So what is a researcher to do? Should they not take the money, should they not take the work, or should they find another way around it? One solution is that if you want to do political research you should first;

Decide what you want to research and then go look for the money.

In other words, you have a suspicion that the research will lead to certain results, and you believe those results will be pleasing to one political agenda over another. In this case you should accept money from the political agenda that would benefit from your research if everything works out the way you believe it will.

This way you are not violating your ethics or code of conduct when you take the money. However, if you allow yourself to be approached by a political group to do a research project this can be a huge problem. In that, you know if you do not produce the right results this will be the last research paper you ever do for that particular group, which has that particular agenda. It is so easy for people and researchers to get into trouble in these matters, and it is something I hope you will consider.

Lance Winslow – Lance Winslow’s Bio. Lance Winslow does not want your scientific reputation to end up in the Septic System.

Note: All of Lance Winslow’s articles are written by him, not by Automated Software, any Computer Program, or Artificially Intelligent Software. None of his articles are outsourced, PLR Content or written by ghost writers. Lance Winslow believes those who use these strategies lack integrity and mislead the reader. Indeed, those who use such cheating tools, crutches, and tricks of the trade may even be breaking the law by misleading the consumer and misrepresenting themselves in online marketing, which he finds completely unacceptable.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Personality theory in psychology allows us to better categorize individuals in society without resorting to name calling. Myers-Briggs typology in particular offers a better construct (compared to useless terms like conservative and liberal for example) to predict how an individual will act politically and socially. Myers-Briggs research combined with biology and brain scan techniques also offers us hints at understanding the underlining anatomical basis that predisposes a person to be either a disagreeable radical or a gentle follower.

There’s been little relative popular attempts to scientifically explain why the bulk of the population is always a warzone between the extreme fringes. It’s just assumed that it will always be this way just like there will always be criminals and extremely altruistic self-sacrificing givers. This assumption seems reasonable and obvious but gives rise to two other creeping and unsettling assumptions:

1) The human population is relatively fixed along a bell curve type continuum. Perhaps this is better visually represented by a sphere with a number of spikes extending from it. The moderate population is the bulk of the sphere and the zealous “radical” factions (whose opinions differ dramatically from the statistical average) are the spikes extending from the sphere’s surface (as well as into the interior to some degree which would represent silent sympathizers). It is irrelevant to label the spikes as extreme left, right, etc. All that is important is that a relatively fixed minority of the population (lets say 10-20% range) will be:

a) prone to modes of thought that are tangibly different from majority’s

b) prone to action and lifestyle based on these thoughts

Authors like Friedrich Hayek for instance, observed that in 1920s Germany roughly a million workers swung their support between communists and Nazis based on who was winning. It was noted that the two seemingly opposing ideological parties clashed with one another the most because they were very often competing for recruits in the same psychological pool of young people. Considering how many overexcited Americans called both Bush and Obama the new “Hitler” in recent years, we can easily imagine how an aggressive drooling at the mouth anti-war protestor from a big city could have been an equally excitable protester at a teabag rally if only he was born in a small town and into a different culture.

2) Since the ratio of intensely active people (prone to being perceived by population at large as “wingnuts”or criminals or radicals or genuinely informed and committed activists, etc) to more relaxed apathetic majority seems to be roughly fixed across all societies and globally as a whole, the explanatory basis for such a dynamic can only be biological. Just like there exist (and can further be bred) aggressive dogs and peaceful friendly dogs, there exist aggressive people, natural Buddhist-esque peaceful people, etc. A person who is an aggressive pit bull equivalent (and who wants to impose his views of the world onto others the most) would differ in his relatively extreme ideology depending on what part of the world he was socialized in. Psychiatry has shown us that people are born with different ratios of neurotransmitter production and quantitative as well as qualitative differences in the types of chemicals that affect their mood and cognition. We now understand that people differ a lot more in terms of brain architecture than they differ in terms of things like body type, skin color, fast twitch/slow twitch muscle ratio, etc.

The reason why these assumptions are unsettling is not because there is a degree of fatalism involved (”he will be a radical of one stripe or another no matter what” or “he will be socially lazy, shallow, apathetic, and uninvolved no matter what). Obviously with modern socialization methods and pharmaceutical modification (with psychological genetic and cybernetic modification to follow in near future), an individual can be shaped more than ever before by society and by himself. The assumptions are unsettling because if the broad direction of our views, opinions, and political/cultural/religious affiliations are largely physiologically determined at birth, then societal progress becomes enormously more difficult. Societal progress can be defined here as one zealot faction (that is seen by majority as the most “correct” in its socioeconomic policy perspectives and formulations of what humans should do next) dragging everybody else along behind it as has always occurred throughout history.

