As a student of the Russian language, you have several alternatives by which you can learn it. If you choose to study Russian at the college level, and receive your degree in it, you will acquire an expertise in the language that can provide you with several career opportunities. With a degree in Russian, one career option for you is as a foreign language translator. Foreign language translation firms employ people who are fluent in many different languages, including Russian. Coupled with knowledge in another field (such as law or medicine), you would have the opportunity to work to bridge the gap between English-speaking and Russian-speaking business contacts by translating websites and documents for them. Another career opportunity would be as a teacher of English as a second language in a Russian-speaking country. After receiving your teaching certification, you could work for a language school in Russia teaching students how to speak, read, and write English. With a solid knowledge of Russian, you would be able to work and live alongside native Russian speakers with ease.

If you are interested in learning the Russian language for travel purposes, you can opt to enroll in an accelerated course online. You can learn basic Russian at your own pace, and you will feel more comfortable when you travel to Russian speaking countries if you know how to communicate you basic needs (such as asking for directions) to Russian residents. If you have the time and the financial resources, another option is to learn the Russian language by enrolling in an immersion program in Russia. An immersion program lasts anywhere from two to six weeks. By doing this, you will not only learn the Russian language, but you will also experience the Russian way of life. You will become part of the life and culture, and you will learn the language quickly, despite your uncertainties. Through intensive group and individual training, you will learn the conversational and colloquial styles of Russian. You will interact on a daily basis with people who are native speakers of the Russian language, and you will have no choice but to communicate with them in their native tongue. You will be captivated by the everyday life of Moscow or St. Petersburg. You will grow to understand and appreciate the Russian culture: the history, the art, the culture (the ballet!), the architecture, the food, and the people. You will attend courses in which you will learn the Russian alphabet, and learn how to read and write in Russian as well. Learning the Russian language in an immersion program is an exciting way to broaden you horizons and vacation all at the same time.

By learning to speak, read, and write the Russian language, you have the potential to one day embark on a career as a foreign language translator, providing an invaluable service to global corporations. You can live abroad and teach English to Russian students, while experiencing a new culture. Learning Russian will make you a more sophisticated traveler as well. You will be able to show more appreciation, and enjoy the Russian culture more when you can communicate with the residents. By learning the Russian language, you have the knowledge of another language, another history, another culture, and your scope of the world will be broadened just a little bit more. Russian Language

Learning the Russian Language is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

1. Create a timeline. Once you determine the day of the test work backwards. Budget a specific amount of time every day. Consider other homework, projects and time needed to study for other classes as you create your schedule.

2. Review a little each night. Do not wait until a test is announced to begin preparing for your test. Consider what would be easier reviewing for 5-10 minutes a night or cramming for three hours the night before a test and only remembering a fraction of what you studied?

3. Don’t just re-read notes or the text. Ask questions. Create flash-cards. Redo assignments. Create time-lines. Play games. Re-write your notes. Get someone to quiz you. Find websites online that review the same material. Make up questions that you think will be on the test. Create new outlines of the material by writing some specific topics and filling in the details from memory. Studying should be an active process, not just time spent re-reading something.

4. Ask the teacher what the format for the test will be. Will it contain multiple choice, true-false, short answer, essay, diagrams, graphs, equations, etc.? Will any information such as a periodic table or equations be provided for you on the day of the test? Do you need to bring a calculator?

5. Visit your teacher or tutor for extra help. Bring questions that you may have or ask for ideas regarding the best way to study for a particular assessment.

Go to www.live-etutor.com to learn more about online tutoring and watch a virtual tour inside of our online classroom. All tutors are screened, qualified and ready to help your child get better grades!

How Too Prepare For Tests And Guarantee Yourself An A is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

A lesson plan must be created with the goal of teaching your child the 44 sounds and the 43 phonics rules of the English language and how to appropriately apply them. The question is what lesson plan will most effectively accomplish this task?

There are numerous websites available that will provide you with sample lesson plans for phonics instruction; however, in this article lets talk about what you should look for in a strong lesson plan. With just a bit of planning, you can help teach your child to become an accomplished and confident reader.

When evaluating any lesson plan, there are several items to consider. Ask yourself these questions. Is the plan creative, interactive and supportive of the early readers efforts? Does the lesson plan utilize a variety of methods, such as textual, visual, audio, etc, to teach the concepts of phonics? Are there multiple opportunities in the lesson for your child to learn, practice, play and repeat what they have learned? It is through hearing and seeing the reading concepts in a variety of ways that your child will conceptualize and then utilize their newfound knowledge.

