Tuesday, March 17, 2020

De Stijl essays

De Stijl essays Although the De Stijl movement was not the renowned development that cubism or surrealism turned out to be, it nevertheless carried quite an influence into the art world and the design of architectural workings. Despite a fairly fleeting exposure, the De Stijl group could possibly be considered the most important contribution made by the Netherlands towards the development of modern art. The aftermath of the first world war left many counties in a desperate state of repair, however, do to the Netherlands neutral stance during the war they were left fairly undisturbed, physically at least, lending a perfect situation for new ideas to evolve from stirring Dutch minds. Though the movement disseminated throughout Europe and America, the movement was meant to be and almost had to originate form the Netherlands itself. For generations the Netherlands had been built up with industry and mechanical structures. Precision and accuracy were a part of the culture, straight lines and right a ngles could be seen everywhere. The very nature of Hollands society could not help but fuel the inspiration for the perfection and consistency of the De Stijl movement. The 14 year stint of De Stijl lasted actively from 1917-1931. Originally founded by Theo Van Doesburg, other main artists like Piet Mondrian, Van der leck, and Gerrit Rietveld formed together with similar ideas and concepts to further and refine into one concept: the style. The group gained more unity with the 1918 publication of the De Stijl manifesto in their own De Stijl magazine. Their manifesto urged their call to advance and distance themselves form traditional means of artistic portrayal and undertake a new outlook. The first point of the manifesto reads: There is an old and a new consciousness of the age. The old one is directed towards the individual. The new one is directed towards the universal. The conflict of the individual and the universal is ref...

Geography of the Southern Hemisphere and Facts

Geography of the Southern Hemisphere and Facts The Southern Hemisphere is the southern portion or half of the Earth. It begins at the equator at 0 degrees latitude and continues south into higher latitudes until it reaches 90 degrees south, the South Pole in the middle of Antarctica. The word hemisphere itself specifically means half of a sphere, and because the earth is spherical (although it is considered an oblate sphere) a hemisphere is half. Geography and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere In the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of the area is composed of land masses instead of water. In comparison, the Southern Hemisphere has fewer land masses and more water. The South Pacific, South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and various seas such as the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and the Weddell Sea near Antarctica make up around 80.9 percent of the Southern Hemisphere. The land comprises only 19.1 percent. The continents making up the Southern Hemisphere include all of Antarctica, around one third of Africa, most of South America, and nearly all of Australia. Because of the large presence of water in the Southern Hemisphere, the climate in the Earths southern half is milder overall than the Northern Hemisphere. In general, water heats and cools more slowly than land so water near any land area usually has a moderating effect on the lands climate. Since water surrounds land in much of the Southern Hemisphere, more of it is moderated than in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere, like the Northern Hemisphere, is also divided into several different regions based on climate. The most prevalent are the southern temperate zone, which runs from the Tropic of Capricorn to the beginning of the Arctic Circle at 66.5 degrees south. This area features a temperate climate which generally has large amounts of precipitation, cold winters, and warm summers. Some countries included in the southern temperate zone include most of Chile, all of New Zealand and Uruguay. The area directly north of the southern temperate zone and lying between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn are known as the tropics- an area which has warm temperatures and precipitation year round. South of the southern temperate zone is the Antarctic Circle and the Antarctic continent. Antarctica, unlike the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, is not moderated by the large presence of water because it is a very large land mass. In addition, it is considerably colder than the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere for the same reason. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere lasts from around December 21 to the vernal equinox around March 20. Winter lasts from around June 21 to the autumnal equinox around September 21. These dates are due to the Earths axial tilt and from the period of December 21 to March 20, the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, while during the June 21 to September 21 interval, it is tilted away from the sun. The Coriolis Effect and the Southern Hemisphere An important component of physical geography in the Southern Hemisphere is the Coriolis Effect and the specific direction that objects are deflected in Earths southern half. In the southern hemisphere, any object moving over the Earths surface deflects to the left. Because of this, any large patterns in air or water turn counterclockwise south of the equator. For example, there are many large oceanic gyres in the North Atlantic and North Pacific- all of which turn counterclockwise. In the Northern Hemisphere, these directions are reversed because objects are deflected to the right. In addition, the left deflection of objects impacts the flows of air over the Earth. A high-pressure system, for example, is an area where the atmospheric pressure is greater than that of the surrounding area. In the Southern Hemisphere, these move counterclockwise because of the Coriolis Effect. By contrast, low-pressure systems or areas where atmospheric pressure is less than that of the surrounding area move clockwise because of the Coriolis Effect in the Southern Hemisphere. Population and the Southern Hemisphere Because the Southern Hemisphere has less land area than the Northern Hemisphere it should be noted that population is lower in Earths southern half than in the north. The majority of Earths population and its largest cities are in the Northern Hemisphere, although there are large cities such as Lima, Peru, Cape Town, South Africa, Santiago, Chile, and Auckland, New Zealand. Antarctica is the largest landmass in the Southern Hemisphere and it is the worlds largest cold desert. Although it is the largest area of land in the Southern Hemisphere, it is not populated because of its extremely harsh climate and the difficulty of building permanent settlements there. Any human development that has taken place in Antarctica consists of scientific research stations- most of which are operated only during the summer. In addition to people, however, the Southern Hemisphere is incredibly biodiverse as the majority of the worlds tropical rainforests are in this region. For example, the Amazon Rainforest is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere as are biodiverse places such as Madagascar and New Zealand. Antarctica also has a large variety of species adapted to its harsh climates such as emperor penguins, seals, whales and various types of plants and algae.

