Monday, September 28, 2009

All about Journalism

Journalism is the discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. Journalism applies to various media, but is not limited to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. While under pressure to be the first to publish its stories, each news media organization adheres to its own standards of accuracy, quality, and style — usually editing and proofreading its reports prior to publication. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised questions on the accountability of the press.

Journalists report and write on a wide variety of subjects: politics on the international, national, provincial and local levels, economics and business on the same four levels, health and medicine, education, sports, hobbies and recreation, lifestyles, clothing, food, pets, and relationships; journalists report on anything that news organizations think consumers will read. Journalists can report for general interest news outlets like newspapers, news magazines and broadcast sources; general circulation specialty publications like trade and hobby magazines, or for news publications and outlets with a select group of subscribers. Journalists are usually expected and required to go out to the scene of a story to gather information for their reports, and often may compose their reports in the field. They also use the telephone, the computer and the Internet to gather information. However, more often those reports are written, and they are almost always edited in newsrooms, the offices where journalists and editors work together to prepare the content of news items.

Journalists, especially if they cover a specific subject or area are expected to cultivate sources, people in the subject or area that they can communicate with, either to explain the details of a story, or to provide leads to other subjects for stories yet to be reported. They are also expected to develop their investigative skills to research and report stories better.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Economic Immigrants In American Colonies

Many immigrants to the American colonies came for economic reasons. Inspired by the Spanish riches from colonies founded upon the conquest of the Aztecs, Incas, and other large Native American populations in the sixteenth century, the first Englishmen to settle in America hoped for some of the same rich discoveries when they first established a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. They were sponsored by common stock companies such as the Virginia Charter Company financed by wealthy Englishmen who understood the economic potential of this new land. The main purpose of this colony was the hope of finding gold or the possibility (or impossibility) of finding a passage through the Americas to the Indies. It took strong leaders, like John Smith, to convince the colonists of Jamestown that searching for gold was not taking care of their immediate needs for food and shelter and that "he who shall not work shall not eat". The extremely high mortality rate was quite distressing and cause for despair among the colonists. Tobacco quickly became a cash crop for export and the sustaining economic driver of Virginia and nearby colonies like Maryland.

From the beginning of Virginia's settlements in 1587 until the 1680s, the main source of labor and a large portion of the immigrants were indentured servants looking for new life in the overseas colonies. During the 17th century, indentured servants constituted three-quarters of all European immigrants to the Chesapeake region. Most of the indentured servants were English farmers who had been pushed off their lands due to the expansion of livestock rising, the enclosure of land, and overcrowding in the countryside. This unfortunate turn of events served as a push for thousands of people (mostly single men) away from their situation in England. There was hope, however, as American landowners were in need of laborers and were willing to pay for a laborer’s passage to America if they served them for several years. By selling passage for five to seven years worth of work they could hope to start out on their own in America.In the French colonial regions, the focus of economy was the fur trade with the natives. Farming was set up primarily to provide subsistence only, although cod and other fish of the Grand Banks were a major export and source of income for the French and many other European nations. The Russians on the northwest coast of North America also practiced the fur trade. After the French and Indian War, the English captured virtually all-French possessions in North America, leaving only the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to France.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Nomination And Selection Process of Nobel Prize

Compared with some other prizes, the Prize nomination and selection process is long and rigorous. This is a key reason why the Prizes have grown in importance over the years to become the most important prizes in their field.

Their respective committees select the Nobel Laureates. For the Prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Economics, a committee consists of five members elected by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; for the Prize in Literature, a committee of four to five members of the Swedish Academy; for the Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the committee consists of five members selected by The Nobel Assembly, which consists of 50 members elected by Karolinska Institutet; for the Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee consists of five members elected by the Norwegian Storting (the Norwegian parliament). In its first stage, several thousand people are asked to nominate candidates.

These names are scrutinized and discussed by experts in their specific disciplines until only the winners remain. This slow and thorough process, insisted upon by Alfred Nobel, is arguably what gives the prize its importance. Despite this, there have been questionable awards and questionable omissions over the prize's century-long history.

Forms, which amount to a personal and exclusive invitation, are sent to about three thousand selected individuals to invite them to submit nominations. For the peace prize, inquiries are sent to such people as governments of states, members of international courts, professors and rectors at university level, former Peace Prize laureates, current or former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, among others. The Norwegian Nobel Committee then bases its assessment on nominations sent in before 3rd of February. The submission deadline for nominations for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Economics is January 31. Self-nominations and nominations of deceased people are disqualified.

The names of the nominees are never publicly announced, and neither are they told that they have been considered for the Prize. Nomination records are sealed for fifty years. In practice some nominees do become known. It is also common for publicists to make such a claim, founded or not.

After the deadline has passed, committee screens the nominations, and a list is produced of approximately two hundred preliminary candidates. This list is forwarded to selected experts in the relevant field. They remove all but approximately fifteen names. The committee submits a report with recommendations to the appropriate institution. The Assembly for the Medicine Prize, for example, has fifty members. The institution members then select prizewinners by vote.

The selection process varies slightly between the different disciplines. The Literature Prize is rarely awarded to more than one person per year, whereas other Prizes now often involve collaborators of two or three.While posthumous nominations are not permitted, awards can occur if the individual died in the months between the nomination and the decision of the prize committee. The scenario has occurred twice: The 1931 Literature Prize of Erik Axel Karlfeldt, and the 1961 Peace Prize to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. As of 1974, laureates must be alive at the time of the October announcement. There has been one laureate—William Vickrey (1996, Economics)—who died after the prize was announced but before it could be presented.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Things to Consider While Remodeling Your Kitchen

A kitchen is a heart of a home. So Kitchen remodeling is among the most fashionable projects each year. Remodeling your kitchen is expensive and a lot of work. Recently I have remodeled my apartment's kitchen. But a well thought out, detailed plan could produce a kitchen where you will enjoy years of memorable experiences. When ever you plan to remodel your kitchen it’s the time to keep in mind the "work-triangle". This is the area of the kitchen from the refrigerator to the cooking area to the sink. Relating these 3 areas should form a triangle. Its helps to keep your cooking activities in one area, with everything you need close by. If you are unable to remodel your self, then you hire a professional. He will save you many headaches as your project unfolds. There are lots of professionals out there - interior designers. At this time more and more people are spending anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 on kitchen remodels. Because kitchens are becoming more of a showplace and an entertainment area in homes. Not only will you get a beautiful new kitchen, but also your home value will increase dramatically more than the cost of the remodel job.

And select the appliance also very important in kitchen remodeling so select commercial type stainless steel appliances have become quite popular. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management survey the stainless steel received the 1st position. And another biggest expense of your kitchen remodel will be the cabinets and countertops. Cabinets range from the most expensive custom built, to the "off the shelf" variety available at home centers. A kitchen planner/designer's focus should be to design for the way a person lives, and asking the right questions will ensure your finished kitchen fits you and your budget.

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