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Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Role of Facebook in Social movements

Introduction Social movements have characterized most social, political, religious, and cultural struggles in the world history. It is already ten years into the 21st century but it is clear that technology, as a cultural tool, is at the epicenter of an emerging sociocultural struggle in which Facebook is a major player. Facebook tries to persuade users of its vision for technology.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Role of Facebook in Social movements specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study of social movements, their ideology and function, should be approached by comprehending how their public pedagogy is persuasive (Melucci, 2006). This paper attempts to examine some of the cases in the recent past where social sites, and in specific, Facebook, have been instrumental in social movements. The paper traces the origin of the phenomenon of social movements and social media, provides evidence for the rec ent influence, and concludes by recapping some of the key discussions in the body of the paper in an effort to support the thesis stated below. Thesis In the last several months, there has been a heated debate in the last couple of months concerning blogging, theories, and hype on the responsibility of the Internet in today’s social movements. The social media includes Internet applications such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. All these have enabled the formation and exchange of user-related content. In deed, the Internet has been making the world a much smaller place in which democracy and the market are sure to thrive. The latest testimony to these propositions has been the Occupy Wall Street protests in the late September and the Arab movements early this year. This paper holds that social media, and in particular facebook played a pivotal role in fuelling these protests. Facebook allowed people to experience what others were feeling through a simple post. Background Int uitive studies in the milieu of social movements can be dated back in the 1950. Initially these movements were visualized as historical movements. They were perceived as attempts to develop or demolish institutions in the society through the art of rhetoric.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is no surprise that today; the two subjects are still being studied under one roof. Scholars in the field of communication usually researched and analyzed social movements from a rhetorical paradigm based their arguments on concepts of meaning and discourse (Altinkson, 2010). On the other hand, social scientists studied the topic from an empirical perspective based on the effects and measurement. In the later years of the research on social movements, the focus shifted to the examination of how the new social movements slough to establish political identity instead of creating or demolishing social institutions. This was achieved through the use of images and visual rhetoric. Towards the end of the 20th century, communication scholars started to include the phenomenon of network in their research on new social movements (Touraine, 2001). Initial research on the phenomenon of social movements identified two types of movements, as well as the various chronological stages for the development of the movements. The two types of movements found in the society are pro-movements and anti-movements. Pro-movements are meant to create or defend institutions while anti-movements are aimed at removing or demolishing institutions. In the inception phase, the movement is mainly unknown and unseen by the general public. At this stage, the aggressor rhetoricians emerge to take the vanguard, creating arguments for or against particular institutions in society (Hardt Negri, 2004). In the stage of rhetorical crisis, defendants of the status quo take notice of the growing argu ments made by the aggressor rhetoricians. The defendants begin to mobilize their resources and arguments. At this point, an event takes place, which triggers a public and visible clash between the groups. This, definitely, disturbs the equilibrium existing between the two groups existing in the minds of the general public. This clash marks the end since the movement enters into the phase of consummation. At this stage, the aggressor rhetoricians leave their work. They feel they have succeeded in their cause, they have been defeated, or there is a new cause that they should attend (Downing, 2001).Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Role of Facebook in Social movements specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Social scientists began to concentrate on collective behavior in social movements with regard to stages that rise as a result of different political and social factors. The researches demonstrated that social movements are marked by social strain, growth, and spread of beliefs, triggers for localized social action, mass mobilization, and social control (Touraine, 2001). The social movements or collective action, as early researches called them, start with the strain experienced by an initial group of social actors as they come to realize that something is wrong with society (Schock, 2005). Those beliefs sprout outward beyond the original group. As the other phases unfold, the participants’ collective behavior increases in momentum. The early years of research on social movements saw rhetoricians focusing mainly on the stages of historical movements. The works shifted focus to discourse and exigencies in the social environment resulting to the adoption of concepts of rhetoric, image, and identity by researches. However, with the origin of the new social movements, the concept has come to describe contemporary social movements aimed at shaping political identities or challenge soci al roles and norms. This is achieved through the use of radical performance, image politics, and interactive technology (Castells, 2006). The last category forms the bulk of this research. Evidence The use of interactive technology in social movements has made such organizations smaller, non-hierarchical, and more decentralized compared to their predecessors. The first case to be considered in this research in order to substantiate this claim by modern researches in social movements is the Arab movements. It is well known that social movements are as a result of the union of social, economic, cultural, and political factors. This held true to the case of the Arab Spring movements. Years of government corruption, bourgeoisie economic self-interest, arrogance of the authority, as well as milestone economic inequalities, were the main reasons as to why these social movements arose (Kaldor, 2003). In Egypt, Facebook is the second most popular site. By the time of the protests, Egypt had five million Facebook accounts. Protesters used Facebook to organize, schedule and †peercast† protests. The latter refers to the sharing of mobile pictures and videos with peers. The pictures captured disseminated through Facebook offered an intuitive view into the protests than what many people could seen on TVs.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This demonstrated a people with a common cause willing to transform their country (Hann Dunn, 2006). The Arab Spring Movement supports the idea that the civil society is becoming a truly global phenomenon. In deed, some scholars like Kaldor argue that such types of movements are becoming more important than domestic, civil society (Kaldor, 2003). The protesters are using Facebook to organize their schedules. The site makes it possible for protesters to communicate with one another, as well as aids in recruiting new participants (Schock, 2005). The site also comes in handy in updates concerning change of locations, strategies, or latent dangers. Photos and videos of police’s response to protesters are shared and disseminated instantaneously before the other forms of media can do so. This concept of social movements is best explained by Tarry when the scholar posits that such movements begin as local networks (Tarrow, 2005). However, they spread through the diffusion of conten tion and ultimately either disappear or scale up to regional and national levels. In the case of Wall Street protests, the movement is gaining momentum in other cities, courtesy of social networking propagated by Facebook. Conclusion In conclusion, the above-discussed case studies show a rising trend amongst protesters to underscore other forms of media in support of user-generated media to disseminate news. Owing to the fact that recent social movements hit the Internet via sites such as Facebook long before the local news, the conventional media channels may be headed to a future of irrelevance and uncertainty if they fail to recognize to see the stories before can be ignored. References Altinkson, J., 2010, Alternative media and politics of resistance: a communication perspective. New York: Peter Lang Inc. Castells, M., 2006, The rise of the Network Society, the Information Age: economy, society and culture, Vol. I. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Downing J., 2001, Radical media: Rebell ious communication and social movements. London: SAGE Publishers. Hann, C., Dunn, E., 2006, Civil society: Challenging Western models. London: Routledge. Hardt, M., Negri, A., 2004, Multitude: War and democracy in the Age of Empire. New York: Penguin Press. Kaldor, M., 2003, â€Å"Global civil society,† International Affairs, 79: 583-93. Melucci, A., 2006, Challenging codes: Collective action in the Information Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schock, K., 2005, Unarmed insurrections: people power movements in non- democracies. Minnesota: Minnesota Press. Tarrow, S., 2005, The new transnational activism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Touraine, A., 2001, The voice and the eye: An analysis of social movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This critical writing on Role of Facebook in Social movements was written and submitted by user MotherAskani to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Professional Sports Essays - Roberto Alomar, John Hirschbeck

