Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Coursework

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Design - Coursework Example er had selected the quasi design because the research was taking the shape of an experimental research that was going to involve an educational experimentation on the impact of a 2-tier curriculum on the academic performance of students. In quasi design, the most outstanding difference that is observed from other forms of designs is in the selection of respondents because quasi design lacks the fundamental ingredients of random assignment of respondents (Wade et al, 2009). The quasi design was selected based on a number of factors. The first has to do with the fact that the researcher was undertaking an educational experiment and thought that the quasi design was going to ensure accessibility to respondents since there was going to be a very large population to deal with. It has been noted that in situations were there are large populations for the researcher to deal with; working with quasi design reduces the total amount of work that the researcher has to do in a random sampling pr ocedure. Therefore, it was easier for the present researcher to select just a class and use the register system to select the sample size. Another reason behind the author’s rationale for quasi design was in the fact that the quasi design presented itself with the opportunity to undertake individual case studies whiles addressing the original research problem. Such integrated case studies were necessary in testing the variables to the latter. Finally, quasi generally aided in the reduction of overall time and resource needed to complete the research (Broadwings, 2009). This was an important rationale because the researcher was undertaking an academic research that was time bound. Having selected the quasi design, the researcher outlined a number of validities of the research. The first type of validity presented was in the background of the respondents, all of who the researcher noted was having the same educational background and so had an equal chance of meeting the variables set.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Culture’s will to copy Essay Example for Free

