Wednesday, October 30, 2019

People have to solve the smog problem Research Paper

People have to solve the smog problem - Research Paper Example China’s own governmental policies designed to keep the problem of pollution within limits have not been very successful and the national target to keep the concentration of particulate matter within limits was never achieved. The environment belongs to each and every one of us and there exists several ways in which citizens of the country help to reduce the problem and lead a better and safer life. Smog is basically photochemical air pollution. Smog has two major components- suspended particular matter and emissions from factories and vehicles. Smog is basically of two kinds- London type and photochemical type. London type of smog occurs mostly in urban and industrialized areas where coal plants and fossil fuels are consumed in huge quantities. Major components in such types of smog includes particulate matter and oxides of sulfur. Another major form is the photochemical smog which a result of reactions in the atmosphere which are initiated by ultraviolet radiations on emissions. Vehicles are the principal contributors to such emissions. Major components of photochemical air pollution includes oxides of nitrogen, ozone and hydrocarbons (Altshuller, 1978). It is not that that the Chinese Government is least bothered about the environment or problems associated with it. The fact is that the government has greater concern for socioeconomic development and has degraded the environment in the race to become a booming economy. Air pollution monitoring have shown that suspended particulate matter in most regions such as Shanghai and Beijing exceed the limits which can be tolerated by the human body. According to air quality index for Shanghai is 137 and for Beijing is 224, both of which are very unhealthy (Air Quality Index in China, 2015). In fact very recently, the air pollution in Beijing was so high that it became impossible to measure it with the normal air quality methodology. China’s energy demands are

