Department of Homeland Security, and Science and Technology Policy and Essay

Department of Homeland Security, and Science and Technology Policy and Politics - Essay Example Science is about the search for objective evidence that would support successful predictions about the world around us; while politics is about governing based on the public's acceptance of the legitimacy and accountability of elected officials. On the other hand, in the U.S. democracy, science and politics are uniquely dependent on one another, although the relationship has never been an easy one. The search for truth in science and for legitimacy in politics both require systems for generating public trust, but these systems are not the same, and indeed they are often incompatible. (Branscomb, Oct. 14, 2006) The need for both to be acceptable in the society entails great deal of issues that are needed to be resolved to attain the same goal of achieving strength and concord for the community. The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security has created several issues about its yet another political dogma that might eventually become another burden of the federal government that will threaten the US community. Although science and technology has an unlimited capacity in preserving peace and stability of a nation, the need for a government and public support is an integral part in its utmost success. Even the most basic research requires financial assistance from the government such that it may be able to provide an incomparable assistance to the society. This irrefutable fact, on the other hand, provides restrictions in its competence of granting both practical and cultural value to society. (Branscomb, Oct. 14, 2006) Moreover, yet other factors that concerns public policy affect the various accomplishments that may have been attained by science and technology. Foreign policies that promote or limit collaborations of scientists worldwide may prevent new and innovative ideas to launch. The educational system that may train and develop the new breed of scientists in the future provides a very limited if not anything at all. The achievement of these goals of science and technology depends on new scientific institutions and facilities that would define the leading-edge capabilities of science. Finally, scientists, like other citizens, do care about how society uses the knowledge their research creates. In addition, for this reason, a great number of citizens are happy to serve on advisory committees even without financial compensation. (Branscomb, Oct. 14, 2006) Scientists have often opposed the government although they have been accepting federal funding. The federal government perceives them as insufficiently grateful of their assistance for which these scientists overly contesting the government policies. Regardless of the situation, the government could not ignore the fact that science and technology and the people behind its research and implementation are a significant factor in attaining the nation's goals. Politicians still rely on the competent, objective, and useful science advices of the scientists such that in most cases, they are incapable of instigating the different functions of the government agencies that requires sound technical advices. (Branscomb, Oct. 14, 2006) The Department of Homeland Security and Science and Technology Policy And Politics in the US Safeguarding the nation has turned out to be the main concern of the US federal

Politics In The Way Of Life Essay Example for Free

Politics In The Way Of Life Essay Should religious beliefs shape how politics are conducted in the contemporary world? Does violence have a role in politics? Should animals as well as humans be represented in politics? What do bodies and sexuality have to do with politics? â€Å"Politics is the science of a good living. † It is man who has to decide on the way he wants to live. However every human being is influenced by his religious, social and sexual beliefs nomatter where or how he starts his political way of living. Do you think politics should be mixed with religion? Religion and politics are completely different and should not be mixed with each other. All men and women are to be treated equally irrespective of the caste or the religion that they belong to. Every person has the right to follow his own religion and to carry forward his beliefs in his society. But when his beliefs and religion is such that it affects or hurts the feelings rather beliefs of his own neighbours or fellow human beings it becomes politics. No man has the right to affect the feelings of another in any case. If man believes in God, he surely should believe in peace with fellow human beings. But when does this happen? How do religious beliefs turn to politics? When does a person start hurting the feelings of his own fellow human beings? Religion greatly influences a man sensually that is his heart and mind. Thus the misunderstandings and misconception of religions leads to a difference of opinion between people thus leading to indifferences in their opinions thereby leading to mutual quarrel. Coming to the influence of the society and social beliefs on politics. It is the society that has created politics. Politics is for the people, by the people and of the people. All the rules and policies right from the human right to social equality politics affects the way of life of every individual. Next the truth that every living being, including animals have their influence in politics. Killing specific animals is a crime, hurting any animal is a crime. It is for the protection of animals that societies like blue cross have been developed. When killing an animal is punishable, it is glad that politics helps even animals live peacefully until they are not harmful to the human beings. Thus politics is the way of good living. It is the science of kinship. A life without politics would be unorderly and miserable. Politics forms the basis of life. Thus good politics forms the basis of a good life.

The Kennedy Assination: A Conspiracy? Essay -- American Presidents, JF

What reasons did the HSCA have in 1979 for suggesting that President Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy in 1963? In 1976, the House Select Committee on Assassinations began to reinvestigate the events at the assassination of JFK. A report was published by the committee in 1979 stating that there was a probable conspiracy surrounding Kennedy’s death, contradicting the Warren Commission’s theory. However, the HSCA could not prove that someone other than Oswald may have assassinated the president. What the HSCA could do however, was to prove that there were flaws in the evidence that the Warren Commission used to formulate their theory about Oswald being the lone assassin of JFK. A major part to the Warren Commission’s theory was the three bullet idea, in which the first bullet supposedly passed through Kennedy’s neck and then caused Governor Connally’s three wounds in the chest, wrist and thigh. The bullet that did this damage, often referred to as the â€Å"magic† bullet, was later found on Connally’s stretcher, with no trace of blood and almost fully in tact. Attempts that have been made to recreate this situation have proved that it was almost impossible that the bullet could have, firstly, changed direction so many times to make Kennedy and Connally’s wounds and, secondly, remained so undamaged after passing through blood, bone and human tissue. The Zapruder film of the assassination also shows that there were two seconds between Kennedy and Connally being hit, indicating that they were struck by two different bullets. Governor Connally backed this up by saying that he heard a gun shot and then had time to turn a round to see where the gun shot came from, before getting hit himself. Connally also said that he was almost cer... ...e, Lynden Johnson became president after JFK’s assassination, so his motive to murder JFK would have been his desire to rule America. It is also known that the Mafia saw Johnson as a much better â€Å"friend in the Whitehouse† than JFK, which meant that Johnson could have planned JFK’s assassination with the help of Mafia. However, this is just a hypothesis and cannot be proved, like the HSCA found out when they uncovered the amount of different conspiracies that there could have been surrounding Kennedy’s death. There were too many conspiracies that couldn’t be proved which meant that the HSCA could not pinpoint who exactly did murder JFK. To conclude, judging by the flaws in the Warren Commission’s theory and the amount of people that could have benefitted from Kennedy’s death, the HSCA had good reasons to suggest that JFK could have been the victim of a conspiracy.

Justice to a Society Against Racism

Racism is a long time issue which has been existing for more than a century. Cases have been taken to the courts in order to bring justice to the society against racism. â€Å"Separate but equal† is a legislature that was being put into the constitution in 1792. It disrupted the society due to how it(law) was interpreted by the people. Although the American law for equal rights has been written in the constitution since 1792, most people even the authoritative ones(i. e. ; judges) never put it in practice. The cry for equal justice for minority groups is so extensive especially in the south where the KKK(Ku Klux Klans) are more in existence. Some of the legal issues about these outcries are the 1896 ‘Plessy vs. Ferguson† and the 1954 ‘Brown vs. the Board The Plessy vs. Ferguson case was a very crucial argument which argued the ‘separate but equal† issue in the State of Louisiana. Even though Plessy, a 30-year old shoemaker was mix of seven-eighths white and one-eighths black he was still considered â€Å"black† and punished for entering the wrong car by being jailed. When taken the case to the State court, Plessy argued that the 14th Amendment has been violated which states that: â€Å"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive †¦. † But the Louisiana Statute overturned his case stating that the state has its rights to regulate railway companies that operate only in its state and Plessy was found guilty. Plessy was a normal human being who was taken his rights away from him just for the cause of his race. The Louisiana Statute overlooked Plessy†s petition regarding justice against segregation which deteriorates the social equality of the society. The Courts deprived the liberty of the plaintiff†s equal protection of the laws regardless of the 14th Amendment in Constitution. Even when taken to the Supreme Court of the country, they still found Plessy guilty and overturned the case. After 55 years of the case, Thurgoode Marshall a black lawyer from Baltimore, Maryland took the case for a re-affirmation. Following the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the Plessy†s case in 1896, many Negroes from different states decided to fight for equal rights as they all deserved. The Brown vs. Board of Education was one of the most significant cases brought before the courts which formerly cannot legislate social equality. The case turned to be similar to the altercation about the 14th Amendment which so arguably had an impact on the society. The argument was about a colored fifth grader in Topeka, Kansas, Linda Brown who was denied an admission into a white elementary school. The people(black Americans) wanted desegregation and not segregation especially in public schools which did not value their freedoms as citizens of United States. When the case and some other similar cases from other states were taken to the high court in Kansas in 1951 by Thurgood Marshall and his colleagues, the courts indentured it. Until taken to the Supreme Court which the decisions did not come out that easy, the fourteenth amendment was brought into question. For almost two years the case was argued and re-affirmed. Though the Board of Education may have supplied equal physical facilities to both public schools (white and Negroes). It diminishes the equal treatment of the minority groups, an example of this is the textbooks issues which when compared 68 colored students had no books to 20 white students. And also the case that there was no coloured High School in the South. The cases were similar in respects that the minorities had to come out with the complaints of their oppressions. Their(minorities) liberties have been deprived from them under the protection of laws. Although the legal arguments share common cases about segregation, but Plessy†s case was one in which was indentured regardless of whom he poses to be. While Brown†s complaints were out to pursue equality in educational system and to reduce the inferiority complex going through the minds of innocent souls on how they are being treated. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP crew argued that even though the law has abolished slavery for a guaranteed freedom, they(coloreds) were still segregated from the whites. The end of the segregated years marked the beginning of a new era for equality among all races. Thurgood Marshall and the members of the NAACP fought to their very strength to bring justice in both cases and to see that segregation is purely abolished. These legal arguments were some of the greater social decisions and most ideological significants in the American history that the Supreme Court has ever made.