knowledge management in organisation Essay

knowledge management in organisation Essay knowledge management in organisation Essay Exclusive summery Knowledge is regarded as valuable intellectual asset of an organization. Increasing numbers of industries aware of the significant of managing knowledge for organizational operation and commit to develop proper knowledge management framework to enhance operation efficiency. The aim of this report is to develop a knowledge management process to carry out more effective and efficient project work through proper adoption of Knowledge Management System (KMS) and Enterprise System (ER) on knowledge creation, capture, utilization and sharing within and across organisation. Civil engineering is composed of numbers of stakeholders in various professionals, industries and to participate in same worksite and commit in the same objectives. Whilst, the knowledge in civil engineering is mostly generated through practical exercises so that knowledge are in the mind of workers and experts. Therefore, it will be lost easily as long as the project completed or employees leave the organisation. So the suggested knowledge management implementation for this case will mainly focus on managing knowledge with multi-disciplinary work and trans-disciplinary work to capture the best practice for sharing and reuse. Also, it is necessary to identify the main holders of knowledge in order to promote knowledge sharing and creativity and externalise tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge from knowledge holders’ mind to contextual reports. It enable those valuable knowledge from past experience being able to re-sue for the future projects. Consequently, the crucial section of the report is going to propose an insight into the process of knowledge management on transnational operation with organisational level and client project level then target at the objective of time saving and creative respond to client needs. Finally, concluding some recommendations with those problems likely exist while processing knowledge management flow. Knowledge Management in Civil Engineering firm Summarizing claims from various experts at knowledge management, knowledge management is sort of procedure and technique for promoting organisational performance and complete assigned task using creation, capture, collection, sharing and implementation of information and knowledge around organisations (Kasimu, Amiruddin & Abdullah 2013). Civil engineering industry involve wide range of employees from diverse professional areas working collectively to accomplish particular client project. It is also a highly dynamic sector as project teams are mostly formed temporarily for single project and are contained variety of problems which are often occurring on ad hoc basis. Therefore, knowledge management become increasingly emphasised within civil engineering organisation since most of the knowledge is so called tacit knowledge which is embedded in workers’ mind from their practical experience and these knowledge is hard to be recorded as part of firms’ intellectual asset for reuse. Systematic Collecting and organised storing by knowledge management enable delivering useful knowledge and information from individual to wider organisation to learn from success or failure for retrieving in the future project and avoid repeat mistake and rework of project (Kasimu, Roslan& Fadhlin 2012). Furthermore, client centric and labour intensive are two main features of civil engineering so that the transmission of knowledge is not the single crucial part in practicing knowledge management procedure, promoting interpersonal relations within workplaces and selection at recruitment are equally important as workers are the key role in creating and sharing knowledge (Venkateswaran Kasimu, Roslan

