Hunger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Hunger - Essay Example His hand idly lay against his empty belly. Another hand reached upward to wipe the moisture from his eye as he looked out from the doorway, his eyes scanning across the street. The sounds of children playing were interrupted by the noise of shouting that occasionally erupted from one place or another. He swallowed before stepping out into the dirt of the street, the scents and the crust of the poor part of the city having no affect on him as he had lived within it his whole life. The growl in his belly, on the other hand, is a pain one can never get used to feeling. He began the search for food, for a resource from which to gain his meal for the day. The result of colonialism within Nigeria has displaced the cultural sense of survival, creating urban centers where once the natural order of society provided for itself. Urbanization has taken shelter and food from cultures that once knew how to work their land and use their resources in order to provide for themselves. Now, the cities are filled with generations who struggle still to adapt and to pull themselves out of poverty. He closed his eyes for a moment before moving through the city. He thought about a woman he knew who might give him a meal if he talked nicely to her. He hadn’t gone to her in a long time, but she had given him food before when he had happened by when she was cooking. He had to cross the city a bit to get near her home, but it was worth it if he got a cooked meal. He moved quickly from place to place, waving at those he knew until he was stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. He looked up and saw the office of a lawyer that he knew, a man who had bought his way into the graces of the mayor of the town. He saw the son of the mayor going into that office, with his clean white shirt and black trousers, not to mention the shiny black automobile from which he had emerged. â€Å"Lagos, the current capital city and perhaps the most important urban settlement in Nigeria, if not on the We st African coast, typifies a case of urban development in a rural context. The settlement has grown from a 19th century fishing and agricultural settlement to become a late 20th century metropolitan centre† (Baker184). The mayor’s son walked into the office, the whirring of the fan creating a small breeze through the open door. He ran his hand down his neck, bothered that his father had sent him on this errand, his life interrupted by this chore. He grinned for a moment thinking of the women from the night before, their lithe bodies undulating to the music, his throat filled with the drink that made his eyes glassy and filled him with a wildness that he could not express without it. He blew out a small bit of air and focused on the office door in front of him. â€Å"I have it, I have it† he said, knowing that his position in the city was dependant upon giving this tribute to the mayor, the power of that man enough to give him access to what he needed to sustain h is business. He fumbled around with a key to a drawer for a minute until it popped open. He pulled out a big envelope and surreptitiously filled it until it was full. He locked the metal clasp on it had and handed it to the mayor’s son, his sweating fingers leaving a mark upon the paper. The mayor’s son sneered then turned and left the office, still annoyed that his sleep and his day had been interrupted for such a task. â€Å"In today’s Nigeria corruption has become a problem with implications for development planning, power positions, and balances, the

The Jewish Diaspora and Israel Essay Example for Free

The Jewish Diaspora and Israel Essay The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines Diaspora as a â€Å"movement, migration of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland† . The term originally applied to Jewish people, who since biblical times have had been expelled from their ‘Promised Land’, the area that encompasses most of present day state of Israel. After independence in 1948, Israeli authorities declared a policy of homecoming for all Jews in ‘exile’. However, many in the Jewish Diasporas chose stay back in their host countries. This essay examines the complexities of interaction between the Jewish Diaspora and its Homeland through the works of Fullilove, Cohen, Sheffer and Shapira. Out of the 13. 8 million Jews, 7. 8 million stay in Diasporas . These are scattered across the U. S, France, Canada, Russia, UK, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Ukraine and South Africa. Most Jews in North Africa and Muslim countries have disappeared. The upward mobility of the Diaspora across the globe has played an important role in their interaction with the state of Israel. While the sentiments of the elder members of the Jewish Diaspora remain strong, the younger Jews under the age of 35 are distancing themselves from their Jewish homeland . They have a more unbiased view of Jewish affairs and in the recent Israeli-Palestine conflict, voiced dissenting opinions on the conduct of the Jewish state and its treatment of the Palestinian Arabs. Organizations such as the Independent Jewish Voices in the UK are one such organization that provides a contrarian view. Israeli Diaspora, according to Cohen comprises of those Jews who migrated out of Israel to other parts of the world. Jewish Diaspora refers to the Jews who were already settled in ‘exile’ from ancient times . The Jewish Diaspora having lived in their host countries for centuries have developed a more inclusive ethos than the newly migrating Jews ex-Israel. The Israeli Diaspora tends to be more conservative and the Diasporic Jews have often labeled the Israeli Diaspora as â€Å"loud, blunt and rude† . The main reason for the Jews to leave Israel has been to find better economic opportunities abroad . The constant stress and compulsory military service were other reasons cited by Jews to leave Israel . Yet others opted to emigrate to pursue higher education. Middle East or African origin Jews chose to leave Israel because of racial discrimination by the white Jewry. The Diaspora has a high rate of self-employment and does very well in financial and business sectors . Jews in Canada have very little affiliation to Jewish orthodoxy and tend to carry a negative image towards organized religion . Jews that migrate from Israel tend to carry their cultural heritage rather than religious identities. As a result, the Israeli Diaspora has a different cultural-religious orientation than the Jewish Diaspora, which becomes yet another point of discordance between the two communities. Second and third generation progeny of the Israeli Diaspora are losing their ‘Israeliness’ that is being replaced with ‘Jewishness’ . Sheffer argues that the relations of the state of Israel with their Diaspora are a unique phenomenon in its breadth and scope of interaction as compared to other ethno-national Diasporas. A large number of Jews no longer consider themselves to be exiles in their host nations . So, now there is no longer an urgency to return to their homeland. Part of this change of heart has been the growing realization that the Israeli state has understood the importance of the existence of the Diaspora in other countries and has made special efforts to engage with them at the governmental level. Thus two major Zionist ideas; return to Israel and negation of exile are no longer being propagated by the Israeli political establishment . The growing acceptance of their national status in their host nations is also a fallout of the weakening of communal ideologies in host nations which now allows the Jews a more inclusive social assimilation . Globalization and liberalization are now making it possible for the Jewish Diaspora to migrate to other host nations instead of the traditional aliyah or homecoming to Israel. In the present day, the transformation in relationship between the Israeli state and its Diaspora would require a redefinition of what constitutes Jewish identity and how to manage the State-Diasporic relationship . According to Shapira, while the Jewish Diaspora has fared well in the developed world, their brethren in the developing world have had no such socio-economic success. Coming from the lower socio-economic strata also limited the influence and adaptability of these Jews in their adopted homelands, which also affected their assimilation on return to their homeland. â€Å"Every wave of emigration produced a perceived dilution of the native Israeli identity that led to tension between the locals and the emigrants forcing a halt to immigration from time to time to allow for assimilation. On the opposite end of the spectrum are Jews who are leaving Israel for a variety of reasons. Some find the conflict in the Middle East and the daily threat to their lives too stressful. Others leave Israel for personal ideological reasons. This lot believes that the Israeli state puts too much premium on the Jewish religion as the core national value and wish to migrate to more inclusive locales. The out-group Jews have lesser attachment for Jewish causes in their adopted lands but nonetheless, the government of Israel realizes their importance in shaping international perceptions and keeps them engaged through their Ministry for Diaspora Affairs as well as Track II organizations. In the developed world, the Diaspora has achieved positions of affluence and influence. In the developing world they have remained at the lower end of the socio-economic strata, which has been the main driver for these communities to exercise their right to return to their Jewish homeland. The younger generation of Diaspora below the age of 35 has a lesser attachment to their homeland. Some have even raised contrarian views to question the conduct of the Israeli state in resolving the Palestinian issue. Others have opted to migrate out from Israel for a number of reasons such as better economic options, religious reasons or to escape from physical insecurity. Whatever be the varied contours of interaction of the Diaspora with the State of Israel, there is no denying the fact that the Jewish Diaspora is the most powerful and well organized community on which the homeland has great dependence. Bibliography Cohen, Rina. Israeli Diaspora. In Encyclopedia of Diasporas, by Springer Link, 136-143. NY: Springer US, 2005. Fullilove, Michael. Diasporas and The International System. Double Bay, Australia: Longueville Media, 2008. Merriam-Webster. Diaspora. 2009. http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/diaspora (accessed 17 May, 2009). Shapira, Anita. Israeli Identity in Transition. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2004. Sheffer, Gabriel. Is the Jewish Diaspora Unique? Refl ections on the Diaspora’s Current Situation. Israel Studies, volume 10, number 1 1-35.

The Rape of the Lock Essay example -- The Rape of the Lock Alexander P

The Rape of the Lock Pope's portrayal of Belinda and her society in 'The Rape of the Lock' This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! In 'The Rape of the Lock' Alexander Pope (1688-1744) employs a mock-epic style to satirise the 'beau-monde' (fashionable world, society of the elite) of eighteenth century England. The richness of the poem, however, reveals more than a straightforward satirical attack. Alongside the criticism we can detect Pope's fascination with, and perhaps admiration for, Belinda and the society in which she moves. Pope himself was not part of the 'beau-monde'. He knew the families on which the poem is based but his own parents, though probably comfortably off, were not so rich or of the class one would have to be in to move in Belinda's circle. He associated with learned men and poets, and there can have been little common ground between the company he kept at Will's Coffee House and those who frequented Hampton Court. The incident at the centre of the poem is the Baron's theft of a lock of hair and the ensuing estrangement of two families. The opening lines of the poem introduce the reader to the satirical stance he is taking towards the society portrayed in the poem. What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things, [I.1-2] Pope suggests that they are taking a trivial incident too seriously, displaying an exaggerated sense of their own importance. Throughout the poem Pope continues to make this point through his use of the mock-epic style, which itself takes a trivial incident too seriously, and uses disproportionately grand language to describe an unworthy subject. Belinda is belittled earl... ...y men of the age. An affinity between them is revealed by Pope's empathy, fine judgements, and carefully aimed criticisms, and Pope must have been at least a little fascinated by the 'beau-monde' to apply his talents to this poem which, in an ironic way, celebrates Belinda and her world and, as Pope himself suggests in the final couplet of the poem, has preserved them for posterity. This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! [V.149-50] References Butt, John (Ed). The Poems of Alexander Pope. A one-volume edition of the Twickenham text with selected annotations. London. Methuen & Co Ltd. 1963. First published in University Paperbacks 1965, Reprinted with corrections 1968. Reprinted 1977 Bibliography Cunningham. The Rape of the Lock. Oxford University Press. 1971 Gordon. A Preface to Pope. Longman. 1976

Comparison of the first chapters of Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations Essay