Negative Effects of Marijuana Use

When someone says the phrase â€Å"pot head†, what do people think of? Does the stereotypical street bum, pickpocket, or druggie come to mind, or is it possible that this type of person could be the normal neighbor next door? Marijuana use is looked down upon by society in general but more and more people are taking advantage of it. Marijuana has favorable effects for its users when it comes to physical feeling and experience, but it can also put our families and those that we expose it to in uncomfortable and often dangerous situations. The scientific term for marijuana is â€Å"Cannabis Sativa†, but is also referred to as weed, Mary Jane, grass, hash, and countless other street names. Marijuana can be smoked or eaten, the former often in the form of a joint, blunt, or bowl. Marijuana use in the United States has been on a slow increase since its extreme popularity in the 1960’s and 70’s. Marijuana is illegal in the United States, but this obstacle hasn’t been able to stop teenagers from gaining access to it. It is estimated that at least 49 percent of high school seniors experiment with marijuana at least once prior to graduating high school and that 22 percent of high school seniors smoke marijuana at least once a month. The effects of marijuana can influence all aspects of life, from the users’ educational and extra-curricular environment to their home and family life. Most doctors and physicians believe that marijuana use affects a person’s ability to retain information and learn in general. In a quote from John P. Walters, â€Å"Marijuana directly affects the brain†¦.It impairs the ability of young people to concentrate and retain information during their peak learning years.† THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the main property in marijuana, attaches to nerve receptors in the hippocampal area of the brain. This attachment distorts functions necessary for long-term memory and also weakens short-term memory. The effects that long-term marijuana use has on the brain and its processes can seriously endanger a students learning and educational environment. It can make memorization more difficult, studying harder, and concentrating and focusing an arduous task. The health risks that marijuana use poses to the individual are somewhat intimidating. First, the risk of heart attack for the smoker more than quadruples during the first hour of use. The effects of weed on the lungs are similar, if not more harmful, to the effects of tobacco. Burning and itching of the throat and esophagus are common, along with excessive coughing, increased heart beat, and an increased pulse. Marijuana use while pregnant with a child can cause lung/respiratory infections in the mother and slow the motor functions of the unborn child. Anxiety and panic attacks are also common results of long-term use. When faced with the side effects of using marijuana, the question is â€Å"Why do people continue smoking?† Some experts say that marijuana is addictive, but others are adamant that marijuana doesn’t contain addictive properties that are in things such as cigarettes and alcohol. Me as this being an experience in my life, I don’t agree to marijuana being addictive but for most it is a longterm drug mainly used to fit it or look cool , but that wasn’t my case and in the long anybody who does that drug will regret it. So my advice , pass it !

Free Essays on Enders Game

Ender's Game and Out of the Silent Planet Essay Essay written by: Just W.B In both novels, the characters represent certain kinds of individuals in today's society. They encounterjealousy, as well as many other conflicts within themselves, and human nature. Ultimately, these two novels deliver the inner conflicts of our society. Both, Ender's Game and Out of the Silent Planet are related in terms of the class structures of society, the qualities of the characters, and both characters' struggles with others in the stories. In Ender's Game class structure is strictly military based. The classes are comprised of Citizens, who are just common people, making up the basic population, but are separate from the other classes. "Thirds" are children who were allowed to be born. In this futuristic setting the novel takes place in. Families were only allowed to comprise of two children. However, in Ender Wiggen's case, the government believed that he was the missing link, the great commander who would lead Earth to victory against the dreaded "Buggers". Which Ender does achieve. Thirds, however, were shunned, picked on, and often left out because they were sought to be social out casts. "Launchies" were the newcomers to the Battle School. They were always about six years old, and were often the lackeys of the older children soldiers. Next came the platoon's. platoon's were the main fighting group, which was just the basic soldier, they had little respect from others as well as themselves. Platoon leaders however, were the more desired positions at the Battle School. They were the best of the soldiers, and were veterans. Chosen over a period of time, and flight reviewing were the Army Leaders. Each Army Leader was expected to act a certain way, hardened and wise, as well as strict. Those, who made it to Army Leader often graduated, and went to war against the Buggers. Above these classes were the political castes. They were often c... Free Essays on Enders Game Free Essays on Enders Game Orson Scott Card weaves an intricate tale of a boy who is born to save the Earth in the novel, Ender’s Game. Ender Wiggin is born a Third in a world where only two children are allowed per family. Ender’s older brother and sister, Peter and Valentine, were not what the government needed to save the world, so Ender was born in hopes that he would be somewhere in the middle of their extremes. Peter is too violent, whereas Valentine has too much empathy. Ender is the right combination for the Battle School’s needs. Although both Ender and Peter have power, only Ender has respect; both boys are instinctive killers, but Peter relishes the act while Ender regrets the act after he does it; Both boys become heroes, but both will not remain heroes when the historians begin to examine the events. Although Peter and Ender both have power over other people, the means of obtaining the power and the way each boy uses his power is different. Peter obtains power by terrifying people. Everyone knows he is capable of cold-blooded murder, so they do as he says because it is in their own best interest. Also, he has the power of influence on the nets (networks similar to the internet), which he uses to sway the public. Once Peter has gained power, he uses the power to benefit himself. He uses people as pawns to accomplish what he wants- to rule the world. Ender, however, gains his power by simply being superior at all the games. He becomes commander of an army, but doesn’t use the army to gain anything for himself, except to be number one in the standings. He makes the people in his command better soldiers by teaching them what he knows. He allows the toon leaders to make decisions in battles, so that the whole army doesn’t rely on him, entirely. Both Peter and Ender kill throughout the novel. Peter kills innocent squirrels and animals. He threatens to kill Ender and Valentine if they do not do as he says. It is quite clear that he enjoys thes... Free Essays on Enders Game Ender's Game and Out of the Silent Planet Essay Essay written by: Just W.B In both novels, the characters represent certain kinds of individuals in today's society. They encounterjealousy, as well as many other conflicts within themselves, and human nature. Ultimately, these two novels deliver the inner conflicts of our society. Both, Ender's Game and Out of the Silent Planet are related in terms of the class structures of society, the qualities of the characters, and both characters' struggles with others in the stories. In Ender's Game class structure is strictly military based. The classes are comprised of Citizens, who are just common people, making up the basic population, but are separate from the other classes. "Thirds" are children who were allowed to be born. In this futuristic setting the novel takes place in. Families were only allowed to comprise of two children. However, in Ender Wiggen's case, the government believed that he was the missing link, the great commander who would lead Earth to victory against the dreaded "Buggers". Which Ender does achieve. Thirds, however, were shunned, picked on, and often left out because they were sought to be social out casts. "Launchies" were the newcomers to the Battle School. They were always about six years old, and were often the lackeys of the older children soldiers. Next came the platoon's. platoon's were the main fighting group, which was just the basic soldier, they had little respect from others as well as themselves. Platoon leaders however, were the more desired positions at the Battle School. They were the best of the soldiers, and were veterans. Chosen over a period of time, and flight reviewing were the Army Leaders. Each Army Leader was expected to act a certain way, hardened and wise, as well as strict. Those, who made it to Army Leader often graduated, and went to war against the Buggers. Above these classes were the political castes. They were often c...

Africa- a Look from A White mans Binoculars essays

Africa- a Look from A White mans Binoculars essays It is the God given duty of the white men to civilize and christianize the primitive, under privileged and uncivilized population of the rest of the world; this is a very common phrase used in the history books to explain the European intervention into other continents and island nations. The African continent was also a victim of British conquerance but the British called it its protectorate. Did they really perform their duty or were they there to exploit the resources? There have been a lot of explanations about how Africa is perceived by the rest of the world, let alone the western world. To account for the whole world will be unrealistic and unrelated to this assignment so I will just focus on the western world. Africa has always been associated with words such as primitive, barbaric, savage and uncivilized. The negative portrayal has largely been a result of how western media covers the African news. Africa has always been referred to as a Dark Continent. The history of Africa and its people is depicted in the western world as nothing but a self proclaimed tribal owned land, which had a lot of wealth that the primitive people had no idea how to utilize. Similar had been the history of other countries prior to European intervention, for example American Samoa, Fiji Islands, New Zealand and Australia; but the image of these countries is quite favorable. According to ABCs Ted Koppel, half a million Ethiopians dying doesnt provoke the same response as would the deaths of half a million Italians (Hultman). Maybe Americans and Europeans are more concerned with countries where their economic interests lie. The colonists went to Africa, exploited their resources, took slaves and came back to their countries; but for the Africans the history of their country is not so simple. Why is there a separation between blacks and...

