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Biography
Albert Lutuli
Inkosi Albert John Luthuli (very often spelt Lutuli;[1] c. 1898 – 21 July 1967), also known by his Zulu name Mvumbi (English language: continuous rain),[2] was a South Africa n teacher, activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and politician. Luthuli was elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1952. At this time, an umbrella organisation that led opposition to the white minori
  • 5.4K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Digital professionalism
Digital professionalism is the term used to describe the emergence of health professionals needing to understand, develop and know appropriate professional behaviour when using digital media. There is currently no accepted or standard definition of this term. The development of digital professionalism is a global issue, which is demonstrated by the growth in research of portable or mobile devices, social media, apps and messaging within health professional higher education and healthcare environments. Digital professionalism is a component of professional identity formation. The knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours associated with developing digital professionalism needs to be introduced early in the health professional curriculum, so that students understand the benefits as well as the risks and challenges of using digital technology at point of care. Modelling of safe, effective and appropriate access and use of mobile or portable devices by qualified health professionals is essential for scaffolding undergraduate health professionals understanding and development of appropriate attributes, to promote formation of positive professional identity when undertaking work integrated learning or professional experience in healthcare environments.
  • 5.4K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Election Threshold
The electoral threshold is the minimum share of the primary vote which a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to any representation in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ways. For example, in party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold requires that a party must receive a specified minimum percentage of votes (e.g., 5%), either nationally or in a particular electoral district, to obtain any seats in the legislature. In multi-member constituencies using preferential voting, besides the electoral threshold, to be awarded a seat, a candidate is also required to achieve a quota, either on the primary vote or after distribution of preferences, which depends on the number of members to be return from a constituency. The effect of an electoral threshold is to deny representation to small parties or to force them into coalitions, with the presumption of rendering the election system more stable by keeping out fringe parties. However, critics argue out that in the absence of a ranked ballot system, supporters of minor parties are effectively disenfranchised and denied the right of representation by someone of their choosing. Two boundaries can be defined: a threshold of representation is the minimum vote share that might yield a party a seat (under the most favorable circumstances for the party), while the threshold of exclusion is the maximum vote share that could be insufficient to yield a seat (under the least favorable circumstances). Lijphart suggested calculating the informal threshold as the mean of these.
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  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Deontological Ethics
In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek: Ancient Greek: + Ancient Greek:) is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action. It is sometimes described as duty-, obligation-, or rule-based ethics. Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted to consequentialism, virtue ethics, and pragmatic ethics. In this terminology, action is more important than the consequences. The term deontological was first used to describe the current, specialised definition by C. D. Broad in his 1930 book, Five Types of Ethical Theory. Older usage of the term goes back to Jeremy Bentham, who coined it prior to 1816 as a synonym of dicastic or censorial ethics (i.e., ethics based on judgement). The more general sense of the word is retained in French, especially in the term code de déontologie (ethical code), in the context of professional ethics. Depending on the system of deontological ethics under consideration, a moral obligation may arise from an external or internal source, such as a set of rules inherent to the universe (ethical naturalism), religious law, or a set of personal or cultural values (any of which may be in conflict with personal desires).
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Law of War
The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (jus ad bellum) and the conduct of warring parties (jus in bello). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of international law. Among other issues, modern laws of war address the declarations of war, acceptance of surrender and the treatment of prisoners of war; military necessity, along with distinction and proportionality; and the prohibition of certain weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering. The law of war is considered distinct from other bodies of law—such as the domestic law of a particular belligerent to a conflict—which may provide additional legal limits to the conduct or justification of war.
  • 5.4K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale
The Gudjonsson suggestibility scale (GSS) is a psychological test that measures suggestibility of a subject. It was created in 1983 by Icelandic psychologist Gísli Hannes Guðjónsson. It involves reading a short story to the subject and testing recall. This test has been used in court cases in several jurisdictions but has been the subject of various criticisms.
  • 5.3K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a form of government based on Islamic law. As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As translation of the Arabic term dawlah islāmiyyah (Arabic: دولة إسلامية) it refers to a modern notion associated with political Islam (Islamism). The concept of the modern Islamic state has been articulated and promoted by ideologues such as Abul A'la Maududi, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Israr Ahmed or Sayyid Qutb. Implementation of Islamic law plays an important role in modern theories of the Islamic state, as it did in classical Islamic political theories. However, the modern theories also make use of notions that did not exist before the modern era. Today, many Muslim countries have incorporated Islamic law, wholly or in part, into their legal systems. Certain Muslim states have declared Islam to be their state religion in their constitutions, but do not apply Islamic law in their courts. Islamic states which are not Islamic monarchies are usually referred to as Islamic republics.