Sunday, March 1, 2020

How to get the best severance package

How to get the best severance package So†¦it happened. You’ve gotten the bad news that you’re fired, or laid off. It may feel like the world is ending- or you may just feel shock. Whatever you’re feeling, the fact remains the same: you’re leaving your job, and not by your own choice. While you do need to embrace that reality, you don’t necessarily have to take the severance package that was initially offered to you. When the worst happens, take these considerations into account to see if you can improve your severance.Talk to a lawyer.An employment attorney can help you navigate the waters after you’ve been terminated, particularly if you feel like you weren’t fired for proper cause or you were marched out of the office quickly without the chance to take stock of the situation. This doesn’t mean â€Å"sue the bastards,† but it does mean you should get a professional’s advice on whether you do have grounds for a potential suit. An attorney can also help you figure out if you have any wiggle room for negotiation.Negotiate yourself.Even if you do have an attorney, it’s usually the best course to do the negotiating yourself (unless you are likely to file a lawsuit- then it’s best to have your attorney either present or speaking on your behalf). Having someone negotiate for you can escalate the tension, so be careful to keep the tone civil if you’re hoping to get a better deal.Ask for more.At this point, you have little to lose, so you should request a higher severance payment. You should definitely be realistic- the payment is unlikely to double or triple from an initial offer, but you may be able to negotiate a lump sum payment vs. continued salary or an increase in the total payment.Nail down insurance information.One of the trickiest parts of unemployment can be insurance coverage, especially if you’re used to having solid coverage through your job. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Ac t of 1995 (a.k.a. COBRA) means you can likely continue your insurance coverage for up to 18 months, but at your own expense. If coverage is a concern, this is a point to raise with the company. You may be able to get the company to keep paying for your insurance for a period of time after you leave.Ask about unused benefits.Some companies may offer a check in exchange for unused vacation or personal time, so be sure to see what’s on the table and fully understand what your company’s policies are on that front.Be clear on what’s in the severance agreement.Always, always, always read the fine print. Some severance agreements contain â€Å"non-compete† language, which limits your ability to go work for a competitive company. Others contain a non-disparagement clause, which means you may have to forfeit your total severance package if you’re busted saying anything negative about the company after you leave (even if it’s true). Make sure you unde rstand what the conditions are if you accept the severance package.Once you get the bad news, the important thing is†¦don’t panic. Or if you do panic, try to get it out of your system and then settle in for the next phase of talking through the logistics of your leaving. Just like negotiating a salary, you may have the chance to improve your package- if you ask for it.