Professional Sports Essays - Roberto Alomar, John Hirschbeck Professional Sports Due to the greediness of sports figures, professional athletes are not punished in the same manner as other professionals are. It is like they are in a completely different group that uses an entirely different set of morals. Team owners care more about making their money than they do about setting a good example for young kids and making pro sports fun again rather than a business. Three good examples of this greediness are Roberto Alomar, Warren Sapp, and Dennis Rodman. Team owners and their respective leagues need to do something to turn this situation around before they have murderers and rapists playing sports for millions of dollars a year. Roberto Alomar makes 5.5 million dollars a year due to his five Gold Gloves. He is one of majors best all-around players and destined for the Hall of Fame. In a 1996 divisional playoff game, Alomar was up to bat. Umpire John Hirschbeck called Alomar out on strikes. Alomar went back to the dugout where he started to argue the call with Hirschbeck. The umpire finally tossed Alomar. Orioles manager Davey Johnson along with Alomar went racing to home plate to argue the ejection. As Alomar was being pushed away by Johnson, he spit at Hirschbeck. Alomar was suspended for five games which was to be served at the beginning of the 1997 season, so he could continue to play in the playoffs. In my opinion, this act was indefensible and warranted a stiffer penalty than a five-game suspension. Major league umpires threatened to strike during the playoffs due to Alomars behavior and inadequate punishment. I believe that the league did not suspend Alomar during the playoffs because he is such a high profile player that he brings in enough money for the league that officials felt they could justify their actions. Warren Sapp was one of the best defensive players in the 1995 NFL Draft. Sapp had tested positive for drugs, mainly marijuana, seven times while playing college football at Miami, including once for cocaine (Wolff 49). In the beginning Sapp called the reports, a total fabrication, but later changed his story and said he did flunk one drug test at Miami (Wolff 49). Even after this admission of guilt, the NFL, still wanting to allow him to play so he could make them money, tried to brighten his image by saying that Sapp did not test positive for cocaine, oddly omitting any mention of marijuana (Price 48). In any other workplace, someone who had tested positive for drugs that many times would not be hired. Dennis Rodman, the National Basketball Associations bad boy, is notorious for getting in trouble. In a January 15, 1997, game, Rodman lost his balance after going for a rebound. He fell into a row of photographers where he kicked Eugene Amos in the groin. Amos, who doubled over in pain, was removed on a stretcher and taken to a Minneapolis hospital. Rodman only received an eleven-game suspension, was fined $25,000 by the league, and ordered to get counseling (Rodmans 22). Compared with 6.3 million he is paid a year for playing basketball that fine is just a drop in the bucket (Micheals 12). That fine is less than one percent of his annual salary. Someone who makes $30,000 a year would be fined more for littering. Attorney Fred Wiesman compared Rodmans behavior to that of Major League Baseball player, Albert Belle, when he said, Its the same bullying, arrogant, obnoxious behavior. This is not the way reasonable people should conduct themselves (Rodmans 22). All of the situations mentioned prove one point. Professional sports are corrupted and need to have a serious facelift when it comes to punishment. Roberto Alomar should have at least been suspended immediately rather than the owners allowing him to continue playing, lessening the severity of his actions. Warren Sapp would make a better role model for children if he made anti-drug posters, instead the NFL feels it is fine to allow a known and admitted drug-user to play football and make it seem to children that even if you do use drugs you can still make millions of dollars a year. Not in the real world. Lastly Dennis Rodman

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Emancipation proclamation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Emancipation proclamation - Essay Example The declaration settled the state’s aspect towards complete abolition of slavery. Although Lincoln, the President of the United States, gave the directives to release all the African American slaves, it was only the beginning of the end of slavery. Slavery was taking place in all states, in the United States before the declaration. America by the dates of the Emancipation Proclamation was approaching its third year in the civil war. The declaration of freedom to all African American slaves had an instant and weighty effect on the progress of the war. The proclamation by President Lincoln had been carefully anticipated because he had proposed the idea to his cabinet several months before its announcement. The emancipation of Proclamation was a declaration to free all African American slaves, but it was unsuccessful, it was only the beginning of the end of slavery. The declaration saved the Union since freeing the slaves, then became a certified war target because it gathered passionate responses from both the South and the North. The proclamation led to the ending of the civil war that was taking place. As a result of the proclamation, African Americans were allowed to join the Union’s armed forces that saw almost 200,000 African Americans joining to uprightly serve in the armed forces by the end of the civil war. As time progressed, the Whites put the African Americans through other forms of slavery. This is because the Emancipation Proclamation had been limited in several ways. The declaration only applied to the states that had withdrawn from the Union, leaving slavery intact and untouched in those states that were loyal. It also deliberately excused parts of the Union, which had come to be controlled by the North. The proclamation had been made, but it was so sad when it was realized that its validity depended on the military trium ph of the Union (NA & RA 2014). The Emancipation Proclamation might not have ended the African

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Take Networking to the Next Level Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Take Networking to the Next Level - Assignment Example This experience helped her realize that networking as we know it’s much too superficial to allow individuals to really find a connection and be able to utilize our connections and interpersonal relationships. Building an effective network is not just about searching for jobs, is about getting to know individuals on a personal and professional level, their experiences, skill set, interests and their passions. It’s about connecting individuals, helping each other, and learning how we can be an asset to each other on a professional and personal level. Tashee worked diligently for years at a company where she provided her best efforts to achieve the best results in her work. Four years later the company told her that she was under performing which came as a shock to her. Feeling insecure rediscovering networking through her professional association helped her better know herself, her strengths, goals and her networking colleagues helped identify her weaknesses and work in t hose areas that needed further development. CRITIQUE As the article states creating an effective network is not just about handing out a business card and a hand shake, is about building and nurturing interpersonal relationships. The process of building an effective network is a continuous process where we build a solid foundation for any future situation that might come up, from staying ahead of the competition through sharing information to finding an expert with a particular core competency. It's not just about meeting people, but getting to know them in a professional and personal level. It is not about interviewing a person, but an exchange of information where simple questions such as where a person went to school, what their hobbies are, and gaining insight about their personalities, their future goals, aspirations and what makes them tick is the key to building rapport with the individual. People in general like to talk about themselves and our job is to probe, listen, show genuine interest and have a real conversation where we share relevant information about ourselves since networking is a really a two-way street. Although the article provides some general insights about how to network effectively, it does not go into details as far the right techniques and guidelines to gain people's trust and create real relationships and effectively network. The art of small talk is the starting point of any relationship, whether is professional or romantic. Never underestimate the power of casual conversation, since most networking starts here. Expand your horizons by engaging in conversation with people you meet through your normal routine not only at work, but also in your everyday life (Hope). As a rule one must be genuinely interested in building relationships with others in order to network effectively. If one is not careful a simple networking conversation can turn negative really quick if the other person can tell that you are not genuinely interested, but are using them as a means to an end to gain information about their contacts and not as a mutual learning experience for both parties involved. There are many reasons why networking can help drive career success. Effective networking can he

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Legal Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 4

Legal Abortion - Essay Example Only the individual can disseminate the information and make their own decision based on what they believe to be right but everyone should know both sides on equal terms so as to make the decision that is right for them. This paper will first present the ‘right-to-life’ then follow with the ‘pro-choice’ argument. The right to choose is the foundation upon which this country was built. Those who are pro-abortion trumpet this slogan while proclaiming a woman’s ‘God given right’ to make her own choices without government interference. This simple ideology is embraced by some but the arguments are flawed when the realities of abortion are examined. Studies have shown that most women are coerced into committing this murderous act of a living human and that there is no such thing as safe abortions as many are led to believe. Pro-abortion proponents generally espouse that the rights of a non-living tissue that feels no pain are non-existent. This discussion exposes these untruths that have been reported and are widely perceived as facts. It also explains the framers’ intent for the legal and moral direction of American society when they drafted the Constitution, the document that defines the laws of the nation. There is little freedom of choice for women who are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. The women themselves usually wish to bring their baby to full term. Other powerful influences in her life such as husbands/boyfriends, parents and friends are generally the forces that exact pressures on her to terminate the pregnancy. â€Å"Eight out of 10 women surveyed after abortion said they would have given birth if they’d had support and encouragement from family and friends† (Reardon, 2002). It’s the abortion that, in many cases, is unwanted by the woman, not the baby.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Resource Curse in Africa