In the first chapter of Great Expectations, Dickens uses first person narrative to present a retrospective account of the narrator’s formative experiences. The narrator has obviously matured and learnt much since his days as a young boy, and he recounts his innocent imagination with some humour and disdain: â€Å"My first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones.† Here Dickens uses authorial control to present a pitiful account of a lonely, orphaned boy; â€Å"and that Philip Pirrip, late of the parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried.† And the fact that he mentions his parents death in the second paragraph shows just how significantly this has affected the young boy’s life. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen also uses authorial control to immediately inform the reader of the central theme of the book, and establish a humorous, ironic tone. This is done through the famous first line: â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.† but unlike Dicken’s first person narration, Austen separates herself completely from the mind and viewpoint of the characters, using dialogue to show her contempt for the social expectation of marriage: â€Å"‘Oh! Single, my dear to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!'† Austen presents Mrs Bennet as a personification of the first sentence of the book, and uses humour and irony to satirise and mock her. Another comparison between the two first chapters is that Dickens is very descriptive in his opening paragraphs: â€Å"Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles at sea.† whereas Austen does not give any background information on the characters and where they live until the end. At the end of the chapter Austen describes Mr and Mrs Bennet: â€Å"Mr Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice.† and: â€Å"Mrs Bennet was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and certain temper.† This authorial comment tells the reader exactly how to interpret the conversation they have just read, and it also presents a contrast between the two books: as Dickens uses pathos to make the reader pity Pip, Austen makes no attempt to make her central characters likeable. Finally both authors use binary opposition to emphasize the attributes of the different characters. For example in Great Expectations, Dickens contrasts the young, innocent Pip against the old and experienced nature of the escaped convict. When Pip meets the old man he lets his fearful imagination take hold of him: â€Å"‘O! Don’t cut my throat sir,'† I plead in terror. ‘Pray don’t do it, sir.'† which shows just how little understanding of the world Pip has. In Pride and Prejudice Mr Bennet’s mildly sarcastic statements are lost on Mrs Bennet, who’s over enthusiasm makes her oblivious to Mr Bennet’s mocking tone: â€Å"Mr Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.† The disparity between them is amusing, but it is also ironic, as the reader’s first view of marriage in a novel about finding marital happiness is one of a mismatc hed couple that cannot communicate.

Kung life Essay

1. How does Lee assess the day-to-day quality of !Kung life when they lived as foragers? How does this view compare with that held by many anthropologists in the early 1960’s? Lee begins to assess the day-to-day quality of the !Kung by keeping records of their food sources and water sources. He makes table depicting the !Kung’s movements during dry season to wells of fresh water. He documents how many different groups stay at which well. He tables all the available species of crops and food and comes to the conclusion that out of 75 percent of the listed species of food the !Kung are only using a selected few. One of the most utilized food is Mongongo nut that will grow in harsh weather conditions. A !kang was documented saying â€Å"why should we plant, when there are so many mongongo nuts in the world†. These charts indicate that the !Kung are not living from hand to month on the verge to starvation as previously believed. If the Bushmen were living on a starvation level then Lee theorizes that one would expect them to exploit every available source of nutrition. 2. According to Lee, !Kung children are not expected to work until after they are married; old people are supported and respected. How does this arrangement differ from behavior in our own society, and what might explain the difference? In our own society children don’t work until they are 14 or 15, some begin working at a younger age. A few 10 or 11 year olds with entrepreneurial spirits will go to houses offering services to cut lawns for $10 or what have you. It biggest difference between is that young men or boys in the !kung do not work until they are married. The possibility for that could be  the boy now has his own family now and must contribute to the hunt in order to provide for his own faction of the family. Elders in my society and in American culture I believe are no respected, they’re forced into nursing homes or become the burden of one unlucky sibling. The !kang respect and honor their elders possibly cause they honor knowledge and elders living the longest have the most to offer. 3. What was a key to successful subsistence for the !Kung and other hunter-gatherers, according to Lee? Lee stated one of the dominant themes contributing to successful subsistence of the! kung and other hunter gathers is the extreme importance of the environment in molding their cultures. These cultures are exemplified by cases in which their â€Å"technology† was simple yet utilized in such harsh and extreme environments. Lee urges the shift of thinking of hunting and gathering cultures as a persistent and well-adapted way of life. 4. In what ways has life changed for the !Kung since 1964? What has caused these changes? Chapter 10 1. What about the Koyukon and Inupiaq cultural knowledge of their environment resembles the controlled studies characteristic of the scientific method? Are there differences? â€Å"Unilineal evolutionists† label hunters and gather’s as unrefined or cultures that are less developed in terms of critical thinking. Lewis Henry Morgan would classify them savages, but the Eskimo cultures could debunk that theory. There is a lengthy cognitive process within the Eskimo ways of life. These hunters observe their natural environment in detail and get familiarized with it like scientists. They observe the animals they work with or hunt and develop theories about animal behavior and strategies to hunt their prey. Not only do they understand animal behavior from their studies but they also a wide array of knowledge about their land. These  traditional hunters are indeed refined they know how critically think and used their cultural knowledge of animal behaviors and their land to survive in one of the most cold and barren parts of the world 2. What do the Koyukon Indians have to know to successfully hunt a bear in the early winter? The Koyukon Indians must know how to find the bear’s den. The den entrances are hidden beneath 18 inches of powdery snow and are given away to subtle clues that the koyukon are familiar with. One of the clues are patches where no grass protrudes because the bear as clawed it away for insulation and â€Å"faint cavities in the ground hinting of the footprint depressions in the moss below †. After capturing the bear they must kill it in accordance to Koyukon customs and tradition. These rules and customs are set in place for the purpose of not disrupting the bear’s spirit and to show respect for the animal and the environment. 3. How can Eskimos predict sudden sea squalls? The Eskimo’s predict the sudden sea squalls but studying the habits of seals. The elder Eskimo was explaining seal patterns for when a seal comes up for breathe under the water. If the seal comes out of the water to breath with its back arched up right to sky and it’s head fully out of the water exposed then the weather will be a normal. But if the seal surfaces faced down with halfway submerged under water still then this was a preview for ominous weather to come that day. 4. By what processes do Inupiaq and Koyukon learn about Nature and the behavior of animals? The processes of cultural knowledge that is learned by the Inupiaq and Koyuken are, in my opinion, a prolonged participant observation. These people spend generations watching and living with the animals of their environments. They’ve learned hunting skills from polar bears, such as acting like a seal to sneak up on a seal. Many of their traditions and  knowledge of the environment is passed though the generations through form of participant observation. The men take the boys to hunt and they large amounts of time watching their life span watching these animals and living amongst them.

The Human Papillomavirus essays

The Human Papillomavirus essays The Human Papillomavirus Report I am doing a report about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is also known as the wart virus. Its sad, but true, that sexually active people may have this virus and never even heard about it. Since HPV is a communicable virus, one with it can give it to another if they were to have sex with an uninfected person. There are millions of people around the world that are infected. At least 75% of all sexually active people have the virus at some point in their life. There is more than one type of HPV. I will discuss important information having to do with the wart virus. After reading my report, maybe you can let others be aware of this extremely common virus. What Causes HPV? HPV is usually spread by direct skin-to-skin contact during vaginal or anal sex. Its rare but can be transmitted to the mouth by oral sex. Another way you can get HPV is by sharing bath towels if rubbed into the genital area or by sharing underwear with one that has the infection. Genital forms of the virus target the moist usually pink area or red tissue. So what basically causes HPV is sex. The more partners you have sex with, the higher risk you have getting the virus. What are the Symptoms? Having HPV may not always show symptoms. But some symptoms connected with HPV are genital warts, and at times without knowing. Warts are not always seen and can hide inside the vagina, in the cervix, or in the anus. They are often flesh colored and painless. Here are some symptoms of having the HPV infection. If you notice any unusual growths, bumps, or skin changes on or near your penis, vagina, vulva, or anus. If you notice any unusual itching, pain, or bleeding. If a women has an abnormal pap smear. If your sex partner(s) tells you that he or she has genital HPV. ...