Culture’s will to copy Essay Globalization process is viewed as a means through which one can ratify often in extremely idealized form a account of oneself or culture that is observed as old or even origin but can lastly be realized: through these new means, one can become what one thinks one actually is (even if one never was). What might be trait of the Internet is that this ‘realization’ is certainly ‘expansive’. Globalization process has an emancipator technology ‘Internet’ that is indefensible as the structural design of the technology harbors an instinctive class prejudice and other shades of power entitlements. Computers are intended and programmed by members of the elite culture and might imitate their cultural orientations and biases. For example, the wordsmith and semantic skills requisite to functions computers do not put up the cultural orientations of several marginal electorates. As Laikwan Pang, Cultural Control in journal said, â€Å"Culture’s will to copy [is] fuelled by the globalization process, which drives’ the world to desire similar but different products, to acquire similar but different tastes†. (Laikwan Pang, Cultural Control, p8). Globalization is as well redefining societies and restructuring society into new forms of social networks. New standards and terms for private and proficient relationships are promising (Buck 1996; Gates 1995; Baym 1995). The London Times (June 17, 1996) stated: People in every kinds of career categories need to recognize how to use this tool so as to get ahead starting now. Admittance to the information freeway might establish to be less a question of dispensation or position than one of the fundamental capability to function in a democratic society. Admittance to the cyberspace might very well establish how well people are knowledgeable, the type of job they ultimately get, and how they are retrained if they mislay their job, how much access they have to their government and how they will be taught about important issues concerning them and the country. (Ratan 1995: 25) Moreover, global media is not repressed by the intrinsic biases apparent in sexism, racism, and classism establish in face-to-face encounters. As a substitute, the global media presents a discussion that supports broad partaking and underlines merit over class. Practical communities permit secluded individuals to converse in a manner that protects them from the social prospect and sanctions linked with physically distinct communities (Turtle 1995). Virtual societies are unified and significant social aggregations that permit people to take on in adequate relations to form personal and group relations (Rheingold 1993). Global media represents Hollywood that spins around the analysis of Hollywoods division of labor, what the authors call the New International Division of Cultural Labor (NICL). This division of labor is certainly international because U. S. film exports have reached $11 billion, and Hollywoods proportion of the world market is double what it was in 1990 (Miller et al. , 2001, pp. 4-5). Global sales have become so significant that in 2001 the studios take apart their international offices to run all global distribution from their headquarters. The authors argue that Hollywoods command of the NICL distinguishes Hollywood from other industries that are increasingly globalizing. The entire book focuses on answering this question: Is Hollywood really giving the people of the world what they want, or does it operate via a brutal form of monopoly-capitalist business practice? (p. 15). Global Hollywood maintains that Hollywoods global authority is due to the clout of its allocation, legal, and economic structures, as opposed to a combination of advantages resultant from the diversity of its domestic audience and its narrative transparency. As this argument has been frequently made by proponents of the cultural imperialism thesis, Miller and his colleagues take a fresh approach that focuses on what they call occasionality (p. 13), which is defined as the specific `uptake of a text by a community (p. 177). Amongst other innovations, the authors focus on the role of audience, and on the idea of rights, while bringing the significant issue of cultural hybridist to political economic analysis. In the short space of twenty five years somewhat which started as US defense inventiveness has developed into the major communications means for the academic and investigates community and most newly has prolonged into a main business tool for the marketable sector. The Internet has developed throughout this period from being a vigorous and effectual way of exchanging information to offering a delivery means for immense amounts of multimedia information to a global audience. While individuals began to use the global media for worldwide communication, its profound effect on how we treat information transfer, organization, and development could not have been anticipated. Internet communication applications permit rapid and simple copy, revision, and transfer of information in textual, visual, and auditory forms. Though the assortments of participants who access it do not all the time agree on whether information must be cosseted or shared, the majority of the Internet community uses, copies, and transfers the information there without restraint. The Internet is a medium for activating ideological consideration; World Wide Web (Web) documents holding multiple links to diverse authors sites as well as e-mail posts restraining various writers materials reify the theory that knowledge is raised from numerous sources. But commercial units that use the Internet to promote products and spend in the materials that they load to the Web desire to keep their digitized materials from copy, revision, and transfer. The corporal operation of the Internet forms a forum where oppositional views concerning control of information collide. The extreme nature of the Internet supports a clash between the constructionist ideology that symbolizes the academic humanist community and the Romantic beliefs that symbolizes traditional legal community. This junction amongst humanistic studies, the intellectual property law, and the Internet, joined with their attendant communities, engenders conflicts in thought and exploit and offers a generous basis from which to investigate intellectual property and information control. Though participants in humanist, legal, and global media communities retain varied ideological beliefs and goals, their common interests meet in forming and treating communicative terms, whether textual, digital, or auditory. More significant, these communities of participants, communally, through socially raised ideologies, contribute in creating approaches toward authorship, possession, and property, and eventually, in generating the power to form and manage knowledge. The dealings amongst these areas can be viewed practically and hypothetically. Globalization, therefore, can tell us diverse stories of the nation state, developing it are relationally and challenged internal and external boundaries. There would be few people concerned in globalization who would, as Green (1997:157) seems to propose, believe that ‘the nation state was disappearing’, even if it’s taken-for-granted status comes to be issued and attempts at self-reproduction become increasingly transparent. The spatial-temporal location of the nation-state is itself brought to the fore by globalization. Globalization is frequently taken to have a single course or logic that results in an augmented uniformity transversely the globe. However, despite the influential effects of international capital and international media corporations, this is not sustainable and is not the stance adopted here. To presume that globalization is about, or results in, homogenization is to abridge the processes at work and, in a sense, to distance oneself from the very composite effects on space, place and uniqueness that globalizing processes bring to the fore. As Giddens (1990) among others suggests, as globalization has resulted in the spread of ‘Western’ institutions across the globe, that very drift produces a pressure for local independence and identity. In other words, globalization is concerning examining places as concurrently traversed by the global and local in ways that have been strengthened by the modern compression of space and time. Thus, alongside the global accessibility of satellite television, McDonald’s and Arnold Schwarznegger films, there is the confirmation of, for instance, local, regional and ethnic identities. Certainly, some transnational companies have overtly adopted strategies of ‘globalization’, expanding their influence around the globe, as situating themselves and their products and services within the local conditions. These might be a response to global influences, but they are however part of globalization and not a refutation of it. What this suggests is that in modern times the local is as much a condition for globalization as the global; space and place are negotiated by the global-local nexus of globalizes space-time compressions. ‘Time-space distanciation, disembedding, and reflexivity mean that composite relationships develop between local activities and communication across distances’ (Waters 1995:50). The assimilation of the globe reconfigures rather than supersedes diversity. Globalization ‘does not essentially imply homogenization or integration. Globalization simply implies greater connectedness and de-territorialisation’ (Waters 1995:136). This problematisation argues that a particular Eurocentric culture can no longer be measured an ‘authentic, self-evident and true universal culture in which all the world’s people ought to believe’ (Lemert 1997:22)—a position which of course itself would not command universal acquiesce. The cultural renaissance resultant from decolonization is the new face of autonomy in international law. Old definitions of freedom focusing on ethnic separation and tight territorial boundaries are becoming ever more outdated. The most interesting and pioneering ideas concerning self-determination are presently being developed by indigenous peoples. Theoretical discussions of prejudice, identity, individuality and universalism might seem remote and incoherent from harsh realities. But these debates do reveal why human rights themselves can spell awful trouble for indigenous peoples. The effects of human rights, intellectual property, transformation and self-determination based on evidently universal ideas of individuality and nationality can consequence in the death of indigenous communities. This is not a current phenomenon. It is the experience of colonization for too many people. And yet, international human rights discourse can also give a mechanism for anti-colonial struggles and the protection of indigenous rights, as the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations would certainly support. Nowhere is the inconsistency of human rights, culture and individualism as explicit as it is with the rights of indigenous peoples. Moreover, the practical view offers questions and answers to the nuts and bolts of each day treatment of intellectual property power issues. Though interpretive in nature, the practical deportment is rule-based, centered in issues concerning the assortment of original works noted under the law and formative infringement of copyright. An extensive variety of individuals use and produce copyrighted materials in their daily work, often ignorant of the consequences of their actions for probable infringement of the work of others or infringement by others of their own work. Engineers, technical communicators, computer scientists, architects, scientists, and educators, among others who characterizes our diverse national workforce, use and turn out intellectual products such as manual, applications, progress reports, yearly reports, analytical reports, and other technical documents. They as well form non-textual informational materials such as photographs and hand drawn graphics, software, videos, and multimedia products. Additionally, numerous creators acquire information through the global media, together with digital communications such as e-mail and data blocks, as well as graphics, video clips, and sound bytes. Workplace inventors might not be conscious of the special category of law that restrains the rights in the work they turn out. Equally agency laws and the â€Å"work for hire† set of guidelines, which falls under copyright law, state writers rights to their work and treat questions explicit to employees. Educators, particularly, are facing ever more intricate questions concerning forming and using materials for teaching. besides creating workplace products, educators also develop materials for classes in the forms of instructor package that comprise works copied from anthologies and journals, handouts, tests, and instructional transparencies or websites that might be derived from sources formed by other instructors or authors in their fields. The legal argument over what is considered infringement in using these â€Å"course packets† is massive. Instructors might also covet to use materials acquired from the global media. The customary treatment of global media sources as â€Å"free use† forms fussy questions concerning what constitutes infringement in the digital ground. There is also enduring debate over the capability of a browser merely to access a World Wide Web site devoid of infringement. Several legal analysts indicate that the National Information Infrastructures White Paper comprises language that, if construed closely, would forbid admittance to intellectual property on the Internet although the same intellectual property would be available if it were in the shape of print media. For instance, a stringent interpretation of the National Information Infrastructures (NII) White Paper would forbid the mere act of opening a file and reading it on the Internet as the act of producing text in digitized form needs making a â€Å"copy† of the original work. Though the White Paper was formed in 1996, its protectionist stance echoed in legislative development of copyright protection, wherein the No Electronic Theft Act (1998) criminalizes copyright violation and the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act (1999) expands copyright protection for a further twenty years. In light of the more and more preventive treatment of copyrighted materials, instructors might be confused over whether they can make non-infringing uses of World Wide Web materials for classroom uses at all (Strong, William S. 1990). Increasingly, numerous instructors inquire students to copy and develop sources procured from the Internet, such as interactions from UseNet News, Internet Relay Chat, and MOOs, and graphics or text files that they can download from the World Wide Web. Though fair use does not converse directly to questions concerning the Internet, it still controls questions of infringement within educational settings. Courts should instigate to apply fair use to issues that are convoluted by use of technology to give new instruction, but until then, prospective litigants looking for answers to complex legal questions must gain a clear considerate of existing law as the best means to recognize its possible interpretation in cases treating issues concerning the Internet. We can say that with the increasing use of internet the issue of Copyright infringement is also become very common. â€Å"Infringement is a breach of the rights of a copyright holder by copying, performing, publishing, displaying, or creating a copied work from an expression protected under copyright† (Strong, William S. 1990). Infringement can take the form of a photocopy, scanned digitization, or other mechanically formed copy, but it can as well take place in videotape, audiotape, performance, or exhibit of a copyrighted work. Providing evidence infringement is at times a complex process, needing that the belligerent party first found a right to control the copyright of the work, then that he or she proves that the work has been infringed. Infringement is further hard to prove while the accused infringer has distorted the work to such a degree that it is hard to sustain the considerable similarity argument and while the initiative and the expression are so wholly merged that use of the idea, which is obtainable in public domain, is corresponding to use of the expression. A more widespread defense aligned a claim of infringement; however, is the scenes a faire principle, which argues that general means of expression of ideas cannot be infringement of anothers work. A typical example is the formal report format used in technical documents. In this case, the means of expression has turn so widespread to the business worlds cultural scaffold of understanding that its use summons connotative expression itself, much similar to a classification of â€Å"technical report. † Copyright infringement elevates legal issues for Internet service providers as well as other global media caught up in network management. The law emerges to be moving away from strict accountability toward a new typical of actual knowledge (Packard, 1998). In the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ISPs are not legally responsible for copyright infringement if the bringer does not have definite knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing (Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92 Pub. L. 105 304, Sec. 512 [c]). Though, upon attaining such knowledge or wakefulness, the provider should act expeditiously to eliminate, or hinder access to, the material. This stipulation has free-expression insinuations. Copyright law is a moderately recent phenomenon based on the supposition that inspired intellectual property desires to be protected and rewarded (Packard, 1998). By distinguishing that online services cannot scrutinize their content for infringing material and function professionally, Congress has given them a green light to expand to their full prospective (p. 37). The copyright extension for elite ownership for ninety-five years, up from twenty-eight years in the original 1790 law, has been dared in court by Eldritch Press. Under the new law, the publisher would be requisite to eradicate work that has been in the public domain under the preceding limit of seventy-five years. The global media and its technologies have offered fertile view for the creation of new communication technologies. Inventors functioning on such troubles as digital compression as well as network data-transfer speeds need patent protection to be capable to expand new products. Information technology has also taken a diversity of patent suits as inventors extend the new industry. Lucent Technologies, for example, sued Cisco Systems and indicted it of infringing eight digital networking patents. Cisco then charged that Lucent violated three of its patents. Lucent holds thousands of patents on former Bell Lab and ATT research operations, and analysts feared that the aggressive action by Lucent was threatening to smaller high-tech companies. Computer-chip giant Intel called a patent infringement action by TechSearch a nuisance lawsuit (Packard, 1998). As technology continues to become more multifaceted and consistent, patent disputes are probable to propagate. Generally, most patent cases do not have a substantive collision on free expression. Thus the main features of the global media regime are linked to infringement and intellectual property concerns. The strategy for these aspects of the establishment is the principle that the costs of Internet-related infrastructural development shall be borne mainly by the private sector and the standard those governments shall entrust themselves to economic liberalization, privatization, and regulatory programs dependable with this and other regime principles. As the utmost basis of legal conflict is that between authors and users rights, the most significant policy issue is cared for specifically in the Constitutions intellectual property stipulation. The goal of the copyright act is to make sure free speech and the progression of knowledge through our legitimate protection of the right to distribute information. The unique constitutional provisions designate the intent to make sure the expansion of knowledge in civilization based in a congressional grant to authors of a partial monopoly of rights in their works: The fair use stipulation makes clear that the key goal of the statute is to support learning. These changes notwithstanding, the divergence between authors rights and the goal to encourage knowledge, inner to the copyright debate since its setting up, continues. Sadly, the public policy issue is frequently ignored in respect to concerns over economic interests. The everyday application of law essentially focuses on treating conflict between individuals. Lawyers are trained specially to congregate the needs of the legal system and are inexpensively supported by their work in this area. However the policy issues following the statute are really most significant to us as educators and to our society as a whole because those who manage the development of knowledge in a culture eventually establish who we are as a people. Philosophy and the goals that convoy it drive our view of policy issues. Thought determines how we view authorship, possession, and property and eventually affects not only how intellectual property law is proscribed but how information and communication that are inner to the dialogic processes within the nation are proscribed, as well as decisive who controls them. An assessment of ideological choices in request to intellectual property thus renders significant understanding of the probable effect of the law on our cultural future. Gaining a considerate of intellectual property issues is inner to understanding our rights as users and producers of knowledge. The actions we acquire to influence egalitarian access to information can have enduring ramifications for society, as authorship makes control, control generates authority, and authority generates power. We must take every step needed to ensure that the controlling voices of the few but authoritative are reasonable by the yet-unheard voices of the weaker multitudes. Reference: Baym N. K. 1995. The emergence of community in computer-mediated communication. In S. G. Jones, ed. , CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, pp. 13863. Buck K. 1996. Community organizing and the Internet. Neighborhood Works, 19, 2, p. 2. Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92 Pub. L. 105 304, Sec. 512 [c] Gates B. 1995. The Road Ahead. New York: Viking Giddens, A. (1990) The Consequences of Modernity, Cambridge: Polity Press. Green, A. (1997) Education, Globalisation and the Nation State, London: Macmillan. http://www. washingtonwatchdog. org/rtk/documents/cong_hearings/senate/107/senatehearing107_77094. html http://www/stephenking. com Laikwan Pang`s 2005 article `Copying Kill Bill` social Text, No. 83, 133-153. London Times, June 17, 1996. Packard A. (1998). Infringement or impingement: Carving out an actual knowledge defense for sysops facing strict liability, Journalism Mass Communication Monographs, no. 168 (December). Ratan S. 1995. Time (spring):25-26. Rheingold H. 1993. The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley. Strong, William S. The Copyright Book: A Practical Guide. Cambridge: MIT P, 1990. Toby Miller et. al, 2001 `Hollywood`s Global Rights` in Toby Miller et. al. , Global

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Charley Skedaddle Essay -- American History