The Resource Curse in Africa Chapter 1: Introduction The resource curse is the theory that countries with an abundance of natural resources, such as oil and minerals, achieve less economic growth than countries that are not endowed with natural resources. There are authors that argue this point (Auty 1990, Gelb 1988, Sachs and Warner 1995, 1997, 1999) and there are those that believe the resource curse is less to do with resources and more to do with political management (Brunschweiler 2008a, 2008b, Ross 1999, 2001). This theory appears to be contrary to the immediate instinct felt by many that natural resources will provide an opportunity for countries to develop by using increased revenues associated with a discovery of resources or an increase in world prices of such resources. The first section of this paper discusses a few of the most important mechanisms in which the resource curse can manifest itself. These are through institutions, corruption, conflict, Dutch disease and human capital. The second section studies the case of Botswana by providing an understanding of Botswanas economic and development path I will investigate how Botswana avoided some of the traps resource abundant countries usually fall into and how Botswana managed diamond mining in order to benefit the country. I will also perform a small comparison between Botswana and Sierra Leone to highlight the different channels in which resource abundance can affect economies. In my final chapter I will analyse whether Botswana has been successful in fully escaping the resource curse symptoms by discussing any problems the diamond mining may have caused. This paper, whilst small, highlights the importance of investigating phenomena such as the resource curse. Many countries have fallen into poverty since the emergence of extractable resources in their economies, yet Botswana has managed to avoid such problems. It is important to analyse how Botswana did this, so that lesson may be learned and used to help other countries avoid such problems in the future. The Resource Curse Literature Review Explanation of resource curse There are examples of resource poor countries outperforming resource rich countries throughout history. In recent times the Asian Tigers have achieved fast industrialization and economic growth despite having few natural resources, where as diamond rich countries such as Sierra Leone still remain low on world economic and social indicators (World Bank Development Indicators 2009). But do natural resources always lead to poor economic development? Or are there other variables in the context of which the natural resources are placed that determine economic development? There has been much discussion on the resource curse topic. Prominent among them are studies by Sachs and Warner (1995, 1997, 1999). Although in the conclusion to the paper Sachs et al admit their findings are far from definitive the general findings are that there is evidence for a negative relation between natural resource intensity and subsequent growth (Sachs and Warner 1995:p27). They analysed data from 95 developing countries by looking at annual growth rate between 1970-1990 and resource based exports in 1970. Sachs and Warner classified high abundance of natural resources as exports of agriculture, mineral and fuel as a percentage of GDP. From this simple analysis they discovered the existence of the so-called resource curse and they then tested the theory by controlling a number of other variables that could explain the relationship between resources and slow economic growth. The following discussion will provide a summary of the key mechanisms identified in the literature. Critique However it is important to note that not all academics support the literature on the existence of the resource curse, Brunnschweiler (2008a) is the most prominent. The main critiques of work by Sachs and Warner are the variables used to measure resource wealth. Brunschweiler for example believes per capita mineral wealth is more appropriate. The question is also raised as to whether Sachs and Warner were right to include agriculture in their regressions. Although agriculture is indeed a primary natural product, as it is the outcome of utilising the resource of land, it can be said that agriculture takes a different path in the economy than minerals or fuel. It may be better to classify agriculture separately when considering the resource curse, especially in the context of the third world where many economies are agricultural based. Further in this paper I will analyse whether agricultural resources cause the same effects on the economy as mineral resources. Arguments against the Resource Curse Big push theory Whilst there is no denial that the resource curse has effected countries like Venezuela, Nigeria and the Congo (Wenar 2008) there have been cases such as Botswana and Norway that have given strength to the opposing big push theory. In the big push model, developing economies are stuck in a trap. In order to develop their economies they need to industrialize so they are able to create wealth of their own. However there are large fixed costs associated with industrialization that developing economies cannot afford. Thus, the name big push comes from the idea that developing economies require a large injection of capital in order to develop. This injection of capital can be used to invest in economic infrastructure and will allow a more rapid accumulation of human capital which further allows social and economic development. (Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny 1989, Birdsall et al 2000) Ironically, this injection of capital could arise from large resource revenues, which suggests that the resource curse may be avoided if the capital is handled in a productive manner, for example a long-term and sustainable plan. An important point made by Walker and Jourdan (2003) is that as access to resources and minerals is becoming easier due to decreased transportation costs, countries are able to sustain industry without having a large natural resource base. This is could mean that countries who are not resource abundant might be better off, as they experience less adverse side-effects that I will discuss in this paper than resource rich economies. Dutch Disease The first effect, cited by Sachs (1995) and many others (Norberg 1993, Gelb 1988) is the Dutch Disease. Although it is often linked to the discovery of a natural resource, Dutch disease can occur when there is any positive income shock. For example a significant rise in primary product world prices can create sudden increased revenues for primary product exporters. The earliest Dutch Disease model I can trace was first created by Corden (1984) and the model has been constantly remodelled and analysed by other academics since. There are two strands of the Dutch disease model, the resource movement effect and the currency appreciation effect. Currency Appreciation Effect Dutch disease is often known as de-industrialisation because as one sector of the economy booms, (in the case of this paper we are talking about the tradable natural resource sector) other tradable sectors of the economy become less competitive. This is because a sudden increase in exportation of a natural resource of any kind can cause currency appreciation (Dutch disease). Whilst this is good for the country as it makes imports cheaper, it makes all the exports from the country (apart from the natural resource) less competitive in the world market as it costs other countries more money to from that particular country. The same path is also true for investment in this sector. This is why the manufacturing sector of resource abundant countries often shrinks. Resource Movement Effect The resource movement effect is the relocation of production factors away from the manufacturing sectors towards to booming (natural resource) sector. Davis and Tilton (2005:238) believe the Dutch disease actually allows a country to benefit from its new found mineral wealth by encouraging resources to flow from other sectors of the economy to the booming sector: However, this resource movement is also a cause of the shrinking of the manufacturing sector noted above. An important point argued in Sachs and Warner (1997) is that the shrinkage of a manufacturing sector itself is not a problem. The problem arises when the shrinkage causes slow economic growth, such a case may occur when an economy becomes more dependent on their natural resources. The advisability of this is not good (Jefferis 1998) as the economy becomes more vulnerable to world price changes in the natural resource. In turn, these often volatile price changes make it hard for governments to make mid or long term economic plans and policies. This is often said to be what happened in the oil rich Middle East in the 1970s (Auty 1990) governments were over optimistic about the earning power of their resources and then the oil prices fell dramatically. However the shrinkage of the manufacturing sector can have a negative impact on the economy because productivity grows faster in the manufacturing sector than in the resource sector (REF) and a decline in this sector means the economy is losing out on this productivity. A similar argument is made by Gylfason (2001) about learning-by-doing and technological advances. The shrinking of a tradable manufacturing sector also creates job losses; usually this could be compensated for as the primary product resource sector expands. But most minerals and oil sectors are capital intensive and not labour intensive (Sarraf 2001), so they are not able to absorb the unemployment. Institutions Another strand of the resource curse theory is the analysis of the relationship between resource abundance and institutions. Defining institutions is a difficult job as it can involve many different aspects of a countries history, culture and government. The main reason why institution analysis is vital to discovering the relationship between resource abundance and economic growth is that institutions affect policy structure and policy structure sets the arena in which an economy and resources are managed. Colonisation Firstly, the history of a nation can go a long way to explaining the current situation a nation faces today. Acemoglu et al (2001) notes the importance of colonisation is the determination of institutions. In his view there are two types of colonisation. There is settlement colonisation whereby the colonisers decided to settle in the region, perhaps due to a low incidence of