Monday, December 30, 2019

Nuclear Family A Family - 936 Words

†¢ Nuclear Family: A nuclear family consists of two parents (in a first-time marriage) and their biological children. This type of family is sometimes referred to as the â€Å"model or normal family† because, for the most part, they have been often viewed as stable, thrifty, economically secure, and very happy. †¢ Blended Family: A blended family contains two basic family units with children that have been joined together. This often occurs through remarriage, but it is becoming more common with cohabiting couples. This can be very difficult for children to accept at times. Experiencing a divorce is difficult in itself and throwing new family members into the equation can sometimes complicate things. †¢ Foster Families: Foster families are legal and informal arrangements in which suitable living conditions are given to orphaned, unwanted, abused, and neglected children. These children are often classified as â€Å"hard to adopt† because of their age, race, or other special needs. These families are often presented with many challenges, as they seek to provide a safe place for these troubled children to live for a period of time. †¢ Working-Class Families: Working class families are families who must work for wages in order to succeed, and the children are usually expected to follow in those footsteps. Many parents in this â€Å"category† prefer the authoritarian parenting style and participate in less reasoning with their children when behavior issues arise. Also, these families may feelShow MoreRelatedThe Nuclear Family1156 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican families have changed tremendously over the past years. Families did not only face the change in their status or social behavior, but also faced a change in their lifestyle. Now there are different types of families with different types of norms and values. Families are socially, ethnically and very expressively diverse than ever before. Back in the time, the role family was totally different, the parents were more strict than today. It could be said that the nuclear family is the nucleusRead MoreThe Nuclear Family Essay1347 Words   |  6 Pag es The Diminishing Nuclear Family Hadar Mustafa Jun29, 2015 Introduction More often than not, stable and functional families serve as a prerequisite to a good society. Hence, the society’s support system for families must be flexible because needs and goals of families vary over time (Loveless, 2007). However, nuclear families face many challenges because parenting, child-rearing, and other economic responsibilities had to be done by two adults only (Bowden Smith, 2010). In thisRead MoreThe Nuclear Family Replaced the Extended Family After Industrialisation679 Words   |  3 PagesThe Nuclear Family Replaced the Extended Family After Industrialisation Talcott Parsons believed that the nuclear family developed mainly as a result of industrialisation. He thought that before the industry took over the functions of the family, the families were extended units of production. This means that the work and home lives were combined and so each family member taught another one skill for life such as education. Parsons says that the extended family stayed togetherRead MoreMarried with Children: The Evolution of the Nuclear Family1396 Words   |  6 Pages Constance Ahrons, a doctor who coined the term â€Å"binuclear family† once said, â€Å"Pessimists say that the family is eroding. Optimists say the family is diversifying. Both points of view are right. Families are more diverse and they are more in trouble-but not because of their diversity. The families of today-whatever their size or shape-are in crisis because our economy is failing, our national resources are shrinking, and our governmental policies to support them are inadequate.† This quote givesRead MoreThe Effects Of Nuclear Family On Modern Society950 Words   |  4 PagesOver the past few decades social scientists have been engaged debates about family change and influences in modern society, with one of the main themes being the strength and relevance of the nuclear family. Those who believe tha t the nuclear family unit is breaking down often site the fact that social structures holding up the nuclear family, such as marriage, are collapsing ‘The chances in some societies are now less that 50-50†¦ that a child will live continuously to adult-hood with both naturalRead MoreNuclear Family: Definition, Advantages Disadvantages993 Words   |  4 Pagesand elsewhere, assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm. 24 marks The traditional nuclear family is defined as being a family consisting of a heterosexual couple with 2 or more dependent children (own or adopted) with a clear division of labour. Meaning the men are the instrumental role (breadwinner) and the women are the expressive role (domestic and caring/childcare). Over time this has changed and the nuclear family as become less dominant, some sociologistsRead MoreInfluence of Nuclear Family to Development of Antisocial Behaviour795 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction A nuclear family is a family comprising of parent(s) and children. This model of family is an important aspect in modeling the future of the children. It is within the family environment that a child learns the art of socialization. The family is the first teacher of any child. Therefore, the family a child grows in has a major part to determine how a child will turn out to be later in life. A child is a product of his/her family. There has been a major evolution of the structureRead MoreExamining the View that the Traditional Nuclear Family is in Decline1344 Words   |  6 Pagesthe View that the Traditional Nuclear Family is in Decline When evaluating the view that the traditional nuclear family (of two opposite sex married parents living in a household that contains only them and their own dependant children), is in decline, I will be taking various pieces of research and evidence from Sociologists, Journalists and other sources, into consideration in order to try to determine how true this view is. The nuclear family would appear to be foundRead MoreWhat Does Your Family Fit The Nuclear? Essay1303 Words   |  6 PagesQuestion: To what extent does your family fit the ‘Nuclear’ family, which is still, against the evidence seen as the norm in Western society? Growing up, I never really understood what a â€Å"normal† family was supposed to look like. Before I was even born, my parents had split for good (although the were never married). I stayed primarily with my mother, and it was just the two of us for about four years, although we stayed with others along the way. I interviewed my mother about this time in herRead MoreThe Nuclear Family : America s Ideal Misery Essay1359 Words   |  6 PagesThe Nuclear Family: America’s Ideal Misery Many of us overlook the importance of something as simple as â€Å"family† because it has been something we are familiar with since our first day on this planet, never thinking twice about to topic. Truth be told, the family unit is crucial to who we are and what we value, and even in the bigger picture, the cultural importance it has on society. When we explore one of the most signature family units to date, the nuclear family, we learn its optimistic appeal

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Film Review Sunset Boulevard - 1353 Words

Billy Wilder’s film, Sunset Boulevard, was released in the 1950’s as it continues to be a popular film that catches people’s attention. The film still captures the heart and mind of audiences that watch it today with its very dramatic characters and scenes. This film demonstrates a variety of themes and concepts through the choices of cinematography. Sunset Boulevard shows the dark side of celebrities and the flaws or downfall of becoming famous. Some main components of the cinematography in this film include the placement of lighting, the portrayal of specific scenes and their symbolism, the music choices, camera angles, and the camera position. This film is black and white but still contains many dark scenes that really capture the audience’s attention and give a suspenseful and depressing vibe. Norma Desmond is a washed-up movie star who only acted in silent films. But, in Sunset Boulevard, silent films were outdated and Norma became outdated with them. The silent film business was completely finished and films with talking began to get popular. She lived in a mansion with her butler Max, who ironically was her ex-husband. Whenever Norma’s mansion is shown in the film it is very dark, messy, and broken. It seems to be a strong representation of Norma’s life since she still thinks that she is a huge movie actress, when in reality everyone has moved on from her. When Joe first arrives at Norma’s house, she is presented in very dark colors with a dead animal in her house.Show MoreRelated PARADISE FLUBBED: Pynchon the New World Essay4618 Words   |  19 Pagesof Surf should secede from California and become the Peoples Republic of Rock and Roll (PR3). Enter Frenesi Gates.Before she was wife to Zoyd and mother to Prairie, back in the 60s, Frenesi was a member of 24fps (frames per second), a radical film collective.Frenesi made movies, turning events into image, into a version of events.And there were plenty of versions.Everybody in 24fps has their own ideas about light ...--like everybody in PR3; in fact, like everybody in general during that

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The ways in which Shakespeare portrays the themes of love in Twelfth Night Free Essays

