Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 June 30

= June 30 =

Where can I purchase Brazilian novelas?
Where online can I purchase Brazilian novelas on DVD for delivery to the United States? - Vikramkr (talk) 02:32, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Have you tried using Amazon? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rmp99 (talk • contribs) 05:18, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Are you allowed to use a calculator in the exam in Mathematics and Applications 1 (H) at the Australian National University?
? ?––Wikinv (talk) 03:59, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * This would probably be best answered by your Mathematics and Applications 1 (H) professor. Falconus p t   c 04:21, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Too bad I don't do Mathematics and Applications 1 (H) yet :P ––Wikinv (talk) 04:38, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * You can still ask the relevant lecturer. Or you can try and find some past papers and read the instructions on the front (some unis publish past papers, some don't). --Tango (talk) 16:38, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Exams finished at the ANU last week. Why would you still want to know this? My exams are long marked and final marks entered. Steewi (talk) 23:33, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Edit - Just read the other responses. The ANU examinations timetable shows that the permitted materials did not include a calculator. Steewi (talk) 23:37, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Catmose College (CC)
Can someone help me add references for the article? Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rmp99 (talk • contribs) 05:19, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Hi, you're probably better off asking at either the Wikipedia Help Desk or at the Requests for Feedback page. Thanks. Chevy  monte  carlo  15:16, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * If the OP wants help finding the references, then we are the right place. --Tango (talk) 16:39, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Oh, I though they wanted help actually adding the references to the article that they've already got. Sorry. Chevy  monte  carlo  - alt 12:13, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Any country in the world who has more than one name?
Is there any country in the world who has more than one name. For example India has got three names 1. BHARAT 2. HINDUSTAN 3. INDIA

Bds.lko1999 (talk) 07:19, 30 June 2010 (UTC) BHARTIYA DHARM SANSTHAN (LUCKNOW - UP)

For example until the seventies it was all right to say The Netherlands or Holland when you were talking about the same country.

I am from Finland and the name of our country is "Suomi" in Finnish language. We have own Finnish names for example to next countries:

Germany - Saksa Russia - Venäjä Sweden - Ruotsi Estonia - Viro Denmark - Tanska Poland - Puola

80.186.66.250 (talk) 07:37, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Greece aka Hellenic Republic. Dismas |(talk) 07:38, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Republic of China, also known as Taiwan and Republic of Ireland, also known as Éire. Both Taiwan and Éire are also the names of the islands. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 08:28, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I think you'll find that the name (in English) of Ireland, the sovereign state, is simply "Ireland". "Republic of Ireland" is a widely/often/sometimes used description, but not a name.  As you might imagine, this leads to a considerable amount of discussion on various talk pages, like Talk:Ireland, and Talk:British Isles.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:39, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Wait, are you saying that Ireland is the so-called "long name" of the country? The way Republic of France is the long name of France and Kingdom of Sweden is of Sweden?  That would strike me as odd, given that Ireland is also the name of the island.  Or is this a deliberate political choice, asserting sovereignty over the entire island? --Trovatore (talk) 10:01, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I suggest you look at Names of the Irish state. A simple explanation is beyond my level of competence.  :-)  Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:14, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * By the way, the actual long name of France, translated into English, is actually French Republic. --Anonymous, 03:40 UTC, July 1, 2010.

