Biological Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biological Science - Essay Example In mitosis, all the daughter cells resemble the parent cell chromosomal number and configuration (diploid). 6. During meiosis, the daughter cells formed are genetically different; in mitosis, the daughter cells are genetically identical. 7. Meiosis causes gamete formation or reproductive cells; mitosis causes increased population of somatic cells and causes repair of worn out cells and replaces dead cells. The commoner cell division is mitosis because the number of somatic cells is far greater than the number of the reproductive cells. So, mitosis is the more frequent cell division. 2. Why is biodiversity so important Be detailed and discuss the various ramifications of losing our biodiversity. Biodiversity is the key to the survival of every species. The existence of a wide variety of species or other taxa of plants, animals, and microorganisms in a natural community is called biodiversity. The main importance of biodiversity is stability of ecosystem. It also provides huge amount of genetic material useful for humans. Biodiversity results in an interspecies relationships, such as, scavenging, commensalisms, proto-cooperation, symbiosis, etc. These interspecies relationships are caused by interaction between two species so that each can be benefited from it. Foodweb is an important part of ecosystem. More is number of species in an ecosystem, better will be the foodweb, which means scarcity of food can be prevented by biodiversity. Apart from this, it can attract tourists so that by ecotourism, the economic condition of the country can be improved. It can promote pharmaceutical research, and indirectly, it can protect our civilization. Loss of biodiversity affects the humans, animals, and nature. We know that quality of foodweb depends upon biodiversity, so biodiversity loss can decrease the food productivity causing prices of food to go up and even death in many cases. Chances of natural disasters also increase with loss in biodiversity. Biodiversity can keep a check on zoonotic diseases, so loss of it can increase health risks of humans from zoonotic diseases. Plant diversity is the source of economy for the country because it provides many products like, timber, fruits, wood fuels, etc. So damage in plant diversity can cause the downfall of economy. This might lead to labor problems too. Loss of biodiversity may lead to habitat destruction, which contributes to the extinction of the animals. Apart from these, geographically, the continuous loss of forests affects rainfall, hence can compromise the quality of water for household use. 3. Explain the following: biotic potential, carrying capacity, logistic vs. exponential growth. Biotic potential: Biotic potential is the maximum rate at which the population could increase. In ideal condition, the variables like maximum birth rate and minimum death rate are determinants of biotic potential. However, the biotic potential can be influenced by environmental resistances, such as, competition

Compare and Contrast of Short Stories Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast of Short Stories Essay In â€Å"The Ones That Walk Away From Omelas† and â€Å"The Lottery†, Ursula Le Guin and Shirley Jackson portray a supposedly perfect society built on clandestine secrets. In the short story â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas†, Omelas’ inhabitants are smart and cultured, and it seems like a utopian city of happiness and delight. Everything about Omelas is your every desire, disregarding the secret of the city: the good fortune of Omelas requires that a single unfortunate child be kept in never-ending filth, darkness and misery, and that all its citizens should be told of this when they come of age. After the truth is told to the people of Omelas most are initially shocked and disgusted and somehow manage to live there life and make it worth it for the child’s existence; others just walk away from the city of Omelas. In the short story, â€Å"The Lottery†, a small village of about 300 have an annual lottery; women, men, and children participate, to see who will be the chosen one to guarantee enough rain for the corn crops. The winner is to be stoned to death. The way the authors use irony to depict the story societies as wonderful and perfect then towards the end the dark secret is discovered is very intriguing and captivating, which makes you want to keep reading. In the story, â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas†, Omelas seems to be this beautiful and cheerful place. The story takes place during a festival and there are children running around laughing and there is music. It talks about a race and how the horses are excited, â€Å"(the horses) flared their nostrils and pranced and boasted to one another â€Å" with silver, gold, and green braided into their manes. The story has and air of excitement and celebration that is soon questioned when the author begins to talk about the child.