Obviously people will disagree on what constitutes progress (some actually thought arrival of Reagan was progress) but if majority of people are physiologically predisposed towards the status quo, progress of any sort becomes a lot harder in a democratic society. In the past, one intense dedicated fringe of the aristocratic elites dragged the other nobility along behind it (since majority of nobility would also have a soft apathetic bulk) and thus dragged the rest of the population behind it as well. We also had scenarios of power vacuum developing and one intense fringe political faction overpowering the others (as in the case of Bolshevik and French revolutions) and filling the leadership position to then drag the rest of the serfs behind it.

In today’s democratic structure however, protection of the status quo is a lot more preserved since the moderate bulk of the population has a political voice and thus a way to provide the ruling elites with legitimacy. The moderate bulk of the elites now also has ever more sophisticated consent and perception manufacturing methods to influence the newfound voice of the majority. For a small number of dedicated activists, pushing society along towards desired version of progress against the forces of social inertia is now harder than ever. The powerful activists now need to sway both the fellow elites and the people simultaneously.

Let’s finally get to the Myers-Briggs part of the article to see what we are now dealing with.

The most widely used way to get a glimpse of people’s underlining neural physiology has been the Myers-Briggs psychological questionnaire (one of the better versions found online for free can be found here). Over the past few decades, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been utilized to collect enormous amounts of statistical data on personality types found within the human population. The statistical type breakdown (I am using a combination of 3 different sources on the %. Don’t mind the catchy positive nicknames each type and group cluster has been given. What matters here is the number within a population.) so far has been as follows,

Protectors (SJ)

ESTJ – Overseer, supervisor = 11.8%
ESFJ – Supporter, provider = 11.7%
ISTJ – Examiner, inspector = 9.8%
ISFJ – Defender, protector = 9.9%
All SJs = 43.2%

Creators (SP)

ESTP – Persuader, promoter = 8.4%
ESFP – Entertainer, performer = 10.3%
ISTP – Craftsman, mechanic = 6.4%
ISFP – Artist, composer = 7.9%
All SPs = 33%

Intellectuals (NT)

ENTJ – Chief, fieldmarshal = 3.2%
ENTP – Originator, inventor = 3.7%
INTJ – Strategist, mastermind = 1.5%
INTP – Engineer, architect = 2.2%
All NTs = 10.6%

Visionaries (NF)

ENFJ – Mentor, teacher = 3.4%
ENFP – Advocate, idealist = 4.2%
INFJ – Confidant, empath = 1.2%
INFP – Dreamer, healer = 2.4%
All NFs = 11.2%

Each of the personality types (the well defined strong ones at least who haven’t self reported to be a mutt of 2 or more different personalities) can be seen as a specific brain type. As mentioned above, the physiological neural difference between 2 people of vastly dissimilar brain types is a lot more significant than how a person looks on the outside. That is because the brain type determines a mental and emotional predisposition of a person for the rest of his life. People classified as “bipolar” or “anti-social/sociopathic” for instance, have neural structures that will make them lean towards some things more than others during their entire lives.

We can see from the statistical breakdown that SJ (left-brained people with parietal lobe strength) predominate in the overall population. The second biggest group are the SP (right-brained with parietal lobe strength). Together they are almost 80% of the population. The SJs tend to be conservative, authoritarian in outlook, conventional, focused on concrete “what is”, and protective of the general society. They don’t rock the boat too much and defer to tradition. The SPs tend to be fun loving, crafty, entertaining, and have uncanny ability to focus on “what is” (with their parietal lobe) in order to fix and modify it.

If you look at the cute nicknames given to different brain types, you can see that the human herd pretty much needs all of them if it is to evolve and survive. Some types are needed more than others in the great scheme of things. The SJ and SP groups for example are conveniently numerous. SJ population provides a great amount of soldiers, policemen, social workers, self sacrificing charity givers, accountants, and status quo protectors. In other words they keep the herd safe even if it means stagnating the herd through using their positions in the executive to slow down rapid change. SP group provides us with artisans who improve quality of life for the herd through provision of entertainers, artists, dancers, singers, and resourceful improvising mechanics. SPs can be said to exist to entertain SJs and keep them on their toes by having more fun than them.

It’s easy to see how SJs lean republican and SPs lean democrat overall. The jokes that democrats have better sex lives than republicans begin to acquire an element of truth (considering the different approach left and right sides of the brain take in deciding on how to deal with the here and now). However, the two large groups are united by their concern with all things as they are in the now. That makes the two groups friendly and status quo leaning by default. An ESTJ born in Brooklyn may identify as a traditionalist democrat whereas an ESTJ born in West Virginia may identify as a traditionalist republican, but both are more likely to seek similar professions and get along if they hang out together. Brain type identification provides a lot more material to predict a person’s behavior and views on the world than simple political identification.