deadly infectious diseases, as occurred by the British in North America. The settlement colonies are mostly made up of the new world, such as North America and Australasia. The second type of colony are extractive colonies, whereby the colonisers extracted resources that they found valuable, be it people as slaves or minerals. Naturally, these two different paths have caused quite different outcomes in institutions. Intuitive thinking would lead us to believe that traits of a colonisers such as property rights and rules of law would be embedded in there colonies. Indeed, Murshed (2001) and Acemoglu et al (2001) publish papers along the same lines. This theory leads to the thinking that colonies with exploitative colonisers tended to not establish foreign good institutions to the same strength as settled areas. It could be argued, as by Murshed, that patterns of exploitative behaviour with regard to resources were learned and inevitably repeated by colonies. On the other hand, settled colonies tended to retain institutions of law and property rights that European colonisers may have brought over. Acemoglu has raised the point that different colonising nations have left very different institutions behind. For example, he argues that the British colonies inherited better institutions with regard to respect for the rule of law and democracy (Acemoglu et al 2001:p12). In either case it is evident that institutions brought in from Europe have remained in some form. However, we must not forget that the colonies of Africa, Asia and Latin America existed long before they were discovered by the Europeans. Prior to colonisation these countries had their own functioning political and social institutions and it could be that European invaders only adapted these institutions to fit their needs and left many existing ways intact. A small but important point to note is that colonisation could also have had an impact on the ethno linguistic and ethno fractionalisation of a country because artificial country borders were placed upon areas of land with no regards to considering the existing, and it could be argued natural, borders. These artificial borders were emplaced for the ease of the colonisers and very little consideration was given to existing social borders, for example between tribes or geographical boundaries. This enforced ethno fractionalisation can be the cause of conflict within a country, even if natural resources are not in the equation, a prime example of this is in Rwanda. Leite and Weidmann (2002) are of the opinion that resource wealth does not directly affect economic growth, but that it resources affect the likelihood of corruption, which therefore influences economic growth. Bulte, Damania and Deacon (2005) further this argument by pointing out it may not be the existence of institutions that matter but the quality. In Bulte et al (2005) analysis they differentiate between two types of resources. Point resources which are geographically based and therefore an abundance of these resources are typically associated with inequality in terms of power and the division of the surplus, and often are accompanied by vertical relationships between agents (shareholders, managers, labourers). (Bulte et al 2005:p1031). Whereas diffuse resources, such as agricultural land, are more geographically spread and are therefore more equally distributed and less able to be protected by an elite. It is the belief of Bulte et al (p1034) that point resources attract worse quality institutions than diffuse resources with regard to corruption and government performance. Corruption An abundance of natural resources provides substantial revenue for an economy but unfortunately in many developing countries where there are weak infrastructures and poor people, the temptation of this revenue can cause corruption especially in the political sphere. When a government experiences large flows of finance, especially if these flows are relatively sudden, for example a discovery of minerals or oil, or new technology that helps extract resources, it can be hard for a government to manage such flows (Dietz 2005). They may not have had experience in dealing with large sums of money. These sudden windfalls increase the opportunity for corruption as it is hard to keep track of the money and therefore it is easier and to steal and waste. Corruption also comes in the form of laziness. The political elite may chose to ensure they remain in power by buying political favour using the resource revenues. This undermines democracy, but as politicians are able to obtain large sums of money from resources it is easier to buy political favour than to develop good policies and there is little incentive to build infrastructure in other areas of the economy, as resources are the main source of income. One would assume that if areas of the economy were to start failing or not being developed and maintained to a satisfactory standard of the citizens then the citizens would demand action from the government. However, in circumstances where an abundance of resources are in the country, the government often tries to buy favour from the people by not taxing the citizens, instead they use the resource revenues to provide basic infrastructure, such circumstances could be classed as the rentier effect cited by Mehlum (2006) and Brunschweiler (2008a). On the other hand, the government could decide to use the resource revenues to aid them in an effort to block the formation of social groups. The government might try to do this because they fear groups independent of the government may demand more from a government that is unwilling to give more. As Ross (2001: p335) argues Scholars examining the cases of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Iran have all observed oil-rich states blocking the formation of independent social groups; all argue that the state is thereby blocking a necessary precondition of democracy. This is one of the many ways resources appear to affect politics. Whilst the basics are still provided and the people have more money in their hands, the situation can cause problems as the government is not longer held accountable as it is not using the peoples money. Therefore the relationship between government and citizens breaks down. This leads to a less democratic society and one that Karl (1997) believes would be one more vulnerable to civil war. Conflict As previously discussed weak institutions and corruption can both lead to conditions that breed conflict as they diminish the governments ability to function properly. Although a lot of studies are unable to show a strong link between resource extraction and civil conflict (Ross 2004), in recent history there have been many examples of the internal conflict within countries that are abundant in diamonds, such examples are Sierra Leone and Angola. Collier and Hoeffler (2001) cite that war emerges as either a product of grievance or greed. In the case of natural resources it appears that greed is most likely due to the enormity of the revenues compared to other forms of government revenue. The conflict often takes the form of civil war within a country as fractions of society jockey for control over the resource wealth (although the conflict can also take the form of hidden conflict within governments). Collier (2004) suggests that high social and economic inequality, lack of political rights and religious or ethnic divisions in society cause civil wars. The presence of natural resources can act as a catalyst by highlighting these faults and at the same time creating a financial incentive for war. If conflict does occur then (Brunschweiler 2008b) believes it could be the case the conflict makes countries dependent on resource extraction which is the default response when other economic sectors are not performing well. This indicates that once a country enters into conflict due to resources, they may have entered a vicious cycle that will be hard to stop. Fractionalisation within resource abundance societies has been greatly studied (Easterly and Levine 1997, Brunschweiler and Erwin 2009) as it is believed that societies that are fractioned by class struggles, ethnicity or religion have weaker institutions (Hoedler 2006). In turn weaker institutions lead to a diminished ability of the government to control situations and therefore fighting is more likely to erupt (Arezki et al 2007). Whilst the fragmentation in society is the basis for the fighting, the presence of resources can be seen as the trigger or catalyst for conflict. Fighting is bad for economic growth as it decreases productive activities, which lowers productions and lowers incomes (Hoedler 2006). Therefore in general the consensus is that the more homogeneous the society, the less likely the risk of conflict. Having high revenues from resources can also lead to rentier state symptoms as discussed previously. In this case it may be that those in control of resource revenues are constantly on the lookout for opposing groups trying wrest control from them. Unfortunately as they are the ones controlling the revenues, they have money to repress citizens by not only repressing social groups but by employing armed conflict if they require. This is why (Brunschweiler 2008b) believes that as governments are able to fund themselves they are more likely to be authoritarian. Although Rosss (2001) paper primarily discusses the Middle Eastern oil states, he admits that his findings can relate to other mineral economies outside the Middle East. This repression can also distort the economy by squashing entrepreneurial talent (Alayli 2005) However there are some scholars who believe that resource abundance can actually help avoid conflict, for example, Brunnschweiler and Bulte (2008b) say resource wealth raises income, and higher incomes, in turn, reduce the risk of conflict. However, they admit it is a small reduction in risk and it could be that the large prize (resource revenue) that people are able to fight over is a stronger incentive than higher incomes. The link between ethnic fragmentation and the resource curse has been investigated in a paper by Roland Hodler (2006). The aim of his paper is to explain why resources can be a blessing for some countries and a curse for other. For him, there are two effects of natural resources. Firstly, income of a country rises if the country chooses to use the resource for its own industrial benefit or exports them to other countries; this is a direct positive effect. Secondly, an indirect negative effect is natural