List of alternative country names gives you a complete list - but includes antiquated and unofficial names, as well as those used for official purposes. Countries whose official names in English differ wholly from the official name used by the state's government (that is, with a wholly different derivation) include Albania (Shqipëria), Germany (Deutschland), Greece (Hellas), Hungary (Magyarország), and Montenegro (Crna Gora). And (depending on your definition of "country"), Wales (Cymru). Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:53, 30 June 2010 (UTC) Also Egypt (Miṣr). Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:06, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * That list shows Switzerland, which has five official names (in French, German, Italian, Latin and Romansh), all of which differ from the name in English. Warofdreams talk 09:11, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Obviously, many many countries have native names which differ from their names in English, simply because they use different languages - but Schweiz / Suisse etc. have the same derivation as the word "Switzerland" (as do (for example) Sweden / Sverige, Croatia / Hrvatska, etc. etc.) so I didn't include it in my list. Switzerland is also interesting because, in some official uses such as postage stamps, it uses the Latin name Helvetia.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:51, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * United States of America, US, the States, America, the US, the United States, USA.
 * China, PRC, People’s Republic of China, Zhonghua Renmin Gonghe Guo.
 * Japan, Nippon, Nihon.
 * DOR (HK) (talk) 09:39, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * See Names of Germany.—Wavelength (talk) 18:50, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

I think there's a difference between a country that has different names in different languages(every country will have that) and one that has different official names. Let's not forget Burma which according to its government is called Myanmar-and here the choice of name does have some political slant-because the government officially has named it Myanmar,using that name shows some support of them.The UK still uses Burma,implying a tacit non-recognition of the government. Lemon martini (talk) 21:10, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * North Koreans call Korea "Choson" and South Koreans call it "Hanguk." These aren't names for "North Korea" or "South Korea" -- they are different names for the entire peninsula. The Czech Republic has been trying to get other countries to call it "Czechia," with varying levels of success. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:22, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Ah that goes some way to explaining the North Korean manager's rather odd comments at the World Cup-when asked if he'd seen the South Korean team's game the previous day,he replied 'The only official name of our team is the Korean Democratic People's Republic-please do not use any other name when referring to it' and the poor interviewer trying to convey that he was not referring to his team,but another country's altogether. Lemon martini (talk) 10:20, 1 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I prefer "Czechia" to "Czech Republic" despite 837,000 versus 299,000,000 Google results.—Wavelength (talk) 23:29, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * See Name of the Czech Republic and languagehat.com: CZECHIA.—Wavelength (talk) 00:20, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * 'Montenegro' is a calque of 'Crna gora' (or perhaps the other way round). --ColinFine (talk) 21:47, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Sydney street widths
Hi I was wondering if anyone knows how to find out specific street widths in Sydney without visiting them and measuring?

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by Patiocamel (talk • contribs) 08:48, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * The "satellite" view of Google Maps has very good resolution in Sydney, and the "Street View" function (drag the yellow peg man onto the map) will let you see how many lanes any street has. Any particular street you were thinking about?--Shantavira|feed me 09:06, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Google maps also has a nice measuring tool, though I don't know quite how good the resolution is, I have never tried measuring something that small. I will try it with my car later today.  Googlemeister (talk) 13:26, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * You're going to measure your car with Google Maps? Were you lucky enough to find your car pictured on GM?  Dismas |(talk) 22:46, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes I can see my car in Google Earth (Why did I say Google Maps???). It is not difficult, because I park in the same location at work every day, and my car is the only one of that color at my workplace.  So, it wasn't that tough to guess where my car probably was.  Googlemeister (talk) 14:11, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * No, I think he's going to measure some street widths with his car. Me, I'd use a tape measure. :)
 * One thing to bear in mind is that, from my knowledge of Sydney, street widths vary quite considerably. It's been growing steadily since 1788, when ideas about street widths would have been somewhat different to ours of today.  The Sydney conurbation (which is a moving feast in itself) has for a very long time been split between a large number of different councils, who would undoubtedly have different rules about such matters.  The state government would also have a stake in determining the characteristics of major thoroughfares that pass through Sydney.  --  202.142.129.66 (talk) 03:44, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Google earth was able to measure my car to within 1/8 feet (around 0.5%), so it would work well to measure a street width if you don't mind if you are off a couple of cm. Googlemeister (talk) 15:05, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Psychology
WHAT IS CONFLICT?WHAT ARE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES OF CONFLICT IN INDUSTRY?SUGGEST MEASURES TO REDUCE CONFLICT IN AN ORGANIZATION. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.194.232.17 (talk) 14:52, 30 June 2010 (UTC) AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:05, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Also, please do not type in ALL CAPITALS - it is considered "shouting" and therefore rude. You might also consider saying "please" when asking for help. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:07, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * That's probably the style the homework paper had it. :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:46, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Commercial leases
Are there any websites (or other sources of information) that give estimates of the "going rate" for renting or leasing commercial property? In other words, if I were to rent out (or to rent) commercial property, I would not know if the rate were too high or too low or just about right. And I assume there must be some type of "industry standard" for this type of matter. Example: As a general rule, commercial property located in Hartford, CT, should expect to be leased at about $10 per square foot. Or whatever. Something along those lines. There must be some industry standard expectation rates, I would imagine. Does anyone know anything about this ... or can direct me to any good websites or other sources of information? Thanks. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 16:22, 30 June 2010 (UTC))