When our children were early readers, we utilized a lesson plan in which we created personalized booklets together. After we selected the letter we were going to study for the week, we cut the letter out of brightly colored card stock paper. We then made a small booklet by choosing several sheets of standard size card stock paper and stapling them together in the upper left corner. On the front page, we glued the letter for the week. Throughout the week, we looked through old magazines and selected pictures of items that started with the same letter and sound as our letter of the week. We then glued these pictures to the blank pages of our book and printed the word under the picture.. This allowed us to reinforce the recognition of the letter and the sound of the letter. By the end of the week, we often had to add extra blank pages because the children were so into the fun of searching out those pictures that matched the letter of the week. The booklet proved to be so valuable and became dog-eared from all the use.

Teaching phonics to your child only takes a commitment of time and a bit of creativity. Searching for phonics lessons plans will take some time, yes, but believe me when you hear your child begin to put sounds together and then begin to read you will realize it was time very well spent.

Phonics Lesson Plans For Your Child is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

The Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting tests to measure the levels of asbestos and other pollutants in dust and air samples at ground zero. Fortunately, in the two months following the attacks, few samples were found to be above federal standards in thousands tested.

However, some workers at ground zero have reported a persistent cough, sore throat and other respiratory problems they claim is a result of prolonged exposure to the smoke and dust. The condition has been dubbed the “World Trade Center cough.”

Although the majority of the tests show levels of contaminants including asbestos at low risk to the general public, workers at ground zero could be at a higher risk because of the long hours they spend in the dusty environment. Therefore, workers are encouraged to wear protective gear. Meanwhile, officials continue to monitor the site.

Commercial production of asbestos insulation began in 1879, and until the early 1970s, asbestos was widely used for insulation and fireproofing because its fibers are strong, flexible and do not burn.

However, it was discovered that asbestos is potentially harmful when dust from the manufacture and installation of asbestos-laden materials releases fibers into the air. When inhaled, it can lead to serious health problems including lung cancer and mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the chest or abdomen.

Because of the long latency period of asbestos disease, which can span 15 to 30 years, people do not develop it immediately after exposure.

Despite a federal ban on the production of most asbestos products in the early 1970s, installation of these products continued through the late ’70s and into the early ’80s. Workers in many industries including construction, automotive and shipping have come in contact with asbestos- containing material. Because asbestos fibers are airborne, workers can bring them home on their clothes.

If you have been exposed to airborne asbestos on the job and have been diagnosed with a related illness, you may be able to receive financial compensation by filing a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the asbestos products to which you were exposed. Weitz and Luxenberg, a 51-attorney firm in New York that specializes in asbestos cases, can help you through the procedure.

Officials Test Levels of Asbestos at WTC Site is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

Consider your interests.

You may be interested in pursuing an arts degree but because you believe in the myth of a Bachelor of Arts degree is not enough to find a well-paying job. Whereas, science and technology related degree has a better career path, so you put aside your degree of interest and force yourself you take a science and technology related degree. If you do this, you will find it harder to complete your degree and may give up the degree in half way or even if you have successfully earned the degree, you may find it harder to success in a career at a dislike working fields.

Hence, in the process of choosing what degree to pursue, you need to take into consideration of you interest. Sit down and carefully think of your future career which you are interested to build after your graduation, and from there, gather the information of the related degrees.

Set Your Career Goal

You need to have a clear understanding of what you want to do with your career and how earning a graduate degree will help you reach that goal. If you go to graduate school without a clear goal, you will probably end up wasting both time and money. You will have a better idea on your career goal by spending some time working on some self-assessment and career planning.

Then, gather the information about the degree requirements for the jobs, you can get the job requirement information from many of the job sites like AllStarJobs.com. Once you have degree requirement of you career of interest, then start to search for the related degree programs and shortlist the degrees of your interest for getting further information from universities or colleges who offer these degrees.

Decide Your Mode of Study

While knowledge on your field of interest is the key successor of you future career, experience of the related field play an important role in helping you to set your career path correctly. You may want to consider earn your degree online while get your working experience in your field of interest.

Today, online degree programs are increasing in popularity and creditability, more and more prestigious colleges and universities offer complete online degree programs taught by the same faculty who teach in their classrooms. The online degree programs is able to provide you with a convenience and flexible learning environment where you can complete your degree at your own planed schedule with the restriction of geography location. Hence, you can utilize this advantage to gain your working experience while pursuing your degree online.

