Civilization topics
There is a wide variety of health care systems around the world, with as many histories and organizational structures as there are nations. In some countries, health care system planning is distributed among market participants. In others, there is a concerted effort among governments, trade unions, charities, religious, or other co-ordinated bodies to deliver planned health care services targeted to the populations they serve. However, health care planning has been described as often evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
The four countries of the United Kingdom have separate but co-operating public health care systems that were created in 1948: in England the public health system is known as the National Health Service, in Scotland it is known as NHS Scotland, in Wales as NHS Wales (GIG Cymru), and in Northern Ireland it is called Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. All four provide state-paid healthcare to all UK residents, paid for from general taxation. Though the public systems dominate, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those who have private health insurance or are willing to pay directly themselves. The main difference between the four public health care systems is the patient cost for prescriptions.
The United States is alone among developed nations in not having a universal health care system; the recent Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides for a nationwide health insurance exchange by 2014, but this is not universal in the way similar countries mean it.[65] Healthcare in the U.S. does, however, have significant publicly funded components. Medicare covers the elderly and disabled with a historical work record, Medicaid is available for some, but not all of the poor,[66] and the State Children's Health Insurance Program covers children of low-income families. The Veterans Health Administration directly provides health care to U.S. military veterans through a nationwide network of government hospitals; while active duty service members, retired service members and their dependents are eligible for benefits through TRICARE. Together, these tax-financed programs cover 27.8% of the population[67] and make the government the largest health insurer in the nation.
Roughly two thirds of urban hospitals in the U.S. are non-profit hospitals and the balance evenly divided between for-profit hospitals and public hospitals.[68][69] The urban public hospitals are often associated with medical schools. For example, the largest public hospital system in the U.S. is the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which is associated with the New York University School of Medicine.
Although public hospitals constitute the greatest percentage of non-federal hospitals, care in the U.S. is generally provided by physicians in private practice and private hospitals. Just over 59% of Americans receive health insurance through an employer, although this number is declining and the employee's expected contribution to these plans varies widely and is increasing as costs
2. English Universities
The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university
comprising six internationally recognized art, design, fashion and media colleges
in London, England, UK.[2] The
constituent colleges are Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins
College of Art and Design, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London College of
Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Art. The
University is Europe's largest provider of education in
art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts.[2] The Students'
Union organizes a variety of clubs, events and activities.
·
The Students'
Union organizes a variety of clubs, events and activities.
- The Learning Zone is a space for collaborative and private study. Students from across the six colleges can use the facilities, including computers, laptop hire and rooms for presentations/rehearsals.
- The International Centre manages international student recruitment and its network of local representatives based across the world. The Centre and the local representatives offer specialist advice, such as course information and University services, as well as advice on immigration and fees. In addition to the main office at High Holborn, there are international offices situated at the six colleges.
- The Language Centre enables for prospective students to study English and other modern languages, before and during their course. The primary aim is to allow students to reach the required level for entry onto their main courses.
Student housing: The
University has 11 residences, from traditional halls of residence to executive
apartments, with 1,750 rooms available in total. Accommodation is not
guaranteed to all first year students due to oversubscription. This is despite
having multiple residences situated across London.
3.
Places to visit: The Taj Mahal (from Persian/Urdu: "crown of buildings) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.[citation needed] It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love.
4. An environmental
impact assessment is an
assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project
may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social
and economic aspects. Global warming
is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's
near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected
continuation. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperature increased
by 0.74 ± 0.18 °C
(1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during
the 20th century.[2][A] Most of
the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century has been
caused by
increasing concentrations of greenhouse
gases, which result from human
activities such as the burning of fossil
fuel and deforestation.[3][4] Global
dimming, a reduction of sunlight reaching the surface as a result of
increasing atmospheric concentrations of human-made particulates, has
partially countered the effects of warming induced by greenhouse gases. Climate change is a long-term change
in the statistical distribution of weather patterns
over periods ranging
from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in the average weather
conditions, or in a change of the distribution of events around that average
(e.g., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to
a specific region or may
occur across the whole Earth.
5. The modern period has been a period of significant development in the fields of science, politics, warfare, and technology. It has also been an age of discovery and globalization. By the late 19th and 20th centuries, modernist art, politics, science and culture individualism, capitalism, urbanization, printing press.
6. Voluntaries Organization
The International Center "La
Strada" is a part of the international network of Prevention of
Trafficking in Women in Central and Eastern Europe that includes 9
organizations in 9 countries (that are the origin countries as well as the
destination one) implementing the La Strada Program Prevention of Traffic in
Women in Central and Eastern Europe (The Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic,
Bulgaria, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Byelorussia, Macedonia, Bosnia &
Herzegovina).
