Pop Culture Essays (1122 words) - American People Of German Descent

Pop Culture In Risk and Blame, Anthropologist Mary Douglas describes the cultural basis for witch hunts in traditional societies. Whether the witch is able to do harm or not, the attribution of a hidden power to hurt is a weapon of attack against them....A successful accusation is one that has enough credibility for a public outcry to remove the opportunity of repeating the damage. A moral panic starts with an unspeakable tragedy which sparks an attempt to ascribe blame and responsibility. Initially, accusations flow freely but focus on those targets who are already the subject of anxiety. Once one accusation sticks, it becomes easier to pile on charges. Our rush to judgement overwhelms our ability to rationally assess the evidence. Our need to take action supersedes our ability to anticipate consequences. Moral panic shuts down self-examination at the very moment when real problems demand careful consideration. Several weeks after the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, the United States Senate Commerce Committee launched a series of hearings, chaired by Sen. Sam Brownback ,on the marketing of violent entertainment to children. Introducing the investigation, Brownback explained, We are not here to point fingers but to identify the causes of cultural pollution and seek solutions. The phrase, cultural pollution, of course, already presumed a consensus that popular culture was a worthless iritant which was to blame for various social harms. Brownback was prepared to sweep aside constitutional protections: We are having endless debates about First and Second Amendment rights while our children are being killed and traumatized. Brownback focused his ire on forms of popular culture that met youth rather than adult tastes: I am willing to bet that there aren't many adults who are huge fans of teen slasher movies or the music of Cannibal Corpse and Marilyn Manson. Sen. Orin H atch declared Manson's music tremendously offensive to everyone in America who thinks, a category that seemingly does not include a significant number of high school and college students. William Bennett, former Secretary of Education and self-proclaimed guardian of American virtue, called on Congress to make meaningful distinctions between works that used violence to tell a larger story such as Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, or Clear and Present Danger, and works that gratuitously exploited violence, such as The Basketball Diaries, Cruel Intentions, or Scream. His commonsense distinction was at heart an ideological one, separating works that offered adult perspectives from those which expressed youth concerns. Though they understood the hearings as a ritual humiliation of the entertainment industries, the senators were feeding a cultural war which was more and more focused on teenagers. As a GOP operative Mike Murphy explained in that week's Time, we need Goth control, not gun control. Hatch engaged in homophobic banter about whether Manson was a he or a she while Brownback accused members of the Goth subculture of giving themselves over to the dark side. Such comments reinforced bigotry and fear. Adult fears about popular culture were being transfered towards those people who consumed it. The Goths were a relatively small subculture whose members drew inspiration from Romantic literature and constructed their personal identity by borrowing from the iconography of the horror film and S/M pornography. The group could claim a twenty year history without much public attention because they had previously not been associated with violent crime. However, the Columbine shooters had been mistaking ly identified in some early news reports as Goths and as a result, this group had been singled out in the post-Littleton backlash. From the outset, Congress was unlikely to set federal policies to regulate media content, which would not have sustained constitutional scrutiny. They counted on public pressure to intimidate the entertainment industry into voluntarily withdrawing controversial works from circulation. Manson canceled some concerts. MGM stopped selling The Basketball Diaries. The Warner Brothers Network withheld the airing of the season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer until midsummer. The biggest impact of the moral panic, however, would be felt in the schools - both public and private - as teachers and administrators increasingly saw their students as threats to public safety and suspected popular culture of turning good kids into brutal monsters. Online journalist Jon Katz's remarkable series, Voices from the Hellmouth, circulated hundreds

Name Meaning and Origin of Christensen

Name Meaning and Origin of Christensen Christensen literally means son of Christen, a common Danish variant of the given name Christian, which derives from the  Greek word xÏ ÃŽ ¹ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¹ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃÅ'Ï‚Â  (christianos), meaning follower of Christ. In Norway and Sweden, the -son variations such as Christenson and Kristenson are more common. Christensen is the 6th most popular surname in Denmark. Surname Origin:  Danish, Norwegian, North German Alternate Surname Spellings:  KRISTENSEN, CRESTENSEN, KRESTENSEN, CHRISTENSEN, KHRISTENSEN, CHRISTENSON, KRISTENSON, CHRISTIANSEN, KRISTIANSEN Famous People With the Surname Carlos Hugo Christensen, Argentine screenwriter, film director, and producerHelena Christensen, Danish supermodelHayden Christensen, Canadian-American actor and producerTom Kristensen, Danish poet, novelist, and journalist Genealogy Resources for the Surname Search Strategies for Common Last NamesUse these strategies for locating ancestors with common names like Christensen to help you research your CHRISTENSEN ancestors online. FamilySearch - CHRISTENSEN GenealogyAccess free historical records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Christensen surname. Source: Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