The overall theme emerges that people with neural computers that predispose them to either protect the status quo or be apathetic about it (since they are busy pursuing hedonistic adventures) are the supermajority that are not as interested in “what can be” (as the less numerous NP and NJ groups tend to be). A point must be made here that not one group is more important than another and that even their numerical breakdowns seem amazingly appropriate. It would be turbulent for the herd to have for example, more ENTJs/INTJs than ISTJs/ESTJs since the problem with authority that NJs have (due to their desire to be the authority themselves) would create unsustainable infighting and not allow enough people who follow orders. Each brain type has a very key social niche and function and over thousands of years there evolved an intricate genetic balance and ratio. There are of course also multitudes of physiological “mutts” who are a hybrid of all and can’t be “pigeonholed” (the most common complaint brought against psychological typology in general).

Interestingly enough, the Hindus have spent thousands of years evolving classification of human beings into 4 broad psychological varnas or classes. Each was considered as important as the other (all parts of the same body) with their own particular temperaments and duties.

Some brain types are literally made to create new theoretical constructs on how society should be organized and which steps it should take next (INTPs, ENTPs,). When balanced by the emotional consideration and input of INFPs and ENFPs (since strong T theorists are prone to being too rigidly rational and thus not take into consideration the emotional impact of their constructs) new paths for society can be developed that would be acceptable to SJs and SPs combined. However, as explained above, these people will always be outvoted and marginalized by politicians who mobilize the other more numerous groups. “Think of the children!” is a call to arms for ESFJs and ISFJs for instance whereas being tough on crime, national strength, and defeating foreign enemies is the bread and butter of ESTJs and ISTJs.

This dynamic reinforces the need for proportional representation in our system of governance. Proportional representation is practiced in most European Union countries to great effect. This way each brain type cluster can get a political party of their own. The marginalized 20% of the population can get representation and even serve as coalition kingmakers. New voices can be heard in the discourse. Today the 20% of population has to either join the big parties they don’t like and “radicalize” them (seen by the tail wagging the dog phenomenon of militants dominating today’s Republican party and driving moderates out of it) or abstain from the process thus depriving society of valuable input. In proportional representation, each batch of brain types seen as “radicals” can find a party to call home and really support. They would also have more political representation to vent out their frustration and to institutionalize their presence and views. Citizens can then pick and choose which vision of progress to support and which to leave behind.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pavel_Podolyak

The question bothering me, however, is that “Is it really possible to answer such questions based on astrology for a country blessed with political volatility like that of India?” There are at least ten prospective prime ministerial candidates for the upcoming general elections, of which there are a few like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi who nurture an unexpressed desire for the position. Some of the other possible contenders for the position include Sh. L.K. Advani, Sh. Narendra Modi, Smt. Mayawati, Sh. Sharad Pawar, Sh. Deve Gowda, Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sh. Ram Vilas Paswan.

Taking up the first question, “who will form the next government of India?,” one can easily see how national and regional parties have been busy promoting themselves. Even the common man can make out which of the two prominent national parties might enjoy a greater share of seats and which one lesser. He can also make an assessment of which regional parties might provide support to the national parties and the general political scenario at the time of elections.

When we consider the possibility of making such predictions on the basis of astrology, however, problems of a completely different nature arise. As, for instance, the date and time when the party was formally constituted are some of the essential requirements to make any kind of astrological predictions, which are not easily available most of the time. Now the question is, then how can astrological answers be sought about which parties would come together and who will form the next government.

Are birth details including the date, time and place of birth available for all the politicians? And if not, then how can astrological predictions be made about them with any level of certainty?

As part of the research and analysis conducted by “Astrological Research Centre” in the field of politics, we observed that people have already started making detailed astrological analysis and assessments regarding the next government at the centre when no one could predict before or even after 2004 general elections, that Dr. Manmohan Singh will become the prime minister of India. In the same manner, how would it be possible to make correct predictions this time around?

At Astrological Research Centre, we believe that it is only based on a methodical study of the horoscopes of all the main candidates contesting the election from every constituency that the strength of astrological Rajayogas can be assessed for all of them. Then the person with the strongest Rajayoga operating can be predicted to win the elections.

Likewise, a detailed study of the horoscopes of all the prominent politicians can reveal which of them have the most powerful Rajayogas. Such politicians alone can be the promising candidates for occupying an exalted position.

After 1992 elections, our institute sought the birth details of some politicians for research purposes, and to our surprise, the details received for the then prime minister Sh. P.V. Narsimha Rao mentioned the date of birth as 28 th June, 1921, time is between 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and place of birth is Karim Nagar, Andhra Pradesh (the letter received from PMO is available for reference). Now, one can see that a period of one hour between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. has been mentioned as the time of birth. Does an hour’s variation really not matter in making Indian astrological calculations?

