Political Environment Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Environment Case - Essay Example The following concerns are hereby addressed: Response to the Letter One would first acknowledge support and congratulatory greetings to the new governor to indicate that one is not a detractor, nor a political enemy. It would be emphasized that any current policies and procedures would be appropriately justified to ensure that these are aligned with his administration’s thrust on addressing security and enhanced inmate programs. One would simply note that the currently implemented policies conform with the 1984 Justice Assistance Act which apparently removed previous restrictions and were inmates are enjoined to do productive work (Peak, 2007). Likewise, there were apparent recommendations enforced by the American Jail Association that encourages training programs, which are consistent with the educational and vocational programs currently implemented in the state prisons. ... One could present current statistics of improvements and therefore justify and rationalize that tighter and tougher policies and programs are not effective means to improve the current situation and condition of state prisons. As emphasized in the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, state prisons are encouraged â€Å"to provide for appropriate remedies for prison condition lawsuits, to discourage frivolous and abusive prison lawsuits, and for other purposes† (Peak, 2007, p. 255). As such, imposing tighter and tougher inmate policies would expose the state prisons to potential lawsuits that would be detrimental to the image of the state and of the new governor, who openly suggested these measures. Thus, aside from instituting tougher inmate programs, the current education and vocational programs which would capitalize on making the inmates productive would be more beneficial in the long run. Internal and External Support Therefore, rather than outrightly dismantling current p olicies and programs that have been effective and deemed successful, one would seek support from both internal and external stakeholders. From internal sources, one would solicit support from prison staff and personnel through a formal letter or correspondence and enjoining them to openly validate the progress and effectiveness of these current programs to the newly elected governor. They could send formal letters and copy furnish these correspondences to the local publications to make the new governor aware the all current programs and policies are transparent and effective. Likewise, external support could be solicited from the local community members who benefit from reduced recidivism of prisoners and for teaching them vocational and

Animal Crueltys Effect to Society Essay Example for Free

Animal Crueltys Effect to Society Essay People often think that animals are just unconscious creatures that don’t care about their daily lives. But they are actually just like us, they are living breathing creatures with simple lives and priorities. They prioritize more important things like, food, shelter and caring for their young and not like unimportant things like what they’re going to wear, who’ll look better and the like. But since we are the dominant species, then we are the ones who are supposed to help them when they are in need and care for them if they need medical care. But sometimes people just underestimate them and abuse them for fun, money , scientific experiments, etc. But they don’t see that they’re actually causing harm to them and to the society, they just think that they’re only here for food and entertainment. But that’s where they’re wrong, they’re actually the ones that should be the dominant species since they’re here first and we’re the ones that are supposed to help them know more about the world. So we should also help while they’re alive so we’ll have more use to them and we should spend our lives, sharing the world with them and not trying to wipe them out of the face of the earth. Some people say, â€Å"We help them, they help us. † That is true because if you’re kind enough to them then they’ll help you when you’re in trouble but some people misunderstood that, they think that we should help them by feeding them and they should help us by letting us kill them for profit. But that’s not how it should be, we should treat them as our own, help them as if they’re humans. Because without them, then we wouldn’t exist right now because all life begins from animals from the sea and they evolved to be available to be on land until they evolved to turn into us. Also if some animals disappeared from existence, it may have some chaotic results If the bees, butterflies, bats and other animals that can pollinate disappear then plants will not bear flowers, other plants might get extinct and lower the oxygen from our planet. If frogs, lizards, chameleons and the like disappeared then flies, locusts and possibly mosquitoes would be everywhere causing food contamination, damaged crops, dengue fever and more catastrophic things. But in some cases when animals attack people, they still shouldn’t kill them because it’s just in their instinct to attack if hey feel threatened or if their territory has been crossed. But people could still defend theirselves by tranquilizing them and sending them for check up after because in some instances they are sick and confused which causes them to attack. Sometimes they might not understand us but we should also learn understand them. Animals help humans, humans must also help animals. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. If you treat them nicely then people would know that you can do the same to other people. But if you treat them violently then that means you have the ability to harm or kill people. Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives, wrote humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. And according to Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the FBI, Murderers †¦ very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids. This proves some murderers start out as an animal abuser which then would make them curious on if killing animals is just as â€Å"fun† as killing people. Animal cruelty is not just caused by the abusers’ curiosity, it’s also a symptom of a mental disturbance. Some researches in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit animal cruelty rarely stop there, many of them later moves on to abusing or killing their fellow humans. Most of the records of the FBI shows a history of animal cruelty to many murderers and other criminals. There was a study in Northeastern University and the SPCA of the Massachusetts(USA) which shows that people who commit animal cruelty are five times more likely commit violent crimes against humans. The majority of the inmates at San Quentin penitinary who are sentenced to be executed for committing murder, â€Å"practiced† their crimes on animals before committing their crimes according to the warden. Some people who are cruel to animals are also cruel to children and their family. People who often neglect the needs of their pets often also neglect their children’s needs. Animal abuse is also an important indicator of child abuse, sometimes when children witness their parents abusing animals they can get influenced by their parents to do so too because of reacting to anger and frustration. Their violence might be directed at the only individuals in the family who are more vulnerable than they are: animal companions. One expert says, Children in violent homes are characterized by †¦ frequently participating in pecking-order battering, in which they might maim or kill an animal. Childhood cruelty to animals is indeed in the history of domestic violence. But in some cases animal cruelty is often discovered before the child abuse because it is more obvious to the neighbours that often hear the cries and howls of the animals because children are often threatened not to scream by their parents or else they’ll get hurt even more. Because of that, animal control agents which are possibly called by the neighbours are allowed to go into the house to investigate and then later possibly see the children with their scars and bruises which leads to being reported to social workers. This means that both the most vulnerable creatures in the house (the children and the pets) are abused by the adults. This proves that discrimination is present in the house. Some organizations such as the Baltimore police, The New Jersey Coalition of Battered Women and The Guelph Humane Society(Canada) work with animal control. Working with other agencies is called Cross Reporting which helps solve multiple cases. A study shows that 40% of battered women delayed seeking refuge from their abuser if their animal companion is included. This could possibly mean that the animals are also being abused along with the women since they find comfort from each other. These studies have led to a collaboration among social services and government agencies to develop a program for foster care of those animals. There are currently 100 programs in the US. Violence begins early specially for boys, some adults consider their children’s abusive behaviour to animal to the saying that â€Å"Boys will be boys. † Children who abuse animals should be treated with special care or else it might lead to a horrible way of life. Animal cruelty also proves the fact that most people don’t think before they do stuff because they don’t think of the consequences of their actions. Everyone should treat animals, children and women fairly because we are all here to help each other on going through our daily lives. People should stop discrimination and learn how to live peacefully together.

Essay --

Michael is struggling to remember small things. Michael is struggling to pay attention to his studies and is also stressing at work. He is told things and quickly forgets them or he’s hearing information and not being able to remember what he learned. Michael complains that he is stressing about work, but could that be causing him to forget things so quickly? Michael is suffering from what is known as short term memory. Short term memory allows limited space in a person’s mind which only allows the mind to remember up to seven items at one time. In order for short term memory to be stored it would have to be rehearsed which would cause it to be stored as long term memory which would stay in your mind for a long time. Short term memory or working memory can be manipulated in your mind causing you to forget something that you just heard. Michael is taking in this information but the information is being stored in his short term memory where something else might practically overwrite it and cause him to forget. Have you ever wondered how memories form? Memories are formed through conn...