The Role of Religion in Contemporary Irish Society Essay

The Role of Religion in Contemporary Irish Society - Essay Example Contemporary sociologists have judged that â€Å"any sociological study of Ireland must reflect the importance of religion in the shaping of our contemporary society, its continuing relevance in terms of everyday social life and the still central role of religious institutions† (Tovey and Share, 2003, p. 384). This observation, however, runs counter to the belief that was a cultural shift in all Western societies which started in the period of the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, which introduced a whole new set of scientific tools. Max Weber, Émile Durkheim and other early proponents of the new discipline of sociology described evidence of a shift away from religion and towards rationalisation. The term â€Å"secularization† is used to describe this change, and the â€Å"secularization thesis† is a belief that religion will slowly fade in the face of new scientific, and by implication better, ways of seeing the world. This paper shows, however, that there is evidence in the recent history and sociology of Ireland to prove that the secularization thesis does not hold, since contemporary Ireland fully reflects modern cultural trends and yet it is by no means an increasingly secular country. Origins of the secularization thesis. In the Middle Ages, a Christia n world view dominated the whole of Europe, with close links being maintained between Church and State, and other religions such as Judaism and Islam being classed as outsiders. Secular monarchs reigned in the firm belief that they had a divine right to rule, and they often used their powers to enhance the dominance of the Christian Church, leading to the Crusades and the demonization of other faiths and other nation states. The reformation polarised Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity so that in Europe, at least, religion became associated with conflict between factions within Europe. Ireland played a decisive role in the early stages of the Christian colonisation of Europe, and Ireland’s continual loyalty to Rome in the face of British rebellion is a reflection of political differences as much as it is a religious position. The relationship between Church and State remains close in Ireland, since there was no split between the monarch and Rome, and this explain s the influence that religions continues to have at the present time on Irish political and social affairs. In Victorian Britain and Imperial Germany the protestant work ethic was credited with producing the beginnings of the capitalist system, and Karl Marx theorized religion in this context as a logical an necessary part of this culture of trade and industry. In the analyses of Marx, Engels and Lenin, religion was a thriving force to be reckoned with, and they very much supported the underlying motivations that led people to put their faith in it: â€Å"Religion is a many-faceted reflection of the real world, including deep-seated human needs for security, consolation, and beauty. They (Marx, Engels and Lenin) do not want to take away from people the solace, comfort of beauty that religion brings to their lives †¦ religious beliefs are not merely illusory; they stand in the way of man’s mastering both nature and his social relations in the interests of a better and fu ller life† ( Selsam and Martel, 1987, p. 225). A combination of these political ideas,

Free Agency is a Chimera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Free Agency is a Chimera - Essay Example No loving mother ever set out to become an alcoholic of her own free will. Free will would dictate otherwise. Yet, she is driven down the road of addiction by forces outside herself and nudged along, not by free will, but by motives dictated by complex situations and self-serving self-defense. The drive toward self-defense can be demonstrated in man's overriding will of self-preservation. The belief in a soul serves to give hope that a part of us will survive our own death. Yet, man will go to the depths of human depravity in an attempt to insure self-preservation of the human body. Cannibalism, betrayal, and murder have all been witnessed when men have been faced with the death of their own body. If free agency existed, it would alter our actions in these cases and result in more acceptable behavior. Our actions are not driven by free agency but are the result of self-defense and the desire to gain advantage. We obey the law because it is to our advantage, not because we make a free choice to do so. In the complexity of decisions we are confronted with, the action we take is based on the force that pushes us down a path of maximum gain and minimum harm. Even the apparently selfless action of giving to charity is taken to provide the self with satisfaction.

