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93-475: Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and as of 2016 controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age. His first business venture, at the age of 16, was a magazine called Student . In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. He opened

186-710: A 20-per cent stake in Malaysia's AirAsia X . On 13 October 2007, Branson's Virgin Group sought to add Northern Rock to its empire after submitting an offer that would result in Branson personally owning 30% of the company and changing the company's name from Northern Rock to Virgin Money . The Daily Mail ran a campaign against his bid; Vince Cable , financial spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats , suggested in

279-560: A British physician from Seaford, East Sussex , published a description of a reading-specific learning disorder in a report to the British Medical Journal titled "Congenital Word Blindness". The distinction between phonological versus surface types of dyslexia is only descriptive, and without any etiological assumption as to the underlying brain mechanisms. However, studies have alluded to potential differences due to variation in performance. Over time, we have changed from

372-519: A chain of health care clinics that would offer conventional medical care alongside homeopathic and complementary therapies, a development that was welcomed by Ben Bradshaw , the UK's health minister. Plans where GPs could be paid for referring National Health Service (NHS) patients to private Virgin services were abandoned in June 2008. The BMA warned the plan would "damage clinical objectivity", there would be

465-887: A chain of record stores, Virgin Records —later known as Virgin Megastores —in 1972. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he started the Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label . In 1997, Branson founded the Virgin Rail Group to bid for passenger rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail . The Virgin Trains brand operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 1997 to 2019,

558-536: A comprehensive evaluation should consider these different possibilities. These tests and observations can include: Screening procedures seek to identify children who show signs of possible dyslexia. In the preschool years, a family history of dyslexia, particularly in biological parents and siblings, predicts an eventual dyslexia diagnosis better than any test. In primary school (ages 5–7), the ideal screening procedure consists of training primary school teachers to carefully observe and record their pupils' progress through

651-552: A country estate north of Oxford in which he installed a residential recording studio, The Manor Studio . He leased studio time to fledgling artists, including multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield , whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was the first release for Virgin Records and became a chart-topping best-seller. Virgin signed controversial bands such as the Sex Pistols , which other companies were reluctant to sign. Virgin Records would go on to sign other artists including

744-406: A court because Branson agreed to repay any unpaid purchase tax of 33% and a £70,000 fine. His parents re-mortgaged the family home to help pay the settlement. In 1972, using money earned from his record store, Branson launched the record label Virgin Records with Nik Powell . The name "Virgin" was suggested by one of Branson's early employees because they were all new at business. Branson bought

837-400: A feature sometimes called dysorthographia or dysgraphia , which depends on the skill of orthographic coding . Problems persist into adolescence and adulthood and may include difficulties with summarizing stories, memorization, reading aloud, or learning foreign languages. Adults with dyslexia can often read with good comprehension, though they tend to read more slowly than others without

930-632: A financial incentive for GPs to push patients toward the Virgin services at the centre. Plans to take over an NHS Practice in Swindon were abandoned in late September 2008. In February 2009, Branson's Virgin organization was reported as bidding to buy the former Honda Formula One team. Branson later stated an interest in Formula One , but claimed that, before the Virgin brand became involved with Honda or any other team, Formula One would have to develop

1023-534: A five-year contract for provision of a range of health services which had previously been under the aegis of NHS Surrey, the local primary care trust. By March 2015, Virgin Care was in charge of more than 230 services nationwide. In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital space launch system , designated LauncherOne . Four commercial customers have already contracted for launches and two companies are developing standardised satellite buses optimised to

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1116-418: A full diagnostic assessment to determine the extent and nature of the disorder. Some tests can be administered by a teacher or computer; others require specialized training and are given by psychologists. Some test results indicate how to carry out teaching strategies. Because a variety of different cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and environmental factors all could contribute to difficulty learning to read,

1209-468: A learning difficulty and perform worse in spelling tests or when reading nonsense words—a measure of phonological awareness. Dyslexia often co-occurs with other learning disorders, but the reasons for this comorbidity have not been clearly identified. These associated disabilities include: Researchers have been trying to find the neurobiological basis of dyslexia since the condition was first identified in 1881. For example, some have tried to associate

1302-445: A millionaire. Branson has also talked openly about having ADHD . Branson's parents were supportive of his endeavours from an early age. His mother was an entrepreneur; one of her most successful ventures was building and selling wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins. In London, he started off squatting from 1967 to 1968. Branson is an atheist . He said in a 2011 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan that he believes in evolution and