Explore the Social and Political Factors

Explore the social and political factors that led to the formation of the national curriculum. The 1944 Education Act, put in place by the conservative president of the broad of education, R. A. Butler stated that there should be education for all, from primary all the way up to secondary education. That the duty of the local education authority should be one as to develop the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of the community, that of school. However, during this time the only key requirements set out within the national curriculum based on what should be taught was for all schools to teach religious education.The national curriculum was not a guide for teacher to know what to teach, but rather the curriculum was largely determined by the teachers themselves, based on work topics commercially available within textbooks. Pupils were taught based on what was available rather than what was necessary to have a strong academic understanding. The curriculum for older pupil s tended to be based on examination syllabuses chosen by their teachers, again availability outweighing basic needs.There was limited influence from professional teaching bodies to introduce central direction of the curriculum allowing teachers to continue teaching an array of subjects and topics limited to resources of their textbooks. With such concern over falling standards of the education system within the UK, the early 1960s saw the Conservative minister of Education, David Eccles introduced a curriculum study group within the Department of education and Science. This group was then replace with the school council by Eccles successor Sir Edward Boyle in 1964 to look and develop the curriculum and education.The school council was formed with central and local government and teachers in order to oppose the accusation that the study group was self-ruled when governed by Eccles. The school council looked at new ways of teaching and assessing of subjects in order to create a consis tency. In the 1970s, concern rose again from the public, that the UK school system was not being well served. Under Shirley Williams as Labour Secretary of state, the Department of Education and Science and Her Majesty’s inspectors published papers on the curriculum issues, criticising both primary and econdary schools for their lack of balance in their curriculum and not accounting for changes occurring in society. In 1979 the Conservative Secretaries of State, Mark Carlisle, indicated that there should be a national consensus on a desirable framework for the curriculum following on from the Circular 14/77 report and review. This report led to Carlisle overseeing the abolition of the School Council and replacing it with the Curriculum and Development Committee and the Secondary Examinations council.Under Sir Keith Joseph as Secretary of State, 1985 saw the Better Schools White Paper recommended a proceeding with a nationally- agreed curriculum. In 1987 the Department of Educ ation and Science, under Kenneth Baker, issued a document that set out the foundation for a national curriculum. The document identified four key points: stability and consistency within the curriculum; a broad and balanced curriculum; support schools accountability and pupil attainment and aiding public understanding of the work of the schools.Following this, the 1988 Education Reform Act, passed by parliament set out the framework for the National Curriculum. Parliament’s key point in this development and centralisation of the curriculum was as follows: to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural and physical development of pupils which echoed the 1944 Education Act and to prepare pupils for the opportunities of adult life. The development of the National curriculum was overseen by two new advisory bodies, the National Curriculum council and the school Examination and Assessment Council.They sought expertise from a wide variety of educational backgrounds that drew on evidence and expertise throughout the education system emerging with a detailed framework for subject context which schools should be required to follow. The curriculum would be structured around Key Stages and be subject based, all subjects would be studied from age 5 up to age 16, covering the core subjects of English, Mathematics and science and foundation subjects of art, history, physical education, geography and music. Modern foreign languages would be taught from age 11.The syllabus would be set out in a Programme of study which would map out each subject at each Key Stage and include a scale of attainment levels to guide teacher’s assessment. Life and skills subjects were to be integrated within school teaching, including religious education and personal, social and health education. Testing within the National Curriculum was also implemented. These were drawn up by the Task Group on Assessment and Testing (TGAT). The TGAT sought to use a range of assessments that could be de livered and marked by teachers.Teacher’s assessments would be accompanied by national-administered standardised tests, known as key Stage Tests. These test results would then be published in performance tables to exhibit pupil’s levels of attainments. In 1989 the national curriculum was introduced into primary schools and was then rolled out across secondary throughout the 1990s. In 1991 key stage testing had began and by 1993 the inspection of schools was transferred over to Non-Ministerial Department of State from Her Majesty Inspectors and local authority inspection teams. The new inspection team was a independent body, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences, with reference to 50 cent's Amusement Park, attempting to account for its popularity despite its sexist representations of women In this essay I shall be investigating the ways in which hip hop songs appeal to both male and female audiences, with specific reference to Amusement Park (released May 8, 2007) by 50 cent (real name Curtis Jackson), and its music video. I will attempt to account for the huge popularity of this artist, and others of the genre, despite the apparent sexism displayed in his songs. Firstly I shall look at how hip hop has gone from primarily an underground phenomenon to having mainstream status, as recounted by Bakari Kitwana (2005). From when hip hop originated, it was always an alternate culture for black youngsters to turn to. During the late 1980s economic recession, many Americans were still living in poverty: unskilled workers faced poorer wages than before, resulting in a sense of alienation from mainstream America. Although they had achieved equality in legal status, there were still plenty of economic and social problems facing black youth. Not only was hip hop an artistic way of expressing and making public these issues, but also provided a sense of culture those less privileged. Concerns could be voiced through the medium of music and radio stations, which, although primarily were by and for black people, still very much of the white working class population, who were also facing similar problems and suffering from the same detachment from the mainstream. In the late 80s powerful black icons began emerging, such as Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and major bands like Public Enemy who produced ‘politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community'1. It soon became hard for white audiences to ignore hip hop culture. The East-West coast feud between artists from either side of America, leading to the eventual murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG also brought both urban issues and its music in to public light. Gangster rap was a predominant subgenre which was responsible for expressing shocking views (notably rap group N. You can read also Audience Adaptation Paper W. A. ‘s F*** tha police) and portraying the more violent and misogynistic side of hip hop culture. While it still receives a lot of backlash, hip hop has become increasingly mainstream and popular. One way to account for the popularity of â€Å"Amusement Park† is to look at the representations of women in the video on its own, and to draw conclusions from those alone. The girls are shown against a very minimalistic background, only with the â€Å"ride† which they are on. This puts the focus on to their bodies and faces, increasing our sense of their sexuality. Both the shots of the girls and their poses are explicitly constructed, as their poses are unnatural and staged. They often look directly in to the camera, suggesting an awareness of the audience's voyeuristic perspective. A shot which specifically give a sense of degradation is one in which a girl is shot almost directly from above, her body twisted unnaturally on the ground, looking on command as the camera focuses on her. This appeals to the male audience by making them feel that the girl is putting out her sexuality for the benefit of the viewers i. e. he individual watcher. It might seem that this video is primarily aimed at males however; the huge success of 50 cent in the mainstream implies that his apparent misogyny is not only accepted but embraced by a large audience. One explanation would be to accept the belief of female sexuality being masochistic, and that the gratification a female gets from the video is that of relating herself to the girls in the video who are enjoying being a sexual object. However, French feminist Luce Irigaray questions the idea the traditional view of female sexuality: †¦ omen in the sexual imaginary of Western culture have always been a male fantasy; hence maschocism is something forced on women by culture, not a quality inherent within them. Thus, women don't define their own sexuality, desire, or pleasure2. If we bear in mind the amount of competition that is around now in the hip hop industry and the selection of media now readily available, through the wide range of music channel, and the relatively recent development of the ability to watch music on sites such as youtube and yahoo, audience could be said to become more active in the way they choose and thus perceive their media. Taking Irigaray's perspective, female audiences do not necessarily need to read the text in masochistic way, and this broadening of choice in their media allows them to take an alternate stance on such texts: that of a more active one. If this is the case however, it does not necessarily mean that female audiences reject Amusement Park, only that there is room to interpret the representations in a more ironic way and as I shall discuss later on, the text itself encourages this type of reading. The next issue I shall look at is the extent to which 50 cent is taken as a serious role model by his audiences. His background would imply that he is the stereotype of gangster: his mother gave birth to him at 15, was involved in cocaine dealing, and was murdered at the age of 23. 50 cent himself began dealing in crack/cocaine and taking guns to school. Before the release of his first album with Columbia Records, he survived being shot 9 times, including once in the mouth, which led to him being dropped by the record company. This would seem highly ironic, given that to a large extent the idea of an authentic gangster was what selling rap records in the first place (artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B. I. G and Tupac Shakur had a history of crime and drugs; and the murders of the latter two helped to bring hip hop in to mainstream media). It is interesting to ask whether it was the songs that consumers were buying and continue to do so, (his debut album, get rich or die tryin' selling 12 million albums worldwide) or the now glamorised image of celebrity gangster which is currently present, despite the fact that he currently lives in an $18,500,000 Mansion. He himself admits to the fact that his image portrayed in his music is separate from him as a person: †¦ all the things I say are good, if you watch what I do. What I say on record is entertainment; but what I'm actually doing with my life and the things I've had the opportunity to do is what makes me inspiring3 Although evidently he has achieved a great deal for himself, in the media he rarely expresses himself personal side, and even has made attempts to reinforce his gangster image, and example being: I've been in situations where either it was me or somebody else, and I handled my business. 4 (2003) However, in the later interview he does deny any assumptions: †¦ people associate me with gun violence, when I was the one who got shot5 This suggest that Curtis himself does have an expectation that audiences will be able to distinguish between his image portrayed in the media, and the reality of his life, but does little to counteract the negative images. Is he also being naive in thinking that the audience will automatically realise this, and not model his violent and sexist lyrics? There is clearly some sort of awareness in public audiences, both black and white, as shown by findings by the Black Youth Project: Over half of youngsters between the ages of 15 – 25 strongly agree with the statement that â€Å"Rap music videos portray Black women in bad and offensive ways. 6 The huge success of 50 cent however, seems to contradict this, which would seem to imply that audiences are in fact able to separate this misogyny from the rapper himself. However, it could also be argued that this is merely a way of excusing such portrayals. Considering the artist's earlier works, such as Get in my car containing the lyri cs â€Å"I got no pickup lines / I stay on the grind / I tell the hoes all the time / Bitch get in my car† and the highly pornographic music video for Disco Inferno, it is harder to take such things lightly. A widely quoted statistic is that 70% of hip hop consumers are in fact white. Although it is interesting to note that no accurate source has been cited for this statistic, hip hop is undeniably a prominent part of mainstream white music culture. Before, when the genre was a political move as much as it was a music genre, a chance for black underprivileged youth to voice their concerns for the culture, it was something that both black and white people could understand in relation to their own lives. The current state of hip hop is that we ‘look through the keyhole into a violent, sexy world of â€Å"money, ho's and clothes†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ as described by Justin Ross (2007). This may be an accurate description of the way that audiences perceive such videos, given that 50 cent's music refers to neither the real problems, past or present, of black culture, nor to the life which Curtis leads. It would also account for the general acceptance of these representations, if the audience is distanced from what is shown in the videos: issues of sexism and violence are far less relevant outside black urban society and it is therefore easier for a white consumer to take the videos solely as entertainment. It is also important to remember that while the majority of hip hop artists are black, it is predominantly marketed and controlled by a white industry, as Bakari describes (p46) in which the importance of an authentic representation of black culture is of little importance compared with supplying the public with texts which they will buy in to, as evidently the sex appeal of the videos is an important aspect. The next thing I shall look at is the level of awareness of the sexism in both the video itself, and the audience it is aimed at. There are many shots which suggest that the images in it, and the lyrics, are not entirely sincere. This is evident in the shots of the girl sitting on a bench next to 50 cent. Unlike the rest of the images, she is not highly glamorised, and her actions appear to be a lot more naturalistic than the others. She directly reacts to his lyrics, often looking away smiling, as though amused by what he is saying. The title of the song could also be referring to 50 cent himself as a celebrity figure: that both his image and his songs are merely an â€Å"amusement;† not to be taken as serious. This creates a sense of bathos juxtapositioned against the more professional looking shots, so that the female audience can relate more to the women shown. Although taking up a lot less time in the video than the glamorised ones, it creates a distance between the hyperreality of the rest of the video, and the ordinary more down to earth shots, so audiences see the video more objectively. The shots of the girl lying provocatively on the car bear even less relation to the lyrics than earlier in the video, being more reminiscent of a car commercial than a music video. The car itself is briefly but distinctly focused on, which makes reference to the importance of money and material values which are present in not only video, but the whole hip hop industry. This hints at the suggestion that both the girls and their representations are merely a product of this, and therefore are not in fact serious degradations of the women. In this shot we see a girl, while impressed; rolling her eyes at the artist at the lyrics â€Å"You know it's no fun without the magic stick†. In this sense the girls are in fact the more active ones in the video, whilst 50 Cent mostly maintains his position as an entertainer. Instead of them covering the whole screen, two similar shots of the same girl are often slid in from either side against a plain black background, sometimes overlapping each other. Whilst in one sense emphasising the importance of the girls' bodies, it also is highly self aware as product, as by seeing two separate views of one scene, it reminds us that it is a construction. Instead of taking itself too seriously, it makes explicit its intention of providing a sex appeal. A less prominent but important character in the video is the girl dancing acrobatically, and the only girl who is represented by her skill rather her sexuality – the camera barely focuses on her face. On the surface, she seems to represent an entertainer at a fair (the bright flashing lights help to anchor this meaning), but it is possible to decipher alternate readings of her: certain comparisons can be drawn between the actions of 50 Cent and herself. She and he are the first people we see in the video, and she appears immediately after the artist announces himself: â€Å"50† and â€Å"Ferrari F-50†. The setting she is in is almost identical to that of 50 Cent's. At times her dance moves mirror the lyrics of his, for example at â€Å"You fear heights when I'm high hell yeah I go low†, she can be seen to do exactly this. In another shot she briefly does a boxing punch, followed by a similar view of 50 Cent looking macho. At the lyrics â€Å"yeah it's like that† she mimes as though saying the words herself. In this sense she is the female counterpart to 50 Cent, and could be said to hold the power, in that she has little direct engagement with the audience, while Curtis has to explicitly put on an act to keep is position as an entertainer. This could allow women to from the perspective of her instead of the rapper, and thus 50 Cent himself becomes the object of the video instead of the subject. As previously discussed, the initial purpose of this media text is to sell 50 Cent's music, and this is done by providing the audience with representations they are familiar with: a stereotypical ‘gangster', highly sexed girls, and also to be considered is the artist's own sex appeal. Firstly, the subject of the song itself is 50 cent inviting girls (the audience) to attend his â€Å"amusement park†, and the lyrics describe the activities available to those who go, thus partially placing him as the object of desire. He is shown later in the song without a shirt on, with lighting focused in such a way that highlights his muscular physique. An important issue is that of whether hip hop should be censored, else voluntarily toned down. In April 2007, a controversial incident occurred, involving Don Imus, the presenter of his radio show, which already had a reputation for its crude humour. In discussing a black female basketball team, he referred to the players as ‘nappy headed hos'. After floods of outraged complaints, his show was permanently removed from air, prompting wide discussion over the standards in the media, often with reference to hip hop. 0 Cent himself was involved in the subsequent discussion, but refused to agree to clean up his lyrics, using a politician involved in adult dating websites to make comparisons between standards in hip hop and that in supposedly higher society. While this may be true to some extent, it firstly does not provide a justification in itself; but also it is debatable as to how much of what he said was his own opinion and how many were prearranged arguments by his managers (in the video he can be seen grinning in long pauses after phrases such as â€Å"I personally believe†). On the subject of Master P, who made the decision to stop using sexist and violent lyrics, he replies â€Å"Well Master P doesn't sell CDs anymore†7. From this, and other interviews where he has put the focus on that of entertainment, one could draw the conclusion that the artist in fact, as Amusement Park suggests, concerned with little other than the money involved in the business. In defence to his own lyrics, 50 Cent has also expressed his irritation of apparent double standards in the media, in reference to Britney Spears' single ‘Gimme more'8 beginning with the lyrics ‘it's Britney, bitch'. While it may appear to be merely a sore complaint, it is certainly valid to discuss the treatment of women in other areas of the media, and by women themselves. The music video of the song in question consists of Britney Spears, wearing little more than underwear, dancing round a poll in a seedy setting. Similarly, in ‘Dip it Low' by Christina Milian, the artist is seen allowing herself to have black paint poured over her semi-clothed body, whilst a group of men stand at the side watching and jeering: the presentation of women apparent in male hip hop videos is not a unique one. In all aspects of the media girls are presented, more than anything, by their sexuality and appearance, which can be found in adverts in women's magazines, stereotypes in film and television (a notable example being Desperate Housewives), car adverts, drink adverts. Although elevated within the genre, this representation could be described as a reflection of attitudes prevalent in both the media and in society and therefore not so shocking to audiences. Another issue described by an internet blogger9 is that by shutting sexism and violence portrayed in hip hop music, it is shutting off a fundamental way of keeping these issues in the eye of the public. He quotes that the leading killer of African Americans is homicide; and that males are five times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts. These issues will still exist even in the absence of offensive hip hop. While this certainly an interesting point, hip hop paradoxically glorifies the very things which it makes an issue of. While artists like 50 Cent may primarily be driven by selling as many records as possible, he still in one sense continues to represent issues which would otherwise be forgotten, if only in a postmodern way. Therefore, in order for hip hop to serve this purpose, it is essential that audiences neither directly embrace the values shown in the videos, nor take it as purely entertainment, as Amusement Park evidently does allow us to do. However, audiences could be said to be becoming increasingly desensitised to these things, with violent films and video games and the huge availability of pornography through the internet, which would make this reading more difficult to achieve. Whether or not the sexism and violence in hip hop is justified or not, if audiences were to take a more active role in their media, it would simultaneously prevent potential influence from such songs, and also make thorny issues in black society more accessible to deal with.