What Are the Best Questions to Ask at a College Fair

What Are the Best Questions to Ask at a College Fair SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips A college fair may not feature popcorn and carnival rides- sorry, folks!- but they area great source of information for prospective college students. Coming prepared with a detailed plan, including a list of questions to ask at a college fair, will make sure you get the most out of your experience. This is often your first chance to meet with a school's representatives, so use that time wisely! The most important thing you can do to make the most of a college fair is to prepare ahead of time. Don't go into a college fair with no idea what you're doing or why, or you'll be wasting the college representative's time as well as your own. This collection of college fair questions and tips will help you have a better experience at your next college fair. This type of event is primarily a low-pressure way to learn more about schools that interest you, but having questions to ask at a college fair can also give you a head start over other applicants. You won't find any of these cuties at a college fair. What Is a College Fair? You won't find any prized livestock at a college fair, unfortunately. These events consist of college admissions representatives ready to talk with prospective students about attending their schools. You can find local college fairs through your high school, admissions counselors at colleges, college mailing lists, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). College fairs are great for not only getting more specific information about the colleges you already know about, but also for finding schools you've never heard of. That's why it pays to have questions ready ahead of time; your perfect school might not be one that's on your list! The real benefit to college fairs is that you can get information straight from the source, including answers to questions not available online. Any bit of extra info can help you make an informed decision about which college you want to attend, especially if you're looking for specific information about campus life, program specifics, and other nitty-gritty details. Will Attending a College Fair Help Your Admissions Chances? Here's the short answer: visiting a college fair probably won't make a huge difference in getting into a college. Meeting with a representative at a college fair isn't going to astronomically raise your chances, but itwill give you the extra information you need to make an informed decision about what school is right for you. So what effectcan attending a college fair have on your application? For colleges that factor demonstrated interest- that is, showing interest in attending a college through visits or other means- it could mean you register a little brighter on their radar. If you really want to make an impression, consider following up with colleges after the fair; this shows that you're not just interested in any school, but that one in particular. Lycoming College Admissions Director Jessica Hess says, "Calls to the college, campus visits, attendance at local area events, whether or not they open our emails and how many links they click on, research, attendance at high school college fairs- that all counts as demonstrated interest." That said, not every school factors in demonstrated interest. Even for those that do, it's just one part of a successful college application. Meeting with a college at a college fair might be a positive, but it won't help if you don't already have a stellar application. Instead, focus on getting as much information as possible from a college fair- information will be far more beneficial in helping you choose the right school and tailor your application effectively. "Demonstrated interest" makes you a bigger blip on the radar. How Should You Prepare For a College Fair? First, you'll want to be able to say, off the top of your head, what your GPA is, what honors or AP classes you're currently taking or plan to take, and any activities you're interested in or currently involved in. This information can help a college representative give you more helpful answers to your questions. Next, you'll want to set some goals. Be realistic, here- college fairs run around three to four hours, so you'll need to prioritize. Don't worry about talking to every single school there, and don't approach a college fair as a means of selling yourself directly to the colleges in question. First and foremost, a college fair is for you to learn more about the schools. You should use this event as an opportunity to get information, not as a trial run for your application. Schools will be meeting with many students in just a few hours, so you're unlikely to make a lasting impression. Use your time to learn rather than putting on an impressive show. With that in mind, think about questions like how many schools you want to talk to and what information you want to get out of them.Also, be sure to preregister! Not only will you get advanced information about what colleges will be there to help you plan better, but if you register through NACAC, you can get a barcode containing all your personal information. Colleges can scan that and make it easier to connect with you afterward. Consider which schools you'd most like to talk to, and compare that to the list of schools that will be attending. Create a list of around a dozen schools to visit, but don't feel like you need to get to every single one of them,because it's also important to spend a little time meeting with schools you haven't heard of. Prioritize! Which colleges on your list do you already have enough information to make a decision about? Those ones can go lower on your priority list, unless they're a dream school- then you should use the opportunity to speak to someone face-to-face about attending. But more than anything, you want to spend your time getting answers to questions you can't find online. Once you've made your list of schools you want to visit, make another list of things you'd want to know before committing to a college. This can be anything- admissions rate, what clubs they feature, whether your major is even offered there. Then, spend some time Googling to find the answers yourself. When you have a school representative in front of you, use them to answer the questions the school website can't! Check school websites and other sources to eliminate the most basic answers, and cross those questions off your list. With only a few hours, you're going to need to maximize your time. Questions to ask at a college fair shouldn't be things you can easily find online. A list will help you stay on track in every conversation. The Best Questionsto Ask at College Fairs It can be helpful to group your questions to ask at a college fair into categories. Organization will help you make sure you don't miss anything as you're talking with admissions officers. Here are some possible topics and sample questions you might want to include: Academics What programs are you most proud of? Are first-year students given priority for picking courses? What programs are the most popular? How does my favorite class in high school translate into a major? What help is there for students who speak English as a second language, who use American Sign Language, or who experience learning differences or other considerations? Admissions What should I know about competitive majors? Does "competitive" mean there are extra considerations for acceptance, or that there are limited spaces? What do students like and dislike about attending this school? Are there any students I can talk to about their experience? Tuition and Cost Are there any program-specific financial aid or scholarship programs I should know about? What opportunities are available for international, underrepresented, or other students with special circumstances? Campus Life If a club I'm interested in doesn't exist, can I start that club? What do students do during their free time? What kind of restaurants and activities are near campus? What is the workload like for my major? What kind of safety measures are there on campus? Job Searching What do graduates of my major go on to do? How can I make the most of my alumni network? Some of the questions to ask at a college fair will be on the general side: things you can ask multiple colleges to compare and contrast what they offer. Other questions to ask at college fairs should be based on specifics, like the details of one particular program. For example, say you're an aspiring novelist who wants to write fantasy books. What's the English department's stance on genre fiction? This is something that's probably not listed on a college website, but if the college representative knows the answer, you'll have a better picture of whether the school is a good fit- and if they don't know, they can put you in touch with someone who does. You don't have to ask the exact same questions at every school, but be sure you get all the information you need. The questions to ask colleges at a college fair are ones that will help you make the most informed decision you can about where you want to attend. 6 College Fair Tips Since you've already made a plan, you're on the right track for getting the best possible experience out of your college fair. But there's still more you can do, too. #1: Dress to Impress Don't worry about looking extremely fancy, but do put a little effort into your outfit. Focus on the clothes that make you feel comfortableand confident. Think button-up shirts, skirts, and professional-looking pants like corduroy, khakis, or chinos. Formal wear isn't necessary, but do put in a little more effort than you might on an average day at school. Now, put on your best confident smile, because you're there to impress! #2: Bring Supplies You should bring a bottle of water- you're going to be doinga lot of talking- as well as a notebook and pen. Not only will taking notes help make sure you don't forget each college's answer to your questions, but taking a moment to jot down some notes after each conversation will make sure you remember it better. If you have address labels, these can be a great way to hand out your personal information if you don't have the NACAC barcode. #3: Arrive Early College fairs will typically have a fair directory and bag for you to take. If you get there early, you can use the directory to plan out the optimal route to make sure you get a chance to talk to all the schools you want to meet with rather than wandering aimlessly and hoping you stumble upon them. #4: Be Genuine When you're talking to representatives of each school, don't worry about being the most impressive person in the room, but do think about being your authentic self. Be honest and forthcoming and express genuine interest. Don't try to impress based on things you don't actually feel, believe, or do, because not only can admissions officers pick up on that, but it's also more likely to lead to a college being a poor fit. The best college for you isn't always the most prestigious one- you want a school that's going to lead to academic success, a great pathway to a career, and a fulfilling education, not one that's just going to carry the star power of a familiar name. #5: Check Out Unfamiliar Colleges You should set aside at least a little time to talk with colleges you may not have heard of. The biggest, most memorable names may not actually be the best fit- smaller schools may surprise you! That's why it's good to have general questions to ask when attending a college fair: you don't want to be left scrambling for conversation when your dream school might be right in front of you. #6: Follow Up Be sure to grab brochures, an application, financial aid information, and business cards from representatives if they're available. You can even send a follow-up to whoever you speak to; it's a great way to show initiative and interest. Besides, you'll want all that information later on when it's time to apply- thanks to your hard work and planning, you have everything you need to find the perfect school for you! You don't have to look extremely fancy, but do put in effort. What's Next? Visiting a college fair will get you lots of information, but you still have to do the hard work of applying to college. Using an acceptance calculator will help you figure out your chances of getting into the schools at the top of your listso you know how to up your odds. Now that you know what you can expect of your ideal colleges, it's time to learn what colleges expect from you. The information you gathered at your college fair will help you better target your application to suit what each school is looking for! It's also a great time to start researching scholarships. Even if you're a freshman or sophomore, it's never too early to start thinking about how you're going to pay for college, and all the information you've gathered gives you a definite leg up on other students. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. 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Pen Names

Pen Names Pen Names Pen Names By Ali Hale A reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, uses his real name in his writing for a weekly newspaper, but is considering using a pen name for other work. He wrote: I have had heavy criticisms attached to my birth name, before my professional career [as a journalist] even started, and believe with a pen name I can have a fresh start. My question for you is this: When should a writer use a pen name? Should a writer use a pen name at all? What is a pen name? A â€Å"pen name† or â€Å"nom de plume† is a pseudonym used by an author. Sometimes it’s used to remain anonymous, but authors often don’t mind their pen names being known – they just use different names for their writing in separate genres, to avoid confusing their readers. Professionals in other creative fields also use pseudonyms, but these aren’t called pen names; for example, an actor taking on a different name is using a â€Å"stage name†. The phrase â€Å"nom de plume†, as explained by Maeve in French Words for Writers was adapted from the French â€Å"nom de guerre† – a fictional â€Å"war name†. Famous people with pen names Authors throughout the centuries have used pen names. You’ve probably heard of the following authors: George Orwell (real name Eric Arthur Blair) George Eliot (real name Mary Ann Evans) Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) And many writers today use pen names. For example, Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum is the real name of Ayn Rand (she wrote the famous novel Atlas Shrugged, examining philosophical and political themes). Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, a fantasy author, writes under two pen names: Megan Lindholm for her earlier, contemporary fantasy, and Robin Hobb for her epic, traditional fantasy books. Why use a pen name? Authors use pen names for a wide variety of reasons, which include: To remain anonymous (especially if producing a politically or religiously sensitive work) This is perhaps less common today, but sometimes occurs if a very personal or sexually explicit work is written. An example is the author Belle de Jour (who writes a blog Belle de Jour: diary of a London call girl and has had two books published based on the blog). Some people see this form of anonymity as a ploy to provoke media interest, as newspapers compete to discover the real identity of such authors. To change or conceal gender In the 18th century, many female authors used male pen names in order to be taken seriously. George Eliot is the most famous example, though the Bronte sisters all wrote under pen names too. This trend still continues in some genres today: for example, female fantasy or science fiction authors will often use a gender-neutral name (Robin Hobb) or use their initials (J.K. Rowling) as the genre has traditionally attracted more male readers and authors. A similar effect can be seen when male authors adopt a female pen name to write a chick lit or romance novel. To write across multiple genres Lewis Carroll also wrote mathematical textbooks under his real name (Charles Dodgson), so adopted a pen name for his children’s novels. Authors today who write in multiple genres will sometimes use a different name for each one, to avoid confusing readers. Others use alternative forms of their real name; for example, the author Iain Menzies Banks writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M Banks. To recover from poor sales or reputation If, as in the question from our reader above, an author’s real name has attracted criticism – it may be worth considering changing to a pen name. Sometimes, the first few novels by a new author don’t sell well in bookshops, leading publishers to reject future submissions: changing to a pen name is often recommended in these circumstances. Holly Lisle suggests, in her FAQs about writing: Authors whose first three or so books have returns of fifty percent or more are out of the game. Publishers will stop buying from them not just your current publisher, but also the other publishers you might hope to sell to.†¦ This is where pen names can be useful more than one author with bad numbers has started over with a new name, in essence becoming a first novelist again and acquiring a clean publishing history in the process. So should you use a pen name? If you are trying to build up a reputation in multiple genres, using a pen name (or several pen names) is probably a good idea. And if your real name (or current pen name) has attracted heavy criticism or negative publicity, switching to a new name could be a good way to recover. Even if people do know what your real name is, you’ll be referred to by your pen name and it’s likely that few people will make a connection with your previous writings. However, adopting a pen name means building up your reputation again from scratch – which could be a particular problem for freelance writers. You’ll still have all your experience and knowledge, but you may not want to use existing clippings of your writing which were published under your previous name. If you’re using a pen name in an attempt to remain anonymous, be aware that people are often insatiably curious when they suspect a secret – you may well be â€Å"discovered†. In some cases, this can lead to great publicity, but if your client or publisher suspects you of trying to conceal a less-than-stellar past, it may backfire. Ultimately, only you can decide whether it’s best for you to adopt a pen name or not. Many very successful authors have done so in the past, though, and many do today – so you’ll be in good company if you decide to use one! If you’ve written under a pen name – or even just considered using one – why not share your experience in the comments or on the Daily Writing Tips forum? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsHyphenation in Compound Nouns

