Wikiversity:Help desk/Archive 3

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dismissal letters

i would like a sample of a dimissal letter in the category of business.plz and i would really appreciate if the sample was written so i can see what to work with thanking you in advance

I don't have an answer for you but you might get better results if you posted here: w:en:Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Miscellaneous. StuRat 03:01, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
Did you try searching Google on the string: "letter of dismissal"? I found the following as one of the first hits:
http://www.hr.uconn.edu/samdisms.html
... and another here:
http://eap.ucop.edu/common/Forms/dismissal_sample-letter.pdf
Of course real world examples should consider a number of factors:
* what is the cause of the dismissal?
* what are the organizations policies regarding termination and what sorts of management and HR review procedures must be followed prior to "firing" someone? Are there required probationary periods, counseling or other remdiation efforts which might or must be pursued first?
* what are the local legal implications? Is this action likely to result in litigation or other consequences? Might it be construed as some form of wrongful termination?
* are there trade union or other contractual obligations which have to be fulfilled?
In some jurisdictions and in some market segments the dismissal of an employee "for cause" can be almost as involved as a criminal prosecution. Given the likely hostilities it can frequently carry the risk of litigation or formal complaints filed to various government agencies. In some cases the perceived risks and costs of these consequences can be so high that some organizations will tolerate a surprising degree of incompetence, negligence, and even harassment or petty theft rather than incur them. (Note, however, that the political and legal climate in the United States has largely made tolerating "harassment" ... particular "sexual harassment" a greater risk than most disciplinary actions that arise from it. I personally know of one case where a company desperately wanted to terminate a manager's employment for reasons related to his performance, but found it far more expedient to do so based on a rather dubious sexual harassment complaint)
JimD 21:39, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Iran-U.S. War

If Iran and the US were to go to war would it be likely for Iran to win?? And do you think russia or china will side with Iran or would they just stay out of the conflict(if it occurs) — 71.98.86.190 02:53, 3 April 2007 (UTC).

I agree that, while the US could prevail in the initial ground war, as in Iraq, occupation would not work, unless the US was willing to resort to genocide, as it did during the Philippines occupation, to end the resistance. The logical conclusion, then, is that the US should conquer Iran, destroy all their weapons and weapons programs, destroy the airports and remove all airplanes and helicopters, take all Iran's gold reserves, take all scientists who might work on weapons programs, radical politicians and radical religious leaders as prisoners of war, then withdraw, except for retaining control of the borders and pipelines at the borders. They can then demand that Iran agree to pay reparations, allow continual UN inspections of all sites in Iran without notice, etc. Iran will, of course, refuse, so no peace treaty will be signed and a state of war will exist permanently, allowing the US to keep the POWs permanently, as the war is still officially on. If, at any point, it appears that Iran is rebuilding any weapons programs, the US, still being officially at war with Iran, can then bomb or invade, as necessary, and repeat the process. While nasty, this may very well be the only way to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons (which will lead to the entire Middle East getting them) and supporting terrorism against Israel and in Iraq. StuRat 16:35, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
War is a nasty business. And when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own lives, as well as the lives of other innocents (who may be the same nationality/ethnicity/religion as them), war in this transhumanist age becomes even more dangerous—should nuclear weapons find their way into the Middle East, it would likely be only a matter of time before one ended up exploding in Israel. And then how could the world react? Retaliation if the bomb could be blamed on terrorists? Who does the world nuke? Or is atomic warfare immoral and never justified? Do we simply allow such attacks? The questions are endless.
StuRat has an important point, however. At what point is the cost of prevention greater than the cost of nuclear proliferation? Is it worth destroying an entire nation to prevent a nuclear attack? What if Saudi Arabia were to also decide to persue nuclear technology? What if Israel? At what point do we draw the line? The Jade Knight 18:53, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Although they don't admit it, it's a virtual certainty that Israel already has nuclear weapons. They have shown restraint in not using them in their various wars and terrorist attacks, but I can't imagine this restraint would continue if they were hit with nuclear weapons themselves. Thus, we would have a nuclear war. StuRat 20:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Incidently, I don't think Russia or China would dare intercede and risk war with the US. Particularly Russia, which is no longer a military power that could remotely match the US. The Jade Knight 18:54, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
In answer to Jade's question, to me the problem of drawing the line isn't nearly as difficult as you seem to make it. Iran certainly is in no shape to have nuclear weapons, as it's shown every indication it would be willing to use them. Less so, but still problematic would be Saudi Arabia. Israel on the other hand, has (or has probably had) nukes for decades, but with no offensive or expansionist ambitions whatsoever, their existence is 100% for deterent effect. Where should we draw the line? Easy. Name me a non-nuclear country and I'll tell you how I'd feel about them having nukes. If, say, Sweden or Canada were to decide to develop nukes, I'd say: "go ahead, be my guest, though I really have know idea why you'd want nukes, I trust your intentions, whatever they may be, so if you want them so badly, ... go ahead". Loomis 16:30, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