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  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Nandigram Violence
Nandigram Violence was violence occurred in Nandigram, East Midnapore, West Bengal, India , in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project by the Government of West Bengal led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to create special economic zone (SEZ). The policy led to an emergency in the region, and 14 people died in a police shooting. According to CID reports, the Nandigram violence saw a Maoist insurgency in the area[lower-alpha 1] during the protests. But West Bengal Home Secretary himself stated that the presence of Maoists could not be confirmed in Nandigram. The Central Bureau of Investigation later exonerated the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government of responsibility for the shootings. But supporting the violence in Nandigram by his own party workers, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had said earlier "They (the oppositions) have been paid back in the same coin."
  • 5.3K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Serendipity as a strategic advantage
Serendipity is defined as an ability to notice, evaluate, and take advantage of unexpected information for survival purposes (both natural and social). Based on this definition, Nancy K. Napier and Vuong Quan Hoang propose a framework to develop the notion of serendipity as a strategic advantage (or competitive advantage), both in practice and in research.
  • 5.3K
  • 06 May 2024
Topic Review
Flynn Effect
The Flynn effect is the substantial and long-sustained increase in both fluid and crystallized intelligence test scores that were measured in many parts of the world over the 20th century. When intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are initially standardized using a sample of test-takers, by convention the average of the test results is set to 100 and their standard deviation is set to 15 or 16 IQ points. When IQ tests are revised, they are again standardized using a new sample of test-takers, usually born more recently than the first. Again, the average result is set to 100. However, when the new test subjects take the older tests, in almost every case their average scores are significantly above 100. Test score increases have been continuous and approximately linear from the earliest years of testing to the present. For example, a study published in the year 2009 found that British children's average scores on the Raven's Progressive Matrices test rose by 14 IQ points from 1942 to 2008. Similar gains have been observed in many other countries in which IQ testing has long been widely used, including other Western European countries, Japan, and South Korea. There are numerous proposed explanations of the Flynn effect, as well as some skepticism about its implications. Similar improvements have been reported for semantic and episodic memory. Some research suggests that there may be an ongoing reversed Flynn effect, i.e. a decline in IQ scores, in Norway, Denmark, Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and German-speaking countries, a development which appears to have started in the 1990s, but in certain cases an apparent reversal is due to cultural changes making parts of intelligence tests obsolete. Meta-analyses indicate that overall, the Flynn effect continues either at the same rate or at a slower rate in developed countries.
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  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bacha Bazi
Bacha bāzī (Dari: بچه بازی‎, lit. "boy play"; from بچه bacheh, "boy", and بازی bazi "play, game") is a slang term in some parts of Afghanistan for a wide variety of activities involving sexual relations between younger adolescent men or boys, who are called dancing boys, and older men. The custom is connected to sexual slavery and child prostitution. In the 21st century, Bacha bazi is reportedly practiced in various parts of Afghanistan. Force and coercion are common, and security officials state they are unable to end such practices because many of the men involved in bacha bazi-related activities are powerful and well-armed warlords. During the Afghan Civil War (1996–2001), bacha bazi carried the death penalty under Taliban law. The practice of dancing boys is illegal under Afghan law, but the laws are seldom enforced against powerful offenders and police have reportedly been complicit in related crimes. A controversy arose after allegations surfaced that U.S. government forces in Afghanistan after the invasion of the country deliberately ignored bacha bazi. The U.S. military responded by claiming the abuse was largely the responsibility of the "local Afghan government". As of 2020, despite international concern, the practice continues.
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  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Penal Military Unit
Penal military units, including penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may contain soldiers convicted of offenses under military law, persons enrolled in the unit after being convicted in civilian courts or some combination of the two. Service in such units is typically considered a form of punishment or discipline in lieu of imprisonment or capital punishment.
  • 5.2K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Projective Test
In psychology, a projective test is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts projected by the person into the test. This is sometimes contrasted with a so-called "objective test" / "self-report test", which adopt a "structured" approach as responses are analyzed according to a presumed universal standard (for example, a multiple choice exam), and are limited to the content of the test. The responses to projective tests are content analyzed for meaning rather than being based on presuppositions about meaning, as is the case with objective tests. Projective tests have their origins in psychoanalysis, which argues that humans have conscious and unconscious attitudes and motivations that are beyond or hidden from conscious awareness.
