Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 December 1

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December 1

Alpha-dog

What is the meaning of the nick name "Alpha-dog" which US embassy has dubbed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin?--115.75.12.229 (talk) 03:49, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

We have an article on the notion of "alpha" in biology. While the term is not unique to dogs, that's one of the most familiar examples. — Lomn 03:53, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

More question. Is the nick name Alpha-dog a friendly nickname or is it an offensive one?--115.75.12.229 (talk) 04:00, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

It depends on the context but it's usually not meant to be offensive. Where did you see it used? Dismas|^(talk) 04:06, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Er see the first post Nil Einne (talk) 04:13, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I did and it doesn't provide enough context. Dismas|^(talk) 04:36, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't know if there is much more context. Our article on the issue (linked to by the OP below or on the main page) currently links to [1] but it's easy enough to find other references for the alpha-dog claim if you're interested. But from what I've seen most of them just say one of the cables refers to Putin as an alpha-dog (i.e. what the OP already said above). I don't think the cable itself has been released yet, e.g. [2] (safe search off) so there's probably not much more context available at the moment unfortunately. P.S. Rereading the OPs comments above, perhaps it was not obvious they were referring to the recent cable leak. As I'd read about the Putin comment and also have a mild interest in the cable leak anyway this was obvious to me right away but I now see the OP's comments may not have been clear to someone unfamiliar with the leak so I apologise for any confusion in that case. Nil Einne (talk) 11:57, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

This one. It said that this information come from the recent leak of WikiLeaks. Because I don't know how to read all these 250,000 documents, I can't know the context of the document in which US embassy has used this nickname to dub Putin  :-). BTW, thank you all for your answers, I have got the picture now.--115.75.12.229 (talk) 04:20, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

In an organizational context it usually means, "he's the one who asserts dominance." I doubt Putin would take offense to it. When applied to females, the term is obviously pejorative (as it implies they are a female with masculine qualities, which is usually not meant favorably), but when applied to someone like Putin, who is notably aggressive both physically and mentally, it is fairly neutral, in my reading. It's not too different from them calling him "the big Chief" or "the head honcho" or "El Jefe" or something like that. --Mr.98 (talk) 04:23, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

"when applied to females, the term is obviously pejorative" – not really, the rank of alpha female is a respectable position in its own right, among humans (in my experience) as well as wolves and other social animals. WikiDao ☯ (talk) 17:04, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

I've known women who were referred to as "alpha dogs" by their colleagues, and it was not meant positively or respectfully. It implied they were aggressive and assertive, which are not qualities generally respected in human females by human males. Aggressive or assertive women are usually treated with suspicion if not outright contempt in my experience, in US culture anyway, even among the extremely well-educated and supposedly enlightened male population. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:48, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

In ethology, being the alpha female does not (necessarily) require "un-female-like" behavior. Eg. our Alpha article says: "In the case of wild canids the alpha male may not have exclusive access to the alpha female; moreover, other pack members may guard the maternity den used by the alpha female; such is the case with the African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus." WikiDao ☯ (talk) 04:19, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks you very much.--115.75.12.229 (talk) 04:28, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

The cables also refer to Putin as Batman and Medvedev as Robin, which is much more hilarious. We do have an article about alpha wolf, which is probably what is meant by "alpha dog" (although Alpha Dog was a movie a few years ago, perhaps that's where the term came from in this case). Adam Bishop (talk) 05:27, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

And it's worth noting that making Putin the head and Medvedev the second banana is, of course, something of an insult to Medvedev, since ostensibly he's the one whose role is supposed to be in charge. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:15, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Kind of like the built-in insult leveled by Ronald Reagan, when he implored Mikhail Gorbachev (not Erich Honecker) to tear down the Berlin Wall? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:44, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, I don't know. Any way you slice it, Gorbachev was the more powerful person in the more powerful country. It would be more like imploring Honecker to reform the USSR — Honecker isn't supposed to be the powerful one, so it would be an insult to Gorbachev. All of this is making for a rather strained analogy, though. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:31, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

According to this link, Putin took these nicknames as a unrespectability from US. BTW, thank you all for these in-depth explanations. Wikipedia is truly an Alpha-dog of online reference sources :D--115.75.12.229 (talk) 16:01, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

How does Facebook make its money?

We have read time and again, Facebook has made millions of revenue every year. Where does the money come from actually? Who pays them these millions? Do we the end users, pay them? How exactly? I hardly see many adverts or flashy promos from sponsors of the site. I have seen other less spoken of less known sites have more adverts and flashy logos than FB. of course there are a few ads on the right side of every FB page, but is that the only source of revenue? Does FB and other sites like Wikipedia generate revenue every time a user clicks on the site ( what they call every hit??) Im not a techie and for me this aspect of internet business is very fascinating and intriguing, so I would prefer detailed replies, not vague one line replies like "they make money per hit"... what I would like to know is who actually pays them and how the money is actually generated from end user till the owner of FB... just out of curiosity. No nefarious intentions here :))) --Fragrantforever 06:17, 1 December 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fragrantforever (talk • contribs)