resource wealth increases conflict, but only (according to Hodler) if there are multiple groups opposing each other. Hodler focuses on rivalling ethnic groups, but other groups that could affect the equilibrium are class groups and political groups. In Hodlers model the resource abundance is a blessing to a country if the direct positive effect is greater than the indirect negative effect, but a curse if the negative outweighs the positive and thus a relatively homogenous society is l ess likely to experience a resource curse as there are less opposing groups challenging the equilibrium. Linked with this argument is that of Bannon and Collier (2003:3) that ethnic dominance alongside resource richness breeds conflict. Ethnic dominance especially in government or institutions has an important advantage because that race then have the power in moderating and equalising ethnic relations, or neglecting and perhaps exacerbating them (Good 2005:p31) The magnitude of the negative effect in Hodlers paper is determined by the number of opposing groups. The higher the number of groups the weaker property rights. I take my definition of property rights from Acemoglu et al (2001) whereby people have secure property rights (rights against expropriation and that those with productive opportunities expect to receive returns on their investment and that a broad cross-section of society have the opportunity to invest. Furthermore Acemoglu et al (2001) make the point that relative political stability is needed in order to maintain these property rights. Human Capital As we can see that the resource curse is interlinked with many aspects of economics. It is also linked with human capital: education and health. Education is important in economic development as it raises labour efficiency, provides a more participative society and a better quality of life (Barro 1997), but is educational development being affected by the resource curse? Evidence by Gylfason (et al 2001: p850) shows that school enrolment at all levels tends to be inversely related to natural resource abundance, as measured by the share of the labour force engaged in primary production, across countries. Questions could be raised about the validity behind using such measures and whether other measures are more appropriate but there is plenty of evidence from other authors such as (Birdsall et al 1997) which come to the same conclusion. There are two prominent arguments about the effect the resource curse has on education and vice versa. Firstly, the vast revenues created by an abundant resource can be used by forward thinking governments to fund education (Sachs and Warner 1997). On the other hand, it has been argued by Gylfason that some resource dependent economies choose not to invest in education infrastructure as they see little immediate need for it because high skill labour and high quality capital are less common in primary production then elsewhere (Gylfason 2001: p10). However focusing on resources (and neglecting education) hinders the learning-by-doing process. This process is more likely to develop, along with gains in technological advances, in the manufacturing sector (Sachs and Warner 1995). Thereby depending on resources and neglecting education can slow economic growth as a whole as there is no incentive to increase the earning power (both at individual and national level) that can be achieved thr ough education. It is also worthy to note that education is strongly linked with a higher rate of absorbing new technologies from other countries (Birdsall 1997). The Case of Botswana Although in the previous section I discussed ways in which an abundance of natural resources could lead to slow economic growth, there have been countries that are resource rich and have had good economic development: for example Norway and Botswana. Norway became one of the top scoring countries on both economic and social indicators in the world (Larson 2003) since the extraction of oil in the early 1970s. Graphs showing growth of Botswana compared to other African nations here In this section I aim to discuss the experience of Botswana through the same key mechanisms I used in the previous chapter. These mechanisms are Dutch disease, institutions, conflict and human capital. By using the same key mechanisms I hope to show how Botswana has avoided the problems that cause the resource curse. Botswana has developed relatively rapidly considering that Botswana was the third poorest country in the world before independence (Beaulier 2003:p233) As Acemoglu et al (2001) points out there were only 22 graduate Batswana, who studied outside the country and only 12km of paved road. It seems that Botswana was in the same position as the majority of Sub-Saharan Africa. But since the average growth in Africa has been negative since 1965 (Acemoglu et al 2001) how has Botswana managed to achieve the highest rate of per capita growth of any country in the world in the last 35 years (Acemoglu et al 2001)? Especially considering that as a resource rich country it could be expected that Botswana would have slower growth than those without resources. Dutch Disease There are contradicting views as to whether Botswana experienced Dutch disease and whether this was due to the presence of diamonds. Mogotsi (2002:129) thinks that a mild Dutch disease occurred in Botswana as there was no large pre-existing manufacturing sector, so when mining occurred, the skilled labour from the small manufacturing sector moved to mining. Less skilled agricultural workers filled the place of the old manufacturing workers. As they are less skilled there is some loss of productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing sector. However Pegg (2009:p2) believes that there is little evidence that agriculture or manufacturing in Botswana has suffered from Dutch disease effects like the Dutch Disease model predicts when there is a large tradable mining sector. This is because there is very little resource movement as the diamond industry in Botswana as diamond mining is capital intensive and site specific (Jefferis 1998). This lack of movement means that few positive externalities are present in Botswanas mining industry. This is evident in the employment rates. Whilst Botswana has many good economic and social indicators, unfortunately a high unemployment rate is not one of them. While mining production contributed 40% to GDP, it absorbed only 4% total employment (Iimi 2006a:p7). This has large implications for income distribution and inequality in Botswana. As wages are higher in the diamond industry (REF) it distorts wealth in the economy. It has been said that only around half of the population have benefitted from the increased revenues, outside of gains in education, healthcare and infrastructure. This is reflected in around 50% of the population still living below the poverty line despite GDP per capita being around $1000 as there is a small workforce for diamonds and a high unemployment rate in general. (http://www.thuto.org/ubh/bw/bhp5.htm) However, in the resource curse theorem if Dutch disease were to occur then imports would be cheaper. As Botswana is 80% Kalahari Desert (Beaulier 2003) agriculture is not a major industry and as such Botswana imports most of its needs. 75% of imports come from neighbouring South Africa (Iimi 2006b:p18) there are very little visible effects of the negative sides of Dutch disease. Currency appreciation is the most obvious side-effect of resource related Dutch disease. But large diamond revenues have not caused Botswanas currency, the Pula, to be consistently overvalued. (Pegg 2009:p4) Although Botswana faces a difficult situation with regards to exchange rates. Botswana must managed the exchange rates carefully as it imports 75% of its goods from South Africa (REF) but Botswanas exports are valued in US dollars. Therefore Botswana must try to keep the Pula stable against both the South African rand and US dollar at the same time to avoid increased prices of food or decreased earnings due to falling dollar prices. So far Botswana has managed this well. Botswana has also been forward thinking by accumulating large foreign exchange reserves (Jefferis 1998) which are important and useful to have because it gives them the ability to manipulate exchange rates to aid the domestic currency should it need it. The government also created the Public Debt Service Fund (PDSF) in 1972. It recognises that the diamond revenues may be beyond the governments absorptive capacity and so the PDSF allows the government to save money rather than overheat the economy by spending it. (Pegg 2009:p3).The Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF) is especially useful in times of economic downturn like the current financial crisis, as they government are able to finance normal spending by using the savings rather than borrowing. Of course, although good governance has caused what is seen to be a success with regards to revenue management (Samatar 1999; Leith 2005), it has also been said (Pegg 2009:p2) that stability of rent streams also helped Botswana control the massive flows and not fall into resource related Dutch disease. This has also led Botswana to move upper middle income status in the World Bank classification. This is impressive as before independence Botswana was classified as a low income country. (World Bank Income Classification). Institutions Several authors have put forward the argument that inclusive pre-colonial institutions are responsible for Botswanas economic development as institutions are a reason why food policies are chosen and also enable good policy choices to stick. Beaulier 2003) Before colonisation it seems that Botswana society was generally inclusive. An important institution of traditional Botswana society is the role of kgotlas which are an assembly of adult males in which issues of public interest were discussed (Acemoglu et al 2001) Botswana society allowed open dissent of the King and chiefs in kgotlas which provided a fair and accountable society. A further point argued by Acemoglu et al (2001) and also by Englebert (2000) and Iimi (2006a) is that the relatively unintrusive nature of British colonialism left a lot of traditional and functional institutions intact. During the scramble for Africa in the 1800s Britain agreed to granted Botswana protectorate status requested by Batswana chiefs in 1885 (Beaulier 2003). The chiefs wanted protection from the South African Boers who were moving towards Botswana. However, Britain apart from protecting fr