1395-439: A more economically efficient and environmentally responsible image. At the start of the 2009 Formula One season on 28 March, it was announced that Virgin would be sponsoring the new Brawn GP team, with discussions also under way about introducing a less "dirty" fuel in the medium term. After the end of the season and the subsequent purchase of Brawn GP by Mercedes-Benz , Branson invested in an 80% buyout of Manor Grand Prix, with

1488-419: A multidisciplinary team approach involving the child's parent(s) and teacher(s), school psychologist, pediatrician, and, as appropriate, speech and language pathologist (speech therapist) , and occupational therapist . Gain familiarity with typical ages children reach various general developmental milestones, and domain-specific milestones, such as phonological awareness (recognizing rhyming words; identifying

1581-400: A normal desire to learn . People with dyslexia have higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental language disorders , and difficulties with numbers . Dyslexia is believed to be caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Some cases run in families. Dyslexia that develops due to a traumatic brain injury , stroke , or dementia

1674-557: A peak altitude of 53.5 miles (86.1 km). At 70, Branson became the third oldest person to fly to space. Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on 18 July 1950 in Blackheath , Royal Borough of Greenwich , London, the son of Edward James Branson (1918–2011), a barrister , and his wife Evette Huntley Branson ( née  Flindt ; 1924–2021), a former ballet dancer and air hostess. He has two younger sisters, Lindy and Vanessa . His grandfather, Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson ,

1767-698: A privileged status. Due to the various cognitive processes that dyslexia affects and the overwhelming societal stigma around the disability, individuals with dyslexia often employ behaviors of self-stigma and perfectionistic self-presentation in order to cope with their disability. The perfectionist self-presentation is when an individual attempts to present themselves as the perfect ideal image and hides any imperfections. This behavior presents serious risk as it often results in mental health issues and refusal to seek help for their disability. Most dyslexia research relates to alphabetic writing systems , and especially to European languages . However, substantial research

1860-500: A producer—on the novelty record " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ", by The Singing Sheep in association with Doug McLean and Grace McDonald, on which he was credited as "Jeff Mutton". The track consisted of samples of animal noises recorded at his aunt Claire Hoares' farm in Norfolk, set to a drum-machine-produced track and reached number 42 in the UK charts in 1982. In 1983, Now That's What I Call Music! emerged from Virgin Records offices as

1953-650: A prominent global figure. In 2007, he was placed in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. In June 2023, Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at US$ 3 billion. On 11 July 2021, Branson travelled as a passenger onboard Virgin Galactic Unity 22 at the edge of space , a suborbital test flight for his spaceflight company Virgin Galactic. The mission lasted approximately one hour, reaching

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2046-490: A regular font such as Times New Roman and Arial just as quickly, and they show a preference for regular fonts over specially-tailored fonts. Some research has pointed to increased letter-spacing being beneficial. There is currently no evidence showing that music education significantly improves the reading skills of adolescents with dyslexia. Dyslexic children require special instruction for word analysis and spelling from an early age. The prognosis, generally speaking,

2139-519: A sense of frustration." At the time, many products were sold under restrictive marketing agreements that limited discounting, despite efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to limit retail price maintenance . Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London . In 1971, he was questioned in connection with the selling of records declared export stock. The matter was never brought before

2232-407: A static assessment of their current skills. Children with the most need are those who fail to respond to effective teaching, and they are readily identified using this approach." There is a wide range of tests that are used in clinical and educational settings to evaluate the possibility of dyslexia. If initial testing suggests that a person might have dyslexia, such tests are often followed up with

2325-530: A stewardess. Fernandes escaped as the bet winner, as Lotus Racing ended tenth in the championship, while Virgin Racing ended twelfth and last. Branson kept his word after losing the bet, as he served his duty as a stewardess on an Air Asia flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur on 12 May 2013. In 2010, Branson became patron of the UK's Gordon Bennett 2010 gas balloon race, which has 16 hydrogen balloons flying across Europe. In April 2012, Virgin Care commenced

2418-580: A strategic partnership between the two. Branson joined the board of directors, and in December 2017, became its chairman. The announced winner of the 2017 Virgin StartUp's Foodpreneur prize was The Snaffling Pig Co ., which won a six-week rental space at Intu Lakeside, the retail center with the highest foot traffic in the United Kingdom. Business magnate The term magnate derives from