The same way free, over-the-air TV broadcasting does: Advertising. Specifically, companies pay Facebook to place ads on it. Facebook uses algorithms to match users with ads which they are likely to be interested it; because of this sort of targeted advertising they are able to charge a premium. Also, remember that on the internet, ads pay per view, and with over 1/2 a billion users, Facebook gets a LOT of page views. Facebook#Company actually discusses the business model in some detail. --Jayron32 06:21, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Also, I see that you cite Wikipedia as en example, but note that Wikipedia does not make money every time a user clicks on the site. WikiMoney is "made" from donations, unlike Facebook or Google. «CharlieEchoTango» 06:27, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the early replies... I would expect more replies and more details to give more inputs regarding FB Business Model... Thanks Jayron and Charlie... about wiki not making money everytime a user clicks on the site, isnt this daft? why would they not do that? Unless otherwise they prefer to apepal for donations and not make money everytime a person clicks, as a policy decision. Which takes me back to my main question.

How does a click from an end user actually translate into money?--Fragrantforever 06:34, 1 December 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fragrantforever (talk • contribs)

Wikipedia does not choose to accept advertising because it would compromise the appearance of impartiality. Wikipedia wishes its articles to be based on existing scholarship, not on the influence of outside money. That's why it exists solely on uncredited donations. It also makes enough money to support its mission exclusively through donations, so there is no pressing need to advertise to supplement the donations. As to how internet advertising works, its pretty simple. Companies pay websites a small fee everytime a user views an ad. So, for example on Facebook, when you load a new page on Facebook, if there is an advertisiment for Johnny's Widget and Dohickey Service, then Facebook gets paid some amount of cash every time you view that ad. These rates are negotiated with the advertisers, and the number of views is likely negotiated as well, so for example Johnny's might pay facebook $1,000 for 100,000 page views in a month; then Facebook will show the ad semi-randomly (the ads are targeted to users who might be inclined to use Johnny's Widgets and/or Dohickeys) 100,000 times over the course of a month. This is a bit of a simplification; Johnny's probably doesn't pay Facebook directly, rather they employ an advertising service that negotiates the terms for all the companies that it represents, but the principle is still pretty simple. Companys pay Facebook to show you advertisements, and that's how they make money. --Jayron32 06:43, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

The thing that comes to my mind here is that a user seeing an advertisement does not guarantee the user will actually buy the product. Actually, at least when it comes to me, the more intrusive an advertisement is, the less I am inclined to actually buy the product. If the advertisement is sneaky - in other words, it doesn't admit to being an advertisement but disguises itself - I make it a definite decision not to buy the product. I suppose, then, that the advertiser knows this but can not help it - he/she must be satisfied with the potential customers the advertisement actually influences. JIP | Talk 20:09, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, but TV commercials don't guarantee that you'll buy the item advertised either. Yet, they must make the companies money because I still see ads on TV for Bud Light, though I don't drink it. --Jayron32 04:31, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Note also that there are different models. If you are an Amazon.com affiliate, you get paid a percentage of actual purchases made by customers visiting Amazon via your site (as far as Amazon can determine - the algorithm is not foolproof). For Google ads, you get a certain amount of money per click on the ad (which sends the customer to the advertiser's site). Both of these give more control to the advertiser than the "pay per impression" model. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:51, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Jayron for the elaborate answer... now I get it. You are so ( frigteningly) well informed .. Impressive :))) I was tempted to see your user page then I got to know you are a ( decorated) editor almost a veteran here, no wonder you are so well informed, thanks again.--Fragrantforever 07:01, 1 December 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fragrantforever (talk • contribs)

Don't forget about all the revenue coming from facebook apps. Facebook get a 30% cut of the credit transactions when people purchase virtual goods. Zynga, owner of the popular facebook game Mafia Wars made an estimated $200M (edit: The Zynga wiki page stated the company made $600M in 2010) Royor (talk) 07:52, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Nut cracking

How cracked nuts and edible kernels are produced on an industrial scale? I mean, what they sell at markets, groceries. I use nutcracker and/or hammer for this purpose at home, and wonder do they have, like, giant nutcrackers at factories. 195.158.7.82 (talk) 12:01, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

The nuts are sorted by approximate size, and then passed between hard metal rollers that are slightly smaller than the diameter of the still-shelled nut. This compresses the shell of the nut, ideally cracking it and separating it from the edible kernel: [3]. Our nutcracker article unfortunately doesn't touch on commercial/industrial-scale processes. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:52, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

See Universal Nut Sheller for a medium-range one operating on the same principles as TenOfAllTrades described. --Sean 18:02, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

That article pretty much also answers the question I had, which is how they separate the "meat" of the nut from its husk. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:07, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Googling for industrial nutcracker finds some commercial devices. 88.112.56.9 (talk) 19:03, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

penny stock

Who is the originator of the penny stock market and what is his age?76.7.227.110 (talk) 19:42, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't think there is such a thing as the penny stock market. There are penny stocks, which are traded in a variety of different ways, some of them on mainstream stock markets. Marco polo (talk) 20:24, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