Despite this drawback, we tried to establish the time of birth based on past events in his life and made a few predictions as well. We also asked for details of Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the opposition as a prominent leader of the BJP in 1994. The letter received was signed by Sh. Vajpayee himself and mentioned hat he was born on 25 th December, 1926 in Gwalior at about 5:00 p.m. The time of birth was approximate and not based on a clock.

In both of the above mentioned cases, when politicians themselves are in doubt of their birth details, it would be sheer dishonesty to even imagine being able to come up with accurate predictions and any results can only be predicted in terms of approximations.

Similarly, without a proper knowledge of the birth details of small-time as well as prominent politicians of the day, and without information of the time when different political parties were constituted, how is it possible to make reliable predictions on Indian politics?

In recently held presidential elections in America, Mr. Barack Obama and Mrs. Hillary Clinton fought for the coveted position. In USA, people elect their president directly from two chosen candidates, and one with the strongest Rajayoga emerges as the winner. In this case, Hillary Clinton also became a part of Obama’s cabinet, but did not become the president, which could mean that although she also had a Rajyoga but not as strong as Obama himself.

Similar examples can be found across the globe, especially in places with scarce regional and small-time parties unlike India. Political organizations of all shapes and sizes come together in order to help form the government in India, which, from an astrological viewpoint, is further complicated by an unending confusion in birth details of most of the politicians, leading us to the inevitable conclusion that, if not impossible, it is extremely difficult to make authentic political predictions in a country with a political framework like that of India.

Taking up another example, in the last cricket world cup, a horde of astrologers, numerologists and tarot readers created media hype with predictions of India entering the semi-finals when the team was ousted in the first round itself. Likewise, before one of the matches, some tarot readers predicted that Sehwag will shine today but soon he was out for a duck. It could well mean that the tarot reader made an assessment about Sehwag but perhaps did not study the fortunes of the bowler who claimed his wicket.

In the same manner, in order to make authentic predictions regarding the political future of India, we may have to study the horoscopes of all the candidates contesting the elections from different part of the country to decide upon who will win the elections and what would be the actual political configuration between different political parties of the state. Otherwise, an astrologer would be able to guess just as much as the common man.

It is a matter of serious debate and research in Indian astrology that “who will form the next government and who will be the next prime minister of India?” Else astrology and astrologers would only become a laughing stock for the world.

By Sunil Sharma
Director

SUNIL SHARMA,
DIRECTOR, ASTROLOGICAL RESEARCH CENTRE

Pt. Sunil Sharma was serving as assistant director from 1990 till 2002 and as director of Astrological Research Centre since then which was established in 1952 by late Pt. Raja Ram Shastri. This organization has made outstanding contributions in the field of research and personal predictions. A postgraduate in Political Science and Sanskrit, he has been involved in original research work on astrology for past 15 years. He also launched the website (http://www.astrocent.com) of this august institution on 24th December, 2004 which makes accessible to all original research work, criticism and a host of other concepts associated with astrology in the form of research and criticism articles which are nowhere else to be found on the world wide web. Another special feature of this website is manual horoscope which is a completely novel concept on the web. He does not believes in computerized astrological predictions as well as calculations and has also given the reasons in his research articles on the website

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Sharma

Solon never became a tyrant, although the state had given him the rights of a dictator. Perhaps he had a strong sense of personal freedom. But Peisistratos, with his implacable thirst for power, knew how to stir the masses, and managed to gain office by using populist promises, flattering the mob and employing unscrupulous strategems. He went as far as to present a false Athena to the dazzled people to persuade them that he had been sent by heaven, and at the same time introduced an election campaign without restriction.

Like a true deceiver of the people, Peisistratos exploited ordinary human weaknesses to stay in power. By playing on the citizens’ religious feeling, he built magnificent temples. To keep potentially dangerous dissidents occupied, he organised feasts and gave official sanction to popular cults where zealous crowds could express all their grudges against the aristocracy, under the pretext of customary rituals. But like the clever, flexible politician he was, Peisistratos also took care of artists and supported the arts and letters. He also initiated many public works, irrigation and road projects, changing Athens from a town to a city.