A military technology

A military technology CDMA is a military technology first used during World War II by English allies to foil German attempts at jamming transmissions. The allies decided to transmit over several frequencies, instead of one, making it difficult for the Germans to pick up the complete signal. Because Qualcomm created communications chips for CDMA technology, it was privy to the classified information. Once the information became public, Qualcomm claimed patents on the technology and became the first to commercialize it. Code Division Multiple Access technology emerged as an alternative to the GSM cellular architecture and has shared in the past decades explosive growth in the wireless market. CDMA, like GSM, has seen incremental improvements in capacity throughout this period. Now both types of networks are making a transition to third-generation (3G) systems around the globe, offering yet more capacity and data services. INTRODUCTION With the advent of wireless communication there was the advent of the two technologies for the cellular communication. They were the CDMA and the GSM technology. Both the technologies have their own mechanisms of working and their own pros and cons for which they have their own different utilizations and implications.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The technology on which our group has proposed to research is the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology. Though the total users of the CDMA technology around the globe are approximately 14% yet it has many advantages over the GSM technology which has enormous number of users. Actually the GSM technology is easy to manage and to handle rather than CDMA but that doesnt mean that it has got no future. Truly speaking the CDMA technology is the technology of the future. Gradually its gaining popularity in the European market. What is CDMA? CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) refers to any of several protocols used in so-called second-generation (2G) and third-generation (3G) wireless communications. As the term implies, CDMA is a form of multiplexing, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use of available bandwidth. The technology is used in ultra-high-frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems in the 800-MHz and 1.9-GHz bands. CDMA employs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in combination with spread spectrum technology. Audio input is first digitized into binary elements. The frequency of the transmitted signal is then made to vary according to a defined pattern (code), so it can be intercepted only by a receiver whose frequency response is programmed with the same code, so it follows exactly along with the transmitter frequency. There are trillions of possible frequency-sequencing codes, which enhance privacy and makes cloning difficult. The CDMA channel is nominally 1.23 MHz wide. CDMA networks use a scheme called soft handoff, which minimizes signal breakup as a handset passes from one cell to another. The combination of digital and spread-spectrum modes supports several times as many signals per unit bandwidth as analog modes. CDMA is compatible with other cellular technologies; this allows for nationwide roaming. The original CDMA standard, also known as CDMA One and still common in cellular telephones in the U.S., offers a transmission speed of only up to 14.4 Kbps in its single channel form and up to 115 Kbps in an eight-channel form. CDMA2000 and wideband CDMA deliver data many times faster. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a digital air interface standard, claiming eight to fifteen times the capacity of traditional analog cellular systems. It employs a commercial adaptation of a military spread-spectrum technology. Based on spread spectrum theory, it gives essentially the same services and qualities as wireline service. The primary difference is that access to the local exchange carrier (LEC) is provided via a wireless phone. Though CDMAs application in cellular telephony is relatively new, it is not a new technology. CDMA has been used in many military applications, such as: Anti-jamming (because of the spread signal, it is difficult to jam or interfere with a CDMA signal). Ranging (measuring the distance of the transmission to know when it will be received). Secure communications (the spread spectrum signal is very hard to detect). CDMA is a spread spectrum technology, which means that it spreads the information contained in a particular signal of interest over a much greater bandwidth than the original signal. With CDMA, unique digital codes, rather than separate RF frequencies or channels, are used to differentiate subscribers. The codes are shared by both the mobile station (cellular phone) and the base station, and are called pseudo-random code sequences. Since each user is separated by a unique code, all users can share the same frequency band (range of radio spectrum). This gives many unique advantages to the CDMA technique over other RF techniques in cellular communication. CDMA is a digital multiple access technique and this cellular aspect of the protocol is specified by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) as IS-95. In CDMA, the BSSAP is divided into the DTAP and BSMAP (which corresponds to BSSMAP in GSM). Generating a CDMA signal There are five steps in generating a CDMA signal. analog to digital conversion vocoding encoding and interleaving channelizing the signals conversion of the digital signal to a Radio Frequency (RF) signal The use of codes is a key part of this process. How CDMA is altering the face of cellular and PCS communication? CDMA is altering the face of cellular and PCS communication by: Dramatically improving the telephone traffic capacity Dramatically improving the voice quality and eliminating the audible effects of multipath fading Reducing the incidence of dropped calls due to handoff failures Providing reliable transport mechanism for data communications, such as facsimile and internet traffic Reducing the number of sites needed to support any given amount of traffic Simplifying site selection Reducing deployment and operating costs because fewer cell sites are needed Reducing average transmitted power Reducing interference to other electronic devices Reducing potential health risks Commercially introduced in 1995, CDMA quickly became one of the worlds fastest-growing wireless technologies. In 1999, the International Telecommunications Union selected CDMA as the industry standard for new third-generation (3G) wireless systems. Many leading wireless carriers are now building or upgrading to 3G CDMA networks in order to provide more capacity for voice traffic, along with high-speed data capabilities. CDMA is a form of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum communications. In general, Spread Spectrum communications is distinguished by three key elements: The signal occupies a bandwidth much greater than that which is necessary to send the information. This results in many benefits, such as immunity to interference and jamming and multi-user access, which well discuss later on. The bandwidth is spread by means of a code which is independent of the data. The independence of the code distinguishes this from standard modulation schemes in which the data modulation will always spread the spectrum somewhat. The receiver synchronizes to the code to recover the data. The use of an independent code and synchronous reception allows multiple users to access the same frequency band at the same time. In order to protect the signal, the code used is pseudo-random. It appears random, but is actually deterministic, so that the receiver can reconstruct the code for synchronous detection. This pseudo-random code is also called pseudo-noise (PN). There are three ways to spread the bandwidth of the signal: Frequency hopping. The signal is rapidly switched between different frequencies within the hopping bandwidth pseudo-randomly, and the receiver knows before hand where to find the signal at any given time. Time hopping. The signal is transmitted in short bursts pseudo-randomly, and the receiver knows beforehand when to expect the burst. Direct sequence. The digital data is directly coded at a much higher frequency. The code is generated pseudo-randomly, the receiver knows how to generate the same code, and correlates the received signal with that code to extract the data. HOW SPREAD SPECTRUM WORKS? Spread Spectrum uses wide band, noise-like signals. Because Spread Spectrum signals are noise-like, they are hard to detect. Spread Spectrum signals are also hard to Intercept or demodulate. Further, Spread Spectrum signals are harder to jam (interfere with) than narrowband signals. These Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) and anti-jam (AJ) features are why the military has used Spread Spectrum for so many years. Spread signals are intentionally made to be much wider band than the information they are carrying to make them more noise-like. Spread Spectrum signals use fast codes that run many times the information bandwidth or data rate. These special Spreading codes are called Pseudo Random or Pseudo Noise codes. They are called Pseudo because they are not real Gaussian noise. Spread Spectrum transmitters uses similar transmit power levels to narrow band transmitters. Because Spread Spectrum signals are so wide, they transmit at a much lower spectral power density, measured in Watts per Hertz, than narrowband transmitters. This lower transmitted power density characteristic gives spread signals a big plus. Spread and narrow band signals can occupy the same band, with little or no interference. This capability is the main reason for all the interest in Spread Spectrum today. IMPLEMENTATION OF CDMA TECHNOLOGY Now a day, in large organization the communication process has to be fast and efficient. There are the major points that have to be taken care in the modern corporate culture. Over time, more and more demands have been made on the capabilities of corporate networks. Workers want more mobility; secure, high-speed access; and an extension of applications across the enterprise, all of which can strain current IT capabilities. The first and foremost of all is protecting corporate network assets is an ongoing task for IT professionals. Increased worker mobility and mobile workers needs for immediate, secure access to critical business information add challenges to maintaining network security Some of todays top security issues and concerns are: Unauthorized systems and network access Auditability and compliance Customer data breaches Internal and external sabotage Theft of intellectual property and confidential business information Cost of mobile device administration The following diagram illustrates many elements critical to mobile data security. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GSM AND CDMA TECHNOLOGY In cellular service there are two main competing network technologies: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Cellular carriers including Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless, Verizon and T-Mobile use one or the other. Understanding the difference between GSM and CDMA will allow you to choose a carrier that uses the preferable network technology for your needs. The GSM Association is an international organization founded in 1987, dedicated to providing, developing, and overseeing the worldwide wireless standard of GSM. CDMA, a proprietary standard designed by Qualcomm in the United States, has been the dominant network standard for North America and parts of Asia. However, GSM networks continue to make inroads in the United States, as CDMA networks make progress in other parts of the world. There are camps on both sides that firmly believe either GSM or CDMA architecture is superior to the other. That said, to the non-invested consumer who simply wants bottom line information to make a choice, the following considerations may be helpful. Coverage The most important factor is getting service in the areas you will be using your phone. Upon viewing competitors coverage maps you may discover that only GSM or CDMA carriers offer cellular service in your area. If so, there is no decision to be made, but most people will find that they do have a choice. Data Transfer Speed With the advent of cellular phones doing double and triple duty as streaming video devices, podcast receivers and email devices, speed is important to those who use the phone for more than making calls. CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM, though both technologies continue to rapidly leapfrog along this path. Both boast 3G standards, or 3rd generation technologies. EVDO, also known as CDMA2000, is CDMAs answer to the need for speed with a downstream rate of about 2 megabits per second, though some reports suggest real world speeds are closer to 300-700 kilobits per second (kbps). This is comparable to basic DSL. As of fall 2005, EVDO is in the process of being deployed. It is not available everywhere and requires a phone that is CDMA2000 ready. GSMs answer is EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), which boasts data rates of up to 384 kbps with real world speeds reported closer to 70-140 kbps. With added technologies still in the works that include UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Standard) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), speeds reportedly increase to about 275à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬380 kbps. This technology is also known as W-CDMA, but is incompatible with CDMA networks. An EDGE-ready phone is required. In the case of EVDO, theoretical high traffic can degrade speed and performance, while the EDGE network is more susceptible to interference. Both require being within close range of a cell to get the best speeds, while performance decreases with distance. Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards In the United States only GSM phones use SIM cards. The removable SIM card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged, swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention. The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any GSM carrier. The CDMA equivalent, a R-UIM card, is only available in parts of Asia but remains on the horizon for the U.S. market. CDMA carriers in the U.S. require proprietary handsets that are linked to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless. Roaming For the most part, both networks have fairly concentrated coverage in major cities and along major highways. GSM carriers, however, have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers, allowing wider coverage of more rural areas, generally speaking, often without roaming charges to the customer. CDMA networks may not cover rural areas as well as GSM carriers, and though they may contract with GSM cells for roaming in more rural areas, the charge to the customer will generally be significantly higher. International Roaming If you need to make calls to other countries, a GSM carrier can offer international roaming, as GSM networks dominate the world market. If you travel to other countries you can even use your GSM cell phone abroad, providing it is a quad-band phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). By purchasing a SIM card with minutes and a local number in the country you are visiting, you can make calls against the card to save yourself international roaming charges from your carrier back home. CDMA phones that are not card-enabled do not have this capability, however there are several countries that use CDMA networks. Check with your CDMA provider for your specific requirements. According CDG.org, CDMA networks support over 270 million subscribers worldwide, while GSM.org tallies up their score at over 1 billion. As CDMA phones become R-UIM enabled and roaming contracts between networks improve, integration of the standards might eventually make differences all but transparent to the consumer. The chief GSM carriers in the United States are Cingular Wireless, recently merged with ATT Wireless, and T-Mobile USA. Major CDMA carriers are Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile. There are also several smaller cellular companies on both networks.

Education Reform Essay -- Education

Ideas swarm around us everyday. They run through our heads and at times they alter our thoughts, believes, and perception. The question is, what ideas, events, or words affect us so that we do the things we do and say the things we say. If we understand the causes and know the effects, we have yet to fully understand the â€Å"chain.† In essence, the real question is not â€Å"what† ideas, events, or words affected the person but rather â€Å"why† it affected them. To understand the why, we must first understand the initial cause and effect. George Santayana’s philosophies found in his essays, â€Å"Intellectual Ambition† and â€Å"Intuitive Morality,† were enthused by the rise of education and change in literature during the time. The cause and effect can be as simple as the rise of education and such forth brought Santayana to write these essays; however, with the lack of detail, the lack of evidence, and no answer to why these things affected his writing, it is impossible to complete the chain of cause and effect. Basically, the causes, effects, details, and evidence must first be analyzed then organized in order to understand the question of why. During the late 1880s and early 1890s, reforms in education allowed for a more open view of education and the world sparking creativity and independence in schools. (America Past and Present, paraphrase) The world, especially the United States, was beginning to understand that through creativity and education beyond the core subjects the spectrum of knowledge known would spread beyond regions imaginable. The curiosity spread through out the U.S and eventually influenced many great people, one being George Santayana. In his essay, â€Å"Intellectual Ambition,† Santayana signifies the strength of creativity and... ...Works Cited Santayana, George. â€Å"Intellectual Ambition.† The Oxford Book of Essays. Oxford University Press. ED. John Gross. 1991. 341-342 Santayana, George. â€Å"Intuitive Morality.† The Oxford Book of Essays. Oxford University Press. ED. John Gross. 1991. 342-345 Saatkamp, Herman, "George Santayana." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) . â€Å"Chapter 19: Towards an Urban Society, 1877-1900.† America: Past and Present. Ed. Michael Boezi. 8th edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 538-570 â€Å"Chapter 20: Political Realignment in 1890s.† America: Past and Present. Ed. Michael Boezi. 8th edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 572-598 â€Å"George Santayana.† Britannica. 2005. 17 Jan. 2006 .

Bullying Speech

Imagine getting beating up every day at school for no reason, by your classmate or maybe by some senior guy you don’t even know. Or maybe even by an adult. You come home in bruises and cuts and dried up blood. Can you imagine that? Or can you even image getting punch at and getting pick at, calling you names in class and threatening texts every minute whether you are in class or at home and you’re friends wouldn’t help you out because they are too scared of the bully and the bully would followed you home and wouldn’t you feel scared. Can you imagine that? There are people who experience this in their day to day life.When you bullied someone especially for a long time whether it is physical, verbal, social or cyber, it would make the person’s life very miserable and in some very bad cases it might lead to killing themselves because they just can't hand the pressure or the humiliation they face every day. I am going to tell you about bullying and why I think it is bad to bully someone. There are four types of bullying: Physical, Verbal, Cyber and Social. Physical bullying as you know is when the bully punches, kicks, hits or any other types of physical attacks. Then there is verbal bullying.Basically what verbal bullying is, when the bully uses words to hurt or humiliate you. Verbal bullying includes names callings, racist’s comments and insulting. Social bullying is when the bully is spreading rumours, ignoring or even rejecting you. Social bullying is a strange type of bullying because it kind of links with verbal bullying. Finally there is cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is when you are threatened, humiliated, harassed by the bully using the internet. There is no limitation of cyber bullying because there is so many things you could do in the internet to cyber bully.You could get cyber bullied in facebook, bebo, msn etc or in some cases, the bullies can cyber bully you by making a website just for you. Also the thing wi th cyber bullying is that it is a new type of bullying because if you go back 50 years, there wouldn’t be any internet, or any mobile phone, therefore no cyber bullying. Personally I think that physical bullying is the least dangerous type of bullying because when you get physical bullied there will be scars or marks and your parents will know that you have been bullied where as in verbal, yber, social there is no scar or marks and your parents wouldn’t know you have been bullied. Also when you get physical bullied you know your injures will heal where as in verbal, cyber, social you wouldn’t know when it will go away. For example: You won’t know when the bully will stop calling you names etc. Some of you might still argue that some bullying at young age can be good for you because it will make you have to overcome problems and you will develop some social skills and learn that life is unfair.I disagree with this because most of the victim’s wonâ⠂¬â„¢t stand up for themselves and how would you develop social skills if people are rejecting you. Everybody learns that life is unfair not through bullying but from maybe getting blame from things they didn’t do or having to do chores at home every day, or maybe even through your parents always picking on your younger brother and sisters side and not yours. So what do you think of bullying now? Good or Bad? I hope you agree with me.