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Internal Medicine is a Team Sport Essay -- Medicine College Admissions

Internal Medicine is a Team Sport Ever since I was a child, I have asked the basic question, "Why do things work the way they do?" Never satisfied with the mere memorization of facts and details, I have always strived to understand the mechanism of actions. Seemingly simple facts, like water turning into ice when it is cold outside, perplexed me more than the average five year old, resulting in a constant barrage of "why" for my parents to answer. This inquisitive nature attracted me to the sciences throughout my school years and, in particular, to chemistry during my undergraduate years at college. I spent a significant portion of my junior and senior years conducting an honors research project under the guidance of Rob Geis Ph.D., Chairman of the department of chemistry. My research experience taught me not only how to form a carbon-carbon bond using transition metals, but more importantly how to properly obtain, process and analyze data in order to draw conclusions and formulate theories. ...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Rocking Horse Winner vs the Destructor

â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† by DH Lawrence and â€Å"The Destructors† by Graham Greene were both written post wars where poverty was abundant. These two fiction stories are written about the evil caused by materialism. Comparing the two short stories, we find that greed causes destruction. In both stories, the protagonist is a boy not yet grown. Lawrence creates a boy, Paul, who strives to change the luck of not only himself, but that of his entire family. Greene tells of a boy, T, who leads a gang into destructing the home of a wealthy man just because it still stands where others around it were destroyed by bombs from the war. This leads to the obvious contrast that one boy is attempting the acquisition of material goods while the other is attempting the destruction of material goods. Still it remains that in both cases, greed causes destruction of great value. Similarly in both stories, the boy’s mothers could be seen as the antagonist because they both are very materialistic and impress on the children the need to be seen as better than others. Lawrence describes Paul’s mother, â€Å"felt themselves superior to anyone in their neighborhood† and Greene describes T’s mother, â€Å"considered herself better than the neighbors†. The Rocking Horse Winner† is set in London soon after World War I. â€Å"The Destructor† was set after World War II in a place where just about everything had been destroyed by bombs. Both stories are told in the third person narrative. And both stories end up with the same theme: greed and materialism. â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winnerâ €  begins by describing Paul’s mother, â€Å" There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. † She obviously became a very bitter and jealous person unable to love even her children. Because of her greed and belief that more money was always needed, the house became haunted and was constantly chanting, â€Å"There must be more money. † In this story the house was symbolic of people’s greed and never ending desire to always have more. Paul is lead to believe that only luck can bring enough money into the old house so he sets out to find his own luck. He finds that luck by frantically riding a toy rocking horse that â€Å"takes him there† at which point he discovers the name of the horse that will win the next big race. Over time, Paul does make a lot of money gambling, but at the cost of his own life in the end. In â€Å"The Destructors†, a group of teenage boys decide to destroy the beautiful house that sat alone in the middle of a bombsite. The house was symbolic of all they, and most of the town, had lost to the war. The owner of the house had always been kind to the boys, but T didn’t trust anyone or their motives. After destroying the house, he told Mr. Thomas â€Å"There’s nothing personal. † Although the gang destroyed everything Mr. Thomas had and burnt his life’s savings, they took care to make sure Mr. Thomas was not in the house and was not hurt. So in the end, all his material belongings were gone, but he still had his life. The plot of both stories was about greed and resentment; Paul’s mothers greed for more and more and never being satisfied and T’s greed of making sure Mr. Thomas had no more than anyone else. The complication found in â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† was found in Paul having to frantically ride the horse at the cost of his own health in order to find the name of the next winner. In Destructors, the complication was the time it took to destroy the old house from the inside out without anyone noticing before Mr. Thomas returned from his trip. In each case, the denouement was the destruction that occurred because of greed. For Paul, no matter how lucky he was and no matter how much money he made, he never acquired what meant most to him, his mother’s love. In the end, Paul gained money and could have purchased material things, but lost his life. And in Greene’s story, even though T destroyed the home and all it’s beauty, he saved the life of Mr. Thomas. So in this case, all material things were lost, but the life was saved. These stories are in some ways very different, but both come to the same conclusion – greed destroys. Greed is like Satan, it takes and takes but is never satisfied with what it has, it always wants more. Greed only leads to destruction.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Role of Women Until 1500