You make a good point. Up until now we've set the official goal of keeping anyone else from developing nukes and also getting rid of nukes in the countries which have them. A better goal would be just to keep them out of the hands of the evil countries, such as those which support terrorism, remain in a state of war with their neighbors, or have dedicated themselves to the destruction of another nation. StuRat 22:38, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
Very well said. The only problem with your argument is that it seems to imply that the identification of "evil countries" would be a rather simple task. Well, between you and me, I'm pretty sure we'd agree almost entirely on which countries are "evil" and which are not. (Perhaps the better term would be evil regimes, as even Iran isn't an "evil country", rather it's controlled by an "evil regime".)
Take for example GWB's now infamous "axis of evil", consisting of Saddam's Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Putting all other criticism of the man aside for the moment, you have to admit that he at least got that one right (or for the cynics among you, his advisors and speechwriters got it right). Nonetheless, this "axis of evil" has since been rejected as a ridiculous concept, for purely ad hominem reasons. Basically, many people are convinced that the guy's a moron and a liar, which is of course their prerogative. However they then resort to specious logic and conclude that since he's a moron and a liar, the only logical extention is that anything and everything he says must by consequence be either moronic or a lie. Makes perfect sense, no? Of course not, it's nothing but specious logic at its worst. You can feel whatever you want about the guy, but as they say, "even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day". Again, putting all other sentiment concerning the man aside, how many among you actually feel that the classification of the three above-mentioned regimes as consisting of an "axis of evil" of sorts was yet another moronic lie cooked up by GWB?
What I'm getting at is that all of those logically challenged moral relativists among us can't even agree to accept that the regimes of Iran and North Korea are evil, and remain part of an "axis of evil". Now if some of us insist that it's a completely unacceptable breach of "moral relativism" to label the Iranian and North Korean regimes as "evil", then how the hell can we possibly be expected to deal with all those other countries that fall into that enormous "grey area"? Lewis 16:51, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
I firmly agree that Iraq, Iran, and North Korea had evil regimes, but that doesn't mean it was smart for Bush to say so publicly. The result seems to have been to make NK and Iran even more committed to getting nuclear weapons. Then the military attack on Iraq was the worst possible choice. The Afghan war needed to be finished first, and bin Laden killed, before the US considered such an "optional" war. And, even then, Iraq should have been low on the list of threats, relative to Iran and NK.
Treating countries differently based on them have good records or bad makes sense, but also requires that we abandon a UN approach, because such a large portion of those countries have poor records, even some on the UN Security Council, like China. NATO should be used instead to attack those evil regimes that try to get nuclear weapons. Although, apparently, we first need to convince some weak-willed Europeans that keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of people dedicated to our deaths is worth fighting for. NATO should also be expanded (and renamed) to include Australia, Japan, etc. StuRat 00:12, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
With the possible exception of the wisdom of publicly referring to evil regimes as just that, evil regimes, and with a few other relatively minor exceptions, we seem to almost completely agree. However, I disagree with you to the extent that I believe you're underestimating the influence of that great mass of mostly leftist, terribly misguided, pseudo-pacifist, moral relativist westerners. To me, THESE are the people that are at the core of the problem, even moreso than those insane ridiculous dictators of Iran and NK. Without this great mass of misguided western sympathy, these regimes would have collapsed a long time ago.
Let's say, for example, either the US or Israel decided enough was enough and "unilaterally" went about on an "illegal" violation of airspace and sovereignty, completely obliterating Iran's nuclear capabilities, and unfortunately, in the process, having to live with the tragedy of several hundred casualties due to "collateral damage".
Do you honestly believe that such smart-ass pseudo-pacifist moral-relativists such as, for example, Michael Moore, Bill Maher or Jesse Jackson would approve of such a flagrant breach of "international law"? Of course not. They'd just continue with their tiresome incoherent whining, throwing in as many red herrings as they can think of: "It's all about Oil! If the Iranians want nukes, we have no right to stop them, besides, Israel's got nukes, right? Why the "double-standard"? Then there'll be those hyper-pseudo-pacifists, boarding planes bound for Tehran with the intention of acting as human shields by holding hands and singing "Give Peace a Chance". Oh, and I almost forgot, we all know that any strike against Iran is obviously meant entirely to serve the interests of Haliburton, right? Lewis 01:38, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
A few nutjobs don't bother me, but I get the impression the majority of Europeans aren't willing to go to war to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Heck, many aren't even willing to impose strict sanctions.
I do have to say, however, that I'm mighty suspicious of Haliburton. We get into a war with Iraq, apparently on Cheney's faked evidence, then a no-bid contract is given to Cheney's old company, Halibruton. That's just not right. There should never be a no-bid contract in the first place. That's an obvious invitation for politicians to give away money to their associates. StuRat 03:31, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Shouldn't the real reason why anyone would declare war with Iran be the fact that the country is ruled by an evil regime, no matter whether this regime wants to have nuclear weapons or not? a.z. 04:05, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Everyone here is invited to keep discussing this at War and Iran! a.z. 06:33, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

