How does the U.S. policy on discharge and layoffs compare to the rest of the world?

There are over 190 countries in the world today. To even write a few paragraphs comparing the labor policies and regulations in the United States with those in every single country in the world would require writing an entire book. 

Within the comparable group of members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of 34 countries committed to democratic governance and market economies, the United States has a relatively open labor market, with few restrictions on discharges and layoffs. 

US legal protections on layoffs include prohibition discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability, and religion in choosing which people to lay off. Also, layoffs must be documented and must not violate employment contracts. In general, though, these rules are common in OECD countries, and other protections, such as the strong voice of labor in negotiating layoffs found in Germany or the protections surrounding permanent workers found in Spain and Portugal are quite different from the US labor regulations, making it more difficult for companies to fire permanent employees. 

The United States also has less of a social safety net. Most OECD countries have universal health insurance, irrespective of employment status, while in the US, workers lose health insurance when they are laid off, although many companies do offer COBRA coverage for limited periods. Like most OECD countries, the US does offer unemployment insurance, but the benefits are less generous than in many other OECD countries and the social safety net more porous.

I need help writing an essay on the poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats including how it relates to his notion of negative capability.

"Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats is a poem in which the author attempts to reconcile himself to human mortality. Written after the deaths of his parents, his brother's struggle with tuberculosis, and his own diagnosis of tuberculosis, it is a poem in which the writer uses "negative capability" to remove himself from contemplation of his own illness and mortality by imaginative identification with the bird.

The beauty of the nightingale's song contrasts with the poets own "heart ache" and "drowsy numbness". As the poet listens to the song of the bird, he suggests that the bird's song conveys the joy of summer. In the second stanza, the poet wishes that by listening to the song he could enter into the consciousness and untroubled joy of the bird. 

The subsequent stanzas of the poem start to merge the consciousness of the poet with the ecstatic emotions and visions evoked by the beauty of the nightingale's song, contrasted with the bleakness of the poet's world. 

The song of the bird is identified with the "wings of Poesy". In other words, negative capability or imaginative identification which enables us to find joy in natural beauty or bird song also accounts for our similar ability to enjoy artistic creations, taking us away from our everyday concerns, worries, and discomforts and transporting us to an imagined universe. 

What is Thoreau hinting at in "Civil Disobedience" when he says that the “remedy is worse than the evil”? Why does he condemn the men who do...

This phrase appears in the 16th paragraph of the essay:

Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority?

Take, for example, Thoreau’s personal experience of being put in jail for non-payment of the state poll tax. He wanted to protest not only the fugitive slave laws but also the beginnings of the war with Mexico. He never intended to vote in an election, so he felt he shouldn’t have to pay a tax in order to be allowed to go to the polls. He made a quiet one-person protest. He didn’t wait for a large group of people to join him so they could launch a large-scale rally and have relative safety in numbers. He didn’t think a group was necessary. He knew that non-payment of any tax could lead to arrest. “The remedy” would be the arrest and night spent in jail, following your principles. “The evil” would be to support with money those government activities that you don’t agree with. Is it better to just send in your money and be angry and frustrated about it, or to serve some time to prove your point? Thoreau is making the case that, in a so-called democracy, some other outlet should be provided for individuals to disagree and to protest without being subjected to jail time, merely for finding fault with the rules. He looks down on anyone who doesn’t stand up for himself in this fashion, especially if the person is afraid to protest on his own without other folks to back him up. He encourages individuals to act in line with their own beliefs.

What 5 characteristics make a fossil a worthy index fossil?

Index fossils are remains of organisms that lived for a short period of time. Thus, index fossils help scientists date fossils and geological features based on relative dating.  Such fossils are usually marine organisms. After dying, such organisms were covered with sediments and fossilized within sedimentary rock. If the era during which the index fossil lived is known, then it can be speculated that other organisms or geological features that are found in the same strata as the index fossil lived or were created during the same time period.  Examples of five characteristics of a good index fossil are identified and briefly explained below.