Get My IP With Delphi Programming

Get My IP With Delphi Programming Internet this and internet that. Everybody wants to be on the internet nowadays. Everyone wants to program internet nowadays. One of the most interesting tasks when starting to code for the internet is how to obtain the IP address of a computer connected to the internet. IP? TCP? Simply technical: the internet is built on TCP/IP connections. The TCP part describes how two computers set up a connection to each other and transfer data. The IP part primarily deals with how to get a message routed across the internet. Each connected machine has a unique IP address that allows others to figure out a path to any computer around the world wide web (or the world precisely). Uses Winsock To obtain the IP address of the computer you are using when connected to the internet, we need to call some of the API functions *defined* in the Winsock unit. Well create a GetIPFromHost function that calls several Winsock API functions in order to get the IP. Before we can even use WinSock functions, we must have a valid session. This session is created with the WinSock WSAStartup function. At the end of our function, a call to SAC leanup is made in order to terminate the use of the Windows Sockets APIs. To obtain the computers IP address, we must use GetHostByName in conjunction with GetHostName. Each computer is called a host and we can get the hostname with a special function call: GetHostName. We then use GetHostByName to get the IP-address, related to this hostname. Get IP Delphi.Project.Code Start Delphi and place one Button and two Edit boxes on a newly created Form. Add the GetIPFromHost  function to the implementation part of your unit and assign the following code to the OnClick event handler of a button (below): uses Winsock; function GetIPFromHost(var HostName, IPaddr, WSAErr: string): Boolean; type Name array[0..100] of Char; PName ^Name; var HEnt: pHostEnt; HName: PName; WSAData: TWSAData; i: Integer; begin Result : False; if WSAStartup($0101, WSAData) 0 then begin WSAErr : Winsock is not responding.; Exit; end; IPaddr : ; New(HName); if GetHostName(HName^, SizeOf(Name)) 0 thenbegin HostName : StrPas(HName^); HEnt : GetHostByName(HName^); for i : 0 to HEnt^.h_length - 1 do IPaddr : Concat(IPaddr, IntToStr(Ord(HEnt^.h_addr_list^[i])) .); SetLength(IPaddr, Length(IPaddr) - 1); Result : True; end else begin case WSAGetLastError of WSANOTINITIALISED:WSAErr:WSANotInitialised; WSAENETDOWN :WSAErr:WSAENetDown; WSAEINPROGRESS :WSAErr:WSAEInProgress; end; end; Dispose(HName); WSACleanup; end; procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); var Host, IP, Err: string; begin if GetIPFromHost(Host, IP, Err) then begin Edit1.Text : Host; Edit2.Text : IP; end else M essageDlg(Err, mtError, [mbOk], 0); end;

Compare & contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Compare & contrast - Essay Example Personality From the above brief description, my two friends have very distinct personalities. George is more outgoing and quite a ladies’ man given his athleticism. John on the other hand, is the geek; knows everything, very intelligent and creative but quite boring if you happen to meet him for the first time. At one point, he had interests in quantum physics and would explain in details, what the field of quantum physics entailed, something we did not like and would literally walk away once he started with the complex terminologies. His rich knowledge is however be of help when it comes to tests, as a matter of fact, John has been our private tutor since fourth grade. If it were not for his services to the group as a private tutor, George would have dropped out of high school because all he has maintained over the many years of our friendship has been the muscles and good looks, his grades have been on the floor. With John’s services however, we can today say that ou r handsome friend’s grades are average. His outgoing personality is conversely very useful when it comes to reaching out to the females. Beautiful girls ask to be around us thanks to the quarter back. How we would miss the invitations to parties if George was not our friend. He has literally transformed our social lives with his charms on the females. Family Backgrounds My two friends have unique and interesting family backgrounds. The geek; John, has both his parents not only rich, but also living together. A single mother on the other hand, has raised George the hunky, his father was an alcoholic and walked out of them when he was in the first grade. This makes our group very interesting because when we go visiting at John’s family home, where we often visit because of the bowling alley in their basement, everything seems to be in order unlike at George’s where important toys are not available. John’s father is an investment banker possibly enjoying hug e yearend bonuses; that bowling alley sure looks too expensive to put up without a bonus. What is interesting is that even with the diversity in our family backgrounds, we have over the years made such an enviable pack of three and the disparities in our backgrounds is never visible. The main reason why John declined the offer to go to a private high school was the ‘clique’. He feared the civility in these exclusive schools and was worried that he could be out of touch with the clique if he stayed away too long. This is one sacrifice that we appreciate because we have no idea how life would be if the private tutor left us, those tests would be impossible, or worse still, George would not be a quarter back because he would have dropped out years ago, how sad would that be? Conclusion My friends are very important people to me because each adds value in a unique way. From the brief comparison, it has clearly emerged that these are two very distinct people in terms of pers onality and upbringing yet we hold one common value; true friendship. The ‘clique’ as we like to call ourselves, is what it is because of the different values each one of us adds to the team. Over the years of friendship with George and John, I have come to appreciate that God has good intentions in creating us in unique images, and putting us in the respective families. Through this diversity, we grow to be unique and proceed to make

Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Campaign - Essay Example The gun control campaign has been headed and designed by Gabby Gifford who has been a victim of the gun shot. She has stood for the rights of women because according to a number of researches, women in United States are more likely to be murdered with guns than any other countries. Therefore, Gabby Gifford has spread the word with the help of the women communities to discuss about the anti-gun revolution in United States. Many iconic figures have also been associated with the campaign in order to help Gabby Gifford. It should be noted that the campaign has been well-designed with the help of different channels such as print Ads, videos over the internet, agendas, social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram etc. The usage of logic has been used quiet efficiently in order to design the campaign and reach its goal (Freudenberg). Let us take a closer and analytical understanding of the elements that have been used in order to design the campaign. The audience of this campaign evaluation is potential women who are seemingly dependent upon others when it comes to security. Majority of the women believe that they can be rescued with the help of people near to them. As a contradiction to such a belief, men tend to take control of the situation when they are attacked by criminals. Men are more likely to fight the criminals and, in most cases, they become successful in surviving the attack. According to the agenda of the campaign by Gabby Gifford for Anti-Gun revolution, women can be taught to undertake self-defense but when criminals have strong weapons like guns then even the self-defense is more likely to fail. Therefore, the audiences of the campaign are the Gun Control Associations that have already done a lot in the past to minimize the possession of guns. However, there is still a lot to be done (Geer, Schi ller and Segal). The campaign has been designed in such a manner that it increases the resonance of

Assignment 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Assignment 1 - Essay Example Recently, inclusion is seen as a social concept of equality. According to Early Childhood Forum (2003), National Childrens Bureau in UK, "ECF believes inclusion is a process of identifying, understanding and breaking down the barriers to participation and belonging." It is a as a process of including ALL children regardless of the condition or experience of a child. Inclusion is a term which expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. All services must be given to the child in the school setting and he or she does not need to go out. The children’s centre I know about seems to adhere to the lower right quadrant of Jenkins (2002) continuum-based model of inclusive education. True enough, the school attempts an inclusive program however, resource allocation hinders true implementation of their goals. The school was originally planned as a preschool for regular children. However, as its reputation as a provider of quality early childhood education, it has likewise attracted parents of special needs children to seek their services to include their children in their program. For some children, they were enrolled initially as toddlers, and as time passed, manifested their special needs, prompting the school administrator to recommend them for professional testing and diagnosis. Like the teachers in Jenkins’ article, the ones in this school were not trained for special education. They were all regular education teachers but had very open hearts for all children, especially those with special needs. As they admitted their lack of training, they agreed to include special needs children in their roster of students on the condition that the parents will coordinate the communication between them and the special education therapists their children go to. At least once a month, there was a multidisciplinary meeting between the teachers and the

Policy Innovation Application Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Policy Innovation Application Paper - Essay Example who took a more aggressive and innovative policy in implementing greenhouse emission controls. As an example we will take the case of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the California vehicle emission standards. The California vehicle emission standards require a limitation on the amount of pollutants that an automobile releases in the atmosphere. This also applied to other powered vehicles that include industry, small equipments (such as lawn mowers and diesel generators) and power plants where their greenhouse emission is also strictly regulated. The Federal Government of the United States regulates the emission standards of all carbon emitting motors through its agency named Environmental Protection Agency. The state of California however has a permission to implement a more stringent regulatory emission standards compared to the Federal Government’s regulatory standard. The regulatory rules are crafted by the California Air Reserve Board or â€Å"CARB†. ... It was a four year court challenge that â€Å"resulted from the California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Fleet rules that required various public and private operators of fleets of 15 or more vehicles in the SCAQMD basin (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside) to purchase alternative fuel vehicles or certain cleaner fuel vehicles authorized under the California’s emission standards program (Osenga, 2004). The RGCI or the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an initiative by the states in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic part of the United States (includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) who committed to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector by capping it to 10 percent by 2010. It is a carbon cap and trade program whose proceeds from its emission permit auctioning will be used to promote energy conservation and use of renewable progra m (Anon., 2007). II. Which policy is more effective? The California vehicle emission standards whose rule and regulations are set by the California Air Reserve Board or â€Å"CARB† is more effective and responsive to pressing issues of pollution and climate change in the short term. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative however is more effective for a longer term solution of the Greenhouse problem as it caps emission and has a component of raising funds to increase the use of renewable energy which intends to replace the carbon emitting power plants. For a more effective policy implementation of addressing the carbon emission and climate change, the combination of the two is more