Haiti essays

Haiti essays Want to send this story to another AOL member? Click on the heart at the top of this window. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Haitian authorities released an opposition candidate and four associates Saturday, nearly three weeks after they were arrested following regional elections, an opposition leader said. Authorities dropped charges of incitement to violence against candidate Jean Limongy and the four others, said Evans Paul of Limongy's Space for Concord five-party coalition. Limongy, a candidate for a lower house seat, and the others were arrested May 23, two days after local and legislative elections. More than 2 million Haitian voters, about 60 percent of the electorate, cast their ballots in the violence-free elections. The Lavalas Family party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide gained control of the upper house and was leading in most lower-house races as vote counting continued this week. Since the vote, police have arrested at least 37 opposition candidates and activists. Sixteen have been released. Space for Concord militant Laurore Noel, who was arrested with Limongy, remained in prison in Petit-Goave jail, about 35 miles southwest of the capital, Paul said. On Wednesday, three candidates projected as the winners for seats on the Port-au-Prince city council under Aristide's Lavalas Family banner were arrested on charges of having false police identification cards. Elections for legislative seats in Haiti's troubled Grand'-Anse district, where the vote was delayed due to technical difficulties, are set for Sunday, officials said. Haiti has been without a Parliament since President Rene Preval dismissed legislators in 1999 to resolve a power struggle. Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, r ...