Monday, October 28, 2019

Are students have changed Essay Example for Free

Are students have changed Essay Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. (Prensky,2001). Prensky further stated that children in the 21st century are classified as Net-gen, and digital-gen but the most useful description Prensky found for these children is Digital Natives. This is evident because in the 21st century children as young as three years are mastering the uses of computers, videogames, internets, tablets, mobile phones and other technological devices. According to Janssen (n. d) digital native is an individual who was born after the widespread adoption of digital technology. Technology is so advance and useful to students it seems like they get so addicted to it and felt like they can’t do without it and the other hand it helps students to improve in learning. Three changes that are seen with the first century learner regards to technology, they are more dependent on technology, misuse of information and unlimited thinking skills. Firstly, the internet is known as one of the greatest invention of modern age; a gateway that is magical to resources, information and communication unlike anything we previous dreamed of. It is claimed by many that it is the greatest single technological advance for education, as it opens opportunities for studying, learning and discovering. But as time goes by and the first generation of students grows up with modern internet technology from birth to teenage years, questions have been asking are children being dependent on technology. The internet provides students with  enormous advantage of a world of information at their finger tip. A single tap of the finger on the keyboard can deliver a hundred of articles under a second; far hours from when students would spend time spinning through library books and journals in days passed by. With the ease of access, the internet comes with disadvantages such as false and incorrect information that is easily distributed and can be difficult to trace sources and support the information. On, on the other side the volume of research materials online can make students to find information they need too easy, allowing them to compile these information by copying and pasting without understanding and analysing the information they are sifting through at all. While students from twent y years and beyond would have to read and absorb a huge amount of information such as putting together a report on tree frogs. These students have to use different sources for each part of the project; while on the other hand digital natives would discover everything needed to know by the internet site, picking up a little knowledge in the process. According to Jannsen (n.d) people believes that children who are digital natives think differently due to their early exposure to technology and have become accustom to using technology to solve the repetitive tasks that form the basis of traditional learning With the rise of different technology, and the fantastic way that produce communication from mobile phones to iPods to Skype and face book, modern students have become available to a wealth of education opportunities. Pupils from Jamaica can now hold an online debate with a class of their contemporaries in United States and others, interactive group webpage, class blogs, and programs that design interactive online animations which allowed educational communication to form. The reliance on the mobile phones and the laptops is taking toll on areas in education such as literacy and writing skills. This is said to be suffering as children write less and more text message expression take preference over their grammar. Also the suffering of simple communication skills and understanding of personal interaction as young people spend more time online communicating using their keyboards rather face to face contact. The reliance of such method for communication can cause students to form unhealthy relationships with others, concerned about critics that was said, and open up possibilities of cyber-bullying that is very dangerous and persecution of people online. Secondly, the expansion of the use and easy  availability of technology makes it easy for society to do negative activities that often violates the law. The main problems are the misuse of copyright, distribution of forbidden materials, violation of privacy or personal data and other serious activities. This activity can be seen in education field where the increase of plagiarism among students. Students can find information on the internet free and plagiarize other’s work whether if it is intentionally or without realising it. According to Lindemann C(2013) among students in grades 7-12, 21% have turned in a paper downloaded from the Internet. More than a third (38%) copied text from a website. The more students rely on the internet such as Google and Wikipedia answers to answer their home work questions, they are required to use less of their minds to come up with independent thoughts and opinions. Instead they simple click, copy and paste. Plagiarism is not the only way of cheating. The internet is not the only way; students can used other technology such as mp3 players, mobile phones, calculators and other technologies. In gaining information using phones this can be done by emails, texts, Bluetooth, as well as phone calls. According to Takahashi (2011) many educators perceive them a slacking more formal ICT skills. The availability and ease of use of technology makes cheating possible. The environment opens possibilities for academic dishonesty which can be difficult to discover. Students find simple and fast way to get through their studies, such way is to share materials, results, papers, information about exams. A majority of website offers a variety of finished work materials for essays, seminar papers, reports, and even degree works, answers to test for final exams in bachelor or master courses. These website are made for students to upload their work voluntary and the provider usually do not get benefit from the sites; while some sites will offer small benefit for uploading the work. Downloading the work can also be free without registration, if not unless the provider creates a user account or a fee. The reason why students plagiarize is the overload of information. The more information you have leads to the first step towards good school paper. Technology is used by teachers and professionals to increase the quality of leaning. The growth and progress in ICT changes education compare to decades ago and introduce methods that increase in students learning. From this students need to learn how to deal with information for assignments,  work tasks, research tasks and other information problems. Thirdly, technology affects students thinking skill. According to Wolpert S (2009) as technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declines, while our visual have improved. Thinking is the ability to reflect, draw on conclusions, knowledge, reason and insight. It is what makes students communicate, build, create and become civilized. Thinking is based from learning, observing, remembering, questioning, arguing, judging and others. The exposure of technology as changes learners. Because of students’ brain still developing and malleable, the exposure of technology causes digital natives brain to be wire in ways different from previous generation. Reading encouraged the brain to be focused and imaginative; but pleasure for reading has decline in young people which enhances thinking and creates imagination that visual media such as video games, television cannot. The using of visual media will allow students to process information better but most don’t allow students to get the time to reflect, analyze or imagine. Reading develops reflection, imagination, critical thinking as well as the development of vocabulary. Through reading, these skills are developed. Students today are more visual literacy and are less print literacy thus many