George Orwell's 1984 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

George Orwell's 1984 - Research Paper Example People are not allowed to speak freely—in the press or otherwise—because they are afraid of retribution. This is in direct contrast to the United States, where freedom of speech is built into the First Amendment of the Constitution, the founding document upon which U.S. ideals are based. Totalitarian governments don’t want people to think, live, or do anything without the government’s approval. For example, Communist China only allows one child per family. So, even the means of reproduction is controlled in that country, simply because it gives the government power over even peoples’ private sex lives. Not only this, but the government can claim that it is instituting such a law to have one child per family due to â€Å"the ecology† or some other such reason. This is not the true reason why leaders do not want the Chinese people empowered by having many children. China thinks that by controlling the fact that even these poor citizens of their own country cannot have intimate relations without worrying that the government might execute their child—puts them in a state of continual fear. This persistent fear that people would wake up to also include the fear that someone is watching them all the time who may have a higher place in the government than is originally known. That happens a lot in 1984. People are not whom they seem, and there are several shifting sands in this book, leading one to believe that one cannot always blindly accept the simple platitudes of what appears to be reality. Not only this, but Orwell warned against the dangers of giving leaders totalitarian power. One of the ways that this was achieved was that the so-called ‘winners’ in history would completely and most convincingly erase history. They would do this by incinerating any documents that would show proof of any kind of wrongdoing by the government. Thus, the government’s actions could only be analyzed through the na rrow view it had of itself—which was that it was basically a perfect entity, at least, according to its own records. This is the position in which poor Winston Smith finds himself. He works for the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), and finds himself having the task of ‘revising’ history. What is interesting is that Winston starts realizing, as an Outer Party flunky, that the Inner Party is using him as a tool to help manipulate information control so that the top 2% can remain at the top. This reflects something similar which is going on at the Occupy Wall Street protests all over the globe and in riots in the UK, Africa, and the Middle East—people are realizing that their power comes from taking back their history, and seeing history as it really is and was as opposed to how it might be or should have been. This leads us to our next topic, which has to do with historical revisionism and its evils. III. The Deliberate Distortion of History The deliberate disto rtion of history is what Winston was in charge of doing. The novel 1984 depicts how detrimental history can be when it is written through the lens of the people who were on the winning side of

Summary and Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Summary and Response - Essay Example The delegates argue that the rural areas receive fewer funds as compared to the big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Notably, the allocation of funds has been discriminating against the students who come from the neglected areas including Henan province. The poor funding of the university education in the remote regions has attracted complaints from the residents. In fact, people have demanded equality in the allocation of the funds for higher education. Such inequality resulted in delegates demanding for the equal treatment of the students from all the regions. The quota system of recruiting students to join the universities is discriminating. Primarily, the quota targets the students from the rich areas such as Beijing and Shanghai. According to the article, the political interference in the process of distributing the quotas tends to disadvantage the students from provinces with a large population such as Henan. The household registration that restricts free movement from one region to the other has advanced the discrimination against students from the rural areas (Buckley). The implication of the restriction in movement is that the students cannot acquire the best education in prestigious universities located away from the rural areas. Hence, students from the remote areas are victims of the unequal allocation of slots in the universities. The system of recruiting students to join the universities continues to widen inequality gap in education. Majorly, political favoritism affects the efforts of the China’s government to ensure all the students enjoy fair recruitment in the universities. The university entrance exams tend to reduce the number of the students joining the higher education. According to the article, Henan received 85 positions out of the 758,000 students who attempted the entrance examinations (Buckley). In contrast, students from Beijing got 226 slots out

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer Annotated Bibliography

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer - Annotated Bibliography Example hnologies, the study indicates that superior imaging techniques show promise for postoperative specimen evaluation and have helped improve breast cancer screening. Further, the study shows that digital mammography has helped improve the sensitivity of mammography especially for women aging 50 years and below and that it may help improve the specificity of tomosynthesis. This source contributes to the collection of Annotated Bibliography (AB) by highlighting the role that the improved technology has played in the treatment of breast cancer. The specific technologies highlighted in this article clearly shows how improved technology has contributed towards the treatment of breast cancer. Joann, G. Elmore, MP, Armstrong, K., Constance, D., & Fletcher, S. (1997). Barclay J. Increase in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast cancer in relation to mammography: a dilemma. Journal of Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 22:151–6. In this article, Elmore et al. demonstrates that the increased utilization of screening mammography has had a remarkable change in detected ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. The articles show that, in 1993 alone, there were about 23,276 newly diagnosed DCIS cases in the U.S. Of these 4,675 were in women aging between 40 and 49. The authors indicate that DCIS accounted for about 14.7 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases among women aging between 40 and 49, and 40 percent of the mammographically detected breast cancer cases in this group were DCIS. In women aging between 40 and 49, an approximate 2,707 lumpectomies and mastectomies were conducted for DCIS. This source contributes to the AB collection by demonstrating the use of screening mammography, one of the current technologies, in the detecting ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. Glass A, Lacey J, & Carreon J. (2007). Breast cancer incidences, 1980–2006, combined roles of menopausal hormone therapy, Estrogen Receptor Status, and screening mammography. Journal of Natl Cancer

Bureacracy and Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bureacracy and Democracy - Essay Example The goal is to establish a decision that is either rational or efficient in attaining the desirable goal. The goal revolves around ensuring the organization survives and the self –interests of an individual. This Theory is neo classical in nature .It connects politics and microeconomics by looking at the complaints of individuals like public servants, and citizens as similar to what self interested producers and consumers do. This theory can be traced back to the times of Adam Smith .He reasoned that when people act on self interest they may end up engaging in acts that ultimately benefit the whole society .Taking an example of a business man seeking to enrich himself. He have to make good Quality goods that are cheaper than competitors so as to increase sales and maximize revenue. In turn the society benefits from cheaper goods of better quality. From this we see that common benefit and social order are obtainable from market mechanism as opposed to the government being stron g and centralized .The elements of the market being unregulated to some degree, participants having self interest and the producers being competitive constitute the aspects of this theory. For rational choice, the drive is self interest .It influences our actions and also decisions. From this we can develop the notion of how market for goods that are public operate .People will purchase services and also goods that they prefer. Producers in this scenario are competitive, having self interests tied to responding to the demands of the consumer .We need to examine how this theory relates to authority. It goes against the public administration theory stating the people (authority eg government) are responsible for public service provision and how they should work towards it .This role becomes a function of the market forces of demand and supply and how the interact in the market. Rational choice impacts public administration in two ways. a) It has an impact on organizational behavior an d serves to explain Bureaucratical behaviors as put forth by Max Weber (Weber & Andreski, 2009). b) How public services are delivered. It encourages reforms in the public sector c) It pushes rationality in choice as the new way as opposed to Max Weber s theories on decision making (He encouraged bureaucracy) It is worth noting that rational decision making is also viewed as a normative approach to decision making 2) The simple decision making Theory This is the second theory on decision making. It explains on how decisions are actually made. It is also referred to as the descriptive approach to decision making. .To understand this we look at examples of institutions and how they are managed, Policy makers and administrators of public institutions fail to utilize scientifically obtained knowledge .Their reason at times science demands the problems to be put into fragments .This fragmentation makes it difficult to obtain quick insight into the problem .Knowledge for rational decision is not perfect as argued by scientists. Another key aspect of decisions made under this theory is that their very nature call for the authority to reach a decision .The public willingly takes the consequences resulting from them .In cases like this it becomes paramount for citizens to understand that their interests are at heart Question 2 According to Kirlin, there are seven major questions that by addressing them we get an insight into public

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Strategic Management - Essay Example This paper discusses the relevance of strategic management and its implications particularly to the hospitality industry. Strategic management is the process of specifying an organizations objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by the companys top leaders particularly the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team. It provides an overall direction to the whole organization. An organization’s strategy must be best suited for its resources, circumstances, and to achieve its objectives. The process involves matching the companys strategic advantages to the business environment the organization faces. One aim of an overall corporate strategy is to put the organization into a position to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently. A good corporate strategy should integrate an organization’s goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole (Wikipedia, 2006). â€Å"There are a few major forces driving change in the remote and immediate environments of the organization. These forces are often referred to as trends, create opportunities and pose threats to the firm. They shape and force change in both predictable and unpredictable patterns. Hence the success often comes from the choice of competitive methods used by the firm to take advantage of the threats and opportunities in the business environment. These methods should also provide the firm with sustainable competitive advantage. Above all the most important area of management in an organization is the effective and efficient allocation of the firm’s resources.† (Olsen, et al. 1998). Corporate strategy can be described as an organizations sense of purpose - a guiding purpose or policy, a focus/mission statement, even a philosophy,

Choose any topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose any topic - Essay Example However, every country that practices democracy as its system of governance has its way of interpreting it which might not appear always rational in other societies based on their actions, culture and beliefs. Unlike before, nowadays people’s opinions are forwarded to the government by elected representatives elected by that society as the population is much higher for every person to directly address the government. This has increased the much needed transparency and reason which must accompany the decision of a representative, for one would appear a fool to present an idea before thinking about its end results even though being the choice of majority (President Obama). The majority are not always right for a decision made by many uninformed people does not always auger well for them and the society they live in, hence the leadership even though democracy must put a reason in their governing to yield better results for all. Successful democracy must not be ultimate system whe re the majority of the people is entitled to make all the opinions regardless of the minority groups which in many circumstances might end up being mobbed rule. A good example of worst mob rule confused with democracy is the Nazis Brown Shirts from Germany. A mature democracy must observe ethics, reason and morals which are formulated by the majority citizens (President Obama). The ideas of democracy that do not observe reasons are tantamount to oppression or hypocrisy of the great order as the rulers who do not engage in reasonable ideas yet they purport to practice democracy manipulate the population to consent to their selfish deed while critics are suppressed. Just as President Obama comments in his speech delivered at Cairo University on June 2009 states that, ‘elections alone do not make true democracy’ (President Obama), democratically elected leadership must adhere to reason in its execution of its assigned duties if truly it follows a democratic system of gover nance. It is said that absolute power corrupt absolutely and if a government however determined to be free to its people remain unchecked by other organs within its rank, it will slowly transform into a tyrannical regime. The ideals that tie together democracy and reason in a democratic society are the ingredients approved and means well for the people being governed. These rational democratic ingredients that a leader must maintain are placing the interest of the people and legitimizing political working process beyond party politics, respecting the right of minority groups, maintaining power through consent instead of coercion and allowing compromise and tolerance. The ideas of democracy and reason are also tied together because freedom must be tolerated without being biased toward a leader believes. For example, it would be a violation of democracy to allow a certain religion to be practiced in your area as a leader while you bar others. Lack of religious tolerance would lender a leader dictatorial as he/she would be violating the right of minority groups toward their rights of worship of which would lead to animosity and conflict in the barred groups (President Obama). Reason must be applied to all laws where all people all catered for equally without