Twelfth Night is a comedy set in ‘Illyria,’ a Mediterranean country. However, amongst the well-timed comical scenes, Shakespeare has other emotional predicaments intertwined with a variety of characters. Such predicaments are due to misleading identities and different love themes throughout the play; including love between grieving siblings, and the counts and countess’ of Illyria. We will write a custom essay sample on The ways in which Shakespeare portrays the themes of love in Twelfth Night or any similar topic only for you Order Now The main plot of the Twelfth Night revolves round the three main characters, Viola, Orsino and Olivia who speak in rhyming couplets. Each of the main characters form a ‘love triangle’ which expresses the main love themes in the play including Elizabethan courtly love, real selfless love and overwhelming love. The love between each character that form the love triangle is such that the love and affection is directed one way around the triangle; Viola loves Orsino who believes he loves Olivia who also impetuously believes she loves Viola. Outside the love triangle are the minor characters who speak in pros and show a further variety of different love themes but expressed in a light-heartened manner. These include self love and love based on a mutual agreement. All the characters in the play are all connected through different love themes. Orsino’s love for Olivia is also known as ‘Elizabethan courtly love’ familiar to Shakespeare at the time the play was written. This type of love is described as a man of a high status courting an unattainable woman to be rejected, so the man can therefore wallow in self-pity and act melodramatic. Orsino explains the different ‘symptoms’ of his infatuation for Olivia to Viola, explaining how a typical lover should behave and giving advice about love even though, ironically, he has had little success. Viola recognises Orsino’s infatuation for Olivia and questions his love for her. Viola is correct to questions Orsino’s obsession to be in love as he has little interaction with Olivia until the final scene, but still believes he loves her. Orsino show’s fickle mood changes believed to be experienced when in love, which Feste describes clearly. Love Poem iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src="https://phdessay.com/love-poem/embed/#?secret=q4ujFFuxWA" data-secret="q4ujFFuxWA" width="500" height="282" title="#8220;Love Poem#8221; #8212; Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"/iframe â€Å"I have unclasped to thee the book even of my secret soul.† â€Å"O, then unfold the passion of my love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦ for thy mind is a very opal.† True, selfless devotion is another ‘side’ to the love triangle in Twelfth Night. Viola expresses pure love and tremendous loyalty to Orsino, sacrificing her own happiness for Orsino’s. Viola conveys her love with intense speaking and use of dramatic irony. Shakespeare allows the audience to witness Viola’s distress so the play becomes more and more intense with the Viola and Orsino scenes. Viola tells Orsino of her love for him in an ambiguous manner, so he never suspects her feelings for him. â€Å"My father had a daughter loved a man, as it might be perhaps, were I woman, I should your lordship.† â€Å"I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A little, by your favour†¦ Of your complexion†¦ About your years, my lord.† Sebastian and Olivia both show impetuous emotions through the play. Olivia immediately falls in love with Viola, who is the identical twin to Sebastian. Once Sebastian enters the play he is mistaken for Viola which further shows evidence that both Sebastian and Olivia have impulsive emotions as Olivia still accepts she loves Sebastian although he is not Viola and Sebastian falls immediately falls in love with Olivia, which may be seen as blind love. Olivia’s impulsive nature is not just expressed with her love for both Viola and Sebastian but also when she announces her seven-year morning for her brother. The audience sympathises with Olivia’s painful rejection by Viola, and her difficulty to tell Viola her true feelings. It is also clear of Olivia’s unfamiliarity with rejection as she desperately tells Viola she may change her feelings for Orsino if Viola returns. â€Å"I love thee so that, maugre all thy pride†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Love between siblings is also apparent in the play. Once Viola is rescued from drowning she immediately feels she has lost her brother, Sebastian. Her impulsive manner towards the sea captain, shows the strong bond her and her brother have. Shakespeare uses a dreamy, pensive quality when describing Viola’s distress for her loss, and for her new independence and helplessness, which the audience can try and relate to. â€Å"For saying so, there’s gold.† â€Å"And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium.† Antonio, who rescued Sebastian from drowning, develops a protective love for Sebastian, which could be interpreted as homosexual. Antonio expresses great respect, loyalty and selflessness when trying to help Sebastian. He offers his purse to Sebastian, which also shows great trust and friendship. â€Å"My kind Antonio, I can no other answer make but thanks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Haply your eye shall light upon some toy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"With viewing of the town; there shall you have me.† Another bond through friendships, apart from Feste, Maria, Fabian and Sir Toby who are all work colleagues, is between Viola and Orsino who are also work colleagues, but develop an trusting relationship. Viola is Orsino’s confidant and this reveals his personality to her, only further enhancing her love for him. Sir Toby and Maria show flirtatious behaviour throughout the play, as well as playful behaviour at Malvolio and Sir Andrew’s expense. It is clear they both enjoy each other’s company and share the same sense of humour and feelings towards other characters. The love between these two characters maybe described as practical love for a mutual benefit. If Sir Toby were to marry Maria he would have a companion who looks after him and Maria would have a higher status, marrying a knight. The audience understands the relationship between these characters and accepts them as a couple. â€Å"MARIA: My name is Mary, sir. â€Å"SIR ANDREW: Good mistress Mary Accost- â€Å"SIR TOBY: You mistake, Knight: ‘accost’ is front her, board her, woo her, assail her.† Malvolio, Olivia’s servant, believes it is entirely possible for a countess to love a steward, so doesn’t doubt the phoney letter conveniently placed in front of him by his vengeful work colleagues, who believe he has abused his power over them. In fact, the major reason Malvolio can so easily believe Olivia would and could love him is due to his obsession for power and to exercise that power over the other characters such as Sir Toby. He is described as having self-love by Olivia, which again allows him to so easily believe the letter is genuinely from Olivia although it instructs him to wear â€Å"yellow stockings† and â€Å"cross-gartered.† The letter refers to four letters â€Å"M, O, A, I† which Malvolio instinctively believes are reference to his name. â€Å"†¦ in yellow stockings, and cross-gartered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦ and perchance wind up my watch, or play with my – some rich jewel. Toby approaches; courtesies there to me-† Sir Andrew has the audience’s pity and sympathy throughout the play due to his naive and innocent nature. Sir Andrew is encouraged by Sir Toby to be optimistic about Olivia’s feelings towards him. Sir Andrew’s hopeless love for Olivia is futile and at the end of the play he is still alone, which Shakespeare has used to further enhance the sympathetic attitude of the audience. â€Å"I was adored once too.† Shakespeare interconnects all the minor and major characters through misleading identities and a variety of love themes, which I have tried to outline. The major characters speak in rhyming couplets whereas the minor characters speak in pros, making a clear distinction between the two types of characters as well as the different range of love themes expressed by the different characters. â€Å"I music be the food of love, play on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come, sir, you peevishly threw it to her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  How to cite The ways in which Shakespeare portrays the themes of love in Twelfth Night, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

A Proposal for Student Transportation at Rutgers University free essay sample

This paper presents a proposal for improved student transportation at Rutgers University, using it as an example to present the necessity and advantage of low-cost student transportation. This paper presents a proposal for improved student transportation at Rutgers University, using it as an example to present the necessity and advantage of low cost student transportation. From the paper: Rutgers University is one of the largest state universities in the country. It boasts an enrollment of over 48, 000 students collectively over the expanse of its three campuses. (Rutgers University Website) There are many benefits of being a student at such an expansive and diverse institution. There are also many detriments as well. It would be an understatement of almost unsurpassed irony to note that many Rutgers students own cars. Rutgers, being a state institution, has many individuals within driving distance to its campus. All of the campuses are for the most part, urban institutions. We will write a custom essay sample on A Proposal for Student Transportation at Rutgers University or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus parking is an enormous problem for both students and faculty.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The Good Person of Szechwan Essay Example

The Good Person of Szechwan Paper Extract pg 105-108: As a director, discuss how you would stage the extract in order to bring out your interpretation of it for an audience. Your answer should include justified suggestions for the direction of your cast, and for the design of the piece as appropriate to the style of the play. In this extract, the play reaches its climax, in a typically epic sequence where the audience finally see a collapse of Shen Tehs facade under the pressure of her guilt for not obeying their instruction to be good to others, and instead choosing to follow the precept of being good to oneself. It is in this sequence that Shen Teh finally reveals and explains the reasons behind her falsification of the character of Shui Ta, and due to the very Brechtian nature of this act, as I a director I would want to complement this with a very epic style of acting (Shen Teh is essentially presenting her case, much as an epic actor presents their character). As the director, I would have the gods sitting on a raised level in this section, in order to show their distanced relationship both with Shui Ta, and the situation in Szechuan (they care fairly little for the actual lives of the people, and merely wish to fulfil their task), and how disconnected they are from reality. In order to achieve this, I would use the put the sofa from Shen Tehs shop, and have it lifted onto the counter, and then use the unit of shelving as a desk. We will write a custom essay sample on The Good Person of Szechwan specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Good Person of Szechwan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Good Person of Szechwan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This would be positioned with the Gods backs to the stage right flat (rather than face on to the audience), in order to open up sight lines for when Shen Teh has to adress the Gods (however I would instruct certain parts of this to be directed to the audience anyway). In my interpretation, I would want the Gods to be presented in the guise of archetypal Southern American businessmen, who are looking for good people as evidence that the area is worth investment. My reason for wanting to do this is to highlight the reality of how much power the Gods have, as Brecht makes it clear throughout the play that they are comparatively minor beings who answer to higher powers, and who are in fact entirely fallible and flawed in many ways (for example the first god admits I know nothing of business – a fundamental failing for someone in his position). Moreover, Americas symbolic status as the heartland of Capitalism, and its history of propagating capitalism around the world fits with the fact that emergent capitalism is clearly apparent in Szechuan, as well as the fact that in spite of their high ideals, good people cannot survive in the capitalist world (which in itself brings into question whether the Gods are good people themselves). In addition to this, I would want each God to speak in an American accent and to have a distinguishing piece of eye-wear; the first would have a rose-tinted monocle, the second a pair of sapphire tinted spectacles, and the third a black-tinted pince-nez, that by this point in the play will be left hanging on a gold chain around his neck (he will have removed it in the previous scene on the line our commandments seem fatal). The reason I would want to do this is to make clear the distinctions between the Gods that I have observed through my reading of the text, through the colouring of the glass. To me it appeared that the first God was the most idealistic of the three, thinking predominantly in abstract, absolute ideals (hence the rose-tinted glass). The second, whilst equally adherent to the idea of the precepts, is more pessimistic, blaming the inherent weakness of man for the lack of goodness in Szechuan (hence the sapphire tint). The third also sees things in a black and white attitude initially, and fails to realise the complexity of applying absolute ideals in the real world; however in the scene prior to this extract, he realises that the world is at fault, not necessarily its inhabitants (hence the black tinted pince-nez, which he is no longer wearing by this point). The first moment at which I would want Shen Tehs performance as Shui Ta to falter would be on the line I cannot hold out any longer. Here, Shui Ta would not immediately revert back to being Shen Teh, but as a director I would have him shut his eyes, lower his head and drop his shoulders (almost as if he were being forced down by the pressure Shen Teh is feeling). As he then says Illustrious Ones, I have recognised you! I would have him look back up, wide-eyed and speaking in an earnest tone and with Shen Tehs voice and posture. A few moments later, when Shen Teh reveals herself, I would have her only remove her mask, and not have Shui Ta rip(s) away his costume. My reason for this is that I would not want Shui Ta to change back into Shen Teh (the reverse of which the audience has already seen in the Song of the Defencelessness of the Good and the Gods) – rather I would want the inherent falsity of the character of Shui Ta to be made plain, and by allowing the gods and the audience to observe Shen Teh in the sharp, western attire of Shui Ta, it will highlight Shen Tehs artifice. This practice of allowing the audience to see past the theatricality of the play is one that is key to Brechts theories about the Verfremdunseffekt, in which the audience should be kept at a distance from, or made strange to the action, in order to allow them to observe the plot and its message objectively. In her monologue to the Gods, Shen Teh is essentially attempting to explain herself and her actions to the Gods – and also sub-textually to the audience, who have as yet to be given a direct explanation (even though much of what she says has already been made plain within the action). As such, I would direct Shen Tehs tone to be imploring and sincere in her idealism – which never falters, even upon her realisation that to achieve them in her world is impossible (as opposed to Wang who tries to persuade the Gods to change their precepts, rather than change the world – as Shen Teh wishes they would do). However, tempering this remorse for the fact that she was forced to stray from the path of good, should be undercurrents of indigence and even anger at points, over the injustice of the world. For example, the lines in which Shen Teh switches to use of the masculine pronoun – He who gives help†¦is lost for his own part†¦who could hold himself back – I would want to be more in the style of Shui Ta – her posture should stiffen, and her voice should take on a harsher tone. However, this should be broken on the line, But that was my downfall, at which point she will look down and speak in a softer tone – which will then take on an almost fraught tone on the line forced me into the sludge, which relates back to the apparently prophetic dream Wang related to the Gods earlier in the play. Upon Shen Tehs conclusion to her speech, I would want the first God to deliver his line Speak no further you unhappy creature! , with his head turned away, his eyes tightly shut, and his hand stretched out in front of him, as if shielding himself from this sight of Shen Teh. My reason for this is that I would want to make it appear as if he is almost trying to shield himself from the truth, which he does not want to accept. Similarily a few moments later, when he says A misunderstanding! A few unfortunate incidents. One or two hard-hearted neighbours! A little too much zeal! , he should first slap his hand on the desk, and then wave his hand as if wafting away the truth that he does not want to hear. I would want to do this to show the fact that the Gods still remain unable to reconcile the goodness of Shen Teh with the ruthlessness of Shui Ta, and therefore are unable to understand the fundamental problem with society. Anther point I would wish to emphasize in this last scene is Wangs entrance. I would want him to be leading the crowd of people back into the courtroom as an almost prophetic figure, given the manner in which he has been mans link to the Gods throughout the play. I would have the Gods standing on three rope ladders, that will have descended from the gods on the line Only be good, and all will be well (an ironic line that shows the Gods to have learnt nothing about the complexity of Shen Tehs case), and Wang will kneel before them – raising his hands up as he says show your respect – then beckoning the others to join him on their knees. A few moments later in the Trio of the Vanishing Gods on Their Clouds, I would want the Gods, accompanied by a piano playing in the pentatonic scale (in which most typically oriental-style music is written), so sing the song at a pace that is slightly faster than appropriate to be dignified, ending on a discordant harmony that does not indicate that the song has actually finished (making the ending very abrupt). I would want to do this as in my view the Gods are eager to depart Szechuan (as they say – all to long on earth we have lingered), and in their haste they are essentially leaving matters entirely open ended and unfinished, which is why I would want the song to end in this way. For the last image of the extract, I would have the Gods lifted out of sight on their rope ladders, in order to highlight their haste and how alien Szechuan is to them (the action being reminiscent of people being air lifted or rescued from somewhere they have been stranded). As they disappear, the Player will emerge and pull the half curtain across the rest of the characters, concealing them, and whatever action that may have followed.