Role of Women Until 1500 Women have in the present day been accredited with playing a pivotal role in the building of our nation. This task did not begin in the recent years but can trace its beginning as far back as the advent of time where the traditional role of women was mainly to serve their male counterparts. Prior to the colonial era, the roles of women across the world were greatly limited by the traditional attitudes which viewed women as the weaker sex.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Role of Women Until 1500 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While the lives of the women during the 1500s were marked with multiple responsibilities and hardships, the women also took the time out to make merriment thus helping to lighten their weary loads thus creating a balance that made life bearable. This study shall set out to document the typical life of the Egyptian and Greek women before 1500 AD by doing an extensive research and analyzing fir st hand accounts of how these women lived and survived in a chauvinistic environment. A detailed analysis of the similarities, differences and how these women impacted their civilizations shall also be discussed. Similarities between the Egyptian and Greek women The life of these women is interpreted in different light by many a historian. However, the commonly held notion that the society generally devalued the contribution of the women and subjected them to inhuman treatment and suffering is true as is demonstrated by Bentley, Ziegler Streets (2008). Women were perceived in these societies as the â€Å"weaker Sex†, fragile and incapable of making sound decisions. As such, they were to stay confined to their homes and live to serve their husbands. In both civilizations, the women had slaves who could do all the hard work and protect the women when the husbands were away. Another similarity is that the women were expected to dress appropriately and conduct themselves in a r espectable manner. As Sanders et al (2006) assert, women in these civilizations were not supposed to show any part of their face, legs and even hair to the public. That was a privilege awarded only to the husband. In addition, they were not allowed to eat together with men nor argue or interfere with the affairs of men. Also, Tastsoglou (2009) states that women in these civilizations were not allowed to learn how to read or write. There were restrictions on the events that they could attend as well as the duration of time they could spend outside the vicinity of their homes.Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Social roles In both civilizations, women were generally subjected to chores which evolved around child-care. As Sanders et al (2006) explain, Greek women often did repetitive tasks which could easily be interrupted incase their attention was required elsewhere. In additio n, they were required to work in areas that did not require them to travel far from home and did jobs that would not amount to any losses when they attend to their children. What Sanders et al (2006) mean is that women were viewed as mules whose main responsibility and purpose was to satisfy the needs of their husbands and children. The same applied to Egyptian women. They rarely had any social interaction with other members of society as they were often confined to their homes or doing odd jobs such as the collection of sea shells, wild plants, making clothed garments and an array of food processing activities (Bentley, Ziegler Streets, 2008). Women in both civilizations were expected to teach their children about the culture and customs of their people. It was the duty of every woman to train her children how to lead a moral life. Shame that emanated from a woman’s undoing was considered as a man’s lack of control over his family. As such, Tastsoglou (2009) reiter ates that women were expected to follow a prescribed code of moral behavior that included modesty, compliance, submission and most important of all; chastity. Punishment for non-conformity was harsh and in some cases involved caning or even disownment. In addition, women were supposed to maintain the honor of their homes. It was their duty to ensure that their husbands and male relatives get the respect they deserve. According to Vickers Vouloukos (2007), women were supposed to be sexually reserved. This was to ensure that they discourage tempting other men (both the Greek and Egyptian women were very beautiful and were viewed as sources of temptations by men). To this effect, they were expected to cover their bodies fully while in public and were discouraged to speak in the presence of men. Religious roles Religion is a very important aspect to us as human beings. It has been known to instill virtues and values to all and help man cope with the hardships that come with life. In a ncient times, religion played a pivotal role in the lives of everyone. This was mainly because ancient Greek and Egypt had different gods who were believed to be unforgiving in the face of disobedience. Both civilizations had gods of war, peace, fertility among others. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Role of Women Until 1500 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To appease these gods, sacrifices were made on a regular basis (Lightman, 2007). Women were considered as pure vessels and were therefore tasked with the duty of preparing and offering the sacrifices to the gods. Bentley, Ziegler Streets (2008) reiterate that days equivalent to half a year were set aside for various religious ceremonies. During these days, women had a chance to be seen by the rest of the community and interact freely with each other. Vickers Vouloukos (2007) assert that women were expected to sing songs during these days, tell tales of the go ds and goddesses and present sacrifices to them. In regards to family morals, women were expected to teach their children about the religious beliefs, norms and rituals. They were expected to instill morals in their children and ensure that they understand the value and significance of the gods. The most important role that women in these civilizations had to play was getting married and bearing children. Marriage as an institution was greatly respected and every woman was to be married. Children were viewed as a source of pride by the men and having many children was reason enough to boast. This was because, a pregnant woman was perceived as a blessed one. Therefore, the more children one had, the more the blessings he was assumed to have. This was mostly because infertility was seen as a form of punishment from the gods. Therefore, bearing children was the most important role that women in these civilizations had to fulfill. Differences between the Egyptian and Greek women One of the outstanding differences between women from these civilizations was their financial independence and freedom. Women in ancient Egypt enjoyed more financial freedom than their Greek counterparts. Egyptian women could trade, sell and buy slaves, livestock and own property. They could also sue, appear as witnesses in courts and settle legal disputes. This was contrary to Greek women who were not allowed to participate in any of these activities. Vickers Vouloukos (2007), state that exceptions were made in extreme cases but under the supervision of a male party (father, brother or husband). Another difference is that marriage in ancient Egypt was a prestigious affair. However, there were no matrimonial ceremonies, exchange of gifts and other marital rituals as experienced in ancient Greek societies. A woman could be declared as married only after leaving her parents home and into her husband’s house. Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even after marriage, Egyptian women remained independent and owned their own property. On the other hand, Greek women lost possession of their property once they got married. Adoption of children was widely accepted in ancient Egypt. Women were allowed to adopt children and raise them as their own. This was only accepted by very few Greek societies most especially the upper class members of the society (Sanders et al, 2006). Impact of women to society Despite their hardships and limited freedom, the impact that these women had on their societies cannot be understated. As Avdela Psarra (2005) explain, women were in charge of the households and ensured that everything was in order. This refers to the availability of food and clothing to both the husband and the children. In as much as history has effectively left out the impact of women in national building, some historians have effectively shown the relevance of ancient women in today’s societies. Due to the cultural bearings at that time, women were under constant pressure to ensure that their children lead a moral and culturally enriched life (Vickers Vouloukos, 2007). Their efforts to this regard ensured that respect and harmony prevailed in the society. This is mainly because all children were taught the same values, how to behave and the importance of maintaining family honor. As such, women played a pivotal role in unifying their communities. In regards to economic prosperity, women in both civilizations were very instrumental in facilitating economic growth (Lightman, 2007). In as much as women could not own property freely or work for money, their efforts at home were key contributors to the availability of income in their homes. For example, Greek women would spin and weave fabric, tend to the farms and cater for the livestock. The sale of these products would bring in some money for their families through the husbands. The Egyptian women who had more autonomy would also transact for money wh ich later contributed to the economic growth of their communities. In regards to religion, women had great impacts on the belief systems held by the people. Avdela Psarra (2005), state that most of the gods worshiped by these civilizations were women. In fact, the Greeks believed that their gods could dwell among them in the form of men and women. In addition, women were very important during the procession of religious rituals. Young unmarried girls were viewed as untamed and pure beings worthy to present sacrifices to the gods, while older women were tasked with the duties of appeasing the gods by singing melodious tunes at their presence. Their ability to bear children was also symbolic to blessings from their gods (Avdela Psarra 2005). Since they constituted to a larger portion of the population, women were a good source of labor during this era. They could work as slaves in the farms and business areas in exchange for food and/or shelter. As such, they contributed highly in ensuring that there was plenty of food and resources in their communities. Women had a great impact on the social status of their husbands and male counterparts. Respect in ancient civilization was mainly based on the amount of responsibility an individual had (Lightman, 2007). As such, having a respectful wife and many children demanded more respect from society. This was one way through which men could establish and prove their manliness all the while preserving the honor of his family lineage. Therefore, in as much as they were disregarded, women were great sources of pride to the men in these civilizations. Indeed, the lives of the Greek and Egyptian women before the 1500s were marked with multiple responsibilities and hardships, however, the women also took the time out to make merriment thus helping to lighten their weary loads thus creating a balance that made life bearable. From the discussions presented herein, it can authoritatively be stated that ancient women played a p ivotal role in upholding morality and ensuring the continuity of society. The challenges that they faced were therefore of social and economic benefits and the environment that they dwelled in only thrived for these significances. However, the social injustices such as gender discrimination sprouted from this era and up to date, these negative effects are still prevalent in our society. While it cannot be disputed that gender biasness was an unjust and mostly inhumane institute for the ancient women, it can be seen from this paper that it played a significant role in the building of our nation. References Avdela, E., Psarra, A. (2005). Engendering ‘Greekness’: Womens Emancipation and Irredentist Politics in Nineteenth-Century Greece. Mediterranean Historical Review, 20(1), 67 – 79. Bentley, J., Ziegler, H., Streets, H. (2008). Traditions and encounters: A brief global history. (3rd Ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Lightman, M. (2007). A to Z of ancient Greek and R oman women. NY: Infobase Publishing. Sanders, T., Nelson, S., Morillo, S., Ellenberger, N. (2006). Encounters in world history: Sources and themes from the global post volume one: to 1500. (1st Ed.) New York: McGraw Hill. Tastsoglou, E. (2009). Women, gender, and diasporic lives: labor, community, and identity in Greek migrations. CA: Lexington Books. Vickers, J., Vouloukos, A. (2007). Changing Gender/Nation Relations: Women’s Roles in Making and Restructuring the Greek Nation-State. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 13(4), 501 – 538.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Eastern Red Cedar - Tree Species Overview

