Friendships

Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between two or more people.[1] Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association. Friendship has been studied in academic fields such as sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and philosophy. Various academic theories of friendship have been proposed, including social exchange theory, equity theory, relational dialectics, and attachment styles. A World Happiness Database study found that people with close friendships are happier.[2]

Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many types of friendship. Such characteristics include affection, sympathy, empathy, honesty, altruism, mutual understanding and compassion, enjoyment of each other's company, trust, and the ability to be oneself, express one's feelings, and make mistakes without fear of judgment from the friend.

While there is no practical limit on what types of people can form a friendship, friends tend to share common backgrounds, occupations, or interests, and have similar demographics.

                               

                           depression

     “But he was such a strong Christian! How could he do this?”       “I guess he took the easy (or, ‘the coward’s’) way out.”        “He wasn’t thinking about his family at all, that’s for sure!”         “Well, I always thought only losers had depression, like people living on the street, or alcoholics and drug addicts – nobody but losers!” None of the people who said these things understood depression at all or what it can do to anybody.   I’ve been a journalist, a college teacher in Hong Kong, and—for 22 years—a pediatrician. I was chief of staff and a trustee at a 700-plus bed medical center with 2 campuses and 400 doctors. I am a dedicated Christian, a Presbyterian elder, and a veteran of medical mission trips to the Amazon. I speak fluent Spanish, some Portuguese, a little German, and a bit of Cantonese. When I am thinking rationally, I can see that I am intelligent, witty, well-liked and respected. I also have battled depression for more than 40 years, and when I am depressed, I do think I am a complete loser.   I have been so depressed that I have considered killing myself many times. I decided 30 years ago that I could never safely own a firearm because I knew what I would do with it someday. Even so, I have come close to buying a gun. A few years ago, I had extremely severe, treatment-resistant depression—an epoch more than an episode—that lasted several years and steadily worsened despite multiple medicines and weekly visits to my psychiatrist. Eventually, I did go shopping for a pistol. With great difficulty, I chose not to buy it and committed myself to the hospital instead. I had extreme depression— much more severe than that endured by the great majority of people who become depressed. Most need only counseling and perhaps medicine to become happy once more. They don’t lose their jobs or have to be admitted to hospitals, and they do not come close to killing themselves. Unfortunately, most who are depressed do not seek any help—often because they fear what others will think. This is a mistake, because effective help is available. I too was afraid of the stigma and of being labeled a loser. Until I entered the hospital for intense treatment, I hid my depression as long as possible. I was afraid others would think me weak instead of strong, think there was something “wrong” with me, that I was broken and could not be “fixed.” I feared they would believe I could not be an effective physician if they knew I had depression. I also have a stubborn independent streak. I believed that I could “handle it”—a trait common among physicians. We see a problem and we fix it. Before I ended up in the hospital, I (eventually) let only my partners, my pastor, and a few close friends know that I was seeing a psychiatrist and taking medicine. No one in my own family knew. I was too ashamed to tell anyone I had a mental illness. That severe bout of depression had begun 4 years earlier, while I watched my husband battle renal failure and then cancer. I cared for him until he died, and then I nearly died, too. During the last year of my husband’s life, I never missed a scheduled day of work until 2 days before his death. A week after he died, I went back to work. I never missed another day until I went shopping for that gun 2 years later. I was determined not to let my illness stop me from doing my job. I decided that no one would say I was weak instead of strong and tough. I continued to work during a depression that was totally debilitating. I couldn’t pay my bills on time. I couldn’t clean my house. I lost 60 pounds in a year without trying because I couldn’t eat. I quit opening my mail and answering my phone. I completely isolated myself, and I often sat at home weeping. (Again, this was an extreme in the spectrum of depression.) Even so, I made sure to put on a good face whenever I was with other people. I still smiled at my patients, partners, and friends. I went to church every week, and I cracked jokes that made everyone laugh. I was still respected. I hid my problems at all cost. The time finally came, though, when my illness did affect my performance. I arrived late for office hours. I could not complete my charts. I could not concentrate. I hid in my office crying at times. Sometimes I wrapped my stethoscope tightly around my neck, finding that sadly comforting. Some of my partners even began to wonder whether I was using drugs. Finally, they told me, “You’re going to take two weeks off now and go do whatever you need to do to fix whatever is wrong with you; if you don’t fix it, your job will be in jeopardy.”
- See more at: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/major-depressive-disorder/what-depression-does-our-minds-when-it-attacks#sthash.rCuyQ4YV.dpuf

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, 231.4 million years ago, and were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for 135 million years, from the start of the Jurassic (about 200 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups (and three-quarters of plant and animal species on Earth) ending the Mesozoic Era. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period and, consequently, they are considered to be modern feathered dinosaurs.[1] Some birds survived the extinction event that occurred 66 million years ago, and their descendants continue the dinosaur lineage to the present day.[2]

Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,000 living species,[3] are the most diverse group of vertebrates besides perciform fish.[4] Using fossil evidence, paleontologists have identified over 500 distinct genera[5] and more than 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs.[6] Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by both extant species and fossil remains.[7] Some are herbivorous, others carnivorous. While dinosaurs were ancestrally bipedal, many extinct groups included quadrupedal species, and some were able to shift between these stances. Elaborate display structures such as horns or crests are common to all dinosaur groups, and some extinct groups developed skeletal modifications such as bony armor and spines. Evidence suggests that egg laying and nest building are additional traits shared by all dinosaurs. While modern dinosaurs (birds) are generally small due to the constraints of flight, many prehistoric dinosaurs were large-bodied—the largest sauropod dinosaurs are estimated to have reached lengths of over 40 meters (130 feet) [8]and heights of 18 meters (59 feet)[9][10] and were the largest land animals of all time. Still, the idea that non-avian dinosaurs were uniformly gigantic is a misconception based in part on preservation bias, as large, sturdy bones are more likely to last until they are fossilized. Many dinosaurs were quite small: Xixianykus, for example, was only about 50 cm (20 in) long.

