 total viewers. |
On December 18, 2013, Barnstorm Games released a mobile version of the game for iOS and Android. The only differences between the app and the show are that four choices are presented for questions in the Cash Builder and the Final Chase rounds and that no Final Chase is played if all players are caught in their individual chases. The app features Labbett (referred to by his "Beast" nickname) as a simulated chaser and can be played by up to four people. |
= = = Canadian Observatory on Homelessness = = = |
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH)—formerly named the Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN)—is a Canadian non-profit, non-partisan research institute that works with researchers, service providers, policy makers, students and people who have experienced homelessness. |
The COH focuses on the following areas: "systems responses" to homelessness; determining effective models of housing and support; Aboriginal homelessness; homelessness prevention; youth homelessness; legal and justice issues; measuring progress towards ending homelessness; knowledge mobilization and research impact. |
The organization’s website, the Homeless Hub, offers information on the causes of and solutions to homelessness. |
The CHRN was founded in 2008, through a 7-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant. Its goals were to enhance networking amongst stakeholders in the field and to mobilize homelessness research in Canada. |
Through a second SSHRC grant awarded in 2013, the CHRN was renamed the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH). The COH continues the work of the CHRN and introduces a program of research that includes local, provincial and national monitoring activities, as well as original research that addresses key issues in homelessness. The current and founding Director is Dr. Stephen Gaetz, a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the COH is also housed. Members of the COH include 28 academics from institutions across Canada, as well as 28 agencies and community organizations. |
In 2005 there was no consistent definition of homelessness. At the time, most research and programs focused on "absolute homelessness" and public policy initiatives. |
In 2012, the CHRN/COH released the Canadian definition of homelessness to create a common understanding when it comes to measuring homelessness in Canada, and identifying goals, interventions and strategies to address homelessness effectively. The CHRN’s definition of homelessness, which is closely based on the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) definition, groups the homeless population into four categories: "unsheltered", "emergency sheltered", "provisionally accommodated" and "at risk of homelessness." |
The new definition received a lot of support and also faced some criticism. Since then, the Canadian definition of homelessness has been endorsed by 75 scholars and community organizations. |
The COH produces a number of resources to help service providers, researchers, policy makers etc., better understand and tackle the problem of homelessness. |
In collaboration with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the COH (then CHRN) released the State of Homelessness in Canada in 2013, what they call the first national report card on homelessness in Canada. The report card stated that 30,000 Canadians are homeless every day, 200,000 in any given year. The report’s authors urged policy-makers to do a better job of tracking homelessness and evaluating the effectiveness of their responses. |
In 2014, this report was updated to show that 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year, costing the economy $7 billion. According to the report, it would only take $46 more per Canadian to drastically reduce homelessness across the country. |
The COH also published a book on Housing First in Canada in 2013. It examines how this approach has been applied in Canada. Subsequently, in 2014 the COH published a framework on Housing First specifically targeted to youth. |
In collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), the COH released the Canadian Housing First Toolkit website, which hosts resources on planning, implementing, sustaining and evaluating a Housing First program. The Toolkit’s resources are primarily based on the MHCC’s "At Home" research project ("Chez Soi" in French) which looked to address homelessness for people with mental illness by combining treatment with places to live. The Toolkit was funded by Health Canada. |
In 2012 the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness was formed to raise awareness of homelessness in Canada and to " through the development of 10 Year Plans to End Homelessness (10 Year Plans)." Following the publication of the U. S. National Alliance to End Homelessness' pivotal 2000 report entitled "A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years" the successful movement became international. The chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness is Alex Himelfarb. |
= = = 2014 National Invitation Tournament = = = |
The 2014 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The annual tournament started on campus sites for the first 3 rounds, with the Final 4 and Championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 18 and ended on Thursday, April 3. Minnesota won this tournament after being the 3rd Big Ten team in a row to make the NIT Finals (the two previous years a Big Ten team had lost the final game). |