David Gregg and the History of the Optical Disk

David Gregg and the History of the Optical Disk An optical disk is a plastic-coated disk that stores digital data. Tiny pits are etched into the disk surface that are read with a laser scanning the surface. The technology behind the optical disk is the foundation for similiar formats including CDs and DVDs. David Gregg The optical disk is an analog video optical disk format. The original format provided full bandwidth composite video and two analog audio tracks (digital audio tracks were added later). The optical disk (commonly known as the laser disc as trademarked by Pioneer) was replaced in popularity by the introduction of DVD in 1997. David Gregg Speaks on the Invention of the Optical Disk ...By dumbing down an electron beam to visible wavelengths, modulating it to the standard PWM video frequency, and reducing the power to photoresistive requirements, an e-beam optical videodisk mastering system was practical and commercially available in the late 50s. However, this simple and practical means of mastering was abandoned by others in favor of more costly and time delaying technology: the laser, the supreme toy of the moment for techies. Impact of David Greggs Patents Digital Versatile Disc or DVD and LaserDisc from PioneerMiniDisc from Sony Compact Disc or CD from Philips the 3M Company List of Patents for Optical Disk Technology Continue Extract from Optical Disk Patent Special thanks goes to Tom Peterson for providing information for this page including the words of David Gregg. David Gregg was Toms father by adoption. A transparent plastic disc is described in the Copending Application Ser. No. 627,701, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,966, issued March 4, 1969, in which picture information in the form of video signals is recorded on one or both sides of the disc. The recorded picture information on the disc is intended to be reproduced, for example, through a television receiver, by playing the disc on a turntable and by directing a light beam through the disc, as described in the Copending Application Ser. No. 507,474 now, abandoned, and its continuation-in-part application, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,258. The light beam is modulated by the video recordings on the disc, and a pick-up head is provided which responds to the resulting light signals to transform them into corresponding electrical video or picture signals for playback purposes. The present invention is concerned with such a video disc record, and with a duplication process by which a multiplicity of such records may be mass-produced from a master record die. The material of the disc record surface is made such to be appropriate for embossing and to enable, under suitable temperature conditions, a slight force pressing the disc surface against a master die to cause the impressions on the surface of the die to be embossed into the surface of the disc. With such an embossing process, there is no transverse flow of the disc material, as occurs in the usual prior art stamping or molding processes, as are presently being used in the production of phonograph sound records, for example, and by which the actual surface of the record is raised above its melting point. The stamping techniques presently being used in the manufacture of phonograph records are not suitable for the extraordinarily fine microgrooves and patterns required by video frequency recordings of picture information. Such stamping techniques as are presently being used in the production of phonograph sound records require that the master record die be heated to a temperature above the melting point of the vinyl or other plastic material used in the phonograph record. In the prior art phonograph record duplicating process, a biscuit of the vinyl or other plastic material is placed in a stamper, and the heated master record die is brought down onto one or both surfaces of the biscuit. The plastic of the biscuit surface is melted and caused to flow radially into the spaces defined by the impressions on the master die surface. As mentioned above, this stamping technique by present day standards appears to be unsuited for the extremely fine micro-spiral grooves required for video frequency recordings. As an alternative to the present day practice, and as will be described, a video disc record blank of laminated transparent plastic construction may be provided, the laminated record having a surface layer of relatively soft transparent plastic of any suitable known type, and which can be readily embossed; and a supporting base of a rigid plastic, such as an acrylic resin or polyvinyl chloride. As a first step in the alternate approach, the laminated disc record blank is heated to a point at which the surface tension of the surface material causes the surface to be smooth and regular. This temperature is the critical temperature at which embossed impressions may be formed on the disc surface, and it is below the melting point of the surface material. The embossing die(s) is(are) heated to a temperature slightly above the critical temperature, and it(they) and the record blank are brought together with a slight pressure. As the die(s) and the record blank are brought together, the die(s) is(are) cooled to the aforesaid critical temperature, and its (their) surface impressions are embossed into the surface(s) of the record. Obviously, if two sides are being embossed, two embossing dies are required. The supporting structure would require modification, but such modification is well within the skill of the art. After the disc record has been embossed, as described above, an opaque mask is deposited into the portions of its surface around the resulting embossed micro-grooves. This latter mask may be formed on the disc by using a vacuum deposition technique, as will be described. The aforesaid disc record, when laminated in accordance with the aforesaid alternate approach, is used in order to present the desired surface characteristics for optimum embossing capabilities, and yet so that the record itself may be rugged and suitable for rough usage. The laminated structure of the record comprises reasonably tough and dimensionally stable clear plastic for the main body of the disc; and a plastic material on one or both surfaces of the disc which is most suited for embossing. The combination provides a video record disc which is useful, which can take on appropriate amount of handling, and which still can be embossed easily and effectively.

How to Use the Partitive Genitive Case in Latin

How to Use the Partitive Genitive Case in Latin The  genitive case  is most familiar to English speakers as the case in which nouns, pronouns and adjective  express possession, says the clear-thinking  Classics Department  at the Ohio State University. In Latin, it is used to indicate relationships that are most frequently and easily translated into English by the preposition of: love of god, the driver of the bus, the state of the union, the son of God. In all these instances, the prepositional phrase modifies a noun; that is, the prepositional phrase acts like an adjective: love of God equals Gods love equals divine love. Genitive Genetic Relationship The last example shows the genetic relationship that gives the genitive case its name. Linguists who have studied this case have concluded that it is a convenient way of indicating relationships between nouns, or, put in more grammatical terms, the genitive case turns any noun into an adjective. There are several categories of the genitive, depending mainly on their function. The partitive genitive is one of these categories. Partitive Genitive: How It Works The partitive genitive case, or the genitive of the whole, shows the relationship of a part to the whole of which it is part. It starts with a quantity, such as a numeral, nothing (nihil), something (aliquid), enough (satis) and the like.  This quantity is part of a whole, which is expressed by a noun in the genitive case. The simplest example is  pars civitatis   part of the state. Here, of course, the state (civitas) is the whole, and this party is the part (pars). This [is] a useful reminder that the English expression all of the state is  not  partitive, since all is not a part; consequently, you cannot use the genitive in Latin here, only an adjective:  omnis civitas, says OSU. If you have a part of something, the thing  thats the whole is in the genitive case. The fractional part can be a pronoun, adjective, noun or numeral designating quantity, with a noun or pronoun showing the whole to which the some (or many, etc.) belongs. Most of the following examples show the part in the nominative case. The whole is in the genitive since it signifies of the whole. The English translation may or may not have a word like of marking the genitive case. Partitive Genitive: Examples satis temporis   enough of time or enough time.nihil clamoris   none of the shouting or no shoutingnihil strepitus   none of the noise or no noisetertia pars solis   the third part of the sunquorum primus ego  sum   of whom I am chiefquinque millia hominum   five thousand [of the] menprimus omnium   first of all (with omnium in the genitive plural)quis mortalium   who of mortals (with mortalium in the genitive plural)nihil odii   nothing of hatred (with odii in the genitive singular)tantum laboris   so much work (with laboris in the genitive singular) vs. tantus labor so great a labor which has no genitive and therefore is not the partitive genitivequantum voluptatis   how much delight (with voluptatis in the genitive singular)

MRI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MRI - Essay Example Apart from these condyles, which are bony prominences, the distal end of humerus has two depressions as well. The bony depression on the anterior side is known as coronoid fossa, while the posterior depression is known as olecranon fossa. The areas where the bones connect to each other are referred to as articular surfaces. The elbow joint is articulated at Radioulner, Radiohumeral and Ulnohumeral joints. These articular surfaces are covered by the hyaline cartilage. A joint capsule, which is lined by Synovial membrane, encloses the entire joint in such a way that all three joint cavities remain in communication with each other. The elbow joint is stabilized by ligaments. These include Radial and Ulnar Collateral ligaments and the annular ligament of the head of radius. The medial side of the joint is strengthened by the Ulnar collateral ligament whereas the radial collateral ligament stabilizes the lateral side. The head of radius is connected to the radial notch of ulna by the annu lar ligament which runs around the head of radius. The movements at the elbow joint are facilitated by the muscles attached in this region. These muscles are organized into four different compartments according to their position, namely anterior, posterior, lateral and medial. The anterior group has two muscles, biceps brachii and brachialis. Posterior group has triceps brachii and anconeus muscles. The lateral group has brachioradialis and supinator muscles as well as the extensors of wrist and fingers. Whereas the flexor muscles of wrist and fingers, along with pronator teres muscle form the part of medial group. The arterial blood supply to the elbow region is through brachial artery. The venous drainage is by the way of brachial vein, median vein and median cubital vein. The nerves supplying the elbow region include musculocutaneous nerve, radial nerve, ulnar nerve and axillary nerve. MRI IMAGE FOE ELBOW The daily activities performed by the hands, grasping and the coordinated m ovements at the forearm and wrist are possible because of the complex synovial joint at the elbow which is referred to as the elbow joint (Lee et al 2003). It connects the distal end of the upper arm bone humerus to the proximal ends of the two forearm bones radius and ulna. The bones are articulated at trochlea and capitulum of humerus above and trochlear notch of ulna and the head of the radius below (Snell 2004). The three bones are articulated at four joints, together known as cubital articulations, i.e, humeroulner, humeroradial, superior radioulner and inferior radioulner (Stroyan et al 1993). The articular surfaces are covered by hyaline cartilage and the joint is enclosed by the capsule, lined by synovial membrane. The capsule serves to stabilize the joint along with the two ligaments, i.e. lateral collateral ligament and the ulnar collateral ligament. Anteriorly, the capsule attaches to the radial and coronoid fossae and the medial and lateral epicondyles of humerus above a nd to the coronoid process of ulna and annular ligament of radius head below. The posterior attachments of capsule are to the olecranon processes of humerus above and ulna below, and the annular ligament of radius head below (Snell 2004). The fan shaped lateral collateral ligament attaches lateral epicondyle of humerus to the annular ligament of radius. The triangular ulnar collateral