Charley Skedaddle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charley Skeddaddle is a story that takes place during the Civil War (1861-1865) in the North. The main character is Charley Stephen Quinn. He was a young boy growing up in New York City without parents. Charley’s older brother Johnny died at the Battle of Gettysburg. We learned about Johnny through Charley’s memories. He lives with his older sister Noreen, who recently became engaged to be married. Charley was involved in a street gang called the Bowery Boys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charley has had a rough life and has difficulty learning to accept his brother’s death. He wants to get revenge against the Confederate soldiers and this motivates him to join the Union army. He is inspired when he sees a military parade and a friend of his brother, or so he believes. That would be a perfect solution to his problems at home and a way to punish those responsible for his brother’s death. He had admired Johnny greatly and felt the only answer was to sneak into the army. Charley could not enlist because he was only 12 years old. He was determined to be a hero like his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since Charley was too young to be a soldier he became a drummer-boy for the army. He trained and worked hard to be a good one. He may have been physically ready for his first battle, but emotionally he was not. I don’t think he really knew what killing a person involved. All of his life he watched the people he cared about be taken away from him. First, it was his parents, ...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Love Conquers All

Love conquers all, let us too surrender to love. † Love could be described as insanity and outrageous to those who know it or even despise it. Love conquers all. If the obstacles be physical, which we cannot change ourselves, then our minds will mold as we see fit, even if it means going insane. Love conquers all because, being only one true love, it has no conditions. After getting a taste of love we will stray, only to come back for more, for it's what our souls yearn for. Thus, conquering the obstacles and abilities Of life.Love conquers the views of society. During the Civil Rights Movement, the â€Å"Blacks† or African-American people were being discriminated in America and other countries, it became obvious to a lot of African-Americans that violence against violence was getting them no where. Blacks loved their families, friends, countries, and white people. They were going to stand up for their rights as humans, but to do this they had to make obvious what the wh ites were doing to the blacks. African-Americans let themselves be beat and murdered. They protested by not going to places they were allowed or/and ongoing to places they were ‘t allowed to go to.It took a while, and it still goes on today, but the labels and views of society have been ever so more lifted off their shoulders. Love conquers all, including time. In the movie Maleficent, the fairy whom had lost her wings to her childhood friend and romantic lover, had cursed his newborn baby girl as revenge. After taking care of the baby girl, Aurora, from a distance, Maleficent thought she hated this child. As the girl grew, Maleficent grew in her love for Aurora. Finally, when the curse had taken place, Maleficent knew what she had done long ago now affected her and she devastated by this.When all hope seemed lost, she herself had lifted the curse from Aurora because of her sincerity of repentance and love for Aurora. At first Maleficent had thought there was no such love with out conditions, but even though it took a long period of time she still learned there was such a thing and became a happy fairy with her wings once again. Love conquers all, even the forces of nature and disease. Most of these may seem impossible to a lot of people. Jesus, the Son of God, had done lots of oracles. But He said, â€Å"Your faith has saved you. † Love comes with great faith in God.Jesus had died for our sins because of His great love for us and because he is Love. At the Last Supper a miracle occurred done by Jesus. He turned wine into His Blood and bread into His Body and said, â€Å"DO this in remembrance of me. † Thus, Catholics go to mass and relive this miracle of salvation. There have been times when the Blood or/and Body of Christ has been stolen and found in later years. When found, research had been done on the Blood or/and Body of Christ and concluded in astounding results. There was actual blood and body pieces still intact that described a tor tured male just as Jesus had been tortured.There have been people who have prayed to God through the intersection of Mary by praying the Rosary. Catholics and Non-Catholics, have prayed for others who have had a disease, for example cancer, to be cured. Sometimes their prayers weren't answered overnight or at all but these people had faith in God and dedicated themselves to the praying the Rosary. Their sincerity and faith took a toll and their prayers answered, the cancers cured, and as mom response from Mary, the people could smell roses eater their prayers had been answered or even if they weren't answered.Love conquers all. Whether it be the views of society, time, the forces of nature, diseases, and-ourselves. But, we must understand that suffering is part of love as long as we roam this earth. All of us have tried to avoid suffering. Has it not become obvious that our love is strongest at what seems the most difficult times? God refines us like silver in the fire Of our suffer ings. Fall in love with God and love will truly conquer all.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Personal Life and Success Essay

At what point do you stop when you have achieved successfulness? This is a million dollar question that has pondered through the minds of humans for ages. Success is perceived differently in every individual. But what opinion is correct? What is the perfect formula for a successful life? Does success consist of the amount of money you earn or power or is success based on happiness? To achieve ultimate success, is contentment vital? These are the questions that make the word â€Å"success† so subjective. What is the correct definition of success? In the dictionary it states that it is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Depending on your personal purpose in life, success is achieved at different levels. Everyone has a different purpose in life that they would like to achieve. Thus, who determines what success means is based on their goals in life. Money or popularity may be someone’s purpose so they would define that as success. On the contrary, does living your life everyday with no regrets or not worrying about money make you a successful person? When do we know when to stop when success is finally achieved? Do you stop working for success when you have all the money in the world or do you stop when you are comfortable with your lifestyle? Particular people believe success is when you are content with the life you live, not worrying about money or the everyday struggles of life. Others may conclude success is based on your income or how nice of an automobile you drive. It depends what you view as a satisfied lifestyle. Unfortunately our society revolves and relies on money. Though that sounds contradicting, money plays a great role in everyone’s lives. In order to support a family and own a house, currency is vital. We live in a society where money controls all. Without a decent job and a steady income, happiness seems so distant in the modern American life. We believe getting an education and earning a salary will bring happiness and joy. I am not saying money is the key to success but it’s a foundation in our modern society. My father is a great example of how success is viewed differently in each person. He was a man who never went to college but was determine to be successful. He worked hard since he was in high school and now works for Boat and Motors Superstore where he manages his own boat parts department. My father loves working with boats and loves his family. If you were to ask him, his life has been successful. My father measures success with how much joy is brought to his life on a regular basis. A secure job and a loving family fulfill his goal which ultimately makes him a successful person in his eyes. He does not focus on whether he has a higher income than others, my father’s man concern is security and happiness of himself and his family which is a quality that I cherish as well. The way I interpret success may be unique but I believe joyfulness will be present. My perspective of being successful resembles my father’s goals in life. I may not be wealthy or famous by any means but if I can maintain a stable job and a healthy family I would consider myself the most successful person in the world. Since the word success is more of an opinion based definition, the only way to measure success is if you are happy with the purpose you set in life that you would love to achieve. In other words, if you are happy with the person and life that is bestowed upon you today, then you have found success. What is success is a question from the past and will continue to be the question of the future. I believe there will never be one accepted answer. If that answer is ever found, please feel free to inform me. But when looking back on your life that you lived, ask yourself if you were happy. If you were, I honestly believe you will feel successful. I think success does not always mean happiness, but happiness always means success. I may be erroneous towards the classification of the word success, but an opinion is neither right nor wrong. I hope one day we can call ourselves successful and find out if happiness trails along with it.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Three Conferences That Created the Dominion of Canada

Three Conferences That Created the Dominion of Canada About 150 years ago the three British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island were considering the possibilities of joining together as a Maritime Union, and a meeting was set in Charlottetown, PEI for September 1, 1864. John A. Macdonald, then Premier of the Province of Canada (formerly Lower Canada, now Quebec, and Upper Canada, now southern Ontario) asked if representatives from the Province of Canada could also attend the meeting. The Province of Canada contingent showed up on the SS Queen Victoria, which was well supplied with champagne. That week Charlottetown was also hosting the first real circus Prince Edward Island had seen in twenty years, so accommodation for the last-minute Conference delegates was a bit short. Many stayed and continued discussions on board ship. The Conference lasted for eight days, and the topic rather quickly switched from creating a Maritime Union to building a cross-continent nation. The discussions continued through formal meetings, grand balls, and banquets and there was general approval for the idea of Confederation. The delegates agreed to meet again in Quebec City that October and then in London, United Kingdom to continue to work on the details. In 2014, Prince Edward Island commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference with celebrations all year long, across the entire province. The PEI 2014 Theme Song, Forever Strong, captures the mood. The Quebec Conference of 1864 In October 1864, all the delegates who had been present at the earlier Charlottetown Conference attended the conference in Quebec City, which simplified getting an agreement. The delegates worked out many of the details of what the system and structure of government for the new nation would be like, and how powers would be shared between provinces and the federal government. By the end of the Quebec Conference, 72 resolutions (called the Quebec resolutions) were adopted and became a substantial part of the British North America Act. The London Conference of 1866 After the Quebec Conference, the Province of Canada approved the union. In 1866 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia also passed resolutions for a union. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland still refused to join. (Prince Edward  Island joined in 1873 and Newfoundland joined in 1949.)  Towards the end of 1866, delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia approved the 72 resolutions, which then became the London resolutions. In January 1867 work began on drafting the British North America Act. Canada East would be called Quebec. Canada West would be called Ontario. It was finally agreed that the country would be named the Dominion of Canada, and not the Kingdom of Canada. The bill got through the British House of Lords and the House of Commons quickly, and received Royal Assent on March 29, 1867, with July 1, 1867, the date of the union. Fathers of Confederation Its confusing to try and figure out who the Canadian Fathers of Confederation were. They are generally considered to be the 36 men representing the British colonies in North America who attended at least one of these three major conferences on Canadian confederation.