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Strategic Management - Essay Example This paper discusses the relevance of strategic management and its implications particularly to the hospitality industry. Strategic management is the process of specifying an organizations objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by the companys top leaders particularly the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team. It provides an overall direction to the whole organization. An organization’s strategy must be best suited for its resources, circumstances, and to achieve its objectives. The process involves matching the companys strategic advantages to the business environment the organization faces. One aim of an overall corporate strategy is to put the organization into a position to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently. A good corporate strategy should integrate an organization’s goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole (Wikipedia, 2006). â€Å"There are a few major forces driving change in the remote and immediate environments of the organization. These forces are often referred to as trends, create opportunities and pose threats to the firm. They shape and force change in both predictable and unpredictable patterns. Hence the success often comes from the choice of competitive methods used by the firm to take advantage of the threats and opportunities in the business environment. These methods should also provide the firm with sustainable competitive advantage. Above all the most important area of management in an organization is the effective and efficient allocation of the firm’s resources.† (Olsen, et al. 1998). Corporate strategy can be described as an organizations sense of purpose - a guiding purpose or policy, a focus/mission statement, even a philosophy,

The learning transfer practices at Camair-Co Dissertation

The learning transfer practices at Camair-Co - Dissertation Example However, the behavioural as well as cognitive traits perceived by the learners should also be considered as vital in this context as these factors also have a substantial impact on the overall efficiency of the learning transfer process. Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank all the employees at Camair-Co who offered their cooperation, understanding and time when I was carrying out my research. I also extend my appreciation to my friends and family for being so supportive while I was completing this study. Finally, I offer my sincere thanks to God, for giving me the strength, perseverance and confidence to make all this possible. Table of Contents (INCLUDE WORD COUNT) Chapter 1 – Introduction 309 words (300) 1.1 Background Camair-Co is the national airline of the Republic of Cameroon that is based in Douala. The company offers passenger and cargo transportation to visiting friends and relatives, Government, NGOs and traders (History, 2011) Camair-Co employs 438 perso nnel comprising of both national and foreign expertise. Subedi (2004) suggests that a diverse workforce can raise significant challenges for the organisation in the execution of its learning or training transfer process (Subedi, 2004). Within today’s competitive business environment, strong talent is critical to the success of organisations. Consequently, management must ensure all employees are empowered through training to effectively transfer knowledge and skills back to the work place. 1.2 Statement of the problem Training activities at Camair-Co include on and off the job training. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the transfer of learning is... The paper tells that the notion behind the transfer of learning contributes significantly towards making the workforce effective. 10% of the overall staff salary at Camair-Co is spent on developing capabilities through training, learning and other development initiatives. In the writer’s experience, the most successful organisations have consistently invested a lot of money in training and developing their people however, evidence suggests the value derived from the training spend is not as encouraging. Only 10% and 34% of skills and knowledge gained from training is still applied by employees on-the-job a year later. Given the alarming statistics by researchers and the large amounts of money involved, monitoring and closing any gaps between what is invested and what is returned is critical. According to Cree & Macaulay, transfer of learning has been referred to the process of earlier learning which influences improved performance or learning. The transfer of learning is said to entail skills acquisition and knowledge gained in training that is transferred back to the job, as well as maintenance of the learned material over a period of time on-the-job. Broad & Newstrom describe it as ‘the effective and continuing application, by trainees to their jobs, of the knowledge and skills gained in training – both on and off the job’. This concept is of particular importance among organisations that seek to ensure peak performance amongst individuals and the organisation. Rothwell & Sredi assert that the transfer of learning also facilitates the organisations in the development of competitive advantage.

South Africa Essay Example for Free

South Africa Essay In South Africa, civil disobedience was also strongly practiced. By simply looking back at South Africas history, it is indeed safe to say that civil disobedience is justifiable. Apartheid in South Africa is a fact, and is also a part of world history. Apartheid is the main reason why civil disobedience, also considered â€Å"passive resistance in South Africa, was practiced. Apartheid in South Africa was brought about by the settlement of the whites in the country. The term â€Å"separate development† was then used to categorize South Africans into three racial categories. These three categories included the Bantu, White and Colored. Bantu were the black Africans, White were the Americans and Colored were the people with mixed race. The laws under the apartheid system were harsh – black Africans were not allowed to own land even when they were the natives of the country. The members of the White had power over more than 80% of the total land area of South Africa even when the whites were a minority during that time. What makes civil disobedience justifiable in South Africa was when black Africans were not allowed to come in contact with other races. The prohibition of social contact brought about other social injustice like race-specific jobs, separation of education standards, restricted powers and participation in social events (Robinson, 1999). The role of civil disobedience in the given examples is to save people from extreme hardship. It functioned as the first step towards resistance to social injustice. Civil disobedience is then preferred by a lot of people all over the world because it is a form of peaceful rebellion. Given that some of the laws and platforms of a country are repressive and encouraging of violence, what kind of world will this world be if this is fought with armed rebellion? That said, civil disobedience is a step towards a fair revolution and a just society. References: Africa Action. (2006). Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Guide. Retrieved March 7, 2008 from http://www. africaaction. org/campaign_new/page. php? op=readdocumentid. DuBrin, D. (2008). What is the Role of Civil Disobedience Today? Retrieved March 7, 2008  from www. pbs. org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/socialstudies/htm. Gandhi, M. (1921). Civil Disobedience. Retrieved March 7, 2008 from http://www. gandhimanibhavan. org/eduresources/article8. htm. Kamat, J. (2005). Indias Freedom Struggle: Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements. Retrieved March 7, 2008 from http://www. kamat. com/kalranga/freedom/movements. htm. Robinson, J. (1999). Africa. Retrieved March 7, 2008 from http://www. africanaencyclopedia. com/apartheid/apartheid. html.