There are a huge number of countries ruled by evil regimes, more than we could hope to overthrow. Most only pose a threat to their own people. For example, the governments of W:Zimbabwe and W:Myanmar, while evil, don't threaten the West. It would therefore be next to impossible to get people to agree to fight and die to remove those governments. StuRat 04:19, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
I think you should move that page to User:A.z./War and Iran, or it will likely be deleted. Even here I think they have restrictions on where you can create talk pages. StuRat 04:19, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
I asked about it on the colloquium. a.z. 04:53, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Education

Is the education system headed in the right direction ? 61.95.191.49 20:41, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

I would say no. There have been major changes in society with which education has largely failed to keep pace. For example, information used to be difficult to obtain, but now is readily available online. In chemistry, for example, if you didn't know the boiling point of benzene at standard temp and pressure, you would need to look it up at a library. This would make it important for a chemistry major to memorize such info. Today, however, such info is readily available on any computer with an Internet connection, so memorization is less important. This applies to all fields of knowledge. So, if time no longer needs to be spent on memorization, where should it be spent ? I would argue that learning how to think logically, argue a point persuasively (and politely), and creatively invent novel solutions to problems are far more important than rote memorization of facts.
How does education need to change to teach such skills ? First off, we need to make it "bottom up" instead of "top down" education. Instead of having teachers say "the solution to problem X is solution Y", we should have them say "in the past, solutions A, B, and C have been tried, which of these do you think is best or which alternatives would you suggest ?". The solutions proposed should then be discussed. Some may have merit, some may not. For example, if the problem is kids setting fires for thrills, "having everyone pee on the fires until they go out" is not a good solution, but "create a place where kids can indulge their instincts to play with fire in a safe environment with adult supervision" may very well be a good solution which adults haven't thought of before. StuRat 20:41, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
I would also say no. StuRat has some interesting thoughts. I'm sort of fed up with the US education system, at least at the K-12 level. The Jade Knight 05:14, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
Another no. I teach at the post-secondary (undergraduate) level. Most of my colleagues still use the stick approach or are too lazy to teach much, and certainly not well. Instead of teaching the students how to find things, how to think about things, and how to engage with the changing world, the students are forced to memorize irrelevant or easily retrievable data. I actually had a student tell me that my class is the only interesting one he is taking (out of 5). This makes me incredibly sad, especially because this student is very intelligent and extremely diligent. The belligerence that the tenure system has engendered is itself an enormous problem.
My big challenge with Wikiversity is the need to keep some kind of version control when using this for the classroom. For example, I cannot assign a project activity and have the thing being rewritten before the students complete it. I can assign these based on the particular version, but if I wanted to make a change to that version, for clarification, etc., I would have to wipe out any intermediate changes that I did not want to use. Some kind of support for massive forking and merging (while scary) would really help out with adoption. As it sits for now, I will build out my own private wikis on the topic material (but use much of Wikiversity as a nice organizing rubric). --jeffmcneill 03:50, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
I don't think forking is much of an option now, since that would increase the number of versions dramatically and make it even more difficult for anyone to find the "best" version. I wonder if Wikiversity will do something like Wikipedia 1.0, where they put clean versions of many of the articles on a CD, for those who don't want to deal with constant changes. StuRat 04:18, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Clean versions won't work so well, because lecturers need to be able to make changes to "their" version. The idea of one best version and no ownership is the sticking point here. For Wikipedia, that is great, in fact keeps the momentum going through lack of ownership. For lecturers who need to be able to accept or reject changes and change their own version, that is not so good. Maybe there could still be one version, but the idea would be that users could have their own edits that could exist on top of the one version. So the different edits "on top" would exist in a user space. The user could then always accept merging the latest version into their own version. Something that could compare a latest version, an earlier version, and the modified (user-edited) earlier version could allow for acceptance of sections. jeffmcneill 23:53, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
Yes, and that's not just needed for Wikiversity, but for all online docs. I often need to print out a hardcopy just so I can make corrections and add notes in the margins. You can do that here by copying the best version of the article you can find to your area, as User:Jeffmcneill/my_stuff, for example, and changing it until your heart's content. StuRat 01:45, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Salts

What are the effects of sodium chloride and calcium chloride on plants?

I'm not sure about calcium chloride, but plants, just like animals, tend to have a fairly narrow range of NaCl they can tolerate. Ocean plants, for example, aren't likely to survive in fresh water and vice versa. Most land plants can't take high sodium levels, either, with a few exceptions, like mangroves. StuRat 01:56, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
As a graphic example of the effect of sodium chloride .... in the olden days armies used to salt the fields around defeated cities to create a lasting economic disincentive to for enemy cities to be rebuilt. In more recent times it has been discovered that improper irrigation techniques can lead to a build of salts and reduced fertility of the irrigated fields.
Good example. Did multiple armies do that ? I'd only heard about the early Romans doing that to Carthage after the W:Third Punic War. StuRat 01:58, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Open to Suggestions

Hypothetically, lets suppose that I live with a family member who for practical purposes displays obvious signs of unhappiness with his job and his life. Lets further suppose that he runs his own business, but it is in financial trouble because the mans unhappiness with his job has resulted in serious slide in business. Those around this person believe that he probably suffers from clinical depression, but the man in question refuses to believe it and, having a background in medicine, would likely know how to spot and stop any attempt made to treat such a condition. Furthermore, lets suppose that his coworkers, friends, and family are trying to help him, but are not sure what should be done to get the man back to his former self. Would anyone have any suggestions about what should be done? I'm desperate here, so I'll take any advise I can get. 70.254.22.164 22:32, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

I suggest that a change is in order. The man might need to pursue a new career, a new hobby, or (unfortunately for his wife), a new romance. Of course, only he knows what part(s) of his life have become meaningless to him, but there might be some clues. For example, if he hates to go to work, the problem may be there. If he hates to go home, it may be there. StuRat 02:01, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
I would suggest a new career, but this guy is stubburn as hell. I hate to think that this is somehow my fault, since I technically qualify as a person in the home, but I can not rule out something at home either. Thank you for advise, BTW, I apreciate it. (I wish I could say it was under better circumstances). 70.254.22.164 23:31, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
You're welcome, and good luck. StuRat 02:19, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Global Warming

Just how serious is global warming ?

That depends on where you are. Some countries, like W:Bangladesh, may be almost completely destroyed as a result of flooding, while others, like W:Canada, may even benefit. In Canada's case, the opening of the W:Northwest Passage to commercial vessels could be quite a benefit. StuRat 06:40, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
This is, of course, assuming that global warming is having the effects we think it is. It's also not just a matter of where you are, but what you do—if you own a de-icing company in Canada, global warming is bad for you. If you own a life-vest company in Bangladesh, you may even benefit. The Jade Knight 11:55, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Before this thread is taken any further, it should be noted that 'global warming' is a misleading term... more suitable is 'climate change', as it is a more accurate description of what will and is happening. Climate change is of course a very serious subject, as the changes and consequences forecast will necessitate many changes in the way human society is organised, and will also cause massive changes in global and local ecosystems. The most recent chapter of the report from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) is entitled "Climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability" and a summary can be downloaded from the IPCC website - google will find it no worries, (click on the climate change result and not the property and casualty result - you'll see what I mean - yes this is kind of stating the obvious)

True, there are some areas that will cool, even though the overall trend is warming. Still, "climate change" sounds just like normal variation. Perhaps "severe climate change" would better convey how serious the situation is. StuRat 01:53, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
Much more research is needed on what it was like on earth about 1000 years ago. Today's warming is widely acknowledged to be a recovery from the cold of 400 years ago. So, what was it like in Bangladesh 1000 years ago? Much evidence it was warmer then than today! As noted above, the climate is always changing. People rarely have the humility to admit that we don't actually know much about why it changes or how much we impact it. (Those who are as alarmist about this as Y2K have many new discoveries to reflect on, such as the warming on Mars, the demonstration (with improved measurement resolution) that historically CO2 change comes after temperature change, and the fact that 20th century warming models are based on the fallacy that urbanization does not warm the local climate.) MrPete 10:02, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Police brutality

What do you think about police brutality ?