2511-788: A string of neighboring letters sound together. The dual-route system could explain the different rates of dyslexia occurrence between different languages (e.g., the consistency of phonological rules in the Spanish language could account for the fact that Spanish-speaking children show a higher level of performance in non-word reading, when compared to English-speakers). Dyslexia is a heterogeneous, dimensional learning disorder that impairs accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Typical—but not universal—features include difficulties with phonological awareness; inefficient and often inaccurate processing of sounds in oral language ( phonological processing ); and verbal working memory deficits. Dyslexia

2604-471: A unique compilation series, distinct in its originality. Collaborating with EMI , Peter Jamieson orchestrated the partnership on Richard Branson's boat, leading to the concise and impactful title " Now That's What I Call Music! ," inspired by a Danish Bacon poster gifted to Simon Draper. Richard Branson's introduction to the antique shop owned by Joan Templeman, played a pivotal role in his growing fascination with old signs and advertisements, ultimately shaping

2697-676: A variation of the Virgin Galactic livery to his personal business jet, the Dassault Falcon 900EX "Galactic Girl" (G-GALX). He was ninth in The Sunday Times Rich List 2006 of the wealthiest people or families in the UK, worth slightly more than £3 billion. Branson wrote in his autobiography of the decision to start an airline. My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them ... from

2790-586: A wide variety of languages. Furthermore, the relationship between phonological capacity and reading appears to be influenced by orthography. Dyslexia was clinically described by Oswald Berkhan in 1881, but the term dyslexia was coined in 1883 by Rudolf Berlin , an ophthalmologist in Stuttgart . He used the term to refer to the case of a young boy who had severe difficulty learning to read and write, despite showing typical intelligence and physical abilities in all other respects. In 1896, W. Pringle Morgan,

2883-443: Is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words , "sounding out" words in the head , pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Often these difficulties are first noticed at school. The difficulties are involuntary, and people with this disorder have

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2976-631: Is a neurodevelopmental disorder , subcategorized in diagnostic guides as a learning disorder with impairment in reading (ICD-11 prefixes "developmental" to "learning disorder"; DSM-5 uses "specific"). Dyslexia is not a problem with intelligence . Emotional problems often arise secondary to learning difficulties. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes dyslexia as "difficulty with phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds), spelling, and/or rapid visual-verbal responding". The British Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as "a learning difficulty that primarily affects

3069-407: Is also available regarding people with dyslexia who speak Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, or other languages. The outward expression of individuals with reading disability, and regular poor readers, is the same in some respects. [REDACTED] This article was submitted to WikiJournal of Medicine for external academic peer review in 2018 ( reviewer reports ). The updated content was reintegrated into

3162-433: Is contingent upon having a diagnosis of dyslexia. As a result, when Staffordshire and Warwickshire proposed in 2018 to teach reading to all children with reading difficulties, using techniques proven to be successful for most children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, without first requiring the families to obtain an official diagnosis, dyslexia advocates and parents of children with dyslexia were fearful that they were losing

3255-467: Is manufactured by The Spaceship Company , which was founded by Branson and Rutan and is now solely owned by Virgin Galactic. In 2013, Branson said that he planned to take his two children, 31-year-old Holly and 28-year-old Sam, on a trip to outer space when they ride the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane on its first public flight, then planned for 2014. As part of his promotion of the firm, Branson has added

3348-498: Is partly explained by a self-fulfilling referral bias among teachers and professionals. It has even been suggested that the condition affects men and women equally. Some believe that dyslexia is best considered as a different way of learning, with both benefits and downsides. Dyslexia is divided into developmental and acquired forms. Acquired dyslexia occurs subsequent to neurological insult, such as traumatic brain injury or stroke . People with acquired dyslexia exhibit some of

3441-470: Is positive for individuals who are identified in childhood and receive support from friends and family. The New York educational system (NYED) indicates "a daily uninterrupted 90-minute block of instruction in reading" and "instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency" so as to improve the individual's reading ability. The prevalence of dyslexia is unknown, but it has been estimated to be as low as 5% and as high as 17% of