Enhancement of Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Enhancement of Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting Enhancement of photocatalytic overall water splitting on H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 by loading Pt, Rh(oxide) as co-catalysts Wei Chen, Hui Wang, Liqun Mao, Xiaoping Chen, Wenfeng Shangguan Abstract: Pt and Rh were loaded on protonated layered pervoskite H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 by an in suit photodeposition method. The Rh loading facilitates the O2 evolution and the H2/O2 is close to stoichiometric ratio (≈ 2). Yet the Pt loading is unable to improve the O2 evolution, although the photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution was enhanced apparently. The different effect of Pt and Rh on phtocatalytic activity for H2 or O2 evolution is due to the chemical states of Pt and Rh on HKLBT. The Pt particles loaded on HKLBT by photodepositon are Pt0, functioning as activity sites for H2 evolution. However, the Rh particles loaded on HKLBT are not only Rh0, but also RhO2, which provide the activity sites for O2 evolution by means of reducing the overpotential of O2 evolution. 1 Introduction Photocatalytic water splitting has attracted much attention in the past decades for producing clean and renewable hydrogen energy[1-3]. The photocatalytic water splitting contains both water reduction process(for H2) and water oxidation(for O2) process. Currently, the water oxidation process is consider as a key bottleneck in photocatalytic reaction[4]. The difficulty of water oxidation is due to the high overpotential of O2 evolution, which is attributed to charge trapping by surface states and slow oxygen evolution kinetics[5-7]. This is also explaining why some photocatalytic reactions in pure water only produce H2 without O2 (or H2/O2>2). Therefore, providing the activity sites for oxygen evolution to reduce the overprotential is a key task on overall water splitting. It has reported that co-catalysts such as NiO[8], RuO2[9], Mn2O3[10] loading on photocatalysts play an very important role on achieving overall water splitting by mean of providing the activity sites or inhibiting t he occurrence of backward reaction. However, almost all of metal oxides loading on photocatalytic materials need heat-treatment, which is harmful to some materials with less heat-resistant, such as protonated layered materials[11], metal (oxy)sulfide[12] and metal (oxy)nitride[13], etc. Recently, Kudo et al[14] loaded PbO2 from Pb2+ by a photodeposition method without heat-treatment, indicating that oxides also are loaded by oxidation of photogenerated holes, which will provide us with a feasible way to load metal oxides on photocataytic materials by a photodeposition method. In our previous study, we found that, although protonated layered perovskite H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 showed high activity for overall water splitting, the ratio of H2/O2 was stoichiometric[15,16]. In addition, H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 (HKLBT) possesses weak heat endurance and the heat-treatment would result the collapse of layer structure. Herein, we report Rh oxide loading on HKLBT by in suit photodepositon to provide the activity sites for Oxygen evolution and enhance photocatalytic water splitting. The chemical sates of Pt, Rh loading on HKLBT are investigated. The effects of co-catalysts on water splitting, especially for oxygen evolution, are also discussed. 2 Experimental 2.1 Preparation of materials The protonated layered perovskite oxides H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7was prepared according to the method presented in our previous papers[15]. The detail processes are as follows: (1)The layered compound K0.5La0.5Bi2Ta2O9 were prepared by the polymerized complex method as follows. 60 mL methanol was used as a solvent to dissolve 0.006 mol of TaCl5. A large excess of citric acid (CA, 0.09 mol) was added into the methanol solution with continuous stirring. After achieving complete dissolution, 0.006 mol Bi(NO3)3 ·5H2O, 0.0015 mol La(NO3)3 ·nH2O, and 0.00825 mol K2CO3 were added to the solution. The mixture was then magnetically stirred for 1 h to afford a transparent solution and 0.36 mol of ethylene glycol (EG) was added to this solution. Then, the solution was heated at 130  ºC to promote esterification between EG and CA, yielding brown resin. The resin was then calcined at 350 oC for 1 h to form black solid mass. The resulting black powder was calcined on an Al2O3 plate at 650  ºC for 2 h in air, then calcined at 900  ºC for 6 h to obtain K0.5La0.5Bi2Ta2O9 (denoted as KLBT). (2) Proton exchange reaction: KLBT (0.8g) was performed in 250 mL of 3 M HCl solution for 72 h at room temperature with replacement of the acid every 24 h, and then the product was washed with deionized water and dried at 60  ºC for 3 h to remove the water on the surface of potocatalysts to obtain HKLBT. 2.2 Characterizations The UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) were determined by a UV-vis spectrophotometer UV-2450 (Shimadzu, Japan) and were converted to absorbance by the Kulbelka-Munk method. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements were conducted using a JEM-2100F (Japan). The surface electronic state was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Shimadzu-Kratos, Axis Ultra DLD, Japan). All the binding energy (BE) values were calibrated by using the standard BE value of contaminant carbon (C1s =284.6 eV) as a reference. 2.3 In suit photodeposition and photocataltyic reaction The in suit photodeposition and photocatalytic reactions were carried out in a 350 ml top irradiation reaction Quartz cell at room temperature and a 250 W high-press Hg lamp was used as the light source. The catalyst powder (50 mg) was suspended in 60 ml aqueous solution containing a certain amount of (NH3)4PtCl2 and Rh(NO3)2 solution by magnetic stirring. At initial stage (about 2 h), Pt or Rh species were gradually deposited on the surface of HKLBT. After 2 h, generated gases were analyzed by an on-line GC with TCD detector (Huaai, GC9160, China, MS-5A, argon Argon as carrier gas). 3 Results and discussion 3.1 UV-vis DRS The UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) of naked HKLBT and Pt (Rh)/HKLBT photocatalyts are shown in Fig 1. The absorption edges of HKLBT loading Pt or Rh have no notable change. However, after in suit photodeposition, the spectrum longer than 320nm exhibit new weak absorptions, which are ascribe to the adsorption of Pt or Rh(oxides) on the surface of HKLBT. The result indicates co-catalysts loaded on photocatalyst successfully as well. 3.2 TEM and XPS analysis The representative HRTEM images of Rh/HKLBT and Pt/HKLBT are shown in Fig 2. Fig 2a shows that the size of the Rh on HKLBT is about 5-10 nm. The lattice fringes of Rh and HKLBT can be observed clearly, suggesting the well-defined crystal structure. The lattice fringes with d spacing of ca. 0.251 nm and 0.184 nm can be assigned to the (101) lattice plane of RhO2 and (002) lattice plane of Rh0, respectively. The result is indicatinged that Rh particles photodeposited on HKLBT contain two different Rh species. The fig 2b shows the lattice fringe with d value of ca. 0.197 nm corresponds to the (200) lattice plane of Pt0, suggesting that Pt2+ was photo-reduced to Pt metal by photogenerated electrons instead of being oxideted by holes. The chemical states of Rh and Pt species on HKLBT photocatalysts were investigated by the XPS. Fig 3 shows the Rh 3d (a) and Pt 4f (b) binding energy spectra of Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT. As shown in Fig 3a, the Rh 3d5/2 XPS spectrum displays broad peaks and has been fitted to two overlapped peaks at ca 307.2 eV and 309.2 eV. The low binding energy at 307.2 eV is attributed to the Rh0[17], and the high binding energy at 309.2 eV is ascribed to RhO2[18], demonstrating further Rh photodeposited on HKLBT possesses two chemical states. The result is good agreement with the HRTEM result. The spectrum for the Pt7/2 (Fig 3b) exhibits two major peaks with binding energies of ca. 70.8 and 72.3 eV, which are assigned to Pt0 and Pt0 with adsorbed oxygen(Pt0-Oads) based on the previous report by kimi et al[19]. Photocatalytic water splitting activities of Pt/HKLB and Rh/HKLBT(à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ §Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ®) Table 1 lists the rates of H2 and O2 on HKLBT loaded with different amounts of Pt-cocatalyst and Rh-catalyst by photodepositon method. As shown in table1, the photocataytic activity of HKLBT was improved by Pt or Rh loading. The highest hydrogen evolution rate was obtained when the amount of cocatalytsts was 0.3wt%, which reached the 2.0 times (Pt) and 1.2 times(Rh) of naked photocatalyst, indicating cocatalysts provide catalytic active sites for water splitting. Excess loading of cocatalysts caused a decrease of photocatalytic activityà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’because the excessive Pt or Rh loaded on HKLBT would not only block the absorption to light photon but become the recombination centers of carriers as well[20]. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Pt loading enhanced remarkably the photocatalytic activity of H2 evolution instead of O2 evolution, and the H2/O2 is also deviating from the stoichiometric ratio. Instead, the photocataytic O2 production is considerably promoted by Rh loading and the ratio of H2 to O2 is close to 2, when the amount of Rh loading is 0.3 wt%. If photocatalytic reaction occurred, the photocatalytic materials not only need to meet requirement of energy, but also have enough activity sites for H2 and O2 evolution. Generally, during an overall water splitting reaction, active sites of O2 evolution are more important than that of hydrogen evolution, due to high overpotential of O2 evolution of photocatalyst[4]. It has been reported, some metal oxides cocatalysts, such as RuO2, IrO2, are good candidates as cocatalysts for enhancing O2 evolution by reducing the overpotential of O2 evolution[9,21]. Valdà ©s er al[22]also reported that the overpotentials of O2 evolution on RuO2, IrO2 and RhO2 were relative low (2 evolution from the surface of the photocatalysts. In our study, Pt0 particles photocdeposited on HKLBT only function as activity sites for H2 evolution, while the activity sites for O2 evolution are insufficiency as well. In contrast, Rh species loaded on HKLBT was not only reduced by electrons to Rh0, but oxidated by ho les to RhO2, which is benefit to O2 evolution. To further demonstrate the effect of RhO2 on O2 evolution, the photocatalytic O2 evolution of HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT in FeCl3 aqueous solution was carried out(Fig 4). As shown in Fig4, It can be clearly observed that the photocatalytic O2 evolution of Rh/HKLBT is higher than that of both Pt/HKLBT and naked HKLBT, indicting that RhO2 functions as an O2 evolution promoter indeed[23]. Conclusion The Rh oxide (RhO2) was loaded on HKBT by in suit photodeposition method without heat-treatment. Compared to Pt, the Rh oxide on the surface of the HKLBT is able to enhance the photocatalytic O2 evolution, and the ratio of H2 to O2 is stoichiometric ratio (H2/O2=2). The enhancement of O2 is due to the decrease of overpotential of O2 evolution by means of RhO2. The present work is also providing a possibility without heat-treatment to load metal oxides on photocatalyst with low heat stability for overall water splitting. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA051501), the National Key Basic Research and Development Program (2009CB220000)à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51072116) and the International Cooperation Project of Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (12160705700). Reference [1] A Kudo , Y Miseki. Chemical Society Reviews 38 (2009) 253-278 [2] X Chen, S Shen, L Guo, S Mao, Chemical review 110 (2010) 6503-6570 [3] K Maeda, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews 12 (2011) 237-268 [4] M Kanan, D Nocera, Science 321 (2008) 1072-1075 [5] Z Fang, D Dixon, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 117( 2013) 3539-3555 [6] A Vojvodic, J Nà ¸rskov, Science 334 (2011) 1355-1356 [7] Y Li, Z Liu, L Liu, W Gao, Journal of American Chemical Society 132 (2010) 13008-13015 [8] T Townsend, N Browning, F Osterloh. ACS NANO 6 (2012) 7420-7426 [9] LM Martà ­nez, R Gà ³mez, V Cuchillo, J Ramà ­rez, A Cruz-Là ³pez, FJ Alejandre-Sandoval, Catalysis Communications 12 (2010) 268-272 [10] K Maeda, A Xiong, T Yoshinaga, T Ikeda, N Sakamoto, T Hisatomi, M Takashima, D Lu, M Kanehara, T Setoyama, T Teranishi, K Domen, Angewandte International Edition Chemie 49 (2010) 4096-4099 [11] Y Tsunoda, M Shirata, W Sugimoto, Z Liu, O Terasaki, K Kuroda, Y Sugahara, Inorganic Chemistry 40 (2001) 5768-5771 [12] X Chen, W Chen, P Lin, Y Yang, H Gao, J Yuan, W Shangguan. Catalysis Communications 36 (2013) 104-108 [13] A Kasahara, K Nukumizu, G Hitoki, T Takata, J Kondo, M Hara, H Kobayshi, K Domen, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 106 (2002) 6750-6753 [14] Y Miseki, H Kato, A Kudo, Energy Environmental Science 2 (2009) 306-314 [15] W Chen, C Li, H Gao, J Yuan, W Shangguan, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 37 (2012) 12846-12851 [16] W Chen, H Gao, Y Yang, P Lin, J Yuan, W Shangguan, J Su, S Zhou, Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica 28 (2012) 2911-2916 [17] C Yu, K Yang, W Zhou, Q Fan, L Wei, J Yu, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 74 (2013) 1714-1720 [18] Z Weng-Sieh, R Gronsky, A Bell, Journal of Catalysis 170 (1997) 62-74 [19] K Kim, N Winograd, R Davis, Journal of the American Chemical society 17 (1971) 6278-6279 [20] X Zong, J Han, G Ma, H Yan, G Wu, C Li, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115 (2011) 12202-12208 [21] E Sabio, R Chamousis, N Browning, F Osterloh. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 116 (2012) 3161-3170 [22] à  Valdà ©s, J Brillet, M Grà ¤tzel, H Gudmundsdà ³ttir, H Hansen, H Jà ³nsson, P Klà ¼pfel, G Kroes, F Formal, I Man, R Martins, J Nà ¸rskov, J Rossmeisl, K Sivula, A Vojvodic, M Zà ¤ch, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 14 (2012) 49-70 [23] A Iwase, H Kato, A Kudo, Applied Catalyisi B: Environmental 136-137 (2013) 89-93 Fig 1 UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra of naked HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT Fig 2 TEM images of Rh/HKLBT (a) and Pt/HKLBT (b) Fig 3 XPS spectra for Rh 3d and Pt 4f of 0.3wt%Rh/HKLBT and 0.2wt%Pt/HKLBT Table 1 Photocatalytic overall water splitting on Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT Co-catalyst Loading content(wt%) Gas evolution (ÃŽ ¼mol ·h-1)a H2 O2 H2/O2 ratio none 122.8 33.7 3.6 Pt 0.1 163.40 51.9 3.2 Pt 0.3 242.7 72.5 3.3 Pt 0.5 210.8 72.9 2.9 Rh 0.1 133.5 39.0 3.4 Rh 0.3 146.1 67.9 2.1 Rh 0.5 65.3 31.2 2.1 Photocatlaytic reaction conditions: 50 mg catalyst, 250 W high pressure Hg lamp (ÃŽ »>200 nm), 60 ml pure water a Average rate of H2 and O2 in 4 h Fig 5 Photocatalytic O2 evolution from FeCl3 aqueous solution over naked HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT (30 mg catalytst, 250 W high pressure Hg lamp, 60 ml 0.05 mol/L FeCl3 )