Monday, October 21, 2019

A Victorious Heart essays

A Victorious Heart essays All people will have to make at least one important moral decision in their life and it is up to them whether they go with the practical decision or rely on their heart. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck has to make a decision that, throughout his journey down the river, will tear his conscience apart. He is faced with the dilemma of choosing whether or not to turn in Jim, a runaway slave whom he knew prior to this trip, or helping him to his freedom. As their adventure down the river progresses, Huck and Jim develop a friendship that makes Hucks decision of whether or not to turn him in more difficult. Huck finds himself traveling down a river with a man whom he has never truly gotten to know, but has respected him nonetheless. After Jim has Huck promise not to tell anyone, he then tells his story of how he ran away, which then surfaces the doubt that maybe Huck would tell someone because he now knows the whole story. Huck responds to this doubt, I said I wouldnt [tell], and Ill stick to it. Honest injun, I will. People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me (Twain 51). When Huck swears to keep his honesty he says it because he respects Jim, this trust is in no way out of friendship. He is more worried about being brought down in the society he lives in, more than helping Jim out. At this point his conscience has already started to be bothered and he has no idea what to do, but for right now he decides to just go with the flow of the river and hope things work out. He does not truly care for Jim as a friend, but he does not want to get caught because the tr uth about his fake death will then be revealed. At this point though, he does not look up to Jim and the only thing they have in common is the desire of freedom. As the beauty of nature on this trip down the river increasingly becomes stronger and more beautiful, so does Huck...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Keep Your Dreams and Your Day Job

How to Keep Your Dreams and Your Day Job Kelsey Murphy from the Muse has advice for aspiring globe-trotters and self-re-inventors; she knows from experience the joys and perils of quitting her day job and hopping on a plane to explore a new career while traveling the world. One day,  she realized moving to London on a whim wasn’t necessary- there were plenty of opportunities to explore the greener grass much closer to home.   Embrace the Learning CurveFor every new job or challenge I’ve had, there’s been a moment about a week or a month in where I wanted to quit, where the things that stressed me out far overshadowed the things I enjoyed. I was convinced I wasn’t meant to be an editor, a teaching assistant, a writer, a dog-owner, or even a New Yorker.But in the beginning, nobody’s an expert or a pro, and even if you’re a wunderkind you’ve got plenty to learn on the job. Be willing to screw up, apologize, and learn a new way to do things. The learning curve is even easier to swallow if it’s not a full-time experience- use the security of gainful employment to explore something you’ve always wanted to do on the side in the evenings or on weekends. Don’t let fear of failing keep you from dabbling.  Harness the 15-Minute IntentionIf you’re getting swept up in the demands of the minute-to-minute, take some time  to refocus on the big picture to-dos. What are you prioritizing? What gets knocked off course by errands or someone else’s urgency?Try to set aside 15 minutes a day to check in with something important to you, outside your daily grind. Maybe you add it on in the morning, or partition your lunch hour, or have a few quiet minutes right when you get home. There are plenty of productivity apps that can help you mark off the time.  Find a Mentor (A Small One!)The idea of forging a mentor/mentee relationship from scratch is daunting; I can’t even watch the Karate Kid without my intimacy issues flaring up. But, what Murphy calls a â€Å"mini-mentor† can be someone to help you in a small way, with one specific area of your life.Find one thing you’d like to learn in service of your larger interests, and the right person to ask. It may develop into a larger relationship, or it may conclude with one simple interaction, but either way you’re better off for having sought and accepted help. Plus if you do decide to throw caution to the wind and quit job A in pursuit of passion B, you’ll have at least one potential networking connection!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Demand Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Demand Forecasting - Essay Example Forecasting and modeling prices in the building construction market are vital for associating construction data in resource application, analysis and cost management, as the construction prices variation could influence the decisions made by construction investors, property managers, construction clients, developers and financial institutions. More essentially, the capability of forecasting construction prices sequences and trends can lead to bids that are more exact and can evade overestimations or underestimations in building construction projects. According to Jiang, Xu and Liu (2013), the price fluctuation comes because of the deviations and variances of market factors in the supply and demand of construction works. Variances in prices for building and construction materials are not only affected by the changes of condition in the market but also influenced by other elements, for instance, global special events, and government policies. The authors note special events such as 199 7 Asian economic crunch and the outbreak of the swine flu influenced prices and demand in Singapore and Hong Kong (Jiang, Xu, & Liu, 2013). Turkeys, Forecasting and Supply Chain Risk Management Steve Banker, the author, introduces a narrative about Gob, a hypothetical self-educated turkey. The article explains that the turkey had a strong penchant for statistics, and, therefore, he took note of the rations of the grain the farmer was feeding him, as he grew bigger. He reckons that the meals got bigger as time passed.

Works of Jacques Louis David and Damier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Works of Jacques Louis David and Damier - Essay Example During the period of romanticism, the painter worked quickly, freer and looser brush strokes giving evidence of the process of artistic creation. Another important aspect of romanticism was an interest in social issues, leading to a larger participation and concern in the events of the time. This is seen in the works of Eugene Delacroix, as in his Moorish scenes of men and wild beasts in physical conflict. He cultivated surface texture, impasto and used a rich palette of colors. Delacroix also pursued the same theme in his Jacob Wrestling with an Angel and in his North African paintings of turbaned men battling with tigers. Delacroix, however, is known best for his Liberty Guiding People, a patriotic painting of the French Revolution, in which the central figure of a woman beckons the soldiers forward with the flag she raises high above the field of the dead and wounded, while the drummer boy beside her valiantly charges with a pistol upraised. These two figures which form strong vig orous diagonals stand out amidst the smoke and confusion of the battle. An important realist is Honore Damier, whose rare gift for social satire found expression in his prints, political cartoons and paintings. While he lashed out at the corruption and hypocrisy of the privileged class, as in The Legislature, he had a profound sympathy for the poor and the oppressed, as in The Third Class Carriage and The Washer woman. Daumier had a sense of the dramatic moment revealed in a single look or gesture.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Discuss comfort zone and phase theories in business environment Essay

Discuss comfort zone and phase theories in business environment - Essay Example In performance management, motivation and anxiety are useful tools which are of great help since both are behaviorally subsets of stress. Both anxiety and motivation are constructive in different circumstances. In a certain scenario, introduction of anxiety might be appropriate while in another case, motivation may be most suitable. However, when excessive motivation or anxiety is used, it may decelerate performance because of too much stress. In order to be able to maximize performance in a given team or individuals an organization uses the appropriate management style in the various phases. If inappropriate management style is put to use on matters of people management, it may result to very poor performance. When utilizing performance enhancing steps, the new performance cycle should be at the point where the older cycle began to decelerate. The comfort zone The comfort zone is known to be a state of behavior whereby, an individual operates in a condition which is anxiety- neutral . In this state, an individual strives to deliver a level of performance which remains steady while using a limited set of behaviors without any sense of risk. This means that the level of performance remains constant as long as the anxiety or the applied skills does not change. In case the skills applied or the anxiety is altered, the end result will be either an upward or downwards change in the level of performance. The impact of anxiety on performance was investigated by Yerkes and Dodson. They found out that performance can be improved by anxiety to a point where, a given level of arousal has been reached (attained). However, performance begins to drop as the levels of anxiety gets higher and higher. The conclusion is that performance may be improved by increase in anxiety, but performance may also decrease when anxiety becomes excess (intolerable). In either case, an individual will be forced to move out their comfort zone and react to new stimuli. In terms of performance mana gement, improvement of performance as a result of increased anxiety is a good thing and is normally referred to a state of arousal. This state of arousal is defined as being the optimal performance zone, which all managers should strive to achieve to improve performance in their companies. However, the level of anxiety that causes performance deterioration is defined as being a good thing or danger zone. The research conducted by McCelland, Atkinson et al, on motivation illustrated the same relationship between motivation and performance. Carnall, when dealing with management of change came up with the correlation between individual’s performance and their own self esteem. Considering stress Carnall found out that stress increases an individual’s performance until a given level is attained. Beyond this given level, performance decelerates with increase levels of stress introduced to a worker. This continues until a given level where performance can enter into a free fa ll as behavior becomes unstable. The following model is developed from the above conclusion. The smallest circle illustrates the comfort zone, while the larger circle illustrates the optimal performance zone. Outside the two ovals is the danger zone that stress can lead an employee to. This illustrates that in a comfort zone, a slight increase in anxiety can bring an individual to a danger zone, however,

Discussion paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion paper - Essay Example Moderate Thai climate enhances the beauty of tourist resorts and provides ideal pre and post treatment environment. Spas are the main post treatment care places in the Thailand. Body massage and message of any body organ relieves the patients from different worries. Traditional massage, massage for beauty and massage for health are the main categories of massages in spas. Day’s spas help business people to lessen the stress during pause in the business activities. Thailand also provides treatment for cardiac problems in its tourist hospitals. Bumrungrad hospital Bangkok, Bangkok hospital Pattaya, Chaophya hospital and Chiangmai ram hospital are the important cardiac treatment hospitals available across the country. Over 1.2 million local and foreign patients are treated for bypass and heart transplantation. Physician who has treated more than 200 knee patients with a good record are preferred over other doctors in the country. 1.4 million Tourists for knee and hip treatment are expected to visit Thailand this year. This figure is higher than 1.2 million Orthopaedic treatments in 2010. Orthopaedic and other treatments are 20% cheaper than Singapore, India and UK. Cheap treatment encourages the patients to take along blood relatives for personal care as attendants. That is why 6 million US tourists visited Thailand in 2010. Cosmetic surgery is free of insurance policy that helps visitors to explore Thailand in detail. Private hospitals located mainly in the capita Bangkok are leading in surgery with state of the art technology and highly qualified staff. Spas offer post surgery massage for better looks after the surgery. Cosmetic surgery in Thailand ranges from simple face-lifts and tummy tucks to breast growth and sex reassignment surgery. Breast augmentation in Thailand costs about 3000 US$ against 9000 US$ in US. Almost same cost differences exist for face-lifts and tummy tucks. It is the cheapest from Canada, Australia and Germany. Doctor