I think it is far more serious than simple assault, as this can lead to a total breakdown in the W:social contract where the majority of people trust the police to protect them from criminals. Once the police become the enemy, people will organize other ways to protect themselves, which involve carrying weapons and joining gangs. Eventually, this can spiral into rebel groups battling government forces with killings of civilians on both sides. StuRat 19:08, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
I think professionalism is something extremely important in matters such as this, and in the military, which also comes to mind. It is all about that for me. In the end, I think they should "get off easier," if something they did was mildly questionable in terms of "brutality," and I think no special distinction at all should be made by race. Mac Davis 02:40, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
I strongly disagree with the idea that they should "get off easier". If a civilian (non-cop) hits someone, they can just hit the person back. If a cop does that the same response could get the victim killed or imprisoned. This makes it a much more severe crime I would call "abuse of authority", not just simple assault. StuRat 03:45, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Rawfoodian Etiquette

What do you do if you are attempting to adopt W:Raw foodism and you would like to attend a social outing at any of your typical "greasy-meat-only" restaurants with family and friends. I don't want to give off any attitude of judgment, and I don't want to be accused of being a cheapskate by bringing my own food to the restaurant with me and eating that instead (even though it is cheaper). What do people do in this situation? NoClutter 19:52, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

I would say compromise is in order. Perhaps they have salads and some whole grain rolls ? This might not be quite as healthy as what you normally eat, but it's probably far better than what everyone else at the table is eating. StuRat 20:01, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Stevia

Hi I read the article about Stevia on Wikipedia and it mentioned that the FDA only approved it as a diet supplement not an actual food additive. I am a bit confused by this. Does that mean if you wanted to make a cookie for example and sell it in the mass market and you wanted to use Stevia instead of sugar that you could do that if it was marked as a diet cookie or you can't do that? How does that work precisely? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.120.225.24 (talk) 17:16, 10 April 2007 (UTC).

Some have suggested that stevia is so classified to prevent it from competing with W:saccharin, W:NutraSweet, and other artificial sweeteners. The problem is that US companies have made a major investment in those artificial sweeteners, and the FDA feels the need to protect US businesses from competition. This is not what the FDA was designed to do, they are supposed to protect consumers from bad products. There is plenty of evidence that artificial sweeteners are harmful, and W:stevia is safe, but the FDA just doesn't seem to care about that when so much money is involved. Stevia should be labeled as a food, using the Generally Recognized As Safe classification. StuRat 04:16, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

How to separate?

How can I separate barium sulfate from a mixture of barium sulfate and copper(II)sulfate?

I don't have an answer for you, but suggest you might get better results by posting detailed technical questions like this at the Wikipedia Science Reference Desk. StuRat 17:49, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
I bet a table of solubilities will help. Try this one [1]. I imagine you will add water and then filter. Nimur 18:05, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
Barium Sulfate (BaSO4) has a solubility of <1% in water. Copper Sulfate (CuSO4) is completely soluble in water. Dissolve and filter. Barium Sulfate will be the white solid that remains in the filter. The Copper Sulfate can be recovered by evaporating the water. Note that unless it is heated to above the boiling point of water at whatever given pressure you are at, you will no longer have Copper (II) sulfate, but rather Copper (II) Sulfate*pentahydrate. (CuSO4*(H2O)5)

Distance between earth and moon

What is the distance between the earth and the moon?

This would be a good candidate for the Astronomy Help Desk, but I'll answer anyway. Take a look at our W:Moon article, which lists the range from 363,104 km (perigee) to 405,696 km (apogee). StuRat 17:45, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Why are parrots so damn messy when they eat ?

Give my W:lovebird a handful of peanuts to snack on and after shelling the nut (okay, legume!), she'll crunch it in her bill and drop about two thirds of it onto the floor, then go straight onto shelling the next one, ignoring the fragments from then on. Yep, she's wasting food and making a mess of my carpet at the same time. Give her a piece of apple/orange/banana and she seems to shred and fling more than she eats. All the psittacines I've ever owned have been the same. Question: why are these birds so wasteful with their food? I can't imagine food supplies being so plentiful and regular in the wild that they can get away with doing that all the time (yet, according to the parrot documentaries I've watched, wild birds seem to eat in pretty much the same way)... --Kurt Shaped Box 10:22, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

I'd guess their beaks are designed for cracking large nuts, which makes it difficult for them to do the fine detail work of separating good food from the rest. I imagine that, in the wild, they could manage to find all the food that fell out of their mouths and eat it, if they were still hungry. However, if they have excess food, why should they bother ? There might also be a benefit to spilling fruits and nuts, in that it causes those food plants to grow where dropped, thus increasing the bird's food supply in subsequent years. StuRat 13:51, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
My general observation would be that in parrots' natural habitat - forests of the tropics and sub-tropics - food is generally in abundance, so therefore they can afford to waste such amounts. Dunno, though.. Cormaggio talk 12:33, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Government - the cyclical pattern in historical governments

I read somewhere that a theory exists defining how government has changed throughout history. This theory explains that forms of government seem to be changing in a circular pattern, which persists, and eventually whatever form of government we have today will eventually change into a form of government we have experienced before.

I don't know any specific terms, so I've had a hard time of finding what I'm looking for on Wikipedia. I'd appreciate any leads to an article here, or to external documentation. -- Secondary Ed. Undergrad 19:51, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't think this must happen, but can. In particular, many third world nations toggle between radical socialism and unbridled capitalism. The radical socialism causes economic problems with a lack of investment due to a lack of potential profits. This then leads to unbridled capitalism, which causes the overall economy to improve, but the distribution of wealth to become unacceptably tilted toward the rich, eventually leading back to radical socialism. The way to break the cycle is to settle on something midway between capitalism and socialism, which most of the First World nations have done. StuRat 20:01, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
I'm looking for a way to apply it to the civic education of students discussions. I'm writing a paper on the topic, and also working on a speech to persuade individuals to involve their children in their communities. I think if I could apply this theory, it would greatly help me in defending the need for civic participation in American democracy. I would hopefully be able to use it to show the potential for undesireable change in our society. -- Secondary Ed. Undergrad 20:34, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
I'd focus on the economics. The industrial economy which led to the growth of the middle class has now ended, leaving mostly low-paid service jobs (waiters, secretaries, etc.) with a small number of high paid jobs. This will lead to a wide economic disparity where a very small portion of the country controls almost all the wealth. This is the type of situation which has led to socialist revolutions. However, if the poor can be helped to obtain social mobility, as in past generations, this may provide a safety valve for the pressure which would otherwise build up. Here is where volunteers could come in. Poor people need the following services to try to improve themselves:
1) Child care.
2) Rides to jobs, college, job training, grocery stores, health care, etc.
3) Tutoring in English and other subjects.
4) An advocate/ombudsman.
You could argue that providing such services on a volunteer basis would be good for the country in the long run, and good for your particular area immediately. StuRat 23:28, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
What you're saying makes some sense. Unfortunately it stretches a little too far away from the central ideas of my work. This is an entire semester's effort, so I can't go so far out of the way I've already paved for myself.
If I can't manage to find this theory, I can still use some of John Ward Studebaker's work from the 30's to prove precedence. -- Secondary Ed. Undergrad 00:58, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
OK, good luck ! StuRat 01:13, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
What's an example of "unbridled capitalism" (as distinct from crony capitalism, where non-cronies remain bridled) in the Third World? —162.119.64.112 21:02, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Employment question