The Fast Food Culture is Detroying America Essay -- Fast Food Research

The typical American diet, with its emphasis on fast food and frozen food, is a consumption pattern reflective of, and symptomatic of, our production patterns -- what kind of jobs we find ourselves going to day-in and day-out, and the way these jobs encourage us to see the world we live in. If people are more apt to think of themselves as consumers rather than producers, if gratification is associated with consumption rather than working, doing, and making, we have only to bear in mind that this is a society where work is either unattainable or alienating. (Willis, A Primer For Daily Life, "Learning From the Banana," page 59) The psychological impacts based on today's workplace lead us to believe we have no time. We no longer make our own food. We no longer cook our own food. We experience an alienation from its sources; food comes to us ready-made, pre-packaged, and/or frozen. Our usual food choices are commonly referred to as "junk-food," and when we happen upon someone cooking a meal entirely from scratch, we often joke, "What's this, real food?" Our relationship towards food has become so skewed that we no longer expect quality. If, by chance, we happen to encounter it, we are genuinely shocked and surprised, and almost threatened, for the rare presence of quality exposes that there usually is none. We have no idea what is in our food, or where it comes from. We are alienated from the land which gives us food, and from the actual production of our food. Do we know whose hands our food has passed through before we see it stacked neatly on shelves, or handed to us in a bun at Burger King, ready for us to consume at leisure? Contrary to McDonald's "educational literature" passed out to young children in schools, hamburge... ...5; call 408.423.4069 Vegan Outreach, 10410 Forbes Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235; e-mail mba8+@andrew.cmu.edu Other Useful sources : McSpotlight -- contains over 1600 spotlights of McDonald's wrongdoings (Once you click, choose the server nearest you: Netherlands, Finland, USA, New Zealand) Viva!Guides -- some interesting literature and ideas; "How Now Mad Cow," + others... McDonald's Very Own Dietary Info -- ingredient lists of every product, complete with calorie, fat, fiber, etc counts Screwing McDonald's -- in case you missed the McSabotager earlier in the page... McDonald's is suing people who call their food unhealthy Opposing Viewpoints : Myths & Facts About Beef Production -- The incredible health benefits you will receive by eating beef! (Curiously, funded by...) Beef Handbook--Nutrition & Health -- the U.S.D.A. tells it like they see it...

Res Sisters Essay

* Zain Mehdi Prof: Mary Nordick English – 110. 07 Thursday, March 7th What have you learned about life on the reservation from Highway’s play? Has the play changed any of your opinions or perceptions? The play The Rez Sisters was written by Tomson Highway, a Cree from the Brochet reserve in north-western Manitoba, at the end of the twentieth century. Through a group of seven native women, Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters reveals the lives of aboriginal people and their community on an Indian Reservation. The play shows the harsh realities of Indian reservations of joblessness, prejudice and alcoholism.The old Aboriginal rituals have slowly been forgotten and replaced by the cliches of consumerism. While the people of the community don’t lack the attitude of get–up-and-go, they really have no place to go to. The inhabitants of the Wasy Rez are part of a community that is falling apart. Most of the people are stuck on the welfare, and just getting by on the dirt roads of the Rez. Moreover, they don’t have any control over their lives. Throughout the play, the main characters state, â€Å"Everyone here’s crazy† (Highway, 518). Since there is no work on the Rez, it makes most of the people on welfare go crazy.Some of the men have to go hundred miles to find work while the young boys have to go all the way to Toronto because it is â€Å"the only place educated Indian boys can find decent jobs these days† (Highway, 518). There is constant drinking, fighting and adultery. There is â€Å"nothing to do but drink and screw each other’s wives and husbands†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Highway, 518). Infidelity is so common on the Rez that some of the families have â€Å"†¦fourteen of them (children)†¦Imagine†¦and all from one father† (Highway, 522). * * After reading The Rez Sisters, I was a little surprised by the life on a reserve.I was raised in Toronto, where I did not personally know any Na tive Americans and everything I knew about them was from the books. In the books it describes the Native Americans as being very religious, so when I heard about a big Pow Wow (a native gathering) and I decided to go. I learned a little about the traditional beliefs so when I moved from Toronto to Saskatoon, and it was a complete shock. You see a lot of Native Americans but you rarely see ones who actually follow the traditional beliefs. Most of them have cut their long hair, or never even grew it out.The Rez Sisters focuses on such undervalued lives and brings them up to size. * * Highway’s play is trying to deliver a social massage that if the Native Americans had enough job opportunities and freedom to live wherever they wanted, they would succeed in rebuilding their falling community. I agree with that one hundred percent because they are put down so much, that they have decided to stay in that one spot and not bother trying to work up to something much better. In The Rez sisters Philomena says that: â€Å"the place gets in your blood, you can’t get rid of it and it can’t get rid of you† (Highway, 517).I was really impressed by this statement because it shows that they really do honor their heritage a lot, but it’s difficult for them to leave the only thing they have always known. * * The story of The Rez Sisters dictates the life is tough, but poses the question: What else they are going to do? Well they can always go play bingo. Which is humorous because Highway uses bingo as a form of escape from the life on a reserve. I gained more respect for Native Americans because I never really had an idea of the life on reserves. I figured the people on the reserve followed the traditional beliefs and kept to themselves.I realized they don’t get much help from the government and are left on their own to manage, and with the people not having enough jobs, all they have left to do is kill time, and that is where the alcohol and adultery comes in. * * * * * * * * | Works Cited | * â€Å"Pride and Prejudice (1813 Novel):A  Why Was Caroline Bingley so Desperate for Social Advancement and Wealth? † Quora. N. p. , n. d. Web. < http://www. quora. com/Pride-and-Prejudice-1813-novel/Why-was-Caroline-Bingley-so-desperate-for-social-advancement-and-wealth/answer/Ashley-Knight-1> â€Å"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. N. p. , n. d. Web. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice. † Google Books. N. p. , n. d. Web. http://books. google. ca/books? id=s1gVAAAAYAAJ â€Å"Pride and Prejudice. † SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n. d. Web. http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/pride/themes. html â€Å"Pride and Prejudice Study Guide & Essays. † Pride and Prejudice Study Guide & Literature Essays. N. p. , n. d. Web. < http://www. gradesaver. com/pride-and-prejudice/> * â€Å"Styles and Themes of Jane Austen. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation *

Miracles – Philosophy

Philosophy- â€Å"A belief in miracles leads to the concept of a god who favors some but not all his creation† The problem with miracles is that it cannot be properly defined which means there is no absolute meaning for a meaning, instead my philosophers have attempted to define miracles in their own way. In these definition they are usually for or against the existence of miracles, for example take two contrasting definitions Ward and Hume. Ward says miracles are events which god intervenes because he only knows the consequences of the action.On the other hand, Hume is a philosopher who is totally against the idea of miracles, he says miracles do not exist because they violate the laws of nature. Knowing this, god cannot intervene because he would violate the laws of nature, humans have faith in experience and trust the laws this would be lost if miracles were deemed true. Another philosopher would had a problem with miracles was a man called Wiles. He basically said, to say god carries out these miraculous events is to say god is guilty of obituary and partisan.Any event where the natural flow is violated for a certain people raises the issue of fairness and consistency. Wiles also said the two idea of having an all loving god and the existence of miracles are two incompatible ideas so its easier to believe that god is all loving and reject the idea of miracles. If this was in reverse and miracles existed and god could intervene then why didn't he intervene is horrific events such as Auschwitz or Hiroshima instead he saves one persons life, this seems unfair and a contradiction of an all loving god.As for biblical miracles Wiles said we must take them in a symbolic sense rather than a literal sense. A strength of Wiles it that allows educated believers to keep faith with god and uphold their faith in natural laws. Many people agreed with what Wiles was saying for example a man called Bultman agreed that the miracles explained in the bible are not there to take literal, he says we get the true message behind the miracle if we demythologize them.For example he turned water into wine to prevent the embarrassment of the hosts which shows his care and wisdom. To believe that god favors some more than others through the existence of miracles is wrong, who says its god that these events originates? We have no evidence to suggest this, just because we cannot find this would doesn't mean we have to point it to god. Holland was another philosopher who didn't believe in the concept of miracles, well the name miracle he thought that they were more of a coincidence.He used the analogy of the train, what is some one was stuck on the track and the train had stopped right in front of the person, some people may call this a miracle but when we know the full picture someone in the train may have accidentally pressed the emergency stop or the driver could have passed out. So the concept of the whole miracles thing may just be one big coincidence. L ooking at Holland’s view it would make god innocent of being arbitrary and partisan, this is because these events are just coincidences it has nothing to do with god.As mentioned earlier, Hume was a man who rejected the idea of miracles due to being a violation of the laws of nature. Hume believes strongly in experiences and what we gain from them, as for this situation, the laws are something we have learnt about and follow. So when something happens that goes against these we deem them coming from god because we cannot define or justify them. All in all, Hume says the alert of miracles comes from the ignorant and barbarous nations. Knowing this, God would also be innocent because it is not god who intervenes so its not him which favors some and not others.There are events that are unexplained so they must come from some where, lets say for arguments sake tat they come from god. Us as humans are not on his level therefore we cannot say or he is this or that, he may have a re ason and we would find out when we die. All the events that are unexplained may paint a bigger picture but humans are outside of god knowledge and experience so we cannot really judge god. Irenaous was a philosopher who looked at the problem of evil, he would say god is being cruel to be kind and making humans into the image of god, this because events like miracles change people.To develop these emotions naturally have more significance than being drilled in at birth by god. Overall, I conclude that God does not favor some people over others. My reasons for this is because we cannot define miracle we can only speculate on what we think, for this reason how can we act upon such uncertainty? Also we cannot judge god because we have no knowledge of him or what he has planned, only him and him only knows the repercussions of his actions.