Credit Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Credit Risk - Essay Example There has to be experience to scrutinize all the credit information and interpret the same. However good the analyses may have been, the bank will be in no position to distinguish a good borrower from a bad borrower, who has no intention of repaying the loan. Despite all the caution, bad loans do creep into the banks accounts. Thus, evaluation and pricing decisions should be followed up with periodic review of the account and the credit rating of the borrower. Any fall in the rating will increase the credit risk. Credit risks persist from the time the loan is granted throughout its life period and continuous review during this period will help in the early detection of the problem loans. The above information is for monitoring the credit risk exposure at a micro level. If a broader outlook of the credit risk exposure and its position is to be determined, then a macro level approach has to be adopted. This is made possible through the use of the Capital Adequacy Ration (CAR). The capital adequacy of a bank, which is the ratio of its capital to its risk weighted assets (RWAs), provides information about the extent to which the possible losses can be absorbed by the capital. Normally, the ultimate defense against credit risk that a bank possesses will be its equity capital or net worth. If from an earnings position, it turns out into an operating losses position, it would be the equity capital account that absorbs such losses, thereby giving management time to reach to the situation. Therefore, it can be said that the higher the CAR the better it is for the financial institution. The main aim of the credit policy of a bank will be to screen out the best proposals for acceptance. The Capital Adequacy rate provides a benchmark for monitoring the risk level considering the total assets of the company. Commercial banks provide capital market related services, depository services, advises on portfolio management or investment counseling, etc. Many banks have now started offering investment services to the retail customer, which is essentially advice and execution of mutual fund investments and redemptions. CAPITAL MARKET PRODUCTS Advice on debt and equity is restricted primarily to new issues, with secondary market investments being discouraged. There are no charges for this service; in fact, customers are paid incentives/commissions for investing through them. The bank essentially gets its income from the mutual fund/broker directly and also cross-sells other banking products. Arbitrage, stock lending are products, which are beyond traditional asset management but still many banks are offering them to retain their customers ((ICMR), Commercial Banking, 2003). Portfolio Management Services offered by banks can be differentiated into discretionary and non-discretionary services. Discretionary portfolio management allows the portfolio manager to take investment decisions on behalf of his/her clients within the broad parameters of asset allocation. Non-discretionary services of the type provided by banks essentially mean that the client has to authorize, every transaction done on his/her behalf. The non-discretionary services offered by a banker can be listed as follows: Advisory services - Flexible, unbiased

To what extent is the U.S.A. still the Child of Europe Essay

To what extent is the U.S.A. still the Child of Europe - Essay Example Since the United States is a product of the ideas, values and ideologies of the European peninsula, to what extent is the United States still the â€Å"child† of Europe? Seeking to address these questions and many more with respect to historical changes which have resulted in American cultural hegemony and a lessening of the bonds between the United States and Europe, this essay will emphatically argue that the United States is no longer a child of Europe but stands alone on the world stage. According to Kelly and Prokhovnik, â€Å"although the globalization of culture seems in some ways obvious in our daily lives, it is not an entirely straightforward matter. Culture is a complicated and pervasive phenomenon, taking many forms.† (48) Addressing charges of cultural imperialism and the role of the United States in cultivating a mass market â€Å"world culture†, the following will begin with a concise overview the charges leveled against the United States as an economic, cultural and military hegemon. The globalization of American values began in the post-World War II period following the near universal physical, economic and social devastation of the European continent. A social revolution paved the way for the export of American values and ideas across the world. For the United States, the social revolution of the 1960s was also a cultural revolution. In fact, the â€Å"rise of a specific, and extraordinarily powerful youth culture indicated a profound change in the relation between generations† (Hobsbawm 192). Leading this Cultural Revolution were the young: teenagers started wearing jeans – prior to that only farmers wore them – and rock music became the voice of a generation. In fact, industries saw the potential of this young and increasingly powerful generation and catered to it through the â€Å"flourishing industries of cosmetics, hair-care and personal hygiene† (Hobsbawm 193-4). Renowned

Credit Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Credit Risk - Essay Example There has to be experience to scrutinize all the credit information and interpret the same. However good the analyses may have been, the bank will be in no position to distinguish a good borrower from a bad borrower, who has no intention of repaying the loan. Despite all the caution, bad loans do creep into the banks accounts. Thus, evaluation and pricing decisions should be followed up with periodic review of the account and the credit rating of the borrower. Any fall in the rating will increase the credit risk. Credit risks persist from the time the loan is granted throughout its life period and continuous review during this period will help in the early detection of the problem loans. The above information is for monitoring the credit risk exposure at a micro level. If a broader outlook of the credit risk exposure and its position is to be determined, then a macro level approach has to be adopted. This is made possible through the use of the Capital Adequacy Ration (CAR). The capital adequacy of a bank, which is the ratio of its capital to its risk weighted assets (RWAs), provides information about the extent to which the possible losses can be absorbed by the capital. Normally, the ultimate defense against credit risk that a bank possesses will be its equity capital or net worth. If from an earnings position, it turns out into an operating losses position, it would be the equity capital account that absorbs such losses, thereby giving management time to reach to the situation. Therefore, it can be said that the higher the CAR the better it is for the financial institution. The main aim of the credit policy of a bank will be to screen out the best proposals for acceptance. The Capital Adequacy rate provides a benchmark for monitoring the risk level considering the total assets of the company. Commercial banks provide capital market related services, depository services, advises on portfolio management or investment counseling, etc. Many banks have now started offering investment services to the retail customer, which is essentially advice and execution of mutual fund investments and redemptions. CAPITAL MARKET PRODUCTS Advice on debt and equity is restricted primarily to new issues, with secondary market investments being discouraged. There are no charges for this service; in fact, customers are paid incentives/commissions for investing through them. The bank essentially gets its income from the mutual fund/broker directly and also cross-sells other banking products. Arbitrage, stock lending are products, which are beyond traditional asset management but still many banks are offering them to retain their customers ((ICMR), Commercial Banking, 2003). Portfolio Management Services offered by banks can be differentiated into discretionary and non-discretionary services. Discretionary portfolio management allows the portfolio manager to take investment decisions on behalf of his/her clients within the broad parameters of asset allocation. Non-discretionary services of the type provided by banks essentially mean that the client has to authorize, every transaction done on his/her behalf. The non-discretionary services offered by a banker can be listed as follows: Advisory services - Flexible, unbiased

Conference n events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Conference n events - Essay Example ves on the impact of city centre redevelopment on the city of Portsmouth compared with a previous study on the impact of the Gunwharf development at Portsmouth Harbour as well as the impact of the Birmingham city centre redevelopment, focusing on the ICC, on the city of Birmingham. It ends with an optimistic recommendation supporting the pursuit of city centre redevelopment, as well as building of the Portsmouth Purpose-Built Conference Centre based on the limited research conducted. The city of Portsmouth, located in the county of Hampshire has a population nearing 190,000. It is the only city in England with a greater population density than inner London. Portsmouth is famous for its naval heritage and harbour. It has been a significant naval port for centuries and is home to the world’s oldest dry dock which is still in use today. It is one of the largest freight and ferry ports in the United Kingdom. A significant portion of the citys workforce works at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, which during WWI was the largest industrial site in the world. According to the Portsmouth City Council, there are 97,200 jobs in the city, of which 35,000 are part time. As of April 2006, unemployment rate is at 2.5%, and average household income is  £25,700. Portsmouth has been awarded ‘Tourist City of the Year’ with over  £302 million income from 8.4 million visitors per year. The city of Portsmouth is a prime location for industry, commerce, leisure and p leasure, according to the Council, evidence by over 6,000 businesses including leading edge companies such as EADS Astrium, IBM UK, Pall Europe and McLaren Composites which have established bases in Portsmouth. (Portsmouth 2008) â€Å"The housing boom has also spurned economic growth with prices rising at a speed second only to London.† (Portsmouth Wiki 2008). The Portsmouth City Local Plan 2001-2011 has been prepared as the local development plan covering the whole of the Portsmouth City Council administrative area, under