Avian Flu Virus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Avian Flu Virus - Essay Example Moreover, it has been known that this H5N1 virus is able to infect other animals other than birds and pigs, such as, cats and larger felines, and transmission of infection from other animals to human may occur unknowingly. An article published in the Journal of Virology in the year 2005, titled "Avian Influenza (H5N1) Viruses Isolated from Humans in Asia in 2004 Exhibit Increased Virulence in Mammals" and researched by Maines and co-workers investigates this in an isolate of the virus of the H5N1 strain, isolated from 2004 Asian epidemic, and in this work, that article will be critiqued. Research Questions: As is apparent from the epidemiologic patterns of the outbreak of these H5N1 infections, the virulence factors responsible for human disease need to be elucidated. The problem remains that the virulence factors of H5N1 viruses is poorly understood from the biologic and molecular perspectives, this being an avian virus transmitted to humans. It points to the need for mammalian models of studies, and since there is evidence that mammalian experiments in nonhuman primates such as ferrets and mice have been studied for influenza virus pathogenesis and other nonhuman mammals may also serve as carriers for human virus, nonhuman primate studies may serve as an acceptable model. In these models, the relative virulence of the H5N1 isolated from 2003-2004 outbreaks in both humans and avian species can be studied, and the authors can have the advantage of comparing them with earlier 1997 H5N1 human isolates to compare the virulence of the virus, so a molecular or biologic c orrelate is available that may be applied in the management of human epidemics. Relevance of the Question: From the public health point of view, the circulation of H5N1 virus in the poultry may cause more human cases with human-avian reassortant pandemics. Epidemiologic observations have demonstrated that from the time of first recognition and isolation, the virulence of this strain is increasing markedly over the years in terms of mortality and case fatality rates. Although the clinical presentations of the human cases were usual in the form of fever, respiratory symptoms, diarrhea, lymphopenia, and thrombocytopenia, in rare occasions, they indeed presented with just fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. This could have indicated a change in the pattern of virulence, despite the pattern of fatality remaining the same, that is, development of pneumonia with critical compromise in gas exchange, leading to respiratory failure and death despite assisted ventilations. Research in this area is necessary since there is a paucity of research answering this question abou t how an infection with this virus leads to acute respiratory distress and multiple organ dysfunctions in humans. Although studies in mammalian models do have constraints from the practical, ethical, and economic perspectives, it could be a valid option since ferret is a naturally susceptible host to influenza A virus, has been used in previous studies to evaluate H5N1 virulence and safety and efficacy of vaccine candidate preparations. Moreover, the same authors previously studied H5N1 virus virulence in ferrets and they have valid criteria for assessment, where they demonstrated earlier equivalence in

