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Humour

Smiling can imply a sense of humour and a state of amusement, as in this painting of Falstaff by Eduard von Grützner.



  Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Latin: umor, "body fluid"), control human health and emotion.
  People of all ages and cultures respond to humour. The majority of people are able to experience humour, i.e., to be amused, to laugh or smile at something funny, and thus they are considered to have a sense of humour. The hypothetical person lacking a sense of humour would likely find the behaviour induced by humour to be inexplicable, strange, or even irrational. Though ultimately decided by personal taste, the extent to which an individual will find something humorous depends upon a host of variables, including geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education, intelligence and context. For example, young children may favour slapstick, such as Punch and Judy puppet shows or cartoons such as Tom and Jerry. Satire may rely more on understanding the target of the humour and thus tends to appeal to more mature audiences. Nonsatirical humour can be specifically termed "recreational drollery".[1][2]
  Many theories exist about what humour is and what social function it serves. The prevailing types of theories attempting to account for the existence of humour include psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humour-induced behaviour to be very healthy; spiritual theories, which may, for instance, consider humour to be a "gift from God"; and theories which consider humour to be an unexplainable mystery, very much like a mystical experience.[3]

 

Understanding humour

  Arthur Schopenhauer lamented the misuse of the term "humour" (a German loanword from English) to mean any type of comedy. However, both "humour" and "comic" are often used when theorising about the subject. The connotations of "humour" as opposed to "comic" are said to be that of response versus stimulus. Additionally, "humour" was thought to include a combination of ridiculousness and wit in an individual; the paradigmatic case being Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff. The French were slow to adopt the term "humour"; in French, "humeur" and "humour" are still two different words, the former referring to a person's mood or to the archaic concept of the four humours.
  Western humour theory begins with Plato, who attributed to Socrates (as a semihistorical dialogue character) in the Philebus (p. 49b) the view that the essence of the ridiculous is an ignorance in the weak, who are thus unable to retaliate when ridiculed. Later, in Greek philosophy, Aristotle, in the Poetics (1449a, pp. 34–35), suggested that an ugliness that does not disgust is fundamental to humour.
  In ancient Sanskrit drama, Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra defined humour (hāsyam) as one of the nine nava rasas, or principle rasas (emotional responses), which can be inspired in the audience by bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform. Each rasa was associated with a specific bhavas portrayed on stage. In the case of humour, it was associated with mirth (hasya).
  The terms "comedy" and "satire" became synonymous after Aristotle's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world, where it was elaborated upon by Arabic writers and Islamic philosophers such as Abu Bischr, his pupil Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes. Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation, and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply the "art of reprehension" and made no reference to light and cheerful events or troublous beginnings and happy endings associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century, the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in Medieval literature.[4]
  The Incongruity Theory originated mostly with Kant, who claimed that the comic is an expectation that comes to nothing. Henri Bergson attempted to perfect incongruity by reducing it to the "living" and "mechanical".[5]
  An incongruity like Bergson's, in things juxtaposed simultaneously, is still in vogue. This is often debated against theories of the shifts in perspectives in humour; hence, the debate in the series Humor Research between John Morreall and Robert Latta.[6] Morreall presented mostly simultaneous juxtapositions,[7] with Latta countering that it requires a "cognitive shift" created by a discovery or solution to a puzzle or problem. Latta is criticised for having reduced jokes' essence to their own puzzling aspect.
  Humour frequently contains an unexpected, often sudden, shift in perspective, which gets assimilated by the Incongruity Theory. This view has been defended by Latta (1998) and by Brian Boyd (2004).[8] Boyd views the shift as from seriousness to play. Nearly anything can be the object of this perspective twist; it is, however, in the areas of human creativity (science and art being the varieties) that the shift results from "structure mapping" (termed "bisociation" by Koestler) to create novel meanings.[9] Arthur Koestler argues that humour results when two different frames of reference are set up and a collision is engineered between them.
  Tony Veale, who takes a more formalised computational approach than Koestler, has written on the role of metaphor and metonymy in humour,[10][11][12] using inspiration from Koestler as well as from Dedre Gentner's theory of structure-mapping, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor, and Mark Turner and Gilles Fauconnier's theory of conceptual blending.
  Some claim that humour cannot or should not be explained. Author E.B. White once said, "Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind."[13]
  As with any form of art, acceptance depends on social demographics and varies from person to person. Throughout history, comedy has been used as a form of entertainment all over the world, whether in the courts of the Western kings or the villages of the Far East.  Both a social etiquette and a certain intelligence can be displayed through forms of wit and sarcasm. Eighteenth-century German author Georg Lichtenberg said that "the more you know humour, the more you become demanding in fineness." [edit] Evolutionary explanation of humour