Eastern Red Cedar - Tree Species Overview Eastern red cedar or Juniperus virginiana is not a true cedar. It is a juniper and the most widely distributed native conifer in the eastern United States. Redcedar (red and cedar can be spelled together or separate) is found in every U.S. state east of the 100th meridian, which is a geographic vertical map  line separating east and west North America. This hardy tree is considered a pioneer tree species and often among the first trees to occupy cleared areas, where its seeds are spread by cedar waxwings and other birds that enjoy the fleshy, bluish seed cones. Fence lines attract the birds and red cedar trees become the new wild hedge. The Eastern Red Cedar Tree Range The red cedar range extends from southeastern Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. To the west, native red cedar tree range only occurs east of the Great Plains but has been successfully spread toward the west by natural regeneration from planted trees. In the absence of fire, eastern red cedar thrives and may eventually dominate mid-western prairie or forest vegetation. Pure stands of eastern redcedar are scattered throughout the primary range of the species. Most of these stands are on abandoned farm lands or drier upland sites. Fire is destructive to the tree and often controlled or eliminated from a landscape with the use of controlled burning. The Hardy Eastern Red Cedar The dense but attractive foliage growth makes eastern redcedar a favorite for windbreaks, screens, and wildlife-cover for large yards and landscapes. Red cedars high salt-tolerance makes it ideal for seaside locations. Still, it is not recommended as a street tree where winter roads are salted because it can obstruct the view of traffic. This tree does well in poor, compacted soils and is a good tree for land reclamation. It does well in areas that experience drought during the year. Identification of Eastern Red Cedar The evergreen red cedar is a small to medium tree that rarely exceeds 50 feet in height. Redcedar is single-trunked and the only native juniper that is upright and columnar. The bark has shedding thin strips, the seed cones are berry-like and glaucous (blueish), the leaves are scale-like and pressed tightly against twigs. One other way to identify a red cedar is the presence  cedar-apple rust and bagworms that commonly infest/infect eastern red cedars. Uses of Eastern Red Cedar Red cedar wood is highly valued as a wood for the fine-grained, decay resistant wood used to panel closets and split for fence posts. Other uses include making pails, making lead pencils and making cedar chests. Speaking of chests, the volatile cedrine camphor oil has been proven to kill larvae of moths that feed on wool. Redcedar makes a lovely Christmas tree and comes with that perfect smell of the season. Selling it as a Christmas tree may not work where red cedar is not a preferred even though affordable Christmas tree. Eastern Red Cedar Trees Plant Easily Eastern redcedar can be planted in full sun or partial shade. Red cedar will easily grow in a variety of soils, including clay, but will not do well when roots are constantly moist or wet. Do not over water redcedar but do water seedlings until established, then leave the tree alone. Red cedars are difficult to transplant due to a coarse root system except when quite small. Still, when properly planted from nursery stock it will perform well with no care and can handle acid, alkaline soil and coastal soils. Usually, insects and diseases are not a problem if planted in open sun.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Research Paper

TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - Research Paper Example The learning or grasping capacities of different people are different. Some people may have good learning capacities whereas some people may have learning disabilities. For example, students with ADHD problems may not concentrate properly in a class. Students with immature brain development may also face learning difficulties under a normal teaching environment. â€Å"Learning disabilities can cause difficulty in organizing information received, remembering them, and expressing information and therefore affect a person's basic function such as reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning†(Keller, 2005). Students with learning difficulties need special teaching strategies for proper learning. This paper analyses the strategies needed to be considered while teaching students with learning disabilities. Vize (2010) has pointed out that the usage of multiple and complex instructions may not be useful while teaching students with learning disabilities (Vize, 2010). The teacher sh ould use simple methods to make the student aware of the topic. The extent of learning occurs is associated with the effective communication occurs between the teacher and student. Effective communication occurs only when the students understand the topics explained by the teacher. Bright students may grasp the topics quickly whereas students with learning difficulties may grasp the lessons slowly. ... Genetically, people are very much interested in hearing stories. Mary Elizabeth Moore (n. d) has mentioned that â€Å"two eternal antagonists of soul and flesh are reconciled in a story†. In her opinion, â€Å"story, whether told in words or in dance, is embodied communication† (Moore, n. d). Verbal and nonverbal elements are involved in storytelling. Carefully selected words, gestures, body language, facial expression etc can be used effectively to catch the attention of the people with learning disabilities. â€Å"Sharing learning through narrative communication is itself further learning from the original experience. Tutors might use the insights from narrative learning to raise students' awareness of their own learning, and thus to improve it† (Cortazzi et al, 2001). â€Å"Students with learning disabilities have normal or better intelligence, but they also have severe "information-processing deficits" that make them perform significantly worse in one or mor e academic areas† (Berkeley, 2009). Many teachers have the misconception that the students with learning difficulties are idiots. In fact, these students may have even more intelligence than the normal students. Their learning problem is related to their inability in giving attention to a particular topic for longer periods. The teacher should therefore use strategies to catch their attention as much as possible. Difficult topics should be presented to them in small modules and that also in a simplified manner. David Johnson (2002) has mentioned that the teacher should be prepared to face distracting things while interacting with students with disabilities (Johnsons, 2002, p.3). For example, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) is one of the common problems found among students

Friday, November 1, 2019

Two Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Two Questions - Essay Example One occasion in which Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" reiterates this famous ruler is when he asserts, â€Å"our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation.† (Boritt 1). Similarly, Pericles started his speech in this way when he claimed, â€Å"I shall began by speaking about our ancestors.† (Halsall 34). Another instance is when Lincoln claims, â€Å"we cannot consecrate -we cannot hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it.† (Boritt 1). This is also evident in Pericles speech when he argues that the people being honored have proved themselves valiant on the war zone, and that their victory shall not be illustrated through speech given by a single man, but by action (Halsall 34). In addition, in Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address", Lincoln also reiterates Pericles’ recognition and admiration of democracy. The famed conclusion of the speech, â€Å"government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,† exhibits Lincoln view on democracy (Boritt 1). Similarly, Pericles appears to embellish democracy when he claims, â€Å"power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people our political life is free and open† (Halsall 38). ... In conclusion, the purpose of both Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" To Thucydides' "Pericles' Funeral Oration" was to honor those who had perished in war Question 2 Friendship as comprehended by the most famous theologians, philosophers, and church illustrates an association in which there is a shared significance in attaining the good. Every participant is expected to assist the other in their development of virtue, or good behavior, in a true friendship (Sachs 14). This explanation aids in developing peaceful relations between people, thus serving the common good in an adequate way. This part addresses Machiavelli’s and Aristotle’s views on friendship (Marriott 52). Machiavelli: I would not want to observe fruitful, peaceful relations between people because an integrated populace is not easily dominated. Therefore, to me, friendship is an association in which the prudent member uses the other to ally with if in need, gain favors, and attain power. Aristotle: In my view, friendship lies squarely within the political arena. True friendship in a similar fashion as a political alliance, is an activity that is functional in the polis and depends on committed reciprocity. Friendship is part of righteous behavior whose conclusion is the goodness and happiness because it appears in a community of beings. Machiavelli: Friendship does not exist where there is nothing to be offered that could help in the search of power. It is essential to sometimes jeopardize the love of others so as to attain significant success. I believe that happiness and power do not necessary lie in being righteous but at least seeming to be righteous. Aristotle: In spite the community of beings, friendship is only probable with a