In Summary

Today, the job market the job market is become extremely competitive, you need to stay continuous to upgrade yourself and equip with the necessary knowledge and experience to compete in this challenging job market. Planning your degree against your career aim with secure you for a brighter future.

How to Plan Your Degree In-line With Your Career Path is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

The anatomy of the brain shows us just how complex it truly is. There is so much about the brain science and the medical field have not yet uncovered. However, there is a great deal we have learned about the brain by studying the physical features of it. We have also learned from the neurological aspects of the brain. We have the ability to perform brain surgery and remove tumors as well as install plates for those who have neurological damage. This is a fascinating area of science and medicine that can be overwhelming to learn about in detail.

There are six main areas of the brain to learn about. The parietal lobe helps us understand written language as well as communicate with others. Our sensory cortex is located here, controlling the sensations we get with touching and amounts of pressure. This is also an area of judgment for size, weight and distance.

The occipital lobe is located at the rear of the brain. This is where visual information is processed. It helps use to recognize shapes and colors. The cerebellum helps us with coordination including balance and muscle movement that help you walk, talk, eat, and routine tasks involved in caring for ourselves.

The brainstem is a very important part of the brain. It is connected to the spinal cord. This portion of the brain helps with required body functions including breathing, digesting, the regulation of the heart rate, blood pressure, and being alert while awake.

The temporal lobe is how we smell. This is surprising information for most of us who think only the nose is responsible for our sense of smell. This region is also used for short term memory processing.

The frontal lobe is a very important portion of the brain. It is responsible for planning, organizing, problem solving, paying attention to details, behavior, and emotions. This is the area of our brain we use the most in our daily routines and decisions.

Since the brain performs so many features, it is obvious why a brain injury can be so serious. It can result in death if areas such as the brainstem are affected. Brain injuries can affect how other areas of the body are able to function. Ironically, we only use about 10% of our brain!

All About Brain Anatomy is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

The sun power that is used to operate a solar charger is a great way for people at the beach to keep their electrical devices running. Because solar chargers are meant to be used outside, they are naturally waterproof. They are made to withstand rain and other natural weather that may occur around them.

Weatherproof solar chargers are easy to find, the actual concern is more for the devices you are going to be charging with your solar energy charger. Most electrical devices that you will be charging with your charger are not weatherproof or waterproof at all. So even though your solar charger may be able to withstand a little water being splashed on it, that does not mean that your cell phone will be equally capable of operating in those watery conditions.

It is extremely important to keep all your electrical devices out of any water. Most devices will be ruined with very little water coming into contact with them. For those people who like to use their solar chargers at the beach, this can present a huge dilemma. They want to use a solar charger while relaxing at the beach, but they do not want to risk ruining their expensive electrical devices.

A simple solution is to remain far enough away from the water that you will not risk getting your device wet. You can also use an umbrella or other shading device to keep your electronics out of the weather in case it suddenly starts to rain. Just remember if you are using an umbrella to make sure and put your solar charger in the sunlight. If your charger is not in full sunlight, it will take much longer to charger your batteries or other devices.

Another solution for people who are afraid of water getting to their electrical devices is that they can put them in a plastic bag and only have the cord of the solar charger coming in through a small opening. This will protect the electronic device while still allowing it to be charged. This is a great option for sitting around the pool or at the beach. If the weather gets really bad, you should consider just packing everything up and heading for cover.

Solar chargers are very durable and can withstand most weather related conditions. It may still be necessary to remove your portable solar chargers from the weather if it is very stormy or windy out. A little rain should not bother them. Just make sure you have taken care of the devices you were charging because they are much more susceptible to rain and water damage than a solar charger is.

Is There a Waterproof Solar Charger? is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

Scientific theories invite constant criticism and revision. They yield new problems. They are proven erroneous and are replaced by new models which offer better explanations and a more profound sense of understanding – often by solving these new problems. From time to time, the successor theories constitute a break with everything known and done till then. These seismic convulsions are known as “paradigm shifts”.

Contrary to widespread opinion – even among scientists – science is not only about “facts”. It is not merely about quantifying, measuring, describing, classifying, and organizing “things” (entities). It is not even concerned with finding out the “truth”. Science is about providing us with concepts, explanations, and predictions (collectively known as “theories”) and thus endowing us with a sense of understanding of our world.

