History of the Peace Sign

The Peace Sign is universally recognized and accepted the world over for it iconic representation for a nonviolent solution as well as in protest of nuclear expansion and armament. Credit for creation of this sign is widely given to British physicist Gerald Holtom for support of nuclear disarmament in his native country. As with all things it was eventually brought west to the US and adopted by the Hippie movement and widely seen in protest of the Vietnam War. In the present modern society the icon continues to inspire a belief in a peaceful solution to ones differences. The history of this beloved symbol goes further back in time and possess a far different meaning than the one we know today. The origins of the Peace Sign have been attributed as far back as the reign of the Roman Emperor...

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Of Scientific Inquiry and the Practice of Science

Scientific inquiry is necessary because it enables us to acquire knowledge and understanding about nature. Through scientific inquiry, we are able to discern order and patterns of behavior in nature, and we are able to create a mental picture of the world. It can be said that among the goals of scientific inquiry is to help us uncover the truth about the physical world. But such a revelation of the "truth" about nature is not perfect, nor shall it ever be perfect. The mental pictures produced by science are what Robert Bernstein and Donald McEachron call in their book, The American Biology Teacher, as "contingent truths"-truths that are contingent upon our limited knowledge of ourselves and the world around us. Of course there is always room for improvement. The more we improve our inquiry,...

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Soccer Psychology - The Difference Between Winning and Losing

In today's game of soccer most would argue that the most important person in a team is the coach. But a new position has arisen from the depths of the grandstand and his importance has significantly increased. Can you guess who it is? Big clubs all over the world are employing Sports psychologists for help and some have even put them on as full time staff. Sports psychology has become the next boom industry as clubs and coaches have discovered the power of soccer psychology. The difference between winning and losing at the highest level can be separated by a thin white line. All players are extremely fit, skillful, strong and quick. But how many players are confident and mentally strong? Clubs have discovered this and have added psychology to their growing list of weapons. Players these...

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Discover a First-Rate Method of Overcoming Stress: Using the New Self-Help Cures!

Don't hesitate. Start enjoying your life again before it's too late! Do you suffer from debilitating anxiety and stress? Millions of Americans do. Stress, panic and anxiety are toxic and tears on you, leaving you tired, depleted, and hopeless. Over time, stress grows, like a cancer, causing you to feel futile, confused, tense and unhappy. You probably have trouble focusing and staying alert because stress can make it tough to concentrate. Relieving stress is an urgent need if you want to live a happier, more relaxed life. Recovering from stress can help you achieve more, prevent illness and enjoy life more fully. Red Flags: Do you feel sluggish or do you feel focused and alert in the mornings? Do you enjoy waking up or would you rather continue sleeping as long as possible? Until recently,...

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The Politics of Solar Energy

The temperature of the planet is rising exponentially, and the financial, social and environmental costs of fossil fuels are becoming increasingly apparent. Meanwhile, the fact is that on a clear day, the sun rains down the equivalent of one thousand watts (that's a megawatt, folks) of free energy on every square yard of the planet's surface. It therefore seems insane that energy policy that could mean clean, cheap solar power for everyone and good jobs for American workers is being held hostage by the interests of a few incredibly wealthy and powerful interests. Sadly, this is exactly what is happening, and it seems clear that if the Republican Party takes back Congress in November America's oil addiction will continue at the expense of the public, the environment and global well-being. It's...

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The Undeclared War Against Wikileaks

The U.S. government appears to be waging an undeclared war against Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, while media and other business interests either cheer the effort on or run for cover. This clash is setting some precedents that we may all live to regret. The government is infuriated at Wikileaks' release of about a quarter-million secret messages purloined from the State Department, following earlier disclosures of military material from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the leaks, particularly from the war zones, clearly jeopardized individuals' personal safety or American security interests. Most of the recent disclosures, however, merely confirm and add detail to things we already knew. We did not need Wikileaks to tell us that the Arab states in the Persian Gulf were alarmed at...

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Information to Help You Choose the Right Online MBA Program

No matter what field you have chosen your career in or what your educational background is, getting an MBA degree is extremely beneficial to your professional future. MBA degrees can be obtained by attending a college or university that is accredited by the Department of Education to conduct MBA courses. But if you don't have the required finances or if you feel that you will be unable to balance a full time job as well as your study courses then a viable option is distance learning in the form of Online MBA programs. There are a number of online MBA programs that have been accredited by the Department of Education. They have proved to be just as good as far as quality of the courses go. And most importantly they are recognized courses so you will not be discriminated against when you apply...

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Seven Developing Nations Vital to the World Economy

Sometimes we become preoccupied with the major nations involved in our global economy, rather than look beyond China, Russia and the United States. There are currently eight nations which are vital to the continuation of our own economies. Who are these Seven developing countries? 1. Bolivia This tiny impoverished South American nation is potentially the worlds largest supplier of lithinun, a resource used for car and solar batteries. High up in the Andes, huge deposits of this vital mineral have been discovered. 2.Indonesia As well as being the Worlds largest gold producers, Indonesia is the "Raja of coconuts", exporting 20 million tones of coconut products alone in 2010. Both emerging and developed nations depend on coconut oil for cooking and for ingredients, without Indonesia's huge...