Foundations of Accounting 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Foundations of Accounting 2 - Essay Example The cash flow is not an estimate of your sales and expenses; rather it is an estimate of when the money associated with sales or in any other income generating account will be received and when the money paying the expenses will be paid out. Budgeted Profit and Loss differs from a budgeted cash inflow or outflow where much of the data for the budgeted income statement come from other budgets already prepared. For example, sales figures come from the sales budget. Cost of goods sold is based on unit cost of production (and the direct materials budget). The direct labour budget provides labour cost information. And the manufacturing overhead budget provides overhead cost information. While that of a cash budget, it merely provides a forecast of cash disbursements and cash realization. D) PRINCIPLES OF GOOD BUDGETING ARE NOT ALWAYS FOLLOWED IN PRACTICE because of different types of constraints. One of which is the financial stability of the business and of the industry. Rising prices and rising costs of different materials for a manufacturing business, for example, has one of the greatest effects on the business, it has to make the company cut its expenses and therefore has a direct effect on the forecasted financial statement. Even though there are several ways in making sure that projections do happen, it is still subjected to uncertainty the occurrence of which can greatly affect the financial standing of the company. There are also instances that a good budget is not always effective when there is a personal interest involved in the project, that is, management or any person attached to a certain project has its own personal goal that is detrimental to the company. Therefore, proper ‘attitude’ should be observed and there must be a common goal towards a certain action. E) ESTIMATING SALES FOR THE NEXT ACCOUNTING PERIOD is done thru a forecast or a budget. Sales forecasting is

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his Essay

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end How should this function in the - Essay Example However, during the 2nd century, there was an increasing belief in the resurrection and the ultimate judgement of those that die before the day of judgement. The belief is that the dead will be woken up and some will proceed to enjoy everlasting life while the rest will suffer everlasting disgrace and reproach. This paper will review the effect of the creeds, particularly the Nicene Creed on the faith of modern-day Christians, by exploring its meaning, why it is a creed and its relevance for Christians. Discussion The Christians of today get the basis, for the interpretation of the creed, by exploring the subject covered by the creed during the time of Jesus. During his time, the New Testament tells of the division that existed in the understanding developed around the question, among the Sadducees and the Pharisees, like it is mentioned through Acts 23:8, Mark 12: 18 and Mathew. 22:23 (Muldoon, 2013). However, the position of Jesus about the question was made clear through the accou nt of the gospels. Among the eschatological accounts contained in the bible, which talk about the end of the world, the most memorable is contained in Mathew chapter 25. Through the account, Jesus said that after the return of the son of man, alongside the angels, all nations will be assembled before him, so that he can choose those to be blessed and those to be damned (Ayres, 2006). From the passage, the stand of Jesus is clear that, after people die, God judges all and separates the good from the bad. The stand taken by Jesus, amidst the division about the question of the future and what happens to the dead offers Christians the basis, for arriving at the understanding that death does not separate God from his people; that death does not end all (Ayres, 2006). Further, the stand adopted by Jesus gives the Christians of today, the faith to stand by all good values, walking according to the decrees of God and to remain faithful in their service to God. The emphasis of faith in God i s evident from the ultimate course taken by God after his return, which offers Christians the faith that, in whatever things and experiences they go through, he expects them to stand by his values (Muldoon, 2013). Through Standing by him, the ultimate promise, which is the backbone of their faith, is contained in the role of God in deciding those to be blessed and the ones to suffer the pain of damnation. The meaning of the creed is straight forward and clear, when making the promise to those that keep their faith in the lord. First, it starts by emphasizing the nature of the coming of the son of man, contrasting it with the past times when he came to the world, because he will be accompanied by the glory of a king (Muldoon, 2013). It emphasizes that he will come in glory, and with the main goal of judging all people, whether they are living or dead. The emphasis of the judgement of the dead and the living, gives emphasises to the importance of keeping faith while alive in the world , due to the knowledge that death will not mark the end of God’s people (Ayres, 2006). For the Christians that still keep their faith in God, the promise is clear that, whether he will return to find them alive or dead, the price will be the same – which is an eternal place in the new kingdom (Bauckham, 1993). The promise offered to those that kee

Mexican Chicago Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mexican Chicago - Essay Example Gabriela Arredondo is a renowned historian and associate professor of Latino studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The author based her thesis on the revolutionary content of the Mexican ethnic group between 1916 and 1939. In these periods Mexicans were a different ethnic group though it worked to be assimilated into a city that had a renowned history of incorporating the immigrants and the newcomers. For example, based on the revolutionary context of origin of the Mexican in Chicago between 1916 and 1930, Arredondo believes that these Mexicans did not merely form part of the ethnic groups that worked to be assimilated into a city with long history of absorbing newcomers. In addition, supporting and suggesting a new understanding of the identity formation Arredondo argues that Mexicans wielded tools of identification that emerged in the revolutionary Mexico. These avant-garde tools collectively battled the ethnic groups prejudice such as Italians, Poles, African Americans and the Irish communities. Finally, in the direct view of Mexicans, they highlighted tremendous and unique differences among themselves. These differences were based on gender and class. In the discussion of becoming â€Å"Mexican† in Chicago during the early 20th century, Arredondo not only explores the identity construction but also comes up with a provision and telling insight of the repercussions of this identity formation process. In my opinion, although the author’s attention to the homeland circumstances of the Mexicans in Chicago is warranted, her elaboration of the analogy in this context is largely flawed, incomplete and inaccurate. For example, in her attempts to compare Mexican immigrants with the European immigrants, Arrerondo has virtually ignored a number of historical factors that may have contributed to their acceptance status and their

Today's Mother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Today's Mother - Essay Example Being a mother in the modern world implies being capable of juggling amid family life and career life. It involves bushel of stress and sometimes results in a lot of guilt especially if the mother cannot meet the dubious societal expectations. The mothers are supposed to bear babies but requests for maternal leaves are sometimes viewed with resentment. Modern women and particularly mothers are overstrained with idealistic expectations of motherly perfection. The unrealistic expectations are inflicted by the society or they impose on themselves. The standards set for the woman to meet are unrealistic and detrimental to the mother’s personal and professional existence. A professional mother is expected to fulfil obligations such as breastfeeding without taking advantage of artificial options available. A mother who chooses to wean their children in less than two years feels guilty and inadequate since the society views such attempts with condescension. The pressure to meet the s ocietal expectations of motherhood and retain their own identity as professionals harries modern mothers. This paper focuses on how the modern demands of motherhood has challenged and undermined the identity and status of women in the society. The working mother has no choice but to act perfect and not grumble on her shortfalls to avoid being perceived as amateurish. They also have to avoid talking of any hitches they may be going through to make the word believe they can effortlessly manage between their career life and family life or else they will be disparaged (Fay, 2012). Mothers are supposed to make sacrifices on their careers, be homemakers, and become dependent on their husbands for financial needs in order to meet the societal expectations and standards. Mothers who choose to employ house helps are branded as incompetent mothers. Any misbehaviour on the children is blamed on the mother. After giving birth, the mother is supposed to ensure she retains her youthful look or el se the husband is free to be unfaithful if they are discontented with their wives. Unlike in the1950s when women did not have to work modern women have to manage both their career life and find time to be with their children as well as husbands. Lack of government policies such as paid family leave make it impossible for most mothers to breast-feed their children since most have to work in order to support their families or supplement their husband’s earnings. However, they still receive great criticism if they choose other options such as taking their children to daycares to create time to meet other obligations. Women face great challenges principally those who chose to engage in politics as they are subjected to chauvinist jokes. A woman who chooses to dedicate her life in politics is labelled a bad mother irrespective of whether she has proved otherwise (Fay, 2012). Modern women have to balance between work, love life, and family. Demand such as taking care of babies part icularly breastfeeding binds women to be homemakers. The women schedules are rigid such that it is almost impossible for them to nurse their babies and work at the same time. Having a proper social life is almost impossible for some mothers. Women have to keep apologizing to their bosses for being mothers especially when their motherhood commitments such as childbearing cannot allow them achieve their obligations at work (Badinter, 2012) Some people like Badinter blame the problem on the aspiration women to be liberal mothers. She claims modern mother can somehow be blamed for the strain they have to undergo as they try to prove to the society that they are capable of being career women and practice traditional motherhood. She claims that contemporary motherhood undermines mother’