The
activities are realized under general coordination of Dutch Foundation against
Trafficking in Women (Stichting tegen Vrouwenhandel, STV). In the Republic of
Moldova , the "La Strada" Program was launched in March 2001 with the
foundation of the "La Strada" Center. As a result of the National Coordinators of La Strada organizations from the 9 countries, that implement La Strada Program, Meeting, that took place in Chisinau (March, 29 - April, 4) the creation of the "La Strada" Association” have been decided. This Association will promote on the international and national levels the rights of the persons who became victims of the trafficking in human beings. (Access the Declaration)
possess an unique experience and competence in:
- Educate the potential migrants with regard to migration and danger of human trafficking
- Optimize the national resources for traffic prevention
- Facilitate the access to quality based and secure assistance
- Optimize the services provided to the victims of trafficking
- Monitor of the situation in Moldova in the field of trafficking of human beings
- Provide assistance to the national decision factors with elaboration of anti-traffic strategies
social
assistance to victims of women trafficking; prevention
and education in the area of the trafficking of women; investigating
and monitoring the situation of trafficking in human beings in the Republic of
Moldova
7. Tourism is travel
for recreational,
leisure
or business
purposes. These service industries include transportation
services, such as airlines,
cruise ships
and taxicabs,
hospitality
services, such as accommodations,
including hotels
and resorts,
and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks,
casinos,
shopping
malls, music
venues and theatres.
8. Modern
English, which includes the works of William
Shakespeare[34] and the King
James Bible, is generally dated from about 1550, and when the United Kingdom
became a colonial power, English served as the lingua franca of the colonies of
the British Empire.
William Shakespeare was an
English poet and playwright,
widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language
and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet
and the "Bard of Avon". Shakespeare produced most of his
known work between 1589 and 1613.[5][nb 4]
His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of
sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote
mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet,
King Lear,
Othello,
and Macbeth,
considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase,
he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated
with other playwrights.
In the 20th
century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in
scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are
constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and
political contexts throughout the world.
9.
Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. The
first internationally acclaimed success was the film of Moldovan producer
Mihail Kalik - Lullaby
released in 1960 at Moldova-Film
studios. The movie was awarded the "Prize for Participation" at the
international cinema competition at the Locarno International Film Festival,
bringing attention to the emergent Moldovan film
industry.
Another
international success was Man Is Walking After the Sun written by
Valeriu Gagiu and Mihail Kalik. The world press compared this movie to the Albert Lamorisse
movie Le Ballon Rouge, where, just as in the Moldovan movie, the
main hero was a little boy. Vadim Derbenev, the cameraman,
was awarded the special jury diploma at the International Cinema Festival in Helsinki
for his work.
The Moldovan
breakthrough in the world's cinema industry was a film written by Ion Druţă
and producer and cameraman Vadim Derbenev - Last Month of Autumn The
film received prizes at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, including the "Sympathy Prize of
Viewers". La Nación described the film as a "remarkably
beautiful work". La Prensa wrote "This film, amongst all the mess
that flooded the cinema world invites us to the sources of the true reachess of
life". Besides appraisal in Argentina,
the movie was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966.
Lăutarii by Emil Loteanu
was a success, particularly in Italy. The movie received four prizes, including
the "Prize of Viewers' Sympathy" and the second main prize
"Silver Shell". Norwegian
newspaper Arbeiterbladet compared the Moldovan movie to the Broadway
musical The Sound of Music. Czech weekly Film a Divadlo wrote
"Every nation expresses to the best its deepest feelings, but the Moldovan
one did it the best". In 1975, the movie won in the category of "Best
Foreign Film", leaving behind traditional Hollywood productions. During
the week of Soviet Cinema in Naples, the film was awarded the "Silver
Nymph".
Red Meadows by Emil Loteanu
was also another major Moldovan success at the Locarno International
Film Festival. România Liberă highlighted the symbolism of this art work,
which made it an unforgettable sight".
Very few films
have been made in Moldova since independence: the government has failed to
protect its domestic industry and funding is rare (save for occasional
co-productions). The country also has the world's second-lowest cinema
attendance rate.[1]
10.
Edgar
Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor and
literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery
and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest
American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the
detective-fiction genre.
One interesting trend among imitators of Poe, however, has been claims by clairvoyants or psychics to be "channeling"
poems from Poe's spirit. One of the most notable of these was Lizzie Doten, who
in 1863 published Poems from the Inner Life, in which she claimed to
have "received" new compositions by Poe's spirit. "The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the
August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday
Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in
analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart".[1] In both, a murderer carefully
conceals his crime and believes himself unassailable, but eventually breaks
down and reveals himself, impelled by a nagging reminder of his guilt.11. Tourism New York, Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico in the United States.