Scientific theories are allegorical or metaphoric. They revolve around symbols and theoretical constructs, concepts and substantive assumptions, axioms and hypotheses – most of which can never, even in principle, be computed, observed, quantified, measured, or correlated with the world “out there”. By appealing to our imagination, scientific theories reveal what David Deutsch calls “the fabric of reality”.

Like any other system of knowledge, science has its fanatics, heretics, and deviants.

Instrumentalists, for instance, insist that scientific theories should be concerned exclusively with predicting the outcomes of appropriately designed experiments. Their explanatory powers are of no consequence. Positivists ascribe meaning only to statements that deal with observables and observations.

Instrumentalists and positivists ignore the fact that predictions are derived from models, narratives, and organizing principles. In short: it is the theory’s explanatory dimensions that determine which experiments are relevant and which are not. Forecasts – and experiments – that are not embedded in an understanding of the world (in an explanation) do not constitute science.

Granted, predictions and experiments are crucial to the growth of scientific knowledge and the winnowing out of erroneous or inadequate theories. But they are not the only mechanisms of natural selection. There are other criteria that help us decide whether to adopt and place confidence in a scientific theory or not. Is the theory aesthetic (parsimonious), logical, does it provide a reasonable explanation and, thus, does it further our understanding of the world?

David Deutsch in “The Fabric of Reality” (p. 11):

“… (I)t is hard to give a precise definition of ‘explanation’ or ‘understanding’. Roughly speaking, they are about ‘why’ rather than ‘what’; about the inner workings of things; about how things really are, not just how they appear to be; about what must be so, rather than what merely happens to be so; about laws of nature rather than rules of thumb. They are also about coherence, elegance, and simplicity, as opposed to arbitrariness and complexity …”

Reductionists and emergentists ignore the existence of a hierarchy of scientific theories and meta-languages. They believe – and it is an article of faith, not of science – that complex phenomena (such as the human mind) can be reduced to simple ones (such as the physics and chemistry of the brain). Furthermore, to them the act of reduction is, in itself, an explanation and a form of pertinent understanding. Human thought, fantasy, imagination, and emotions are nothing but electric currents and spurts of chemicals in the brain, they say.

Holists, on the other hand, refuse to consider the possibility that some higher-level phenomena can, indeed, be fully reduced to base components and primitive interactions. They ignore the fact that reductionism sometimes does provide explanations and understanding. The properties of water, for instance, do spring forth from its chemical and physical composition and from the interactions between its constituent atoms and subatomic particles.

Still, there is a general agreement that scientific theories must be abstract (independent of specific time or place), intersubjectively explicit (contain detailed descriptions of the subject matter in unambiguous terms), logically rigorous (make use of logical systems shared and accepted by the practitioners in the field), empirically relevant (correspond to results of empirical research), useful (in describing and/or explaining the world), and provide typologies and predictions.

A scientific theory should resort to primitive (atomic) terminology and all its complex (derived) terms and concepts should be defined in these indivisible terms. It should offer a map unequivocally and consistently connecting operational definitions to theoretical concepts.

Operational definitions that connect to the same theoretical concept should not contradict each other (be negatively correlated). They should yield agreement on measurement conducted independently by trained experimenters. But investigation of the theory of its implication can proceed even without quantification.

Theoretical concepts need not necessarily be measurable or quantifiable or observable. But a scientific theory should afford at least four levels of quantification of its operational and theoretical definitions of concepts: nominal (labeling), ordinal (ranking), interval and ratio.

As we said, scientific theories are not confined to quantified definitions or to a classificatory apparatus. To qualify as scientific they must contain statements about relationships (mostly causal) between concepts – empirically-supported laws and/or propositions (statements derived from axioms).

Philosophers like Carl Hempel and Ernest Nagel regard a theory as scientific if it is hypothetico-deductive. To them, scientific theories are sets of inter-related laws. We know that they are inter-related because a minimum number of axioms and hypotheses yield, in an inexorable deductive sequence, everything else known in the field the theory pertains to.

Explanation is about retrodiction – using the laws to show how things happened. Prediction is using the laws to show how things will happen. Understanding is explanation and prediction combined.

William Whewell augmented this somewhat simplistic point of view with his principle of “consilience of inductions”. Often, he observed, inductive explanations of disparate phenomena are unexpectedly traced to one underlying cause. This is what scientific theorizing is about – finding the common source of the apparently separate.

This omnipotent view of the scientific endeavor competes with a more modest, semantic school of philosophy of science.

Many theories – especially ones with breadth, width, and profundity, such as Darwin’s theory of evolution – are not deductively integrated and are very difficult to test (falsify) conclusively. Their predictions are either scant or ambiguous.