As noted, there is no penny stock market. In the United States, most penny stocks are traded on the OTC Bulletin Board or Pink OTC Markets. The latter is the older and was established as National Quotation Bureau in 1913, so its originator would be at an advanced age if he were still alive. John M Baker (talk) 21:18, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

The National Quotation Bureau (NQB) was not a market when it was established, but rather a publishing venture. Per this source, the NQB was co-founded by Arthur F. Elliot and Roger Babson. However, what they founded was not a stock market. Marco polo (talk) 23:54, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

While it's true that the NQB was a publisher, not a market, NQB published the pink sheets, a quotation system that gave significant impetus to the over-the-counter market. In the old days, penny stocks were often referred to as trading on the pink sheets, although technically you're right that they were only quoted on the pink sheets and traded over the counter. And, in reference to the OP, over-the-counter trading is the oldest trading there is and has no price minimum, so in that sense the penny stock market goes back to the beginning of stock trading. John M Baker (talk) 15:30, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

arctic

How many people are currently in the arctic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.173.217.17 (talk) 21:06, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

You could start by specifying exactly what region you mean. But I'm not sure that there is an answer to be had even then. --ColinFine (talk) 21:30, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I found online estimates of the population of the Arctic Circle of round about 2 million people, but these were unsourced. Our article Arctic Circle lists a few of the largest cities/towns in the region; the resident population of these looks to be around the 600,000 mark, but obviously this excludes those living in smaller villages and settlements, visitors, the crews of ships/aircraft passing through, etc. Karenjc 21:52, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

By "the population of the Arctic Circle" I think you mean "the population north of the Arctic Circle." Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:55, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Re: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites;

Question removed. This question is already on the Entertainment desk. Please do not crosspost the same question to more than one Reference Desk. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:12, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

What career path should i take?

Hi,I'm going to attend university by the end of this year but i still don't know which career should i study,please help me.I want to work in a children asylum,with children with physical handicaps,i want to educate them,be a teacher to them, i have patience,I'm gentle and i understand them, i can easily connect with them. understand their inclinations and motivations.nurse them. be like a psychiatrist or a psychologist to them. i have a great awareness that allows me to penetrate beneath the surface of things and people. work and assist them socially too. so which career, job or path should i take? thank you for your answers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.79.129.82 (talk) 21:22, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I think in many ways you've answered your own question. I do, however, have a question myself: have you actually worked with children with disabilities? Before you go to university, you can do some work - paid or unpaid - with them. There are very few actual residential homes for such children in the UK these days, I guess it's different in other parts of the world. If you find, after you've worked with them for a few weeks, that such work is not what you thought it would be (and I get the impression that you're a bit of an idealist), then you may wish to reconsider the group of people you want to work with.--TammyMoet (talk) 21:38, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Yes, i have worked with children with disabilities, in fact my cousin has cerebral palsy, and i have another cousin who is deaf,mute and can't walk.and also I worked in a nursing home during 1 year when i was in high school, i live in the USA, and also i have Mexican citizenship.thank you for your advice. but I'm not an idealist, i know how it feels to be around special-needs children, and i would like to work with them. their needs are real. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.79.129.82 (talk) 21:47, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Since you seem to have a specific career and a specific type of facility in mind, I would first find and visit some facilities of this type and volunteer, if possible, in order to find out whether the job is all that you envision it to be; and then I would ask the managers of the facility what education or other experience they require in order to hire people in that position. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:10, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

As a high school teacher I'm delighted to see someone seeking a career in an area that truly interests them, rather than where they think they can make the most money. Doing what you love is always going to be a rewarding path. Just do it. HiLo48 (talk) 22:15, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Yeah,thank you all,my question is that i don't know what career to study!Please help me choose my career,i gave you guys some background of the things i want to do. i want to find also some role model achievers along these lines to give myself ideas and see how they handle their own diversity.thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.79.129.82 (talk) 22:58, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

As others have said, the best people to ask would be people who work with disabled children. The first thing you mention is teaching, so you might pursue a degree in education with a specialty in special needs education. I would think that in the United States, the ideal degree to pursue would be a masters in (special) education, but along the way it might make sense to get a bachelor's degree in a related field, such as psychology. Again, the best people to ask would be people who work in this field (and there is a good chance that none of the contributors to this Reference Desk work in this field), followed by an admissions officer at a university school of education (if in fact you are primarily interested in teaching, as opposed to, say, nursing). Marco polo (talk) 00:02, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Are there any other special interests that you have, that you would like to combine with working with children with special needs—music, art, writing, theater, sports, physical therapy, information technology for universal access to computers? Maybe that would be something that you would want to bring to the attention of an admissions officer at a university or a career guidance counsellor elsewhere. Bus stop (talk) 00:20, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

I just want to work with physically-disabled youth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.79.129.82 (talk) 21:13, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Find someone that does the job you want to do, and ask them how to get that job. It's really that simple. If you want to work with physically disabled youth, find a school or an agency that works with them, and ask the people who do that job what kind of training they went through. They will tell you. --Jayron32 04:28, 3 December 2010 (UTC)