Monday, November 25, 2019

I.T. System to Track Share Prices Essay Example

I.T. System to Track Share Prices Essay Example I.T. System to Track Share Prices Essay I.T. System to Track Share Prices Essay My dad has asked me to create an Excel Spreadsheet, which will track his share prices, as currently the quotes are only being recorded on paper, making it extremely difficult to plot graphs etc and manage it efficiently. However hopefully I will overcome this problem and allow easy automatic calculations through MS Excel. Also my user is not certain when to sell and buy shares so I will make an automated process in which my spreadsheet will decide when to take action by informing the user.Hyperlinks will be used to take the user to news on shares etc, to help make decisions on whether to buy and sell. A yearly graph on the companys shares will be present with the visual basic program, which will be updated automatically. My user is new to MS Excel, so I will need to make it as automatic as possible.I am going to use Microsoft Excel for a number of reasons, as this package has many functions.As my user is new to Excel I will need to make use of Command buttons. Below I have illustrated some other important functions in MS Excel. Cells can easily be identified. Formulas can easily be entered. As shown above, calculations can be easily done in Excel, making it user friendly. Finally to make my spreadsheet more attractive I can use the below simple tools. MS Word Art Drawing Tools Shapes ClipArts Shadow and 3d style Free rotate Basic drawing shapes Fill ColourWhat other packages can also do the job? Software Name Advantages Disadvantages MS Excel Simple user interface with many facilities. If data in one cell is changed accidentally all results may be altered. MS Access This software is a relational database and is not a spreadsheet so cannot be compared. Lotus 123 Simple user interface with many facilities. In some ways better than Excel. Same as excel. Claris Works Spreadsheet Simple to use with common basic functions. Not a familiar interface and lacks the power of macros etc. MS Works SpreadsheetSimilar to MS Office software as MS Works suite provides a Word Processor and a database. Not enough advanced features. Star Office Spreadsheet Software suite is free. Also has a word processor. Extremely basic, lacks to many key features, which Excel contains. From the above table I can see that MS Excel and Lotus 123 are best suited to my task, as they have a simple layout with great advanced features, including macros, which other packages fail to provide. Both packages seem extremely versatile and powerful. MS Excel has a great help facility also. VBA code and forms can be created in Microsoft Excel, making it very unique.I will use MS Excel to create the spreadsheet, as I am most familiar with it and also currently the user has a tight budget and is not willing to invest any more money. With excel I will also be able to edit any macro visual basic code, as this will be required later on in the project. What am I personally hoping to achieve? I am aiming to expand my Excel knowledge and VBA knowledge and create a 90 % automated system, in which my user just has to click a button.Analysis My approach to the task: As currently the share prices and quotes are only being extracted from one site, which is www.netscape.com, I have decided that my user will be requiring other resources and sites for the latest news and decisions. Also the user is uncertain which data and text applies to which company so by adding comments to cells I will hopefully resolve the issue. My users data is also extremely unorganised, as weekly he receives his share prices and quotes through the mail and how much profit etc he is making. My worksheet however will hopefully make the mail prices obsolete, as the calculations will be done through Excel more regularly. So in this project I will be creating the following.Worksheets Different aspects of the shares will be put on multiple worksheets, which will all be linked to one another. Quotes Will be taken from visual basic program. News Will be taken from real player and CNBC channel through a TV Card and also other various sites. Graphs Quotes will be plotted automatically as data is entered. Hyperlinks Take my user to my VB program and relevant sites or cells. This information will consists of the following Data Structures Type Of Data Structure

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Working with Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Working with Others - Essay Example As I progressed, another strategy I used was to be supportive. I ensured that I offer support to those who are in need of help. My exhibition of generosity helped me develop a number of important relationships at work. Another vital point in my work was that I adopted the habit of speaking positively about others. The benefit was that as I spoke about others in a positive way, others who heard me counted me as a good personality. As a result, I have found that the number of people who were ready to help me increases day by day. Another important strategy in building positive relationships at work was to present my skills and knowledge in front of others. I ensured that I exhibit my skills and proficiency in all the office meetings. It became clear that as I presented things in an interesting way, all my colleagues were happy listening to me and appreciating me. Thus, I learnt the fact that showing my abilities is very necessary to make other people approach me. In addition, I ensured that I encourage collaboration. For that purpose, I invited others to share my works and offered them to share their works. This way I ensure that other people around me are felt valued. Moreover, I have to mention here that I ensure that I keep the people around me happy through adopting a pleasing personality and a sense of humour. Furthermore, it is my strategy to behave in a polite way to everyone in the organisation. I ensure that a degree of politeness is kept while interacting with everyone from any position.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Case for Clean Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Case for Clean Technology - Essay Example Investing on clean or green energy can make a major impact on environmental problems such as pollution and other issues that emerge as a consequence (i.e. climate change). My position is, of course, in support of clean technology. The current interest in this field must be supported by the policy networks, specifically, by providing favorable environment in which this new commercial activities must flourish. Sources Case Study: Shane Eten An important source for this paper is a case study published by Babson College on Shane Eten and his efforts to launch a business venture. What is significant in this case study is the nature of Eten's venture. His project is the FEED Resource, which aims to build an anaerobic digester. The idea is to establish a company called Biospan and build a large anaerobic digester, a facility that would collect food waste from restaurants, grocery stores and even homes to feed the digester and produce compost and biogas. Eten, would, in effect, be taking was te and producing a usable byproduct in the process. The case provided in-depth insights on two important aspects. The first is that the study was able to identify the manner by which entrepreneurs and investors are scrambling to hitch on the clean technology bandwagon, which supposedly started in the year 2007. It cited specific cases such as the investments of Google and Wal-Mart on clean technologies. Secondly, there is the process involved in clean technology entrepreneurship. From research, business development, and management - these were explained and specified according to the clean technology case. These factors show why Eten's initiative will be a success story because it is supported by the goodwill of the public and the serious interest of the private sector. Chialin Chen: Green Product Development A more specific insight on green technology has been provided by Chialin Chen when he investigated the concept of "green product development". This is helpful for this paper be cause the study explained green product design and innovation in the context of consumer demand; the supply side and producer's decision-making; and, the regulatory environment, emphasizing the existing regulatory frameworks and standards. This study was also able to establish the business case for clean technologies by explaining that: 1) consumers are starting to be more inclined to green products; and, 2) the regulatory environment and the policy-networks are increasingly becoming strict on its environmental regulations and supportive of green technologies. This paper cited important cases that are useful to the objectives of this paper. For instance, there is the case of the automobile industry, designing and building cars with green technology specifications. Chevrolet and Ford's example show that as early as 1998, they were manufacturing green or hybrid automobiles successfully sold in the American market. Then there is also the case about the new emission limits for cars and industries as introduced in statutes that