Scientific theories, goes the semantic view, are amalgams of models of reality. These are empirically meaningful only inasmuch as they are empirically (directly and therefore semantically) applicable to a limited area. A typical scientific theory is not constructed with explanatory and predictive aims in mind. Quite the opposite: the choice of models incorporated in it dictates its ultimate success in explaining the Universe and predicting the outcomes of experiments.

Are psychological theories scientific theories by any definition (prescriptive or descriptive)? Hardly.

First, we must distinguish between psychological theories and the way that some of them are applied (psychotherapy and psychological plots). Psychological plots are the narratives co-authored by the therapist and the patient during psychotherapy. These narratives are the outcomes of applying psychological theories and models to the patient’s specific circumstances.

Psychological plots amount to storytelling – but they are still instances of the psychological theories used. The instances of theoretical concepts in concrete situations form part of every theory. Actually, the only way to test psychological theories – with their dearth of measurable entities and concepts – is by examining such instances (plots).

Storytelling has been with us since the days of campfire and besieging wild animals. It serves a number of important functions: amelioration of fears, communication of vital information (regarding survival tactics and the characteristics of animals, for instance), the satisfaction of a sense of order (predictability and justice), the development of the ability to hypothesize, predict and introduce new or additional theories and so on.

We are all endowed with a sense of wonder. The world around us in inexplicable, baffling in its diversity and myriad forms. We experience an urge to organize it, to “explain the wonder away”, to order it so that we know what to expect next (predict). These are the essentials of survival. But while we have been successful at imposing our mind on the outside world we have been much less successful when we tried to explain and comprehend our internal universe and our behavior.

Psychology is not an exact science, nor can it ever be. This is because its “raw material” (humans and their behavior as individuals and en masse) is not exact. It will never yield natural laws or universal constants (like in physics). Experimentation in the field is constrained by legal and ethical rules. Humans tend to be opinionated, develop resistance, and become self-conscious when observed.

The relationship between the structure and functioning of our (ephemeral) mind, the structure and modes of operation of our (physical) brain, and the structure and conduct of the outside world have been a matter for heated debate for millennia.

Broadly speaking, there are two schools of thought:

One camp identify the substrate (brain) with its product (mind). Some of these scholars postulate the existence of a lattice of preconceived, born, categorical knowledge about the universe the vessels into which we pour our experience and which mould it.

Others within this group regard the mind as a black box. While it is possible in principle to know its input and output, it is impossible, again in principle, to understand its internal functioning and management of information. To describe this input-output mechanism, Pavlov coined the word “conditioning”, Watson adopted it and invented “behaviorism”, Skinner came up with “reinforcement”.

Epiphenomenologists (proponents of theories of emergent phenomena) regard the mind as the by-product of the complexity of the brain’s “hardware” and “wiring”. But all of them ignore the psychophysical question: what IS the mind and HOW is it linked to the brain?

The other camp assumes the airs of “scientific” and “positivist” thinking. It speculates that the mind (whether a physical entity, an epiphenomenon, a non-physical principle of organization, or the result of introspection) has a structure and a limited set of functions. It is argued that a “mind owner’s manual” could be composed, replete with engineering and maintenance instructions. It proffers a dynamics of the psyche.

The most prominent of these “psychodynamists” was, of course, Freud. Though his disciples (Adler, Horney, the object-relations lot) diverged wildly from his initial theories, they all shared his belief in the need to “scientify” and objectify psychology.

Freud, a medical doctor by profession (neurologist) – preceded by another M.D., Josef Breuer put forth a theory regarding the structure of the mind and its mechanics: (suppressed) energies and (reactive) forces. Flow charts were provided together with a method of analysis, a mathematical physics of the mind.

Many hold all psychodynamic theories to be a mirage. An essential part is missing, they observe: the ability to test the hypotheses, which derive from these “theories”. Though very convincing and, surprisingly, possessed of great explanatory powers, being non-verifiable and non-falsifiable as they are psychodynamic models of the mind cannot be deemed to possess the redeeming features of scientific theories.

Deciding between the two camps was and is a crucial matter. Consider the clash – however repressed – between psychiatry and psychology. The former regards “mental disorders” as euphemisms – it acknowledges only the reality of brain dysfunctions (such as biochemical or electric imbalances) and of hereditary factors. The latter (psychology) implicitly assumes that something exists (the “mind”, the “psyche”) which cannot be reduced to hardware or to wiring diagrams. Talk therapy is aimed at that something and supposedly interacts with it.