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Procurement Outsourcing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Procurement Outsourcing Strategies - Essay Example Additionally, the Wonderful Widgets Company gets to act as a management hub that executes the finalized strategies for the product. This reading focuses on the series of strategic initiatives that explain the perceived impact of forming strategic alliances in procurement and outsourcing. The impending questions regarding the issues with outsourcing this particular case scenario is what risks are involved, and whether the outsourcing strategies should depend on the product characteristics, for example, the clock speed. As the Supply manager, the tasks involved entail the identification and development of an effective procurement strategy that aids in lowering or reducing the monthly operational costs (Rosenfield, 2012). The final decision pertaining to procurement is also dependent on the business operations involved with the company. Streamlining the business processes is essential in enacting and implementing an appropriate procurement service that works in favor of the business goals in terms of minimizing the operational costs. The selection of a strategic source for the manufacturing components would aid the company in taking advantage of any classified duty rates or even if the company is eligible to participate in special trade programs. The dynamics of the transit costs ought to be calculated to determine the inventory carrying costs, the freight, duty and brokerage or insurance costs (Rosenfield, 2012). Subscribing to premium freight services that require paying higher percentages can prove to be expensive to the company’s operational costs. This is common for shipment of premium goods which uses carrier insurance. Consolidating the goods and components expected by the company from multiple suppliers helps in minimizing transport costs for the business. The variable transit times for goods from different suppliers results in higher payments for the company. Since the company

My Essence of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Essence of Happiness - Essay Example In these regards, when I awake in the morning I feel excited to enter the day. I am confidant with who I am and the social relationships I have developed. I feel energetic and motivated to learn new things and explore new pursuits. I feel like I smile a lot, and many of the people I am around reflect such an upbeat demeanor. I am always willing to help other people and I find ways to make others’ lives easier. I tend to wear bright clothes and outfits that demonstrate my internal feelings of contentment. Even though I have no idea what will occur in most of my days, I still feel optimistic about my life and the future. Ultimately, while I find it difficult to exactly define my happiness, I recognize that there are is a collection of things that combine to constitute my happy existence. In considering the essence of my happiness, I recognize that there cause and effect relationships that contribute to this state. One of the primary things that contribute to my happiness is having an optimistic outlook on life and specific circumstances. I truly believe that thinking positively is a great contributor to happiness. Another prominent thing that I think contributes to my happiness is the fact that I exercise and remain physically active. In these regards, I believe that a large part of happiness is rooted in biological and physiological mechanisms and that exercise is essential to a healthy and happy lifestyle. Another prominent aspect of my happiness is that I keep a regular schedule and work hard at work and school. All humans must have a sense of meaning and purpose and in working towards my goals I am able to find meaning and purpose in my life. The collection of these elements causes my happy lifestyle. In conclusion, this essay has considered the essence of my happiness. In self-reflexively considering my happiness I have come to better

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Procurement Outsourcing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Procurement Outsourcing Strategies - Essay Example Additionally, the Wonderful Widgets Company gets to act as a management hub that executes the finalized strategies for the product. This reading focuses on the series of strategic initiatives that explain the perceived impact of forming strategic alliances in procurement and outsourcing. The impending questions regarding the issues with outsourcing this particular case scenario is what risks are involved, and whether the outsourcing strategies should depend on the product characteristics, for example, the clock speed. As the Supply manager, the tasks involved entail the identification and development of an effective procurement strategy that aids in lowering or reducing the monthly operational costs (Rosenfield, 2012). The final decision pertaining to procurement is also dependent on the business operations involved with the company. Streamlining the business processes is essential in enacting and implementing an appropriate procurement service that works in favor of the business goals in terms of minimizing the operational costs. The selection of a strategic source for the manufacturing components would aid the company in taking advantage of any classified duty rates or even if the company is eligible to participate in special trade programs. The dynamics of the transit costs ought to be calculated to determine the inventory carrying costs, the freight, duty and brokerage or insurance costs (Rosenfield, 2012). Subscribing to premium freight services that require paying higher percentages can prove to be expensive to the company’s operational costs. This is common for shipment of premium goods which uses carrier insurance. Consolidating the goods and components expected by the company from multiple suppliers helps in minimizing transport costs for the business. The variable transit times for goods from different suppliers results in higher payments for the company. Since the company

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Proposal - Essay Example This means that students may have to reschedule their arrival in the early morning even if their classes are in the afternoon session just to get a better parking spot!! Further, parking space provided for faculty members is 3-4 decks high and lies partially unoccupied due to its better parking space Vs vehicles ratio. And if students use these slots during rush hour, they are penalized through issue of tickets or towing away of vehicles even if these slots were vacant. Some students prefer to park their vehicles in the off-campus parking slots like Starbucks when their classes are closer to such parking lots than student's parking area. Unfortunately, students having classes at West campus or the forum area cannot do this! Similarly, some faculties like business have their classes closer to Beaver stadium, but is it possible for all university students to change over to business faculty simply to avail of this advantage! This is an unnecessary benefit for some students which also needs to be streamlined. This acute problem of parking facility for the students often creates unnecessary anxiety in terms of finding a parking slot at the last moment, lack of parking slot during the rush hour, waiting for a bus/walking down all the way and delays on such accords leading to students being penalized for coming late, feeling of a bias among students due to underutilized parking slots for faculty members and lack of interest by the university authorities to resolve the matter. This paper aims to suggest workable solutions to the problem and thereby help them stay motivated and happier while pursuing their studies at the university. THE SURVEY With a view to finding out whether this problem is unique to this author or the case is same with all faculty members, the undersigned conducted a basic survey of 200 students on this subject. The common view was that there exists an unreasonable and acute parking problem for the students of this university which needs to be resolved on due priority. The essence/terms of reference and outcome of the survey are appended below for a quick glance by one and all: 1. Do you think the university suffers from a parking problem Ans. Yes - 145/200 2. Where do you park usually Ans Campus - 130/200. 3. Would you like to park on campus Ans. All 200 students responded with a big YES. 4. Which of the following areas is the best area for rebuilding a parking deck a) Blue area b) Red area c) Yellow area d) Black area e) Green area Ans. Black area - 70/200. 5. Which available parking deck is the most convenient one to convert a) Park 1 b) Park 2 c) Park 3 d) Park 4 Ans. Park 2 - 80/200 6. If all solutions fail due to monetary issues and/or long term solutions, are you interested to help implement a point system Ans. Yes 145/200 7. Are you interested in being part of a student organization that will proceed and help make results happen Ans. Yes - 100/200. BUILDING/CONVERTING A PARKING DECK FOR STUDENTS As is evident from this survey, Black area and Park 2 parking deck seem to be popular and convenient choices for providing parking facilities for the students. However, the final decision as to where the parking deck should be provided is up to the committee in charge of making such decisions. While one deck can be constructed at Black area, it can be supplemented economically by converting one faculty deck for use by the