Monday, November 18, 2019

Preparing for Old Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preparing for Old Age - Essay Example James Henry was born in a family who struggled a lot financially. His parents were mere farmers who lost a lot of their earthly possessions during the â€Å"Dust Bowl† phenomenon. Being the fifth child, he only heard about their glory days when life was good and seemed promising. He only saw how difficult it had been for his parents and siblings to make things bearable. Mr. Henry says he also had to make a lot of sacrifices himself for him to help the family in their problem. As a young child, he helped his parents in the fields whenever he can and however he can. He learned to work hard even at a tender age especially during summer vacations. For him, it was quite easy to accept such kind of life then because they had few neighbors and most of them are not his friends anyway. Although there was this particular child whom he envied because they had a nice house and car and he was always dressed well, he never had strong feelings against his circumstances. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed helping his parents and siblings because their work time became their bonding time. They have strong relationships despite their financial struggles. Being the youngest in the family, Mr. Henry supposes he saw more of his parents’ hardships when they grew old. He says that when his brothers and sisters married, he was left alone to attend to his parents who started having problems of being old such as getting sick and weak.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Solar Cell and Solar Energy Materials

Solar Cell and Solar Energy Materials Introduction: One of the biggest challenges to mankind is highly depended on the decreasing fusil fuels such as oil, coal, natural gas. Fusil fuels are nonrenewable energy resource which usually takes million of years to form. As a result, their reserves are depleted much faster than it forms. Furthermore, the combustion of these fuels causes environmental degradation through air pollution and global warming. Combustion of carbon-based fossil fuels creates not only air pollutants, for example, sulfur oxides, nitrogen odixe and heavy metals, but also carbon di-oxide, the notorious greenhouse gas widely considered to be the number one culprit of global climate change.[1] In order to protect our environment and provide energy security, energy generated from renewable sources has been extensively studied.[2] Though it will take some decades to come close to a truly sustainable energy system, the research is being conducted to find solutions to (1) increase efficiency in production, transmission, and u tilization of the remaining fossil fuels, (2) reduce negative impacts to the environment, and (3) develop or improve technologies and infrastructure for the smooth transition to the alternative/ renewable energy sources (e.g., nuclear power, solar energy, wind power, geothermal energy, biomass and biofuels, and hydropower).[3] Among those, solar energy has many advantages such as availability and lower cost. The search and synthesis for low cost solar cell materials made of earth abundant elements has been a topic of extensive study across the globe. A brief historical background: In 1839,the photovoltaic effect was discovered by French physicist, Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel. He constructed the worlds first photovoltaic cell in his fathers laboratory at age nineteen, which was the beginning of solar energy materials technology. This experiment was done by illuminating two electrodes, which were coated by light sensitive semiconducting materials, with different types of light. He observed that electricity increases with the increase of light intensity. Then an English electrical engineer, Willoughby Smith, was discovered the photo conductivity of selenium in 1873. In 1883,Charles Fritts built the first true solar cells made from selenium wafer which is coated with a thin layer of gold. He found that the efficiency was only about 1%. In 1905, Albert Einstein published in a paper that light consists of â€Å"packets† or quanta of energy, which can be varied only with its frequency.[4] This theory was very simple, but revolutionary that explained the data of photoelectric effect. The photoelectric effect was experimentally proved by an American experimental physicist, Robert Andrews Millikan, who later won the Nobel Prize for the photoelectric effect and measurement of the charge of the electron. In 1954, a single-crystal cell of germanium and a cadmium sulphide p-n junction was developed with an efficiency of 6%. Later the University of Delaware found that the efficiency exceeds 10% with the first thin film solar cell which was made of copper sulfide and cadmium sulfide in 1980. In 2007,they achieved 42.8% efficiency in solar cell technology.[5] To date, the highest 44.8% efficiencies have been achieved by using multiple junction solar cells. Solar cell: Solar cell is electrical device which converts solar radiation into electricity by photoelectric effect. It consists of two types of semiconducting materials, one is n-type and another is p-type. When these two types of materials placed with each other, it forms depletion layer at middle of these two materials. When sun light falls on the depletion layer the materials absorb photon and the electron from filled valence band excites to the unfilled conduction band, which creates a hole and electron pair. The hole goes to the p-type conductor and the electron goes to the n-type conductor. If we complete the circuit by connecting these two materials we will see there is flow of electricity. [6] Fig 1: A schematic diagram of solar cell Some important Solar cell and solar energy materials Solar cells are typically consists of semiconducting materials and these cells are named after thesemiconducting materialsthey are made of. Thesematerialsmust have certain characteristics in order to absorbsunlight. Some solar cells are designed to absorb sunlight that reaches the Earths surface, while others are constructed foruse in space. Solar cells can be made of only one layer of light absorbing semiconducting material which is called single-junction. Sometimes cells can be made of multiple layers of semiconducting materials to take advantage of wide range of absorption and charge separation mechanisms which is called multi-junction. Solar cells can be classified into three categories according to generation: The first generation cells also called traditional, conventional orwafer based cells that are made ofcrystalline silicon which includes materials such asmono-crystalline and poly-silicon silicon. Second generation cells arethin film solar cells, that includeamorphous silicon,CdTeandCIGScells and are commercially significant in utility-scale photovoltaic power stations,building integrated photovoltaicsor in smallstand alone devices. The third generation of solar cells includes a number of thin-film technologies often described as emerging photovoltaics which are not yet commercially applied and are still in the research or development phase such as perovskite solar cells and quantum dots solar cells. Crystalline silicon The most prevalent bulk material for solar cells iscrystalline silicon(c-Si), also known as solar grade silicon. Bulk silicon is separated into two categories according to crystallinity and crystal size. Mono-crystalline silicon Polycrystalline silicon In 1981, the first solar panels based on polycrystalline silicon, which also is known as polysilicon (p-Si) and multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si),was introduced to the market. Unlike monocrystalline-based solar panels, polycrystalline solar panels do not require the Czochralski process. Raw silicon is melted and poured into a square mold, which is cooled and cut into perfectly square wafers. Polysilicon cells are the most common type used in photovoltaics and are less expensive, yet less efficient than those made from monocrystalline silicon. Thin film Thin film technologies reduce the amount of active material in a cell. Most designs sandwich active material between two panes of glass. Since silicon solar panels only use one pane of glass, thin film panels are approximately twice as heavy as crystalline silicon panels, although they have a smaller ecological impact.[8]The majority of film panels have 2-3 percentage points lower conversion efficiencies than crystalline silicon. Cadmium telluride(CdTe),copper indium gallium selenide(CIGS) andamorphous silicon(a-Si) are three thin-film technologies often used for outdoor applications. CIGS technology laboratory demonstrations reached 20.4% as of December 2013. The lab efficiency of GaAs thin film technology topped 28%. Thequantum efficiencyof thin film solar cells is also lower due to reduced number of collected charge carriers per incident photon. Most recently, CZTS solar cell emerge as the less-toxic thin film solar cell technology, which achieved ~12% efficiency. Cadmium telluride Cadmium telluride is the only thin film material so far to rival crystalline silicon in cost/watt. However cadmium is a highly toxic andtelluriumsupplies are limited. Thecadmiumpresent in the cells would be toxic if released. However, release is impossible during normal operation of the cells and is unlikely during fires in residential roofs.[9]A square meter of CdTe contains approximately the same amount of Cd as a single C cellnickel-cadmium battery, in a more stable and less soluble form.[9] Copper indium gallium selenide Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) is adirect band gapmaterial. It has the highest efficiency (~20%) among all commercially significant thin film materials. Traditional methods of fabrication involve vacuum processes including co-evaporation and sputtering. Recent developments atIBMandNanosolar attempt to lower the cost by using non-vacuum solution processes. Gallium arsenide thin film The semiconductor materialGallium arsenide(GaAs) is also used for single-crystalline thin film solar cells. Although GaAs cells are very expensive, they hold the worlds record in efficiency for asingle-junctionsolar cell at 28.8%.[10]GaAs is more commonly used inmultijunction photovoltaic cellsforconcentrated photovoltaics and forsolar panels on spacecrafts, as the industry favours efficiency over cost forspace-based solar power. Perovskite solar cells The name perovskite solar cell is derived from the ABX3crystal structureof the absorber materials, which is referred to as perovskite structure. The most commonly studied perovskite absorber is methylammonium lead trihalide (CH3NH3PbX3, where X is ahalogenion such asI−,Br−,Cl−). Formamidinumlead trihalide (H2NCH3NH3PbX3) is a recently studied newer material which shows promise, with a bandgap between 2.23eV and 1.48eV. This minimum bandgap is closer to the optimal for asingle-junction cellthan methylammonium lead trihalide, so it should be capable of higher efficiencies. The efficiencies of perovskite solar cell have increased to 12.8% in 2014.[11] This increased efficiency is making them a very rapidly advancing technology and a hot topic in the solar cell field. Perovskite solar cells are also forecast to be extremely cheap to scale up, making them a very attractive option for commercialization. Quantum dots semiconductor solar cell: Quantum dots are tiny particles or nanocrystals of a semiconducting material with diameters in the range of 2-10 nanometers. Due to high surface to volume ratios for these particles, quantum dots display unique electronic properties, intermediate between those of bulk semiconductors and discrete molecules. Due to their small size, the electrons in quantum dots are confined in a small space which is called quantum box. When the radii of the semiconductor nanocrystal is smaller than the exciton Bohr radius (exciton Bohr radius is the average distance between the electron in the conduction band and the hole it leaves behind in the valence band), there is quantization of the energy levels according to Pauli’s exclusion principle (Figure 1).[12][13]The discrete, quantized energy levels of quantum dots relate them more closely to atoms than bulk materials. Generally, as the size of the crystal decreases, the difference in energy between the highest valence band and the lowest conduc tion band increases. More energy or more energy light is then needed to excite an electron from valance band to conduction band. Therefore, the properties of semiconducting materials can be tuned by changing the size of the quantum dots. By using different sized quantum dots in multi-layer junction we can absorb wide range of light. Figure 4: Splitting of energy levels in quantum dots due to the quantum confinement effect, semiconductor band gap increases with decrease in size of the nanocrystal.[12][13] Conclusion The primary energy sources: coal, oil and natural gas are fossil fuels are polluting our environment. Furthermore, these resources are quickly depleting and becoming extremely expensive day by day. Therefore, weneedtoconsiderrenewableenergysources such as solar energy, by using solar cells we cangenerate electricalpower by converting solar energy intoelectricity. Reference: Wang, Zhong Lin.Nanotechnology for the energy challenge. Ed. Javier Garcà ­a-Martà ­nez. John Wiley Sons, 2013. Hou, Yu, Ruxandra Vidu, and Pieter Stroeve. Solar energy storage methods.Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research50.15 (2011): 8954-8964. Moniz, E. J.; Garcia-Martinez, J. Nanotechnology for the Energy Challenge; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, Germany, 2010 Einstein, Albert. The photoelectric effect.Ann. Phys17 (1905): 132. Delaware University, US, HP http://www.udel.edu/PR/ UDaily/2008/jul/solar072307 .html Li, Zhongrui, et al. Light-harvesting using high density p-type single wall carbon nanotube/n-type silicon heterojunctions.Acs Nano3.6 (2009): 1407-1414. Green, M. A. Recent developments in photovoltaics.Solar energy76.1 (2004): 3-8. Pearce, Joshua, and Andrew Lau. Net energy analysis for sustainable energy production from silicon based solar cells.ASME Solar 2002: International Solar Energy Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002. Fthenakis, Vasilis M. Life cycle impact analysis of cadmium in CdTe PV production.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews8.4 (2004): 303-334. Yablonovitch, E., O. D. Miller, and S. R. Kurtz. The opto-electronic physics that broke the efficiency limit in solar cells.Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2012 38th IEEE. IEEE, 2012. Qin, Peng, et al. Perovskite Solar Cells with 12.8% Efficiency by Using Conjugated Quinolizino Acridine Based Hole Transporting Material.Journal of the American Chemical Society(2014). Reimann, S. M.; Manninen, M. Reviews of Modern Physics, 2002, 74(4), 1283. Bawendi, M. C.; Steigerwald, M. L.; Brus, L. E. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, 1990, 41, 477.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Spanish-American War :: essays research papers