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay The dwindling quality of education in Nigeria is a cause for great concern and also calls for a prompt action by all stakeholders to salvage the trend. The current situation is, to say the least, disheartening. A lot of computer science graduates of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, for instance, fail recruitment tests for their inability to switch on a PC. Some of them are obviously getting to touch such machines for the first time. Mass Communication graduates struggle to make simple and correct sentences. Engineering graduates who ought to have conducted researches in the course of their studies, culminating in inventions, get to touch most of the elementary engineering tools for the first time, after their graduation. This is a near hopeless situation for a country that targets to be one of the world’s leading economies by 2020. The implication of the existing trend is that even though there is a high graduate unemployment rate, most of the university and polytechnic graduates in Nigeria are not employable. The loss of confidence in Nigeria’s education system is evident in the amount of money that Nigerians who can afford it, spend on their education in other countries. According to Exam Ethics International, a non-governmental organisation, Nigeria loses N1. 5 trillion annually to education tourism. N160 billion of this amount is allegedly spent by Nigerian parents on their children and wards’ education in Ghana alone while N80 billion is spent on the same purpose in the United Kingdom. President Goodluck Jonathan should be commended for allocating the highest budget to the education sector in the 2013 budget. However, there are other issues that require urgent attention. The emphasis on paper qualification and theoretical knowledge at the expense of competence or practical knowledge and entrepreneurial skills is a big challenge to the sector. The result is that most products of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are mere certificate carriers and are not qualified to be addressed as university or polytechnic graduates. It is the combination of the ineffective education system and the decreasing white collar job opportunities that have further compounded the nation’s unemployment problem. The diminishing quality of education in Nigeria is indeed, disturbing. Literacy is a human right recognised in the Universal Declaration of Rights and it goes beyond the mere skill of reading and writing. It is a process of transformation that empowers the individual, broadens his critical thinking and provides such individual with the ability to act. The much emphasis on paper qualification has however encouraged fraudulent acquisition of highly graded certificates at the expense of true knowledge acquisition. Some students go to the extent of bribing lecturers or having sex with them to obtain high grades. Government agencies and private organisations further endorse emphasis on paper qualification above competence and skill by discriminating between a polytechnic and a university graduate. This trend has to change. If Nigeria must move at the anticipated economic growth rate, then, the country must learn from great examples like China which derived the strength of its speedy economic development from skills acquisition and technical education. Giving more focus to the development of technical education and skills acquisition will also complement the targeted provision of regular power supply across the country and drastically, reduce unemployment rate. Objectives of the Universal Basic Education Scheme, the 6-3-3-4 Senior Secondary School Education system and some other education policy initiatives have not been achieved. As a matter of fact, Nigeria has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. According to the United Nations’ Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 775 million people are still considered non-literates and 85 per cent live in 41 countries including Nigeria. About 40 million adults in Nigeria are illiterates and overall illiteracy rate is near 57 per cent. Only about 500,000 people are reportedly enrolled in adult literacy classes nationwide and this translates to one out of every 80 illiterates. The United States Agency for International Development reports that there are 30 million primary school age children in Nigeria but estimated 10 million are not enrolled in school. Government should therefore, demonstrate the needed seriousness in addressing the prevalent low literacy level and give more attention to the quality of education while working to widen access to primary education. Federal, state and local governments across Nigeria should wake up to their responsibilities in providing qualitative primary, secondary and tertiary education to citizens of Nigeria. Parents also have a role to play in managing the negative impact of modern technology on their children’s academic performances. For instance, research shows that the habit of abbreviation and deliberate use of wrong spellings for sending text messages contributed to the high failures in English language, recorded at the Senior Secondary School Examination and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in recent years. Twitter and Facebook fun chat sessions are also addictive and minimise study concentration levels for many students. Both government and private owners of educational institutions should ensure that the required infrastructure for learning is adequately provided. The welfare of all categories of school teachers must equally be given adequate attention. This is one way of discouraging lecturers from yielding to the temptation to receive bribes or sleep with students in order to award them high scores, thereby leaving them in a state of intellectual emptiness. There are other challenges facing Nigeria’s education sector such as inadequate funding, labour unrest and brain drain. Therefore, all efforts must be made by the federal and state governments to avoid unnecessary labour unrest that keeps students of both federal and state tertiary institutions at home for long periods of time. In most cases, this poses a big distraction to the students who after leaving the academic community for too long a time to mingle with non-academically inclined peers, begin to lose interest in academics and academic activities. Besides, it makes education far more expensive for students, especially those on self sponsorship. The federal character clause in the 1999 Constitution should also be reviewed because it is one of the factors working against the quality of the nation’s education system. For instance, the federal character principle makes it difficult for most of the tertiary institutions to recruit fresh quality PhD holders as lecturers. Qualified applicants are rejected for some factor like state of origin. Professors and other categories of lecturers are also constantly retiring without replacements. These anomalies are really worrisome and all stakeholders must do something urgently. Personally, and without mincing words, there is no problem with either the old system or the new system but the problem lies in the administration and management of the Nigerian educational system. A look at recent trend with the rate of passage in national examinations, the education system has collapsed. Unfortunately, policymakers are not paying attention to that; rather, the policymakers are just making policies that will not help the system. Whether, it 6-5-4, 6-3-3-4, 9-3-4 or any other system the educational system in Nigeria have been caught in the web of inefficiency which is characteristic of the present day Nigeria. The justification being advanced by government and its agencies on the reason for the change is laughable. Education is the process by which an individual is encouraged and enabled to fully develop his or her potential; it may also serve the purpose of equipping, bringing up, training and rearing the individual to be a productive member of the society. People oriented governments achieve these objectives through a conscious and purposeful driven policies aimed at developing the potentials of her citizenry by equipping schools, employment of qualified manpower, upgrading of educational infrastructures in line with world standards etc. However, in Nigeria, we are still debating the appropriateness of the system to adopt in this 21st century. It leaves one to ponder where this country is heading towards. From the analysis you have given so far, what do you think are the problems? A cursory look at the Nigerian educational system shows that the system is faced with a number of problems. The Nigerian educational system has a history of failure because of politics. The appointment of education ministers and key positions in the educational sector are not done on merits rather on party affiliations, tribe and friendship. The effect of such appointments is what we are witnessing in Nigeria now. We take things for granted in this country and everything to us is business. Capable personnel that should be at the helm of affairs in the education sector are sacrificed for party loyalty and selfishness. This is one intractable problem in the education system. Indiscipline manifests in such areas as examination malpractices and secret cultism, unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancies, bribery and corruption. Crises in the universities have led to brain-drain syndrome. Potential teachers shy away from academics in search of greener pastures in other sectors of the Nigerian economy or outside the country. If this trend is not checked through improved working conditions for academicians and appeals to their patriotic spirit, the result could be disastrous for the country. The managers of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria are in consensus that these institutions are grossly under-funded. Evidence exists on the degree of dilapidation that characterises primary and secondary school buildings in parts of the country; the non-payment of teachers salaries and allowances as a result of which strikes are the order of the day; the lack of necessary teaching and  learning materials at all levels of the educational system; poor working conditions of all teachers in the country, among other factors have led to the death of the Nigerian educational system. The education sector is poorly funded. Teachers are not paid their salaries on time. The teachers who are supposed to implement the curriculum and give it their best shot are all distracted looking for money to survive. There is no effective system in the country for training good teachers at the nursery/primary and secondary school levels, teachers who are attuned to the demands of human resource capacity in the age of globalisation. A weak primary education system automatically produces weak students for the secondary schools, which are no better either, and so the chain of mediocrity continues up to the higher education level and the cycle completes itself with the same garbage fed back into society with serious implications for national competitiveness and productivity. We are all witnesses to the unnecessary changes in government policies concerning the educational sector. The frequent changes in the system do not allow for consistency thus the basis for measurement and benchmarking for corrective measures cannot be achieved. The management of the educational sector in Nigeria is so inconsistent with every new minister of education trying to introduce something new, without any rigorous study of the situation. The implication is a sector that lacks direction. It is partly this confusion in government policies that has compelled many middle class families to patronise American, British and Turkish-style educational institutions which are all available in Nigeria. Another major problem facing the Nigerian educational system is lack of interface between the various coordinating government agencies. The authorities responsible for the supervision of primary, secondary and tertiary education work in isolation. It could be argued that the ministry of education is the coordinating ministry. However, we have seen a situation where Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC officials are not coordinating with SUBEP. West African Certificate Examination, WACE is an autonomous body; Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB also has its own mandate. What do you think is the solution to the problems? As stated earlier, the problem is not in the system of education, the problem lies in the administration and management of the Nigerian education system. There must be political will on the part of government to formulate and implement policies that enhances the growth of the Nigerian educational system. We must not pay lip service to the problem, but a conscious and radical approach must as a matter of urgency, be adopted to address the failure currently observed in this sector. As a matter of fact, the government should declare a state of emergency on the educational system. This is necessary if the schools should produce the next generation of leaders. Coordinating ministries, agencies and parastatals must as a matter of urgency interface with one another. Products of primary schools naturally progress to secondary schools and this set of students ultimately enters the university. Therefore, there must be a way of ensuring that the coordinating agencies co-exist harmoniously and their objectives should be geared towards achieving a better standard of education in Nigeria. On the part of government, a blueprint on the way forward for the Nigerian education system should be formulated after a national conference on education, where all stakeholders are allowed to make an input. This blue-print when fully developed, should have a time frame. The time frame should be realistic and achievable and it should be a criminal offence for any person to deviate from the blueprint. Such a process will ensure consistency in administration of government policies which is a major problem facing the Nigerian education system. Consistency allows for benchmarking, monitoring and control. Proper funding of the education system is also a panacea to the problems observed in the Nigerian education system. A situation where the government budget on education is less than five percent of the total budget is appalling. Proper funding here involves allocating funds to areas that will improve the system, areas such as provision of computers to schools, rehabilitation of dilapidated school buildings, provision of conducive working environment for staff and enhanced welfare package for teachers etc should be pursued if the sector is to grow. The participation of the private sector in the Nigeria education system should also be encouraged and enhanced. There are private schools– primary, secondary and university that have facilities that are far better than most state schools. The owners of these schools are opening a window for the proper development of the Nigerian student. Lastly, for the Nigerian education system to grow, corruption must be expunged from the fabrics of Nigerians. Nigerians are so undisciplined such that they diverted major part of the resources meant for the education system to their personal accounts. We must fight corruption and indiscipline by ensuring that people are made to account for whatever is entrusted to them. Some people are of the view that the academic curriculum should be reviewed so that our tertiary education will be more skill-based. What is your take on this? There is no gainsaying that the tertiary education curriculum in Nigeria should be beefed up, making it more skill-based than what we have presently. I am in support of improved skill-based curriculum. A skill- based curriculum would assist to empower the graduate to become good entrepreneurs and self reliant after school. There are no jobs in Nigeria, even when they exist; it is only the fortunate ones that get it leaving others’ jobless. Therefore, in order to remain relevant the Nigerian graduate must be totally equipped with all the necessary skill to survive. Entrepreneurs tend to start ventures that build on specific skills they have already developed and knowledge they have already acquired in a certain occupation, industry or school. However, in Nigeria, tertiary school’s curriculum is not skill-based hence Nigerian students are not developed from schools to become entrepreneurs. Do you subscribe to the opinion that majority of Nigerian graduates are unemployable? The Nigerian graduate is a product of the society, and when the system is massed up; do we then expect any good thing to come out from them? Obviously, what a man sows so shall he reap. An unemployable person is someone that is not acceptable for employment. With all sincerity, majority of present day Nigerian graduates fit the above definition of an unemployable person. The decay in the Nigerian educational system could be blamed for this assertion. As earlier stated, the present day university curriculum is not programmed for skill-based graduates. Imagine a computer science or engineering graduate who cannot code in a simple programming language seeking the post of a software developer. How can such a person be employed by a serious software company? The solution is an inclusion in curriculum skill-based courses like most private universities are doing. This will help to address the problem. The attitude of most Nigerian graduates is appalling. They put up irresponsible attitudes in even their job search. No wonder, most firms require professional certificates for employment. It is believed that such professional bodies must have imbibed in the candidate some professional ethical standards. The desire to make it quick in life and at all cost by Nigerians makes most graduates to apply for positions they are not qualified for. If a job specification says they need a B. Sc degree holder in accounting with at least three years experience, and someone is applying for the same position with B. Sc degree in economics. The recruiter has a reason for what he or she is looking for; you will only succeed in annoying the recruiters, and he or she will throw you out. Another major reason for massive youth unemployment in Nigeria is that they are often times short on personal development. Most of us today are what we are not because the school gave us everything needed but we took out time to personally develop ourselves. The present day Nigerian graduate does not even think of personal enhancement and it is actually showing. Lack of information is also a major problem. Many graduates do not have access to vital information that could get them employed. Some people hear of vacancies after the deadline or don’t even get to hear at all. This is the major reason why the Nigerian graduate is unemployable. A situation where teachers collect bribe to pass student, students buying WACE results, parents paying JAMB officials, sorting of courses and lecturers demanding for sex from female students to pass exams. How then can you employ such graduates?