 * There is indeed a going rate, in any particular area, but it's all really local and dependent on the property itself and its amenities: is this a AAA full-service office space on the 20th floor of a downtown office tower, or is it a NNN lease in a run-down business park on the bad side of town? If you really want to search online you could google commercial real estate, but if you are the renter, you are going to want to talk to a commercial real estate broker.  It costs you nothing; the landlord ends up paying the broker if you lease his property.  The broker will chat with you over the phone about your budget and the square footage you need and other amenities you want, and he'll possibly prepare an "information packet" for you containing a dozen "sell sheets" of properties that seem close to what you're seeking; and he'll meet you at the properties of your choice so you can browse.  Any decent broker will give you way more information than you can glean from browsing lease websites, IMO.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:28, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I am the landlord, in this case, not the tenant.  The long and short of the matter is ... I'd rather not "hire" and pay an agent for some basic general info that I can probably find out for myself and on my own.  I already have a tenant in a lease, and we (the tenant and I) are simply renewing the lease.  Any suggestions?  Thanks.   (64.252.65.146 (talk) 18:22, 30 June 2010 (UTC))
 * Well couldn't you tell the agent that you are looking to rent a space with specifications very similar to what you have and find out what similar landlords are charging? Googlemeister (talk) 20:15, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * He could, but that's rather abusive of the broker, who is acting in good faith. It would of course be fine if you honestly told the broker you're a landlord and not looking to engage his services but are interested in the comps.  Sorry, original poster, my experience is on the other side of the table from yours, so I don't know of a great resource for landlords to compare prices.  The commercial landlords I know do seem to know the names and locations and conditions of the other office properties in the neighborhood, and how they compare to the landlord's own property; so maybe they all do the underhanded thing that Googlemeister suggested (although I assume the brokers would then get to know their faces really fast) &mdash; or maybe there's a Secret Landlord's Club.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:29, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * It really wouldn't be all that different from going to a couple of different car dealerships and asking them to show you the model and tell you about the features and the price. Googlemeister (talk) 18:44, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Related question
Perhaps a better way to phrase the above question might be this. Where can I find the going commercial "reasonable rates" (i.e., in percentage terms) of an increase in rent from year to year? In other words ... regardless of the initial base rental price ... rents are generally expected to increase by XX percent per year. Is this type of information readily available on the interent or at any particular websites? Thank you! (64.252.65.146 (talk) 18:32, 30 June 2010 (UTC))

Thanks to all for the input. Much appreciated! Thank you. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 18:57, 3 July 2010 (UTC))