But perhaps the distinction is artificial. Perhaps the mind is simply the way we experience our brains. Endowed with the gift (or curse) of introspection, we experience a duality, a split, constantly being both observer and observed. Moreover, talk therapy involves TALKING – which is the transfer of energy from one brain to another through the air. This is a directed, specifically formed energy, intended to trigger certain circuits in the recipient brain. It should come as no surprise if it were to be discovered that talk therapy has clear physiological effects upon the brain of the patient (blood volume, electrical activity, discharge and absorption of hormones, etc.).

All this would be doubly true if the mind were, indeed, only an emergent phenomenon of the complex brain – two sides of the same coin.

Psychological theories of the mind are metaphors of the mind. They are fables and myths, narratives, stories, hypotheses, conjunctures. They play (exceedingly) important roles in the psychotherapeutic setting but not in the laboratory. Their form is artistic, not rigorous, not testable, less structured than theories in the natural sciences. The language used is polyvalent, rich, effusive, ambiguous, evocative, and fuzzy in short, metaphorical. These theories are suffused with value judgments, preferences, fears, post facto and ad hoc constructions. None of this has methodological, systematic, analytic and predictive merits.

Still, the theories in psychology are powerful instruments, admirable constructs, and they satisfy important needs to explain and understand ourselves, our interactions with others, and with our environment.

The attainment of peace of mind is a need, which was neglected by Maslow in his famous hierarchy. People sometimes sacrifice material wealth and welfare, resist temptations, forgo opportunities, and risk their lives in order to secure it. There is, in other words, a preference of inner equilibrium over homeostasis. It is the fulfillment of this overwhelming need that psychological theories cater to. In this, they are no different to other collective narratives (myths, for instance).

Still, psychology is desperately trying to maintain contact with reality and to be thought of as a scientific discipline. It employs observation and measurement and organizes the results, often presenting them in the language of mathematics. In some quarters, these practices lends it an air of credibility and rigorousness. Others snidely regard the as an elaborate camouflage and a sham. Psychology, they insist, is a pseudo-science. It has the trappings of science but not its substance.

Worse still, while historical narratives are rigid and immutable, the application of psychological theories (in the form of psychotherapy) is “tailored” and “customized” to the circumstances of each and every patient (client). The user or consumer is incorporated in the resulting narrative as the main hero (or anti-hero). This flexible “production line” seems to be the result of an age of increasing individualism.

True, the “language units” (large chunks of denotates and connotates) used in psychology and psychotherapy are one and the same, regardless of the identity of the patient and his therapist. In psychoanalysis, the analyst is likely to always employ the tripartite structure (Id, Ego, Superego). But these are merely the language elements and need not be confused with the idiosyncratic plots that are weaved in every encounter. Each client, each person, and his own, unique, irreplicable, plot.

To qualify as a “psychological” (both meaningful and instrumental) plot, the narrative, offered to the patient by the therapist, must be:

All-inclusive (anamnetic) It must encompass, integrate and incorporate all the facts known about the protagonist.
Coherent It must be chronological, structured and causal.
Consistent Self-consistent (its subplots cannot contradict one another or go against the grain of the main plot) and consistent with the observed phenomena (both those related to the protagonist and those pertaining to the rest of the universe).
Logically compatible It must not violate the laws of logic both internally (the plot must abide by some internally imposed logic) and externally (the Aristotelian logic which is applicable to the observable world).
Insightful (diagnostic) It must inspire in the client a sense of awe and astonishment which is the result of seeing something familiar in a new light or the result of seeing a pattern emerging out of a big body of data. The insights must constitute the inevitable conclusion of the logic, the language, and of the unfolding of the plot.
Aesthetic The plot must be both plausible and “right”, beautiful, not cumbersome, not awkward, not discontinuous, smooth, parsimonious, simple, and so on.
Parsimonious The plot must employ the minimum numbers of assumptions and entities in order to satisfy all the above conditions.
Explanatory The plot must explain the behavior of other characters in the plot, the hero’s decisions and behavior, why events developed the way they did.
Predictive (prognostic) The plot must possess the ability to predict future events, the future behavior of the hero and of other meaningful figures and the inner emotional and cognitive dynamics.
Therapeutic With the power to induce change, encourage functionality, make the patient happier and more content with himself (ego-syntony), with others, and with his circumstances.
Imposing The plot must be regarded by the client as the preferable organizing principle of his life’s events and a torch to guide him in the dark (vade mecum).
Elastic The plot must possess the intrinsic abilities to self organize, reorganize, give room to emerging order, accommodate new data comfortably, and react flexibly to attacks from within and from without.
In all these respects, a psychological plot is a theory in disguise. Scientific theories satisfy most of the above conditions as well. But this apparent identity is flawed. The important elements of testability, verifiability, refutability, falsifiability, and repeatability are all largely missing from psychological theories and plots. No experiment could be designed to test the statements within the plot, to establish their truth-value and, thus, to convert them to theorems or hypotheses in a theory.