The cause of the Spanish-American War relates directly to Cuba, and the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. In 1895, Cuba was extremely governmentally disorganized, and was beginning to rise against Spain. The Cuban’s soon adopted a conception that the more damage that they did to the Cuban mainland, the faster the Spaniards would leave Cuba, and the Americans would help the Cubans to win their independence. The Americans soon came to Cuba, in an attempt to assist the Cubans in their fight for freedom. The Spanish intervention with Cuba threatened the trade routes that America had near, and with Cuba. By helping Cuba, America would be vastly saving itself economically because these routes were highly valuable. During this time you must remember that the United States had a new, powerful Navy, and they were anxious to show their power off to the rest of the world. Cuba served as the perfect stage to put on a show. When Spanish General Weyler arrived, he controlled the rebellion in Cuba by herding the Cuban citizens into enclosed concentration camps. They were detained under very unsanitary and inhumane conditions. Many of them died. This treatment of the Cuban people by the Spanish angered the American public, and they demanded that war be declared against Spain. The American people were clearly disgusted by the way the Spaniards treated the Cubans. Why wouldn’t they be? The Spaniards treated them like scum. They were livid; the Americans wanted the government to take action against the Spaniards for the actions they took against the Cubans. Both Presidents Cleveland and McKinley tried to keep America out of war. In 1896, Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution that called for President Cleveland to review the impending situation in Cuba. The anti-imperialist Cleveland refused to do anything. But, on February 15, 1898, the American battleship U.S.S. Maine anchored in Havana Harbor exploded. Two hundred and sixty of the American crewmen were killed. On April 11, 1898 President McKinley went to Congress and asked for American troops to stop the war. Congress agreed and on April 25 the U. S. declared war on Spain. In McKinley’s declaration of war against Spain, he stated "For the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and Government in the island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Media Criticism

Getting the right scope of a television program enables it to penetrate the viewing habits of the audiences. Since the complete line up of ideas and program formats are intended to satisfy the viewers, it would be appropriate to input program and story aspects according to the currently accepted social situation. In line with this, viewing a previously run TV show may provide a great sense of nostalgia especially for the people who have experienced watching it in the past. The â€Å"old school† TV program chosen for this article is Charlie’s Angels. Apparently, this program was considered to be one of the pioneers in providing the viewers satisfying and exciting storylines back in the 1970’s. If the program format is to be identified with the aspect of postmodernism, then it can easily fit in that category, simply because of the fact that the ideology and the events of most episodes reflect the criterion of a post modernist era. Some of the best ways to recognize the philosophy of post modernism in the show is by identifying how the characters and the plot of each episode interacted with one another. One very clear aspect of a modernly patterned theme of Charlie’s Angels may be recognized on the type of empowerment given to women. Since in the past, women are looked below the standards of the society, the show was able to inhibit the previous notion of not letting women enter any types of physical activities especially those of which that induce masculinity factor. It can be seen in most episodes that the three lady characters were always set to complete missions that were clearly identified for men. Another very good example of modernism aspect in the show is the introduction of different things and objects for the purpose of assisting the missions of the protagonists. The then modern technology played an important role in providing the audiences some fresh ideas on how science has ultimately changed the tasks of ordinary people. Different devices, gadgets and instruments were all part of the Charlie’s Angles missions. Apart from the post modernism structure of the show, Charlie’s Angels also induces a very huge aspect of nostalgia. Even for younger people during those times, the concept of having a TV show regularly viewed have already introduced some great memories for them to be always cherished. The way the main actresses dressed, the simple yet unique materials they used and even the musical score or theme song of the program all play an important part in bringing good memories of the show in the present time. Nostalgia is referred to as an emotional or mental condition in which a person feels a longing of the past’s observed matters. For Charlie’s Angels, this type of emotional attachment can be felt especially for those people who were so dearly attached to the program. Patiently waiting for the next episode to be broadcasted was a part of their lives, giving a sense of affection even to the main characters of the program. In today’s generation of Television programs on the other hand, post-modernism can still be observed. For example, the TV series The Amazing Race provides some very good factors in which the modern era of showcasing different concepts in broadcasting may be observed. Looking at the complete structure of the program, one may easily identify how it already embodies the current social structure of the human population. Since it is a reality program, it has already stabilized its approach on what post-modernism really is-the general and non-alignment to a hierarchical format of presentation (Wikipedia, 2007). Obviously, The Amazing Race do not follow a particular script and depend all of the program’s events according to the way the contestant’s and their surroundings interact with each other. Everything is to be observed in relative to the person (contestants) who build the program structure. The modern day individual tend to be more adaptive to his surroundings as depicted in the TV program. Although there is the essence of teamwork, each of the people involved has his own decision making power and may sometimes even contradict the decision of other members. One more attribute about the post-modernism aspect of the show is readily evident on the freedom of the producer and the director to choose the type of sequence they want to shoot for the purpose of immersing the audience in the program. Since the budgetary aspects are independent of the terms of large Hollywood outfits, modern process of instilling one’s creativity to the program will directly affect its viewers. Overall, The Amazing Race is a complete replica of Charlie’s Angles in terms of a liberated approach in entertainment. Both programs diverted away from the normal custom of producing shows based on the conservative structure of past generations of society. The acceptance of post modernism ideas is somehow controversial on the part of the social analyst’s perception. Since the philosophy reflect the outcome of events after the Second World War, it can’t be justified whether such philosophy is an independent one or basically a form of thinking based on the overall flow of past history. One thing is certain; post modernism’s definition of philosophy is evident even in today’s media. References Wikipedia. 2007. Postmodernism. Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 10, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism.