How to Answer Awkward Questions from Your Family on Thanksgiving

How to Answer Awkward Questions from Your Family on Thanksgiving At last! That much needed Thanksgiving vacation is just around the corner. This means your moms home-cooked meals, seeing all your family and †¦ answering those annoying questions your relatives love to ask. Dont be surprised that your family will ask highly personal questions about your relationship, college life and future plans. â€Å"When are you getting married?† â€Å"How are your grades?† â€Å"How is the weight loss going?† And thats just the beginning Your grandparents, aunts and uncles will ask about sensitive topics and you should be prepared to answer politely, in a humorous or even a bit sarcastic way. After all, this is a holiday and you dont want to fight with your family. Here is some advice on how to cope with awkward questions youre going to face. 1. Are You Dating Anyone? Almost everyone around the table will want to hear the answer. Your relatives are worried that you might be lonely, they think that it is not OK if a young person like you isnt in a relationship. Remember, you shouldn’t be embarrassed either youre single or just dont want to tell your family about a new boyfriend/girlfriend to avoid further questioning. Answer #1: â€Å"Im focused on my classes and getting a great job after graduation, so I dont have time for dating.† This diplomatic response will persuade your family that you are serious about your education. Answer #2: â€Å"Im dating several people right now, just cant decide who I like more.† Some humor will defuse a situation. 2. When Will You Start a Family? Marriage? Kids? If this is not in your upcoming plans, better prepare a nice answer. Your parents look forward to organizing â€Å"a wedding of the year† and having grandchildren in the near future. Try not to upset them. Answer #1: â€Å"Im not sure that Im ready to take on a responsibility of having a family.† It may lead to a lecture about how a great person you are and that you can cope with all the duties. Answer #2: â€Å"Family? Are you kidding me? Im a child myself.† It may cause some shock, but your relatives wont ask about your personal life anymore. Answer #3: â€Å"We are thinking about it right now. Ill tell you more details later.† This answer will give some hope to your family, and probably they wont ask about it till the next Thanksgiving. 3. What Do You Plan to Do After Graduation? It is absolutely normal if you havent decided what you are going to do after college, and it is not necessary to tell your family about that. However, if you want to hear a piece of advice, just ask. No doubt, your relatives want to teach you how to live. Answer #1: â€Å"Im going to †¦ (tell about your real plans).† Answer #2: â€Å"Im considering a few options: volunteer in a Buddhist Monastery in Nepal, catch fish in Alaska or (insert other crazy options). Which one do you like better?† 4. When Can We Come Visit You? Never! Never! Never! Surely, you dont want your parents to talk your my roommates or listen to what you should change in your apartments. Answer #1: â€Å"Let me think about it. I have a very busy schedule. Ill tell you when I have some free time.† And then you can always tell your parents how busy you are at college. Answer #2: â€Å"Visit me? Why? No, Ill come home more often.† 5. Why Dont You Eat Meat? Oh, again Because Im a vegetarian!.. Even if youve told your family that you dont eat meat for a hundred times, someone will ask you why youre refusing from that delicious turkey. Answer #1: â€Å"It is a personal choice and I hope that you can understand and support it.† It sounds like the answer of a grown-up, so your parents may be proud of you. Answer #2: â€Å"I dont eat tortured animals. Oh, let me show you one video and I suppose you also wont eat meat.† But be careful, your relatives might hate you after that. Meeting with relatives is fun until they start asking those awkward questions. However, with most families, it is inevitable. Just be prepared to hear these annoying questions and add some humor to your answers – it always saves the situation!

The Matirx essays

The Matirx essays The Matrix In viewing the Matrix, a 1999 Warner Brothers/Village Roadshow Picture release, there are numerous references to philosophy portrayed in the movie. In analyzing the Matrix one will be able to see how Descartes Meditations on Methodic doubt, his Evil Genius Hypothesis, and Platos allegory of the cave are portrayed in this film. According to Descartes Meditation on methodic doubt he tries to achieve absolute certainty about the nature of everything. In order to acquire absolute certainty, Descartes must first lay a complete foundation of integrity on which to build up his knowledge. The technique that he uses to lay this foundation is doubt. Descartes starts by looking at our usual sources of truth such as physics, astronomy, and medicine. He looks at these truths and doubts them feeling that these are not reliable sources of truth because time shows that we are all eventually proven wrong, much in the same way that science has been proven wrong over the courses of history. In relation to the Matrix, the Matrix is everywhere. According to Morpheus, the leader of the resistance, The Matrix is everywhere; it is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it as you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth (Matrix Movie). The truth that Morpheus speaks about is the truth that everyone in Neos world, including Neo has been born into slavery. They have been born into a prison built for their mind. In regards to the meditations Morpheus is telling Neo that the world that he lives in is merely a false idea and should be doubted. However, telling Neo what the Matrix consists of is not enough. To fully understand what the Matrix is Neo will have to choose whether he wishes to learn about the Matrix ...

Capital Punishment Professor Ramos Blog

Capital Punishment One of the first established death penalty laws go back as far as the Eighteenth Century and during some time, death was the punishment for all crimes. The death penalty is a very controversial topic and is a punishment of execution due to a crime a convicted person has committed. There are many reasons why the Death Penalty should not be supported and ways to help stop it. It doesn’t happen only in the United States, but also all across the world. Of course everyone wants justice but it’s difficult to determine whether the death penalty is or is not necessary. Many say the accused should be executed to pay for their crimes because they don’t deserve to live, be fed and taken care of in while behind bars. It becomes personal when the families and friends of the victim or victims, want the accuser to go on death row because â€Å"they don’t deserve to live† and it could put their mind at peace in a way knowing the accuser won’t be violent to others and continue their crimes. According to the â€Å"Persuasion and Resistance: Race and the Death Penalty in America†, white people say the criminal justice system is fair and African Americans deserve to be treated more punitively and don’t see them as victims of discrimination. Especially in the United States, racism has been a large conflict and the reason for mass incarceration because of the criminal justice system being unfair. The legalized killing is expensive on many levels. States that go through with the death penalty, end up spending three times or more money than on someone who is not sentenced to death, according to Vice News. In Oklahoma, the capital cost on average is 3.2 times more than non-capital cases based on the prepared studies done by Peter A. Collins and Matthew J. Hickman for the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission. According to â€Å"The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies†, a single death penalty trial can exhaust a country’s resources and instead of using that money to benefit the country like hiring more police officers and creating more rehablitation programs, the politicians worry about appearing on the soft side on crime. A study in California revealed that the value of the death sentence has been over 4 billion dollars since 1978. There were other cost involved as well. â€Å"Study considered pre-trial and trial costs, costs of automatic appeals an d state habeas corpus petitions, costs of federal habeas corpus appeals, and costs of incarceration on death row† (Alarcon Mitchell, 2011). In Florida, enforcing the execution costs the state $51 million a year which is way over the cost to punish all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, based on the 44 Judicial executions the state of Florida had proceeded with since 1976, each execution came to a total of $24 million. No government should have the power of life or death over people. As time goes by, countries are taking into consideration on making a change in this situation. According to Amnesty International, 106 countries had completely abolished the death penalty at the end of last year. Although people may say it is what the criminals deserve, death as punishment, it’s considered to be inhumane because killing someone, even in the name of law, is murder and a wrong act. In the Journal of â€Å"Criminal Law and Criminology† published by Professor Michael Radelet, 88% of the country’s top criminologists believe having the death penalty won’t make crime rates go down. A good amount of mentally disabled inmates were sociopaths. The others were psychopaths. The difference between sociopath and psychopath is that sociopaths are made and psychopaths are born. In the brain of a psychopath, the gene MOA-A, affects amygdala which is a part of the brain involved with emotion and learning. People with a low MOA-A activity, don’t experience normal brain development so they don’t learn what is correct and what isn’t. In 2002, the United States Supreme Court ruled that sentencing the mentally disabled on death row was unconstitutional. Does it also apply to psychopaths since their neurological biology is the reason they are a threat to society? There are psychopaths who know right from wrong. Those people are still capable of making the right choices. Psychopaths feel no remorse or guilt while sociopaths feel a little bit. When psychopaths are being tried by the lie detector, they’re capable of getting away with their lies. The ner vous systems of psychopaths and sociopaths are different but they both lack empathy. One more than the other. Death Penalty Center Information states â€Å"DeLuna maintained his innocence from the time of his arrest until his execution, claiming that the actual culprit was Carlos Hernandez, who looked so similar to DeLuna that friends and family had mistaken photos of the two men for each other. Prosecutors called Hernandez a phantom of DeLunas imagination, although Hernandez was known to police and prosecutors because of his history of violent crimes, armed robberies and an arrest for a murder similar to the one for which DeLuna was executed. Carlos DeLuna was executed in the state of Texas by lethal injection on December 7, 1989. These two cases are some of the strongest demonstrations against the death penalty. However, there have been cases where criminals have been freed from death row. 164 people have been freed from death row since 1973.Some people who were let go because of evidence of innocence from death row, were Wilbert Lee, Freddie Pitts, Earl Washington and Leroy Orange. Getting this type of information across social media and having a credible background can help to get this message across thousands of people at a time. Joining to take a pledge with 90 million other Americans can make a difference as well. Getting together with â€Å"death penalty speakers† and setting goals to get signatures, helps to raise awareness. Bedau, Hugo Adam, ed. The death penalty in America: Current controversies. Oxford University Press, 1998. â€Å"INNOCENCE: New Evidence That Texas May Have Executed an Innocent Man.† Millions Misspent: What Politicians Dont Say About the High Costs of the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center, 6 Apr. 2016 Kozinski, Alex, and Sean Gallagher. Death: The ultimate run-on sentence. Case W. Res. L. Rev. 46 (1995): 1.Peffley, Mark, and Jon Hurwitz. Persuasion and resistance: Race and the death penalty in America. American Journal of Political Science 51.4 (2007): 996-1012