The Writing Process Essay -- Education, Recursive Process

Scores of composition instructors agree that writing should be taught as a recursive process, rather than a liner process, and they also agree that most writers employ certain writing strategies as they produce drafts. Sandra Perl’s article, Understanding Composing† shares these beliefs because she states: â€Å"writing does appear to be recursive, yet the parts that recur seem to vary from writer to writer and from topic to topic† (142). Perl explains that throughout the writing process, writers employ a â€Å"forward-moving action that exists by virtue of backward-moving action† (141). Furthermore, Perl claims that when writers plan, draft, and revise their writings, they use a process she labels as retrospective structuring which involves attending to a writer’s a felt sense, returning to the topic presented, rereading what has been already written, and reassessing the words written (145). Perl claims that the most important retrospective structuring feature involves writers paying attention to their felt sense, a term she borrows from Eugene Gendlin, a philosopher at the University of Chicago (142). Perl defines a writer’s felt sense as a bodily experience or nonverbal thought that â€Å"surround the words, or to what the words already present evoke in the writer† (142). Moreover, when writers use the process of felt sense they pause and react to â€Å"what is inside of them,† and writers seem to focus on â€Å"careful attention to one’s inner reflections and is often accompanied with bodily sensations†(Perl 144). Furthermore, Perl believes that skilled writers employ their felt sense unknowingly while unskilled writers can be taught how to pay close attention to their felt sense (144). Perl then describes that when presented with a topic, w... ...g (147). I believe that Perl offers some valuable insights to the composing process, and I agree with her that writing is a recursive process. As an English tutor, I always encourage my student to reread what they have previously written. In doing so, many students will discover that some sentences in their drafts †just do not sound right† and they are now able to make the necessary adjustments, making their writing more coherent. I also believe that rereading key words in the topic helps students generate new ideas and the key words in the topic could be used during a prewriting activity, such as creating a clustering diagram. Lastly, I am elated that Perl provides a name to something that cannot really be explained—felt sense. I will now be able to tell my students to â€Å"call up† their felt sense as way to aid with their writing.

Ghost Story of Manresa Castle at Port Townsend, Washington :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Manresa Castle at Port Townsend, Washington The story I was told concerns the Manresa Castle at Port Townsend, in Washington State. The myth surrounding the castle is the usual belief that the castle is haunted. People go to the castle just to hear the cries and feel the tingles of staying there over night. People have also reported that when they have taken pictures while they stay there, they will be surrounded by glowing orbs in the background. The story pertaining to this castle I first heard in a coffee house on Capitol Hill, in Seattle, Washington. Capitol Hill is known for being the stomping grounds of a wide variety of people. There are bohemians, hippies, homeless people, drag queens, and lots of college students due to the fact that there are five colleges in the city of Seattle alone. It is also not so full of tourists, who spend more of their time at Pikes Place Market (also said to be haunted) and the Center. I spoke to the storyteller around two in the afternoon on Friday, March 23rd during my spring break. She works at a local hospital and is finishing up medical school. She is recently married, twenty-four years old, and she grew up in West Seattle. Her mom is Ukrainian and is the principal of an elementary school. She knows of the story after hearing it from fellow students at the University of Washington, where she went for her undergraduate studies. The story was told during a regular hangout, by a girl from a town near Port Townsend. The person I heard the story from doesn't really pay the myth and "ghost story" idea any attention because of its common presence in that area. Washington state is a region known as the "Haunted North West." Capitol Hill has so many "ghosts" that companies offer ghost tours year round. [During the telling of the story there were no meaningful gestures, just pauses when the storyteller couldn't remember certain details, or when she wanted to take more sips of her macchiato. The storyteller did not relate the story with intonation or pitch changes, nor did her rate change. It was more like the stating of facts she knew.] Hmm, one that is still going strong is about†¦ well I don't remember the name but it's this castle in Port Townsend, overlooking the bay.

Early Childhood Education Essay

Please accept this letter as an application for admission to University of Houston to receive an Ed. D in Early Childhood Education. I submit this letter for I believe that my experiences are well qualified to meet the needs of the position. I am taking Masters of Education, Educational Administration with PDAS certification at Prairie View A&M University in Educational Administration and fully expect to complete my degree by August 2010. I have started applying for Assistant Principal positions within my district for next school year. I am looking forward to continuing my studies in the Ed. D program in Early Childhood Education. I am currently a Head Start Teacher in Port Arthur Independent School District, Port Arthur, Texas. This 8-year experience provides me career growth and competitive experiences in the field of Early Childhood Education. I am taking responsibilities in the planning and implementation of activities to promote the social, physical, and intellectual growth of children three and four years of age. Care, hygiene, learning, development activities, specialized programs, positive guidance of the children and maintaining records, cleanliness and orderliness are also given special attentions in my field. I have been a department chairperson for the last 3 years. I have also worked as a substitute coordinator where in I was involved in recruiting new substitute teachers for the district. In this job, I have also worked directly with the principal in locating teachers to fill in the classrooms during summer months. My studies in Masters of Education not only provide me strong background and research experience but also in the applications of these learnings. I also believed that my educational values and my work experiences will not only contribute advancements to myself but also effectively put these into practice. I have the earnest desire to function successfully in program development activities, teachings, and basic and applied researches in early childhood education. Attached herewith are my resume, certificates, and transcript for your reference. I look forward to hearing positive responses from you regarding this matter. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully yours, Michelle M. Lockwood

Financial crisis Essay

According to this article soros expresses that the current financial crisis is the result of the effect of all the other minor financial crisis’s that the US economy has experienced in the past sixty years, which came as a result of the weakening of the dollar in the financial market over the other strong currencies. It was anticipated to be happening because financial market operated in such a way that investors over borrowed loans from banks to invest in the housing sector hoping that the market would regulate itself according to the forces of demand and supply and be able to get good returns. The economy instead suffered a shortage of cash as a result of the over borrowing and the interventions by the Federal Reserve did not work as had worked well before. The borrowers of the loans are now not able to pay them back the loans leaving the banks strained with the effects of bad loans that the other financial assets are greatly affected. Banks and other financial institutions have closed down their operations and some gone bankrupt as the cost of borrowing becomes unbearable. What matters most as of this moment as suggested by Soros is to be able to deal with the political situation in a way that the economy will not be compromised. There is need to establish policies that will be able to redeem the lenders in the economy from total collapse. The banks should be helped out of the liquidity problems by the government being recommended to use the Swedish model of dealing with a financial crisis. The model recommends that the banks as the basis point of recovering the economy from collapse. In most of his articles and one of his best selling book the â€Å"paradigm for financial markets† soros has criticized the systems of British and US authorities in the bureaucratic procedures that they which take too long to react to situations of urgency like this crisis that results to many effects on the economies. Word count 335 References George soros: worst financial crisis in 60 years marks end of an era. 15th December 2008 1st financial times article.