  Alastair Clarke explains: "The theory is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively, it explains that humour occurs when the brain recognises a pattern that surprises it, and that recognition of this sort is rewarded with the experience of the humorous response, an element of which is broadcast as laughter." The theory further identifies the importance of pattern recognition in human evolution: "An ability to recognise patterns instantly and unconsciously has proved a fundamental weapon in the cognitive arsenal of human beings. The humorous reward has encouraged the development of such faculties, leading to the unique perceptual and intellectual abilities of our species."[1]

Юмор | Transitions: 650 | Added by: Humour | Date: 28.12.2010


Alexandrian Egypt
  After the occupation by Alexander the Great in 332BC, Egypt came under Greek rule and influence. It was in 'Alexandrian Egypt' as it was called, that Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology. This new system was labelled as "horoscopic astrology" because it employed the use of the ascendant, otherwise known as the horoskopos in Greek, and the twelve celestial houses which are derived from it. Its endeavour to trace the horoscope of the individual from the position of the planets and stars at the time of birth represents the most significant contribution of the Greeks to astrology. This new form of astrology quickly spread across the ancient world into Europe, the Middle East and India.
  Particularly important in the development of horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy, who lived in Alexandria in Egypt. Ptolemy's work the Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and Signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day. Ptolemy's work on astronomy was also the basis of Western teachings on the subject for the next 1,300 years.

The Zodiac
  The earliest Zodiac found in Egypt dates to the first century BC, the Dendera Zodiac
According to Firmicus Maternus, the system of horoscopic astrology was given early on to an Egyptian pharaoh named Nechepso and his priest Petosiris.[1] They apparently wrote a major textbook which explicated the system and it is from this text that much of Hellenistic astrology was drawn. This system formed the basis of all later forms of Horoscopic astrology.
 
Astrology

  Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs and other "earthly" matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer. Astrologers generally believe that the movements and positions of celestial bodies can inform them about events experienced on a human scale or that predictions can be made from them.[1]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-1"[2] Many astrologers see astrology as being a purely symbolic language whereas others see the movements and positions of celestial bodies as influencing human and mundane affairs, either causally or otherwise.[3]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-3"[4]Despite differences in definitions, a common assumption of astrologers is that celestial placements can aid in the interpretation of past and present events, and in the prediction of the future.
  Astrology is considered a pseudoscience or superstition by the scientific community, which sees a lack of statistically significant astrological predictions, while psychology explains much of the continued faith in astrology as a matter of cognitive biases.[5]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-fisa-5"[6]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-6"[7]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-7"[8] In 2006 the U.S. National Science Board published a statement which said it considers belief in ten survey items, astrology among them, to be "pseudoscientific".[9]
  Numerous traditions and applications employing astrological concepts have arisen since its earliest recorded beginnings in the 3rd millennium BC. Astrology has played an important role in the shaping of culture, early astronomy, the Vedas,[10] and various disciplines throughout history. In fact, astrology and astronomy were often regarded as synonyms before the modern era, with the desire for predictive and divinatory knowledge one of the motivating factors for astronomical observation. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a period of gradual separation from the Renaissance up until the 18th century.    Eventually, astronomy distinguished itself as the empirical study of astronomical objects and phenomena, without regard to the terrestrial implications of astrology.
  The word "astrology" comes from the Latin term astrologia ("astronomy"),[11] which in turn derives from the Greek noun αστρολογία: ἄστρον, astron ("constellation" or "star") and -λογία, -logia ("the study of"). The word "starcraft" has also traditionally been used to mean astrology.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Наука и образование | Transitions: 683 | Added by: Egyptian astrology | Date: 28.12.2010