I want to work with them, they sent me an agreement, have anyone worked with them ?

<quote>Gecco Logistics Company is looking for new candidates for the shipping manager position. We are the world's largest global transportation company, operating in more than 18 countries and territories and employing 20000 people worldwide. Many Internet auctions and stores in the US do not ship the products overseas. As the result thousands of customers in Europe and Asia are not able to access the large market and purchase high-quality merchandise at so low prices. Our service is in the ever-growing demand. Today we have more then 80 merchandise managers on the territory of the United States and Canada but quantity of our customers increases and we plan to expand. As a part-time employee, you'll have access to the following benefits: - $3,100 per month - You need 8-10 hours free during the week, not more - $36,000 per year - Free UPS shipping - Comprehensive medical and life insurance for you and your dependents - Weekly paychecks - Direct deposit - Set work schedule If you are interested in our offer send the following data to our e-mail resume@gecco-logistics.org - Your full name - Your contact e-mail - Your phone number Thanks </quote>

This comment was originally added elsewhere by User:84.16.235.197

It sounds mighty suspicious to me, the pay is just too high, around $80/hour. Be especially careful if they want you to send them any money, for any reason. Chances are they will keep that money and never pay you back. StuRat 13:45, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
I've found that it appears to be a German company:
Gecco Logistics Services
Gewerbering Süd 2
97359 Schwarzach
I'm still suspicious of any company that offers jobs that pay that much over the Internet. StuRat 14:15, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
It is very likely that the actual job is to be an intermediary for goods ordered from overseas with stolen credit cards or with stolen e-bay accounts. They would ship those goods shipped to their employees (US)addresses, and then the employee would ship them to the overseas address, possibly taking a cut, or beiing scammed as well. I would suggest to stay away from them and to report to suspicious offer to the site where you found the job offer.
A common scam (I hear) is to say they need someone in the USA to handle international transfers of funds: you receive checks drawn on foreign banks and pass on (say) 85% to them. Apparently there's a law that USA banks must make the funds available to you in N days whether or not the check has cleared. So: you check your balance and see that the foreign check has been duly credited to your account; you send off your check for 85%; a week later you learn that the foreign check was bogus after all. —162.119.64.112 21:09, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

non-combatants/civilians in war

Hi, I have read all the relevant pages on wikipedia about civilians in war but i really need some academic opinion or articles to read on te extent of non-combatant immunity in war.

My thinking is that this principle is not absolute for the following reasons;

1.It cant be avoided that civilians will be killed, even if not directly targetted (for e.g. due to weapon malfunctions etc.

2.Civilians may be in/around military objects, and becuase these constitute a means of winning the war with their destruction there cannot be an absolute ban on the targeting of such objects. Here i would bring in the principle of double effect probably, stating how as long as it is proportional then it is ok for cvilians to be killed.

Are these the types of issues i should be looking at or am i missing some of the main points??

I also need to be reflective and critical about these exceptions-how do i do this??

I'm very greatful for any help you can give me.

xx —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.139.48.230 (talk) 15:21, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

On your first point:
1) I agree that in modern warfare a certain number of civilian casualties are unavoidable.
2) In "classical warfare", however, where two opposing forces clashed on a field of battle and the war did not extend beyond the battlefield, it was possible to avoid all civilian casualties. I don't believe this was an accident, since, under feudalism, if warlords wiped out each other's civilian populations, both sides would have been so weakened that they would then be conquered by others.
On your second point, I believe some principles exist (often unwritten) which justify the targeting of civilians:
1) Utility: "Without targeting civilians the war can not be won, with targeting civilians the war can be won."
2) Lesser of two evils: "Targeting civilians can bring the war to a quick end and thus reduce total civilian casualties."
3) Vengeance: "Once the other side targets civilians, we can, too."
4) Necessity: "If you can't distinguish between enemy combatants and civilians, it is permissible to target them all." This can occur when attacked by those in civilian clothing, either alone or in addition to those in uniform.
In the case of the US use of nuclear weapons to target Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all four played a role (although, on bullet one, it was whether the war could be won with an unconditional surrender), and also the fact that the Japanese attack on the US was prior to the declaration of war. StuRat 16:05, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
One form of the "Utility" rationale is that bombing civilians will make them so eager to end the war that they'll turn against their government; see, for example, Britain's swift capitulation after the London Blitz, or the triumph of anarchism in New York after 9/11. —162.119.64.112 21:12, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Conjugal Visits

I don't even know if I'm posting this in the right spot, so if I'm not, I'm truly sorry. I have a question about Conjugal visits. Why is it that only 6 US states allow them? I would think they would work well in a lot more states. Just curious and if anyone has the answer please let me know.