Tourism is one of New York City's most vital industries, with more than 40 million combined domestic and international tourists visiting each year in the past five years.[130] Major destinations include the Empire State Building; Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island; Broadway theater productions; museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art; greenspaces such as Central Park and Washington Square Park; Rockefeller Center; Times Square; luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues; and events such as the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the St. Patrick's Day parade, seasonal activities such as ice skating in Central Park in the wintertime, the Tribeca Film Festival, and free performances in Central Park at Summerstage. Special experiences outside the key tourist areas of the city include, but are not limited to the Bronx Zoo; Coney Island; and the New York Botanical Garden.
In 2010, New York
City had a record number of tourists with 48.7 million.[131]
Since the United States economy is still recovering, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's
goal is to break the record again in 2012 by drawing more than 50 million tourists.[132]
12. Shakespeare's work has made a lasting impression on later theatre
and literature. In particular, he expanded the dramatic potential of characterisation,
plot,
language,
and genre.[143]
Until Romeo
and Juliet, for example, romance had not been viewed as a worthy topic for
tragedy.[144]
Soliloquies had been used mainly to convey information about characters or
events; but Shakespeare used them to explore characters' minds.[145]
His work heavily influenced later poetry. The Romantic poets
attempted to revive Shakespearean verse drama, though with little success.
Critic George
Steiner described all English verse dramas from Coleridge
to Tennyson
as "feeble variations on Shakespearean themes."[146]
Shakespeare
influenced novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, and Charles Dickens. The American novelist Herman Melville's soliloquies owe much to Shakespeare; his Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick
is a classic tragic hero, inspired by King Lear.[147]
Scholars have identified 20,000 pieces of music linked to Shakespeare's works. These
include two operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Otello and Falstaff, whose critical standing compares with that
of the source plays.[148]
Shakespeare has also inspired many painters, including the Romantics and the Pre-Raphaelites. The Swiss Romantic artist Henry Fuseli, a friend of William Blake, even translated Macbeth into German.[149]
The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud drew on Shakespearean psychology, in particular
that of Hamlet, for his theories of human nature.
13.
Ștefan cel Mare
"Stephen the Great and Holy" was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the
most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.
During his reign,
he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions
of Hungary, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire. Stephen achieved fame in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottomans.
He was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain a
decisive victory over the Ottomans at the. Stephen's long reign brought
considerable cultural development; many churches and monasteries were erected
by Stephen himself. Soon after his death He has been canonized
a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Church
under the name "The Right-believing Voivode Stephen the Great and the Holy". His father Bogdan II had ruled Moldavia for two years (1449 to
1451) before being killed in a stealthy raid led by Stephen's uncle, Petru Aron.
Bogdan II was attending a wedding of one of his boyars - who apparently was in
collusion with Petru Aron - and the surprise was complete. Stephen barely
escaped with his life, but his father was captured and beheaded on the spot by
his stepbrother Petru Aron.
14. London
attractions
- British Museum
- National Gallery
- Tate Modern
- Natural History Museum
- London Eye
- Science Museum
- Tower of London
- National Maritime Museum
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Madame Tussauds
The National
Gallery in London was founded in 1824 and houses a rich collection
of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900[a]
in its home on Trafalgar Square. The gallery is an exempt charity,
and a non-departmental public body of the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport.[2]
Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the
main collection (though not some special exhibitions) is free of charge.
Unlike comparable
art museums
such as the Louvre
in Paris or the Museo del Prado
in Madrid,
the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or
princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of the
insurance broker and patron of the arts John Julius Angerstein in 1824. After that initial purchase the
Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two
thirds of the collection.[3]
The resulting collection is small in size, compared with many European national
galleries, but encyclopaedic in scope; most major developments in Western
painting "from Giotto
to Cézanne"[4]
are represented with important works. It used to be claimed that this was one
of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition,[5]
but this is no longer the case.
The present
building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832–8. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square
remains essentially unchanged from this time, as the building has been expanded
piecemeal throughout its history. The building often came under fire for its
perceived aesthetic deficiencies and lack of space; the latter problem led to
the establishment of the Tate Gallery
for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi
and Denise Scott Brown, is a notable example of Postmodernist architecture in Britain. The current Director
of the National Gallery is Nicholas Penny.