 
Mona Lisa
 
  Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) is a 16th-century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. The work is currently owned by the Government of France and is on display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris under the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
  The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman (it is almost unanimous that she is Lisa del Giocondo) whose facial expression is frequently described as enigmatic. The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.The image is so widely recognized, caricatured, and sought out by visitors to the Louvre that it is considered the most famous painting in the world.HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-3"HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-4"
Leonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 in Italy.According to Da Vinci's contemporary, Giorgio Vasari, "...after he had lingered over it four years, left it unfinished...." It is known that such behavior is common in most paintings of Leonardo who, later in his life, regretted "never having completed a single work".
  He is thought to have continued to work on Mona Lisa for three years after he moved to France and to have finished it shortly before he died in 1519. Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter to work at the Clos Lucé near the king's castle in Amboise. Most likely through the heirs of Leonardo's assistant Salai, the king bought the painting for 4,000 écus and kept it at Château Fontainebleau, where it remained until given to Louis XIV. Louis XIV moved the painting to the Palace of Versailles. After the French Revolution, it was moved to the Louvre. Napoleon I had it moved to his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace; later it was returned to the Louvre. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) it was moved from the Louvre to the Brest Arsenal.
  There has been much speculation regarding the painting's model and landscape. For example, that Leonardo probably painted his model faithfully since her beauty is not seen as being among the best, "even when measured by late quattrocento (15th century) or even twenty-first century standards." Some specialists in Chinese art, such as Yukio Yashiro, also argue that the landscape in the background of the picture was influenced by Chinese paintings, however this thesis has been contested for lack of clear evidence. Despite these arguments, it is known that Leonardo made some sketches before starting the picture (at right).
  Mona Lisa was not well known until the mid-19th century when artists of the emerging Symbolist movement began to appreciate it, and associated it with their ideas about feminine mystique. Critic Walter Pater, in his 1867 essay on Leonardo, expressed this view by describing the figure in the painting as a kind of mythic embodiment of eternal femininity, who is "older than the rocks among which she sits" and who "has been dead many times and learned the secrets of the grave.''
Культура и искусство | Transitions: 673 | Added by: Mona Lisa | Date: 28.12.2010


Internet

This article is about the public worldwide computer network system. For other uses, see Internet (disambiguation).

  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail.
  Most traditional communications media including telephone, music, film, and television are being reshaped or redefined by the Internet. Newspaper, book and other print publishing are having to adapt to Web sites and blogging. The Internet has enabled or accelerated new forms of human interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking. Online shopping has boomed both for major retail outlets and small artisans and traders. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries.
  The origins of the Internet reach back to the 1960s with both private and United States military research into robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks. The funding of a new U.S. backbone by the National Science Foundation, as well as private funding for other commercial backbones, led to worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies, and the merger of many networks. The commercialization of what was by then an international network in the mid 1990s resulted in its popularization and incorporation into virtually every aspect of modern human life. As of 2009, an estimated quarter of Earth's population used the services of the Internet.
  The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage; each constituent network sets its own standards. Only the overreaching definitions of the two principal name spaces in the Internet, the Internet Protocol address space and the Domain Name System, are directed by a maintainer organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The technical underpinning and standardization of the core protocols (IPv4 and IPv6) is an activity of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a non-profit organization of loosely affiliated international participants that anyone may associate with by contributing technical expertise.
 
