Advantages and Disadvantages of Intercultural Communication Assignment - 2

Advantages and Disadvantages of Intercultural Communication - Assignment Example Some differences were noted to be variations in interest, beliefs, ambitions, philosophies, and goals. The approach taken by the authors will be analyzed as a step in the right direction, given that most people have failed to take advantage of the benefits that come with effective intercultural communication, only because they do not know the right approaches to take in getting their communications put across properly. Chapter 12 is the part of the book where the authors bring readers close to ways and means by which they can engage in, and ensure effective communication in an intercultural context. This is done by emphasizing areas of competence where people can learn to improve as part of effective intercultural communication. Analyzing the approach to the chapter, it can be said that the authors were very transcending with their discussion because they viewed competence from several perspectives, including social science, interpretive, and critical perspectives. Once this was done, it was possible to feed the reader with information on strategies for achieving effective communication as it pertains to each of these areas of competence. The book turned out to be a very useful source in understanding and appreciating the interaction of context and intercultural communication. From the knowledge developed from the book, it can be said that context refers to the premise and circumstance under which a person makes an analogy, speech or sends a message. Intercultural communication, on the other hand, is a form of communication that is taking place among people from a different cultural background. The relationship that exists between these two is that people from different cultures have different contexts for the same ideas or messages that are put across. Consequently, while communicating, it is important to emphasize and focus on the need to presenting one’s message in a manner that can be understood and interpreted in the very context in which he seeks to communicate.  Ã‚  

Changes in Family Structure in Contemporary Britain

Changes in Family Structure in Contemporary Britain Describe the changes in the family structure since the nineteenth century with reference to appropriate research and the apparent decline of the extended family. Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of families in contemporary Britain. In order to answer this question it is necessary to address the assumptions regarding the structure of the family pre and post industrialisation, focussing upon the research of historians and social scientists such as Laslett, Anderson, Young and Willmott. Sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) put forth the view that prior to industrialisation families were extended and lived a rural life with democratic gender relations. After industrialisation, society consisted of nuclear families who lived urbanised lives with women financially depended upon men. He describes post-industrial family units as ‘isolated’ as they are not â€Å"part of a wider system of kinship relationships† (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg335). He states that the decline of the extended family was due to industrialisation, as the requirements of skilled labour demanded geographical mobility (Abercrombie et al, 1995). Parsons’ theorizing has since been proven incorrect. The historian Peter Laslett actually found that between 1564 and 1821, only 10 percent of households contained members beyond their immediate family. He states that when couples married it was only a matter of a few years before both their parents died, which implies that there simply not enough members of a family to create an extended unit. He claims â€Å"There is no sign of the large, extended co-residential family group giving way to the small, nuclear, conjugal, household of modern industrial society† (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg338). Michael Anderson’s research also discredits the assumption of the rise of modern nuclear families during industrialisation and the death of the extended family. Anderson conducted an 1851 census of Preston and found that â€Å"23 percent of households contained kin other than the nuclear family† (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg339). He stated that the families worked as a support network with Grandparents looking after siblings whilst both parents worked. It also meant support during periods of ill health or unemployment and it produced a lower share of rent paid. It was what Haralmbos et al describe as a â€Å"mutual aid organisation† (1995, pg339). In the 1950’s, Young and Willmott’s study of Bethnal Green found that two out of three couples lived within three miles of their parents. They also discovered that close ties existed between female members of the family such as mother and daughter, with a â€Å"constant exchange of services such as washing, shopping and babysitting, between female relatives† (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg341). Young and Willmott described many families as â€Å"a combination of families who to some degree form one domestic unit† (Quoted in Haralambos at al, 1995, pg341). During Willmott and Young’s surveys and historical research, they produced three stages of the family based on their findings. The first stage is Pre-industrial, where the family acted as a ‘unit of production’ with everyone working together, in agriculture for example. This unit is similar to that of Parsons’ pre-industrial family, however it does not appear to be extended. This family structure is still seen in modern society, such as within rural farming areas. The second stage is the Early-industrial family which was extended, and acted as a support network similar to the families studied by Anderson. This is also inclusive of Willmott and Young’s Bethnal Green families in the 1950’s. The third stage is the Symmetrical Family, which is nuclear, home centred, with a shared responsibility concerning housework Willmott went on to carry out research in 1980’s London. He found a nuclear family, which is reliant upon kin for support but i s still an independent family unit. This greatly contradicts Parsons’ view of an isolated nuclear family for modern society (Abercrombie et al, 1995, pg304). Robert and Rhona Rapoport however, state their research illustrates how the family structure is still evolving. Twenty percent of families in 1978 were married parents with one main breadwinner. The number of single-parent households has increased from 2.5 percent in 1961 to 10.1 percent in 1992 (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg348). Many factors could contribute to the cause of such a radical change in family structure. Legislation is one factor, as since the 1960’s it is easier to get a divorce, have an abortion, homosexuality is legal and the contraceptive pill is widely available. Women are much more financially independent, which means financial security is not the only reason for marriage. The fact that people are leaving it later to get married and cohabiting for longer periods suggests a higher expectation of marriage. Burgoyne and Clark found examples of couples in this situation in their study of Sheffield. They state that these individuals often view themselves as ‘ pioneers of an alternative lifestyle’ (Quoted in Haralambos at al, 1995, pg347). Returning to the rise of single parenthood, the General Household Survey in 1990 found that their was not only a rise in single mothers who had divorced, but a rise from 16 percent to 34 percent of mothers who had never married (Haralambos at al, 1995, pg348). There are numerous arguments as to why this is the case, Haralmbos et al suggest many by Politicians such as John Selwyn Gummer, Peter Lilley and John Redwood who all stated a concern regarding the welfare state and the possibility of it encouraging single parent families (1995, pg349). To conclude, changes in family structure since the nineteenth century have been subtle. The assumptions that prior to the Industrial Revolution families were large and lived together as one egalitarian unit has been discredited. Even though it is safe to say that modern society consists of mainly nuclear families and single parent families, these units depend on their extended kin network for support, which live in close proximity. Bibliography: Abercrombie, N. and Alan Warde et al. 1995. Contemporary British Society: A New Introduction to Sociology. Second Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press. Haralambos, M. and Martin Holborn et al, 1995. Sociology Themes and Perspectives. Third Edition. London: Collins Educational. McRae, S. 1999. Changing Britain Families and Households. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dreams in The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald Essay -- The Great Ga