The following teams earned automatic berths into the 2014 NIT field having won their respective conference's regular season championship, but failing to win their conference tournament. |
Southern from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was the league regular season champion and lost in their conference tournament but is ineligible for the NIT due to Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions. No team from the SWAC received an NIT autobid. |
Arizona (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Kansas (Big 12), Michigan (Big Ten), Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Villanova (Big East) received automatic bids to the NIT, but did not accept them as they were selected as at-large teams in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. |
ESPN has exclusive television rights to all NIT games. They aired every single game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. Since 2011 Westwood One has held exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and championship. In 2014, John Tautges and Kelly Tripucka called these games for Westwood One. |
= = = Sakolwat Skollah = = = |
Sakolwat Skollah (, born February 22, 1991), is a Thai professional footballer who plays as a Centre back. |
He represented Thailand U23 in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games. |
= = = Hassi Lahdjar = = = |
Hassi Lahdjar (also written Hassi El Hadjar) is a village in the commune of In Salah, in In Salah District, Tamanrasset Province, Algeria. It is located northeast of the town of In Salah. |
= = = Somaliland national football team = = = |
The Somaliland national football team is the football team that represents Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as a "de facto" state. Although Somaliland is a "de facto" state, it has not yet received international "de jure" recognition. Somaliland is not a member of FIFA and CAF; it is, instead, an associate member of ConIFA, an association established in 2014 of teams from dependencies, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions that are not affiliated with FIFA. |
The Somaliland Football Association currently runs a national league which consists of 12 semi-professional clubs sponsored or backed by both public and private organisations. The Association also holds a bi-annual inter-regional football tournament, in which all 13 regions participate in groups stages held across the country, with the final 4 group winners contesting the semi-finals in the capital Hargeisa. |
The Somaliland Football Association for the first time in Somaliland’s existence took part in an international tournament in the conifa world cup 2016 hosted by Abkhazia. Somaliland was drawn in group D alongside Panjab and Sápmi. Losing both games Somaliland went on to play two further games against fellow runners up, the Chagos Islands and Székely Land. Somaliland went on to finish in 10th overall in the competition. |
Following ConIFA's annual conference Somaliland Football Team was invited to compete at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup, where it finished tenth out of twelve teams. |
Hargeysa National Stadium is the home of the national team. |
= = = Keystone 3 = = = |
Keystone 3 is a live album by drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers recorded at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco in 1982 and released on the Concord Jazz label. |
Michael G. Nastos of Allmusic stated "Of the many live recordings with different Jazz Messengers lineups, this ranks among their best, and is a springboard for what the Marsalis brothers would offer as artists in their own right. With Blakey, this combination was special". |
= = = Tommyknocker (disambiguation) = = = |
A Tommyknocker, or knocker, is a supernatural being associated with mining in Cornish, Welsh, and American folklore. |
Tommyknocker or Tommyknockers may also refer to: |
= = = Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji = = = |
The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) is the national aviation authority in the Republic of Fiji and is responsible for discharging functions on behalf of the Government of Fiji under the States responsibility to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). CAAF regulates the activities of airport operators, air traffic control and air navigation service providers, airline operators, pilots and air traffic controllers, aircraft engineers, technicians, airports, airline contracting organisations and international air cargo operators in Fiji. |
The agency's head office is at Nadi Airport in Nadi. |
To be a model aviation regulator |
To promote effective aviation safety and security in Fiji and the region. |
The Authority strives to reflect certain key values as the characteristics of the people who are the CAAF team and equally for the organization as a whole by professionalism, accountability, commitment, and integrity in our conduct. |
The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji was ISO certified in July 2008 following a successful audit by Bureau Veritas, international auditors for ISO certification. |
Background to Reform |
The reform of the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) is a case which illustrates the impact of both political and trade union activities on the reform process. At the time of its reorganisation in 1999, its employees were members of the Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA). Many of the CAAF workers were opposed to the restructuring plans and the job losses that were a central part of the reform. |