Monday, October 14, 2019

World Economics assignment Essay Example for Free

World Economics assignment Essay Introduction In this report, it will introduce the World Economy. Main focus is the key feature of the global economic environment. The core economic issues that are focused on in this report are trade, international payments, exchange rates and economies undergoing change. Procedure To gather the required information to produce this report, extensive usage of the internet, various search engines and university library to understand global economics theory and current affairs. Analysis on Element 1 Firstly, international trade increased word-wide output. International trade activities have develop and explore the comparative advantages of a country, meanwhile, boost the professionalism of industries, higher efficient because of this. If the world-wide output is enhanced and comparative advantages are well-exerted, producers can obtain benefits of economies of scale, accordingly, the cost will descend and profit ascend. Secondly, it provides greater range of commodities for consumers and more choice. Customers coming from varied counties could buy commodities which are not produced domestically by the means of international trade. It contributes to enlarging purchasing market. Since, no matter the similar types of products or goods that not are able produced in domestic area, they could be got through international trade. Additionally, world trade has made an overall increase in standard of living. Specifically, a host of job vacancies offered by muti-national companies help solving the employment problem, then corporation revenue and individual revenue are elevated. Consequently, increased tax will be invested to welfare and infrastructure system. Analysis on Element 2 According to wikipedia, Free trade is a system of trade policy that allows traders to act and or transact without interference from government. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services.(1) According to wikipedia, The Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) was created in the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The signatories hoped to create a common market in Latin America and offered tariff rebates among member nations. LAFTA came into effect on January 2, 1962. When the trade association commenced it had seven members and its main goal was to eliminate all duties and restrictions on the majority of their trade within a twelve year period. By the late 1960s the area of LAFTA had a population of 220 million and produced about $90 billion of goods and services annually. By the same time it had an average per capita gross national product of $440. The goal of the LAFTA is the creation of a free trade zone in Latin America. It should foster mutual regional trade among the member states, as well as with the U.S. and the European Union.(2) Analysis on Element 3 According to wikipedia, In economics, principle of absolute advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, or firm, or country) to produce more of a good or service than competitors, using the same amount of resources. Adam Smith first described the principle of absolute advantage in the context of international trade, using labor as the only input(3). For instance, the capital market of UK is absolute advantage when comparing to the developing countries. According to wikipedia, The law of comparative advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, a firm, or a country) to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another party. It is the ability to produce a product with the highest relative efficiency given all the other products that could be produced(4). For instance, during the end of 19 century and beginning of 20 century, textile industry of UK developed well. However, in the middle and end of 21 century, Chinas textile industry became a comparative advantage because of enhanced efficient by means of adopting new product technologies. Analysis on Element 4 According to wikipedia, Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of domestic markets and companies(5). Its a practice of regulating imports and exports with the purpose of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. Governments adopt protectionism in order to help the country become self-sufficient, to protect new industries, or as a bargaining tool. In terms of tariff which was applied in protectionism, there are two examples. On September of 2010, Chinese government enforce new import duties ranging from 50.3 to 105.4 percent on US chicken lasting for five years, since a investigation found that US chicken was being sold at low prices a process called dumping(6). Another instance is, according to the webpage, on November of 2009, Brazil would raise cane over U.S. ethanol tariff. The reason for that is Brazil sugar producers say sugar-based fuel is more environmentally sound than electricity or corn ethanol for as an alternative for powering cars(7). Analysis on Element 5 Trade barriers are constraints that tend to hinder the motivation to engage in the importing or exporting of goods(8). There are two types of barriers that a government can employ, which are Tariff barriers and Non-Tariff barriers. According to the student guide, Tariffs are taxes or customs duties placed on foreign products to artificially raise their prices and this hopefully, suppresses domestic demand for them.(9) According to wikipedia, Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff.(10) it can take many forms, including quotas, embargoes, exchange controls, import deposits, voluntary export restrains, product standard procedures, subsidies and etc. There are two instances that indicate how tariff barriers influence the global trade. According to the webpage, On September of 2010, chinas commerce ministry announced that it would impose import tariffs on American poultry of up to 105.4 percent(11). Another is, on August of 2010, Mexicos new list which includes meats, vegetables and household items face tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent, which will hurt Texas more(12). Analysis on Element 6 In brief, according to the webpage, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization which can provide a negotiating forum, offer a set of rules and helps to settle disputes for its memberships between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flow as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible(13). According to the publication of European Commission, on 8 December 2003, the EC requested consultations with India on 27 antidumping measures imposed on a variety of EC exports, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, paper, textile and steel. The problems in the Indian cases mainly referred to the highly insufficient injury and causality analysis, the failure to provide meaningful disclosure documents and a continuous disregard of arguments presented by EC exporters and the EC. Following the consultations held in February 2004, India opened a review process which has led to the termination of most of the contested measures, including those of most economic interest for EC exporters (steel and pharmaceutical products)(14). Analysis on Element 7 The aims of EU are following: Firstly, Eliminate customs duties and quotas between members. Secondly, establish common external tariff for non members (operated through common commercial policy). Thirdly, establish free movement of people, service, goods and capital between members, meanwhile, reduce anti-competitive practices. Fourth, associate with countries outside union to increase trade. Further, move towards full economic and monetary union. Lastly, develop common foreign, security and defense policy(15). In respect of trade, EU has encouraged to use one single currency which promotes the development of trade. Regarding to administration, the applying of Schengen Visa decrease administrative impediments and encourage the flow of individuals and business. Moreover, it implements unified foreign policy when confronted with trade disputes. Analysis on Element 8 The Balance of Payments can effectively be broken down into two parts. According to the webpage, The Current Account records international trade in goods and service, international income flows and current transfers. The Capital Account and Financial Account form the counter part to this, recording the changing pattern in the international ownership of assets. While the Financial Account records changes in the cross-border flows of assets the international Investment Position measures the total stocks of foreign assets and liabilities held by a nation(16). The trade in goods balance is the difference between the value of goods exported and the value of goods imported. The trade in services is recorded in the same way, with credits to the Current account reflecting services exports and debits services imports. Net income flows reflect international payments associated with the ownership of the factors of production (land, labor and capital). Current transfer records a miscellaneous set of net payments including workers remittances, social security, foreign aid and contributions to international organizations(17). In 2009, the current account deficit stands atà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.5 billion. The deficit of trade in goods account falling toà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½81.9 billion. The trade in services account has shown a surplus of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½49.9 billion. The investment income balance rose to a record level of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½32 billion. The deficit of transfers account reached a record of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.8 billion. Additionally, The capital account represented in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.2 billion and financial account had a net inflow of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.6 billion(18). Analysis on Element 9 According to the bar chart of trade in good and trade in services, the UK trade was fluctuated over the last 30 years. The UK trade has really only been in surplus in the very early 1980s which around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3 billion. However, after that, there has a apparent drop from 1982 to 1989 where at a bottom in minus à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 billion in 1989. Then, from 1990 to 1997, it roughly remained same which around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 billion deficits. What is worse, the UK trade has a substantial decline which from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½21 billion deficits in 1998 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½90 billion deficits in 2008 during the ten years. In 2009, the trade of good has a deficit around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½81.9 billion(19). As for the trade in services, the UK has traditionally been in surplus and certainly has been so from 1976-1997. The services trade approximately remained surplus à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4 billion during four years which from 1980 to 1984. Then, it peaked at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7 billion within 3 years which from 1985 to 1987 during the 1980s. From 1991 to 1997, it ascended gentlely from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11 billion deficit. However, there was a sharply growth after 2005 which from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 billion positive to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½56 billion positive in 2008. In 2009, it dropped to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½49.9 billion trade in services. Analysis on Element 10 According to the wikipedia, The exchange rates between two currencies specify how much currency is worth of a foreign nations in terms of the home nations currency(20). It has two forms which are fixed exchange rate and floating exchange rate. As to the floating exchange rate, according to the student guide, if the value of currency rises imported goods will be cheaper, therefore the trade in goods is likely to move into deficit. If the value of a currency falls, domestic goods and services will be dearer in domestic markets. This should mean an improvement in trade in goods(21). With regarding to the fixed exchange rate, according to the student guide, a persistent surplus could be dealt with by measures which allow domestic consumers to feel confident to purchase more. If the domestic economy cannot respond then imports would probably increase and exports might become less competitive.(22) Therefore, it will lead to a decrease of trade in goods. If the opposite were the case, a persistent deficit then measures could be used to restrict domestic demand and also to place greater restrictions on imports.(23) Hence, an increase of trade in goods will be emerged with that. For example, it is suggested that the American government has a requirement of increasing the value of RMB (increasing the exchange rate of RMB to change dollar) in 2001. In the end of 2006, Chinese government put the policy to take the exchange rate, it means originally 100 US dollars exchange 826 RMB, now only swap about to 800 RMB. In this way, they can make use of less money to change more products of Chinese in order to offset the quota of currency. Analysis on Element 11 The single currency is usually a double edge sword, which both bring the UK government strengthens and weaknesses. Advantages: To the UK economy, keeps interest rates lower, the commitment to low inflation should allow the economies to operate lower cost. Increase foreign investment, if the UK join the single currency system, direct inward investment should be attracted because the reduction of uncertainly there is not the need to calculate demonstrate the UK pound(24). Disadvantages For the UK government, changes from old currency may be costly; the government needs spend additional money, like, purchase the new equipment and staff training. The UK government will lose the independent monetary policy, since when UK adopt the single currency, the scope for fiscal policy adjustments is restricted by need to stay within 3% of GDP(25). Analysis on Element 12 To individuals, adopting the single currency could eliminate cost on exchange currency. No matter Tourists or citizens, they do not need to care about more money will be spend because of changing exchange rate. Besides, it renders purchasers convenient and efficient shopping, most essentially, a wide range of selections of goods and considerations without additional expenditure. To the business, utilizing a single currency intensifies stiff competition among members within EU. By the contrast, it also provides corporations with increasingly opportunities and possibilities of expansion, so that these firms could produce their product to wider within EU. Whats more, it decreases the cost of foreign investment to dedicate domestically. Analysis on Element 13 According to wikipedia, Least Developed Country (LDC) is the name given to a country which, according to the United Nations, exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. A country is classified as a Least Developed Country if it meets three criteria: * low-income (three-year average GNI per capita of less than US $905, which must exceed $1,086 to leave the list) * human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy) and * economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters)(26) For instance, Bhutan and Maldives in Asia is confronted with several problems which include shortage of education investment, out-dated medical treatment and high incident of employment. Analysis on Element 14 NICs like Kiribati may face the problem of indebtedness. According to the student guide, As the living standards and per capital income of NICs approach those of the mature economies they will certainly find it difficult to sustain growth, they may well have benefited from aid from the World Bank or IMF. Were they clever enough to pay off all debts they might have owed externally or as close to it as they could before being exposed to some fairly fierce competition(27). In Cambodia, the unemployment is usually very high with very little industry because most people work on their own small plots of land. The social, cultural and religious patters within these countries are barriers to mobility and change(28). Analysis on Element 15 The impact of multi-national firms on NICs and LDCs may be broadly similar. The benefits have increase employment, the new methods and technology and contribute to economic growth, to name just a few. At the same time the problems have which may eliminate domestic competition, occupy the local nature resources and the profits are mainly transfer back to Home County(29). Volkswagen as the first group company into Chinese marketing, they merger the Shanghai automobile firm and established the Shanghai Volkswagen Company. The professional training designed for Chinese worker brought in the updated technology and management skills. The other instance is about Samsung Electronics. The organization install their manufactory in developing countries like India, it may use up the natural resources and give extreme detrimental environmental influences on host country. Summary All those are the 15 key elements about the world economy. At present, the global economy tends to integration, so to realize world economy is very necessary for countries, businesses, and even individuals. Reference (1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade (2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_Integration_Assosiation (3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_advantage (4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage (5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectionism (6)http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/27/business/main6904479.shtml (7)http://domesticfuel.com/2010/04/06/brazil-eliminates-tariff-on-ethanol-imports/ (8)http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/tariff-trade-barrier-basics.asp (9) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page34. (10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-tariff_barriers_to_trade (11) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/global/27yuan.html (12) http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/Mexico-s-new-tariff-list-may-hurt-Texas-621156.php (13) http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/doload_e/inbr_e.pdf (14) http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2007/may/tradoc_134652.pdf (15) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 66. (16) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_Payments (17) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/elmr/09_09/downloads/ELMR_Sep09_Chamberlin.pdf (18) United Kingdom Balance of Payments The Pink Book (19) United Kingdom Balance of Payment-The Pink Book (20) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_rate (21) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 91and 92. (22) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 103. (23) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 103. (24) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 112. (25) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 113. (26) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_Developed_Country (27) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 134 and 135. (28) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 139. (29) Economics 2: The World Economy by China Mordern Economic Publishing House Page 148-149.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Biosensors Development for Hydrogen Peroxide Detection