Cheating in South Asia
Only around 2% of Wikipedia traffic comes from India & Pakistan, but I've noticed that many/most of the "do my homework for me" posts come from those nations. I speculate that there's a different cultural view on behavior that a Westerner like me considers "cheating", perhaps based on the greater stakes of living in a country with a lesser social safety net, but does anyone happen to have any solid data on this phenomenon? Thanks. --Sean 19:27, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * First, I do not think that most of our homework questions come from South Asia. Second, if those questions come disproportionately from that region, it may reflect something like desperation.  I have in my head an image of a university student with a full-time, low-wage job, desperate to escape from his dead-end existence, but without sufficient time to devote to his studies.  Marco polo (talk) 20:18, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * When I've taught at various universities, I have definitely heard people say that Chinese immigrants in particular have a very different conception of what counts as "cheating" than Western students, and that one often had to re-stress to them exactly what counts as "copying" or "plagiarism" and so on. I don't know if that is backed up by empirical facts or not, and my own experience is not broad enough to draw any conclusions. Similarly I doubt the sample size of Ref Desk questions is probably not large enough to use to draw any conclusions either. It seems plausible to me that different cultures would have different standards for this sort of thing. Professors I've had in the past recounted that growing up in the USSR in the 1960s and 1970s, that cheating was considered fairly obvious and not shameful, and part of the pedagogical culture of Soviet classrooms from very early on. Again, just anecdotes, no data. But the American "standard" for what constitutes creativity, proper citation, and so on, is certainly not transcendental (or even transhistorical), and is itself fairly slippery on a number of points (e.g. the entire culture of "gaming" standardized tests, which almost all recognize as undermining the entire point of testing, but is near-universally regarded as "necessary" if one wants to get ahead in life). --Mr.98 (talk) 21:23, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * See "Cheating Across Cultures", for example. ---Sluzzelin talk  12:22, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Mothering/Parenting/etc along those lines media
Looking for alternative/s to mainstream and Midwifery Today--Jessica A Bruno (talk) 19:43, 30 June 2010 (UTC)?

Yet to reach this stage of life and etc. I'm just a student of life.

2nd guessing myself now if I should have looked into other media along those lines. To see if there was something more/much more cheaper then resubscribing to here (MTM). At the same time already tried most of the all other media before landing here. Found the other media are good in areas, but lacking in areas. Which I found that MT and MTC are good in areas and not lacking in areas. Still think I should have looked into another media besides here before deciding to resubscribing to MTM. Also, have resubscribed to 2 other meida that I used to get as well. Don't worry they aren't in this subject/s, but other subjects.

Think thats it for now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mybodymyself (talk • contribs) 19:32, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

The--Jessica A Bruno 22:04, 1 July 2010 (UTC) Wikipedia article Home birth may be of interest. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:16, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for trying, but it wasn't what I was looking for.--Jessica A Bruno 22:02, 1 July 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mybodymyself (talk • contribs)

Cell Phone Explosion?
Is it true that cell phones can explode if left on the charger too long, or is this an urban myth like allegators in the sewer system (at least outside of Florida? If so, do I have time to overcharge it before the Forth of July?  Rebele  | Talk The only way to win the game is to not play the game. 20:05, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I would hope that if this scenario were possible with the standard cell phone charger that there would have been a recall, or at least a nice big warning label. That said, I suppose if the charger was faulty and the phone was in a hazardous location, it might start melting and cause an explosion.  Googlemeister (talk) 20:13, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Snopes say "True"! --Tango (talk) 20:41, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't see anything in the Snopes page about phones expolding simply because they were left charging too long. Rmhermen (talk) 21:18, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Lithium batteries are dangerous because they can easily heat up and catch fire; however the chargers and batteries include circuitry to prevent this by limiting currents, preventing over-charging, and cooling the battery. Lithium-ion_battery describes.  So they won't usually catch fire if left on a charger because the charger or battery will cut the current; however if there is a fault (or if vents are covered) they can get very hot, and lithium is very flammable.  More information at .  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.41.14.1 (talk) 22:41, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Congratulations Senor Castro, you've just won a brand new special edition iPhone! Clarityfiend (talk) 03:36, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I just googled "exploding iphone" without the quotes. News reports of injuries and photos of very sad phones. --Psud (talk) 09:42, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Seems to me there used to be warnings about not overcharging. Haven't seen any lately, so it's probably as stated above, that recent devices have circuitry to prevent it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:44, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