A dream is an intangible paradise. In the heavenly world of a dream, all hopes are within reach, and time knows no defined direction. To dream is to believe in the existence of the limitless realm. To dream is to be consumed by the passion and beauty of life, for although a dream may never become a reality, the true substance of a dream is its place in the heart. Jay Gatsby is a dreamer. He believes that the future can return him to his past and to his love, Daisy. Time blocks Gatsby’s dream, for Daisy has made Gatsby a mere memory by marrying Tom Buchanan. Tom and Daisy have minor conflicts with time that parallel Gatsby’s principal struggle with time, yet Gatsby’s dream emerges as the distinguishing factor of his conflict. When challenging the natural course of time, a dream, created by the intricate workings of the mind, and a simple memory of the past cannot be attained with the greatness of their origin. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s destruction and t he death of his undying dream are intensified through the magnification of the conflicts found in the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. By dreaming, Jay Gatsby develops a false world that can never completely capture the grandeur of its original place in time. An attraction exists between Gatsby and the past, for Gatsby’s past holds the source of the dream that molds the individual he becomes. Thus, the beginning of Jay Gatsby is marked by the beginning of his dream when he falls in love with Daisy Fay. "He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God" (Fitzgerald 112). From this moment, Gatsby is forever held captive by his dream of Daisy and their love. Imprison... ... York: Twayne, 1963. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953. Lehan, Richard. The Great Gatsby: The Limits of Wonder. Ed. Robert Lecker. Boston: Twayne, 1990. Raleigh, John Henry. "F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: Legendary Bases and Allegorical Significances." F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Arthur Mizener. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963. 99-103. Steinbrink, Jeffrey. "‘Boats Against the Current’: Morality and the Myth of Renewal in The Great Gatsby." Twentieth-Century Literature 26.2 (Summer 1980): 157-170. Stern, Milton R. The Golden Moment: The Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1971. â€Å"Thoughts on The Great Gatsby.† Lily In Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 March 2015. http://lilyincanada.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/thoughts-on-the-great-gatsby/

