How easy is Legal Research to do for the General Public?

In simple terms, it's not simple at all for the general public to be able to do their own legal research.  The legal system has been created and then evolved in such a way that it is a minefield of exceptions and additions so that the plain laws are now open to interpretation and it takes a legal researcher who is familiar with the nuances of the law to be able to find their way through it.

There are some simple straightforward laws, especially at State level, where you can quickly do the legal research yourself.  Something like "can you get married at 15 in Colorado?" for example can be answered within minutes by finding the relevant State law online, and then confirming this with a legal professional.  However as to the grounds on which that marriage can then be dissolved and what the division of wealth, property - or debts would be, will be open to debate by the attorneys who will be paid to fight the case out as long as they can! 

There is a lot of mystery which surrounds the legal profession but although some of that is there to give the law it's holier than thou stance, much of it has developed because of a groundbreaking cases. For example, theft is theft and thieves should go to jail, unless of course there's a good reason for why they stole the items - perhaps there was an ownership issue, perhaps it was on moral grounds of starvation, or perhaps it was plain greed.  It doesn't take much legal research to say that greed is an issue upon which someone should go to jail, but would you put a starving person in jail because they stole food?  And what of the ownership issue?  This is where test cases and legal precedents come into being and it's years of those cases which have managed to twist the law into the complicated puzzle it is today. 

Although legal research isn't at all easy for members of the general public to undertake without some knowledge of how the law works and the publications and indexes which can be checked, it's more than possible to find similar situations online and to find out what the research showed in those instances and use these as a starting point.  If this fails, it might be worth employing a legal researcher to find the information for you!

What Alcoholism is All About

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence defines alcoholism as characterized by "impaired control over dinking…and distortions in thinking, most notably denial." This means that for many alcoholics, they are unable to make a decision to stop drinking without the help of others.

Symptoms of the disease include but are not limited to sneaking drinks, lying about the amount consumed, irritability when alcohol is not available, mood swings, loss of appetite, a puffiness of the face, job loss and a high number of traffic tickets.

Family members need to develop an awareness of the disease and talk with the alcoholic. Most alcoholics are in denial and talking to the person about their disease can be very difficult. Choose a time when the person is sober. In addition, talking to the person after an alcoholic problem as occurred, such as a family argument, or a drunken driving ticket, for example, may be a good time to talk. Unfortunately waiting for a problem to occur from alcoholic behaviors can have serious consequences.

Family members coping with an alcoholic or addict can cause a great deal of stress in the family life. Therefore, there are support groups for Al-Alteen for children and teenagers. Al-Anon is for the spouse or loved one that has to cope with an alcoholic. These groups teach family members on how to cope with the alcoholic and process their emotions.

There are studies that want you to believe that alcoholism is not a disease. They are wrong. Alcoholism is a disease and while there is no cure, it is treatable. If it were not a disease, insurance companies would not pay for treatment.

Alcoholism is a disease in which drinkers have lost the ability to control their drinking, leading to physical and mental harm and loss of ability to behave in a socially acceptable manner. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, pathological condition that affects the nervous and digestive system, caused by the inability to stop drinking despite adverse consequences such as loss of job, family, and health. The disease is potentially fatal, however the most disturbing and debilitating part of alcoholism is the loss of self-respect, the possible job loss, and the toll it takes on the alcoholics family. There is also indication that there may be a genetic component with alcoholism.

Why not Incorporate a Weight Training Program into your Weight Loss Program?

When you are trying to lose weight, changing your diet to a healthier one is a great start but you also need to think about exercise.  The most beneficial exercise is an aerobic one such as an exercise class, spinning, running on a treadmill, etc, but there's also a lot to be gained by incorporating a weight training program into your exercise regime.

Don't be put off by the muscles and large amounts of weights that some of the more experienced weight lifters at the gym display.  Many of these are there not to lose weight but to gain muscle.  This isn't why you're going.  You don't need to gain muscle, but rather tone up what muscle you have.