Friday, November 8, 2019

INFORMATION

INFORMATION ICT as a CareerThe ICT field is developing on a dailybasis and there is no telling how thisscene will be in the next ten or soyears. Twenty years ago, ICT as acareer was not known especially withcomputers. Fixed telephones were notused vastly especially in the developingworld; with the advent of mobiletelephones though, the subscriber basehas increased. Developing countries arenow being targeted for their hugepotential.The main advantage if ICT as a career isthat it is dynamic, it is foreverchanging. This creates newopportunities in this sector; forinstance, new communication hardwareand software is being created. Thiscreates new opportunities in teaching;the instructors always have to be up todate.The requirements for one to join the ICTsector are varied. With knowledge inMicrosoft word, excel and access, youcan get a job as a data entry clerk.Toget higher up the ladder, you wouldneed an undergraduate degree or amaster's degree in the related field.Training of personnel in the ICT s ector isrelatively inexpensive but you will needto make sure that the quality ofeducation is up to the mark.ICT creates motivation. when Bill Gatesfounded Microsoft, he had a vision ofhaving every computer in homes andoffices running his Microsoft software.This has shaped the way we all live andcommunicate in today's world.Entrepreneurship that is being createdby ICT is enormous. Cyber cafes arepopping up everywhere; people have tocheck their e-mails almost on a dailybasis. Print media is being replaced bythe internet where daily papers arebeing distributed, news channels alsooffer broadband video streaming andhome made pod-casts are on theincrease. ICT is lucrative because of the...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The rational emotive behavior therapy

The rational emotive behavior therapy The rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) approach can be applied in dealing with most of the clients’ problems. The REBT approach rests on the premise that the events that occur in our lives do not upset us, but the beliefs held by each individual makes us anxious, unhappy, depressed, and enraged. The use of this approach, coupled with values and code of ethics, enables us to teach some of our clients on ways to become happy.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The rational emotive behavior therapy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While dealing some of the clients, it may be important to adopt both instrumental and terminal values. Instrumental values are permanent in nature and they form the core values of what an organization or a group believes in. Some of the instrumental values adopted include, ambition, sincerity, honesty, courageousness, responsibility, politeness, a keen sense of evaluation, confident iality, trust and obedience. All these values are applied while listening to clients and when deciding on the most appropriate plan that can be used in addressing the client’s issues. The instrumental values act as a gate pass to the terminal values. On the other hand, terminal values are defined as the goals that an organization, group, or an individual aim to achieve in the long run. Some of the terminal values applied in our case include, seeing happy families, instilling happiness and inner harmony in our clients, a sense of accomplishment, true friendship with our clients, exhibiting degree of wisdom while addressing some of the clients’ problems, ensuring that our clients live comfortable and enjoyable lives, and social recognition. All terminal values are achieved when client problems are solved or assistance on the same is offered. One of the applied theories of prejudice formation is the belief theory of prejudice. The belief theory of prejudice â€Å"suggest s that prejudice results from an aversion toward individuals who hold beliefs which are incongruent with one’s own† (Dienstbier, 1972), p.146). In relation to the study, the belief theory of prejudice is applied in a more positive way in addressing the issues and problems that most of our clients face in their day to day activities. Real life observations and the psychological evidence among clients aid in shaping how experienced problems can be solved. While addressing the issues and problems of our clients, the group adopts some codes of behavior to enhance professional-client relationship. According to Bayles (1981), an appropriate ethical conception of the client by cultivating a professional relationship with him/her gives the client freedom to determine the extent to which his/her life is affected, thereby warranting the client to make some decisions.Advertising Looking for report on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The main focus of our group is allowing clients to express themselves. At the same time, we are also able to play the role of professionals. Since clients lack the professional knowledge and expertise required in addressing their problems, we assume fiduciary duty. Although the client assumes a significant responsibility and authority in decision making, as professionals we provide special care which is worthy the client’s trust. Discretion is another code of ethical behavior that our group adopts while addressing the issues of our clients. To begin with, discretion is a broader concept of confidentiality and privacy (Bayles, 1981). This means that not only is the client’s information kept confidential but the value of privacy is observed keenly. The implication made is that we do not meddle with a client’s business which is unrelated to the problem we were hired to undertake. A Client’s private life, welfare, and behavior are ke pt discrete thus gaining the value of trustworthiness. As noted by Bayle (1981), confidentiality is an element of responsibility of discretion. Therefore, confidentiality is highly safeguarded while dealing with our clients and so is their privacy. Another element used is competence which has been considered as the highest moral characteristic. As a group, we take our clients request with high level of esteem, responsibility, and respect. In addition, the requests and the needs of clients are handled with potential competence to ensure a good reputation. In cases whereby the issue is beyond our specialty, advice is offered to the clients since clients lack the ability to know when a different type of specialist is required. This has always acted as a driving force of the group in meeting the client’s needs and demands. Honesty also is applied in addressing the client’s problems and issues. In summary, both terminal and instrumental values are adopted by our group while dealing with clients’ problems and in running the group. Some of the terminal values applied include seeing happy families, exhibiting degree of wisdom while addressing problems, instilling happiness and inner harmony in our clients, a sense of accomplishment, and true friendship with our clients among others. The instrumental values include trust, honesty, confidentiality, and a sense of responsibility among others. The belief theory of prejudice is applied via the observation of the behaviour and the attitudes of the clients in a positive way. Some of the codes behaviour adopted from Michael Bayles includes discretion, honesty, trust, privacy, and confidentiality. Lastly, competence and fiduciary duty are applied while addressing issues affecting our clients.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The rational emotive behavior therapy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Bayles, M. D. (1981). Professi onal ethics (Obligation to clients). Belmont. CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co. Dienstbier, R. A. (1972). A modified belief theory of prejudice emphasizing the mutual casualty of racial prejudice and anticipated belief differences. Psychological Review, 79(2), 146–160.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Civil War - Essay Example The Union used its military to bring the economy of the South to a stand still through having the coast blockaded. In addition, it took control of Mississippi and the Tennessee River system from the west as well as the Atlanta and captured the entire territory from Georgia to the Carolinas. The strategy from the east was to capture Richmond, which was under the supervision of Robert Lee before he was forced to surrender by Grant. This decisive Northern victory was followed by a Reconstruction period. By the time the war was over, approximately 970, 000 citizens had been left as casualties with more than 560,000 dead. The leading cause of the war, the nature of its outcome as well as its name have all remained topics of discussions and controversies since then (Cobbs 414). It is believed that the origin of the Civil War can only be traced within the complicated issues of politics, slavery and conflicts arising between the State’s rights scope and the federal powers, modernizati on, economics, sectionalism, expansionism, and Antebellum period competing nationalism. Despite the disagreements among historians on the causative events of the war and its relative importance, they all agree on the effects the war. War is considered as the most destructive consequent of the political mechanism of man and his ambitions. While all wars are taken as being equally horrific, one war that will always stand out of the rest is the Civil War. Taking place between 1861 and 1865, the war is remembered as being the deadliest war ever witnessed in the history of America. Reasons Why the North won the War Between the participating parts; the Northern States and the Southern States, the Union emerged as the victors and this victory has been associated with several reasons; The Northern States outnumbered their counterparts making the Southern unable to match the advancing force from the north. The north enjoyed a majority of States with the Union having at least 20 pure states w hile the South had only 11 states. This ensured that the Union’s manpower was greater thus automatically countering the strength of the Confederate army. The Northern State also had far much bigger number of soldiers approximated to be above 2, 400, 000 while the Southern States having an inferior number of soldiers that was bellow 1, 000, 000 (Boyer 500). The other factor that gave the Union an age over the Confederate was the industry superiority of the Union. Its industrial position ensured that the Northern States had more financial resources and money to see them through the war. This financial status meant that the union was well–off when it came to supplying its troops with arms which ensured that they kept fighting, constantly received medical attention and food supply was readily available. The industrial strength of the Union was far much superior. This was characterized a better number industries and factories that offered the necessary fuel, ammunition and weaponry equipment. The Southern States on the other hand were mostly plantation and cotton owners with insufficient advanced depots and suppliers (Cobbs 434). This left the south with limited supply and food resources as well as war equipment thus they had no chance of stopping the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Competitive Advantage Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competitive Advantage - Assignment Example It encompasses several aspects of a company's marketing tactics and strategies in building a strong competitive advantage that can secure the company's future. A competitive advantage is plainly a facet or capability of the organisation that it occupies or extends to the customers. For an organisational facet to form a 'competitive advantage', it needs to be unequalled in the market and not acquired by any other existing or upcoming competition in the market. This notion can also be translated in the words of Barney (2002, p9) as, "a firm experiences competitive advantages when its actions in an industry or market create economic value and when few competing firms are engaging in similar actions". Porter (1985, p3) explores the concept of competitive advantage as the capability of an organisation to create value for its customers in a way that procures more value to the customers than the competitors, he says, "Competitive advantage grows out of value a firm is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm's cost of creating it. Value is what buyers are willing to pay, and superior value stems from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. There are two basic types of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation". Hence, a firm's competitive advantage has to be unique among all the other companies in the market. This implies that whatever company owns and provides to customers should have one or more differential aspect that can distinguish it form its competitors. Today, many organisations engage in providing almost same kind of products to a specific range of products. Consequently, the customers need to choose between a lot of options with slight distinction to satisfy their needs and problems. For a firm to win more customers than its competitors and sustain them in the long run, it needs to offer its customers something that is not being currently offered in the market. For instance, a different product with enhanced value, a courteous and friendly workforce, a well-known company image, and a breakthrough in technology helpful in satisfying customers in a much better way than the competitors. The customers would only be willing to buy the company's product or even pay a higher price for it if there's something in the product or service being by the company that the customers perceive to be valuable or different in satisfying their needs than other products in the market. The more the customers perceive the product to be valuable, the more the opportunity for the company to remain successful in the long run. The upcoming section of the paper investigates into some of the aspects of a company's marketing tactics and manoeuvres that could be utilised towards the achievement of a competitive advantage. Winning Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty And Trust Firms consistently endeavour to attain the mellowest possible levels of customer satisfaction and retention to survive in the modern competitive business arena. It is a factor that rightfully approximates a company's emplacement in the competitive market. If the customers are satisfied, the company is likely to be successful; otherwise it is doomed to be obscure in the future