There are four reasons to account for this inability to test and prove (or falsify) psychological theories:

Ethical Experiments would have to be conducted, involving the patient and others. To achieve the necessary result, the subjects will have to be ignorant of the reasons for the experiments and their aims. Sometimes even the very performance of an experiment will have to remain a secret (double blind experiments). Some experiments may involve unpleasant or even traumatic experiences. This is ethically unacceptable.
The Psychological Uncertainty Principle The initial state of a human subject in an experiment is usually fully established. But both treatment and experimentation influence the subject and render this knowledge irrelevant. The very processes of measurement and observation influence the human subject and transform him or her – as do life’s circumstances and vicissitudes.
Uniqueness Psychological experiments are, therefore, bound to be unique, unrepeatable, cannot be replicated elsewhere and at other times even when they are conducted with the SAME subjects. This is because the subjects are never the same due to the aforementioned psychological uncertainty principle. Repeating the experiments with other subjects adversely affects the scientific value of the results.
The undergeneration of testable hypotheses Psychology does not generate a sufficient number of hypotheses, which can be subjected to scientific testing. This has to do with the fabulous (=storytelling) nature of psychology. In a way, psychology has affinity with some private languages. It is a form of art and, as such, is self-sufficient and self-contained. If structural, internal constraints are met a statement is deemed true even if it does not satisfy external scientific requirements.
So, what are psychological theories and plots good for? They are the instruments used in the procedures which induce peace of mind (even happiness) in the client. This is done with the help of a few embedded mechanisms:

The Organizing Principle Psychological plots offer the client an organizing principle, a sense of order, meaningfulness, and justice, an inexorable drive toward well defined (though, perhaps, hidden) goals, the feeling of being part of a whole. They strive to answer the “whys” and “hows” of life. They are dialogic. The client asks: “why am I (suffering from a syndrome) and how (can I successfully tackle it)”. Then, the plot is spun: “you are like this not because the world is whimsically cruel but because your parents mistreated you when you were very young, or because a person important to you died, or was taken away from you when you were still impressionable, or because you were sexually abused and so on”. The client is becalmed by the very fact that there is an explanation to that which until now monstrously taunted and haunted him, that he is not the plaything of vicious Gods, that there is a culprit (focusing his diffuse anger). His belief in the existence of order and justice and their administration by some supreme, transcendental principle is restored. This sense of “law and order” is further enhanced when the plot yields predictions which come true (either because they are self-fulfilling or because some real, underlying “law” has been discovered).

The Integrative Principle The client is offered, through the plot, access to the innermost, hitherto inaccessible, recesses of his mind. He feels that he is being reintegrated, that “things fall into place”. In psychodynamic terms, the energy is released to do productive and positive work, rather than to induce distorted and destructive forces.

The Purgatory Principle In most cases, the client feels sinful, debased, inhuman, decrepit, corrupting, guilty, punishable, hateful, alienated, strange, mocked and so on. The plot offers him absolution. The client’s suffering expurgates, cleanses, absolves, and atones for his sins and handicaps. A feeling of hard won achievement accompanies a successful plot. The client sheds layers of functional, adaptive stratagems rendered dysfunctional and maladaptive. This is inordinately painful. The client feels dangerously naked, precariously exposed. He then assimilates the plot offered to him, thus enjoying the benefits emanating from the previous two principles and only then does he develop new mechanisms of coping. Therapy is a mental crucifixion and resurrection and atonement for the patient’s sins. It is a religious experience. Psychological theories and plots are in the role of the scriptures from which solace and consolation can be always gleaned.

The Fundamentals of Psychological Theories is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

The employee was originally employed by the BBC as an architect in its construction management department. On or around 12 November 2001, a substantial part of the construction department was transferred to the appellant employer, Thornley, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1982.

