Economic :: Labour Day in Australia

Labour Day, also known as Eight Hours Day in Tasmania and May Day in the Northern Territory, commemorates the granting of the eight-hour working day for Australians. It also recognizes workers’ contributions towards the nation’s economy. It is an annual public holiday and its date varies across the states and territories. 

What do people do

Many people use the Labour Day holiday as part of a long weekend where they can relax, spend time with friends or family members, play or watch sport, have barbecues. Some people plan a getaway trip to a coastal region, the mountains or the countryside where they can engage in various activities such as picnics, wine-tasting at a winery, bush-walking, or camping.

Throughout the nation, Labour Day is an occasion for unions, community groups and the general public to join in celebration. In Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane there are marches are held on or around Labour Day. They are often led by the state’s key political leaders and influential key figures. Union members often take part in these marches.

Public life

Labour Day is a public holiday in all states and territories in Australia. It is observed in Western Australia on the first Monday in March and on the second Monday in March in Victoria and Tasmania. It is celebrated in the Northern Territory and Queensland on the first Monday in May. It is held on the first Monday of October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia.

During this holiday government offices are closed, as are post offices, schools and many businesses. Those planning on using public transport on this holiday need to check with the local transport authorities prior to travelling.

Background

The history of Labour Day in Australia spans over a century. It is an important annual event that remembers those who struggled and succeeded to ensure decent and fair working conditions in Australia. During the mid to late 1800s the working day was long and arduous, where some employees would work up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Many Australians saw the need for better working conditions and in the 1850s there was a strong push for this. On April 21, 1856, stonemasons at the University of Melbourne marched to Parliament House to push for an eight-hour working day. An agreement with employers for a 48-hour week was eventually reached and Australian workers welcomed the new eight-hour day. A victory march was held on May 12 that year and each year after that. In 1856 the new work regulations were recognized in New South Wales, followed by Queensland in 1858 and South Australia in 1873.

In 1874, Tasmania joined the other states in adopting the shorter eight-hour working day. In 1879 the Victorian Government made one further step towards better conditions for employees by proclaiming a paid public holiday that year. In light of the labour movement’s successful push for an eight-hour day, a large May Day meeting was held in Melbourne in 1890. On May 1 that year a local newspaper made reference to that day as May Day.

One of the first May Day/Labour Day marches in Australia occurred on May 1, 1891 in Queensland. More than 1000 people participated in the march and carried banners. The leaders wore blue sashes and the Eureka flag was carried. It was reported that cheers were given for “the eight-hour day”. The Labour Day date was moved from May to the second Monday in March in some parts of Australia after World War II.  Since 1948, Labour Day in Western Australia has been observed on the first Monday in March. It marks the granting of the eight hour working day to Western Australians.

Communication :: Assertive Training :: TREATMENT

What Treatments are Effective?
Assertiveness training, when employed as part of a more comprehensive cognitivebehavioral therapy package, is useful for the treatment of people whose lack of assertiveness skills manifests behavior appears as either passivity or aggression. When the absence of assertive behavior is explained by affective or cognitive factors rather than a skills deficit, other strategies are recommended as adjuncts to of assertiveness skills training and practice. 

Examples of such strategies include relaxation training to reduce performance inhibiting anxiety or anger, cognitive restructuring to challenge negative performance predictions and overgeneralizations regarding performance errors, and cognitive reframing with respect to performance goals and measures of performance success.

What are Effective Self-Help Treatments?
There are a plethora of self-help resources available to clients interested in self-initiated efforts towards assertive behaving. These resources are largely in the form of assertiveness training books and internet site targeted directly at the lay person. Although the effectiveness of any individual resource is generally not available to the client he or she may rely on the credentials of the authors or site hosts (e.g., authors who emphasize empirical research and universities as site hosts) to guide their selection of self-help materials.

Self-help books.

● Alberti, R. E. & Emmons, M. L. (2001). Your perfect right: Assertiveness and equality in your life and relationships (8th ed.). Atascadero, CA: Impact Publishers.
● Burton, S., & Shelton, N. (1993). Assertiveness skills. New York: McGraw-Hill.

● Davidson, J. (1997). The complete idiot’s guide to assertiveness (1st ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books.
● Dire, W. (1978). Pulling your own strings: Dynamic techniques for dealing with other people and living your life as you choose. New York: Harper Collins.
● Gabor, D. (2001). How to start a conversation and make friends. New York: Fireside.
● Magee, S, & Pachter, B. (2001). The power of positive confrontation: The skills you needto know to handle conflicts at work, at home, and in life. New York: Marlowe & Company.
● McKay, M., Rogers, P. D., & McKay, J. (2003). When anger hurts: Quieting the storm within, (2nd ed.) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
● Nay, W. R. (2004). Taking charge of anger: How to resolve conflict, sustain relationships, and express yourself without losing control. New York: The Guilford Press.
● Paterson, R. J. (2000). The assertiveness workbook: How to express your idea and stand up for yourself at work and in relationships. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
● Petracek, L. J. (2004). The anger workbook for women. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Press.
● Valentis, J., & Valentis, M. (2001). Brave new you: 12 dynamic strategies for saying what you want and being who you are. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Self help websites.
● http://www.couns.msu.ed untuk self-help/index.htm (Michigan State University Counseling Center)
● http://www.uiowa.ed untuk ~ucs/asertcom.html (University of Iowa Counseling Services)
● http://www.uwec.ed untuk counsel/pubs/assertivecommunication.htm (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Counseling Center)
● http://www.couns.uiuc.ed untuk Brochures/assertiv.htm (University of Illinois Counseling Services)
● http://oregonstate.ed untuk dept/counsel/assertivenessskills.html (Oregon State University Counseling Department)
● http://www.utexas.ed untuk student/cmhc/booklets/assert/assertive.html (University of Texas at Austin Counseling and Mental Health Center)
● http://www.twu.ed untuk o-sl/counseling (Texas Woman’s University Counseling Center)

● http://www.amanet.org/index.htm (American Management Association)

Gerbang Neraka Ditemukan Oleh Ilmuwan

Mungkin kedengarannya seperti film horor, tapi ilmuwan Italia telah menemukan 'Gerbang Neraka' lengkap dengan asap beracunnya.