Terminology
   See also: Internet capitalization conventions 
 
   Internet is a short form of the technical term "internetwork",[1] the result of interconnecting computer networks with special gateways (routers). The Internet is also often referred to as the Net.
  The term the Internet, when referring to the entire global system of IP networks, has traditionally been treated as a proper noun and written with an initial capital letter. In the media and popular culture a trend has developed to regard it as a generic term or common noun and thus write it as "the internet", without capitalization.
Интернет | Transitions: 661 | Added by: Internet | Date: 27.12.2010


 
Business & Finance
 
   At the heart of successful business management is efficient and effective finance management. Whether you are a small business owner or a finance manager at large corporation, you must keep up-to-date on the most current news related to business and finance. Stay abreast of popular business and finance trends among the business world.        
  This business and finance section can be an invaluable source of information for any level business manager. Use the information below to stay abreast of the complex world of business and finance.

 
What is a Business Plan?
  A business plan can be defined as a prescribed report of business goals[wrong]. Professional business planning is indispensable for any businesses whether big or small; it is the backbone of any business. Proper business planning gives you a clear idea about industry or market. It shows the owners a clear path to start their businesses initially and to run it successfully in future.

The basic elements of business planning are:
• Setting the mission of the company: It indicates the purpose of business
• The second and important element of planning a business is setting a target/objective for the business
• Strategies: It includes the rules and guidelines by which the objective has to be accomplished
• Competitive benefit: Bring something new which has not been introduced by your competitors; this will increase the sales and profit of the company
A good business plan has following key components:
• Managerial synopsis: It provides a concise summation of the business plan and highlights its key points. It shouldn’t be more than 3 or 4 pages
• Company analysis: This part shows the overall position of the company, what products and services the company is offering, how to organize a company, etc.
• Customer analysis: This part defines as to how the company fulfills the desires of its customers; how much a customer pays them to satisfy their needs? [wrong]
• Competitive analysis : This part indicates the direct and indirect competitors of a business and access their potentials and weak points

  Business planning is effective for any business, as it is personalized and purposely enhances your business atmosphere. For investors, it works as the most remarkable production instrument; even for internal customers [sentence doesn’t make sense]. A good business plan takes a substantial amount of effort and time.


When and Why YOU are the Best Writer for Your Business Plan
  There are many benefits to writing your own business plan and you are probably the best person to write your business plan.

  Enlarge ImageWHEN you are operating or planning a small business that is seeking funding for less than five million dollars, it's wise to consider writing your own plan.

  WHY you are the best qualified. You probably have superior knowledge of your target market, prospective customers and your product or service. If not "superior," at least, you have adequate knowledge. You are probably resourceful enough to find the necessary data and general information.

  Are you planning to write a novel or describing a set of business conditions and functions? Your descriptions need only to be accurate, factual and realistic. You are equal to the task if you know how to construct simple sentences. There's ample free or inexpensive advice available to edit your writing output. Good writing results from re-writing.

  Many of the business plan guides available in your local community are free. There are plan writing coaches with reasonable rates and arrangements.

  Compare the benefits from writing your own business plan with the costs and shortcomings of a plan written by a third party.

  Personal development is a spinoff from your investment of time and energy. Being able to write a plan is a valuable management skill that remains with you.
  During the writing process, you create additional ideas and variations. Your pride in your accomplishment will be apparent to your readers and others.
  Your composition is easier and less costly to revise. Business plans are noted for quickly becoming out-of-date because data, circumstances and events are ever changing. Different lenders or investors have varying requirements and almost all request some alteration or additional information. Suggestions from associates and reviewers are easily inserted. Your visions remain adjustable and flexible.
  Confidential data remains in YOUR files where you can easily access it for applying to other purposes.
  You are more aware of discrepancies or inconsistencies which you can defend or correct.      
  Your investor or lender may be able to supply privileged information such as economic analyses, highly protected marketing intelligence or pending legislation.
Ease in converting into internal project plans increases your return from your major writing investment and reduces "re-inventing the wheel" for subsequent projects or plans.


  Writing your own business plan requires a little courage. If you are operating or planning to operate your own business, it's a good bet you've got loads of that! The next requirement is time. Study the benefits listed here and I'm sure you will manage that accordingly.
 
