Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 April 12

= April 12 =

Contingency money
How much money is sencible for someone to keep in cash readily available as a contingency fund? In US dollars please. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sherbutdremms (talk • contribs)


 * Between 9 months and 1 year of income. As your expenses tend to vary with your lifestyle, there's no way to give a dollar amount better than that.  Someone living in a small apartment would have different spending needs than someone living in a large house.  Of course, it doesn't really matter what currency you are paid in, you still need about 9 months to 1 year of income saved for a "safe" contingency fund.  -- Jayron 32 00:09, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I should think it would vary dramatically based on what type of "safety net" you have. Do you have family and friends who you could live with/borrow a car from/borrow money from in an emergency ?  Does the government provide good social services there if you became homeless ?  Do you have good health insurance ?  If not, then you will need more money for a "rainy day". StuRat (talk) 02:26, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Contingency for what, though? Many years ago, I once got badly burned when my bank cancelled my overdraft without warning, and as I get paid monthly I ended up with £2.83 in my pocket by the time my next pay day arrived. Apart from teaching me never to trust banks, I instituted a policy of never having less than two weeks' spending money in my wallet, in cash. Thanks to having gone away from home for Easter, I currently have a rather large £500/$800 in my wallet, which means I won't have to visit an ATM for two or three weeks. -- Arwel Parry (talk) 10:33, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
 * If your neighborhood pickpocket happens to be reading this page, I'm sure he'll be very happy to know that. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:37, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

If your income stopped indefinitely, what would you do? Consider the costs of dependents you have, assets you can sell or what would you contingency for living arrangements be (eg. friend's sofa).--Crazy Aberdeen Guy (talk) 15:49, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Are you using cash to mean physical money (e.g. a hoard of notes and/or coins in a safe place in your home), or in contrast to investments/property (e.g. money in a bank account which can be quickly accessed)? The 9 month-1year answers are likely for the latter, the 2 weeks answer is for the former. Personally, I keep about a week's worth of food/transport in "physical" cash (to allow me to survive the loss of my cards), 2 months of food/transport/rent/bills in a bank account which I can access easily without penalty (which covers most sudden expenses), and 9 months of my wage in a bank account to which I have instant access, but lose interest for withdrawing money (for emergencies or longer term loss of income). MChesterMC (talk) 10:25, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Is a MOOC “degree” worth putting on your resume?
I've read an article about a Chemist who completed another bachelor's degree in Philosophy by finishing free MOOC courses. His new "degree' may not be academically accredited in any Graduate School of Philosophy. But is it still worth mentioning in your curriculum vitae/resume as if its a new "degree"?Rja2015 (talk) 01:59, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Presumably Massive open online course? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:36, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, I'm referring to Massive open online courses.Rja2015 (talk) 02:48, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Theoretically (though you might not guess it from the actual practice), "We don't answer requests for opinions". I don't see how this can be anything other than that: it's worth it if it's likely to impress the employers he's applying to. HenryFlower 05:52, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I don't think it's a request for opinions. The question should really be phrased as "How should additional graduate credits be mentioned on one's CV (resume in the US)?" In which case, beneath the entry for the BSc Chemistry, a further entry comprising something like "Philosophy - 150 credits at Level 4, 100 credits at Level 5" with "Awarding University (MOOC)" in the Establishment column, would be acceptable and convey the achievement and that it hasn't been formally accredited. (Speaking as a former University tutor and academic advisor, that is.) --TammyMoet (talk) 07:14, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

As Baseball Bugs just illustrated, not everyone knows what a MOOC is. Whatever way it is put, it has to be understood by absolutely anyone without thinking about it. Recruiters will give a five second scan over a CV before it hits the reject pile; not to mention automatic recruitment software which analyses the CV. You should only put 'BSc in Philosophy, awarded 2014 by XYZ University' if its status as a degree is universally accepted an a degree.

In the USA, diploma mills are commoner than in Europe. Kent Hovind could have described himself as 'a high school teacher who completed courses with Patriot University', and kept some credibility. Instead, he insisted on having a doctorate, when it is nothing of the sort.--Crazy Aberdeen Guy (talk) 16:00, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * One option might be to list degrees from non-accredited institutions (or "audits" from accredited ones) under the "Hobbies" section rather than "Education". In the example given, a chemist would want to list a philosophy degree in the hobbies section anyway, assuming he is applying for a job as a chemist, and not a philosopher.  He might get lucky, and find a would-be boss whose hobby is also philosophy, and who wouldn't mind hiring him so he would have somebody to talk to while waiting for the centrifuge cycle to complete, etc. StuRat (talk) 20:29, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Alexandra Rose Day
The article Alexandra Rose Day says London's Alexandra Rose Day is June 26.


 * http://mashable.com/2015/03/29/england-color-photos/
 * http://1.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Autochrome-16.jpg (June 16, 1928)
 * http://www.fundraising.co.uk/2012/05/16/alexandra-rose-charities-celebrate-centenary-london-collections/ (June 21, 2012)

I think the article may use a little more fact checking. -- Toytoy (talk) 11:22, 12 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I've done a bit more Googling but found it very difficult to find dates for the day in other years. Those that I did find don't even seem to fit a particular day of the week (21 June 2012 was a Thursday, 7 June 2002 was a Friday). I have amended the article to "a variable date in June" with a Discuss template and copied this question over to Talk:Alexandra Rose Day. If anybody can help to solve the conundrum, please continue this conversation on the article's talk page. Alansplodge (talk) 15:35, 12 April 2015 (UTC)