3534-457: Is sometimes called "acquired dyslexia" or alexia . The underlying mechanisms of dyslexia result from differences within the brain's language processing . Dyslexia is diagnosed through a series of tests of memory, vision, spelling, and reading skills. Dyslexia is separate from reading difficulties caused by hearing or vision problems or by insufficient teaching or opportunity to learn. Treatment involves adjusting teaching methods to meet

3627-466: Is the lexical route, which is the process whereby skilled readers can recognize known words by sight alone, through a "dictionary" lookup procedure. The other mechanism is the nonlexical or sublexical route, which is the process whereby the reader can "sound out" a written word. This is done by identifying the word's constituent parts (letters, phonemes , graphemes ) and applying knowledge of how these parts are associated with each other, for example, how

3720-636: The House of Commons that Branson's criminal conviction for tax evasion might be felt by some as a good enough reason not to trust him with public money. In September 2023, Branson declared his decision against injecting additional funds into Virgin Galactic, his space travel company experiencing financial losses. He highlighted that his business empire no longer possesses extensive financial resources, indicating constraints on further investment. On 9 January 2008, Virgin Healthcare announced that it would open

3813-799: The InterCity CrossCountry franchise from 1997 to 2007, and the InterCity East Coast franchise from 2015 to 2018. In 2004, he founded spaceflight corporation Virgin Galactic , based at Mojave Air and Space Port in California, noted for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane designed for space tourism . In March 2000, Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for "services to entrepreneurship". Due to his work in retail, music, and transport, his taste for adventure, and for his humanitarian work, he has become

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3906-742: The Japanese word taikun ( 大君 ) , which means "great lord", used as a title for the shōgun . The word entered the English language in 1857 with the return of Commodore Perry to the United States. US President Abraham Lincoln was humorously referred to as the Tycoon by his aides John Nicolay and John Hay . The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since. Modern business magnates are entrepreneurs that amass on their own or wield substantial family fortunes in

3999-640: The Latin word magnates (plural of magnas ), meaning "great man" or "great nobleman". The term mogul is an English corruption of mughal , Persian or Arabic for "Mongol". It alludes to emperors of the Mughal Empire in Early Modern India , who possessed great power and storied riches capable of producing wonders of opulence, such as the Taj Mahal . The term tycoon derives from

4092-547: The Rolling Stones , Peter Gabriel , XTC , Japan , UB40 , Steve Winwood and Paula Abdul , and to become the world's largest independent record label. It also won praise for exposing the public to such lesser known avant-garde music as Faust and Can . Virgin Records also introduced Culture Club to the music world. Branson's net worth was estimated at £5 million by 1979, and a year later, Virgin Records went international. Branson's first successful entry into

4185-511: The airline industry was during a trip to Puerto Rico. His flight was cancelled, so he decided to charter his own plane the rest of the way and offered a ride to the rest of the stranded passengers for a small fee to cover the cost. In 1982, Virgin purchased the gay bar Heaven . In 1991, in a consortium with David Frost , Branson made an unsuccessful bid for three ITV franchises under the CPV-TV name. The early 1980s also saw his only attempt as

4278-566: The Earth's climate. Branson also announced that he would be joined in the adjudication of the prize by a panel of five judges, all world authorities in their respective fields: Al Gore , Sir Crispin Tickell , Tim Flannery , James E. Hansen , and James Lovelock . In July 2007, Branson purchased his Australian home, Makepeace Island , in Noosa . In August 2007, Branson announced that he had bought

4371-463: The Virgin group was Virgin Fuels , which was set up to respond to global warming and exploit the recent spike in fuel costs by offering a revolutionary, cheaper fuel for automobiles and, in the near future, aircraft. Branson has stated that he was formerly a global warming sceptic and was influenced in his decision by a breakfast meeting with Al Gore . On 21 September 2006, Branson pledged to invest

4464-403: The brains of people with dyslexia. Observed anatomical differences in the language centers of such brains include microscopic cortical malformations known as ectopias , and more rarely, vascular micro-malformations, and microgyrus —a smaller than usual size for the gyrus. The previously cited studies and others suggest that abnormal cortical development, presumed to occur before or during

4557-515: The chance to see our beautiful planet from such a powerful perspective." In 2014, Branson launched the "Foodpreneur" food and drink-focused start-up competition. Winners were provided with mentorship from Branson, legal support, and brand counseling. The 2014 winners included Proper Beans, Killer Tomato, Sweetpea Pantry and Sweet Virtues. In 2015, the competition expanded to the Virgin StartUp's Foodpreneur Festival. The 2015 winners were given