When he died in 527 BC, Peisistratos left two sons as his heirs, Hippias and Hipparchos, who continued their father’s policy with the naiveté of a hereditary ruler and the natural decline of a public figure. The positive results of Peisistratos’ policy were eroded by the sons’ dizzying ascent to office and the sufferings inflicted on them by the trappings of power. Hipparchos was murdered for personal reasons by Harmodios and Aristogeiton, whom the desperate Athenians regarded as saviours of the state. Hippias held on for a few more years, in a grim climate of terror and taxation: it was said that he taxed births and even deaths. In 511 he was forced out of Athens and after a period of wandering, sought refuge at the King of Persia’s court, in betrayal of his country. Unrelenting to the end, Hippias always hoped that he would return to power. This was obvious during the battle of Marathon when, now an old man, he stood on the Persian ships waiting for the defeat of the Athenians so that he would be restored to office.

With the fall of the tyranny in 511, two new parties emerged, the Oligarchoi or land-owners and the Democrats or merchants. The powerful old families of Athens, ignoring the rights given to the people under Solon, now controlled political life and cultivated leaders within these two groups who were fighting fiercely for power. Fortunately a man named Kleisthenis came forward at that time, who brought radical changes to the state organisation, building firmly on the foundations laid by Solon. Even though he was born into the large and powerful family of the Alkmeonids, Kleisthenis came closer to the democratic method of government than any of his predecessors. His greatest achievement was that with the fundamental reforms he instituted, he deprived the clans, families and tribes of power.

This charismatic politician divided the three regions of Attica into 30 virtually autonomous demes (townships): ten along the coast, ten in the mountainous districts and ten in the middle. Some townships took their names from the regions in which they were located, others from local heroes. These place names became the citizens’ surnames, used together with their own names and those of their fathers (patronyms). Thus, in the near future, Pericles, for example, would be called Pericles Xanthippou (son of Xanthippos) Cholargeus (from the township of Cholargos).

Kleisthenis’ next step was to rearrange the population. One township was selected at random from every region, and ten new groups were formed, the citizens of which were from all three different points of Attica. In this way, the Ten Tribes were created, whose members were not related in any way by blood, nor did they have the same occupation, and thus they had no common vested interests. Each of the Ten Tribes elected fifty representatives to the Council of Five Hundred, and one General to the Supreme Council of the Ten. From the Council of the Ten the best person was elected, on the basis of merit alone, to the supreme office of Polemarch (military chief). To make the most important state decisions, the Assembly of Denies (Ecclesia) was established, in which all adult Athenian males took part. But Kleisthenis, in a clever political manoeuvre, did not touch the jurisdiction of the Areopagus, the supreme court, even though he was well aware that it was a bastion of the old aristocracy, consisting of persons who had been elected Archon in the past. This older generation had a completely negative attitude toward the innovations of the democratic politician. Despite this, the changes went ahead, and in about 500, the Councillor’s oath was instituted.

A few years earlier, in 508 BC, Kleisthenis had introduced the concept of ostracism which was not applied until 488. The purpose of ostracism was to protect the state from individuals who, after acquiring great power, might try to become dictators. This preventive measure could be applied to just one citizen every year. The Assembly of the Deme gave its members the right to scratch the name of any politician regarded as being dangerous to the Republic on a piece of ceramic tile, an ostrakon. If any name was written on six thousand ostraka, that person was exiled for ten years. Ostraka have been found in the Agora bearing the names of the best known public figures in ancient Athens, thus indicating both the ambition of each one, and the changeable mood of the people.

With the participation of so many citizens in public matters, Kleisthenis’ political system was for the first time more popular than that of Solon. It helped simple citizens to hold office and at last to make their opinion respected by the all-powerful Boule (Assembly). But the Athenians still had a long way to go to deal with envious neighbouring states, divisions among the professional classes, problems with the colonies and, above all, the expansionism of the Persian empire. Added to these were the eternal personal quarrels of the politicians who still came from the old aristocratic families.

The first Athenian politician to come from an ordinary background was Themistocles. His father’s name was Neokles and his mother’s Avrotonon, which sounds very much like the neutral names given to hetaeres (courtesans) in the closed Athenian society. It is said that Themistocles attended school in the Kynosargos region, where the children of mixed marriages, considered almost illegitimate, were educated. Perhaps this peculiar feature of his upbringing helped make him so decisive in his goals. Even as an adolescent he knew how to convince other people. For example, he managed to bring Athenian youths to the gymnasium in Kynosargos, which would have been inconceivable earlier for children of true citizens. Themistocles very cleverly kept away from the enmities between the great political families; he knew how to wait for the right moment; like all ambitious men, he always wanted to distinguish himself, never letting anything stand in the way of his plans. Herodotus reported that when Themistocles went to collect money from Andros, he told the inhabitants of the island that he had come together with two protecting goddesses, Peitho (persuasion) and Via (force). In various ways, not always orthodox, he managed to ostracise his opponents, even the mild and just Aristeides, thus remaining the dominant figure in the political arena.