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Final Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Final - Research Paper Example how a human body was found burned to ashes inside a room without any apparent cause; and how the rest of the objects in the room remained relatively unaffected. Since then, this phenomenon has been introduced as a possibility. Stories on SHC have been enriched and regenerated due to cases of police officers arriving at scenes of fires where they were able to find half burned bodies which often left only the leg or foot unburned. These cases puzzled them, hence the perpetuation of the SHC phenomenon. Spontaneous human combustion is defined as the â€Å"alleged process of a human body catching fire as a result of heat generated by internal chemical or nuclear action† (Carroll â€Å"From Abracadabra to Zombies†). There have so far been no witnesses for this phenomenon but many stories have been generated about it. The earliest explanations for SHC have been based on an apparent visitation by God and this explanation may have a strong connection with Moses and the burning bush. However, more scientific explanations for SHC have now been presented for our consideration (BBC News â€Å"H2G2†). Author Charles Dickens has used SHC in one of his novels as a cause of death and this has further generated interest on its possibility. Dickens further claimed that he has known cases of SHC and he points out two main cases which have happened over a hundred years ago (Carroll â€Å"From Abracadabra to Zombies†). But non-believers claim that Dickens probably got his idea from the stories of Dupont in his book De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis. This book points out how a drunken German spontaneously ignited because of his intake of copious amounts of brandy. Immediately, faults in this theory were pointed out when non-believers point out that if drinking plenty of liquor would cause SHC, then there would have been many more reported incidents of the phenomenon. The proposal on alcoholic consumption has actually been debunked by scientists when they explained that

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Health Expenditure Poverty Essay Example for Free

Health Expenditure Poverty Essay Condition where peoples basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. According to World Bank: Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. According to United Nations: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to food and clothing a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. Type of Poverty: Poverty is generally of two types which are as follow. Absolute poverty Absolute poverty is synonymous with destitution and occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources (measured in terms of calories or nutrition) to support a minimum level of physical health. Absolute poverty means about the same everywhere, and can be eradicated as demonstrated by some countries. Relative poverty Relative poverty occurs when people do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standards as determined by a government (and enjoyed by the bulk of the population) that vary from country to country, sometimes within the same country. Relative poverty occurs everywhere, is said to be increasing, and may never be eradicated. Psychological Cause of poverty Poverty is regarded as a vicious circle. It is the product of different causes. Some of the thinkers have attributed it to a single cause but as poverty is a multi dimensional problem, multiple factors are responsible for it. According to hennery George, the main cause of poverty is the personal ownership and monopoly of individual on the land. He writes â€Å"in great cities where land is so valuable that it is measured by foot you will find extreme of poverty and of luxury.† Marx said the main causes of poverty are the exploitation laborers by the capitalists. Malthus said, poverty increases because of the fact that, while the food production increases in arithmetical progression, the population increase in geometric progression. These views lay emphasis on a singular cause of poverty but modern social scientists consider that poverty is the result of multiple factors. Personal factors: Personal factors play important role in economic status of a person. In this modern scientific era, one may not believe in the fate but no one can deny the importance of personal capacity and efforts in his life style and life pattern. The important personal factors cause poverty is as follows. i) Sickness: Due to sickness a person is unable to work or his income decreases. A major portion of his income is spent on the cure of the diseases. Sickness increases poverty. Hunter has rightly pointed out that â€Å"Poverty and sickness form a vicious partnership each helping the other to add to the miseries of most unfortunate of mankind.† ii) Mental disease: Mental disease and frustration also increase poverty. Owing to this, a man looses the balance of his mind by which he is incapable of doing anything. So his family becomes poor and it aggravates poverty. iii) Accident: Accident of any kind may make a person incapable of working, as a result of which he becomes a parasite on society or his income decreases. When income decreases poverty increases. iv) Idleness and extravagance: India is a rich country inhabited by poor. Idle and lazy persons do not work although they are able to work. Hence they remain poor. There are also extravagant persons who can waste any amount of money in no time. So the cause of poverty is not the lower income but excess of expenditure over income. Such persons also spent lavishly during festive occasions like marriage ceremony, many social religious festivals etc, and they always remain poor. v) Demoralizations: Due to lower morale some person are addicted to drinking, prostitution, gambling and other social evils. Such persons spent high proportion of their income on these evil habits and finally become pauper. Biological factors: Rapid growth of population is one of the most important causes of poetry. Malthus has pointed out that the geometric progress of population is the root cause of poverty. Due to the development of medical science, reduction of famine, control of epidemics and natural calamities death rate has decreased. At the same time birth rate has not been effectively controlled. If a man has too many children his standard of living is definitely lowered and he becomes relatively poor.† Besides, other factors like the power of fertility of Indian women, early age of marriage are also indirectly responsible for poverty. Global Distribution of Resources Many experts agree that the legacy of colonialism accounts for much of the unequal distribution of resources in the world economy. In many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In recent decades most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with industry and technology with varying levels of success. Some nations have become fairly wealthy, including the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Many developing countries, however, lack essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through formal education and training. They also often lack the infrastructure provided by, for example, transportation systems and power-generating facilities. Because these things are necessary for the development of industry, developing countries generally must rely on trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much. Some social scientists argue that wealthier developed countries continue to practice a form of colonialism, known as neocolonialism. The affluence of these countries is based to a large extent on favorable trade with the developing world. Developed countries have been able to get inexpensive natural resources from poorer countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including oil for power, ores and minerals for manufacturing durable goods, and manufactured goods made by low-wage workers in factories operated by multinational corporations. This practice contributes to the dependency of poorer countries while not raising their standards of living. Economical factors: The most fundamental cause of poverty is economics. The important economical factors are as follows. i) Backwardness of agriculture: Indian Agriculture is carried on with primitive techniques. Due to the absence of modern machines, tools, implements, improved seeds, manures, inadequate irrigation facilities, constant fragmentation of land and exploitation by the landlords etc. Agricultural production hampers to a great extent. Besides these our agricultural system is not sufficient to provide adequate number of jobs or better price for agricultural products. This increase poverty among the rural farmers. ii) Slow and defective industrialization: In India industrialization is taking place at a snail’s pace, due to inadequate finance, paucity of skilled and technically trained personnel, irregular supply of power and raw materials etc. Therefore it is not possible in India to provide employment in large scale tot he persons who are willing to work. Further the concentration of industries in urban areas also deprives the rural poor from getting employment in industries. iii) Unequal distribution: Distribution of wealth is unequal in India. Wealth is mostly concentrated in the hands of a few. These people after an optimum of investment keep the wealth in iron chests. On the other hand, the people who would have invested it for productive purpose do not get it. This leaves a majority of population in this state of unemployment. iv) Unwise economic policy: Indian is rich in respect of natural resources, but poor in making proper utilization of it. Till now we are not able to make optimum utilization of resources as a result of which it remains unutilized or misused. Sometimes due to defective policy of the government people remain poor. Psychological effects of poverty Psychological research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our nation’s children. Poverty impacts children within their various contexts at home, in school, and in their neighborhoods and communities. Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and under resourced schools which adversely impact our nation’s children. Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socio emotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays. These effects are compounded by the barriers children and their families encounter when trying to access physical and mental health care. Economists estimate that child poverty costs an estimated $500 billion a year to the U.S. economy; reduces productivity and economic output by 1.3 percent of GDP; raises crime and increases health expenditure Poverty and academic achievement Poverty has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children, especially during early childhood. Chronic stress associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely affect children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability to learn. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2008, the dropout rate of students living in low-income families was about four and one-half times greater than the rate of children from higher-income families (8.7 percent versus 2.0 percent). The academic achievement gap for poorer youth is particularly pronounced for low-income African American and Hispanic children compared with their more affluent White peers. Poverty and psychosocial outcomes Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems. Some behavioral problems may include impulsiveness, difficulty getting along with peers, aggression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder. ïÆ'ËœSome emotional problems may include feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Poverty and economic hardship is particularly difficult for parents who may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes for children. Unsafe neighborhoods may expose low-income children to violence which can cause a number of psychosocial difficulties. Violence exposure can also predict future violent behavior in youth which places them at greater risk of injury and mortality and entry into the juvenile justice system. Underresourced schools in poorer communities struggle to meet the learning needs of their students and aid them in fulfilling their potential. Inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty by making it more difficult for low-income children to lift themselves and future generations out of poverty. Violence According to experts, many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution, as a means of survival and economic desperation. Deterioration of living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income, putting them at risk of being exploited, according to ECPAT International, an NGO designed to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For example, in Zimbabwe, a number of girls are turning to prostitution for food to survive because of the increasing poverty. In one survey, 67% of children from disadvantaged inner cities said they had witnessed a serious assault, and 33% reported witnessing a homicide. 51% of fifth graders from New Orleans (median income for a household have been found to be victims of violence, compared to 32% in Washington, DC (mean income for a household

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Scientific Advancements in Medical Technology