4650-855: The collection. Branson formed Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Cargo in 1984. He formed Virgin Holidays in 1985. In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for £500 million. Branson said that he wept when the sale was completed because the record business had been the very start of the Virgin empire. He created V2 Records in 1996 to re-enter the music business, owning 5% himself. Virgin also acquired European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines and renamed it Virgin Express . In 1997, Branson took what many saw as being one of his riskier business exploits by entering into

4743-457: The common problem among people with dyslexia of not being able to see letters clearly to abnormal development of their visual nerve cells. Neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) and positron emission tomography (PET), have shown a correlation between both functional and structural differences in the brains of children with reading difficulties. Some people with dyslexia show less activation in parts of

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4836-529: The contract, Branson said he was convinced the civil servants had "got their maths wrong". In October, after an investigation into the bidding process, the deal was scrapped. The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced there were "significant technical flaws" in the process and mistakes had been made by transport staff. Virgin Rail continued to operate the West Coast line until 7 December 2019, when it

4929-500: The design of LauncherOne, in expectation of business opportunities created by the new smallsat launcher. In August 2012, when re-tendered the InterCity West Coast franchise was awarded to FirstGroup after a competitive tender process overseen by the Department for Transport . Branson had expressed his concerns about the tender process and questioned the validity of the business plan submitted by FirstGroup. When Virgin Rail lost

5022-720: The disorder. Reducing stress and anxiety can sometimes improve written comprehension. For dyslexia intervention with alphabet-writing systems, the fundamental aim is to increase a child's awareness of correspondences between graphemes (letters) and phonemes (sounds), and to relate these to reading and spelling by teaching how sounds blend into words. Reinforced collateral training focused on reading and spelling may yield longer-lasting gains than oral phonological training alone. Early intervention can be successful in reducing reading failure. Research does not suggest that specially-tailored fonts (such as Dyslexie and OpenDyslexic ) help with reading. Children with dyslexia read text set in

5115-793: The extrapolation of results for application to the human brain. The orthographic complexity of a language directly affects how difficult it is to learn to read it. English and French have comparatively "deep" phonemic orthographies within the Latin alphabet writing system , with complex structures employing spelling patterns on several levels: letter-sound correspondence, syllables, and morphemes . Languages such as Spanish, Italian and Finnish primarily employ letter-sound correspondence—so-called "shallow" orthographies—which makes them easier to learn for people with dyslexia. Logographic writing systems, such as Chinese characters , have extensive symbol use; and these also pose problems for dyslexic learners. For most people who are right-hand dominant,

5208-471: The good of mankind. The Virgin Earth Challenge was to award $ 25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design that will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This removal must have long-term effects and contribute materially to the stability of

5301-485: The importance of humanitarian efforts but not in the existence of God. "I would love to believe," he said. "It's very comforting to believe". After failed attempts to grow and sell both Christmas trees and budgerigars , Branson launched a magazine named Student in 1966 with Nik Powell . The first issue of Student appeared in January 1968, and a year later, Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000. The office for

5394-426: The initial sounds in words). Do not rely on tests exclusively. Careful observation of the child in the school and home environments, and sensitive, comprehensive parental interviews are just as important as tests. Look at the empirically supported response to intervention (RTI) approach, which "... involves monitoring the progress of a group of children through a programme of intervention rather than undertaking

5487-504: The instructors of a person with dyslexia lack the necessary training to support a child with the condition, there is often a negative effect on the student's learning participation. Since at least the 1960s in the UK, the children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia have consistently been from privileged families. Although half of prisoners in the UK have significant reading difficulties, very few have ever been evaluated for dyslexia. Access to some special educational resources and funding

5580-463: The intelligence-based model to the age-based model, in terms of those with Dyslexia. As is the case with any disorder, society often makes an assessment based on incomplete information. Before the 1980s, dyslexia was thought to be a consequence of education, rather than a neurological disability. As a result, society often misjudges those with the disorder. There is also sometimes a workplace stigma and negative attitude towards those with dyslexia. If

5673-512: The late 1960s for the magazine including Mick Jagger and R. D. Laing . Branson took over full direction of Student after successfully lying to Powell that the workers at the magazine opposed Powell's plans to turn the magazine into a cooperative. His business sold records for considerably less than the "High Street" outlets, especially the chain WHSmith . Branson once said, "There is no point in starting your own business unless you do it out of