Should Christopher Columbus be celebrated for Western Civilization or Essay

Should Christopher Columbus be celebrated for Western Civilization or not - Essay Example Elsewhere in the Americas, living standards are high and are improving. Nevertheless, these successes, which can be traced directly from Columbus' first voyage, were also dearly bought. Millions of native lives were lost, through disease and intentional mistreatment. Several civilizations were effectively destroyed so that a new civilization based on settlers' stock could grow. As such, Columbus clearly has a mixed reputation. These two views of Christopher Columbus are both espoused by different historical schools. The argument in a sense boils down to one of politics. Those who are more inclined to be anti-establishment and romantic would suggest that Columbus' legacy is one of bloodshed and misery. Those who are more realist suggest that civilizations with better technology and organization will always supersede those who lack these qualities. In a sense it was the destiny of the advanced European nations to take over the Americas and build their own colonies there. The other civi lizations such as the Aztecs and the various tribes of North America were simply unable to compete. There are two main historians who support each of these views. The former view is espoused by Kirkpatrick Sale; the latter by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. The latter view is more sensible. Kirkpatrick Sale makes a powerful argument about Columbus, but it is all too political and too based on hyperbole. Motives are ascribed to Columbus which he simply never held. The years of colonization were years of â€Å"subjugation and violence† according to Sale (Sale, 152). Nothing good ever came of them. The Spanish were rapacious and built nothing and simply destroyed the environment. This is too simplistic a view of the world. According to Sale, the natives were vastly superior to the Europeans who came to the Americas. He describes how their technology was much better, but sounds quite foolish doing so: â€Å"'Indian societies had a variety of technologies, some quite sophisticated and many well beyond anything comparable in Europe at the time . . . and certainly could have developed others if they felt any need to do so, particularly in regard to food supply. If they did not, there was likely to be a good reason: if they did not anywhere use the plow, for instance, that may have been because their methods of breaking the soil with a planting stick worked just as well with a tenth of the effort, or because they had learned that opening up and turning over whole fields would only decrease nutrients and increase erosion, or because their thought-world would not have allowed such disregardful violence† (Sale, 322). This is an incredibly idealized view and one that is not unlike those who believe in the noble savage. A critic of the book rightly points out that â€Å"Mr. Sale treats the varied ways of life that actually prevailed in the Americas as if all Indians were the same, and confuses time as well by quoting late-20th-century Indian spokesmen as though th eir words applied universally to every tribe and people† (McNeil). Fernandez-Armesto's perspective is more sensible. He looks to historical context. He also sees contemporary political correctness for what it is: In the opinion of one self-styled Native American spokesman, 'he makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent'. This sort of hype is doubly unhelpful: demonstrably false, it makes the horrors of the holocaust seem precedented and gives comfort to Nazi apologists by making

Today's Mother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Today's Mother - Essay Example Being a mother in the modern world implies being capable of juggling amid family life and career life. It involves bushel of stress and sometimes results in a lot of guilt especially if the mother cannot meet the dubious societal expectations. The mothers are supposed to bear babies but requests for maternal leaves are sometimes viewed with resentment. Modern women and particularly mothers are overstrained with idealistic expectations of motherly perfection. The unrealistic expectations are inflicted by the society or they impose on themselves. The standards set for the woman to meet are unrealistic and detrimental to the mother’s personal and professional existence. A professional mother is expected to fulfil obligations such as breastfeeding without taking advantage of artificial options available. A mother who chooses to wean their children in less than two years feels guilty and inadequate since the society views such attempts with condescension. The pressure to meet the s ocietal expectations of motherhood and retain their own identity as professionals harries modern mothers. This paper focuses on how the modern demands of motherhood has challenged and undermined the identity and status of women in the society. The working mother has no choice but to act perfect and not grumble on her shortfalls to avoid being perceived as amateurish. They also have to avoid talking of any hitches they may be going through to make the word believe they can effortlessly manage between their career life and family life or else they will be disparaged (Fay, 2012). Mothers are supposed to make sacrifices on their careers, be homemakers, and become dependent on their husbands for financial needs in order to meet the societal expectations and standards. Mothers who choose to employ house helps are branded as incompetent mothers. Any misbehaviour on the children is blamed on the mother. After giving birth, the mother is supposed to ensure she retains her youthful look or el se the husband is free to be unfaithful if they are discontented with their wives. Unlike in the1950s when women did not have to work modern women have to manage both their career life and find time to be with their children as well as husbands. Lack of government policies such as paid family leave make it impossible for most mothers to breast-feed their children since most have to work in order to support their families or supplement their husband’s earnings. However, they still receive great criticism if they choose other options such as taking their children to daycares to create time to meet other obligations. Women face great challenges principally those who chose to engage in politics as they are subjected to chauvinist jokes. A woman who chooses to dedicate her life in politics is labelled a bad mother irrespective of whether she has proved otherwise (Fay, 2012). Modern women have to balance between work, love life, and family. Demand such as taking care of babies part icularly breastfeeding binds women to be homemakers. The women schedules are rigid such that it is almost impossible for them to nurse their babies and work at the same time. Having a proper social life is almost impossible for some mothers. Women have to keep apologizing to their bosses for being mothers especially when their motherhood commitments such as childbearing cannot allow them achieve their obligations at work (Badinter, 2012) Some people like Badinter blame the problem on the aspiration women to be liberal mothers. She claims modern mother can somehow be blamed for the strain they have to undergo as they try to prove to the society that they are capable of being career women and practice traditional motherhood. She claims that contemporary motherhood undermines mother’

Enterprise Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enterprise Knowledge Management - Essay Example At the onset, this may appear to be ordinary and nothing to be astounded about. But if one starts to look at the underlying principles that govern and control the global community, one will see that its inception and coming to be is maintained and harnessed, even made possible, by the fast phase changes and developments in the field of technology. Being such, it has been perceived that if one is to appraise technological advancement as progressing in such an accelerated rate wherein one may get lost in midst of rapid technological changes, one has not to loss hope. Though, confusing and baffling it may seem the beauty of technology lies on the fact that with the availability and accessibility of knowledge and information, nobody ought to be left behind. Instead everybody can become a partaker and sharer in the highway of knowledge. If global economy is that which defines the world market, the easy access to information has been made feasible by the presence of Internet. Internet is basically the tool with which â€Å"access to the content and services preferred by one organization† (Housel and Bell, 2001, p 114) is opened and made within reach for those individual person and organizations who may want to know and be informed. By itself, it can be claimed that Internet, being part of the developments in modern technology, is in effect a lot of help to all its users. Students by merely surfing the net can find articles and books that he/she may need for researches or for examinations. A housewife going over the services offered in the Internet will no longer have to go to the tiring routine of going to all the banks for the payments and visiting the supermarkets for the groceries. Since, at the mere push of the keyboard of the computer one can, via Internet, shop and pay all the utility bills, thus, unbur dening humanity of some basic concerns. One can itemize benefit per benefit the gains that we can derived from the Internet. Though, it cannot be