Pengumuman temuan Gerbang Pluto (Plutonium dalam bahasa Latin) dalam sebuah konferensi arkeologi di Turki bulan lalu, baru saja dilaporkan oleh Discovery News. Francesco D'Andria, profesor arkeologi klasik di Universitas Salento di Lecce, Italia, menggali Situs Warisan Dunia Romawi-Yunani Hierapolis selama bertahun-tahun, memimpin tim penelitian ini.

D’Andria mengatakan pada Discovery News bahwa ia menggunakan mitologi kuno untuk menjadi petunjuk menemukan gerbang legendaris itu ke neraka di dunia bawah. "Kami menemukan Plutonium dengan merekonstruksi rute menuju sumber mata air panas. Mata air Pamukkale' yang menghasilkan teras putih terkenal itu berasal dari gua ini."

Penulis seperti Cicero dan geografer Yunani Strabo mencatat bahwa gerbang ini terletak di situs kuno di Turki, menurut Discovery, tapi tak ada yang berhasil menemukannya sampai sekarang.

"Gerbang Pluto" sudah didokumentasikan oleh Ensiklopedia Situs Klasik Princeton yang masuk dalam gambaran Hierapolis. "Menempel pada kuil di tenggara adalah Plutoneion, sumber ketenaran kota tersebut. Strabo menggambarkannya sebagai sebuah lubang di perbukitan, yang di depannya tertutup oleh kabut tebal yang bisa berakibat fatal bagi siapapun yang masuk."

Strabo (64 SM-24 SM) menulis, "Tempat ini penuh dengan asap kabut yang sangat tebal sampai orang tak bisa melihat tanah. Hewan yang melewatinya langsung mati. Saya melempar burung gereja dan mereka langsung menarik napas terakhir dan jatuh."

Gerbang neraka ini masih sama berbahayanya sampai sekarang. Kata si profesor, "Kita bisa melihat gua mematikan itu saat penggalian. Beberapa burung langsung mati saat mencoba mendekat ke bukaannya yang panas, langsung terbunuh oleh asap karbon dioksida."

Menurut Discovery News, asap ini berasal dari gua di bawah situs, termasuk kolom-kolom dengan pahatan untuk Pluto dan Kore, dewa-dewa bawah tanah. Ditemukan juga sisa reruntuhan kuil, kolam dan tangga yang ditaruh di atas gua. D'Andria kini tengah mengerjakan reka digital situs tersebut.

Yang menariknya, bukaan ini bukanlah satu-satunya pintu gerbang pertama ke dunia bawah tanah. Di Gurun Karakum, menurut Daily Mail, terdapat lubang besar berapi yang sudah menyala selama 40 tahun. Pengunjung pun datang ke Derweze di Turkmenistan dan mencarinya di internet. Para ahli geologi yang tengah mengebor di area tersebut menemukan gua gas alami. Dengan harapan untuk menghilangkan gas, mereka membakar gua tersebut. Apinya terus menyala sehingga orang lokal menjulukinya "pintu neraka".

Only In Indonesia :: Jabar Number One case of blasphemy

West Java is the most territory raises many blasphemy cases and houses of worship. This data appears in the Religious Life in 2013 by the Center for Religious and Cross Culture Studies (CRCS) at Gadjah Mada University, published on Thursday, April 25, 2013.
The report also concluded blasphemy cases come to court more often. During 2012, there were nine cases. "In the house of worship of conflict, mediation be preferred. Unfortunately the process is not much work," said program director Zainal Abidin Bagir CRCS.
Zainal said, one of the report's main conclusions is the importance of instituting mediation as a solution to the conflict. "If still no breakthrough, the case will continue to emerge, particularly in the issue of desecration of houses of worship and religious conflict," he said.
To that end, the government should immediately establish an institution official mediator in many religious conflict prone areas. According to researchers Center for Security and Peace Studies (CSPS) UGM, Syamsu Rizal Panggabean, mediation is more promising than the resolution of conflicts that educates legal instruments. "Until now there has been no formal, while the capacity of local government and the police as a mediator is very low," said Syamsu at the same event.
He said legal instruments have been weak in many cases. For example, houses of worship conflict HKBP Filadelfia Church GKI Taman Yasmin Bekasi and Bogor, the decision of the Supreme Court was denied. "This case shows also the issue of religious conflict governance looks bad, because the officer who refused to execute the Supreme Court decision," he said.
Rizal who runs precisely assess mediation colored unequal negotiation process. Local government or the police side with one group. "Tajul Muluk (Sampang Shiite leader) admitted today signed the mediation had asked police statement of reconciliation," he said.
Mediator, he said, should be able to push the actors involved, both majority and minority, to run social communication that is not a conflict triggered the explosion. "The case of Shia Sampang, escalating conflict rapidly escalated when the argument occurred through war toa (loudspeakers) mosque," said Rizal.