 
 
 
 
Бизнес и финансы | Transitions: 649 | Added by: BUSINERSS AND FINANCES | Date: 27.12.2010


Goods and services


  Service-Goods continuum 
 
  In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility. It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax.
  We satisfy our needs and wants by buying goods and services. Goods are items you can see and touch, such as a book, a pen, salt, shoes, hats, a folder etc. Services are provided for you by other people, such as; a doctor, a lawn mower worker, a dentist, haircut and eating in restaurants. 
   
The service-goods continuum
 
  The dichotomy between physical goods and intangible services should not be given too much credence; these are not discrete categories. Most business theorists see a continuum with pure service on one terminal point and pure commodity good on the other terminal point. Most products fall between these two extremes. For example, a restaurant provides a physical good (prepared food), but also provides services in the form of ambiance, the setting and clearing of the table, etc. And although some utilities actually deliver physical goods & services; like water utilities which actually deliver water — utilities are usually treated as services.
  In business, people sometimes talk about the marketing of products and services. This is clearly tautological - services are products. Marketers must draw on the same set of principles and skills to market all products, whether they are apples, oranges or haircuts. Like economists, marketers too view goods and services as two ends of a continuum.

  Goods and services are tangible and intangible goods that are produced and purchased in order to fulfill the needs and desires of consumers. Most countries base their economy on the production and consumption of both physical goods and intangible services that people at home and abroad are willing to purchase. In many cases, both the services and the goods are offered simultaneously.
  Goods are simply any physical or tangible products that can be seen and touched. Some goods are quickly consumed and must be replaced by like or similar products on a regular basis. Food is one example of goods that are quickly consumed and must be acquired repeatedly. Other forms of goods are more long-term in nature, and may last for years or even decades. Furniture, cutlery, and houses are examples of durable goods that are intended to satisfy consumers for extended periods of time.
  Services are intangible support that is provided to the consumer in some manner. A physician provides healthcare support or services. Telephone companies provide communications services such as local calling ability, long distance calling, and other features that enhance the electronic communication process. Banks provide a range of financial services to customers, ranging from basic and checking accounts to investment opportunities.
  Often, goods and services are presented as a unified package, providing a well-rounded and attractive option for the consumer. For example, a restaurant offers food, which is easily identified as goods. At the same time, the food is prepared for the consumer, and brought to the table by a server; thus, the goods are complemented with service. Communication companies may offer some type of equipment at no extra charge, provided the customer commits to using their services for a certain period of time, clearly another marriage of goods and services.
 
Товары и услуги | Transitions: 666 | Added by: Goods and services | Date: 27.12.2010


Choosing Your First Surfboard
 If you are looking for some guidelines on choosing your first surfboard, this article will be a revelation. Here you will find some simple tips on how to choose your first surfboard.
  If riding on sea waves has always been your dream and you have finally reached the point where you are ready to try it out, the first thing to do is buy a surfboard. Surfing on the Internet has brought you to this article which is about choosing your first surfboard! As you know, it is an adventure sport, wherein you ride the incoming waves on the sea shore using a board as your vehicle. Your surfboard needs to be such that it can take the lashing of incoming waves, have the right design to cut through the waves and float over them, while providing a solid base to take your weight. In the following lines, I provide some straightforward tips on choosing your first surfboard.
  The image of the blue sea with rising and falling waves and a surfer riding them with grace and balance! What a sight and a feeling it is indeed. Though great surfers make it look easy, it is a fact that it's a dangerous sport and beginners should not take this fact lightly. Like every adventure sport, safety lies in choosing the right equipment and right technique. In the following lines, you will find some information on things to look out for when buying your first surfboard.

How to Choose Your First Surfboard?

  Surfboard comes in various types and sizes. It is essential that you take your first surfing lessons or learn it from some one who knows surfing, before venturing in the sea on your own. While the traditional boards, first used in Hawaii, are made of wood, modern surfboards are made from polystyrene and even carbon fiber. Here are the features you need to look out for when choosing your first surfboard.