From the outset of his career, Themistocles, a man of great discernment, had seen the tremendous importance of the sea. As Plutarch said, it was naval strength which gave birth to democracy, since rural societies feared change and supported the oligarchy so that they would feel protected by the strong. With great courage, the Athenian politician convinced his fellow citizens to put aside the dividend they were receiving from the Lavrion silver mines, and by collecting these funds for just a year, he was able to build ships. In this way he changed the Athenian troops from footsoldiers to navy. Pushing his plans forward, he manned the Athenian trirenes with freemen from the poorer groups, the theses, who were serving their state for the first time in a public capacity; this was certainly one more important step toward democracy. For it was these free citizens, who as oarsmen in the fleet of their homeland, ensured a brilliant naval victory for the Greeks at Salamis on 22 September 480 BC.

The Persian wars united all Athenians, irrespective of their personal quarrels and political differences, in an invincible common front which won the final victory and changed the course of history. The full participation of the people at that time was what brought an end to the remaining vestiges of the Athenian aristocracy, and the abolition of the privileges of the Aeropagus in 462.

The Athenian political system took on its final form under the Republic, when the city began to be ruled by archons originating from and elected by the people. Then, everybody had the same opportunity to rule if the lot fell to them. There were no permanent officials, judges, priests or military leaders. If last year’s soldier was capable, he might become this year’s general. This participation in public matters meant that the citizens acquired vitality and personal experience by serving in different capacities. It alsoo meant the development of the sound judgement required to elect future officials, to make judicial decisions, and to chart the course of the state. From the first laws of Solon, which made the Skythian philosopher Anacharsis wonder how it was possible for the Greeks to gather knowledge by listening to wise men and at the same time to permit the ignorant to judge, up to Pericles who told the Athenians about the benefits of democracy, more than a century of evolution and adaptation had elapsed. It was Pericles’ funeral oration for those killed during the Peloponnesian war which laid the foundation for this respect for individual freedom that was unprecedented in history.

Pericles argued that their fathers who had always lived in Athens handed down to them a free city which did not need to adopt foreign laws. On the contrary, it constituted an example for all, with a political system under which everybody participated and everybody enjoyed. And whoever hesitated to participate actively was useless. Because all the roads were open on land and sea making Athens a school for all of Greece, and causing the Athenians to learn to love what is beautiful, to philosophize, to live in a comfortable but not unmanly way, and to be ready to die for their homeland if necessary. He exhorted them to obey the maxim “eminent men are at home all over the earth” and the admonition that only a sense of honour is ageless and enviable in humans.

This ideal political system, democracy, was a purely Athenian invention, as was the Polis. Citizens lived and acted as part of a whole, as was the case in families, because the Polis was like a big family with its different branches and oddities. But the political system so extolled by Pericles had some peculiar features which may leave contradictory impressions. Athens was an independent city-state but it wanted to subjugate other cities; it did not accept the existence of an official priesthood but did show great respect for things sacred and indeed condemned Socrates to death as an impious citizen; it supported the ideal of freedom with frontiers open to all, but the Polis was jealously kept for its citizens alone; it protected loyal allies, but did not grant the title of citizen to anyone other than a native-born person; it provided an opportunity to anyone with talent to utilise it and reap benefits, but the oars of Athenian ships were manned solely by Athenians. Certainly the unchallenged power derived from the stability of the political system was what permitted Athens to cast expansionist glances, to set its own conditions in alliances, and to make them accepted by adversaries.

It is very possible that the Athenian Republic has become immortal because it lasted for such a short period and thus avoided being eroded by time. Between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, the Polis and its political system lived, created, established, challenged and passed into immortality. But the colonies were already prospering; trading ships transported oil in attractive amphoras, Attic workshops were generating incomparable art and the Athenian drachma was respected and sought after all over the known world.

Central Hotel Athens and Dorian Inn Hotel are among the greatest Athens hotels along with Hotels in Plaka area of Athens.

Hello world!
My name is Stella and I live in Greece. Travelling is my passion, learning new things is my vice and meeting new people my need! My goal here is to share with you my experiences and inspirations. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stella_G

You see, people online often say what they are thinking whereas, if you meet them in public they may not say those kinds of things. There are many reasons for this, for instance, many people use screen names, or fake names online when they blog, go onto social networks, or post their thoughts in Internet forums.

If you really wish to get a handle upon what people are thinking about during the political season then you don’t have to go very far online to find a good intellectual debate on political topics. You will also find very quickly that far too many people have too much animosity, distrust of the government, and anger towards the other political parties that are not their own.