Following this transfer, the employer announced its plans to restructure the department. This meant that the employee’s role would have changed to that of a managerial role from the hands-on architectural work she had previously done. On or around 1 October 2002, the employee attended a meeting where she indicated that she believed her position was being made redundant. She wrote to the employer stating that as a result of the proposed restructuring, her professional expertise was being dissipated and she was becoming de-skilled as an architect. She also stated that her position was being made redundant. On or around 8 December, she again wrote to her employer raising a grievance in respect of the new role, which she claimed was not comparable with the job specification of the role she had when she was transferred to the employer.

She brought a grievance hearing and following this hearing on 28 January 2003, the employee was informed that her position was not redundant. On 13 February, she resigned on the grounds of constructive dismissal. The employee then made an employment tribunal claim where she claimed constructive dismissal. The tribunal found that the effective cause of the employee’s resignation had been the imposition of the new job description, which fundamentally breached the terms of her contract, with the result that the employee was entitled to resign and to be treated as having been dismissed. The tribunal therefore upheld her claim. The employer appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

The employer in its appeal contended that the tribunal had misconstrued the employee’s contract of employment:
The tribunal’s decision was perverse;
The issues for the determination by the EAT were whether the tribunal had erred in arriving at its conclusion with regard to:
the extent of the employee’s duties under her contract;
the extent to which those duties were to be changed;
whether the employer had been entitled to change her duties; and
if not, whether the employer’s breach of contract was a fundamental breach entitling her to resign.
The EAT dismissed the appeal and held that in the circumstances:

the tribunal was entitled to conclude that the changes to the employee’s duties under her contract of employment were a fundamental breach of her contract;
the tribunal did not err in its construction of the employee’s contract or in concluding that by the changes proposed to her duties, the employer had intended not to be bound by her contract;
the tribunal’s decision that the employee was entitled to resign on the basis of constructive dismissal was correct;
no error could be detected in the way in which the tribunal identified the employee’s express duties under her contract of employment;
the tribunal’s conclusions on the evidence that there were significant changes to her duties, which would have had the effect of deskilling her as an architect, were unimpeachable; and
the employee’s contract, read as a whole, did not permit the employer to change the employee’s duties to the extent and nature it had proposed.
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RT COOPERS, 2005. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.

Employment Law – Unfair Dismissal – Constructive Dismissal is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org

If you feel that you should learn the Arabic language for academic reasons, you have options. You can attend a college or University, and earn your degree in Arabic. You could also choose to minor in the language, which will supplement your education if you earn a degree in religion, history, archaeology, or even art history. A degree or a minor in Arabic will help you to translate ancient documents and literature, which will give you wonderful research capabilities. If you do receive your degree in Arabic, you will be highly knowledgeable in a very formal dialect of the language, both written and conversationally. Also, if you have military aspirations, knowing how to communicate in Arabic would be useful, given today’s military climate.

If you have plans to travel extensively to an Arabic speaking country such as Egypt or Morocco, consider taking accelerated foreign language courses online before you go. By learning the basics of a foreign language, you show that you are culturally sensitive and genuinely interested in the country by learning to communicate with locals in their native tongue. You won’t look touristy by carrying a book or stumbling through questions to local residents, and you will have a greater appreciation for the culture you are experiencing on your travels. Your travels will be more enjoyable, exciting, and educational.

There are several advantages to learning how to read and speak the Arabic language through an online accelerated course. You will find that doing so via the Internet is very convenient. And your studies won’t interfere with your work and personal commitments. Often, courses are completed at your own pace, with no set class times. You can study Arabic from the comforts of home. All of your work is submitted online, and you will find many opportunities to interact with qualified instructors if you have questions. You will find that the fees for enrolling in an online Arabic language course are reasonable as well.

Whether you are a student of ancient history, religion, or archaeology and you feel that learning the Arabic language will give you a leg up in carrying out your research, or you are making plans to travel to an Arabic speaking country like Egypt or Morocco in the near future and want to be able to ask where the bathroom is or order dinner from the menu in their language, you have options as to how to learn the language. By studying Arabic at a college or University, you will gain a complete knowledge of reading formal Arabic, which will undoubtedly assist you in your academic research. By taking an online course in Arabic, you will be able to quickly and conveniently learn the basics of the language, which will make your travels abroad less stressful, and more enjoyable. Taking the time to learn the Arabic language will allow you to immerse yourself into an interesting new culture, perhaps help to change a few stereotypes, enhance your travels, and supplement your academic pursuits.

Learning the Arabic Language is a post from: Reference Education Center | At4schools.org