A Remarkable Person Out of Class

A Remarkable Person Out of Class Mr. Lo is a remarkable person because of his engaging personality and his dedication to his job. Mr. Lo is the best supervisor I have ever had. He really cares about students in the cram school not just for the money. Lo is not only a supervisor but also a combination of teacher and friend for students. He always encourages students to study hard not only in class but by sending text messages. Although his cell phone is too old to send messages to everyone at one time he still sends all greeting messages to every student in holidays one by one.Mr. Lo has worked in education institution for decades therefore he knows the common problems that high school students may have. Moreover, he is a wise and reliable man so students are willing to share their personal problems with him. He always gives students useful advice and helps them solve the problems they encounter. One thing that impresses me the most is that Lo gets along with students well no matter h ow good or how poor their grades are. I think he treats some so-called â€Å"bad students† as his own son.He asks some students to live with him on weekends six months before the entering exam for university in order to make them study and motivate them. Besides, he even makes midnight snacks for the students for example fried rice, noodles†¦and so on. To sum up, Mr. Lo is a remarkable person because he does his best to help students with their school work and personal life. Moreover; he cares about all his students and treats them equally. That is to say, he is the best supervisor I have ever had.

The Rights Of The Defendant In The American Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system enforces criminal statutes through the social and legal institutions in accordance with the prescribed criminal procedure and regulations. It consists of subsystems such as the law enforcement, the judiciary, the public prosecutors and defenders, probation and parole agencies and the corrections department, and the prison institutions (Frase and Weidner, n. d. ). The criminal statutes define crimes and their respective defenses. On the other hand, criminal procedure delineates the â€Å"the stages of the criminal process from arrest through prosecution, sentencing, appeal and release from prison† (Jacobs, 2007).The criminal justice system works both in the federal and state levels. Each has its own set of criminal laws, courts, enforcement agencies and probation systems (Jacobs, 2007). The foundation of criminal procedure is the U. S. Constitution (Jacobs, 2001). Specifically the Bill of Rights is placed in the Constitution to protect the citizens f rom the vast powers of government. It grants fundamental rights and liberties to all those living in the United States (Jacobs, 2001). The defendant in a criminal prosecution is entitled the presumption of innocence.This necessarily means that the burden of proving his guilt beyond reasonable doubt rests upon the prosecution (Jacobs, 2001). The due process clause of the Constitution accorded the defendant a wide array of protections and guarantees such as giving him an opportunity to be heard. The Fifth Amendment ensures that the defendant is not tried twice or more for the same offense and by the same authority. This is the right against double jeopardy (Jacobs, 2001) Moreover, the Constitution protects the defendant by guaranteeing that he does not testify against himself or the right against self incrimination (Jacobs, 2001).The rights enumerated under the Sixth Amendment refer to the codified rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions. The rights of the defendant in criminal prosecution are: â€Å"1) right to a speedy trial; 2) right to a public trial; 3) right to a trial by jury; 4) notice of the accusation; (5) right to confront the opposing witnesses; 6) right to compulsory process for obtaining favorable witnesses; and (7) the assistance of counsel or right to counsel† (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to a speedy trial prevents oppressive incarceration before trial and ensures defense by the accused of his cause.The right to a public trial acts as a safeguard against abuse of judicial power. Moreover, it also assures the accused that he is informed of the charges against him. This is part of due process (Oxford Companion, 2005). The right to confront opposing witnesses refers to the right of the accused to cross examine said witnesses. He is also entitled to subpoena witnesses in his behalf (Oxford Companion, 2005). Finally, the accused is also entitled to be represented by counsel or a lawyer. The Eight Amendment on the other hand proscr ibes excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments (Jacobs, 2001). The rate of crime in the U.S. is quite appalling and this is blamed on the ineffective criminal justice system. The ineffective system is due to the â€Å"adversarial character and its irrational maze of procedural technicalities. † According to Maechling, the trial is characterized by artificiality whereby it is reduced into nothing but a sport game where defense lawyers try to outwit and use technicalities against the prosecution in their tactical defense theories. Frivolous objections and dilatory tactics mar the trial. By reason of this growing recognition, authorities have started to look into the possibility of reform in the criminal justice system.Synopsis of â€Å"Gideon’s Trumpet† The book written by Anthony Lewis was inspired by the actual court case, Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for a felony in 1961 in Panama City. The felony under Florida law involved the breaking and entering the Bay Harbor pool hall. During trial before the trial court, Gideon requested for the court to appoint a lawyer to handle his defense. The judge denied his request on the ground that state law allows appointment of counsels for indigents for capital offenses and considering that the felony he was being prosecuted for is not one with a capital penalty but a misdemeanor, i.e. petty larceny; he is therefore not entitled to have a counsel appointed for him. Gideon had no choice but to represent himself. Gideon has been previously convicted of four felonies, homeless and destitute. He had only the education of an eighth grader. He conducted his trial and lost. He was sentenced to imprisonment of five years. Subsequently, he applied for a writ of habeas corpus before the state Supreme Court based on the alleged violation of his