Compare Windows And Linux Operating Systems Computer Science Essay

Compare Windows And Linux Operating Systems Computer Science Essay An Operating system is software that lets the user interface with the computer and also manages number of applications. Most number of PCs has built in Operating system installed. Operating systems created to take control of the operations of applications such as email programs, word processors and web browsers. Straight after the computer is switched on the operating system needs to be loaded into the RAM before any other program can be run. Operating system is automatically loaded into RAM as soon as the PC turns on which is done by the boot strap loader which is stored in the PCs ROM chip. All the Operating systems perform basic functions such as: Managing resources These applications coordinate all of the PCs resources which include keyboard, printer, monitor, mouse, storage devices and memory. Operating system manages to perform a file structure on the computers hard drive where the data can be saved or retrieved. When a particular data is saved, the Operating system saves the data and attaches a name to the data and remembers where the data was saved for any future use. File system is the way the Operating systems organizes the information into files. Almost all the Operating systems use hierarchical file system which organizes the files into folders under a tree structure which makes it easy for the user to get the data. Providing a user interface -.Users interact with programs and hardware trough user interface. Most of the Operating systems provide the GUI which is graphic user interface where graphic objects or icons are used to represent commonly used features. Running applications -These are the programs which load and run applications such as spread sheets and word processors. Almost all the operating systems support multitasking where more than one application can be run at the same time. When a user is requesting the application to be open the operating system locates the program and loads it into the RAM. If more programs are loaded the operating system must allocate the computer resources. Support for built in utility programs -The operating system uses the utility program to identify problems, repair damaged files, locate lost files and back up data. This makes the easy for the user as the operating system does the hard work by solving the problem where the user just has to wait for the result. Control to the computer hardware -The operating system is in the middle of the programs and the BIOS. Bios controls the hardware, but all programs that need hardware resources has to go through the operating system. Operating system can access the hardware through BIOS. Task 2 B M1 Report that compares the features and functions of two different operating systems by reviewing the features and functions and present a comparison of the two summarising their respective strengths and weaknesses in context. I am going to compare windows and Linux operating systems. Introduction Windows -It is an operating system software and GUI produced by Microsoft. Microsoft released their first windows operating system in 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing popularity of the graphical user interfaces. Windows dominated the Personal computers around the world when it came out in the market which overtook MacOS which was launched in 1984. By October 2009 windows had roughly 91% of the market share of the client operating systems for the use on the internet. The latest release client version of windows is windows 7, the latest release server version is Server 2008R2 and the latest release of mobile operating system is windows phone 7. Linux Linux refers to the family of Unix-like PC Operating system using Linux kernel. Linux can be installed in number of different computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux is the top server operating system, accounting for more than 50% of installations and runs on the fastest top 10 supercomputers in the world. Using Linux in desktops has increased in recent years. The name Linux comes from Linux kernel, created in 1991 by Linux Trovalds. Comparison of the two operating systems Out of these two operating systems windows is the most famous OS, whereas Linux is the most famous OS that is free. The two OS compete against each other for user-base in the PC market as well as the server market, which are also used in schools, business offices, intranet and internet servers, homes, government offices, supercomputers, and embedded systems. Windows are top in the personal computer and desktop markets with approximately 90% of the desktop market share, and accounted for about 66% of all servers sold in the year 2007. In the server market share windows received 36.3% and Linux received 12.7%. By November 2007, Linux OS powered 85% of the worlds powerful supercomputers where compared to windows 1.4%. Linux and windows are different in the cost, versatility and stability with each looking to get better in their superficial weak areas. Normally, some major areas of superficial weakness usually cited have included the poor out-of-box usability of the Linux desktop for the mass-market and vulnerability to malware windows. Both are areas of fast development in both sides. Linux is not a complete operating system when you compare it to Windows operating environment. Linux doesnt have built-in GUI interface. Users are free to use the former windows graphic user interface with Linux where each provides a different look and feel. Functions Windows offers much easier user interface called graphic interface unlike Linux, where it only has one GUI for users to choose from. These facts in some cases could make the using of the OS much easier as the user can choose what they are comfortable with. One of the advantages of Linux is that it comes from multiple choices of GUIs so that it can help provide an easy starting ground for either windows or Mac users. Both windows and Linux allow hardware to successfully communicate with the software in similar way. But however the Linux has some compatibility problems which can cause trouble when trying to install hardware drivers. Whereas the being one of the top OS in the world are finding that hardware drivers is a push over. Security Windows are more infective to a virus then Linux as windows is the most attacked OS in the world. And most the viruses arent even compatible with Linux hence making Linux inherently safer. Performance The performance reduces massively in windows simply because windows takes to much power unlike Linux which doesnt use much power to work, which means that there is much more power available to be used for the user of Linux which makes the performance faster. Stability Because of the work all around the world by the millions of users of Linux which have full and free access to the source code where they are trying to make Linux more stable unlike the few 100,000 windows techs with a licence to modify the windows source code. Also the fact that the Linux OS has more consistent fileling system and Linux also dont use much processor power to run which automatically makes the Linux OS a more stable OS. Cost You have to pay for all the Windows operating systems unlike the Linux operating systems which are free and full access. You can also download the Linux software for free unlike the windows operating system where you have to pay. Usability -Windows operating systems are one of the easiest operating system to use because of the lack of things you can do with it along with legal problems. Windows is also more spread operating system then Linux so it has the better hand when it comes to personal computing. Linux is also easy but the users arent confident enough so are not willing to use the free Linux OS. Conclusion- After researching about these two operating systems along with the points that i have made I believe that Linux is the better operating system then windows with better benefit, However as far as the hardware is concerned windows doesnt have the skill to work on the Power PC processors, unlike Linux. Linux would be one of the growing operating systems in the world which would be the main rivals of windows in the future. Here is a Comparison table Linux Windows Price Most of the Linux operating systems are free and lower costing then windows. Windows operating systems can be bought around the price of $50 to $150 per each licence copy. Ease Linux has massively improved in their usability but windows are much easier for new computer users. Microsoft have made lots of changes and have made it much more easier to use the operating system, but it still might not be the easiest software to use but is definitely easier than Linux. Reliability Most of the Linux systems are Especially reliable and can run for moths and years without having to reboot it. Windows has made some fabulous improvements to their Reliability in their last versions of windows but its still not better than Linux. Software Linux does have number of software, utilities and games available but it cant compare to the large amount of software windows has. Because there are more people using windows around the world there are more software, utilities and games available in windows. Software Cost Many of the software, utilities and games are freeware or open source. Most of them are free and some of them cost really less then compared to windows. Windows also has software, utilities and games for free but majority of the programs will cost around $20 to $200. Hardware Linux and hardware manufactures have made great improvements for Linux and will support most hardware devices, whoever there are many different companies that still do not offer drivers for their hardware. Windows has much more support from the hardware manufactures for windows hardware devices because of the large amount of windows users. Security Linux always has been safe and secure but it can also be attacked but when you compare it to windows Linux is much safer. Although windows has made vast improvements to their security but still continues to be venerable to the viruses. Support Linux has large amounts of help online or books around the world to help any user. Same with windows also has large amount of help to their users with books, documentation guides help centre etc. http://www.techquark.com/2009/02/compasion-linux-vs-windows.html Name Linux Windows Creator Linus Torvalds, et al. Microsoft First public release 1992 1993 Predecessor Unix[g 2], Minix [g 3 MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows 3.x Latest stable version Linux kernel 2.6.35.2; GNU C Library 2.11 Windows 7 (NT 6.1.7600) Latest release date 2010 2009 Cost/ Availability Free Home Basic (Retail) $99.95, Home Premium (Retail) $119.95, Business (Retail) $299.95, Ultimate (Retail) $300.95[1] Preferred licence GNU GPL, GNU LGPL and other licenses Proprietary Target system type Comparison of Linux distributions Workstation, Personal computer, Media center, Tablet PC, Embedded system Computer architectures supported x86, x86-64, PPC, SPARC, Alpha, others x86, x86-64, IA-64 File systems supported ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, FAT, ISO 9660, UDF, NFS, and others NTFS, FAT, ISO 9660, UDF; 3rd-party drivers support ext2, ext3, reiserfs[t 8], and HFS Kernel type Monolithic with modules Hybrid Source lines of code ~ 9 million (Kernel) lines of code for userland applications vary depending on the distribution ~45 million GUI default is on No Yes Package management MSI, custom installers Update management Windows Update Native APIs POSIX Win32, NT API Non-native APIs supported through subsystems UNIX, Mono, Java, Win16, Win32 DOS API, Win16 (only in 32-bit versions), POSIX, .NET