You will also learn the social dynamics of primate politics and how various people get together in groups and maneuver around to attack other people verbally, or gather support in order to project their argument onto opposing groups that thinks about an issue in a different way. There is probably no better place than going online to learn about political science and sociology. I hope you will please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired franchisor – Lance Winslow’s Bio. Lance Winslow is formerly the CEO of WashGuys family of franchises for instance one of Lance Winslow’s favorite companies on the team; http://www.windowwashguys.com/links.shtml.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Most colleges offer political science scholarships through their political science departments. These grants, fellowships and awards are often given in honor of alumni or local community leaders.

The big political science scholarship bucks, however, lie with national organizations, many of which fall into the public policy center/institute/endowment arena. This is a double edged sword. On one hand, there are lots of institutes with lots of scholarship dollars to pass out. On the other, most of the scholarships pull applicants from across the nation so there is plenty of competition.

A good place to start looking for political science scholarships is the APSA. The American Political Science Association is a professional organization with 15,000 members in 80 countries. One of the group’s many undertakings is a scholarship program.

There are other groups, like The Brookings Institute and National Endowment for Democracy that offer scholarships. Television network C-SPAN even offers scholarships for political science students.

Many of these awards are named after or inspired by the people you will study as a political science major. Expect to see names like Truman, Kennedy and Wilson pop up in your search. Also look at internationally minded organizations, like Rotary. They often offer political science scholarships as part of their efforts to encourage broad world views.

To get political science scholarships make sure you have done your share of community service work. Many of the awarding bodies are interested in saluting active students that are doing their part to give back. On the application don’t be shy about your community service and involvement. If you don’t have much service work on your resume start today.Service, not power or fame, is the true path of political scientists.

In your quest to become a well-educated civil servant allow others to give you a hand first. Keep a wide, worldly view when looking for political science scholarships and you should see good returns.

When not writing about college admissions and college life Veronica Krully enjoys spending time with her family and supporting the local college. She is an avid swimmer and runner

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Veronica_Krully

Say what you want about lawyers too, but these people make an awful lot of money. And guess what? They earn every penny of it. Anyone who has passed the bar will tell you that. It’s not easy. But for now we’re just talking about getting a bachelor degree in political science. Just what is involved? What courses do you have to take? What supporting courses?

Political science is one of those areas where you can go to five different colleges and end up getting five different curriculums. There really isn’t much of a standard when it comes to political science majors. Usually, your first year, you’ll take an introduction to political science. For those of you who are wondering just what that covers, just go to any college web site and look it up. The description you’ll get is something along the lines of “a broad range of topics”. Doesn’t tell you much, does it. The truth is, political science really does cover a very broad range of topics from local government to federal government to history. Most of the history part covers items that are most directly related to government policy. For example, a political science history course may cover race riots in the 60s and how they led to equal rights laws. What you won’t find is history such as, Columbus discovering America, though you could probably make an argument for how that relates to politics as well.

In addition to your political science courses, whatever that particular college may feel is relevant, you will also need to take a number of supporting courses. Because of the broad range of topics in political science itself, the supporting courses can be pretty much anything. Most colleges will have basic minimum requirements in each academic area, such as one math and science course, one English course, etc. Again, this is going to vary from college to college.

Usually in the last year of getting your bachelor degree in political science, you’ll have to write a major paper, similar to a thesis. This paper will usually focus on some form or politics, though again, most colleges are very flexible in this area.

If it sounds like political science is not a very well defined area of study, you’d be only partially correct. The focus, while broad, basically covers the issues of living in our world under our rules and laws, whatever they may be. This is why political science is the chosen field of study for those wanting to become lawyers.

Michael Russell Your Independent Bachelor Degree guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

It is during this phase in a young person’s education that he/she is exposed to a wide array of skills, thus establishing diversity and efficiency. The most important of these abilities is one’s ability to conduct thorough and accurate research. Whether one is writing reports or considering political candidates, accurate research is a crucial first step toward fulfilling any task. The newly arrived Information Age requires excellence in oral and written communication skills, which the Political Science major will supply to any young person. Being able to interact with potential voters is absolutely vital, whether the young person is a politician, attorney, or political pundit. Poli-Sci majors also develop a comprehensive analysis of government systems. Young people of this major learn to view politics through the global eye, examining how international and local policies interact with each other. This is imperative as understanding the global community’s laws and, by extension, their cultures will ensure peaceful and prosperous relations of all the world’s nations.

Is not a new major; it has been around since the Ancient Greek and Roman governments. Thus, government has and will always be a part of the Earth’s cultures, which ensures certain employment in a variety of fields to the graduating Political Science majors. Beginning Political Scientists often work as advisors, supplying a political candidate with the necessary information for a speech or debate. Teachers will be needed to teach the material both at the high school and college level. Judges, attorneys, and press secretaries all arise from the completion of a Political Science degree. Many choose not to hold office. Instead, they become political pundits who write best-selling books or run talk shows in order to bolster political viewpoints to prospective voters who may be unenlightened about different political candidates.