1. A good index fossil lived for a short period of time so that the range of ages of the strata in which the index fossil is located is also small.


2. A good index fossil is found in a wide geological range. Scientists look for fossils all across the world. If a new fossil is found in the same strata as an index fossil, then the new fossil’s age can be correlated to time period during which the index fossil lived.


3. In order to be located in strata within differing parts of the world or a country, good index fossils have to have been abundant while on Earth.


4. A good index fossil needs to have definitive characteristics so that it can be easily identified by paleontologists.


5. A good index fossil cannot easily decompose. This would prevent the organism from becoming a fossil.

What is a character analysis of Bruno's father?

Bruno's father, Ralf, is a proud German, who is promoted by Adolph Hitler himself to the position of Commandant. Bruno's father makes the important decision to move his family to Auschwitz where Hitler has assigned him duty. As Commandant, Ralf is the highest ranking officer in the concentration camp and is responsible for giving out all orders to systematically exterminate the Jews living there. His wife and children are unhappy with his decision to move the family, but Ralf is determined to "climb the ladder" in the Third Reich.

Bruno mentions that his father is rather strict and lays down ground rules. For example, his office is "Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions," and if Bruno violates his rules, Bruno is given a "serious talking to." Bruno also comments that his father is rather disrespectful to Maria and the other housekeepers and cooks. Bruno's father struggles to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife. His wife is unhappy and is continually arguing with him throughout the novel. The couple fight over his decision to leave Berlin, his loyalty to Hitler, and his job requirements.

Despite being a despicable human being responsible for countless murders, Boyne sympathizes with Bruno's father. Bruno's father does not really have a choice but to accept his position at Auschwitz. The penalty for disobeying Hitler's orders is death, and he will not risk letting the most powerful man in Germany down. In addition to the stress caused by his job, he also feels pressure to fix his relationship with his wife. He finds out she is cheating on him, which negatively affects his mental state. The audience learns about his ruined relationship with his mother who disagrees with his decision to support Hitler. Bruno's father never gets a chance to say goodbye to his mother and leave on good terms before she passes away. At the end of the novel, he loses his mind and his position when Bruno mysteriously dies. Despite his terrible choice to join the Nazi Party and murder thousands of Jews, the audience feels bad for Bruno's father because his personal life is ruined and his family is torn apart.

What would society be like if everyone embraced Emerson's idea of individualism?

While it is difficult to know truth from recorded history, the study of the lives of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America appears to have been much in line with Emerson's philosophy. Very much the individuals, strong of will and thought, these intelligent and courageous men forged a Constitution for the United States that has been very successful for hundreds of years without demanding what Emerson called "the surrender of the liberty and the culture of the eater."

Under such a Constitution, there has been, indeed, a society that did NOT need or demand conformity (First Amendment) and respected the rights of every individual. It is only modern concepts of Political Correctness, etc. that demand this surrender to "conventional wisdom" and conformity. It has only been reinterpretation by the "powers that be" such as the Executive and Judicial branches of government which have taken away certain liberties and set restrictions upon organizations, companies, and sections of society. It has only been violations of the U.S. Constitution which have demanded of people that they follow a certain path. 

America was once a society that did, indeed, embrace Emerson's philosophy; it only became corrupted by greed and self-serving men who violated the rights of others. The blue-print for Emerson's thought is yet under the glass in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

What are examples of viral diseases?

Viral infections are due to the presence of a virus in the body. Viruses are made of nucleic acids that are surrounded by a protein coat. Viruses cannot reproduce by themselves. For this reason, many scientists consider viruses to be nonliving. Viruses are like a parasite to body cells that they use as a host. They use your body cells to reproduce via either the lytic or lysogenic cycles.  The lytic life cycle of a virus causes body cells to rupture, or lyse. As more body cells are ruptured, the infected individual is weakened and becomes ill. Below is a list of viral infections. 

- The common cold

- The flu (influenza) 

- Chickenpox

- Herpes

- AIDS

- HIV

- Mumps

- Measles 

- Shingles 

- HPV

- Rubella

- Viral pneumonia