Research Paper on Smoking Essay Example for Free

Research Paper on Smoking Essay Recently there has been an abundance of media coverage regarding a public’s â€Å"war of smoking.† Recently, Washington state has begun taking vital steps to prohibit smoking in public areas in order to make Washington a better place. There are many arguments about the smoking. The health issues for the smoker and those around them increase the prices and the social unaccepted of the act. Smoking is dangerous for smoker and for the one who is around the smoker. Firstly, smoking is dangerous for smoker, when smokers are smoking, will take lung cancer. The most common form of cancer diagnosed in United States is lung cancer. Lung cancer accounts for 14% out of all cancers, and 28% out of all cancer deaths. (ALA Lung cancer Fact Sheet) According to the American Lung Association, â€Å"Cigarette smoking is responsible for an estimated 87% of lung cancer deaths, or seven out of eight† (American Lung Association). Cigarette contains more than 400toxic and 4000 chemical compounds. Nicotine is the most addictive substance in tobacco. Smoking decreases the level of oxygen from reaching the tissues, giving rise to different health problems such as strokes, heart attacks or miscarriages. Nicotine is increases cholesterol levels in the body and carbon monoxide, which decreases the amount of oxygen within the body. When cholesterol level is increase in blood, increases the chance that a heart attack. Smoking also caused of chronic coughing, shortness of breath, premature aging, recurrent infections and reduced overall fitness (Disease s Caused by Smoking). Yang2 Another example of health issues originated from smoking is emphysema. The Lung Association states that when one has emphysema, some of the air sacs in smoker’s lungs are damaged (The Lung Association). Emphysema does not develop suddenly, it comes very slowly. Years of exposure to cigarettes causes the development of emphysema. Secondly, smoking is also dangerous for non-smokers. Lung cancer is not only a trouble for the smoker, but it is also a trouble for the non-smokers. The indirect effect of smoking comes from two places; smokers breathe out from the other person smoking, and smoke from the end of a burning cigarette  (American Lung Association). The American Lung Association said, â€Å"Indirect smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals; 200 are poisons and 43 cause of cancer.†(The American Lung Association) When non-smokers are stay nearby smoker, they will get some harmful effects. Kinds of cough, nausea, headache, eye irritation, sore throat, dizziness even cancer. Workplaces alone could stop over 32,000 cancer deaths and over 75,000 heart disease deaths. According to the government, 83% of worker health complaints related to trouble with indoor air quality will decrease when workplaces become smoke-free. Constant exposure to tobacco smoke in the workplace nearly doubles the risk of having a hea rt attack. Thirdly, prices of cigarettes have been going through a dramatic increase recently. The government thinks that the increase of price will protect or even get people to quit smoking (Higher Cigarette taxes). According to several studies the increase of cigarette taxes is one of the most effective ways to decrease smoking among teenager and adults (Tobacco Free Kids). These studies show that every 10% increase in the price of cigarettes will decrease total cigarette consumption by three to five percent and decrease teenager smoking by about 7% (Tobacco free Kids). If cigarette prices were increased 10% per pack throughout the country, it would decrease the number of teenagers who become regular smokers by more than a million, saving teenager from dependence, disease and death. Studies also show that people with low income are ones that respond to the increase of prices and end up quit smoking. It is proven that smoking levels are highest among people with low incomes. Lastly, former day, people could hardly find any places without someone smoking there. Now it is prohibited to smoke in public places in many countries. While the number of smokers is increasing, the number of places they can smoke is declining. Many provinces across Canada as well as the Washington states are making it a law that all restaurants and public areas have to be 100% smoke free (U.s. Environmental). A poll conducted by Washington state today shows that 70 % of participates preferred restaurants  that were smoke-free. Over the after 45 years, smoke-free (Research about cigarette). Everyone is at risk for diseases caused from smoking when they are in public places that are not smoke-free. Even with all the evidences that prove the dangers of smoking, some businesses still look down on banning this behavior (U.s. Environmental). There is no real evidence that proves going smoke-free is bad for the business. In fact, there are many positive outcomes when a business adopts s moke-free policy. For example, maintenance cost decreases when smoke, matches, and cigarette butts are eliminated in places. Also, hardware such as equipments, floors, and furniture last longer, and of course, people’s health is freed from danger (Higher Cigarette taxes). In result, many people have different opinions about smoking. There are many characteristic proving smoke-free places are beneficial for many reasons. The government is also trying different methods to induce people to stop smoking. The great increase in cigarette prices is the main one. They figure that this will stop people not to even start smoking. Many businesses today are changing what was used to be normal in a public area: smoking. Smoke free businesses are becoming more and more common. There is no real evidence that shows that adopting smoke-free policy is harmful to businesses. It helps out the business in many areas such as maintenance. People have different opinions, but researchers prove that smoke-free public areas are good for other peoples health, not just smokers health. Eventually one day the society will be 100% smoke free. BIBLOIGRAPHY American Lung Association, â€Å"Cigarette smoking is responsible for an estimated 87% of lung cancer deaths, or seven out of eight† (http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/health-effects/smoking.html) The American Lung Association said, â€Å"Indirect smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals; 200 are poisons and 43 cause of cancer ( http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/general-smoking-facts.html) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indirect smoking is known as the cause of cancer (http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/healtheffects.html) The Lung Association states that when one has emphysema, some of the air sacs in his lungs are damaged (http://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/emphysema/) The government thinks that the increase of price will protect or even get people to quit smoking, The increase of price will make them think two times about smoking. Quitting will save them money and reduce their financial needs (http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090303smoke-tax.html) According to several studies the increase of cigarette taxes is one of the most effective ways to decrease smoking among teenager and adults, These studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes will decrease total cigarette consumption by three to five percent and decrease teenager smoking by about 7% (http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/federal_issues/federal_tobacco_taxes/) Yang6 The increase of cigarette taxes is one of the most effective ways to decrease smoking among teenager and adults(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539350/) Many provinces across Canada as well as the Washington states are making it a law that all restaurants and public areas have to be 100% smoke free(http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/99626-positive-effects-non-smoking.html) A poll conducted by Washington states today shows that 70 % of participates preferred restaurants that were smoke-free. Over the after 45 years, smoke-free(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9791529) Even with all the evidences that prove the dangers of smoking, some businesses still look down on banning this behavior (http://www.davehitt.com/facts/banlinksarchive2.html) Hardware such as equipments, floors, and furniture last longer, and of course, people’s health is freed from danger (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/10/tech/main6194761.shtml)

Personal Narrative- Making Positive Changes Essay -- Personal Narrativ

Personal Narrative- Making Positive Changes I have positive attributes and weaknesses as everyone else does. However, since I came from Peru to America, I experienced many changes in my personality from a shy girl to an independent, outgoing and friendly teenager. My strongest personal attributes are generosity, my spirit of collaboration and my perseverance to achieve any goals and overcome obstacles in my life. For example, when I was in Peru I used to go to a hospital to help children with disabilities. I used to visit them very often. I played with them so that they could forget for a while about their sickness. At the time I could make them happy and they enjoyed a nice moment getting to know me. By helping them, I felt a great satisfaction with myself. Not everyone is perfect in life. Everyone has weaknesses. One of mine is that I take everything too seriously and that makes me get irritated easily. It’s not that I’m angry all the time, it’s just I don’t joke around that much. I think I’m not very tolerant and I’m working my best to overcome it. On the other hand, peopl...

Essays --

The First Crusade was a holy war that occurred in the year 1096 in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is important to three main religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In all of these religions, Jerusalem is considered a Holy Place. To Jews, it is the site of the original temple of God built by King Solomon. To Christians, it was where Christ was crucified and rose again. To Muslims, it was where they believe Muhammad ascended to Heaven. The Turks, which had converted is Islam, began to deny the Christians access into the holy land. Since Jerusalem was and still is special to all of these religions, it brewed trouble between the Crusaders and the Muslims. The main leader of the First Crusade, also known as, the Pauper’s Crusade, was Pope Urban II. While preventing the Christians from going to the holy land, The Turks had also begun to attack Constantinople. The Emperor of Constantinople soon asked the Roman Catholic Church to aid them in their defense against Constantinople. After this, Pope Urban II saw that the Roman Catholic Church could gain more power if they helped ...

Effects of Homosexuals in Schools Essay

In the 19th century, a German psychologist coined the term â€Å"homosexuality†. Basically, homosexuality is often a sexual attraction that is primarily towards the members of the same sex (Pickett, 2006). Oftentimes, homosexual equates to being gay and/or lesbian. There are varying points of view regarding homosexuals and homosexuality. Many religious groups believe that there no one born as a homosexual. However, there are plenty of scientists, particularly psychologists who believe that a person is born this way. Religiously speaking, there are no supporting texts in the Bible that there are homosexuals. Only two genders are made: man and woman. Oftentimes, the greater portion of the homosexual community believe that they were â€Å"born gay† (Worthen, 2004). This belief and perspective oftentimes give them comfort and a sort-of justification for their â€Å"state†. Also, this very same ideology relieves them of any responsibility to change. Nevertheless, there is no firm scientific proof until today that affirm that some people are born homosexual. Genetically speaking, they are just either male or female (Worthen, 2004). Since there are no born homosexuals, many psychologists believe that homosexuality is a learned behavior. There are many factors or reasons why a person becomes homosexual. Primarily, most of these factors involve family. These include a disturbed family life in the early years (of the individual), absence of/in love on the part of either parent or a failure to identify with the same-sex parent. Later, the consequences of these reasons manifest in the individual in varying forms—and one of them is through confusion of their identity that oftentimes lead to homosexuality. But one thing is for sure—that homosexuality has many roots (excluding family). Along with the other factors that cause homosexuality, we must not also take for granted the individual. The individual’s choices also play a key part in transforming and shaping his (homosexual) identity. Majority of causes of being homosexual is rooted with family reasons. In such cases this immensely affects the behavior of the individual particularly in school. Majority of homosexuals that go to school instantly faces the burden of â€Å"coming out†. This is one of the hardest challenges that an individual must face. Since most of homosexuals that go to school are having identity crisis and fear of rejection from their peers (if ever they decided to come out), they have a very high tendency to have unusual behavior from â€Å"straight people†. Most of the time, (with the assumption that the individuals are mostly teenagers since they still go to school) these people is in high risk of suicide, substance abuse, the feeling of isolation and more importantly, school problems. Consequently, because of this kind of behavior, they (and it) inevitably affect their relationship with other people. Because they always need the feel to isolated, the tendency is that, they can be the frequent butt of jokes (especially in schools where homosexuality is not yet a very open and accepted topic) that will in turn can lead into more dangerous behaviors. Moreover, when things go uncontrollable, there is also a huge tendency for the individual to resort to many absurd and unsafe displacement methods (i. . substance abuse, committing crimes, etc). Because of the rising number of individuals (particularly young homosexuals) that is involved in this kind of situations, a great deal of number of individuals and concerned groups were established to help them. Most of these help lines offer counseling but more than that, they also make sure that the individual can pursue his/her way to full acceptance and if worse comes to worse, to their recovery. Before the advent of DNA technology, psychologists and sociologists believe that the cause of homosexuality is influenced by the environment of the individual; but with DNA testing, they were able to pinpoint that somehow, genes has something to do with it. But more importantly, we cannot deny the fact that from the beginning, there were only male and female; but as time pass, some strong environmental factors can bend the reality of life that even Nature herself find it hard to turn back (or at least minimize the bad consequences) time.