Criminology and Terrorism

J. Paul BatraProfessor Barnes Research Paper Final due 4/19/10 April 1, 2010 Terrorism Introduction Terrorism is defined loosely based on the Latin word Terre, which means to frighten. To be considered an act of terrorism, which is a political crime, an act must carry with it the intent to disrupt and the change the government and should not be merely a common-law crime committed for greed or egotism. The discipline of economics has many concepts that are relevant to an understanding of terrorism — supply and demand — costs and benefits, etc. Fully-developed economic or econometric models of terrorism are quite rare, however, and often involve such things as â€Å"psychic† costs and benefits (Nyatepe-Coo 2004). More down-to-earth economic theories can be found in the literature on deterrence. Rational choice theory, in particular, has found a place in criminology, and holds that people will engage in crime after weighing the costs and benefits of their actions to arrive at a rational choice about motivation after perceiving that the chances of gain outweigh any possible punishment or loss. The second theory that can explain the motivation behind terrorism is the relative deprivation hypothesis which is the idea that as a person goes about choosing their values and interests, they compare what they have and don't have, as well as what they want or don't want, with real or imaginary others. The person then usually perceives a discrepancy between what is possible for them and what is possible for others, and reacts to it with anger or an inflamed sense of injustice. We should be advised that debates exist within criminology regarding relative deprivation and terrorism, on the one hand, with the anomie or strain tradition which finds causal influence in such objectivist factors as Gross Domestic Product, and on the other hand, with the left realist tradition which finds causal influence in subjective experiences of deprivation or discomfort Crime Characteristics of Terrorism: Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since the beginning of recorded history it can be relatively hard to define. Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented. Terrorism has often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict. As an asymmetric form of conflict, it confers coercive power with many of the advantages of military force at a fraction of the cost. Due to the secretive nature and small size of terrorist organizations, they often offer opponents no clear organization to defend against or to deter. The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as â€Å"the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. † Within this definition, there are three key elements—violence, fear, and intimidation—and each element produce terror in its victims. The FBI uses this: â€Å"Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. † The U. S. Department of State defines â€Å"terrorism† to be â€Å"premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. (International Terrorism and Security Research). Technological terrorism is defined as actions directed against infrastructure elements critically important for national security or committed with the use of especially hazardous technologies, technical means, and materials. In considering technological terrorism scenarios, the primary impact factors of such terrorist acts initiate secondary catastrophic processes with a significantly higher (tens and hundreds of times) level of secondary impact factors that affect the targets of the ttack, their personnel, the public, and the environment. (Nikolai A. Makhutov, Vitaly P. Petrov, and Dmitry O. Reznikov, Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Machine Sciences )Although what we don't know about the psychology of terrorism is more than what we do know, there have been several promising attempts to merge or combine psychology with sociology (and criminal justice) into what might be called terrorist profiling (Russell and Miller 1977; Bell 1982; Galvin 1983; Strentz 1988; Hudson 1999). This line of inquiry actually has a long history, and includes what rare studies exist of female terrorists. The earliest study (Russell and Miller 1977) found that the following people tend to join terrorist organizations: †¢ 22-25 years of age †¢ 80% male, with women in support roles †¢ 75-80% single †¢ 66% middle or upper class background †¢ 66% some college or graduate work †¢ 42% previous participation in working class advocacy groups †¢ 17% unemployed †¢ 18% strong religious beliefs IBLIOGRAPHY NOTE: Characteristics of Technological Terrorism Scenarios and Impact Factors* http://www. nap. edu/openbook. php? record_id=12490=53 The Economics theory of Rational Choice Theory as a theory of terrorism contends that these criminals usually come to believe their actions will be beneficial — to themselves, their community, or society — AND they must come to see that crime pays, or is at least a risk-free way to better their situatio n. Perhaps the most well-known version of this idea in criminology is routine activities theory (Cohen and Felson 1979), which postulates that three conditions must be present in order for a crime to occur: (1) suitable targets or victims who put themselves at risk; (2) the absence of capable guardians or police presence; and (3) motivated offenders or a pool of the unemployed and alienated. Other rational choice theories exist which delve further into models of decision making. In the few models of collective iolence that have found their way into criminology, the Olson hypothesis (source unknown) suggests that participants in revolutionary violence predicate their behavior on a rational cost-benefit calculus to pursue the best course of action given the social circumstances. Bibligraphy note: (THEORIES AND CAUSES OF TERRORISM) http://www. apsu. edu/oconnort/3400/3400lect02. htm) .   As far as we know, most terrorists feel that they are doing nothing wrong when they kill and injure p eople. They seem to share a feature of the psychological condition known as antisocial personality disorder or psychopathic personality disorder, which is reflected by an absence of empathy for the suffering of others. However, they do not appear unstable or mentally ill for this. A common feature is a type of thinking such as â€Å"I am good and right. You are bad and wrong. †Ã‚   It is a very polarized thinking which allows them to distance themselves from opponents and makes it easier for them to kill people. It is not the same kind of simplistic thinking one would expect from someone with low intelligence or moral development. Most terrorists are of above average intelligence and have sophisticated ethical and moral development. A closed-minded certainty is a common feature of terrorist thinking. (Merari 1990). Relative Deprivation occurs where individuals or groups subjectively perceive themselves as unfairly disadvantaged over others perceived as having similar attributes and deserving similar rewards (their reference groups). It is in contrast with absolute deprivation, where biological health is impaired or where relative levels of wealth are compared based on objective differences – although it is often confused with the latter. Subjective experiences of deprivation are essential and, indeed, relative deprivation is more likely when the differences between two groups narrows so that comparisons can be easily made than where there are caste-like differences. The discontent arising from relative deprivation has been used to explain radical politics (whether of the left or the right), messianic religions, the rise of social movements, industrial disputes and the whole plethora of crime and deviance. The usual distinction made is that religious fervour or demand for political change are a collective response to relative deprivation whereas crime is an individualistic response. But this is certainly not true of many crimes – for example, smuggling, poaching or terrorism – which have a collective nature and a communal base and does not even allow for gang delinquency which is clearly a collective response. The connection is, therefore, largely under-theorized – a reflection of the separate development of the concept within the seemingly discrete disciplines of sociology of religion, political sociology and criminology. The use of relative deprivation in criminology is often conflated with Merton's anomie theory of crime and deviance and its development by Cloward and Ohlin, and there are discernible, although largely unexplored, parallels. Anomie theory involves a disparity between culturally induced aspirations (eg success in terms of the American Dream) and the opportunities to realise them. The parallel is clear: this is a subjective process wherein discontent is transmuted into crime. Furthermore, Merton in his classic 1938 article, ‘Social Structure and Anomie', clearly understands the relative nature of discontent explicitly criticising theories which link absolute deprivation to crime by pointing to poor countries with low crime rates in contrast to the wealthy United States with a comparatively high rate. But there are clear differences, in particular Mertonian anomie involves an inability to realise culturally induced notions of success. It does not involve comparisons between groups but individuals measuring themselves against a general goal. The fact that Merton, the major theorist of reference groups, did not fuse this with his theory of anomie is, as Runciman notes, very strange but probably reflects the particular American concern with ‘winners' and ‘losers' and the individualism of that culture. The empirical implications of this difference in emphasis are, however, significant: anomie theory would naturally predict the vast majority of crime to occur at the bottom of society amongst the ‘losers' but relative deprivation theory does not necessarily have this overwhelming class focus. For discontent can be felt anywhere in the class structure where people perceive their rewards as unfair compared to those with similar attributes. Thus crime would be more widespread although it would be conceded that discontent would be greatest amongst the socially excluded. The future integration of anomie and relative deprivation theory offers great promise in that relative deprivation offers a much more widespread notion of discontent and its emphasis on subjectivity insures against the tendency within anomie theory of merely measuring objective differences in equality (so called ‘strain' theory) whereas anomie theory, on its part, offers a wider structural perspective in terms of the crucial role of differential opportunity structures and firmly locates the dynamic of deprivation within capitalist society as a whole. To be completed: Application: Conclusion: Bibliography