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5766-496: The left inferior frontal gyrus has shown differences in phonological processing in people with dyslexia. Neurophysiological and imaging procedures are being used to ascertain phenotypic characteristics in people with dyslexia, thus identifying the effects of dyslexia-related genes. The dual-route theory of reading aloud was first described in the early 1970s. This theory suggests that two separate mental mechanisms, or cognitive routes, are involved in reading aloud. One mechanism

5859-467: The left hemisphere of the brain involved with reading, such as the inferior frontal gyrus , inferior parietal lobule , and the middle and ventral temporal cortex . Over the past decade, brain activation studies using PET to study language have produced a breakthrough in the understanding of the neural basis of language. Neural bases for the visual lexicon and for auditory verbal short-term memory components have been proposed, with some implication that

5952-534: The left hemisphere of their brain is more specialized for language processing . With regard to the mechanism of dyslexia, fMRI studies suggest that this specialization is less pronounced or absent in people with dyslexia. In other studies, dyslexia is correlated with anatomical differences in the corpus callosum , the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres. Data via diffusion tensor MRI indicate changes in connectivity or in gray matter density in areas related to reading and language. Finally,

6045-440: The number of syllables in words—both of which depend on phonological awareness. They may also show difficulty in segmenting words into individual sounds (such as sounding out the three sounds of k , a , and t in cat ) or may struggle to blend sounds, indicating reduced phonemic awareness . Difficulties with word retrieval or naming things is also associated with dyslexia. People with dyslexia are commonly poor spellers ,

6138-402: The observed neural manifestation of developmental dyslexia is task-specific (i.e., functional rather than structural). fMRIs of people with dyslexia indicate an interactive role of the cerebellum and cerebral cortex as well as other brain structures in reading. The cerebellar theory of dyslexia proposes that impairment of cerebellum-controlled muscle movement affects the formation of words by

6231-543: The opportunity to pitch Target Corporation buyers. The 2015 winners included Pip & Nut, Double Dutch Drinks, Harry Bromptons, Cauli Rice and Mallow and Marsh. In March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise; the company was a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). Due to the line performing below VTEC's expectations, it

6324-420: The person's needs. While not curing the underlying problem, it may decrease the degree or impact of symptoms. Treatments targeting vision are not effective. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability and occurs in all areas of the world. It affects 3–7% of the population; however, up to 20% of the general population may have some degree of symptoms. While dyslexia is more often diagnosed in boys, this

6417-692: The perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it. In 2006, through a merger with SN Brussels Airlines , Virgin Airlines formed Brussels Airlines , while retaining its separate listing. It also started a national airline based in Nigeria, called Virgin Nigeria , which ceased operations in 2009. Another airline, Virgin America , began flying out of San Francisco International Airport in August 2007. Branson's next venture with

6510-597: The phonics curriculum, and thereby identify children progressing slowly. When teachers identify such students they can supplement their observations with screening tests such as the Phonics screening check used by United Kingdom schools during Year one . In the medical setting, child and adolescent psychiatrist M. S. Thambirajah emphasizes that "[g]iven the high prevalence of developmental disorders in school-aged children, all children seen in clinics should be systematically screened for developmental disorders irrespective of

6603-700: The population. Dyslexia is diagnosed more often in males. There are different definitions of dyslexia used throughout the world. Further, differences in writing systems may affect development of written language ability due to the interplay between auditory and written representations of phonemes. Dyslexia is not limited to difficulty in converting letters to sounds, and Chinese people with dyslexia may have difficulty converting Chinese characters into their meanings. The Chinese vocabulary uses logographic, monographic, non-alphabet writing where one character can represent an individual phoneme. The phonological-processing hypothesis attempts to explain why dyslexia occurs in

6696-499: The presenting problem/s." Thambirajah recommends screening for developmental disorders, including dyslexia, by conducting a brief developmental history, a preliminary psychosocial developmental examination, and obtaining a school report regarding academic and social functioning. Through the use of compensation strategies, therapy and educational support, individuals with dyslexia can learn to read and write. There are techniques and technical aids that help to manage or conceal symptoms of