Eleanor Roosevelt Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Eleanor Roosevelt was a honest person who had responsibility and compassion towards her husband , family and her fellow man, whatever their social status. She used great citizenship and initiative actions in dealing with anyone who was fortunate enough to make her acquaintance. Eleanor Roosevelt is an outspoken advocate of social justice. During the years she has taken over a lot of responsibility. For someone who spent thefirst third of her life as shy and timid, she showed great courage once she was thrust into the presidential â€Å"spotlight†. Most Americans considered her a true â€Å"American Hero†. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the press, I now announce the presence of our first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt†, is something similar to what you would hear when being addressed at a press conference or important meetings. She was a well respected human being, achieving great duties and responsibility in life. She was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to be on the first peace corps advisory board. She was such an active lady while her husband was in office that she was no longer willing to stay quietly in the background of her husband. She took a job as an editor and advertising manager of a monthly publication â€Å" The Women’s Democratic News† where she became more independent towards herself and work. Eleanor Roosevelt became very involved in women issues, being that she also joined the newly organized Women’s division of the New York State Democratic party and moved swiftly into positions of leadership. Not only was she responsible among organizations and people, she later became her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s eyes and ears, dedicating her life to his purposes, being a trusted and tireless reporter. One of the reasons she did become so helpful towards her husbands career was besides the fact that she was the first lady, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with a disease called polio and caused him to be permanently crippled in August of 1921. She then became even more loyal to him and our country having to deal with people from different nations, organizations and positions. While the President struggled to regain the use of his legs, Eleanor Roosevelt and Louis Howe joined forces to keep his political and business contacts alive. She became a powerful voice for youth employment and civil right... ...u can remember how she showed great compassion to her work and life. How loyal she was to the people of our nation. What great responsibility’s she consummated and what respect she gave and received from and to so many. Works Cited Diller, Daniel C. & Robertson, Stephen .L â€Å" The Presidents, First Ladies and Vice Presidents. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 1959. Collier Encyclopedia: Copyright 1989 Cook, Blanche Wiesen : Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One New York: Vikking 1992 Eleanor Roosevelt: This is My Story New York: Harper & Bros., 1937 On My Own New York: Harper & Bros., 1949 Http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/smahady/ercover.html Lash, Joseph P. : Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship Based on Eleanor Roosevelt’s Private Papers. New York: W.W. Norton, 1971 Lash, Joseph P. : Eleanor Roosevelt: A friend’s Memoir. Garden City, N.Y Lorena Hickok : Eleanor Roosevelt: Reluctan First Lady New York: Dodd, Mead 1962 WWW.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/firstladies/html/ar32.html WWW.geocites.com/collegepark/library/4142/childhood.html Young’s , J. Williams T. : Eleanor Roosevelt: A Personal a Public Life Boston: Little, Brown, 1985