Definitions of Defamation, Libel, and Slander

Definitions of Defamation, Libel, and Slander   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Defamation of character† is a legal term referring to any false statement- called a â€Å"defamatory† statement- that harms another person’s reputation or causes them other demonstrable damages such as financial loss or emotional distress. Rather than a criminal offense, defamation is a civil wrong or â€Å"tort.† Victims of defamation can sue the person who made the defamatory statement for damages in civil court. Statements of personal opinion are usually not considered to be defamatory unless they are phrased as being factual. For example, the statement, â€Å"I think Senator Smith takes bribes,† would probably be considered opinion, rather than defamation. However, the statement, â€Å"Senator Smith has taken many bribes,† if proven untrue, could be considered legally defamatory. Libel vs. Slander Civil law recognizes two types of defamation: â€Å"libel† and â€Å"slander.† Libel is defined as a defamatory statement that appears in written form. Slander is defined as a spoken or oral defamatory statement. Many libelous statements appear as articles or comments on websites and blogs, or as comments in publicly-accessible chat rooms and forums. Libelous statements appear less often in letters to the editor sections of printed newspapers and magazines because their editors typically screen out such comments. As spoken statements, slander can happen anywhere. However, to amount to slander, the statement must be made to a third party- someone other than the person being defamed. For example, if Joe tells Bill something false about Mary, Mary could sue Joe for defamation if she could prove that she had suffered actual damages as a result of Joe’s slanderous statement. Because written defamatory statements remain publicly visible longer than spoken statements, most courts, juries, and attorneys consider libel to be more potentially harmful to the victim than slander. As a result, monetary awards and settlements in libel cases tend to be larger than those in slander cases. While the line between opinion and defamation is fine and potentially dangerous, the courts are generally hesitant to punish every off-hand insult or slur made in the heat of an argument. Many such statements, while derogatory, are not necessarily defamatory. Under the law, the elements of defamation must be proven. How Is Defamation Proven? While the laws of defamation vary from state to state, there are commonly applied rules. To be found legally defamatory in court, a statement must be proven to have been all of the following: Published (made public): The statement must have been seen or heard by at least one other person than the person who wrote or said it.False: Unless a statement is false, it cannot be considered harmful. Thus, most statements of personal opinion do not constitute defamation unless they can objectively be proven false. For example, â€Å"This is the worst car I have ever driven,† cannot be proven to be false.Unprivileged: The courts have held that in some circumstances, false statements- even if injurious- are protected or â€Å"privileged,† meaning they cannot be considered legally defamatory. For example, witnesses who lie in court, while they can be prosecuted for the criminal offense of perjury, cannot be sued in civil court for defamation.Damaging or Injurious:   The statement must have resulted in some demonstrable harm to the plaintiff. For example, the statement caused them to be fired, denied a loan, shunned by family or friends, or harassed by the media. Lawyers generally consider showing actual harm to be the hardest part of proving defamation. Merely having the â€Å"potential† to cause harm is not enough. It must be proven that the false statement has ruined the victim’s reputation. Business owners, for example, must prove that the statement has caused them a substantial loss of revenue. Not only can actual damages be hard to prove, victims must wait until the statement has caused them problems before they can seek legal recourse. Merely feeling embarrassed by a false statement is rarely held to prove defamation.  Ã‚   However, the courts will sometimes automatically presume some types of especially devastating false statements to be defamatory. In general, any statement falsely accusing another person of committing a serious crime, if it was made maliciously or recklessly, may be presumed to constitute defamation. Defamation and Freedom of the Press In discussing defamation of character, it is important to remember that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects both freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Since in America  the governed are assured the right to criticize the people who govern them, public officials are given the least protection from defamation. In the 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that certain statements, while defamatory, are specifically protected by the First Amendment. The case concerned a full-page, paid advertisement published in The New York Times claiming that the arrest of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Montgomery City, Alabama, police on charges of perjury had been part of a campaign by city leaders to destroy Rev. Kings efforts to integrate public facilities and increase the black vote. Montgomery city commissioner L. B. Sullivan sued The Times for libel, claiming that the allegations in the ad against the Montgomery police had defamed him personally. Under Alabama state law, Sullivan was not required to prove he had been harmed, and since it was proven that the ad contained factual errors, Sullivan won a $500,000 judgment in state court. The Times appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that it had been unaware of the errors in the ad and that the judgment had infring ed on its First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press. In its landmark decision better defining the scope of â€Å"freedom of the press,† the Supreme Court ruled that the publication of certain defamatory statements about the actions of public officials were protected by the First Amendment. The unanimous Court stressed the importance of â€Å"a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.† The Court further acknowledged that in public discussion about public figures like politicians, mistakes- if â€Å"honestly made†- should be protected from defamation claims. Under the Court’s ruling, public officials can sue for defamation only if the false statements about them were made with â€Å"actual intent.† Actual intent means that the person who spoke or published the damaging statement either knew it was false or did not care whether it was true or not. For example, when a newspaper editor doubts the truth of a statement but publishes it without checking the facts. American writers and publishers are also protected from libel judgments issued against them in foreign courts by the SPEECH Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. Officially titled the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act, the SPEECH act makes foreign libel judgments unenforceable in U.S. courts unless the laws of the foreign government provide at least as much protection of the freedom of speech as the U.S. First Amendment. In other words, unless the defendant would have been found guilty of libel  even if the case had been tried in the United States, under U.S. law, the foreign court’s judgment would not be enforced in U.S. courts. Finally, the â€Å"Fair Comment and Criticism† doctrine protects reporters and publishers from charges of defamation arising from articles such as movie and book reviews, and opinion-editorial columns. Key Takeaways: Defamation of Character Defamation refers to any false statement that harms another person’s reputation or causes them other damages such as financial loss or emotional distress.Defamation is a civil wrong, rather than a criminal offense. Victims of defamation can sue for damages in civil court.There are two forms of defamation: â€Å"libel,† a damaging written false statement, and â€Å"slander,† a damaging spoken or oral false statement.   Sources â€Å"Defamation FAQs.† Media Law Resource Center.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Opinion and Fair Comment Privileges.† Digital Media Law Project.â€Å"SPEECH Act.† U.S. Government Printing OfficeFranklin, Mark A. (1963). â€Å"The Origins and Constitutionality of Limitations on Truth as a Defense in Tort Law.† Stanford Law Reviewâ€Å"Defamation.† Digital Media Law Project