Biosensors Development for Hydrogen Peroxide Detection An approach towards clinical diagnosis. 1. Introduction: The molecular oxygen is the basic source of energy for aerobic systems. Its consumption by the living systems produces the radical such as superoxide anion (O2). This is a highly reactive toxic radical and is implicated in numerous pathologies. The toxicity of the triplet oxygen is prevented by the involvement of enzymes. A real paradox is that hydrogen peroxide and superoxide ion have to be present in the living systems but their concentrations have to be controlled precisely so that they persist only for a short period in cells. Hydrogen peroxide belongs to a class of non-radicals reactive oxygen species [1, 2]. It is an important intermediate species in many biological and environmental processes. Moreover, H2O2 which is known as a cell killer due to its oxidizing power is required as a substrate for many enzymes. It has been shown to be present in the atmospheric and hydrospheric environments [3, 4]. H2O2 is a major reactive oxygen species in living organisms, better known for its cytotoxic effects and it also plays an important role as a second messenger in cellular signal transduction. Oxidative damages resulting from the cellular imbalance of H2O2 and other reactive oxygen species are related to aging and severe human diseases such as cancers and cardiovascular disorders. [5, 6] Furthermore, H2O2 is one of the products of reactions mediated by almost all oxidases. [7] H2O2 is generated in response to various stimuli, including cytokines and growth factors and is also involved in regulating diverse biolo gical processes from immune cell activation and vascular remodeling in mammals [8] to stomatal closure and root growth in plants[9]. In unicellular organisms an important response to the increased levels of H2O2 is the increased production of antioxidants and repair proteins to allow adaptation to these oxidative conditions[10]. Most biological sources of H2O2 involve in the spontaneous or catalytic breakdown of superoxide anions, produced by the partial reduction of oxygen during aerobic respiration and following the exposure of cells to a variety of physical, chemical and biological agents. As for example, activation of NADPH oxidase complexes generate superoxide and hence the H2O2. 2. A brief outlook of the hydrogen peroxide assays Unlike other reactive oxygen species H2O2 (a mild reducing and oxidizing agent) needs an initiator for the activation by the transitional metal or enzymes. This robust chemical characteristic of H2O2 made the assay rather difficult in the quantification compared to its other reactive oxygen species such as superoxide, hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, peroxyl radical, and such others. Methods useful for its assay include ultra-violet, infrared, Raman scattering, ESR, electro analytical techniques, metal-H2O2 complexes, enzyme mediated reactions, nanotechnogy, flow injection analysis, and biosensors. 2.1 Analytical methods based on the physical properties Numerous methods have been reported in the literature for the quantification of H2O2 based on its physical properties. These include electrochemical, optical thermal, ultrasonic, chromatographic methods and mass spectra [11]. The analytical methods based on its physical properties are rather restricted due to its relatively poor robustness and sensitivity for biomedical application. Methods assessible for the enzyme assay techniques include Synthetic labeled substrates including fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates Isotopically labeled substrates Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) substrates Substrates with fluorescent labels with indirect detection Electrochemical assays Chemiluminiscence assays Bioluminescent assays Mass spectroscopy Nanotechnology Enzyme immobilization techniques For the development of analytical techniques and methods for the hydrogen peroxide assays, analytical chemists play a crucial role as they are mainly devoted to the development of methodologies or have been too much concerned with the analysis of isolated targeted material. 2.2 Quantification based on the electrochemical biosensor The modern concept of biosensors is a rapidly expanding field of instruments to determine the concentration of substances and other parameters of biological interest since the invention by Clark and lyons in 1962. Electrochemical biosensors are the analytical devices that detect biochemical and physiological changes. Early techniques of biosensors in the analysis of chemical and biological species involved reactions that took place in a solution in addition to catalysts and samples. In recent years, however the biosensor techniques have provided alternative systems that allowed the reactions without reagents to take place at a surface of an electrode. The immobilization techniques include physical adsorption, cross-linking, entrapment, covalent-bond or sometimes combination of all the techniques. International Status As it has been mentioned in the introduction of the proposal, a tremendous burst in research activities in the field of hydrogen peroxide measurement has increased over understanding about its role. Over the last few years, studies have suggested that oxidative stress plays a role in the regulation of hematopoietic cell homeostasis.[12] The generation of H2O2 is increased in response to various stresses, in which previous exposure to one stress can induce tolerance of subsequent exposure to the same or different stresses. [13] Oxidative stress is an important cause of cell damage associated with the initiation of many diseases.[14] It is also investigated that tissue injury due to free radical liberated by H2O2 during oxidative stress is the heart of periodontal diseases. [15] Many research papers describes that high levels of H2O2 is cytotoxic to a wide range of animal, plant and bacterial cells. Hydrogen peroxide has the ability to penetrate the cell membrane and form the hydroxyl radical OH. which is capable of causing high levels of DNA damage. [16] Evidences show that increase in the cellular levels of H2O2 play a major role directly or indirectly in sensitizing cancer cells to H2O2-induced cell death. Indeed, there is a growing literature showing that H2O2 can be used as an inter- and intra-cellular signalling molecule. [17] National status: A tremendous growth is taking place in developing hydrogen peroxide biosensor all over the world and also in India. As per the Indian scenario, different national research institutes and private companies have been working in this field. NPL, CEERI Pilani, IISC, IIT, Bengal Engineering and Science University and many more national institutes are working on this. Many of the private sectors like Biosensor Interventional technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd, Clearly a major obstacles in studying the roles of hydrogen peroxide has been the lack of widely available specific tools and methodologies Objectives The whole idea of the project is to develop a new ultrasensitive reagent, versatile, non-carcinogenic easily available so that there are no earlier reports. The proposal of new reagents for enzyme peroxidase based hydrogen peroxide assay. Principal investigator is interested to have an extensive catch over the kinetic assay by developing new kinetic equations by controlling different parameters such as pH, effect of co-substrate concentration etc., (iv) Methodology: The simple oxidative reaction of the H2O2 in the presence of enzyme can be explored by converting the co-substrates into optically detectable product. This includes a variety of oxidizing reagents based on the oxidative property of metals such as Co(II), Fe(II), Cu(II), and other metal ion catalysts. The assay based on simple oxidation comprises the optical methods such as spectrophotometry, spectroflurimetry, and chemiluminiscence. To overcome the relatively poor sensitivity and selectivity of the optical methods described below, peroxidase or metal porphyrins can be introduced to enhance the sensitivity of specific H2O2 detection. It is based on the specific H2O2 reaction with hydrogen donors on the catalysis of peroxidase or metal porphyrins, instead of oxidizing reagents. These optical methods of analysis are sensitive to the extent of micromolar and nanomolar H2O2 concentrations. As one of the most sensitive optical methods, chemiluminiscence is based on the reaction of luminol with H2O2 in basic solution in the presence of metal ions such as Fe(II), Cu(II), Co(II) and other metal ion catalysts [7]. Further chemiluminiscent methods were developed by the use of different oxidizing agents such as KIO4-K2CO3 [8]. Also attempts were made for the enhancement of chemuminiscent reaction by the use of p-iodopenol [9], gold nanoparticles [10], chitosan [11], resin [12] and DNAzyme [13]. Alternatively, fluorescent quantification has been applied to H2O2 based on the oxidation [14]. The generation of oxidized form can be measured by the fluorescent probes such as p-(hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid [15], ÃŽ ²- Cyclodextrin (CD)–hemin [16], N,N’-dicyanomethyl-o-phenylenediamine- hemin [17], Rhodamine B hydrazide-iron(III)-tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine [18], Fluorescein hydrazide [19], Haemin-L-tyrosine [20], Fluorescin [21], and ninhydrin [22]. Another approach was mainly based on the ROS fluorogenic reaction, which generally involves formation of oxidized forms which are highly fluorescent products [23-26]. There are also many spectrophotometric methods for the assay of H2O2 which are based on the oxidation and formation of the colored product. The spectrophotometry involves the methods based on guaiacol [27], 4-amino-5-(p-aminophenyl)-1-methyl-2-phenyl-pyrazol-3-one (DAP) N-ethyl-N-sulpho- propylaniline sodium salt (ALPS) [28], Phenol-AAP [29], Photofenton reaction-metavanadate [30], Fenton reaction [31], Pyrocatecol-aniline [32], H2O2-molybdate [33], Naphthalene-Agrocybe aegerita peroxidase [34], and phenol red-HRP [35]. The sensitivity of these optical methods can be further enhanced by the involvement of sequential flow injection analysis system. Principal investigator is interested to carry out modest research for the development of newer analytical procedures for the enzyme based substrate assay. Implementation of the project proposal involves of developing new reagents for the assay of peroxidase involving the use of amine, phenol related co-substrate assay for peroxidase. The main proposal of the research work will be dealt with alternative reagents to guaiacol, benzidine which are having it own disadvantages such as solubility in water, carcinogenic, economic viability. References: [1] C.L. Murrant, M.B. Reid, Detection of reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species in skeletal muscle, Microscopy Research and Technique, 55 (2001) 236-248. [2] M.P. Fink, Role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in acute respiratory distress syndrome, Current Opinion in Critical Care, 8 (2002) 6-11. [3] D. Price, P.J. Worsfold, R.F. C. Mantoura, Hydrogen peroxide in the marine environment: cycling and methods of analysis, TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 11 (1992) 379-384. [4] J.M. Anglada, P. Aplincourt, J.M. Bofill, D. Cremer, Atmospheric Formation of OH Radicals and H2O2 from Alkene Ozonolysis under Humid Conditions, ChemPhysChem, 3 (2002) 215-221. [5] M.C.Y. Chang, A. Pralle, E.Y. Isacoff, C.J. Chang, A Selective, Cell-Permeable Optical Probe for Hydrogen Peroxide in Living Cells, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126 (2004) 15392-15393. [6] E.W. Miller, A.E. Albers, A. Pralle, E.Y. Isacoff, C.J. Chang, Boronate-Based Fluorescent Probes for Imaging Cellular Hydrogen Peroxide, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 127 (2005) 16652-16659. [7] D.A. Abramowicz, C.R. Keese, Enzyme-catalyzed reactions involving diphenyl carbonate, in, Google Patents, 1990. [8] M. Geiszt, T.L. Leto, The Nox Family of NAD(P)H Oxidases: Host Defense and Beyond, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279 (2004) 51715-51718. [9] C. Laloi, K. Apel, A. Danon, Reactive oxygen signalling: the latest news, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 7 (2004) 323-328. [10] D.J. Jamieson, Oxidative stress responses of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Yeast, 14 (1998) 1511-1527. [11] D. Harms, H. Luftmann, F.K. Muller, B. Krebs, U. Karst, Selective determination of hydrogen peroxide by adduct formation with a dinuclear iron(iii) complex and flow injection analysis/tandem mass spectrometry, Analyst, 127 (2002) 1410-1412. [12] A. Nogueira-Pedro, T.A.M. Cesario, C. Dias, C.S.T. Origassa, L.P.M. Eca, E. Paredes-Gamero, A. Ferreira, Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induces leukemic but not normal hematopoietic cell death in a dose-dependent manner, Cancer Cell International, 13 (2013) 123. [13] B. Halliwell, M.V. Clement, L.H. Long, Hydrogen peroxide in the human body, FEBS Letters, 486 (2000) 10-13. [14] E.A. Veal, A.M. Day, B.A. Morgan, Hydrogen Peroxide Sensing and Signaling, Molecular Cell, 26 (2007) 1-14. [15] A. Mendi, B. AslÄÂ ±m, Antioxidant Lactobacilli Could Protect Gingival Fibroblasts Against Hydrogen Peroxide: A Preliminary In Vitro Study, Probiotics Antimicro. Prot., (2014) 1-8. [16] B. Halliwell, J.M.C. Gutteridge, Oxygen free radicals and iron in relation to biology and medicine: Some problems and concepts, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 246 (1986) 501-514. [17] S. Neill, R. Desikan, J. Hancock, Hydrogen peroxide signalling, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 5 (2002) 388-395.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Sub-Saharan Africa Essay -- Africa Geography Essays Geographical