Reaction paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reaction - Research Paper Example oremost, chapter five champions the theme of the myth and reality of Portland’s engaged citizenry and process.Apparently, in the 1950’s there was minimal civic involvement in matters pertaining to planning and development. On that note, this can be attributed to the fact that not many people were literate thus could not participate actively in matters pertaining to planning in the town. However, over the years the civic involvement has rapidly increased. In addition to that, this can be because there has been tremendous increase in literacy levels among the pubic and thus aware of their duty in the development of the town. Furthermore, the book also documents the other factor that has led to the increased civic involvement, is the innovations made in terms of technology. In fact, it is worth noting that the innovations for instance radio have played an important role in creating awareness regarding matters of development and planning of the towns strategies. Evidently, the increased civic involvement has served to boost the live of the people thus is widely accepted among the population. Evidently, drawing basis from the book, the author documents the reason as to this happening is due to the fact of corruption and mismanagement of funds. Apparently, as a result of the actions of the leadership body of the town, the cost of housing among other basic requirements. On that note, this was able to inhibit the growth of this town. It is worth noting that the residents who moved into Portland were characterised by diversity in their culture for instance religion among other differences thus the need for representation in matters pertaining the town. Evidently, through the aid of protest groups they were able to address their grievance and consequently, they were able to get a representative to the towns leadership thus increased the civic involvement of the minority group in matters of planning and development. Subsequently, this representative was mandated with

You have chosen to return to college to finish your degree. Describe Essay

You have chosen to return to college to finish your degree. Describe reasons why you made this decision and persuade a friend to do the same - Essay Example In the first decade of the 21st century the United States lost 5.8 million manufacturing jobs (Americanmanufacturing, 2011). The jobs available in the US marketplace have shifted into the knowledge and service economy. In order to compete in the new job marketplace it is imperative to obtain a formal education at an accredited college or university. Without a college degree the only jobs that are available are minimum wage jobs and even those are becoming scarcer and companies are diluting those jobs by offering part-time instead of full-time employment. The unemployment rate in the United States has gone up during the last few years. The unemployment in the United States in July 2011 was 9.1% (Bls, 2011). Due to the fact that more people are unemployed the level of competition was gone up and people that have better credentials are getting the jobs in the marketplace. The most important educational credential employers seek in new recruits is a college education. I have realized that the only way for me to get a good job is to go back to school to earn a degree. A college education increases a person’s chances to get a job and the job obtained will have higher wages. A person with a bachelor’s degree will earn an extra $0.9 million over their lifetime in comparison to a high school graduate; while people with a master’s degree will earn $1.3 more than a high school diploma and $0.4 million more than a bachelor’s degree (Longley, 2011). The past constraints that sometimes hurt the ability of adults to obtain a college education no longer apply. For instance a working adult sometimes had the excuse that he could not go back to college because of employment obligations. Time used to be a variable that hurt a lot of working adults. Due to advances in technology there are solutions available for working adults. Online universities such as the

Letter to Viktor Frankl Based On Novel A Man's Search for Meaning Essay

Letter to Viktor Frankl Based On Novel A Man's Search for Meaning - Essay Example I feel moved to write you because of the revelations you have given regarding the Jewish suffering in Vienna among other parts of the globe. You have also used the book to help your readers adopt new perspectives and techniques for finding new meaning in life more so if they relate to your predicaments. One of the occurrences that catch my attention is the decision to remain in Austria rather than leave for America in 1941. I agree with your decision to stay despite the imminent sabotages from the Nazis. The movement was apparent danger to your life and the mentally ill patients whom you saved by opposing euthanasia and giving false diagnoses. However, what impressed me most is the unconditional love for your old parents. I suppose you were the only source of security and deserting them could have led to their deaths (Frankl, 2006). Heavens returned the favor, and you got married to Tilly Grosser in the same year. In addition, allow me to address three principal aspects that surprised and impressed me in equal measure as I read your life changing accounts. Three Major Aspects from Your Book Your determination to survive during the Nazi reign was impressive. Who would have resolved to remain in Austria after their private practice had been terminated? Having a Jewish designation and the consistent extermination of your patients might have cause you unimaginable suffering.

Crime after crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crime after crime - Essay Example 106-109). She is just but an ordinary woman who got roped in by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was denied her right to a fair trial, and was put behind bars as a result of flaws within criminal justice system and prosecutions. The film deciphers an intersectional Deborah, with her multiple identities and their disadvantages (Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice, 2004, pp. 1-2). When she was finally released after her case was reopened, she had already lost precious twenty years of her life, whereas had the legal system been just, she would have had to spend only six years in jail. The misunderstandings and misconceptions that clouded her case finally got public after the release of this documentary feature film. The film had not only invoked protests and discontent all across USA, but has also bagged a number of prestigious awards at Spokane, Milan and Berkshire International Film Festival, National Board of Review, Atlanta and Rochester Film Fes tivals, and Golden Gate Award. Deborah Paeglar, the protagonist of Yoav Potash’s Crime After Crime, was a regular normal teenager till she met Oliver Wilson. Teenager Debbie bumped into him and instantly got attracted. In spite of being a teenage mother already having a daughter, she entered into a relationship with Oliver and even bore a baby, a daughter again. However, soon things took a different turn. Peace, harmony and love soon ended in her new life with Oliver. She came to know that Oliver was a pimp. When she was asked for the same, she refused. In return she received severe beatings with a bullwhip at a tender age of 15. Year after year Oliver made her work as a prostitute. At the same time she was subjected to fierce domestic violence. Mentally and physically, she became a shattered person. Her tolerance and patience came to an end when Oliver molested her six- year old daughter. She tried to flee with her two daughters but she was unable to do so. She got beatings on a regular basis. Things got even worse when Oliver got involved into a firearm case and had to spend a night in jail. This made Deborah’s mother much worried for her daughter’s safety. She planned to seek help from some local gang members in order to teach Oliver a lesson. Her motif was to reconcile the differences between Deborah and Oliver. But in the brawl, the two gang members ended up murdering Oliver. Due to this Deborah found herself facing a row of criminal charges. In the meantime she had come across a life- insurance policy. This further worsened her strand. Series of trials and prosecutions went on and she was finally convicted in 1983. She fought her legal battle with the help of two pro- bono attorneys, Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran, and was finally set free. Deborah Peaglar, the African- American woman, had to face the pains rewarded by the toughest anticrime legislation, the Californian law. Women, like men, were treated harshly and were given equal p unishments as men. They were tied in chains, put in boot camps and had to face all types of physical violence (Aday, 2003, pp. 125-127). They were given little chance to present petitions or appeal for defense. Thus fighting legal battles become more and more difficult for battered women like Deborah. Also, her not being ‘white’ further delayed the legal proceedings. Often the prisoners are identified on basis of their â€Å"sex, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, age and ability†

Metropolitan Police and are they Racist Assignment

Metropolitan Police and are they Racist - Assignment Example This approach is not only unacceptable, but also shameful. Therefore, this research aims to find out with the help of data whether this hypothesis is true or not. Analysis is made on the basis of a detailed discussion about the history of racism and its roots. It then looks into various incidents of racism that have taken place in history and Police’s involvement in them. Besides, it takes a closer look at the August riots and its various causes. In the end, a conclusion is presented that sums up the discussion and gives out some recommendations on the basis of it. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Research Background 4 Aims and Objectives of the research 4 Rationale for the selection of the research 5 Research Question 5 Hypothesis 6 Review of the Key References 6 Key references for this study include the website of metropolitan police service and BBC website from which statistics of the August riots have been taken. Discussion about his tory of racism and introduction to institutional racism and its history, Macpherson and Scarman report and different incidents of police acting racist have been taken from various books and journal articles. These books include Racism and Borders: Representation, Repression, Resistance, Institutional Racism: A Primer on Theory and Strategies for Social Change, Racist Victimization: International Reflections and Perspectives and many others. 6 Justification for the selected research design 6 DISCUSSION 7 Some Statistics and Background Information 7 History – Britain 7 Racial Profiling – a history 9 London Riots, 2011 9 Some Popular instances 12 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION 14 Racism in Metropolitan Police Service – An analysis 15 Conclusion 15 REFERENCES 17 INTRODUCTION Research Background No matter how much everyone condemns the idea of racism but it is seen that everyone encourages it in one way or the other and intentionally or unintentionally acts like a racist. T he phenomenon is so spread that even Metropolitan Police Service is not protected from it. There have been numerous incidents in the past that show that Metropolitan Police Service is racist in its attitudes and actions. Racism is the act of discriminating different races on the basis of different stereotypes attached with the races. Individuals have attitudes that they discriminate between people on the grounds of their races. When this discrimination takes the form of some kind of action and becomes inseparable with the acts of the institution then only it becomes institutional racism. This term will be used repeatedly in the course of this report (Scott, 1974, p. 6). Metropolitan Police Service, popularly known as the Met, looks after the territory falling in Greater London and deals with the crime and its causes in its territory. It also has the responsibility of helping in with the national targets of counter terrorism and protection of the British Royal Family and Government o fficials. Aims and Objectives of the research This research aims to identify instances in the past to verify whether Metropolitan police service has done racism in its actions or not. The research aims to look at some background information and history of racism in Britain and different developments made throughout the history in order to deal with this evil in the society. Furthermore, it aims to view some of the popular instants in which police showed racism in