Billy Prior-Character Study Essay

* Prior is introduced in chapter 5 and is portrayed as very defensive ‘he stares straight through you’ Pg 41. * Prior is a 22-year-old second lieutenant whose neurosis manifests itself, initially, through an inability to talk or remember the events, which have led to his breakdown. * His is of a working-class background but his mother has done her best to push her son up the social ladder, regardless whether this is best for him. * Billy’s mothers desire to better himself has resulted in a rebellious tendency to continually question authority which is shown in many of his dialogues with prior. * He is an inquisitive and intelligent man but because he ‘broke down’ he feels his courage failed him. * Prior has a flippant, cynical attitude and his discussions with rivers are frequently tinged with sarcasm both against rivers and his methods, and against the war in general * He describes his feelings at going into battle in sexual terms; his wartime nightmares and sexual dreams become confused and this brings on a sense of self-revulsion. This in turn, leads Prior further into depression. * Prior’s sexual frustrations are bound up with his war neurosis and his need to prove himself both as a soldier and a man. * Billy feels he has a duty to serve his country but on the other hand his ambitions preempt this duty as a reason to return to war. He clearly has a deep desire to return to the front and prove to himself that he is not a coward but this feeling is reserved a little by self-preservation * Prior hides his feelings and this is shown in his writing. He is at times is quite satirical â€Å"not tonight, Wilhelm. I’ve got a headache†? * On page 49 he shows a more aggressive side when he is very aggressive towards rivers * He develops a relationship with Sarah a ‘Geordie’ girl on pages 89+130 * Prior stood up Sarah in the book which she did not like but it was because he had got back late the previous night when on his last expedition with Sarah. * Billy begins to show his feelings on page 120 as he starts to open up a little more about his experiences. * â€Å"I wasn’t wearing the badge because I was with a girl† Pg.95 This shows how Prior is embarrassed about staying at Craiglockhart and shows his caring side. * â€Å"I find myself trying to impress you’ on page 64 this shows a more caring side to Billy Prior and more subtle side to him. This would also help the reader further empathise with prior. * On page 55 the reader gets to meet priors readers and it soon becomes clear that Billy does not get on well at all with his father â€Å"he seemed too have no feeling for his son except content†-â€Å"Must I? I’m not proud† This shows another side to prior and the lack of love he has felt whilst growing up. * By page 104 the hypnosis begins to work and gets to him and after a few meeting cry’s. Prior grabs Rivers by the arms and began butting him in the chest. Hard enough to hurt. This shows how Rivers touched a nerve in the hypnosis and bridges are finally being crossed. * On page 105 we get to find out about his war experiences. Prior is a complex and confused character, who is lost and desperately in need of help. It is only when he is finally prepared to admit this to himself that his road to recovery can begin.

Assignment in English Essay

A good listener can easily respond if he/she possesses an effective listening if they can evaluate the meanings, sound patterns and the vocabulary of each words. (Rost, 2002) defines listening, in its broadest sense, as a process of receiving what the speaker actually says (receptive orientation); constructing and representing meaning (constructive orientation); negotiating meaning with the speaker and responding (collaborative orientation); and, creating meaning through involvement, imagination and empathy (transformative orientation). In the process of communication, 40% came from listening while speaking have only 35%. It means that listening is the most important tool in communication process. It may become ineffective if the listener have some difficulties in recognizing the sound pattern and the structure of each words. It may also affect the communication procedure when there is misunderstanding to the speaker through its barriers which is the noise. And most of the time, the listener itself lose their attention and interest to the topic which can affects the relationship between the speaker and listener. So they should motivate their listeners so that they will continue in delivering their messages to their respective audience. There are three levels of listening; each is characterized by certain behaviors that affect listening effectiveness. Level 1 has the highest potential for understanding, retention and effective communication; level 3 has the lowest. These are general categories to help us understand our listening; they overlap and interchange depending on the situation. All of us listen at different levels of effectiveness throughout the day, as the circumstances and people around us change. For example, it is difficult for most people to listen effectively in the midst of a highly conflicted situation, when they are dealing with emotional people, when they are being criticized, when they are being corrected, or when they are feeling fearful, anxious, or angry. Others listen very effectively when they are working or ministering, only to tune out when they arrive home. These are the three levels of listening; a. ) the active listening that gives the full attention to listening when another is talking and focuses on what is being said and doesn’t allow the distraction but fully alert and engaged; b. the passive listening where the listener hears words but does not really listen because he couldn’t really understand the significance of what is being said; and c. ) the non-listening where the listener’s attention and response is not real and he/she pays attention to himself and own thoughts. Very few people spend most of their time listening at level 1. Most of us listen at all three levels over the course of a day, but the more we listen at level 1, the more effective we will be as leaders. Listening is a five-step process consisting of listening preparation, receiving, constructing meaning, responding, and remembering (Hybels & Weaver, 2007). The first three steps are crucial. Skipping a step can be disastrous. How accurate of a response can be derived without first preparing to listen followed by receiving information? There could not be enough information to accurately construct a meaning. The first step, preparation, is the foundation for listening. Having the proper mindset and environment are critical. The second step in the active process of listening is receiving. A number of processes involved in comprehension are intrapersonal; that is, they take place inside your head. This section familiarizes you with the nature of human information processing and the concept of inner speech. c. Remembering There has been a great deal of research on memory. Remembering is essential if you intend to apply what you have heard in future situations. This chapter acquaints you with the three basic memory systems and the work that has been done in listening training and assessment with regard to the memory process. d. Interpreting When you interpret message you do two things. First, you take into accounts the total communication context so that you are better able to understand the meaning of what is said from the speaker’s point of view. Your ability to empathize, or to see a situation from the other person’s perspective, requires that you pay attention to emotional meaning and to the communicate context. Second, effective listeners let their partners know that they have been understood. e. Evaluating You listen from a unique point of view and are influenced by your perceptual filters- your past experiences, attitudes, personal values, and predispositions.

International Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Security - Essay Example Protection is also provided by PMCs nationally and internationally. They also give their services to supplement those services given by armed forces. They provide these services in places where there are no security details that are personal are involved. This means that the state actor is not involved in this case. 1 The PMCs work in conjunction with states. This is in line with providing training in military matters and national defence issues. They tend to be located where the conflict intensity is quite low. In these places it is usually risky to deploy armed forces to them. This is in terms of economics, diplomatic and politics. At Guantamano Bay, they help in setting up camps for detention. The Afghani president has benefited by getting bodyguards supplied to him from the PMCs. Colombia has in the past been given helicopter gunships which assisted in destroying coca crops. George H. W. Bush really influenced the privatization of these enterprises. The PMCs can be grouped generally to mean contractors of defence. Tactical skills and specialised operations are provided by PMCs to their personnel. Combat experience is also included in this. This is unlike what the other contactors of defence do. The PMCs provide their services to state forces, business corporations and non-governmental organizations that are internationally based. The difference between PMCs and defence contractors is not recognized by (GCIII) The Geneva Convention. They term them as supply contractors. They are termed as war prisoners when issued with identity card that is valid. They are termed as mercenary when they engage in combat. Demand of private military companies There is a likely hood that there will be an increase in the demand for the private military companies. Governments usually employ the private military companies to help solve conflicts. This has been done by Angola. These companies are contracted to give logistical help. Most of the states that contract the private military companies cannot afford to sustain big militaries. For example private military companies were employed to do recruitment in Balkans. International organisations also highly demand the services of private military companies. The PMCs are also contracted or employed by the UN to provide security. Once a private military company is reputable and strong, it normally has very high demand. The UN usually compares the costs incurred in having armed forces and that of employing the PMCs. It is usually very cheaper to employ the PMCs than to have the armed forces in the nation. It is estimated that there are many private military companies that operating in Africa. This is even up to 100 private military companies in operation. The African countries that have benefited from this include Indonesia and Colombia. The PMCs are mostly contracted by countries that are in very remote areas. Such places are usually very dangerous. The PMCs are mostly from the UK and the United States. Recruitment Many private military corporations are recently attracting people and the entire personnel from Special Forces. This is because the private military companies pay the employees well compared to the salaries paid by Special Forces.2 UK private military companies There are many private military companies in the United Kingdom. They include Adson Holdings, registered in Guernsey. Aegis Defence Services, AKE Group and

Scenario Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scenario Analysis - Essay Example fact that the business that CB is involved in is more customer-oriented, I would recommend as it is in the process of idea generation, it must endeavor to ensure that they customer appreciated and embrace them. They can perform an in-house research to identify products that currently exist in the market, their flavor components, as well as their health effects-this in-house research can be broadened and widened by using the computer-assisted discovery (Goffin et al., 2010). The health effects and flavor components of other products, CB can use the symbiotic idea generation technique to standardize combine and correlate those effects and components into one whole new product idea. The most important idea generation technique that I will recommend to CB will be the evolutionary technique, coupled with internal or in-house brainstorming, since it must be able to meet or even surpass the market health and flavor standards for chocolate products in the US market. Already, CB is a major distributor of chocolate manufacturing ingredients, thus it will be sensible for them to discuss and brainstorm on viable ideas. They can complement this process by using the technique of computer-aided discovery; this will enable them broaden and widen their base and their research possibilities, with regards to ideas of what the customers want or need (Bragg & Bragg, 2005). To carry out the ideation, I would recommend that CB should gather a team made up of people from various departments, with various skillsets and experiences to brainstorm, carry out concept screening, and recommend an idea that can be developed into a viable concept. On top of this list will recommend personnel from the product development and design department, manufacturing department, the marketing and sales department, accounting and costing department, and personnel from CB’s management. This team should also include an external product design and development consultant, who will bring an outsiders or