Notes on Sociology

Choosing a research method Webb, R. , Westergaard, H. , Trobe, K. , Steel, L. , (2008) AS Level Sociology, Brentwood: Napier Press p. 162 Sociologists use a range of different research methods and sources of data to collect information and test their theories. In this Topic, we shall identify the main methods and sources used in Sociology. We shall also look at the different types of data that these methods produce. We shall also examine the factors that influence sociologists’ choice of what topic they research, and at some of the main practical, theoretical and ethical (moral) factors that affect their choice of which methods to employ.Types of data P. 163 Sociologists use a wide variety of different methods and sources to obtain data (information or evidence) about society. To make sense of this variety, we can classify them into: †¢ Primary and secondary sources of data. †¢ Quantitative and qualitative data. Primary and secondary sources of data Primary data is i nformation collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes. These purposes may be to obtain a first – hand ‘picture’ of a group or society, or to test a hypothesis (an untested theory).Methods for gathering primary data include: †¢ Social surveys: these involve asking people questions in a written questionnaire or an interview. †¢ Participant observation: the sociologist joins in with the activities of the group he or she is studying. †¢ Experiments: sociologists rarely use laboratory experiments, but they sometimes use field experiments and the comparative method. A big advantage of using primary data is that sociologists may be able to gather precisely the information they need to test their hypotheses.However, doing so can often be costly and time consuming. Secondary data is information that has been collected by someone else for their own purposes, but which the sociologist can then use. Sources of secondary data include: †¢ O fficial statistics produced by government on a wide range of issues, such as crime, divorce, health and unemployment, as well as other statistics produced by charities, businesses, churches and other organisations. †¢ Documents such as letters, diaries, photographs, official (government) reports, novels, newspapers and television broadcasts.Using secondary data can be a quick and cheap way of doing research, since someone else has already produced the information. However, those who produce it may not be interested in the same questions as sociologists, and so secondary sources may not provide exactly the information that sociologists need. Quantitative and qualitative data Quantitative data refers to information in a numerical form. Examples of quantitative data include official statistics on how many girls passed five or more GCSEs or on the percentage of marriages ending in divorce.Similarly, information collected by opinion polls and market research surveys often comes in t he form of quantitative data – for example, on the proportion of the electorate intending to vote for a particular party or how many people take holidays abroad. Qualitative data, by contrast gives a ‘feel’ for what something is like – for example, what it feels like to get good GCSE results, or for one’s marriage to end in divorce. Evidence gathered by using participant observation aims to give us a sense of what it feels like to be in that person’s ‘shoes.These methods can provide rich descriptions of these people’s feelings and experiences. Factors influencing choice of method P. 164 Given the wide range of methods available, how do we select the right one for our research? Different methods and sources of data have different strengths and limitations and we need to be able to evaluate these when selecting which to use. We can look at these strengths and limitations in terms of a number of practical, ethical (moral) and theore tical issues. Practical issues Different methods present different practical problems. These include: Time and moneyDifferent methods require different amounts of time and money and this may influence the sociologists’ choice. For example, large – scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and data – inputting staff and cost a great deal of money. By contrast, a small – scale project involving a lone researcher using participant observation may be cheaper to carry out, but it can take several years to complete. The researcher’s access to resources can be a major factor in determining which methods they employ. A well – known professor will probably have access to more research funds than a young student, for example.Requirements of funding bodies Research institutes, businesses and other organisations that provide the funding for research may require the results to be in a particular form. For example, a government department funding re search into educational achievement may have targets for pass rates and so require quantitative data to see whether these targets are being achieved. This means the sociologist will have to use a method capable of producing such data, such as questionnaires or structured interviews. Personal skills and characteristicsEach sociologist possesses different personal skills, and this may affect their ability to use different methods. For example, participant observation usually requires the ability to mix easily with others as well as good powers of observation and recall, while in – depth interviews call for an ability to establish a rapport (relationship of empathy and trust) with the interviewee. Not all sociologists have these qualities and so some may have difficulty using these methods. Subject matter It may be much harder to study a particular group or subject by one method than by another.For example, it might prove difficult for a male sociologist to study an all – female group by means of participant observation, while written questionnaires may be useless for studying those who cannot read. Research opportunity Sometimes the opportunity to carry out research occurs unexpectedly and this means that it may not be possible to use unstructured methods such as questionnaires, which take longer to prepare. For example, a Glasgow gang leader offered ‘James Patrick’ (1973) the chance ‘out of the blue’ to spend time with his gang.With little time to prepare, ‘Patrick’ had no option but to use participant observation. In other circumstances, the researcher may have been able to set up the research opportunity carefully beforehand and have plenty of time to select their methods. P. 165†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ethical issues Ethics refers to moral issues of right and wrong. Methods that sociologists use to study people may raise a range of ethical questions. The British Sociological Association s ets out guidelines for the conduct of research, including the following principles: Informed consentResearch participants (the people being studied) should be offered the right to refuse. The researcher should also tell them about all relevant aspects of the research so that they can make a fully informed decision. Consent should be obtained before research begins, and if the study is lengthy, again at intervals throughout the process. Confidentiality and privacy Researchers should keep the identity of research participants secret in order to help to prevent possible negative effects on them. Researchers should also respect the privacy of research participants.Personal information concerning research participants should be kept confidential. Effects on research participants Researchers need to be aware of the possible effects of their work on those they study. These could include police intervention, harm to employment prospects, social exclusion and psychological damage. Wherever p ossible, researchers should try to anticipate and prevent such harmful effects. Vulnerable groups Special care should be taken where research participants are particularly vulnerable because of their age, disability, or physical or mental health.For example, when studying children in schools, researchers should have regard for issues of child protection. They should obtain the consent of both the child and the parent, and they should provide information in language that the child can understand. Covert research Covert research is when the researcher’s identity and research purpose are hidden from the people being studied. This can create serious ethical problems, such as deceiving or lying to people in order to win their trust or obtain information. Clearly, it is impossible to gain informed consent while at the same time keeping the research or its purpose secret.However, some sociologists argue that the use of covert methods may be justified in certain circumstances. These may include gaining access to areas of social life closed to investigation by secretive, deviant or powerful groups. Theoretical issues This refers to questions about what we think society is like and whether we can obtain an accurate, truthful picture of it. Our views on these issues will affect the kinds of methods we favour using. Validity A valid method is one that produces a true or genuine picture of what something is really like.It allows the researcher to get closer to the truth. Many sociologists argue that qualitative methods such as participant observation give us a more valid or truthful account of what it is like to be a member of a group than quantitative methods such as questionnaires can. This is because participant observation can give us a deeper insight through first hand experience. Reliability Another word for reliability is replicability. A replica is an exact copy of something, so a reliable method is one which, when repeated by another researcher, gives the s ame results.For example, in Physics or Chemistry, different researchers can repeat the same experiment and obtain the same results every time. In Sociology, quantitative methods such as written questionnaires tend to produce more reliable results than qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews. p. 166 Representativeness Representativeness refers to whether or not the people we study are a typical cross – section of the group we are interested in. Imagine, for example, that we want to know about the effects of divorce on children.It would take a great deal of time and money to study every child of divorced parents, and we might only be able to afford to study a sample of, say, 100 such children. However, if we ensure that our sample is representative or typical of the wider population, we can then use our findings to make generalisations about all children of divorced parents, without actually having to study all of them. Large – scale quantitative surveys that use sophisticated sampling techniques to select their sample are more likely to produce representative data.Methodological perspective Sociologists’ choice of method is also influenced by their methodological perspective – their view of what society is like and how we should study it. There are two contrasting perspectives on the choice of methods: positivism and interpretivism. Positivists – prefer quantitative data, seek to discover patterns of behaviour, see Sociology as a science. Interpretivists – prefer qualitative data, seek to understand social actors’ meanings, reject the view that Sociology is a science.Why do positivists and Interpretivists prefer different types of data? Positivists and Interpretivists collect and use different types of data: positivists prefer quantitative data, while Interpretivists prefer qualitative. This is because they make different assumptions about the nature of society and how we should study it. Positivists: †¢ Assume that society has an objective factual reality – it exists ‘out there’, just like the physical world. †¢ Society exerts an influence over its members, systematically shaping their behaviour patterns. Positivist research uses quantitative data to uncover and measure these patterns of behaviour. †¢ By analysing quantitative data, positivists seek to discover the objective scientific laws of cause and effect that determine behaviour. †¢ Positivists thus prefer questionnaires, structured interviews, experiments and official statistics. These produce data that is both reliable and representative. Interpretivists: †¢ Reject the idea of an objective social reality – we construct reality through the meanings we give to situations, not the product of external forces. Our actions are based on the meanings we give to situations, not the product of external forces. †¢ Interpretivist research uses qualitative data to uncover and describe the social actor’s ‘universe of meaning’. †¢ By interpreting qualitative data, Interpretivists seek to gain a subjective understanding of actors’ meanings and ‘life worlds’. †¢ Interpretivists thus prefer participant observation, unstructured interviews, and personal documents. These produce data that is valid. Functionalists and Marxists often take a positivist approach.They see society as a large – scale (macro – level) structure that shapes our behaviour. By contrast, interactionists favour an interpretivist approach. They take a micro – level view of society, focusing on small – scale, face – to face interactions. The sociologist’s theoretical perspective is usually the most important factor when choosing which method to use. Whenever possible, they will want to obtain the type of data – quantitative or qualitative – that their perspective views as most appropriate. However, practical and ethical factors usually limit the choice of method. Just because a sociologist prefers a particular kind of data, doesn’t mean that they can simply go ahead and gather it. Time, resources, access, consent, privacy and so on are all constraints on their choice. Finally, even sheer chance may determine the method used. For example, David Tuckett (2001) describes how one postgraduate Sociology student found himself taken ill with tuberculosis and confined to a hospital ward, so he used this as an opportunity to conduct a participant observation study.Choice of topic p. 167. Before choosing which method to use, sociologists need to decide what topic they wish to study. Several factors influence their choice: Theoretical perspective The sociologist’s theoretical perspective is a major influence upon their choice of research topic. For example, a New Right researcher may study the effects of welfare benefits on the growth of lone – parent famili es, since the idea of welfare dependency is central to their standpoint.By contrast, a feminist researcher is more likely to choose to study domestic violence, as opposition to gender oppression lies at the heart of Feminist theory. Society’s values Sociologists themselves are part of the society they study and thus are influenced by its values. As these values change, so does the focus of research. The rise of Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s led to a focus on gender inequality and the environmentalist concerns of the 21st century have generated interest in ‘green crimes’ such as serious pollution or the unlawful transport of nuclear material.Funding bodies Most research requires funding from an external body. These bodies include government agencies, charitable organisations and businesses. As the funding body is paying for the research, it will determine the topic to be investigated. For example, one of the major social concerns of New Labour governments after 1997 was the ‘social exclusion’ of some disadvantaged groups. As a result, government departments were keen to fund research projects to investigate the causes and effects of social exclusion. Practical factorsPractical factors, such as the inaccessibility of certain situations to the researcher, may also restrict what topic they are able to study. For example, although sociologists may wish to study the ways in which global corporations make their decisions, this may not be possible because these are made in secrecy. Summary Sociologists test their theories using quantitative or qualitative data. Sociologists obtain primary data themselves, using methods including questionnaires, interviews and observation. Secondary data are produced by others but used by sociologists.In choosing a method, sociologists take several issues into account: †¢ Practical issues include time and funding. †¢ Ethical issues include whether the researcher deceives the subjects. †¢ Theoretical issues include validity (does the method give a truthful picture? ), reliability (can it be replicated? ) and representativeness (does it study a typical cross – section? ). Perspective also affects choice of method. Positivists prefer quantitative data; interpretivists favour qualitative data. Choice of topic is also affected by society’s values and funding bodies.