6789-618: The press that portrayed Virgin negatively. After the so-called campaign of "dirty tricks" , British Airways settled the case, giving £500,000 to Branson, a further £110,000 to his airline, and had to pay legal fees of up to £3 million. Branson distributed his compensation (the so-called "BA bonus") among his staff. Branson launched Virgin Mobile in 1999, and airline Virgin Blue in Australia in 2000. On 25 September 2004, Branson announced

6882-671: The process of building or running their own businesses. Some are widely known in connection with these entrepreneurial activities, others through highly-visible secondary pursuits such as philanthropy , political fundraising and campaign financing, and sports team ownership or sponsorship. The terms mogul , tycoon , and baron were often applied to late-19th- and early-20th-century North American business magnates in extractive industries such as mining , logging and petroleum , transportation fields such as shipping and railroads , manufacturing such as automaking and steelmaking , in banking , as well as newspaper publishing. Their dominance

6975-578: The profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains in research for environmentally-friendly fuels. The investment is estimated to be worth $ 3 billion. On 4 July 2006, Branson sold his Virgin Mobile company to UK cable TV, broadband, and telephone company NTL:Telewest for £900 million. A new company was launched with much fanfare and publicity on 8 February 2007, under the name Virgin Media . The decision to merge his Virgin Media Company with NTL

7068-511: The proportion of variance associated with a person's environment and the proportion associated with their genes. Both environmental and genetic factors appear to contribute to reading development. Studies examining the influence of environmental factors such as parental education and teaching quality have determined that genetics have greater influence in supportive, rather than less optimal, environments. However, more optimal conditions may just allow those genetic risk factors to account for more of

7161-617: The railway business during the privatisation of British Rail in the late 1990s. Virgin Rail Group won the InterCity CrossCountry and InterCity West Coast franchises, beginning operations in January and March 1997 respectively. Both franchises were scheduled to run for 15 years. A series of disputes in the early 1990s caused tension between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways , which viewed Virgin as an emerging competitor. Virgin subsequently accused British Airways of poaching its passengers, hacking its computers, and leaking stories to

7254-555: The signing of a deal under which a new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic , will license the technology behind SpaceShipOne —funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and designed by aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan —to take paying passengers into suborbital outer space . Virgin Galactic plans to make flights available to the public with tickets priced at US$ 200,000 using the Scaled Composites White Knight Two . The spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo ,

7347-800: The signs or symptoms of the developmental disorder, but require different assessment strategies and treatment approaches. Pure alexia , also known as agnosic alexia or pure word blindness , is one form of alexia which makes up "the peripheral dyslexia" group. In early childhood, symptoms that correlate with a later diagnosis of dyslexia include delayed onset of speech and a lack of phonological awareness . A common myth closely associates dyslexia with mirror writing and reading letters or words backwards. These behaviors are seen in many children as they learn to read and write, and are not considered to be defining characteristics of dyslexia. School-age children with dyslexia may exhibit signs of difficulty in identifying or generating rhyming words , or counting

7440-488: The sixth month of fetal brain development, may have caused the abnormalities. Abnormal cell formations in people with dyslexia have also been reported in non-language cerebral and subcortical brain structures. Several genes have been associated with dyslexia, including DCDC2 and KIAA0319 on chromosome 6 , and DYX1C1 on chromosome 15 . The contribution of gene–environment interaction to reading disability has been intensely studied using twin studies , which estimate

7533-447: The skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling" and is characterized by "difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed". Phonological awareness enables one to identify, discriminate, remember ( working memory ), and mentally manipulate the sound structures of language— phonemes , onsite-rime segments, syllables, and words. The following can be done to assess for dyslexia: Apply

7626-578: The team being renamed Virgin Racing . In 2010, Virgin Hotels was launched under the Virgin Group. In February 2018, Branson announced the first Virgin hotel in the UK would open in Edinburgh. Branson and Tony Fernandes , owner of Air Asia and Lotus F1 Racing , had a bet for the 2010 F1 season where the losing team's boss should work on the winner's airline during a charity flight dressed as

7719-539: The tongue and facial muscles, resulting in the fluency problems that some people with dyslexia experience. The cerebellum is also involved in the automatization of some tasks, such as reading. The fact that some children with dyslexia have motor task and balance impairments could be consistent with a cerebellar role in their reading difficulties. However, the cerebellar theory has not been supported by controlled research studies. Research into potential genetic causes of dyslexia has its roots in post-autopsy examination of