John Updike A&P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John Updike A&P - Essay Example Within the play the role of Sammy has been on the sidelines of being a conformist. Inevitable to state here that this nineteen-year-old cashier at A&P does not believe in playing around with his point of view and focuses on what is the right thing. More than that, he is proud to say what he sees and then judge in the light of the same which definitely distinguishes him from the rest of the lot in our society. (Saldivar, 1997) He is a non-conformist to start with and he is one that is not really appreciated by the society norms and customs that are so very religiously followed in the present times. The writer has made Sammy the main character in the play whereby he has written of him from the first person’s perspective. This essentially has made his character look a bit highlighted and one that could be seen as the main one during the course of the whole saga. Add to that, the tone with which the writer has penned down the same has been certainly set by Sammy’s rigid and stern attitude which can be rightly remarked as being nonchalant as well as frank as Sammy does clear the air when a question is raised on his calling the things as he sees them and quite rightly so he comes out as clean as a whistle. His wits are a mode of cynicism and this is an added facet when one speaks highly of the frank and vivid attitude related with the young man. (Lewis, 2003) Add to that, he has turned out to be pretty crude at times during the story which meshes along quite nicely with his attitude and ways that he has so very easily been showing. Another aspect that gives evidence t o his non-conformist ways and attitude is that he loves to be taken as an adult by all and sundry and would really mind if someone, out of the blue, starts calling him like a kid as he is of the perception that he possesses wisdom par with no one and his thoughts and feelings have a deep embedded meaning that is not easily comprehensible by people of his age, let alone the ones

Crime after crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crime after crime - Essay Example 106-109). She is just but an ordinary woman who got roped in by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was denied her right to a fair trial, and was put behind bars as a result of flaws within criminal justice system and prosecutions. The film deciphers an intersectional Deborah, with her multiple identities and their disadvantages (Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice, 2004, pp. 1-2). When she was finally released after her case was reopened, she had already lost precious twenty years of her life, whereas had the legal system been just, she would have had to spend only six years in jail. The misunderstandings and misconceptions that clouded her case finally got public after the release of this documentary feature film. The film had not only invoked protests and discontent all across USA, but has also bagged a number of prestigious awards at Spokane, Milan and Berkshire International Film Festival, National Board of Review, Atlanta and Rochester Film Fes tivals, and Golden Gate Award. Deborah Paeglar, the protagonist of Yoav Potash’s Crime After Crime, was a regular normal teenager till she met Oliver Wilson. Teenager Debbie bumped into him and instantly got attracted. In spite of being a teenage mother already having a daughter, she entered into a relationship with Oliver and even bore a baby, a daughter again. However, soon things took a different turn. Peace, harmony and love soon ended in her new life with Oliver. She came to know that Oliver was a pimp. When she was asked for the same, she refused. In return she received severe beatings with a bullwhip at a tender age of 15. Year after year Oliver made her work as a prostitute. At the same time she was subjected to fierce domestic violence. Mentally and physically, she became a shattered person. Her tolerance and patience came to an end when Oliver molested her six- year old daughter. She tried to flee with her two daughters but she was unable to do so. She got beatings on a regular basis. Things got even worse when Oliver got involved into a firearm case and had to spend a night in jail. This made Deborah’s mother much worried for her daughter’s safety. She planned to seek help from some local gang members in order to teach Oliver a lesson. Her motif was to reconcile the differences between Deborah and Oliver. But in the brawl, the two gang members ended up murdering Oliver. Due to this Deborah found herself facing a row of criminal charges. In the meantime she had come across a life- insurance policy. This further worsened her strand. Series of trials and prosecutions went on and she was finally convicted in 1983. She fought her legal battle with the help of two pro- bono attorneys, Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran, and was finally set free. Deborah Peaglar, the African- American woman, had to face the pains rewarded by the toughest anticrime legislation, the Californian law. Women, like men, were treated harshly and were given equal p unishments as men. They were tied in chains, put in boot camps and had to face all types of physical violence (Aday, 2003, pp. 125-127). They were given little chance to present petitions or appeal for defense. Thus fighting legal battles become more and more difficult for battered women like Deborah. Also, her not being ‘white’ further delayed the legal proceedings. Often the prisoners are identified on basis of their â€Å"sex, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, age and ability†

John Updike A&P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John Updike A&P - Essay Example Within the play the role of Sammy has been on the sidelines of being a conformist. Inevitable to state here that this nineteen-year-old cashier at A&P does not believe in playing around with his point of view and focuses on what is the right thing. More than that, he is proud to say what he sees and then judge in the light of the same which definitely distinguishes him from the rest of the lot in our society. (Saldivar, 1997) He is a non-conformist to start with and he is one that is not really appreciated by the society norms and customs that are so very religiously followed in the present times. The writer has made Sammy the main character in the play whereby he has written of him from the first person’s perspective. This essentially has made his character look a bit highlighted and one that could be seen as the main one during the course of the whole saga. Add to that, the tone with which the writer has penned down the same has been certainly set by Sammy’s rigid and stern attitude which can be rightly remarked as being nonchalant as well as frank as Sammy does clear the air when a question is raised on his calling the things as he sees them and quite rightly so he comes out as clean as a whistle. His wits are a mode of cynicism and this is an added facet when one speaks highly of the frank and vivid attitude related with the young man. (Lewis, 2003) Add to that, he has turned out to be pretty crude at times during the story which meshes along quite nicely with his attitude and ways that he has so very easily been showing. Another aspect that gives evidence t o his non-conformist ways and attitude is that he loves to be taken as an adult by all and sundry and would really mind if someone, out of the blue, starts calling him like a kid as he is of the perception that he possesses wisdom par with no one and his thoughts and feelings have a deep embedded meaning that is not easily comprehensible by people of his age, let alone the ones

Inequality in our Education System Essay Example for Free

Inequality in our Education System Essay Education is vital to all individuals. It is the foundation of ones development in order to achieve personal distinction. In addition, it also equips people the capacity to properly interact with other people. Education serves as a weapon for survival. It empowers ones capacity and provides an edge in any endeavor that one wishes to get involved in. For example, in securing a job, a decent   and impressive educational attainment is one of the qualifications necessary in order to get hired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schools are designed to provide the adequate needs for attaining quality education. Schools should provide competent teachers, rigorous curriculum and modern facilities and equipments. But few   Americans are aware of the massive disparity and inequality that are consuming the educational system. Although it is not proper and ideal, the social status of an individual greatly affects the quality of education that one receives (Darling- Hammond, 2008, p. 208).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tracking, in the area of education, recognizes the gap between the low-income, minority students and their well-off peers. Ethnic and linguistic minority students coming from low-income background oftentimes only afford admission to general and vocational courses, thus decreasing their chance, if not totally depriving them from pursuing college education (Mehan and Hubbardm, 1999, n.p). Schools with high concentration of low-income and minority students receive fewer and poor quality learning resources than the other schools within the same district (Darling- Hammond, 2008, p. 208).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Along with medical assistance and social welfare, ideally the education sector should be alloted with a larger portion from the state budget and should be appropriately divided among all the schools. But ironically, educational fund in the United States has also been unequally distributed to all schools. 10% of the wealthiest school district in the most industrialized country spend 10 times more than the 10% least fortunate. The number of poor and minority students are definitely higher in the least funded schools, mostly located at the central cities and rural areas, which is lowly funded than the schools in the suburban districts. Recent study shows that Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, and Texas and schools with higher ratio of students of non-White American descent receive fewer resources than schools serving a greater number of White Americans (Darling- Hammond, 2008, p. 208).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To address the issue of racism within the educational system, the idea of hidden curriculum was coined. Hidden curriculum pertains to the messages passed on by the organization or pedadogical institution apart from their public statements. The hidden curriculum is aimed to teach the students of school routines and to enable students in getting along in school and in the society in general. The messages in hidden curriculum may complement or contradict each other. In a way, it opens the minds of students to the possibility that some of the innate principles and natural laws enclosed within the democratic political system, may not at all times be practiced (Cornbleth. 2008, n.p).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Earlier studies proved that hidden curriculum conveyed in public and private schools were different. Public schools mainly focuses on academic classrooms with an emphasis on things like race, ethnicity, disability, and gender or sexual orientation as well as social class, politics, and culture (Cornbleth, 2008, n.p).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the years, we have overcome indecency caused by racism. As our culture succumbs to the tenets of globalization, people of different faces and races have been drawn closer towards each other. And this trend would ideally suggest equality among people born out of different ethnicities. The irregularities in our education systems rooted from unjust   policies have caused inequality in our schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tracking, has kept the students separated from others based on their skin color and income. Tracking is therefore a form of racism, wherein students coming from different race and low-income background can never avail of the same oppurtunities, benefits and treatment that other students get. School funding policies branch from tracking, where schools serving more students who they believe are from inferior color and race, receive lesser funds than other schools. And last, hidden curriculum disposes messages that rationalized disparity among students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any way, the school shall serve as an institution where values and culture formation is hastened. But if an important and delicate institution like schools inculcate disparity amongst the people, then students and the whole society will be deprived of the rights that everyone must equally enjoy. References Cornbleth, Catherine. (2008). Hidden Curriculum. Retrieved May 3 2008 from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1899/Curriculum-School-HIDDEN-CURRICULUM.html Darling-Hammond, Linda. (2001). Inequality in Teaching and Schooling: How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America. In The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions (pp. 208-233). National Academy. Mehan, Hugh and Lea Hubbard. (July 1999). Tracking Untracking: Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Educational Innovation. Retrived May 3 2008 from http://crede.berkeley.edu/research/tier/rb3.shtml