  Length of Surfboard
 
  One of the most important factors of course is the length of the surfboard. Ideally, this has to be longer than your height so that you can easily lie down on it to paddle through when the waves are down. The greater length is also beneficial because it provides greater stability. So the length of the board has to be up to or more than 7 feet. A long board is always the safest choice for beginners.

 Width of Surfboard
 The second most important parameter of course is the width of the surfboard which is recommended to be at least 19 inches. In fact, beginners are better off with boards that have a width up to 21 inches. Choose the length and width that is appropriate for your weight and height. Take an instructor's advice into consideration and take a look at the surfboard size chart before choosing

  Thickness of Surfboard
 
  One of the most important features that needs to be primarily considered is the thickness, as it decides the strength of your board. It is highly recommended that you go for a board, which is at least 2-3 inches in thickness as it provides the requisite strength. However, see to it that the board is not too rigid also. It needs flexibility to be able to withstand the wave impact. Make sure that the board has a leash, which will help you control it.

 Type of Boards
  There are many standard types of board including short boards, long boards and medium length boards with features like fins and special tails. However, a beginner need not bother himself with any advance features as the default choice for them is the long board. Amateurs are advised to start with cheap, used boards as they take a lot of battering initially. Check out some surfboard repair tips.

  Hope this article has left no doubt in your mind about things to look out for when choosing your first surfboard. Let safety be the main point of concern when choosing the board and select one which ensures that you are protected while surfing. As discussed before, a broad and long surfboard is what a beginner must opt for, instead of going for a thin, sleek and short one. You can graduate to those later when you have greater control while surfing.
 
Wish you all the best and safe surfing!
Спорт | Transitions: 727 | Added by: Choosing Your First Surfboard | Date: 27.12.2010


Manufacturing
 

  Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing other, more complex products, such as aircraft, household appliances or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers, who then sell them to end users – the "consumers".
  Manufacturing takes turns under all types of economic systems. In a free market economy, manufacturing is usually directed toward the mass production of products for sale to consumers at a profit. In a collectivist economy, manufacturing is more frequently directed by the state to supply a centrally planned economy. In free market economies, manufacturing occurs under some degree of government regulation.
  Modern manufacturing includes all intermediate processes required for the production and integration of a product's components. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers use the term fabrication instead.
  The manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design. Examples of major manufacturers in the North America include General Motors Corporation, General Electric, and Pfizer. Examples in Europe include Volkswagen Group, Siemens, and Michelin. Examples in Asia include Toyota, Samsung, and Bridgestone.

History and development
  In its earliest form, manufacturing was usually carried out by a single skilled artisan with assistants. Training was by apprenticeship. In much of the pre-industrial world the guild system protected the privileges and trade secrets of urban artisans.
  Before the Industrial Revolution, most manufacturing occurred in rural areas, where household-based manufacturing served as a supplemental subsistence strategy to agriculture (and continues to do so in places). Entrepreneurs organized a number of manufacturing households into a single enterprise through the putting-out system.
  Toil manufacturing is an arrangement whereby a first firm with specialized equipment processes raw materials or semi-finished goods for a second firm.
 

Economics of manufacturing
  According to some economists, manufacturing is a wealth-producing sector of an economy, whereas a service sector tends to be wealth-consuming.[1]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-1"[2] Emerging technologies have provided some new growth in advanced manufacturing employment opportunities in the Manufacturing Belt in the United States. Manufacturing provides important material support for national infrastructure and for national defense.
  On the other hand, most manufacturing may involve significant social and environmental costs. The clean-up costs of hazardous waste, for example, may outweigh the benefits of a product that creates it. Hazardous materials may expose workers to health risks. Developed countries regulate manufacturing activity with labor laws and environmental laws. In the U.S, manufacturers are subject to regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In Europe, pollution taxes to offset environmental costs are another form of regulation on manufacturing activity. Labor Unions and craft guilds have played a historic role negotiation of worker rights and wages. Environment laws and labor protections that are available in developed nations may not be available in the third world. Tort law and product liability impose additional costs on manufacturing.
  Manufacturing requires huge amounts of fossil fuels. The construction of a single car in the United States requires, on average, at least 20 barrels of oil.
 