Scientific Advancements in Medical Technology Alice Wyatt Scientific advancements 3D printers are used for many things including medicine to guns and other illegal items. Scientists have created a new 3D printer inspired by terminator 2. This means that it will work 100 times faster than the normal 3D printer and can make items in minutes rather than hours. Many people are happy because technology is being advanced. â€Å"Freaking awesome tech. This will also allow shapes to be designed and built that are impossible with current methods.† Said by Funcrew on the guardian website. This shows that many of the public are having positive thoughts about the new technology that is being produce and how it is shaping the world and how we are using the technology in everyday life, it also shows how this new technology will allow us to do things we couldn’t before. 3D printing is used in many different ways and one is being a part of the dental industry and being used by dentists so that they can poke and prod and them and to show the patients what is going on in their own mouth and explain procedures that they may go through. Many people are not understanding why we need a more expensive models just to show patients procedures. â€Å"Do they need a new, presumably more expensive, model just for the purpose of explaining procedures to patients?† said by Pollik. This shows that although many people have positive thoughts the other half of the public have negative thoughts and don’t understand why the technology is being used and the technology we use now is just as good and is not as expensive as the new technology coming onto the market. These negative attitudes make people jump onto these attitudes and start to criticise the technology and result in the technology not getting brought, however the positive attitudes may make celebrities and other famous people to accept these technologies resulting in a lot of people wanting this new technology and making the sales go very high up. The debate about 3D printers at the moment in who actually buys these as if it is criminals who buys these to make guns and other illegal items, this could mean in the criminals running wild and being able to make many, many items in just a week, this could cause a lot of problems throughout the world. Whether as the 3D printers that are used for medical advancements or in certain business industries are useful and therefore there is no debate on using 3D printers in these terms, it is just when the 3D printers are not used for good things, this then results in the society not looking the new technology when it is being used for bad things. These issues that the public has about the 3D printers are not important enough to stop any development of the 3D printers. This is because the 3D printers are more or less being used for the health and wellbeing of the public in the NHS with medical issues and dentistry issues and also in the different industries of business, and are only ever rarely used by criminals for illegal ideas. 3D printers are used a lot to help people and explain to people things that they can’t see themselves. People’s perception of 3D printers can be improved by the government and businesses taking the 3D printers of the market to the public and just letting businesses or the NHS being able to buy these this would result in criminals not getting a hold of the 3D printers and the public can stop worrying about what they will do with them. People’s perception would also change about 3D printers if they cost a bit less to buy as they k now that the NHS and other businesses will be buying these things for experiments and the public know that buying expensive equipment in the NHS means that they won’t have money to do other things as they don’t have money as it is. Bibliography: What are the pros and cons of MRI scans?  M Billingsley – 15th March 2012  http://doc2doc.bmj.com/forums/open-clinical_radiology_pros-cons-of-mri-scans  [Accessed on: 13/03/15] What is a Heart MRI?  Brain Krans – 26th June 2012  http://www.healthline.com/health/heart-mri#Overview1  [Accessed on: 13/03/15] Medical Applications for 3D printing: Current and projected uses, C Lee Ventola – October 2014  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4189697/  [Accessed on: 18/03/15] Gartner says uses of 3D printing will ignite major debate on ethics and regulation, Conn Stamford – 29th January 2014  http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2658315  [Accessed on: 19/03/15] What are the ethical issues surrounding gene therapy?  March 16th 2015  http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/ethics  [Accessed on: 19/03/15] Scientists create Terminator 2-inspired 3D printer, Hannah Devlin – Thursday 19th March 2015 – 18:45  http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/19/scientists-create-terminator-2-inspired-3d-printer  [Accessed on: 19/03/15] Smile! Meet the 3D printer churning out teeth, nerves and gums for dentists, Stuart Dredge – Monday 16th March 2015,  http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/16/3d-printer-teeth-nerves-gums-dentists  [Accessed on: 19/03/15]

Friday, October 25, 2019

History as We Leave It :: History Historical Essays

History as We Leave It Literary description always opens onto another scene set, so to speak, "behind" the this-worldly things it purports to depict. --- Michel Beaujour, "Some Paradoxes of Description" When I was very young, my grandmother told me that my great, great grandfather came to northern Minnesota in the 1890s and settled the small town we lived in, Askov. She said that he was a very brave pioneer who tread across unknown territory, and no one had ever lived on that land before. I pictured my ancestors arriving here and finding nothing but animals that they had to fight away — like they were the only people around for miles until other people came to join them. Until they arrived, Minnesota was a land untouched, unconquered and uncivilized. I never heard of Indians, or that they had once inhabited the land — even my teachers hardly mentioned them in elementary school. I thought they were just fictitious characters on Saturday morning cartoons until I eventually learned that they were real and once inhabited the land. As illustrated in the story that my grandma told me, how we tell our stories have an impact on the history we leave; how we talk about the Nativ e Americans (or fail to talk about them) influences history and how we leave it. The most raw accounts of how people tell their stories is in personal letters where they feel free to use their own words and thoughts, thinking that their words have little effect on the ones reading them or the world around them. Consider the excerpt from a letter written by Sophie Bost, a white settler in Minnesota during the Minnesota Uprising in 1862: And then there are these Indians! I would really like to know where they are after all the scare they’ve given us! [. . .] I dreamed night before last that my children were butchered before my eyes [. . .] and I had taken them into my bed and was sleeping with an arm under each one, [as comfortable] as though I had been massacred myself. [italics mine] (Bowen 214) The words â€Å"butchered† and â€Å"massacred† show the fear she carried about Indians and exasperation about how she and her husband were going to protect their children. I do not doubt that living in those times must have been terrifying for anybody. In other words, Indians could just as easily have used the words â€Å"butchered† and â€Å"massacred† to describe white attacks upon them.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ben Bernanke and Sub-prime

Considering Ben Bernanke’s statements and economic forecast one year later, the downside has occurred. He mentioned the effect of consumer confidence and attitude about the possibility of inflation. Since that forecast was made attitudes across the board have shown no confidence in an economic upturn, or at least a belief that the economy is less than stable. The federal government has responded with the Economic Stimulus Package designed to increase consumer and business spending. The Stimulus Package will put actual dollars into the hands of consumers hoping to cause a real increase in consumer spending.Bernanke stated that business capital expenditures should at least remain stable. However, an extra push was given in the form of additional tax writeoffs for large capital expenditures. In other words both consumer and business spending were leveling off or decreasing and needed a boost. Gas prices have remained unstable, rising and falling by nearly $1 per gallon in many ar eas. This constant fluctuation makes it difficult to assess the long term affect of gas prices on the economy. However, gas price fluctuations may not be as large of a downside as some other issues in the economy.Consumers can shop long distance without using any gasoline. With the internet people can shop online eliminating to drive across town for a day of shopping. Employment and trade deficits continue to be of concern to economists, however these issues have been overshadowed by continuing developments and downturns in the housing and mortgage industries. The Downside At the time of the 2007 economic forecast, the housing market had already entered a slump. Bernanke stated that the subprime effect may be contained. However, that has not been the case.The subprime debacle has remained in the headlines under many terms including: the housing crisis, the subprime mortgage mess, the foreclosure crisis, and the credit crisis. The housing crisis began after the price and sales boom i n 2005. As housing prices began a rapid decline over one year, it became evident that the problem was due in part (if not in full) to the recent developments in the subprime mortgage market. Many subprime mortgages had adjustable rates which were unaffordable when the rate adjustment increased those monthly mortgage payments.This was compounded by the fact that housing prices had begun a rapid decline. There was no way for homeowners to get out of those rising payments either by selling or refinancing. Homes no longer had the equity or value that they were expected to have. The Spillover and Its Affect The first spillover from the housing price decline was directly to the subprime mortgage market. Two years after the housing market meltdown, it has been discovered that the entire subprime market was the result of the collective genius of Wall Street investment firms.Subprime mortgages had become a complex range of securities including bonds, hedge funds, mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other such terms that we now hear everyday on the news. Many have found that their personal investments – pensions, IRAs, as well as bank and corporate investments were heavily invested in subprime mortgages at least indirectly. What has resulted is a breakdown of the financial markets, both in the United States and internationally.Daily news reports show that international investors and banks have been exposed to or involved in the U. S. subprime markets. Credit ratings on many investments have been lowered to the point of declaring some bank securities worthless. When banks have no collateral to borrow against, they have no funds to lend to their banking customers, even the ones with good credit. When investment houses get lower credit ratings, the value of a shareholder’s’s investments becomes worthless as well. As a result, the U. S.dollar has lost footing against foreign currencies. This caused the government and t he Federal Reserve to step in and literally change the way they put money into the economy. Until very recently, the Federal Reserve, the U. S. Central Bank, did not lend money to Wall Street investment firms. Realizing that the developments in the subprime market and the widespread use of subprime mortgages as investment vehicles, the Federal Reserve has come to understand that the subprime mortgage industry is at the very heart of our economy.Changing key interest rates several times did not help, so the Fed had to put money into the area that is most likely to bring the economy into a recession. In other words, there has been a change in the banking and financial systems. Lending and borrowing fuel buying and selling, and saving and spending in the economy. Commercial deposit banks are no longer the primary source of capital to businesses and consumers, but investment banks are. To support this new source of business the Federal Reserve has begun lending to investment houses by t he same means that it lends to banks – through short term loans.Investment houses have also began offering smaller consumer based deposit and credit products such as money market deposit accounts and credit cards available at many major investment brokerages. Analysis and Conclusion The reason for the subprime spillover into other segments of the economy is because the economy and the way it operates is shifting. The U. S. economy, and the international economy may no longer be bank based. As governments begin to privatize certain operations, the way these organizations seek funding or capital becomes a private matter.For example, when the Unites States government chartered private companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to essentially operate the mortgage market, Fannie and Freddie raised capital on the U. S. financial markets as opposed to borrowing through banks. Right now the U. S. is at the downside of a bank based economy. What the upside will be is the complete shift to a n investment based economy. As the Federal Reserve continues to support the investment houses, those will become our deposit institutions of the future. Once that shift is complete, the economy will stabilize and grow, even though it will be completely different.