rights under the federal Constitution. This was denied.He filed his five-page Petition for Certiorari directed at the Supreme Court of Florida requesting for the Court to take cognizance of his case. He also filed an application to litigate in forma pauperis. His main argument was that his â€Å"conviction violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. † He claimed that when he was deprived the right to counsel during a trial for a felony, it was tantamount to depriving him his right to due process of the law. The Supreme Court of U. S. granted Gideon’s petition and the judgment of conviction was reversed and remanded to the Supreme Court of Florida.In so doing, the ruling in the case of Betts v. Brady and Progeny was overturned. In the Betts case, Court ruled that â€Å"the appointment of counsel is not a fundamental right essential to a fair trial† [316 U. S. 455 (1942)]. It laid down the principle that the right to be represented by counsel is not necessary in state cases involving non capital offenses except in special circumstances. In Gideon, the Court i n abandoning the Betts reasoning ruled that the right to assistance of counsel is imperative, basic and fundamental and the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the same be available and applicable in state courts.Synopsis of â€Å"The Onion Field† This book was written by Joseph Wambaugh. The novel is about the two felony car officers who patrolled the side streets of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. Ian Campbell was breaking in Karl Hettinger, who was newly assigned to felony cars. In the evening of March 9, 1963, both were patrolling and noticed a suspicious 1946 Ford. Both decided to check it out. The two men in the Ford were responsible for the robberies in the area. Powell exited the car and poked a gun at Campbell while Smith exited the passenger side.Hettinger was asked to hand his gun to Smith and both cops were forced to get in the Ford. Campbell at gunpoint drove the Ford while Hettinger laid flat on the floor of the backseat. They were assured that they would be rele ased when they get to the remote area so that it would take time for them to get help. After driving for sometime, they stopped and both were asked to get out of the car. Powell fired at Campbell and hit him in his mouth. Hettinger ran to the field while he heard four more shots. Both culprits were apprehended and went through custodial investigation. Both pointed to each other as to who shot Campbell.After many years of dilatory motions, appeals and lengthy trials, both were found guilty and sentenced to death in 1967. Since death penalty was abolished in the early 1970s, their sentences were commuted to life. Discussion and Analysis The main theme of Gideon’s is that society must protect a person charged with an offense. The rights and liberties afforded to him by the law and the Constitution must be strictly observed and enforced. The accused must be presumed innocent until proven guilty and he must be afforded the right to have counsel because this is part of the right to due process.The study of law requires knowledge, skill and experience in trial proceedings. Even an educated and intelligent man who is not properly educated and trained in law is considered incompetent and unable to defend himself. Courts are created to punish and deprive the guilty of their liberties through imprisonment and other imposable penalties. Thus, it is imperative that if a person is charged with an offense in court he must be able to put a defense and be heard by a properly trained counsel. To deprive him of this would be tantamount to depriving him of due process and would render nugatory the basic tenets of the Bill of Rights.A person charged of an offense would need the expertise of a counsel so that he does not risk himself of being convicted even if he be innocent simply because he does not know how to establish his innocence. More so an uneducated man, a feeble minded person or an indigent. Consequently, it becomes the duty of the court to appoint counsel so that such person may not be denied due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The central theme in â€Å"The Onion Field† is that the defendants brought to trial are guilty already.It also justifies the use of deadly force by the police to achieve their ends so that it can serve to prevent crime. It also portrays the weakness of the legal system when it can be manipulated to prolong and lengthen the trial by legal tactics and dilatory measures by the defense which further victimized the cop who survived the crime—Hettinger. He was asked to relive and testify over and over again the details of the incident. The courts have been overly protective of the rights of the defendants that it defeats the very ends of a peaceful and safer society. Similarly, there are two models of criminal law that are subject of heated debates.Central to this controversy is rooted from the goals of the criminal justice system; firstly, the need to enforce and implement the laws to maintain peace and social order and secondly, the need to protect people from being victims of injustice. The first goal is the crime control model, as developed by Herbert Packer in 1960s while the second is the due process model (Schmalleger, 1999). The crime control model has placed its priority upon arrest, prosecution and conviction of criminals. This model supports and justifies all acts of the police and prosecution on an all out war against crime.This includes profiling, sting operations, patrolling areas that are high risk and the like. It entails aggressive identification, pursuit, isolation and prosecution of the criminals. This model allows collateral damage or acceptable losses even if this be a human life (Perron, n. d. ). For instance, a 75-year old minister was handcuffed during a raid on drugs. He suffered and died of a heart attack. Later it turned out that the informant gave a wrong apartment number. The minister is considered a collateral damage in the war aga inst drugs (Perron, n. d. ).Moreover, the crime control model assumes the defendant is already guilty even before trial. In the book, ‘The Onion Field’ the investigating police officers already assumed that Powell and Smith are guilty of the crimes for which they were being investigated even before their trial. This can be seen from Smith’s apprehension when he was thrown to the floor of his bedroom and shouted at by the apprehending officers as a cop-killer. Due to countless motions