Impact of IMF Funding on Pakistans economy

Impact of IMF Funding on Pakistans economy Introduction The funding by International Monetary Fund (IMF) to developing countries has always raised a debate on its positive and negative impacts on the economy of the creditor country. Pakistan has an extended history of funding from IMF starting from 1958 to 2004 in various time spans and now the current agreement from 2008. This study analyzes the impact of IMF funding on Pakistan. Although there has been criticism regarding both issues of policies and the funding impact but the focus of this research is to study the impacts and not to discuss or criticize the policies of IMF. The IMF works to foster global growth and economic stability. It provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty. It is working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Although monetary fund provides financial assistance to the developing countries but its role in economic prosperity has been highly criticized from the last few years due to its strict policies and restrictions imposed on the borrower country. Under current agreement, IMF imposes 11 main conditions on Pakistan which includes: introduction of the Central Excise Duty on service and agricultural sector, reduction in the expenditures on Public Sector Development Program, devaluation of rupee, freezing of non-development expenditure under the defense budget, non-provision of supplementary grants to government departments, ending subsidy on gas and electricity, reduction in non-development expenditure of civil departments and federal ministries, increase in markup rate of banks and on inter-bank transactions, uniformity in the inter-bank and open market dollar exchange rate and stoppage of government financial intervention in stock markets. The main aim of IMF behind imposition of policies is to increase the revenues of the borrower country. But some studies reveal that it affects the economy both directly and indirectly. Directly it imposes impact in the sense of control of certain variables on which it put restrictions and indirectly with regard to the relationship of these variables with other macroeconomic driving variables that drives the economic growth. The matter here is not the IMF funding but the policy impositions that could impact the economic growth. IMF provides funds for the three major areas, to reduce deficit of fiscal account and current account and to increase the revenues. The question here arises that whether the increase in taxes, elimination of subsidies and development projects will help boost the economy or causes the real GDP to fall from the expected value through increased inflation. An extensive research has been done to address the issue of IMF policies and impact on economy of the borrower country but there are conflicting results derived by different researchers due to particular conditions related to that country, the researches that tried to study all countries under IMF program also reveals contradicting results. This study focuses specifically on Pakistan so that particular effects could be revealed that IMF funding is pouring on Pakistans economy. Problem statement The problem statement of research is Impact of IMF funding on Pakistans economy. Major variables that are used in this study include IMF funds and macro economic variables that are the indicators of an economy i.e. real GDP, employment rate, current account balance, balance of payments and FDI. Objectives The objectives of our study are: To study how IMF funding is putting its effect on economy of Pakistan. To reveal that whether there is any significant relationship between IMF funding and economic growth and if there is a relationship then whether it is positive or negative. To draw conclusion and make recommendations through analysis that whether Pakistan should borrow from IMF or seek other ways of borrowing Significance Although a number of studies have addresses the stated issue but these researches mostly carried out aggregate affect taking into account all the countries under IMF program. The Research that we are going to conduct will try to find out impact of IMF funding on economic growth in particular scenario of Pakistan. Delimitation Our scope of study will be limited to the impacts on Pakistan economy. More over the variable that we will use for analysis of economic growth will be only major macroeconomic variables which are majorly contributing towards the growth factor. In our study we are not considering the political instability and inconsistency in the prevailing policies and other social environmental issues that could impact economic growth side by side. Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature This chapter includes the work done in the same area by other researchers. It put a glance on studies of some of the researchers along with their proposed conclusions Literature review IMF funding has been one of the most debated issues from the last few years in terms of its policies, restrictions and its impact on the economy of countries under IMF programs. A number of studies have been done in this regard. However the results of these studies are contradicting making this issue still debatable. Recent studies have produced mixed and sometimes puzzling results regarding the impact of IMF programs on a nations balance of payments, current account balance, foreign direct investment, real GDP, per capita income and long-run economic growth. Martin Feldstein (1998) argues that the IMF required excessively large reductions in government deficits and restrictions on monetary policy. These restrictions resulted in substantial increases in tax rates, interest rates and increase in current account deficit. Feldstein argues that Asian economies have experienced a recession that worsened their economic problems as a result of these policy changes. Feldstein argues that many of the mandated reforms involve unjustified interference with national autonomy and have little or no relationship to the goal of resolving the payment problem. He notes that it would have been better to allow more time for negotiations between borrowers and lenders before providing IMF loans to a country experiencing payment problems. Ho: There is no significant Impact on the current account deficit by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H5: There is significant Impact on the current account deficit by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. Doug Bandow (1999) argues that the existence of IMF bailouts creates a moral hazard problem that encourages countries to not solve their fundamental problems. He suggests that all nations would benefit if healthy economies quarantined sick economies instead of providing economic assistance. Bandow argues that IMF assistance programs increase risk for healthy economies and do not provide long-term benefits for troubled economies. He notes that most IMF borrowers have received aid for a decade or more. Jensen (2004) suggests that international capital markets perceive IMF intervention as a negative development. Regardless of factors driving their decisions, Jensens research provides strong evidence that developing countries pay a serious price when they take advantage of IMF assistance. His research strongly reveals a negative relationship between IMF funding and foreign direct investment in the country. According to him investors dont perceive this funding in a positive way that why reducing net investment level in the country and as a result hindering economic growth. For impact of IMF on FDI following hypothesis is developed: Ho: There is no significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H1: There is significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. On the other hand there are a number of researchers like Dicks Mireaux (2000), who have found strongly positive economic growth effects of IMF funding. These researches found that there is appositive impact of IMF funding on the economy. While there are also studies which concluded that are no significant effects of IMF on the economy of a country under IMF agreement like, Hardoy(2003) and Hutchison (2004), who argue that IMF funding does not pour any significant impact on the economy of the borrower country. Mireaux argue that economy grows due to the increased tax revenues. Following hypothesis has been developed between tax revenue and IMF funding. Ho: There is no significant Impact on the Tax Revenue by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H3: There is significant Impact on the Tax Revenue by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. Nunnenkamp(1999) in his article discussed that IMF is under serious attack as critics blame that IMF lending lead to financial crisis and suggests to stop IMF funding also the researcher discussed the consequences of ending the lending ODriscoll (1997) in his article has conducted the descriptive research about the IMF policies towards developing countries by keeping the focus on USA economy. The Policy making of IMF for the developing countries are without any backing of historical decisions taken by the developing countries in past. Thus the financial crises and current account deficit crises is mainly attributed to such policy making. The researcher has give example of Asia in which case the above discussion is particularly true which roots in 1995. The IMFs handling of the Mexico crisis firmly established moral hazard in international lending and sowed the seeds for the Asian crisis. Thus far, IMF policy in Asia largely repeats the policy mistakes in Mexico.   Gina (2007) indicates in his article that the reforms enacted by Congress in USA are an important first step toward reforming the IMF. Even more important than the reforms, however, was the congressional debate over IMF funding. That debate focused attention on the process and Substance of IMF policymaking and even questioned the need for that organization in the post-Bretton Woods world. Przeworski and Vreeland (2000) Using a bivariate, dynamic version of the Heckman selection model, we estimate the effect of participation in International Monetary Fund IMF programs on economic growth. We find evidence that governments enter into agreements with the IMF under the pressures of a foreign reserves crisis but they also bring in the Fund to shield themselves from the political costs of adjustment policies. Program participation lowers growth rates for as long as countries remain under a program. Once countries leave the program, they grow faster than if they had remained, but not faster than they would have without participation. So for the relation between IMF and GDP following hypothesis are developed: Ho: There is no significant Impact on the GDP by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H1: There is significant Impact on the GDP by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. The estimates of Barroa Lee (2005) shows that a higher IMF loan-participation rate reduces economic growth. IMF lending does not have significant effects on investment, inflation, employment, government consumption, and international openness. However, IMF loan participation has small negative effects on democracy and the rule of law. Ho: There is no significant Impact on the Employment by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H2: There is significant Impact on the Employment by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. Chapter 3 Research Methodology This chapter includes the theoretical model, data collection technique and methodology approach used for the analysis Theoretical model Economic Growth Real GDP IMF Funding Employment FDI RRevenue Current Account Balance Data collection Secondary source for the data collection has been used in this research. For this purpose most of the data will be collected from the Economic Survey of Pakistan, international monetary fund web site and state bank of Pakistan website. The dependant variables that have been used to analyze the economic growth include: balance of payment, current account balance, real GDP, rate of employment and foreign direct investment. These are the major variables that are the determinants of economic growth of a country. The independent variable is the amount of funding by IMF. Data analysis Regression analysis is used for analyzing the impact of IMF funding on Pakistans economy. Data is analyzed using SPSS. Data for the IMF funding in Pakistan is in detail below:   YEARS IMF FUNDING 1973-1974 527 1974-75 1990 1975-76 1987 1976-77 2497 1977-78 232 1978-79 3406 1979-80 644 1980-81 3789 1981-82 6079 1982-83 7266 1983-84 2812 2000-01 35400 2001-02 65460 Chapter 4 Data Presentation and Findings This chapter includes the data which has been used for the analysis, analyzed results and the findings that follow through the analysis Data presentation and findings Following is the detailed data used for the analysis and the findings of the regression analysis. The data is presented separately for each variable used as the measure of economic growth of the country. IMF funding and GDP Data Analysis for First Hypothesis Ho: There is no significant Impact on the GDP by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H1: There is significant Impact on the GDP by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. IMF FUNDING GDP 1974 527 38439 1974-75 1990 39930 1975-76 1987 41229 1976-77 2497 42401 1977-78 232 45679 1978-79 3406 48204 1979-80 644 51736 1980-81 3789 55048 1981-82 6079 59012 1982-83 7266 62975 1983-84 2812 65968 2000-01 35400 180500 2001-02 65460 212200 Findings: To test the hypothesis, linear regression analysis used. The results of regression of One independent Variable (IMF Funding) against GDP (dependent variable) can be seen in the following output. Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .971 .943 .937 14025.2195 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF FUNDING ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 35481741865.974 1 35481741865.974 180.379 .000 Residual 2163774597.718 11 196706781.611 Total 37645516463.692 12 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF FUNDING b Dependent Variable: GDP Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Model B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 43492.601 4451.563 9.770 .000 IMF 2.861 .213 .971 13.431 .000 a Dependent Variable: GDP Interpretation of analysis The ANOVA table shows that the F value of 180.379 is significant at the .000 levels. Degree of Freedom column in the table, the first number represent the number of Independent Variable (1) the second number (13) is the data collected for total number of years (N), minus the number of Independent Variable (K) minus 1 or 11=(N-K-1) or (13-1-1)= 12. The F statistics produce (F= 180.379) is significant at the .000 levels. Which shows that Model validity is significant at 0.000 level of significance. What the result mean is that 94.3 percent of variance (R square) in increase in GDP has been significantly explained by increasing Government Expenditure by way of IMF Funding (Independent variable) with standard error of estimate of 14025.2195. Standard error of estimate shows amount falls outside the regression line or shows standard deviation from mean. There is .000 percent or less chance of this is not holding true. There is correlation of 0.971 (denoted as r=0.971) between IMF Funding (Independent variable) and GDP (dependent variable) with level of significance 0.000. so there is positive relationship between the two variables and probability of this is not true is zero percent or less. That is 100 percent of time we would expect that this correlation to exist. There is a beta value of 0.971, which shows that 97.1 percent chance of making TYPE II error if null hypothesis is accepted when it is false. At the same time Un standardized coefficient B= 2.861 indicates that the valu e of GDP increase by 2.861 unit for a one unit increase in Government Expenditure by IMF Funding. What the result mean is that t value 13.431 significant at 0.000. Thus hypothesis 1 is substantiated. IMF funding and employment rate Data Analysis for Second Hypothesis Ho: There is no significant Impact on the Employment by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H2: There is significant Impact on the Employment by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. YEARS IMF FUNDING EMPLOYMENT 1973-1974 527 19.76 1974-75 1990 20.3 1975-76 1987 21.08 1976-77 2497 21.89 1977-78 232 22.73 1978-79 3406 23.62 1979-80 644 24.15 1980-81 3789 24.7 1981-82 6079 25.27 1982-83 7266 25.85 1983-84 2812 26.4 2000-01 35400 37.51 2001-02 65460 38.29 Findings: To test the hypothesis, linear regression analysis used. The results of regression of One independent Variable (IMF Funding) against Employment (dependent variable) can be seen in the following output. Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .912 .832 .817 2.5175 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF Funding ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 345.318 1 345.318 54.485 .000 Residual 69.717 11 6.338 Total 415.035 12 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF Funding b Dependent Variable: EMPLOYMENT Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Model B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 22.636 .799 28.328 .000 IMF 2.823E-04 .000 .912 7.381 .000 a Dependent Variable: EMPLOYMENT Interpretation of analysis The ANOVA table shows that the F value of 54.485 is significant at the .000 levels. Degree of Freedom column in the table, the first number represent the number of Independent Variable (1) the second number (13) is the data collected for total number of years (N), minus the number of Independent Variable (K) minus 1 or 11=(N-K-1) or (13-1-1)= 12. The F statistics produce (F= 54.485) is significant at the .000 levels. Which shows that Model validity is significant at 0.000 level of significance. What the result mean is that 83.2 percent of variance (R square) in increase in Employment has been significantly explained by increasing Government Expenditure by way of IMF Funding (Independent variable) with standard error of estimate of 2.5175. Standard error of estimate shows amount falls outside the regression line or shows standard deviation from mean. There is .000 percent or less chance of this is not holding true. There is correlation of 0.912 (denoted as r=0.912) between IMF Funding (Independent variable) and Employment (dependent variable) with level of significance 0.000. So there is positive relationship between the two variables and probability of this is not true is zero percent or less. That is 100 percent of time we would expect that this correlation to exist. There is a beta value of 0.912, which shows that 91.2 percent chance of making TYPE II error if null hypothesis is accepted when it is false. At the same time Un standardized coefficient B= 0.00283 indicates t hat the value of Employment increase by 0.00283 unit for a one unit increase in Government Expenditure by IMF Funding. What the result mean is that t value 7.381 significant at 0.000. Thus hypothesis 2 is substantiated. IMF funding and tax revenue Data Analysis for Third Hypothesis Ho: There is no significant Impact on the Tax Revenue by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H3: There is significant Impact on the Tax Revenue by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. YEARS IMF FUNDING TAX REVENUE 1973-1974 527 9,444.00 1974-75 1990 11,428.70 1975-76 1987 13,914.80 1976-77 2497 16,112.50 1977-78 232 20,041.10 1978-79 3406 23,475.70 1979-80 644 30,720.40 1980-81 3789 36,509.30 1981-82 6079 40,367.60 1982-83 7266 46,475.00 1983-84 2812 55,360.00 2000-01 35400 444,800.00 2001-02 65460 486,000.00 Findings : To test the hypothesis, linear regression analysis used. The results of regression of One independent Variable (IMF Funding) against Tax Revenue (dependent variable) can be seen in the following output. Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .958 .917 .910 49565.7061 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF FUNDING ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 300517013184.665 1 300517013184.665 122.323 .000 Residual 27024351475.824 11 2456759225.075 Total 327541364660.489 12 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF b Dependent Variable: TAX REVENUE Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Model B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 10370.086 15732.008 .659 .523 IMF 8.326 .753 .958 11.060 .000 a Dependent Variable: TAX REVENUE Interpretation of analysis The ANOVA table shows that the F value of 122.323 is significant at the .000 levels. Degree of Freedom column in the table, the first number represent the number of Independent Variable (1) the second number (13) is the data collected for total number of years (N), minus the number of Independent Variable (K) minus 1 or 11=(N-K-1) or (13-1-1)= 12. The F statistics produce (F= 122.323) is significant at the .000 levels. Which shows that Model validity is significant at 0.000 level of significance. What the result mean is that 91.7 percent of variance (R square) in increase in Tax Revenue has been significantly explained by increasing Government Expenditure by way of IMF Funding (Independent variable) with standard error of estimate of 49565.7061. Standard error of estimate shows amount falls outside the regression line or shows standard deviation from mean. There is .000 percent or less chance of this is not holding true. There is correlation of 0.958 (denoted as r=0.958) between IMF Funding (Independent variable) and Tax Revenue (dependent variable) with level of significance 0.000. So there is positive relationship between the two variables and probability of this is not true is zero percent or less. That is 100 percent of time we would expect that this correlation to exist. There is a beta value of .958, which shows that 95.8 percent chance of making TYPE II error if null hypothesis is accepted when it is false. At the same time Un standardized coefficient B= 8.362 indicate s that the value of Tax Revenue increase by 8.326 unit for a one unit increase in Government Expenditure by IMF Funding. What the result mean is that t value 11.060 significant at 0.000. Thus hypothesis 3 is substantiated. IMF funding and FDI Ho: There is no significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H1: There is significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. YEARS IMF FUNDING FDI 1973-1974 527 -189 1974-75 1990 447 1975-76 1987 675 1976-77 2497 321 1977-78 232 1065 1978-79 3406 1080 1979-80 644 840 1980-81 3789 1225 1981-82 6079 3430 1982-83 7266 1473.5 1983-84 2812 1680 2000-01 35400 19995 2001-02 65460 30051.4 Findings : To test the hypothesis, linear regression analysis used. The results of regression of One independent Variable (IMF Funding) against FDI (dependent variable) can be seen in the following output. Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .991 .982 .981 1290.1947 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 1010046942.200 1 1010046942.200 606.780 .000 Residual 18310625.532 11 1664602.321 Total 1028357567.732 12 a Predictors: (Constant), IMF b Dependent Variable: FDI Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Model B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) -128.350 409.504 -.313 .760 IMF .483 .020 .991 24.633 .000 a Dependent Variable: FDI Interpretation of analysis The ANOVA table shows that the F value of 606.780 is significant at the .000 levels. Degree of Freedom column in the table, the first number represent the number of Independent Variable (1) the second number (13) is the data collected for total number of years (N), minus the number of Independent Variable (K) minus 1 or 11=(N-K-1) or (13-1-1)= 12. The F statistics produce (F= 606.780) is significant at the .000 levels. Which shows that Model validity is significant at 0.000 level of significance. What the result mean is that 98.2 percent of variance (R square) in increase in FDI has been significantly explained by increasing Government Expenditure by way of IMF Funding (Independent variable) with standard error of estimate of 1290.1947. Standard error of estimate shows amount falls outside the regression line or shows standard deviation from mean. There is .000 percent or less chance of this is not holding true. There is correlation of 0.991 (denoted as r=0.991) between IMF Funding (Independent variable) and FDI (dependent variable) with level of significance 0.000. So there is positive relationship between the two variables and probability of this is not true is zero percent or less. That is 100 percent of time we would expect that this correlation to exist. There is a beta value of 0.991, which shows that 99.1 percent chance of making TYPE II error if null hypothesis is accepted when it is false. At the same time Un standardized coefficient B= .483 indicates that the value of FDI increase by .483 unit for a one unit increase in Government Expenditure by IMF Funding. What the result mean is that t value 24.633 significant at 0.000. Thus hypothesis 4 is substantiated. IMF funding and current account deficit Data Analysis for Fifth Hypothesis Ho: There is no significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. H5: There is significant Impact on the FDI by increasing Government Expenditure through IMF Funding. YEARS IMF FUNDING CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT 1973-1974 527 3318 1974-75 1990 10639 1975-76 1987 9212 1976-77 2497 11718 1977-78 232 14835 1978-79