Although the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard", the name is somewhat misleading, as dinosaurs are not lizards. Instead, they represent a separate group of reptiles that, like many extinct forms, did not exhibit characteristics traditionally seen as reptilian, such as a sprawling limb posture or ectothermy. Additionally, many prehistoric animals, including mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, and Dimetrodon, are popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, but are not taxonomically classified as dinosaurs. Through the first half of the 20th century, before birds were recognized to be dinosaurs, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs to have been sluggish and cold-blooded. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that all dinosaurs were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction.

Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century, mounted fossil dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions at museums around the world, and dinosaurs have become an enduring part of world culture. The large sizes of some groups, as well as their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature, have ensured dinosaurs' regular appearance in best-selling books and films, such as Jurassic Park. Persistent public enthusiasm for the animals has resulted in significant funding for dinosaur science, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media.

                                                           Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the surface of the Earth, which can be violent enough to destroy major buildings and kill thousands of people. The severity of the shaking can range from barely felt to violent enough to toss people around. Earthquakes have destroyed whole cities. They result from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.
Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter magnitude scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2014^[update]), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.^[1]
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity.
In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Ghost

                         Ghost 
Grouping Legendary creature Sub grouping Undead Similar creatures Revenant Region Europe, The Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania In folklore, mythology, and modern media such as literary fiction, a ghost (sometimes known as a spectre [British English] or specter [American English], phantom, apparition, spirit, spook, or haunt) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.  The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of phantom armies, ghost trains, phantom ships, and even ghost animals have also been recounted.

Demographics of China

     Population of China, 1961–2008

Population
1,375,000,000

(2015 estimation) (1st)
Growth rate 0.47% (2009 est.) (159th)
Birth rate 12.37 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
Death rate 7.16 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
Life expectancy 73.18 years (2008 est.)
• male 71.37 years (2008 est.)
• female 75.18 years (2008 est.)
Fertility rate 1.55 children born/woman (2014 est.) (183st)
Infant mortality rate 1.51 deaths/100 live births
Age structure
0–14 years 17.2% (2012 est.)
15–64 years 73.4% (2012 est.)
65 and over 9.4% (2012 est.)
Sex ratio
At birth 1.18 male(s)/female (2010 census)
Under 15 1.13 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
15–64 years 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
65 and over 0.91 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Nationality
Nationality noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Major ethnic Han Chinese
Minor ethnic Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghurs, Yi, Tujia, Mongols, Tibetan, Buyei, Dong, Yao, Korean, Bai, Hani, Li, Kazak, Dai, She, Lisu, Gelao, Lahu, Dongxiang, Va, Sui, Nakhi, Qiang, Tu, Xibe, Mulao, Kyrgyz, Daur, Jingpo, Salar, Blang, Maonan, Tajik, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Ewenki, Gin, Jino, De'ang, Uzbeks, Russian, Yugur, Bonan, Monba, Oroqen, Derung, Tatars, Hezhen, Lhoba, Gaoshan
Language
Official Mandarin
Spoken Wu (Shanghainese), Yue (Cantonese), Min (Minnan, Mindong, others), Xiang, Gan, Hakka, various Mandarin dialects and Patuá
The demographics of the People's Republic of China are identified by a large population with a relatively small youth division, which is partially a result of China's one-child policy. Chinese population reached the billion mark in 1982.

China's population is over 1.355 billion, the largest of any country in the world. According to the 2010 census, 91.51% of the population was of the Han Chinese, and 8.49% were minorities. China's population growth rate is only 0.47%, ranking 159th in the world.[1] China conducted its sixth national population census on 1 November 2010.[2] Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics on this page pertain to mainland China only; see also Demographics of Hong Kong, Demographics of Macau, and Demographics of Taiwan.

India Population

Population1,236,344,631 (July 2014 est.)[1] (2nd)
Density383 people per.sq.km (2011 est.)
Growth rate 1.25% (2013) (94th)
Birth rate20.22 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
Death rate7.4 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
Life expectancy68.89 years (2009 est.)
• male67.46 years (2009 est.)
• female72.61 years (2009 est.)
Fertility rate2.3 children born/woman (SRS 2013)
Infant mortality rate40 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years31.2% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553) (2009 est.)
15–64 years63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209) (2009 est.)
65 and over5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009 est.)
Sex ratio
At birth1.10 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
Under 151.10 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
15–64 years1.06 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
65 and over0.90 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Nationality
Major ethnicSee Ethnic Groups of India
Language
OfficialSee Languages of India

Crude birth rate trends in India
(per 1000 people, national average)[2][3][4]

Infant mortality rate trends in India
(per 1000 births, under age 1, national average)
India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.271 billion people (2015), more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.6 billion by 2050.[5][6] Its population growth rate is 1.2%, ranking 94th in the world in 2013.[7] The Indian population had reached the billion mark by 1998.

India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India's dependency ratio should be just over 0.4.[8]

India has more than two thousand ethnic groups,[9] and every major religion is represented, as are four major families of languages (Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages) as well as two language isolates (the Nihali language[10] spoken in parts of Maharashtra and the Burushaski language spoken in parts of Jammu and Kashmir). The modern Indian republic is home to 97% of Jains, 90% of Sikhs, 87% of Hindus, 50% of Zoroastrians, 40% of Baha'i, 20% of Shia, 10% of Muslims, 5% of Ahmadiyya, 2% of Buddhists and 1% of Christians .

Further complexity is lent by the great variation that occurs across this population on social parameters such as income and education. Only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India.