Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Geography

Geography is the study of the earth and its features and of the circulation of life on the Earth. A literal transformation would be "to describe the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (275-195 B.C.). Four historical civilization in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena, area studies, study of man-land relationship, and investigate in earth sciences. Nonetheless, modern geography is an all-inclusive discipline that foremost seeks to understand the world and all of its human and natural complexities-- not merely where things are, but how they have changed and come to be. It is said to be the "mother of all math" and "the synthesizer of information." Geography is mainly divided into two main branches - human geography and physical geography.

Conventionally, geography as well as geographers has been viewed as the same as cartography and people who study place names. Although many geographers are capable in toponymy and cartography, this is not their main preoccupation. Geographers study the spatial and temporal allotment of phenomena, processes and feature as well as the interaction of humans and their environment. As space and place persuade a variety of topics such as economics, health, climate, plants and animals, geography is highly interdisciplinary.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Money

Economics offers various definitions for money, though it is now commonly defined by the functions attached to any good or token that functions in trade as a medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account. Some authors explicitly require money to be a standard of deferred payment, too . In common usage, money refers more specifically to currency, particularly the many circulating currencies with legal tender status conferred by a national state; deposit accounts denominated in such currencies are also considered part of the money supply, although these characteristics are historically comparatively recent. Other older functions a money may possess are a means of rationing access to scarce resources, and a means of accumulating power of command over others.

The use of money provides an alternative to bartering, which is often considered to be inefficient because it requires a coincidence of wants between traders, and an agreement that these needs are of equal value, before a transaction can occur. The efficiency gains through the use of money are thought to encourage trade and the division of labour, in turn increasing productivity and wealth.

Friday, September 07, 2007

British Broadcasting Corporation

The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC is the major broadcasting company in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. Founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd, it was subsequently incorporated and made a state-owned but independent corporation in 1927. The corporation produces programmes and information services, broadcasting on television, radio, and the Internet. The declared assignment of the BBC is "to inform, educate and entertain", and the motto of the BBC is Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation.

The BBC is a quasi-autonomous Public Corporation operating as a public service broadcaster. The Corporation is currently run by a board of governors appointed by the Queen on the advice of government ministers; but the BBC is, per its charter, to be "free from both political and commercial influence and answers only to its viewers and listeners".

Its domestic programming and broadcasts are mostly funded by levying television license fees, although money is also raised through business tricks such as sale of merchandise and programming. The BBC World Service, however, is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In order to justify the license fee the BBC is expected to produce a number of high-rating shows in addition to programmes that commercial broadcasters would not normally broadcast. Quite often domestic audiences have affectionately referred to the BBC as the Beeb, Kenny Everett or as Auntie; the latter said to originate in the somewhat old fashioned Auntie knows best attitude dating back to the early days when John Reith was in charge. Occasionally the terms are used together as Auntie Beeb.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

The Real Miracle

As far as Miracles is concern, turning salty seawater in to sweet water is quite amazing. Regardless of the scientific clarification being doled out—surplus freshwater flowing from the Mahim River into the sea—the thousand mass to Mahim Creek near the beachfront in Mumbai will pretty see the ‘transubstantiation’ as the deed of the late Haji Maqdoom Baba, whose shrine is in the area. Mass hysteria, of course, is only a term to clarify the hordes of believers filling plastic bottles and drinking the water. But the real miracle would be if those glugging the ‘miraculous’ water manages to flee succumbing to serious gastric illness.

The water of Mahim Creek, sweetened or otherwise, is dirty and would scandalize not only the likes of Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and officials of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have already request to people not to drink the water. Industrial waste is not the finest ingredient for a miracle. But telling this to goggle-eyed people facing even more goggle-eyed TV cameras is as worthwhile as persuasive people that a Ganesh idol sipping milk is caused by suction and not godly lactose tolerance.

Fortunately, rumors of the sweetened water turning back to its original brackish form might stop a future surge. Now we only wait for the real miracle of no one complaining of sickness.