7812-411: The variance in outcome because the environmental risk factors have been minimized. As environment plays a large role in learning and memory, it is likely that epigenetic modifications play an important role in reading ability. Measures of gene expression , histone modifications , and methylation in the human periphery are used to study epigenetic processes; however, all of these have limitations in

7905-462: The venture was situated in the crypt of St. John's Church, off Bayswater Road , in London. Though not initially as successful as he hoped, the magazine later became a vital component of the mail-order record business Branson started from the same church he used for Student . Branson used the magazine to advertise popular albums, driving his record sales. He interviewed several prominent personalities of

7998-575: Was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor . Branson's great-great-great-grandfather, John Edward Branson, left England for India in 1793; John Edward's father, Harry Wilkins Branson, later joined his son in Madras . Starting from 1793, four generations of Branson's family lived in India, mostly at Cuddalore , in modern-day Tamil Nadu . On the show Finding Your Roots , Branson

8091-657: Was announced in May 2018 that the contract would be terminated early by the government. VTEC ceased operating on 23 June 2018 and operations passed to a government-owned operator, London North Eastern Railway . In November 2015, Branson announced the addition of Moskito Island to the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio. This resort, The Branson Estate on Moskito Island, offers 11 bedrooms for 22 guests. In 2017, Virgin Group invested in Hyperloop One , developing

8184-518: Was fined £271 million over the allegations. Virgin Atlantic was given immunity for tipping off the authorities and received no fine—a controversial decision the Office of Fair Trading defended as being in the public interest. On 9 February 2007, Branson announced the setting up of a new global science and technology prize—The Virgin Earth Challenge —in the belief that history has shown that prizes of this nature encourage technological advancements for

8277-600: Was founded with author Deepak Chopra , filmmaker Shekhar Kapur , and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra . Branson also launched the Virgin Health Bank on 1 February 2007, offering parents-to-be the opportunity to store their baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells in private and public stem-cell banks. In June 2006, a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led both UK and US competition authorities to investigate price-fixing attempts between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. In August 2007, British Airways

8370-1517: Was known as the Second Industrial Revolution , the Gilded Age , or the Robber Baron Era . Examples of business magnates in the western world include historical figures such as pottery entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood , oilmen John D. Rockefeller and Fred C. Koch , automobile pioneer Henry Ford , aviation pioneer Howard Hughes , shipping and railroad veterans Aristotle Onassis , Cornelius Vanderbilt , Leland Stanford , Jay Gould and James J. Hill , steel innovator Andrew Carnegie , newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst , poultry entrepreneur Arthur Perdue , retail merchant Sam Walton , and bankers J. P. Morgan and Mayer Amschel Rothschild . Contemporary industrial tycoons include e-commerce entrepreneur Jeff Bezos , investor Warren Buffett , computer programmers Bill Gates and Paul Allen , technology innovator Steve Jobs , vacuum cleaner retailer Sir James Dyson , media proprietors Sumner Redstone , Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch , industrial entrepreneur Elon Musk , steel investor Lakshmi Mittal , telecommunications investor Carlos Slim , Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson , Formula 1 executive Bernie Ecclestone , and internet entrepreneurs Larry Page and Sergey Brin . Dyslexia Dyslexia , previously known as word blindness ,

8463-539: Was made in order to integrate compatible areas of the two businesses. Whilst Branson had owned three-quarters of Virgin Mobile, he would now get paid £8.5 million per annum for the use of the Virgin brand name. He does not own any part of Virgin Media. In 2006, Branson formed Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The company

8556-460: Was replaced by Avanti West Coast . In September 2014, Branson announced his investment in drone company 3D Robotics stating, "It's amazing to see what a little flying object with a GoPro attached can do. Before they came along the alternative was an expensive helicopter and crew. I'm really excited about the potential 3D Robotics sees in drones. They can do a lot of good in the world, and I hope this affordable technology will give many more people

8649-744: Was shown to have 3.9% South Asian (Indian) DNA, likely through intermarriage. Later, he stated that one of his great-great-great-grandmothers was an Indian named Ariya. Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School , a prep school in Surrey , before briefly attending Cliff View House School in Sussex . He attended Stowe School , a private school in Buckinghamshire until the age of sixteen. Branson has dyslexia , and had poor academic performance; on his last day at school, his headmaster, Robert Drayson , told him he would either end up in prison or become

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