Quotes From Great Writers About the Month of April

Quotes From Great Writers About the Month of April April is a month of transition. It arrives when winter has just ended and spring is beginning, symbolizing a period of rebirth. With this roundup of quotes about April, learn how writers from William Shakespeare to Mark Twain viewed this key month of the year. The Nature of April Many poets and writers have focused on the natural beauty present in April- birds singing, rainbows, and the first flowers of spring. A gush of bird-song, a patter of dew, A cloud, and a rainbows warning, Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue- An April day in the morning.  - Harriet Prescott Spofford, April Again the blackbirds sings; the streams / Wake, laughing, from their winter dreams, / And tremble in the April showers / The tassels of the maple flowers.  - John Greenleaf Whittier, The Singer April comes like an idiot, babbling and stewing flowers.  - Edna St. Vincent Millay Now the noisy winds are still; / Aprils coming up the hill! / All the spring is in her train, / Led by shining ranks of rain; / Pit, pat, patter, clatter, / Sudden sun and clatter patter! . . . / All things ready with a will, / Aprils coming up the hill!  - Mary Mapes Dodge, Now the Noisy Winds Are Still Sweet April showers / Do spring May flowers.  - Thomas Tusser When April winds / Grew soft, the maple burst into a flush / Of scarlet flowers. / The tulip tree, high up, / Opened, in airs of June, her multitude / Of golden chalices to humming birds / And silken-wingd insects of the sky.  - William Cullen Bryant, The Fountain A Month of Symbolism For many writers, April symbolizes youth, newness, and promise. However, for some poets (such as T.S. Eliot), April also stirs up memories and prompts reminiscences of the past. April... hath put a spirit of youth in everything.  - William Shakespeare April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain.  - T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land April is a promise that May is bound to keep.  - Hal Borland April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go.  - Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe April Showers as Tears   Some poets and writers have described April rains as tears, symbolizing the passing of time and the changing of the seasons. Every tear is answered by a blossom, / Every sigh with songs and laughter blent, / April-blooms upon the breezes toss them. / April knows her own, and is content.- Susan Coolidge (Sarah Chauncey Woolsey), April For April sobs while these are so glad / April weeps while these are so gay,- / Weeps like a tired child who had, / Playing with flowers, lost its way.- Helen Hunt Jackson, Verses- April Old April wanes, and her last dewy morn / Her death-bed steeps in tears; to hail the May / New blooming blossoms neath the sun are born, / And all poor Aprils charms are swept away.  - John Clare, The Last of April Sweet Aprils tears, Dead on the hem of May.  - Alexander Smith, A Life Drama A Period of Joy and Promise For many poets and writers, April symbolizes renewal and rebirth. Our spring has come at last with the soft laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers.  - Byron Caldwell Smith Sweet April-time- O cruel April-time! / Year after year returning, with a brow / Of promise, and red lips with longing paled, / And backward-hidden hands that clutch the joys / Of vanished springs, like flowers.  - Mrs. Craik (Dinah Maria Mulock), April The April winds are magical, / And thrill our tuneful frames; / The garden-walks are passional / To bachelors and dames.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson, April The children with the streamlets sing, / When April stops at last her weeping; / And every happy growing thing / Laughs like a babe just roused from sleeping.  - Lucy Larcom, The Sister Months April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.  - Mark Twain The sun was warm but the wind was chill. / You know how it is with an April day. / When the sun is out and the wind is still, / Youre one month on in the middle of May. - Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time