and re-trials, Hettinger was made to relive and recount his ordeal. He was on moral trial by his colleagues.He resigned and got involved in petty thefts and was never the same again. Hettinger was the collateral damage. The Due Process Model focuses on protecting the rights and liberties of the defendant in criminal prosecutions. Perron, a certified criminal investigator claims that â€Å"the due process model demands a careful and informed consideration of the facts of each individ ual case. According to this model, law enforcement agents must recognize the rights of suspects during arrest, questioning, and handling. In addition, constitutional guarantees must be considered by judges and prosecutors during trials.The primary mission of the due process model is to protect innocent people from wrongful conviction. † This model is guided by the principle that it is better to release guilty persons than to prosecute and incarcerate an innocent person. It recognizes the innocence of the accused before conviction and therefore prescribes as an imperative the observance and respect to the rights of persons during criminal prosecutions. It protects the rights of an individual first and foremost since the rights of one represent the rights of the many (Perron, n. d. ).The book, â€Å"Gideon’s Trumpet† may illustrate the due process model. The case was heard at the time when the Betts principle was controlling. This means that the accused can only be appointed a counsel in case where he is charged with a capital offense. The Supreme Court overturned this dictum and laid down a principle that indigent defendants in all criminal prosecutions must be given the right to assisted by counsel otherwise this will be a denial of his right to due process. Gideon’s upholds the rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions and considers him innocent until proven guilty.To a certain extent, the book ‘The Onion Field’ illustrates also a due process model principle in that the numerous trials and hearings manifested a system that allowed due process or the right of the accused to be heard and present his own evidence during trial. For the law enforcement, the due process model only frustrates and delays the elimination of crime in the society. It is claimed that observance of the rights of the accused only lengthens the process of putting the criminal behind bars. It protects the guilty at the expense of innocent individu als.On the other hand, advocates of due process model believe that crime control model is prone to commit errors that result consequently in the conviction of the innocent. They believe that it is too harsh and believes in the philosophy of a police state (Perron, n. d. ). Conclusion These two models are susceptible to being reconciled and rationalized. As proposed by a noted criminologist Frank Scmalleger in his book, Criminal Justice Today claimed that the American criminal justice system works as a ‘crime control through due process. ’ According to him, this new model balances the different strengths and weaknesses of the previous two models.It harnesses the strong points of each model and avoids their respective pitfalls. This means that law enforcement strategies to control crime and apprehend criminals can continue under the philosophy of still brining the defendant to court for prosecution. Although evidence may be gathered as to prove factual guilt still the jud iciary is left with the role of establishing legal guilt. The greatest challenge that is facing the criminal justice system is finding balance between the rights of the defendant in criminal prosecutions and the interest of the people in the society to impose punishment on the guilty.As between the crime control model and the due process model, I would prefer to live in the due process model of criminal justice. The United States symbolizes stability and democracy and its Constitution as the bedrock of society. Advocating crime control model would mean the higher risk of violations of civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence of our forefathers. All men are created equal with unalienable rights in seeking life, liberty and happiness. By leaving to the power and discretion of the police and law enforcement, the prerogative to adjudge guilt i.e. factual guilt would mean leaving the decision to curtailing freedom and l iberties in the hands of men who are not properly trained to seek legal guilt. It would also mean that rules in determining factual guilt may be relative and subjective unlike if this was determined in accordance with laws and judicial pronouncements based on jurisprudence and sound judicial principles. In order to keep order and peace in a society, laws are to be observed with uniformity and with a clear and informed consideration of the facts before one is convicted.The due process model makes use of an objective and just standards of determination of guilt or innocence rather than one that may be subjective and error prone. References Frase, R. and Weidner, R. â€Å"Criminal justice system – structural and theoretical components of criminal justice systems, the systems in operation, the importance of viewing criminal justice as a system. † American Law and Legal Information web site Crime and Justice vol. 1. Retrieved on November 19, 2007, from http://law. jrank. or g/pages/858/Criminal-Justice-System. html. Jacobs, J.â€Å"Criminal justice in the United States: A primer,† American Studies Journal, 2007 Special Edition, No. 49. Retrieved on November 19, 2007, from http://asjournal. zusas. uni-halle. de/76. html. Jacobs, J. , â€Å"Issues of Democracy,† 2001. Retrieved on November 9, 2007, from http://usinfo. state. gov/journals/itdhr/0701/ijde/jacobs. htm. Lewis, A. , Gideon’s Trumpet, (New York: Random House, Inc. , 1964. Maechling, Jr. , C. , â€Å"The crisis of an American criminal justice† 1996. Retrieved on November 20, 2007, from http://www. cosmos-club. org/web/journals/1996/maechling.html Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, â€Å"Sixth Amendment† (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). Peak, K. , Justice Administration, third edition 2001, Prentice Hall. Perron, B. ‘The crime control and due process models’ The Criminal Defense Training Council. Retrieved on Novemb er 21, 2007, from http://www. defenseinvestigator. com/article10. html#_ftnref4 Schmalleger, F. , Criminal Justice Today, fifth edition, Prentice Hall 1999. Wambaugh, F. , The Onion Field, London: Quercus 21 Bloomsbury Square, 2007 edition.