Fireweed Essay

Baluta and some of his family have moved from Liberia in Africa. It is properly a result of a war caused by â€Å"blood diamantes†. We are not told which country Baluta moved to, but it’s an English speaking country. Baluta speaks and understands English very well. That properly means he has lived there for a couple of years. He is earning his money by working as a carpenter. But that doesn’t make him a millionaire. As you already can sense in the start of the story, it’s showed by, they cannot afford a new and bigger bed or a new car or anything else that could make their lives more pleasant. Another sign is that he lives with his brother and sister-of-law. And they all have to share one bathroom. Baluta is the only one in the family who goes to work by car because there is no bus to the place he works. He doesn’t like that fact; that the rest of the family has to get up very early to take the bus, he wishes that they all could have a car even if it’s an old and used one. Witch also is something that could indicate that the family doesn’t have a lot of money. The story is easy to understand, but doesn’t contains many descriptions of the environment so in that case we have to guess a bit. But it contains a lot of flashbacks to Baluta’s life in Liberia. All these flashbacks appear because something from Baluta’s life in the new country reminds him of something and someone from his life in Liberia. The first flashback appears when he is taking a cold bath in the morning. â€Å"Cold like Kpatawee Falls back home in Liberia, Baluta thought†. And at that point he knows that the day is going to be a day he will remember for the rest of his life. The story stretches over a single day, it is written in third person. In the beginning of the essay Baluta wakes up from a nightmare. In the nightmare he sees his sister Alanso stirrers at him from the dead. It seems like his sister’s death had given him a harsh time. The Maine theme could very well be exactly like that †losses and memories†. Baluta tries to keep all his focus on the work, but he gets distracted because of the flashbacks reminding him of something from his life in Liberia that’s if it is a good or a bad memory. One day when he is at work her hears a conversation between a wife and her husband, the wife is yelling at her husband, because he can’t find the specific wall paint colour â€Å"fireweed† and the wife only wants that colour in their house. When he hears the word â€Å"fireweed† it is reminding him of a specific day his grandma would give him some of it, because she would punish him for something bad he had done. Fireweed it is a plant that grows among others in North Africa and in the Middle East. But he never gets his punishment, because when he was on his way back home, and their shanty once appears in the horizon, he sees his family are attacked by men in jeeps with guns and machetes. He watches his father hanging from a tree, his grandma in a blood puddle of her own on the ground. We don’t get to know Baluta’s age in the story. We neither hear of a wife or kids so he could be relatively young man. Baluta is well-mannered to the people he works for, and for everyone else, and when he talks to the women he refers to them with ‘miss’. Baluta is not an easy name to pronounce so he has decided to call himself Joel when he is at work. Baluta is a nice and good person, an example of that is as earlier mentioned, he feels bad because he needs to take the car to work when his family has to take the bus. That makes us believe that is a good minded person. Generally Baluta he is a good person and good at his job and puts others before himself.

The Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus

The Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus After his famous 1492 voyage of discovery, Christopher Columbus was commissioned to return a second time, which he did with a large-scale colonization effort which departed from Spain in 1493. Although the second journey had many problems, it was considered successful because a settlement was founded: it would eventually become Santo Domingo, capital of the present-day Dominican Republic. Columbus served as governor during his stay in the islands. The settlement needed supplies, however, so Columbus returned to Spain in 1496. Preparations for the Third Voyage Columbus reported to the crown upon his return from the New World. He was dismayed to learn that his patrons, Ferdinand and Isabella, would not allow the taking of slaves in the newly discovered lands. As he had found little gold or precious commodities for which to trade, he had been counting on selling native slaves to make his voyages lucrative. The King and Queen of Spain allowed Columbus to organize a third trip to the New World with the goal of resupplying the colonists and continuing the search for a new trade route to the Orient. The Fleet Splits Upon departure from Spain in May of 1498, Columbus split his fleet of six ships: three would make for Hispaniola immediately to bring desperately needed supplies, while the other three would aim for points south of the already explored Caribbean to search for more land and perhaps even the route to the Orient that Columbus still believed to be there. Columbus himself captained the latter ships, being at heart an explorer and not a governor. Doldrums and Trinidad Columbus’ bad luck on the third voyage began almost immediately. After making slow progress from Spain, his fleet hit the doldrums, which is a calm, hot stretch of ocean with little or no wind. Columbus and his men spent several days battling heat and thirst with no wind to propel their ships. After a while, the wind returned and they were able to continue. Columbus veered to the north, because the ships were low on water and he wanted to resupply in the familiar Caribbean. On July 31, they sighted an island, which Columbus named Trinidad. They were able to resupply there and continue exploring. Sighting South America For the first two weeks of August  1498, Columbus and his small fleet explored the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from mainland South America. In the process of this exploration, they discovered the Island of Margarita as well as several smaller islands. They also discovered the mouth of the Orinoco River. Such a mighty freshwater river could only be found on a continent, not an island, and the increasingly religious Columbus concluded that he had found the site of the Garden of Eden. Columbus fell ill around this time and ordered the fleet to head to Hispaniola, which they reached on August 19. Back in Hispaniola In the roughly two years since Columbus had been gone, the settlement on Hispaniola had seen some rough times. Supplies and tempers were short and the vast wealth that Columbus had promised settlers while arranging the second voyage had failed to appear. Columbus had been a poor governor during his brief tenure (1494-1496) and the colonists were not happy to see him. The settlers complained bitterly, and Columbus had to hang a few of them in order to stabilize the situation. Realizing that he needed help governing the unruly and hungry settlers, Columbus sent to Spain for assistance. Francisco de Bobadilla Responding to rumors of strife and poor governance on the part of Columbus and his brothers, the Spanish crown sent Francisco de Bobadilla to Hispaniola in 1500. Bobadilla was a nobleman and a knight of the Calatrava order, and he was given broad powers by the Spanish crown, superseding those of Colombus. The crown needed to rein in the unpredictable Colombus and his brothers, who in addition to being tyrannical governors were also suspected of improperly gathering wealth. In 2005, a document was found in the Spanish archives: it contains first-hand accounts of the abuses of Columbus and his brothers. Columbus Imprisoned Bobadilla arrived in August 1500, with 500 men and a handful of native slaves that Columbus had brought to Spain on a previous voyage: they were to be freed by royal decree. Bobadilla found the situation as bad as he had heard. Columbus and Bobadilla clashed: because there was little love for Columbus among the settlers, Bobadilla was able to clap him and his brothers in chains and throw them in a dungeon. In October 1500, the three Columbus brothers were sent back to Spain, still in shackles. From getting stuck in the doldrums to being shipped back to Spain as a prisoner, Columbus’ Third Voyage was a fiasco. Aftermath and Importance Back in Spain, Columbus was able to talk his way out of trouble: he and his brothers were freed after spending only a few weeks in prison. After the first voyage, Columbus had been granted a series of important titles and concessions. He was appointed Governor and Viceroy of the newly discovered lands and was given the title of Admiral, which would pass to his heirs. By 1500, the Spanish crown was beginning to regret this decision, as Columbus had proven to be a very poor governor and the lands he had discovered had the potential to be extremely lucrative. If the terms of his original contract were honored, the Columbus family would eventually siphon off a great deal of wealth from the crown. Although he was freed from prison and most of his lands and wealth were restored, this incident gave the crown the excuse they needed to strip Columbus of some of the costly concessions that they had originally agreed to. Gone were the positions of Governor and Viceroy and the profits were reduced as well. Columbus’ children later fought for the privileges conceded to Columbus with mixed success, and legal wrangling between the Spanish crown and the Columbus family over these rights would continue for some time. Columbus’ son Diego would eventually serve for a time as Governor of Hispaniola due to the terms of these agreements. The disaster that was the third voyage essentially brought to a close the Columbus Era in the New World. While other explorers, such as Amerigo Vespucci, believed that Columbus had found previously unknown lands, he stubbornly held to the claim that he had found the eastern edge of Asia and that he would soon find the markets of India, China, and Japan. Although many at court believed Columbus to be mad, he was able to put together a fourth voyage, which if anything was a bigger disaster than the third one. The fall of Columbus and his family in the New World created a power vacuum, and the King and Queen of Spain quickly filled it with Nicols de Ovando, a Spanish nobleman who was appointed governor. Ovando was a cruel but effective governor who ruthlessly wiped out native settlements and continued the exploration of the New World, setting the stage for the Age of Conquest. Sources: Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962 Thomas, Hugh. Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan. New York: Random House, 2005.