Sub-Saharan Africa Africa is the second largest of the earth's seven continents, covering about twenty-two percent of the world's total land area. From its northern most point, to its southern most tip is the distance of nearly five thousand miles. Africa is both north and south of the equator. The Atlantic Ocean is located west of the continent, and the Indian Ocean is on the east. Width of the continent is also nearly five thousand miles. Although Africa is so large, much of it is inhabitable. Desert soils, which have little organic content, cover large areas. The Sahara Desert, in the northern part, covers more than one fourth of Africa, and the Kalahari Desert is in the southern part of the continent. These two deserts are a natural detriment to the African continent because they make it difficult to reach the inland where most of the people live. Although Africa is relatively close to Europe, travel by land over the Sahara desert is very prohibitive. Another topographical feature that also isolate s the central region of Africa is the coastline. Africa has a regular coastline characterized by few indentations. Because of the smooth coastline, natural harbors were non-existent. Today, however, there are important coastal cities, such as Lagos and Dakar. With the exception of the Mediterranean coast, most of the coastline is low-lying , generally narrow and rising sharply to high elevations. The African climate and topography varies greatly. Although temperatures are usually high, due to being so close to the equator, rainfall, soil quality and elevations are of various degrees. Because most of the African continent has not been covered by water for millions of years, soils have developed according to their weathering e... ...bances began to emerge, and the economy began to drop. Unrest cost many lives, until demands for change were heard and the political system was revised. In 1994, the South African people went to the polls for the first time and held a democratic election in which Nelson Mandela became president. The country of South Africa has made strides in healing their broken country. Economic ways started in the nineteenth century, still have a hold on the countries of the sub-Sahara today. These countries are all impoverished and have seen horrific civil wars, however, the general consensus is that they are making slow improvements in their economy. The starvation, overpopulation and health problems are still very evident. Perhaps continued assistance coupled with education and protection will keep them on the road to stability and more rewarding lives for their citizens.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Iroquois Kinship Essay

This paper is going to introduce the Iroquois kinship. Kinship can best be defined as a system of social relationships, or in simpler terms a system of family. Kinship can be seen in our everyday lives within our own circle of family and friends, and how we classify them in regards to importance and how we treat them based on our classifications of them. Kinship can best be defined as a system of social relationships, or in simpler terms a system of family. Kinship involves how people classify each other, the rules that affect people’s behavior and people’s actual behavior† (Nowak and Laird, 2010). Kinship can be seen in our everyday lives within our circle of family and friends, and how we classify them in regards to importance and how we treat them based on our classifications of them. For example, you may love your best friend and treat them with respect but would you respect your best friend more than you respect your mother? This provides us with an insight o f the kinship systems. The Iroquois are a female dominated group. Unlike most societies, the Iroquois trace their ancestry through the women making them a matrilineal society. It is a culture of responsibility and respect, where each person is valued for their contribution to the group. Women are the main producers of food and owners of the land. Men help by clearing and burning forest areas to prepare for farming and hunting small game. The younger adults are expected to do a greater share of the work due to their youth, strength, and stamina† (Laird and Nowak, 2010). The structure of the Iroquois kinship system gives responsibilities of all members regardless of age of their sex. â€Å"The males are responsible for hunting and clearing the land. The younger adults are expected to do a greater share of the work due to their youth, strength, and stamina† (Laird and Nowak, 2010). The Iroquois people are known as the â€Å"Haudenosaunee† or â€Å"The People of the Longhouse†. The Iroquois Indians are a horticultural society located in the Northeast region of North America. Horticultural societies use a atrilineal system of succession because the women have the primary responsibility for provision of food and goods for the family. This includes property, land, hunting and fishing territories, animals, and even knowledge. The likelihood of a society being or remaining a matrilineal society depends upon how much food is obtained from hunting and herding. The more men contribute by gathering food, the greater their importance and rol es will become. Because the Iroquois primarily rely on farmed foods for sustenance and trading, the women maintain the power status (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The Iroquois live in long houses because they have large extended families. In the Iroquois culture, the woman in a marriage holds most of the power. After a marriage the husband lives with the wife’s community. The longhouses provide separate living quarters for each family to occupy. Divorce exists as part of the Iroquois culture. If the wife no longer desires to be married, she simply places her husband’s belongings in front of the house indicating he has been removed from the family. If there are children involved, the children will remain with the mother. There some similarities between our culture and the Iroquois. The role of the female can be correlated when thinking of providing food for the family. The women gather food at the store as opposed to harvesting in the fields. Men also seem to have a correlation in they work they have responsibility to complete. Many males are involved in hunting for food and preparing an area or situation the female needs to complete a task much as the Iroquois prepare the field for planting. When comparing the Iroquois culture of kinship to personal family situations, many similarities emerged. The family members care for the elderly members in their homes. Several generations live in each of the homes. One family, living in a daughter’s home, includes the oldest grandmother, the grand-daughter and her husband, and two grand-sons. Another family unit, living in the daughter’s home, includes the second eldest woman and her husband, their daughter, a grand-daughter and two great-grandchildren. The daughters care for the older generation as well as helping the younger generation as they grow. The elder members of the family often try to run everyone else’s lives by instructing them on what they should and should not do and when they should do it. The Iroquois culture is one of the rare cultures of the world because it practices matrilineal descent. The Iroquois are matrilineal, the women hold most of the power in their tribes. Women are large contributors to the Iroquois food sources and greatly influence decisions made in the tribe. In a Iroquois marriage is where the woman holds most of her power and the children belong to her clan. If she is not satisfied with her husband, she can simply pack his things for him and send him back to his childhood tribe. The Iroquois used nature and the natural resources around them to meet their needs. The Iroquois is a matrilineal culture. Unlike most societies the Iroquois are a female dominated group and every person in the family has their own responsibilities. Each person is valued for their contribution to the group.