When you follow a weight training program for muscle tone, rather than muscle gain, you will be using lighter weights but you will do many more repetitions with these lighter weights.  These can be resistance exercises where you are pushing your body against the weights, or lifting exercises where you lift the weights in a specific way to tone the different areas of your body.

One of the great things about a weight training program as opposed to just buying a couple of hand weights and doing the same exercises at home is that you start with a qualified instructor who will show you the correct way to breathe, hold your posture and explain the muscle groups that each weight exercise works.  Once you know what you're doing, then you could carry this on at home if you wanted to, but for those who are new to weight training, enrolling on a weight training program is the best way to get off to a safe start.

After you have been attending regular sessions on your weight training program you'll start to feel a difference in how you hold your posture, even when you're not at the gym.  This has an added bonus of helping your spine to keep in shape. You also learn how to lift weights safely and this knowledge transfers into your daily life which again takes stress from your spine because you start to lift things more carefully.

A weight training program is a very positive addition to your weight loss efforts, and one that will help you tone up your body as you lose those extra pounds, and at the same time help you improve your posture.

BEATING THE ODDS IN POKER AND OVERCOMING LUCK

When playing poker, luck is a huge factor. Just to have that chance of winning a major event these days you must get lucky more times than you can count. Skill is important, but you must be sure to beat the odds and overcome luck.

There is now a lot of new players playing poker on the Internet.  Due to this increase in numbers hand expectations have dropped. Many players decide to play hands with marginal consequences they are prepared to take the risks iregardless of the luck factor.  Even if you are going into an all in situation with the best of it, worse players are calling and sucking out. Even though it is impossible to avoid this, there are ways to keep the skill high and the reliance on luck lower.

You should always make sure you are not wasting your time by playing the right hands.  Don't get involved trying to beat an aggressive player unless you have a great hand, don't risk losing your chips by trying to bluff.  If you are confident your opponent is weak you can mix up your game and play different types of hands, learn to read your opponents and decide where you stand. 

Try not to go into any situation with the worst of it. Try to stay away from drawing situations, and don't get all your chips in the pot if you don't think you are ahead in the hand. If you are going into hands with the better percentage of winning then you don't have to rely on luck as much to help you win. You do, though, hope to avoid bad luck where the person sucks out on you! You shouldn't necessarily hope for good luck in a tournament, but hope that bad luck stays away. If you always play with the best of it then you won't need good luck.

If someone does suck out on you and you are still in the tournament you must make sure you avoid letting it get to you. You have to realize that this hand is done and you have to move on to the next one. If you are mad about something that happened at the table, you should never let your opponents know, because they will try to take advantage of that. You should act as if whatever happened didn't bother you a bit, and know that if they sucked out on you they may not be as good as you and you will be able to get your chips back from them later.

 

Throughout the internet you will find a lot of advice about playing poker but generally speaking you should aim to play tight and aggressive.  Learn quickly everyone's playing style and adapt to it accordingly.  Loose players, play them tightly and avoid playing tight players.  You should aim to mix up your game so that other players find it difficult to read your play.

 

Try not to depend on luck, develop your strategies, don't be foolish, and hopefully you'll become one of the next world series poker champions.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 December 2007 )

Why Not Study for a Special Education Degree?

When you are deciding what to study at college, why not study for a special education degree?  If you are considering teaching as your profession once you graduate from college, then a special education degree could be a great asset to have on your resume.

Today, we are seeing an increasing percentage of children who are presenting signs of illnesses and conditions that require a special education teacher.  Add to this an increase in the amount of physically challenged children who have parents wanting them in mainstream schools so that they get a good education, and you can begin to see that there is soon going to be a shortage of teachers who are qualified to teach them - and that's where your special education degree will come in useful. 