Comparative analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative analysis - Essay Example This poem is a very deep poem, one has to read it over and over again to understand its hidden meaning. Life is really complicated and we need to understand our aim and to do that we need to sit down and introspect. Many a time we come across situations in life where we have to make difficult choices and these difficult choices also decide our future, this poem is all about choosing the road which is less travelled, it also goes to show the courage of the poet who decides to take a path which is less travelled and there is a possibility of him getting lost but he is brave enough to try something different from others. This is what life is all about, we must be brave enough to trot a path less travelled, it may prove to be a wrong decision or it may prove to be a right decision, it is all about making choices when you are at the crossroads, this is what the poem is all about. At the very end the poet ponders over his choice, his life would have been much different had he taken the oth er road and this is very true. Our life would also be different had we made different decisions and had we taken the road less travelled, life is all about making the right, the most successful people often make the right choices. Thesis Statement: The poem has hidden meaning in it; the literal meaning of the poem is very easy to understand. A traveler reaches a fork in the road and is discombobulated because the road shows the traveler two choices, the traveler after much thinking, chooses the road less travelled by people. The figurative meaning of the poem reflects upon the choices that we make in our lives. We can either choose a road which is very frequently chosen by other people or we can choose to walk on a road which is hardly chosen by other people. After making our choice, we would always have regrets because the road not taken would always force us to think about the endless possibilities. This is what the poem is all about and this poem is really popular, Robert Frost b ecame a household name because of this poem. Literary Devices: Antithesis is quite conspicuous in the poem, the traveler has to make his choice and he soon realizes that he can only choose one path, the traveler wishes he could travel both but soon realizes that this is not plausible. Another literary device in the poem is personification, the road has been personified. â€Å"All sensible people know that roads don't think, and therefore don't want. They can't. But the description of the road wanting wear is an example of personification in this poem. A road actually wanting some as a person would. However: some believe this to be incorrect and believe "wanting wear" is not a personification, but rather older English meaning "lacking". So it would be "Because it was grassy and lacked wear;" (The Road not Taken) The tone of the poem is gloomy, words like â€Å"sorry† and â€Å"sigh† have been used and these words reflect gloom. Verbal irony is also another figure of sp eech in this poem, the speaker knows that when he looks back and recollects, he will have to tell his story with a â€Å"sigh† and he would also have to throw light upon the differences the second road would have made had he chosen it. Conclusion: The road not taken is a poem with a hidden meaning, it tells us how our life presents two choices in front of us, when we make our choice, after a few years we more often than not ponder over the options we would have had, had we chosen to trot on the road not taken. The poem is very tricky and requires immense concentration to

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example   According to the figures by the Saudi health ministry, 598, 300 accidents occurred in Saudi Arabia in 2012(Toumi, 2015). These figures show that an average of 1,614 accidents occurred every single day in Saudi Arabia, and 67 accidents an hour. A look at the history of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia shows that the problem of traffic accidents is among the greatest causes of death in Saudi Arabia; the history of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia also shows that the rate of traffic accident in Saudi Arabia has been increasing steadily since 1971 (Ansari, Akhdar, Mandoorah, and Moutaery, 2000). According to the public health statistics, between 1971 and 1997, 564, 762 people died or were injured in traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia. During this period, 66, 914 people were confirmed dead due to road accidents in Saudi Arabia (Ansari, Akhdar, Mandoorah, and Moutaery, 2000). This means that between the years 1971-1997, one person died and four people were injured in every single Houthis high rate of road accidents has been attributed to over speeding and disobeying of traffic rules and regulations by the drivers in Saudi Arabia. A further look at the recent history of road accidents in Saudi Arabia shows that there has been significant increase e in the rate of accidents in Saudi Arabia between 2009- 2012. This increase in the rate of accidents in Saudi Arabia has been caused by chaotic driving culture and blatant violation of traffic regulations by some dishonest drivers.

Change of Mode of Payment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Change of Mode of Payment - Essay Example All employees must get a voided check or routing number to HR by 24th of September 2014.Paperwork must strictly be completed by fax or in person. Emailing employee bank information will not be allowed at all. Kindly note that this communication must be adhered to by all employees with immediate effect. Thank you for your time, adherence and understanding. When a business makes a credit sale, payment is normally due within a pre-decided period of time, normally 30, 60 or 90 days. Usually, the seller would have to wait for a month or more to receive cash against the sale. But a business may have an immediate requirement for funds. In such a situation, a factor could buy the invoice and pay the seller immediately. In the normal course, the amount paid would be about 80% of the invoice value. Subsequently, on the due date, the factor would collect the entire amount from the buyer. At this point in time, the factor would pay the remaining 20% of the invoice value to the seller after deducting its charges.

CAse fOr AnALYsis The New Haven Initiative Article

CAse fOr AnALYsis The New Haven Initiative - Article Example The problem solving approach adapted by Burton was successful. However, it resulted to a conflict among the employees and the management. The source of conflict was the shift of the decision-making role from the supervisors to the individual employees. Due to the shift, supervisors felt that they were losing prestige and seniority. Moreover, some employees felt that they were given responsibilities that were not theirs. This made them to rebel against the approach thus resulting to the conflict. To get workers cooperation and full management support, Burton could have taken several measures. He could not have assumed that self-management team would be appealing to everyone. Instead, he could have taken an initiative of educating the employees on the benefits they could obtain from a self-managed team. Moreover, he could have undertaken a research to identify some of the possible negative impacts of self-managed teams and possible solutions to those impacts. This could have made the management to gain confidence on the approach and thus give him their full

Management, Innovation and New Technology Essay - 1

Management, Innovation and New Technology - Essay Example According to Sonnack, â€Å"3M was found to be in very good shape with respect to fundamental, technology-driven innovation† (Hippel, 1999). 3M’s policy promotes all the employees to dedicate up to 15% of the work time on any one project of choice of the employees. During this phase of work the developers are busy on new ideas as individuals and as informal groups. They try to fetch the project where it can be considered for formal support as a product or service development project. Technology and knowledge are the two approaches of innovation process through which a company can grow and expand. 3M has been able to utilize the technology and knowledge based strategy for innovation of many products. Especially the Post-it note pad was the innovation of 3M in which the application of technical and knowledge based innovation approaches were witnessed. There were lot of research and innovation processes going on with the product and the market. There were initial failures with the technology of the product and with constant knowledge application towards the product development, the company was successful in launching the standard Post-it note pad in the market and achieved success (Berman & Hagan, 2006). But Rhodes and Wield have discarded machine based or technology based innovation in support of knowledge based formation of technological change. The view provided by them was towards knowledge as frequently tactical and not as explicit. Technology is the body of knowledge and not machinery. Almost all the innovations occurred in an applied setting like shop floor. In 3M, all the employees get engaged in one project of their choice and devotes towards the project in making them reality. The culture of innovation environment has made the 3M develop many innovative products and services. Invention is determined appliance of the individual mind that surrenders an innovative conception with the practical application. According to The

Steady Oil Price Hike Essay Example for Free

Steady Oil Price Hike Essay The article about the rising oil price indicates two main economic concepts: first, â€Å"the rule of supply and demand†, and second, that† human wants is insatiable. † Oil is a natural resource and it is created by nature through thousands of years. Time is a very important element in the production of oil. Despite the fact that oil wells and rigs are discovered and/or pumped, still, the natural element of this product is very important. Going back to the relevant economic factors about rising oil prices, there is an unlimited demand for oil while its supply is getting scarcer. Aside from this fact, millions, if not billions, of dollars of investments are needed to have the black gold extracted, refined, and distributed. Everywhere oil is used. It is not only with the vehicles but also with all the machineries producing the goods and even food products that we consume on a daily basis. The second economic factor is the insatiability of humans in terms of their wants. Everyone wants this and everybody wants that. We all consume. We all want to acquire resources. This relates to the article in a sense that: (1) more consumption means more oil consumption; (2) in acquisition of wealth, natural and man-made factors happen in having oil prices rise; and (3) investors in oil trade would always go for a good profit margin while consumers would like to spare resources (money). The first factor is related to the explanation of supply and demand above. The second factor is important because natural calamities such as storm affects oil production but this all goes back to the fact that once the supply of oil is limited, and the demand is big, the market has to balance out and the only way is to raise prices. This benefit the â€Å"wants† of the investors who, in every situation, have their means in having their investments get a very good return. Consumers on the other hand, take their chance in acquiring cheaper oil as they want o save their resources in order to have extra left behind to acquire the rest of their needs and wants and this is explained by having their tanks full before the prices increase. Lastly, oil is not in market where fair competition rules. It is monopolistic. The major factor that makes it so important is its scarceness; its having limited supply with steady demand. Peer review on responses 1, 2 and 3 In the first response, the idea that oil is very vital in society is agreeable. The rest of the discourse of the article, however, is strongly disagreeable. First, in the point indicated that â€Å"the oil industry is an example of a perfectly competitive industry† and at the same time noting that â€Å"neither the firm nor its consumers decide on the price, rather the entire industry†. First oil is a product that triggers monopoly whether consumers like it or not. Second, the article contradicts itself: if the industry decides on the pricing itself, not the interaction of the oil firms and their consumers, this means that the market is â€Å"not free†. Not free means NO competition at all. Lastly, the article noted that â€Å"consumers never worried about spending massive amounts of money on oil during an economic struggle† and it is not true. Oil makes everything else expensive and it may be possible that no demonstrations are done against oil but against economic crisis, but it is important to realize that at least 70% of that crisis can be attributed to oil price movement: your cereal will be expensive once oil used in machineries producing it becomes expensive! Argument number two is also very good emphasizing the monopolistic characteristic of oil as a consumer product. The article even dwelled on deeply going into criteria of monopoly to establish the hypothesis, that indeed, this product is never a competitive product, in a sense that whether consumers like it or not, they are just forced to acquire oil out of necessity. The article is very â€Å"narrow† though. Maybe a little bit of expansion as to the idea of having it monopolistic and other related factors would even make the idea of the response more interesting. Lastly, response number 3 is a very good work. Admittedly, my response runs on parallel path as this one. It emphasizes the scarcity of the product, the inelasticity of demand, which is always there, despite the presence of supply or not. It focuses in the effect of transportation though, just like what was written in the article, not like what I have though to widen my perspective in reacting to oil-related write up.