Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for University

Arguments For and Against Juries

Arguments in Favour of Juries

• They are democratic, ensuring trial by one’s peers.
• They allow for public participation.
• Jurors are not influenced by professional prejudice.
• Juries are a barrier to the enforcement of unpopular laws.
• Juries confer legitimacy on the criminal justice process.

Arguments Against Juries

• Juries are unrepresentative.
• Juries cannot cope with highly complex cases.
• Juries can be influenced by prejudice.
• Juries are too easily persuaded by rhetoric rather than facts.
• Juries may be dominated by a few individuals.
• Juries do not sufficiently know the law.

Different Types of Lawyers in the UK and the US

UK Legal Roles

• Solicitors
• Barristers

US Legal Roles

• Lawyers (attorneys, attorneys-at-law, counsels, counselors,

Unit 3: Job Search Advice

P=Presenter, J= Jürgen, M=Marta, A=Alex, L=Luli, I=Ivan

P: So, finally, let’s have some advice from each of you about how to go about getting that first job, the one you’ve studied so hard to prepare for. Jürgen?

J: My advice is this: especially with the first job, prospective employers want to get a complete picture of you, not just what you’ve been studying and your holiday jobs. So, include a section in your CV for the things which you like doing in your free time. These say a lot about you and may make you a lot more interesting than all those other kids who just spend their evenings going to the pub or listening to music.

P: Ok. Marta?

M: I was reading somewhere that in the US, more than 80% of applications... Continue reading "Ace Your First Job Search: Expert Advice for New Graduates" »

Beowulf: Plot Summary and Old English Context

The Epic Battles of Beowulf

Hrothgar, King of Denmark, did not know how to deal with a monster called Grendel, so he sought Beowulf's help. Beowulf fought against the monster, and Grendel died. However, the monster was not alone; after his death, his mother appeared. She had more experience fighting due to her age. Finally, Beowulf fought against the monster's mother and won the battle. Nevertheless, Beowulf was later killed in a battle against a dragon.

Themes and Context

The poem emphasizes the close relationship between kinsmen and highlights the importance of the relationship between the warrior and his lord. It was written during the Old English literature period. Old English poetry was characterized... Continue reading "Key Concepts in Old English and Medieval Literature" »

What is Cosmology?

Cosmology Defined

Cosmology is the study of the origin, present structure, evolution, and density of the universe.

The Cosmological Principle

The cosmological principle is the basic assumption that physical laws are true everywhere in the universe, not just on Earth.

The Expanding Universe

Galactic Recession

We observe galaxy clusters receding from us, which implies that the universe is expanding. Galaxies farthest from us are moving away the fastest; the farther the distance, the faster the speed.

Hubble's Law

Hubble's Law states that a galaxy’s velocity of recession (v) is directly proportional to its distance from us (d). The formula is v = Hd.

The Hubble Constant

The Hubble constant (H) is a crucial value that gives the rate at... Continue reading "Cosmology Fundamentals: The Big Bang, Hubble's Law, and the Universe's Fate" »

Sensory Receptors and Sensory Nerves

Sensory Receptors

Information from the environment and internal organs is detected by sensory receptors. These receptors can be:

• Surrounded by cells (not neurons)
• Connected with a neuron (sensory nerve) in which they will generate action potentials
• Specialized to respond to one particular form of energy

There are many different types of sensory receptors:

• Mechanoreceptors - detect touch and pressure
• Thermoreceptors - detect cold and warmth
• Nociceptors - detect pain
• Electromagnetic receptors - detect light
• Chemoreceptors - detect taste, smell, blood O₂ and CO₂ concentration, blood glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids

A receptor can be excited by:

• Mechanical deformation - stretches the receptor, opening ion channels
• Application

European Union Law: Core Principles

The foundation of EU law rests on three essential principles:

1. The EU is a supranational organization.
2. All EU regulations are directly applicable.
3. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decides which other parts of EU law (e.g., Treaty articles) are directly effective.

Private International Law (PIL)

International Private Law deals with three main issues when litigation occurs between two parties coming from different states:

1. Jurisdiction: Determining which court has jurisdiction (including the possibilities of executing the verdict given by that court in the countries of the litigating parties).
2. Applicable Law: Determining whose law applies (country) in case of international litigation between two private parties.
3. Conflict

VHDL Flip-Flop Implementations

This section demonstrates various VHDL implementations of flip-flops and latches, showcasing different clocking, clear, preset, and load mechanisms.

entity reginf is
    port (
        d, clk, clr, pre, load, data : in  std_logic;
        q1, q2, q3, q4, q5, q6, q7   : out std_logic
    );
end reginf;

architecture rtl of reginf is
begin

Active High Clock D-Latch

A simple D-latch sensitive to the rising edge of the clock.

    -- D-latch with active high clock
    process
    begin
        wait until clk='1';
        q1 <= d;
    end process;

Active Low Clock D-Latch

A D-latch sensitive to the falling edge of the clock.

    -- D-latch with active low clock
    process
    begin
        wait until clk='0';

Developing Effective Listening Skills in the Primary Classroom

Core Principles of Listening Instruction

Listening instruction is defined by the set of instructions, questions, or praise that the teacher uses with pupils to develop their auditory comprehension skills. Examples include commands like “Line up,” “Sit down,” “Hands up,” or questions such as “Listen please,” and “What is the meaning of...”

Teacher Strategies for Primary Learners

• Building Confidence: A teacher in Primary Education builds pupil confidence by helping them identify what is important to concentrate on. Gestures, tone of voice, and visual aids are crucial for fostering this confidence.
• Explicit Focus: Effective instruction involves explicitly stating which

Ezra Pound's Scientific Approach to Literature

Nevertheless, the method I had proposed was simple; it is perhaps the only one that can give a man an orderly arrangement of his perception in the matter of letters. In opposition to it, there are the forces of superstition, of hang-over. People regard literature as something vastly more flabby, floating, complicated, and indefinite than, let us say, mathematics. Its subject matter, the human consciousness, is more complicated than are number and space. It is not, however, more complicated than biology, and no one ever supposed that it was. We apply a loose-leaf system to bookkeeping so as to have the live items separated from the dead ones.

In the study of physics, we begin with simple mechanisms:... Continue reading "Scientific Methods in Literary Criticism" »

PH-(O)H-N-T (Nuclear Tone)

Stress-Timed Language

Stress-timed language means there is an equal amount of time from one stressed syllable to the next.

Syllable-Timed Language

Syllable-timed language refers to the time to express a sentence, which will be determined by the number of syllables.

Isochrony

Isochrony in English rhythm tends to preserve equal intervals of time between stressed syllables, irrespective of the number of syllables that come between them.

Rhythm

Rhythm is determined by pitch, loudness, and speed.

Intonation

Intonation is how the pitch of a voice rises and falls, and how speakers use this pitch to convey linguistic and pragmatic meaning.

Tone Language

A tone language is one where the tone can determine the meaning of a word. For example,... Continue reading "English Pronunciation: Intonation, Rhythm, and Tone" »