The CAAF was a statutory body established by the CAAF Act of 1979. Apart from providing regulatory oversight for domestic civil aviation and fulfilling international air safety obligations, it also owned and managed Nadi International Airport, as well as managing the Nausori Airport near Suva and the 23 small domestic airports located on many islands with low populations. In addition, it provided aviation support services to the region. |
The CAAF functioned like a government department, but had a mixture of statutory responsibilities and commercial obligations. Effectively, it was a referee and a player in its own game. For the 20 years prior to the restructuring, it had been making annual profits. This was largely because its annual revenue growth was directly linked to the expansion of the international tourism industry in Fiji. Income was derived from landing and parking fees, air navigation charges, passenger service charges, terminal building concessions and rentals, fuel concessions, and the sale of excess power. It was exempt from income tax until the reform. Only minor investments were made into infrastructure. It received heavy financial assistance in the form of an annual government grant to run Nausori airport and the other loss-making airports. |
Yet the government realised that the CAAF was inefficient, overstaffed and overburdened by bureaucracy. Its staff members' unions were in constant dispute with the management and the unions strongly resisted any changes to work practices. Two reviews of the CAAF had recommended non-core activities be divested to other organisations. In the late 1990s, processes were introduced to improve efficiency through a continuous quality improvement programme. |
Division into Statutory Authority and Company |
In April 1997, the then Minister for Public Enterprises, Isimeli Bose announced that the CAAF was to be declared a "commercial statutory authority" and, in May, he said it would be reorganised pursuant to provisions of the public enterprise reform legislation. Subsequently, a reorganization charter was prepared. The principal objective of the reorganization was to increase the CAAF's efficiency and rate of return on assets, while at the same time providing an efficient regulatory function that meets international civil aviation standards (MCICP 1998c). |
The reorganisation, facilitated by the Civil Aviation Reform Act 1999, involved separating the CAAF's regulatory role from its commercial operations. The commercial responsibilities and assets were transferred to a new company, Airports Fiji Ltd (AFL), which was established as a "government commercial company". It was incorporated under the Companies Act and required to operate along commercial lines, with clearly defined profitability targets and with new terms and conditions of employment. The main functions prescribed were the provision of air traffic management in Fiji and its flight information region; the management of airport commercial assets (the aerodromes, terminal buildings, commercial properties and infrastructure necessary for commercial activities); and the administration and management of airports as commercial businesses. |
The CAAF's regulatory role was given to a newly formed regulatory organisation called the Civil Aviation Authority of the Fiji Islands (CAAFI). The CAAFI's functions, as provided under the Civil Aviation Reform Act, include civil aviation regulation and international civil aviation obligations, along with safety oversight and safety education responsibilities for all airports, airlines, airport operations, and personnel. It oversees the activities of airport operators, air traffic control and air navigation service providers, and aircraft operators. It also has the responsibility for disposing of assets not required by AFL and for managing a housing estate (with over 150 residential sites) and other properties. In addition, it has a 51 percent shareholding in Air Terminal Services (Fiji) Ltd which provides ground handling services, including passenger handling, aircraft engineering, and in-flight catering. The implementation of the reform occurred in early April 1999, during the campaign for the May 1999 national elections. The approach adopted to transfer staff from CAAF to the two new organisations resulted in chaos. CAAF staff were terminated and paid their retirement gratuity and recreation leave entitlements. Many excess CAAF employees were offered redundancy packages and resigned. |
Air Safety Department |
The department deals with flight operations and airworthiness matters such as: |
- The regulation of commercial air transport and general aviation |
- The provision of facilities for the examination, flight-testing and licensing of applicants for flight and ground crew licenses and ratings |
- The monitoring of training and operational standards |
- Ensuring that all flight operations are conducted in accordance with the Air Navigation Regulations and in conformity with ICAO standards |
- Providing specialist advice when liaising with other units of CAAFI |
- The maintenance of a dangerous goods control system |
- The provision and maintenance of a flight safety oversight program that provides surveillance in accordance with ICAO standards |
Ground Safety Department |
The department is responsible for Aviation Regulatory Services, Aviation Standards and Aviation Safety Compliance on: |
- Regulation of airport, air traffic services (ATS), air navigation services (ANS) and aeronautical information service activities in conformity with ICAO Standards |