To conclude, this major is the most useful for a young person to take for a career in the future because politics will continue to have a place in all the world’s societies, ensuring a place of employment for the graduate. Skills taught during education will serve the young person through school, work, and life.

Sally is a dedicated writer for StudentScholarships.org. She is an expert in Political Science Scholarships, Financial Aid, Career Advice, and most other things college related.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sally_Tolentino

Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. I have had plenty of  experiences where Japanese have spoken “politely” to me, yet not been polite in the true sense of the word.  Rather than polite, I think of the Japanese language as being more a language of several levels of formality.

Japanese will often use very formal language without any real personal thought or regard to who they are speaking to.  A case of having to speak in a certain way rather than wanting to be polite.

An important part of Japanese is being able to use the right level of formality in the right situation. In general Japanese won’t expect you use formal language unless they know that can speak fluent Japanese and you are in a situation requiring formal language. Using formal speech in an informal setting makes you sound strange, and using informal speech in a formal setting makes you sound rude.

There are two levels of Japanese formality. Firstly, there’s the plain/polite form of speech called “Teinei-go”, which is principally determined by the absence or use of desu/masu. Secondly, there’s the use of humble and honorific forms of speech, called “kenjyou-go” and “sonkei-go”  respectively, when dealing with vast social status differences between the speaker and listener or speaker and subject. It is very hard for foreigners to learn and appreciate humble and honorific language. The opportunity for them to speak this formal level of language is rare. Also, most students of Japanese probably would find learning kenjyou-go and sonkei-go far too frustrating to learn.

How and when to talk plain or polite, and when to be humble or when to be honorific, depends very much on the concept of in and out group, as well as familiarity. Japanese have to be very aware of who they are talking to or talkin about. In one’s familiar in group, one can talk in a plain and informal manner, while talking to someone who is part of ones formal in group, or part of an out group, typically warrants polite speech. When one talks to someone in one’s out group that is of clearly higher social status and you wish to acknowledge this fact, humble and honorific speech is typically used as well as polite form.

What it means to be polite in Japan is very different to what it means to be polite in English speaking countires. If you do have the opportunity to live in Japan long term the opportunities to use polite language will be few and far between. In fact, Japanese will have no expectation of you to use polite Japanese.  So, if you want to save yourself a whole lot of frustration and time, don’t bother learning polite Japanese.

To learn more about speaking Japanese visit this learn Japanese online blog.

Nicholas Kemp is an online educator and speaks and read fluent Japanese. After living in Japan for 10 years he returned to Australia and started his own online business. He teaches Japanese with the help of his Japanese wife and has produced several multimedia rich products he help people read and speak Japanese.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_Kemp

Political psychology degree programs prepare you for the application of contemporary psychological theories, concepts, and methods to the study of political behavior. This field is based on the study of both psychology and political science. If you like both areas of study, you don’t have to pick and chose. A degree in political psychology combines these two fields perfectly.

Political Psychology Degree Programs

The majority of degree programs in this area focus heavily on traditional areas in social psychology such as the field of attitudes, emotions, affect and group interaction. They also incorporate the areas of memory, cognition and decision making. In this type of program you will focus on the structure of political beliefs and attitudes, the processing of information, factors that influence political decisions and judgments. To accomplish this task you will learn to utilize empirical research, experimenting as well as survey research.

Curriculum in these types of programs focuses on political psychology as well as American government and economy. Additionally, most programs focus heavily on statistics and methodology. Course included in most programs include foundations of political psychology, experimental methods and design, ideology, socialization, mass communication and political persuasion, group influence, cognition, elite decision making, and behavioral decision theory.

Most Common Careers

A degree in political psychology prepares you to work in areas focusing in analyzing voters, lawmakers, local and national governments, parties and associations. Themes addressed include dynamics of public opinion, impact of media on attitudes, organization of beliefs, information processing, socialization, leadership, and international negotiation.

Degree programs in this area develop you people skills, critical thinking and problem solving abilities. They focus on statistic and research and combine a number of different fields, from political science and psychology to international affairs, sociology and anthropology. As a result, career options for these type of psychologists are vast and numerous. You could work as a faculty member in universities within the psychology, political science, business, and finance or sociology departments. You could also work on private research organizations or government agencies. If you like having many options and like being challenged by new issues and topic, consider a degree in political psychology. It just may be the perfect calling for you.

Maja Aleksic has a doctorate in education psychology and has worked for both the Arizona State Department of Education as well as a prominent Arizona High School District. For more tips and advice on choosing the best political psychology degree program, courses and career opportunities go to http://www.Select-Online-Degree.com/political_psychology_degree.html for up to date psychology education news.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maja_Aleksic