Adult Education in Delaware

Adult Education in Delaware If you are a resident of the state of Delaware and are interested in learning as an adult, whether you yearn for a GED, a degree, an advanced degree, to learn English as a second language, or to pursue lifelong learning, youve got a whole lot of choices. The state has an abundance of resources available to you. Delaware Department of Education The place to start is at the Delaware Department of Education, known as DEDOE. Our link will take you to the Student page, which includes links to specific kinds of education for students of all ages, but in this list youll find adult-specific links for information about adult learning, career and technical student organizations, higher education, and private business and trade schools. On the Federal and State Programs page, youll find a ton of links, including one to a very cool site called Tech Prep Delaware, designed to help prepare you for almost any kind of career. If you want to return to school to learn a trade, this is your place to start. Adult education encompasses a broad range of learning, from GED and workforce training to graduate degrees and lifelong learning. Youll find links for all of these. College and Workforce Readiness College and Workforce Readiness, part of the Delaware Department of Education (DEDOE, also has lots of career and technical resources, in addition to prison education info. Another good resource. The Delaware Skills Center The Delaware Skills Center is another great resource. Its all about vocational technical training and offers courses in nursing, electrical, welding, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), construction, and computer sciences. The center has been around since 1962, providing skills training and job placement for 9,500 graduates. It works closely with Delaware business and develops curricula that matches what Delaware businesses need, so job placement is high. Sounds like a winning formula. Delaware Center for Distance Adult Learning The Delaware Center for Distance Adult Learning, known as DCDAL, focuses on helping adults get their high school diploma or GED, and transition to college. Its mission is to provide a personalized program with quality instruction and support to enable adult learners to become more effective employees, family members, and community participants. This center is closely associated the the James H. Groves Adult High School, which has seven centers throughout the state of Delaware. New Start New Start is an adult learning program for residents of lower New Castle County. Its free, and it offers help with reading, writing, speaking and math. Youll find a ton of information about tutors, which is very attractive to many adult learners. County Info Each county in Delaware has its own programs for adult education. Be sure to check the resources and programs in the county in which you live. And dont forget your local community colleges and universities. You might be surprised how many adult students are on campus. Look for the counselors office and get all your questions answered in the right place. Other Resources Delaware Adult Community Education NetworkEducational Resources for Delaware from ed.govDelaware Works, a workforce investment boardPrivate Schools in Delaware Good luck!

Causes of delay in public sector construction projects in Saudi Arabia Research Proposal

Causes of delay in public sector construction projects in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example ave been increasingly plagued by lengthy and frequent delays that seem to have become more prevalent after the regulatory reform and subsequent construction company-restructuring of the early and mid-1990s. To improve this situation, there has been increased research interest in identifying the different factors that could cause these delays. One of the main policies and goals of public sector construction is the upgrading of project performance; including completion of projects within time and budget constraints and reduction of costs (Alzeban & Sawan, 2013). In addition, execution and completion time is one of the most important performance measures in the public construction sector. However, the construction industry is subject to the influence of unpredictable factors and changing variables, which could potentially cause project completion delays (Pretorius, 2012). There is a need to understand these causes of delay in order to save public money by identifying potential mitigatin g actions. Delay in the proposed project refers to overrun time beyond the specified data of completion regardless of whether the government grants extension time. Chidambaram et al. (2012) state that there is an increase in public construction project delays and cost, noting the need to investigate the different categories of causes that are responsible for cost overruns and time delays in public-funded projects. The authors argue that this is necessary to ascertain whether current measures put in place to mitigate project delays are valid. Consequently, the researchers reviewed questionnaire survey responses from forty-one previous studies investigating the causes of construction delays. They find that respondents across the forty-one studies reported over 100 causes for project execution and completion delays, which they were able to group into 18 categories (Chidambaram et al., 2012). Nevertheless, they caution that researchers used widely different ranking systems, resulting in

Enzymes activity Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enzymes activity - Lab Report Example The three sets of reactions were prepared by adding varying amounts of 0.25M sucrose and distilled water. In one set, 0.2 ml of 75mM of magnesium chloride was added, and in another set, an equal amount of 4M Urea was added as inhibitors to the reaction. Reactions in living organisms are slow, enzymes speed up the reactions so as to maintain life. The enzymes control the reactions by ensuring that every reaction is catalyzed by a specific enzyme and at a particular point in a cell. They have a tertiary structure and are folded in a conformation that many intramolecular interactions of amino acids that make up the molecule. They are not used up in the reactions therefore can be used in several reactions. They are substrate specific that is they fold in a shape assisted by chaperone proteins that will determine which substrate the enzyme will act upon. Coenzymes and cofactors aid enzymes in their functions. Enzymes can be denatured by extremes in temperature and pH. Competitive inhibitors, noncompetitive inhibitors and allosteric inhibitors regulate enzyme activity. The enzymes do not change the reactions’ equilibrium since the free energies of the reactants or products are not changed. Enzymes are catalysts that are protein in nature that increase the rate of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower free energy of activation. The reaction is usually expressed as In enzyme kinetics, the Michaelis Menten reaction relates the reaction rate (ÃŽ ½) to [S] which is the concentration of a substrate. The Km and the Vmax of an enzyme can be determined from determination of the initial rates of the enzyme catalyzed reactions over the concentration of the substrate. The maximum rate achieved is Vmax while Km is the Michaelis constant, is the substrate concentration at which the reaction rate is half of Vmax. Km varies from one enzyme to another but is