Many of the students who find themselves in a special need class do not lack the intelligence to learn.  What they need is a teacher who can understand what problems they have in a classroom environment, and knows how to get around that and help the child achieve the best education possible.  A special education degree will equip you with the skills you need to do that.  One of the problems that mainstream teachers have with these children is that they don't have the time to spend individually with them because of the large class sizes they are teaching.  A special needs teacher has smaller classes and so is able to get to know her students betters and decide the best pattern of learning for them. 

Studying for a special education degree will equip you to handle children who are slower to learn than average and so just a little extra time for things to sink in, and also those who have conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (more commonly known as ADHD), autism and even dyslexia.  All of these, and a myriad of others that fall within the scope of a special education teacher, will need an individual education plan that is worked on both by the teacher, and the child's parents/guardians.  This creates a "team" around the child all working in the same direction to ensure the child gets a good education despite the learning difficulties that their health issues create.  With a special education degree you will acquire the skills not only to teach, but also to create that team and be one of the most important people that each child in your care comes in contact with.  Where could you get better job satisfaction than that?

The Gift Certificate

There is nothing better than a gift certificate. A gift certificate is a great method for thanking the employees of the organization as a present or reward for them. An electronic gift certificate can arrive within hours and it can be sent to multiple recipients. The personal message will appear on the gift certificate itself. Gift certificates have proven to be the perfect choice for special occasions like birthdays, marriages and anniversaries. Gift certificates let the person decide where he would like to spend his money. Gift certificate companies have tie ups with hundreds of companies like sports stores, theatres, clothing stores, etc. Gift certificates offer hundreds of shopping options to the recipient. Gift certificates come in different denominations and it all depends on how much the person wants to spend. Gift certificates offer hundreds of choices of products and services to choose from. It also saves someone from the hassle of buying a particular gift for a person which he or she may not like.

Gift certificates are common types of gift items in corporate parties. Instead of buying different items for employees, it is prudent to gift them gift certificates of the desired denominations. It saves precious time required to go to the stores and selecting a particular gift. The gift certificates can be redeemed at restaurants also. Some sites like Amazon also have gift certificates of different denominations to choose from. www.amazon.com is a site where thousands of products from different categories can be bought online. Hence all one that one has to do is redeem the gift certificate with amazons and choose from any of its products.

Gift certificates ensure that everyone gets what they want. Gift certificates are gaining popularity worldwide for the benefits that they offer to their customers. They are proving to be the most sought after items in western countries like USA, UK and Canada. The trend has still not picked up fully in the underdeveloped countries. The gift certificates are customizable with a personal message that can be sent across to the other person. Gift certificates can be sent electronically through email or can be sent on paper through regular mail.

Proper Time Management

The problem with people who do not know how to manage their time wisely is that they would have the propensity to wake up to an alarm clock and leap into the day. On the other hand, people who know their way to sound time management will use the first 30 minutes or hour of their day for relaxation and reflection instead of leaping into each day haphazardly. This is because they have already set some definite time for each task that will be carried out throughout the day.

Therefore, having a cup of tea in your garden, writing a journal, or listening to music is not a waste of time for a person who knows how to manage his time wisely. These activities are part of his schedule; and the way he does these things are just part of how he will be able to cope up with stress the rest of the day.

People who are prone to stress are usually those who strive hard by doing things all at the same time. They think that they have to do everything at once, even if it means nothing is accomplished in the end. This is one hard example of time mismanagement.

Allot a specific timeframe for each activity and prioritize them according to your own personal main concerns. For instance, you may want to finish law school; but since you are still in your undergraduate course, you may have to concentrate first on the things that you should be doing today instead of thinking about the things that you might have to do in future.

You could start using a daily planner and start dividing your daily chores. Try to allot specific times for each task and see if you can still have some extra time for relaxation at the end of the day. You can also use the study hour formula to determine the amount of time you need to get a grade of "A" in class.

Effective time management does not just happen as it seems to be. Everything happens for a cause and the main reason why some people are using their time wisely is because they use some tools that will remind them and help them organize their schedule.

These tools are built to help those who simply cannot monitor their time in the strictest sense. These tools assist people to make time management best work for them.