  • 5.1K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Concession (Territory)
In international law, a concession is a territory within a country that is administered by an entity other than the state which holds sovereignty over it.This is usually a colonizing power, or at least mandated by one, as in the case of colonial chartered companies. Usually, it is conceded, that is, allowed or even surrendered by a weaker state to a stronger power. For example, the politically weak and militarily helpless Qing China in the 19th century signed several so-called unequal treaties by which it gave, among other rights, territorial concessions to numerous colonial powers, European as well as Japan , creating a whole host of territorial concessions in China in addition to even more numerous treaty ports where China retained territorial control. However, just as with permanent sales of territory, there are cases when concession has been entered upon voluntarily by a power which could have resisted the demand, believing the arrangement to their mutual interest, or as part of a more complexly balanced deal. Some examples of voluntary concessions are the cemeteries (and monuments) administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission containing United States military dead in Belgium, Cuba, France, Gibraltar, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. In the many cases where the terms of the contract (be it in the form of a treaty between states) provides for similar terms as an ordinary property lease, notably a term limited in time and usually an indemnity sum, the territory can be called more precisely a lease territory or leased territory. The term is not to be confused with 'territorial concession', which applies to any clause in a treaty whereby a power renounces control over any territory, usually in the form of a full and indefinite transfer, often without any indemnity.
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  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Majlis
Majlis, Mejlis (Arabic: مجلس, pl. مجالس Majālis), or Majles (Persian: مجلس‎) is an Arabic and Persian term meaning "council", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries. The Majlis can refer to a legislature as well and is used in the name of legislative councils or assemblies in some of the states where Islamic culture dominates. The term Majlis is also used to refer to a private place (a lounge, or 'salon' in British English and French, or 'saloon' on a ship) where guests are received and entertained.
  • 5.1K
  • 25 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Faster-Than-Light Communication
Superluminal communication is a hypothetical process in which information is sent at faster-than-light (FTL) speeds. The current scientific consensus is that faster-than-light communication is not possible, and to date it has not been achieved in any experiment. Under present knowledge superluminal communication is impossible because, in a Lorentz-invariant theory, it could be used to transmit information into the past. This contradicts causality and leads to logical paradoxes. A number of theories and phenomena related to superluminal communication have been proposed or studied, including tachyons, quantum nonlocality, and wormholes.
  • 5.1K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Birth Certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth. Depending on the jurisdiction, a record of birth might or might not contain verification of the event by such as a midwife or doctor.
  • 5.0K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mountain Man
A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails (widened into wagon roads) allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains traveling over roads explored and in many cases, physically improved by the mountain men and the big fur companies originally to serve the mule train based inland fur trade. They arose in a natural geographic and economic expansion driven by the lucrative earnings available in the North American fur trade, in the wake of the various 1806–07 published accounts of the Lewis and Clark expeditions' (1803–1806) findings about the Rockies and the (ownership-disputed) Oregon Country where they flourished economically for over three decades. By the time two new international treaties in early 1846 and early 1848 officially settled new western coastal territories in the United States and spurred a large upsurge in migration, the days of mountain men making a good living by fur trapping had largely ended. This was partly because the fur industry was failing due to reduced demand and over trapping. With the rise of the silk trade and quick collapse of the North American beaver-based fur trade in the later 1830s–1840s, many of the mountain men settled into jobs as Army Scouts or wagon train guides or settled throughout the lands which they had helped open up. Others, like William Sublette, opened up fort-trading posts along the Oregon Trail to service the remnant fur trade and the settlers heading west.
  • 5.0K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mammy Archetype
A mammy, also spelled mammie, is a U.S. stereotype, especially in the South, for a black woman who worked in a white family and nursed the family's children.
  • 4.9K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Republic
A republic (Latin: res publica, meaning "public affair") is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter", not the private concern or property of the rulers. The primary positions of power within a republic are attained, through democracy, oligarchy, or a mix thereof, rather than being unalterably occupied. It has become the opposing form of government to a monarchy and has therefore no monarch as head of state. (As of 2017), 159 of the world's 206 sovereign states use the word "republic" as part of their official names – not all of these are republics in the sense of having elected governments, nor is the word "republic" used in the names of all nations with elected governments. The word republic comes from the Latin term res publica, which literally means "public thing", "public matter", or "public affair" and was used to refer to the state as a whole. The term developed its modern meaning in reference to the constitution of the ancient Roman Republic, lasting from the overthrow of the kings in 509 BC to the establishment of the Empire in 27 BC. This constitution was characterized by a Senate composed of wealthy aristocrats and wielding significant influence; several popular assemblies of all free citizens, possessing the power to elect magistrates and pass laws; and a series of magistracies with varying types of civil and political authority. Most often a republic is a single sovereign state, but there are also sub-sovereign state entities that are referred to as republics, or that have governments that are described as "republican" in nature. For instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution "guarantee[s] to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government". Another example is the Soviet Union which described itself as being a group of "Soviet Socialist Republics", in reference to the 15 individually federal, multinational, top-level subdivisions or republics. In the context of American constitutional law, the definition of republic refers specifically to a form of government in which elected individuals represent the citizen body and exercise power according to the rule of law under a constitution, including separation of powers with an elected head of state, referred to as a constitutional republic or representative democracy.
  • 4.9K
  • 16 Nov 2022
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