Essay --

The Armenian people are known to have begun around sixth century B.C. The Armenians are ancient people who speak an Indo-European language and have traditionally inhabited the border regions to Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. Armenians lived in Anatolia and West Armenia for about 3,000 years until the 11th century when they were defeated by Central Asian tribal armies. Since then, the Armenians have lived as subjects to several Turkish dynasties (Centuries of Genocide). Armenia was the very first nation to accept Christianity as its state religion. Armenia was an independent kingdom before it was taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. The Ottomans created a huge empire going from Eastern Europe to Western Asia and North Africa. Armenians were Christians and Ottoman rulers were Muslim. The Armenian’s were a minority group under the Ottoman Empire and they were often treated unfairly. The Ottoman Empire deprived Armenians of their rights. Armenians had to pay higher taxes than Muslims, they had fewer legal rights and they were not allowed to vote. Even though they faced these challenges, the Armenian’s did very well under Ottoman rule. They were wealthier than the citizens of Turkey and they received a better education. It wasn’t long before Turks began to resent the Armenians. They did not trust them or their loyalty to other Christian governments. The Ottoman Empire began to fall apart in the 1800’s. As the empire disintegrated, Greeks, Serbs and Romanians achieved independence. Only the Armenians and the Arabs of the Middle East remained in the Ottoman Empire which was ruled by Sultan Abdul Hamid (unitedhumanrights.org). They Armenians demanded fairness from Sultan Hamid and wanted security from Kurd... ...problem is that Turkey is an ally to America and recognizing the Armenian genocide would harm relations between US and Turkey (Common Dreams). The United States needs Turkey for the war on terrorism because they have an airbase that the US forces use to get supplies to troops in Iraq. Several Resolutions have been presented to the US Congress over the years to recognize the Armenian Genocide. On May 20, 2013 HR Resolution 227 was introduced by the House of Representatives calling on the President â€Å"to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity.† (H. Res. 227). The Bill is currently pending approval by US government.

Rembrandt a Religious Painter :: Essays Papers

Rembrandt a Religious Painter â€Å"The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes an subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God.† (CCC 1162 found on Art as a form o Christian Meditation http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/Art_in_Meditation.html ) Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15 of the year 1606 in the university city of Leiden. His family was Catholic although his father was the only member of his family who converted from Catholicism to Calvinism in the late 16th century. His parents had 9 children, Rembrandt being the second youngest. â€Å"At the age of seven, he was sent to the Leiden Latin School to prepare for the university†¦ as his brothers were sent out to learn a trade. This suggests that at an early age Rembrandt showed a more than average intelligence and that his parents were willing to educate him for a profession, very likely as a city administrator.† (The new Encyclopedia Britannica 1974) Rembrandt left the Latin School, at 14; he was very well trained in classical literature and a â€Å"well-trained Latinist.† Rembrandt then went to Leiden University were he found that his true love was for painting. His parents then removed him from the University and had him sent to a painter, Mr. Jacob Isaacxsz van Swanenburch. After three years with the painter his father took him to Amsterdam to the painter Pieter Lastman where he became an apprentice. His parents did this because Rembrandt showed more a liking in drawing and painting historical and biblical scenes and images and there was no painter in Leiden who was proficient in religious subjects. â€Å"1624 Six months further education at Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, perhaps also for a short while at Jacob Pynas.† (Rembrandt’s Life- His Biography http://www.screendesign.de/remfus.htm) Rembrandt then returned to Leiden to become an independent painter. He then moved to Amsterdam and was paid high commissions to paint portraits. Rembrandt met a man named Hendrick van Uylenburgh an art dealer in Amsterdam. â€Å"Rembrandt became an immediate success in Amsterdam.† (The new Encyclopedia Britannica 1974) Rembrandt then married Hendrick van Uylenburgh’s cousin Saskia van Uylenburgh in June 22, 1634. â€Å"His religious works were also in demand, and as early as about 1632 he received a commission from Prince Frederik Hendrik in The Hague to paint five scenes from the Passion of Christ, which was completed in 1939.† (The new Encyclopedia Britannica 1974)

A Journey by Colm Toibin

†A Journey† by Colm Toibin Changes is a part of every normal human life, but sometimes it doesn’t change in a direction we like. When it happens that life doesn’t working out the way we hope, it’s a natural thing that we start looking back on our past. In wonder of the things we did wrong, but also just to remember a time that felt brighter and happier. A Journey by Colm Tobin is a story that deals with a reflection about the past, and how it has affected the present. In A Journey the reflection happens in flashbacks, that the story’s main character Mary is getting on her journey from a hospital to her home.On this hospital she has picked her son who has suffered and still suffers from a deep depression. On the same time has her husband, named Seamus, just had another stroke, and is very ill. â€Å"Now Seamus was lying upstairs in that same house. The whole right side of his body was paralyzed. That scene Mary could picture more sharply than 6 0 anything. Even when she read the newspaper to him, Seamus did not seem interested. [1]† Much interests isn’t she getting from her depressed son as well, he doesn’t want to sit with her in the front seat in the car and does specifically ask her to not ask any question during their journey.Mary is therefore a lonely woman, who has to deal with a troubled present alone. A naturally reaction is to seek comfort in a brighter time in her past. She think a lot about happy memories with Seamus, her father and her son. At the same time it’s clear that she is looking back to find some kind of explanation of her misery at the same time. She can’t really find these explanations though, because she is afraid of facing what have caused the changes that have been inn he life.That we see in this quote about her son’s doctor: â€Å"He did not seem ready to answer any direct questions so Mary had asked none†. That is what she is trying to convince her self, but the truth is probably that she is afraid of the answers he might give her. A Journey is a story about life, and how we handle the change of directions we sometimes have to make on that journey. Therefore are changes a major theme. Mary has a hard time facing the problems that the changes means, and seek comfort in the comforting past. The changes Mary has a hard time ealing with is involving his family, and what she can do with them and how she has to be. That makes family-relation, by my opinion, to another important theme in the story. The way she is reflecting about changes, which she does implicit without she admits it, is through flashbacks. The story starts up in a flashback and they are well used all the way to the end. The using of flashbacks gives an improved knowledge about the head characters. In A Journey it is used to give us readers an insight in Mary and her family’s past, and therefore gives a hint of how the situation became how it did.They have a c lear contrast to the present in where the story takes place, and it creates a situation where the reader feels a sense of understanding as though he/she knows the past tense and the change and development of the different characters represented in the story. Concretely is the flashback a tool to illustrate Mary’s almost desperate attempt to maintain things how it were, before it all changed. That’s why there’s a lot of flashback to memories with her father before he died, her husband before he got sick and her son before his mood got dark and depressed.It’s also a tool to tell us about the background for her relationship with her son, be telling us why she has such a hard time connecting with him, and understand how he feels. â€Å"It was, she knew, an ill- ness, but it did not seem like one. It seemed to her like something David would not give up, a special dark gift he had been offered. Something which comforted him and which he had accepted. † T he flashbacks are used to tell us about all what’s behind immediate plot. The title of the short story refers to more than its literal journey from the hospital to home.It refers to the development with Mary’s way of dealing with things. In the very short journey from hospital to the house I’ll interpret that Mary develops, because she through the flashbacks sense the changes and by that she becomes more focused on the present and the time to come. This statement is supported by a quotation fro, the end of the story. †It was time, she thought, to let the grey appear†. Literally, she talks about stop coloring her hair blond. Figuratively, it means that she needs to face the problems and let nature do its work. She can’t hide the reality from herself anymore. ———————– [1]