Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 September 9

= September 9 =

Helping Poor People
Helping poor people. But why should we help poor people? Poor people are poor because they are lazy. Socialism can only distribute wealth, not produce wealth. Socialism reduces people's incentive to produce wealth. Are efforts to help poor people really effective in reducing poverty?

Desklin (talk) 07:27, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Communism and Communalism
What's the difference between communism and communalism?

Desklin (talk) 07:13, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Welfare and Insurance
What's the difference between welfare and insurance?

Desklin (talk) 07:15, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Paul Martin - Métis?
The article Métis people (Canada) has Paul Martin in a collage of Métis people, however Martin's article has a citation needed tag for his mother's ancestry. Is there a reference out there that could be added to prove the claim? Hack (talk) 12:30, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * I don't know why there is a citation needed tag there - there is a citation immediately afterwards, to an old CBC story, which does indeed say his mother was partially Métis. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:04, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I should've looked a little harder. Hack (talk) 11:37, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Swedish subsidy scheme for translations
When Harry Potter in Swedish is borrowed from a Swedish library, for example, J.K. Rowling does not get a single penny for that. (The translator does, though. It’s a grant to promote culture availability in the local language, not to reward the author.

1. What grant is this referring to?

I found a program that supports foreign language translation of Swedish literature, but not the other way around i.e. a Swedish translation of Harry Potter.

2. Is there any country with such a program? I.e. subsidizing local translations of foreign works. My other car is a cadr (talk) 15:03, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * This site has many links to agencies that provide grants for translations . At a glance, it does seem that many of the governmental grants are intended to help get a local language work translated into a different language, often English. One exception I've found so far: Finland seems to have some governmental grants for translating works into Finnish . There's lots to sift through though, and I've only skimmed. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:51, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
 * A number of countries have programs that give money to authors whose books are borrowed in public libraries (e.g. Public Lending Rights in the U.K. ). These payments are usually limited to authors from that country. It is likely that Sweden has a similar program, but that in the case of foreign books translated into Swedish, it's the translator and not the (foreign) author who can register to receive such money. --Xuxl (talk) 12:43, 10 September 2015 (UTC)
 * The Public Lending Right (PLR) International Network website has some information, e.g. this overview where Sweden is mentioned. The Swedish Authors' Fund also has some information in English. The grant has been around since 1954, and is regulated in a law. Sjö (talk) 17:29, 10 September 2015 (UTC)


 * The Ireland Literature Exchange Translation Grant Programme works both ways:"support for translations of Irish literature and to Irish publishers for translations of foreign literature into English or Irish". Supporting translation into Irish does not surprise me, as part of the state's broader effort to prevent the language being entirely replaced by English. Supporting translation into English does surprise me. jnestorius(talk) 23:58, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Ease of starting a business
Let's say I want to start a business like say opening a pizza restaurant. Would it be easier to start it in USA or India? Malamockq (talk) 19:14, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * According to these World Bank rankings of countries on the ease of doing business, the United States ranks 46th on ease of starting a business, while India ranks 158th out of 189. So, in general, it is easier to start a business in the United States.  These generalizations, though, hide what are sometimes wide variations by region or by sector.  So it is possible that there is a relatively business-friendly Indian city where it would be easier to open a pizza restaurant than in a specific U.S. city with unusually strict regulations.  Marco polo (talk) 20:19, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Almost certainly the answer is "wherever you're currently located", unless of course you're not in either. Imagine an American moving to India to start a restaurant: he'd have a horribly hard time adjusting to the new location, learning to work with a significantly different culture, etc.  Nyttend (talk) 02:02, 10 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Also note that the World Bank measures if "the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm" (emphasis mine). It says nothing at all about the market situation in the countries, or the average rate of success for a new restaurant. Sjö (talk) 17:35, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

Avit
was there a saint name avit? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.62.199.168 (talk) 19:41, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * The Wikipedia article Saint-Avit-Sénieur might be what you are looking for, or maybe Avitus of Vienne?   D b f i r s   19:48, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
 * More on the French St Avitus is here. Alansplodge (talk) 09:04, 10 September 2015 (UTC)


 * The eponym of St Avitus's Dance. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  11:44, 10 September 2015 (UTC)


 * On French WP (5 saints) . — AldoSyrt (talk) 14:17, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

Map of Iraq
Why do maps of Iraq contain boundaries that aren't even under control of the Iraqi government? Malamockq (talk) 20:35, 9 September 2015 (UTC)


 * Because they are officially the recognized borders of the country. We can't change the maps every time someone runs around claiming a piece of it. --Scicurious (talk) 20:39, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
 * By officially, you mean arbitrary. Malamockq (talk) 23:44, 10 September 2015 (UTC)
 * If you think about it, every political map is a political statement. A map that shows borders is implicitly saying, "these are the recognized borders". Any map's treatment of territorial disputes tells you what the map maker's position is. Unsurprisingly this can become pretty touchy business. Comparing various maps of the Levant can be a fun exercise, for certain values of fun. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 22:17, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Or are you perhaps talking about the Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone? Nyttend (talk) 02:01, 10 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Here is a rather interesting document. - TheChampionMan1234 05:41, 10 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Huh? It's not about maps; it just uses "map" metaphorically in the title. --65.95.178.150 (talk) 03:52, 11 September 2015 (UTC)