I can think of some reasons:
1) The public wants prison to be a punishment. As prisoners already get better treatment in many ways than they did before imprisonment (like free room and board, medical care, exercise, equipment, education, etc.) conjugal visits are seen as the "last straw" in making inmates lives enjoyable, thus eliminating whatever deterrent still exists in the prison system.
2) Conjugal visits create the possibility of pregnancy, either in an incarcerated female or a female whose husband/boyfriend is in jail. In neither case does this pregnancy bode well for the resultant child.
3) Conjugal visits create the possibility of spreading venereal disease, either out of the prison or into the prison.
4) Such visits increase the likelihood of contraband items (like drugs and weapons) being smuggled into the prison. StuRat 05:20, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Well that's only somewhat true.
1) It's a myth that prisoners get better health care. Just look at the California system which has been ordered into Federal reciever-ship. Room and board I'll give you that one. Exercise ?? If you mean that they let you out of your cell to go to the yard then that's true. If you mean having a gym then that's another myth. Most prison gyms are now full with three tier bunks for prisoners. Equipment ?? Again a myth ?? Even on the so-called soft yards you can't even get horse-shoes cause of the potential for the items being used in a riot. Don't get me wrong, prisoners brought on many of the sanctions themselves. Education, that's the biggest myth. The only places where the education is anything but GED level is in the Level 4 prisons where most if not all of the prisoners will NEVER see the light of day to use those skills.
You're other points, 2,3,4 are right on though...Jwwicks 19:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

300 more birthdays

hey, today *out of all the days lol* i was just wondering. what are the chances that science will grant us the technology to live an additional 300 years; *assuming it can be done* with like stemcell or whatever other means. and will this be possable sometime during my lifetime or is this kind of technology far away?. Lets not forget affordable. if this tech does come in my lifetime will it be afordable lets say a middle or lower class person? thanks for yout time User:Maverick423 If It Looks Good Nuke It 18:13, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

I would say no, not that much of an extension in your lifetime. Going beyond, say, 150 seems to require that we abandon our biological bodies and copy our intelligence into a computer. This probably can't be done for many generations yet. StuRat 19:03, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
The only problem is that this would only mean that we would die and a copy of us would still exist inside a computer... a.z. 03:29, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
Good point. I suppose having a copy of you is better than nothing, though. StuRat 05:40, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
You should look into Transhumanism. The Jade Knight 07:25, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
To answer the last question first, consider how many products have gone from luxurious to ubiquitous in living memory: telephones (okay maybe not living memory), television and related toys, various safety features on cars. I see three main possibilities:
  • Life extension is made available on the free market, first to the rich and eventually to nearly everyone.
  • Government takes over, to prevent long life from becoming a privilege of the rich, and
    • long life becomes permanently a privilege of politicians and their friends.
    • life extension is declared an entitlement, becomes an ever-growing drain on the public budget, and eventually is rationed in various camouflaged ways; see previous.
—162.119.64.112 21:21, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
I thought of a twist on the last one: treatment is made available "free" but only to those who need it most, i.e. those who have already lived longer than most poor people ever do. —162.119.64.112 21:45, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

How long does a it take for a spacecrft to travel 20 light years

see question please thx

A light year is about 5.8 trillion miles, so it's going to take a very long time. Today's spacecraft would be totally unsuitable to make such a trip. The W:Cassini probe, for example, has a speed of around 11,700 miles per hour. At that rate, it would take some 500 million hours to go one light year or 10 billion hours to go 20 light years. That's 417 million days or 1.14 million years. If we imagine future spacecraft, perhaps we could travel near the speed of light. It would take about a year at a comfortable acceleration of 1 g (normal Earth gravity) to get up to the speed of light, during which the spacecraft would fly about half a light year. Just the reverse would be happen during deceleration, so that would be 2 years to travel one light year. The remaining 19 light years would take 19 years at the speed of light, so it would be 21 years total. However, due to time dilation, those on board would only see about a year of total elapsed time. StuRat 03:17, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
[2] --Remi 05:02, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

What are the things you can do with Vinegar?

I keep reading about health benefits of Vinegar. I can't seem to find anyone that has any information unless I pay for the information. I can't help thinking that there is simple explanation for the uses ,but why do I want to pay?

You can eat it as salad dressing (particularly W:balsamic vinegar), in cole slaw, in pickles, etc. It is also sometimes used by women as a W:douche. Try doing a google search on "vinegar" "recipe". I found lots of free recipe sites, like this one: [3]. StuRat 16:12, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
It's also great for cleaning retainers & dentures, no joke! And my grandmother used a vinegar-soaked rag to "wipe up" smoke. The Jade Knight 07:27, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Iraq conflict

Sensibly speaking, what's going on in Iraq right now doesn't really strike me as being a 'war' per se. Is there a more accurate descriptor? -- the best I can come up with is 'drama'. When I think of a war I think of two countries at each other's throats, but in Iraq, the majority of citizens seem quite happy with the US's presence. Vranak

I don't agree with "quite happy". Most Iraqis correctly see the US invasion and poorly handled aftermath as the source of the current violence in Iraq, but also realize that the violence will likely get much worse when the US withdraws. However, it seems to me that a civil war is now inevitable, so I'm not sure if delaying it (and thus delaying the eventual solution, which I think will be a three way split) really helps anything. StuRat 03:30, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

What do you think is the best approach to use in forming and developing the East africa economic co-operation?

What do you think is the best approach to use in forming and developing the East africa economic co-operation?

I would suggest a free trade region be created, to avoid the harmful effects of import quotas and levies. Also, tax free W:enterprise zones should be created, ideally in border areas, to maximize the economical potential of capitalism. Next, a trading block should be created to boost economic clout when dealing with other nations. In addition, for long term growth, I think a priority should be placed on birth control, to keep the population down to a sustainable level. This will prevent the type of tensions which led to the W:Rwanda genocide. Also, with fewer people this will allow more resources to be spent on each, much as happened as a result of China's W:One Child Policy, leading to a higher education level, which will be an engine for economic growth. StuRat 19:57, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Economic cooperation for East Africa can take two major approaches,to take into consideration the best ways to enable each partner state to make optimal use of the expanded market for its products,to allow free and equitable movement of knowlege and technology amongst the partner states,free movement of expertise,skills and experiences in various economic fields with a primary objective of building a common and stronger one East African economy ready to face the broader and rude world market with one East African voice.To my opinion this is where we have to put emphasis in order to prepare our co-operation to advance towards the ultimate goal which in my opinion is geared at creating a situation whereby we can command a significant portion of the world market on say tourism,mining,fishing[Lake Victoria]etc.It is only until we address these fundamental benchmarks that we can put our selves on the right track,otherwise we will be crambling amongst ourselves trying to share the very little within our boarders rather than look for something bigger which can certainly come from the global economy.[Mapambazukoleo]16.24,August2007.