15. An artist
is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities
related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating
an art. M. C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations. He worked primarily in the media
of lithographs and woodcuts, though the few mezzotints he made are considered to be
masterpieces of the technique. In his graphic art, he portrayed mathematical
relationships among shapes, figures and space. Additionally, he explored
interlocking figures using black and white to enhance different dimensions.
Integrated into his prints were mirror images of cones, spheres, cubes, rings
and spirals. Some of his famous and my favorite works are Still Life and Street, Drawing Hands, Sky and
Water I, Ascending and Descending, Gravitation, Relativity, Waterfall.
16.
Higher
education in the United States Strong research and funding have
helped make American colleges
and universities
among the world's most prestigious, which is particularly attractive to international
students, professors
and researchers
in the pursuit of academic excellence. According to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities,
more than 30 of the highest-ranked 45 institutions are in the United States. Public universities,
private
universities, liberal
arts colleges, and community colleges
all have a significant role in higher education in the United States. Some universities have professional schools, which are attended primarily by those who plan to be practitioners instead of academics (scholars/researchers). Examples include journalism school, business school, medical schools, law schools (J.D.), veterinary schools, pharmacy schools, and dental schools. A common practice is to refer to different units within universities as colleges or schools (what is referred to in other countries as faculties). Some colleges may be divided into departments–such as an anthropology department within a college of liberal arts and sciences within a larger university.
Except for the United States service academies and staff colleges, the federal government does not directly regulate universities, although it can give federal grants to them. The majority of public universities are operated by the states and territories, usually as part of a state university system. Each state supports at least one state university and several support many more. California, for example, has three public higher education systems: the 11-campus University of California, the 23-campus California State University, and the 109-campus California Community Colleges System. Public universities often have a large student body, with introductory classes numbering in the hundreds and some undergraduate classes taught by graduate students. Tribal colleges operated on Indian reservations by some federally recognized tribes are also public institutions.
Many private universities also exist. Among these, some are secular while others are involved in religious education. Some are non-denominational and some are affiliated with a certain sect or church, such as Roman Catholicism (with different institutions often sponsored by particular religious orders such as the Jesuits) or religions such as Lutheranism or Mormonism. Seminaries are private institutions for those preparing to become members of the clergy. Most private schools (like all public schools) are non-profit, although some are for-profit.
Tuition is charged at almost all American universities, except 1) the five federally-sponsored service academies, in which students attend free and with a stipend in exchange for a service commitment in the U.S. armed forces after graduation; and 2) a few institutions where offering tuition-free education is part of their mission, such as Cooper Union, Berea College and Olin College. Public universities often have much lower tuition than private universities because funds are provided by state governments and residents of the state that supports the university typically pay lower tuition than non-residents. Students often use scholarships, student loans, or grants, rather than paying all tuition out-of-pocket. Several states offer scholarships that allow students to attend free of tuition or at lesser cost; examples include HOPE in Georgia and Bright Futures in Florida.
Most universities, public and private, have endowments. There are historically black colleges and universities, both private and public.
17. The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational charity which was founded by the journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918. The ESU aims to "bring(s) together and empower(s) people of different languages and cultures," by building skills and confidence in communication, such that individuals realize their potential [1]. With almost 40 branches in the United Kingdom and over 50 international branches in countries around the world, the ESU promotes a variety of activities such as debating, public speaking and student exchange programs, runs conferences and seminars, and offers scholarships, to encourage the effective use of the English language around the globe.
The mission
statement of the English-Speaking Union (as stated on its website) is to:
- Provide a forum for international friendship through the support of the worldwide network of ESUs and the provision of secretariat facilities for the International Council at the ESU's headquarters at Dartmouth House, London;
- Facilitate and assist the establishment and recognition of ESUs worldwide;
- Focus on key current affairs issues through regular international conferences, seminars and taff and voluntary helpers;
- Work in close and innovative partnership with its corporate members and sponsors.
The Declaration
justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances
against King George III, and by asserting certain natural rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in
announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored
after the American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years,
particularly the second sentence, a sweeping statement of individual
human rights:
We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.
This sentence has
been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language"[2]
and "the most potent and consequential words in American history".[3]
20. The
Beatles were an English rock band,
formed in Liverpool in 1960. They are one of the most
commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular
music.[1] From
1962, the group consisted of John
Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul
McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George
Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo
Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s
rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging
from pop ballads to psychedelic
rock, often incorporating classical and other
elements in innovative ways. The nature of their enormous popularity, which
first emerged as "Beatlemania",
transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. They came to be
perceived as the embodiment of ideals of the social and cultural
revolutions of the 1960s.