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What Causes Gold Price Inflation

Most of the people look at the price of gold per troy ounce in a similar way they consider the stock market. It is very difficult to determine what causes the fluctuations by just looking at the investment vehicles. The gold prices is related to few core factors in reality. These factors can be complex system that can be very confusing even though they look simple on the surface. Here we discuss various factors that cause gold price inflation. The gold and prices also fluctuates due to many reasons like currency inflation, dynamics which causes increase in demand and the role of central banks. By knowing these factors you can gain knowledge of when it is appropriate to sell your gold jewelry. Currency inflation is also one of the major causes for the fluctuations in gold prices. Inflation...

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Low Cost Effective Direct Marketing Soulutions

Printed media, such as envelopes, bookmarks, business cards, postcards, letterhead, door hangers, magnets and labels, distributed via mail, hand or, passively via display, have long been recognized as cost effective marketing tools with clearly defined and documented expectations for return on investment. The secret to increasing the effectiveness of these kinds of tools is in making them unique and appealing enough to capture the attention, even for a moment, of the jaded recipient who has no interest in even picking up a printed piece. Javier Zabala, Vice President for Marketing at Prints4.me has enjoyed a varied career that has prepared him for a discussion of the most effective use of postcards, bookmarks, magnets, door hangers, envelopes, business cards, letterhead and labels. As a former...

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Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)

Baruch Spinoza was born to Portuguese Jews living in exile in Holland, but his life among the Marranos there was often unsettled. Despite an early rabbinical education, he was expelled from the synagogue at Amsterdam for defending heretical opinions in 1656. While engaging privately in serious study of medieval Jewish thought, Cartesian philosophy, and the new science at Rijnburg and the Hague, Spinoza supported himself by grinding optical lenses, an occupation that probably contributed to the consumption that killed him. Private circulation of his philosophical treatises soon earned him a significant reputation throughout Europe, but Spinoza...

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Medieval Philosophy

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Child Labor Issues a World Wide Problem and Challenge We Must Conquer

Using children as slave labor is a real problem in the world, and it's been going on in many human societies and cultures for far too long. Yes, in ancient times everyone had to pitch in, but now those who run businesses are collecting these kids and making them work 14-20 plus hours per day. This of course is unacceptable in Western culture, but it still goes on in very poor and emerging nations all over the globe. Not long ago, an individual who grew up in Pakistan and I were discussing online the challenges of child labor abuse worldwide. I agreed and said that the child labor issues are problematic all over the world, it's just been going on for generations now, it's a real challenge; "what do you suggest there?" I asked. This individual is living and working in Dubai now, but he noted...

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Sins of Omission: Immoral Evil and Human Permissiveness

A controversial and extremely provocative issue regarding human behavior, which has perplexed philosophers and pundits since the dawn of recorded history, and which is still polemically bandied about in the 21st Century, consists of whether ignoring and/or silently tolerating an existing evil is tantamount to a willing acceptance of it. For instance, if neighbors of a single-parent family fully realize that the father in the family is physically and sexually molesting his two preadolescent daughters, and do nothing at all to intervene, or to let law enforcement know about the situation, are they, in some way, responsible for the continuing criminal molestation? Some will say yes, and some, of course, will say no. Yet, I have come to believe that all normal human beings, who ignore and knowingly...

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The Oil Eaters in the Gulf

By now you probably know about the oil spill (if not then shame on you). If you know about the giant oil spill then you probably already know about the mysterious bacteria that scientists estimate has cut the work load nearly in half. But who is this masked savior (OK there technically not masked) who is helping save our planet? Well there are actually 7 types of bacteria that are helping in the gulf. The first of them is something called Alcanivorax Borkumensis (sometimes referred to as A. borkumensis). It is a rod-shaped bacteria that is not just found cleaning up oil in the gulf but also everywhere from Spain to Canada. They exist in all time low numbers except in the explosion after an oil spill. They specialize in breaking down the alkalines but their waste also helps other bacteria...

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Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery: LiFePo4

A lithium iron battery is a lithium ion battery which uses iron phosphate (LiFePO4) as cathode material. But first, we must understand what a lithium battery is to get a better idea of the advantages of a LiFePo4 battery. Lithium-ion batteries (or simply lithium batteries) are batteries which use lithium based material as a cathode and a variety of other materials (most commonly graphite) as anode. These batteries are commonly found in portable devices, such as cellphones, digital cameras, and others due to its light weight, small form factor and long battery life. Lithium batteries have the advantage of using lithium, which is the element that is most easily oxidized. It means that it can easily give up an electron, which is then used by the circuit to power itself. The easier electrons...

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The Truth About Behaviour, Emotions and Emotional Intelligence

After over 10 years in studying human behaviour from the psychological and the sociological perspectives in detail I am left with only one conclusion and that is that human behaviour is not governed by the cognitive functioning domain, but human behavior is governed by the inner soul of man, which technically speaking means the Inner Interactive System of man. The main reason that we are not governed by our thinking is because each of us have the ability to choose, whatever we want unless we take away the ability to rationalize through different chemicals or drugs. Proof of this lies in the scientific facts that we all have unique finger prints, DNA, looks, hair, voices and so many other unique features that makes evolution of a unique person impossible, especially due to the number of different...

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