Earth Science

What is the effect of increasing particle size on:

a)percent of pore space
b)water retained
c)rate of infiltration
I would speculate that larger particles would increase all of those. That is, with larger particles the gaps between the particles will also be larger, allowing more water to infiltrate more quickly. StuRat 16:19, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
The amount of pore space depends, it seems to me, on the range of particle sizes (and on their shape). A packing of equal spheres will never fill more than 3/4 of the volume, whatever their size, but if some spheres are small enough to fit in the holes left by the bigger spheres, more space can be filled. —162.119.64.112 21:25, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Life insurance

Is it legal to get life insurance for your husband or some1 else (in your family or not) without his knowledge, or without his consent (in which case the benifciary would be paying the premiums)? Cause you know how some people don't like getting life insurance (especially really juicy policies) because its like putting a bounty on your head? It wouldnt be fair if some1 else can put that "bounty" on your head, right? I'm mainly concerned with Canada. What about the U.S. and other countries? 209.53.181.69 23:06, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree that only those who have a financial interest in a person should be allowed to be named as beneficiaries in life insurance policies. I would also limit the benefit to the actual financial loss suffered from the death of the individual. For example, since the only financial cost of children's deaths would be the burial costs, insurance policies should be limited to those. Also, any adult with an insurance policy on them should be notified and required to give their approval. This would prevent someone they don't trust from insuring them anonymously. Unfortunately, I get the distinct impression that these sensible precautions are utterly lacking in many jurisdictions, as I occasionally read about a murder committed to collect on a secret insurance policy. StuRat 00:54, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
Actually, there are often significantly greater costs with respect to a death of a child than just burial costs. The death of a child can be fantastically expensive when all costs are included. Those can include: time off work for parents, counselling for other children, counselling for parents (sadly, the divorce rate for parents whose young children die is astronomically high - over 90% in Canada - but counselling can reduce that rate), and in the case of a homicide, time off work for the trial (up to six months in some cases), security measures, even relocation. The small girl who lived across the road from us was murdered about 30 years ago - burial wasn't in the top ten expenses that family had. --70.72.18.246 21:43, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

W:Atlantis

What is your opinion on the existence of Atlantis? Do you think a super continent existed in which Atlantis resided? Do you think that the Altantians had a hand in the Egyptian Dynasty? --Juliet 13:53, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

I go with the W:Thera eruption theory. That is, the ancient Greeks who lived there evacuated prior to the eruption. That was a small Greek island, not a continent, was in the Mediterranean, not the Atlantic, and they weren't an advanced civilization, they didn't even have writing. However, with time and many exaggerations, the story grew to what it is today. I also believe the people who escaped were first known as the W:Philistines and later became the W:Palestinians. Philistine art that has been recovered from the regions appears to be Greek. StuRat 14:25, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Newts: friend or foe?

I found a newt in my garden, under a piece of wood, together with some slugs. (With no lake or pond around anywhere.) What do they feed on? Do they eat my seeds like the slugs do? 84.160.200.176 19:27, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Some Newts are evil, other Newts are not. Our W:newt article does warn that you should wash your hands after handling them, though, as they can secrete a toxin and carry salmonella. StuRat 20:00, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Intelligent Design, my wagon!

Please explain to me the evolutionary history of hair on the behind... what purpose does it serve other than to stick to the exit crowd and cause a lot of pain?--Kirby♥time 01:31, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

http://www.skidmore.edu/scope/spring2004/features/hair.html David D. (Talk) 02:44, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
An article on anal hair from Skidmore ? How apropos. StuRat 03:15, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
Well what do you know, funny and educational. Win-win :) David D. 03:49, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
Well, we used to be hairy all over, for warmth, I assume. We've lost most of our hair, actually, so it's not that hair on the behind serves a specific purpose, but instead it hasn't been detrimental enough for it to be selected against. Wait a few hundred thousand years, and maybe butt hair will be gone. ;-) zafiroblue05 | Talk 02:46, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
They actually have a scientific name, you know: perianal hair (which we don't have an article on, unsurprisingly). Rockpocket 05:09, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
We used to have that article, but apparently W:Peri Gilpin objected. :-) StuRat 06:02, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Where is the page on building a pc

Somewhere on this site, I found a page related to building your own computer. Further contributions were asked for to clarify and expand on the instructions. I know someone who has extensive knowledge on the subject and would like to add their own contributions to the article. However, I have been unable to find the article, despite retracing my activities and using all the available means to search for this article. Worse, I can't even remember the exact title; it's something like How to build a computer or Build your own computer. Please can someone tell me how to find this article or point me to the correct page. Originally, I found it through the Browse or School pages, but haven't been able to find the exact page; the subject was amongst pages like how to make armour and so on.--Decheron 12:07, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

  • There was a book being drafted on Wikibooks on how to design and build your own PC. Perhaps you saw it there or it has been relocated there.

History

What books,articles,websites can i find that would tell me the united states history with mexico?the current relationship between the US and Mexico in diplomatic,military,and economic terms? Please let me know asap at starfire61190@yahoo.com

See W:NAFTA, W:United States-Mexico history, W:United States-Mexico barrier, W:United States-Mexico border. StuRat 04:35, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
Hmm... books usually require some time to read, and the "asap" seems to indicate you may want only an overview. If you're interested in reading an entire book, I would suggest "Distant Neighbors" by Alan Riding as a good starting point. That book helps explain some of the cultural and political motivations that might not be apparent from raw data. 152.16.59.190 07:51, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

United Nations

Just wondering what people's opinions is on the question: Is the UN capable and competent of keeping the peace in the post-Cold War order?137.166.4.130 11:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)Helena

I would say no. The basic problem is that many nations in the UN, and even permanent members of the Security Council, like China and Russia, simply don't care about preventing genocide. For example, China gets oil from W:Sudan, so vetoes any measure to prevent the genocide now occurring in W:Darfur, in return for favorable trade terms from the genocidal government of Sudan. The few cases where the UN has intervened, such as during the W:Korean War and in W:Afghanistan, seem to be as a result of being pushed by the US, with most troops provided by the US, as well. On the other hand, without the US taking the lead, the UN does nothing, as in the W:Rwanda genocide. IMHO, hope lies not with the UN, but with W:NATO, which is still mostly composed of nations which care about human rights (although they still require leadership by the US to do anything, such as in W:Kosovo). --StuRat 18:32, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Help For book access.