Производство | Transitions: 653 | Added by: MANUFACTURING | Date: 27.12.2010


Aims & Scope  
 
 2009 Impact Factor: 0.333
Ranking: 90/112 (Political Science) and 27/35 (Social Issues) © 2010 Thomson Reuters, Journal Citation Reports ®
  A leading point of reference for scholars of Southern Europe, South European Society and Politics promotes both comparative and inter-disciplinary analyses, as well as offering innovative single county and sub-national studies. The journal acts as a forum for social, economic, cultural, contemporary historical and political approaches to research on the region, and is particularly keen to sponsor policy–focused studies in all these disciplines.     
  The journal publishes research articles; South European Atlas with election reports and articles on other subjects of topical interest, and an extensive book reviews section, including both review articles and individual book reviews.
  South European Society and Politics covers both "old" and "new" Southern Europe, focusing on Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. It is open to scholars working in any of the major social science disciplines – notably, political science, political economy, sociology, social policy, social anthropology and socio-legal studies – as well as to those working in the field of contemporary history. Published four times a year, South European Society and Politics also invites distinguished guest editors to oversee special issues.
Общество и политика | Transitions: 860 | Added by: Aims & Scope | Date: 27.12.2010

Hidden Chambers?
  Some recent news may make recent pyramid discussions redundant! What seems to be a hidden chamber has been discovered in the Great Pyramid. (I had to read it a couple of times to convince myself it was bona fide.)
  The German Archaeological Institute in Cairo was engaged in a project to improve the ventilation of the Great Pyramid. The plan was to clear the two small passages leading from the King's Chamber, which had become clogged by rubble:
  German engineer and roboticist Rudolf Gantenbrink was given the task, achieved by the simple expedient of attaching a point to an old lorry axle and dropping it down the shafts; after which he used a small, tracked robot with a video-camera to study the shafts before fans were installed.
  He next requested permission to use his robot to explore a similar passage leading from the Queen's chamber, which lies lower down in the pyramid. And this is where the story gets interesting.
  The passageway is 20cm square and rises from the Queen's Chamber at an angle of 45 degrees. It was previously thought to extend no more than eight metres, but Gantenbrink sent his robot up and it just kept on going (very slowly) for 65 metres. Over the last couple of metres, the walls of the passage changed from rough to finely polished limestone, and then the robot came to a door. This is possibly of alabaster or yellow limestone, with tongue and groove fittings suggesting that it might be raised or lowered.
  The door has two copper fittings near the centre, which have been variously described as handles or just plain strips. A gap exists at the bottom of the door, too small for the camera to see through, and in front of this lies a scatter of black dust. The robot is to be refitted with a fibre-optic lens and light-source later this year, which should be able to peer through the gap and show what lies beyond the door. What's behind the door?
 
From: mstow@csc.liv.ac.uk (Martin Stower)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors
Subject: Hidden Chamber (really!)
Date: 17 Aug 93 17:31:44 GMT
Organization: Computer Science, Liverpool University
 

Stonehenge
 

  Stonehenge is located in the English county of Wiltshire. It is believed that this stone monument was erected in 2500 BC and serves to be a burial ground. Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records. How the stones were erected is the big mystery.

   Stonehenge has been subjected to many theories about its origin, ranging from the academic worlds of archaeology to explanations from mythology and the paranormal. A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library. This is the oldest known depiction of Stonehenge.

   Many early historians were influenced by supernatural folktales in their explanations. Some legends held that Merlin had a giant build the structure for him or that he had magically transported it from Mount Killaraus in Ireland, while others held the Devil responsible.

Непознанное | Transitions: 667 | Added by: not recognized | Date: 27.12.2010

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