Suicide - Signs and Preventions essays

Suicide - Signs and Preventions essays One of the top causes of death in the United States today is suicide. The number of people who commit suicide each year is rapidly increasing, especially among teenagers. To help prevent this number from growing, it is important for us to know some of the warning signs of suicide, some myths and actual facts, and what you can do to help others and yourself from committing suicide. Many people who commit suicide often send out a lot of warning signals that are usually left undetected until it is too late. That is why it is extremely important to know what some of these signals are when preventing a person from committing suicide. Many people who may commit suicide start off with the signs of depression, such as feeling lonely, and like no one understands them or even cares about them. A person may even feel like they are not worth anything. Another sign could be if the person start to eat a lot more than normal, and gains a lot of weight, or vice versa, where they stop eating and lose a noticeable amount of weight. Also, suicidal persons may have problems sleeping, and may sleep either too much, or not enough. One major sign that a person could be planning to attempt suicide is a sudden change in personality, a normally social person all of a sudden becomes anti-social, or a normally shy person becomes extremely social. This could also include them losing interest in things that they normally used to enjoy doing, or suddenly become extremely active. Also, even though a person that was recently seriously depressed may look happy, they may not be, but are instead happy because they have decided to kill himself. If someone has just gone through a major life change, where they suffered a lot, such as death of someone close to them, or a divorce, they are more likely to kill himself. Many teenagers, who are planning suicide often do life-risking things casually. They may even talk about suicide and death a lot. One of the reasons that we...

Building J at Monte Alban at the Zapotec Site

Building J at Monte Alban at the Zapotec Site The mysteriously-shaped Building J at the Zapotec site of Monte Albn in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, has been thought to have been built for astronomical and ritual purposes. Building J was likely first built about 1AD, with three main phases of construction, the most recent one between about AD 500-700. Architectural Design The building has a roughly pentagonal outline and it is skewed 45% in orientation from the remainder of the buildings at the site by many degrees. The building is oddly shaped, and its shape been variously described as a baseball diamond, home plate, or arrowhead. Low relief carvings on the building include a crossed-sticks glyph, thought to represent astronomical symbols. In addition to its remarkable exterior outline, it has a horizontal tunnel cut through it, and an outer staircase thats skewed another few degrees from the direction of the door. Orientation and the Star Capella Building Js architectural orientation is thought by researchers to point to the location of the star Capella. Capella is indicated by the orientation point of the building on May 2, when the sun reaches its zenith and passes directly overhead. Also Known  As:  Monticulo  J Sources There are more ancient observatories to read about; and more about Monte Alban and the Zapotecs as well. Aveni, Anthony. 2001. Building J at Monte Alban. pp 262-272 in Skywatchers: A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin. Peeler, Damon E. and Marcus Winter 1995 Building J at Monte Alban: A correction and reassessment of the astronomical hypothesis. Latin American Antiquity 6(4):362-369.