"batteries include circuitry to prevent this by limiting currents". I have to add that original batteries from serious companies which care about their reputation include this circuity. There is no guarantee that any manufactured will include it.--Mr.K. (talk) 11:49, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

gmt
I'm scheduled for an online interview. I live in Kenya and the interview is slated for July 1, 2010 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. So in Kenya what time is it. Please just tell me the answer, I've heard enough people tell me to Google it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.212.91.149 (talk) 21:14, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Plenty of time zone converter services are easily found on the internet; here's one. 2030 EST would be 0430 the following day in Nairobi.  Note, however, that the US (if that's the target destination) is presently on daylight savings time, and EST is not commonly in use at present.  I recommend double-checking the relevant time. &mdash; Lomn 21:20, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * (ec) Yup, 04:30:00 a.m. Friday July 2. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:23, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Warning: In my experience, many people in America thoughtlessly use the terms "EST" and "PST" for "Eastern time" and "Pacific time", respectively, whether the country is currently on Standard Time or Daylight Time.  "EDT" and "PDT" are really never seen ... again, in my WP:OR personal experience.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:16, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, if the place is in the US or Canada, and someone is saying EST for that date then it is almost certainly an error for EDT. Which means the time you want is one hour earlier -- 03:30 Friday morning in Kenya.  Good luck with the interview. --Anonymous, 03:46 UTC, July 1, 2010.
 * It's not necessarily an error. Standard time, q.v., refers to time made standard (synchronized) across a time zone, not necessarily to non-daylight-savings time. I'm not sure whether Eastern Standard Time can proper refer to this also, but I'd guess so. (Another thing. I wonder whether any parts of Indiana are still keeping winter time in the summer. Then EST can actually mean what it normally does here. )&mdash;msh210 &#x2120; 06:41, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * No. Eastern Standard Time is never correctly used to mean Eastern Daylight Time, even if we're currently in daylight saving time.  Eastern Standard Time (the US version, not Australian) means GMT-5, period.  Using it to mean GMT-4 is absolutely an error.  A sufficiently common one that you do have to be careful about it. --Trovatore (talk) 09:25, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * If this were WP:RDL, I'd mention that sufficiently common errors, if they remain so for long enough, are actually correct. But it's not, so I won't. &mdash;msh210 &#x2120; 16:00, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * True. But it does (and should) take quite a long time.  As Bertrand Russell said, we can't prevent linguistic change, but we can drag our feet.
 * In this case it's a particularly insidious change that needs to be guarded against. As you noted, until recently parts of Indiana were on Eastern Standard Time even in the summer, and still most of Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round.  If the proper distinction here were elided, there would be no clear way to express that.  --Trovatore (talk) 16:28, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Eastern Standard Time may also refer to Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is GMT+10. Steewi (talk) 23:41, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I think you need to contact your interviewer and ask whether they really meant Eastern Standard Time (EST) in the U.S., which is not being observed in the Eastern Time Zone (US) at this time of year, or whether they instead meant Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (US), which is being observed at this time of year. If they really meant EDT, then the interview is at 3:30 am on July 2 in Kenya.  If they really meant EST, then the interview is at 4:30 am on July 2 in Kenya. If they really meant Australian Eastern Standard Time, then the interview is at 1:30 pm today (July 1) in Kenya.  Marco polo (talk) 13:46, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, I'm not sure it's a great idea to call attention to an employer's usage error before even getting the job. What I would do is be ready to go at 3:30, which as Tuttle and Lomn say is quite likely the intended time.  Then if it turns out no one's yet in the office, you've got an extra hour to relax a little bit.  But that probably won't happen &mdash; I can't think of a reason a (say) New York office would quote a time in (genuine) Eastern Standard Time in July; that would just be weird.  --Trovatore (talk) 18:37, 1 July 2010 (UTC)