Help me how to get your free book access. --213.55.65.130 07:39, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean W:Wikibooks ? If so, click here: b:en:Main_Page. If you want access to public domain books, you might try W:Project Gutenberg, here: [4]. StuRat 13:19, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
Don't forget Wikisource, either! The Jade Knight 07:30, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

primary education

--82.34.239.98 12:32, 2 June 2007 (UTC)i want to register my child with watershed primary school

--213.55.95.4 07:07, 7 June 2007 (UTC) IS THERE ANY SCHOLAR SHIP PROGRAMME FOR POST GRADUTE STUDENTES?

We can't answer your question because we don't know where that school is. Can you give us the name of a city and country ? We still might not be able to answer, but would at least have a chance with that info. StuRat 01:12, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Deletion of uploaded files

In the course of preparing material I have updated some of the media files I have presented, but can't figure out how to delete older versions?

Is it possible to delete previously uploaded media files?

If so, how? if you can leave me a message on my personal page it would help.

Thank you in anticipation. --Kittybriton 21:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

I replied at your talk page. --JWSchmidt 22:00, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

How can I stegthen my brain?

How can I stegthen my brain? What are the best excersises.--71.130.221.190 06:00, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

I advocate games to increase brain power, as this makes it fun and likely that you will continue. Which games depends on what you are trying to strengthen. If you want to improve your memory, I suggest the card game W:Memory (card game), if you want to increase general knowledge, I suggest watching shows like W:Jeopardy! or playing trivia games, like W:Trivial Pursuit. If you want to increase knowledge of a particular area, there may be games specific to that area, like W:Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? for geography. StuRat 11:05, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
There's also W:Brain Age, which is fun too. The best way to exercise a brain over the long term is probably a complex strategy game, such as W:Go or W:Chess. I second the suggestion for memory, however use websites that have memory for different things, such as [www.genkijapan.net Genkijapan.net], where the memorization is Japanese kana, or something that interests you. --W:User:Feba23:00, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Legality of Child Selling

Strictly speaking, in the USA, would transferring custody of a child in exchange for currency be legal, as long as they weren't being put into some illegal situation, such as sexual abuse or slavery? -- Phoeba WrightOBJECTION! 02:42, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Not if you called it a payment for the child, no. However, if it's called an "adoption fee", to be used to "defray costs of the adoption agency", then it's perfectly legal. This is similar to how a credit card company can't let you borrow $1000 for a year and charge an additional $1000 in interest, as that would be usury. However, they can charge the $1000 so long as they call it (or some $800 of it) something else, like "processing fees". StuRat 03:13, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
In Canadian courts, fees of any type are counted into the interest. If the resulting APR is over 60%, its criminal. Many cheque-cashing/payday advance companies get away with it on a regular basis simply because nobody presses charges. 209.53.181.168 23:17, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
That's a good first step, but 60% is absurdly high. I'd limit the rate to something like 30%, and then only for small, short-term loans. StuRat 01:02, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
Outlawing a service because you don't like its terms does not magically make a better service spring up: it makes the legitimate service go away, and its customers turn to the gangsters or (as in the case of housing) do without. —162.119.64.112 21:33, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

software application 1/microsoftword

--210.213.170.68 13:26, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't understand the question. StuRat 19:10, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Maybe there could be a version of Word processing challenges just for MS Word. --JWSchmidt 15:10, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Inorganic Chemistry: Radial distribution functions of hydogenic orbitals

Question: Which orbital, 3p or 3d, gives an electron a greater probability of being found close to the nucleus? I know that the answer is 3p, but I don't know how I can explain this correctly. Can you help me with that?

Alchemist 09:13, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Can you explain why it matters? The diagrams at w:Electron configuration might help you. --JWSchmidt 13:44, 27 June 2007 (UTC)
You are right - the answer is 3p. The radial distribution function for the orbitals 3p (n=3,l=1) and 3d (n=3,l=2) are very different. Take a look at the one for 3p and the one for 3d. It's too bad that these are not drawn to scale though. See how the 3p orbital has two humps, whereas the 3d orbital only has one? The first hump in the 3p graph is closer to the origin than the first hump of of the 3d graph. Roughly speaking, this means that the 3p orbital has a little bit of electron density that penetrates closer to the nucleus than the 3d orbital. This should answer your question. This makes sense - heuristically, in a hand-waving way, the d orbitals have to accommodate more electrons than the p orbitals. Electrons can't all crowd around the same place, so the natural thing to happen is for the d orbtials to expand outwards and become more diffuse (spread out more). Take a look at w:Hydrogen-like atom and w:Particle in a spherically symmetric potential for how to solve for the radial equations. The plots are not up yet though. There are two heuristics you can use if you are asked to determine whether orbital X has electron density closer to the nucleus than orbital Y. The orbital that has the lower principle quantum number n is closer. If n is the same, then look at the angular momentum quantum number l. The one that has the lower angular momentum number is closer. Why does this work? Imagine that lower quantum numbers means lower energy, and lower energy means closer to the nucleus. Hope this helps, and feel free to come back if you have more questions. --HappyCamper 16:29, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Want to learn Psychology.

--Krishna Tadepalli 11:32, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi I'm Krishna and I want to take up psychology course. Is there any instructor to conduct the course? or Is there any learning project related to this?

Regards, Krishna

Please have a took at School:Psychology. The Jade Knight 00:06, 29 June 2007 (UTC)
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