students are not being seen reading often and reading for pleasure. Technology strengthens student’s ability to scan information quickly and efficiently. An impl ication for teaching and learning is that workshops or seminars should be implemented for teachers so that they receive training to know how to integrate the different types of technology into their lessons and make learning more engaging for students. As we know that student gravitates to technology and we are living in 21st century. Attending these workshops teachers are able to know more about each technology such as the usage, programs and others. They are able to monitor the technology by themselves and by doing so they are able to carry out the lesson effectively and stimulate children learning. One implication for policy makers is that in order for the teachers to integrate the technology in the classroom to meet the need of his students, firstly you should provide or equipped the schools with the necessary technology. Without these, teachers will unable to do so, which he or she wants to; so that her students can grasp the concepts well. For the school to be equipped policy makers should also develop an infrastructure to  place the technologies. Provide the necessary security and to eliminate outdated hardware and software and replace them with up to date as the years are passing by. â€Å"When technology integration in the classroom is seamless and thoughtful, students not only become more engaged, the y begin to take more control over their own learning†. (Hertz 2014). Technology integration is the use of technology in the classroom that helps to carry out learning concepts and to manage the class, such technology are computers, overhead projectors, digital cameras, internet, tape recorders, and CD-ROMs. Digital camera is a great application in the classroom as it allows collecting and documenting exciting events in the environment. Integrating digital camera properly can help to link lessons to student’s lives. For example class letter, development of stories and community based research. Cameras can be share between classes and capture images quickly and easily, in which pictures provide important context for children learning experience. Images that are culturally relevant can be a very powerful strategy for students to learn about their community. For example teaching about vocabulary, teachers can send students outdoor with the digital camera to take pictures of events, objects or actions that represent the vocabulary that was discussed . Students can be asked to write sentences or paragraph highlighting new vocabulary. Which is a very excited way for students to increase their vocabulary and become better readers; and teachers could give students the opportunity to take pictures of events or actions that reflect in a story that was read to them, downloading pictures from the computer then allowed children to write a sentence or paragraph about each picture. Having students to take pictures of the story event or action will help them to relate what they reading to their own lives in their community. Digital camera can be used to do storytelling which produces narrated short films using music, photos and voices. The grade 3 lesson â€Å"who are the people in my community†, students and teachers can take a walk within the community with the camera and take pictures of community helpers and write sentences about each role within the community. The teacher and students can produce their story by downloading the pictures on the computer using programs such as Photo-Story, Windows Movie Maker, Powe rPoint, that include narration for each. The tape recorder and boom box can be used to engage student and help save time. One activity for the whole class is teachers can use a student to  become the classroom DJ. Using a microphone, the student announces the topic of the day’s lesson. With a book in hand students can read along with their teacher during reading time. Students can even listen to a recording of their teacher who record the book tape before. The boom box can be used to create electronic portfolio that showcase student’s best work and the learning progress during a time period. By doing this teachers can record the students reading or thinking process when solving a problem, a video clip of his or her oral presentation and a CD with the child digital story. The tape recorder can be used to record student’s reading of a text at regular intervals which is assessed at each interval and strategies plan to improve the reading fluency. The overhead projector is a display system that is used to present images, videos, texts to students. It helps to carry out concepts and for students to grasp concepts by which it stimulates learning by watching videos, interactive games and retrieving texts which aid in the development of different learning styles such as audio and visual learners. The teacher faces the students while the notes that are prepared previously revealed. The lesson becomes engaging and students are attentive or focus and not only that but the teacher becomes more efficient by sharing and creating reusable work. . An example of how teachers can make the projector a part of her lesson is if a teacher is trying to bring across the lesson of the topic family to a grade two class, students will watch a video of the family then have a discussion with the teacher, from the video students will define the term family in their own words. Students will use family related terms seen in the video to write at least five sentences. The family related terms are like: grandmother, brother and sister. References Prensky M (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensigrants%2520-%2520Part1.pd Hertz MB (n.d) How to Integrate Technology Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation Wolpert S (2006) Is technology producing a decline in critical UCLA Newsroom Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/is-ducing-a-decline-79127.asp Lindemann C (2013) How to Stop the Plagiarism Plague | Education.com Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://www.education.com/magazine/articlcle/stop-plagiarism-plague Janssen C (n.d) What is a Digital Native? Definition from Techopedia Retrieved February 21, 2014 from www.techopedia.com/definition/28094/digital-native Takahashi (2011) Academia.edu | Documents in Digitalian Academia.edu Retrieved February 23, 2014 from www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Digitalian

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Comparing the McCarthy Hearings and McCarthyism with The Crucible Witch Trials :: compare and contrast essay examples

Throughout the history of mankind, the misapplication of power, marring of souls have been a part of life. How does this affect us, why does it happen? Human emotion plays a major role in prejudice and the politics that surround it are evident in today's society. Many things can define persecution. No matter how it is defined, it is a tragic event. About three hundred years ago, the witch trials of Salem were a hot topic. Two young girls deceitfully accused a slave, Tituba of witchery. Soon, callous accusations flew and the joke became a sad, sad reality. Fearing punishment, the two girls kept the charade going. The Puritan religion had no way to publicly admit their sins, and things they regret. Because of this, the trials played a role as an outlet for the society's misgivings. They had a way to express their feelings without being chastised. This anti-witch hysteria caused innocent people to die at the cry of others. In terror of being victimized themselves, people accused others of compacting with the devil. Hoping to possibly move the focus of the investigations elsewhere, many followed this unfortunate path. Hatred, denial, dread, perhaps even shock, were all driving factors behind the actions of the townspeople. In the end, almost two dozen innocent men and women were hanged, and hundreds charged or jailed. Moving to a more recent incident, The "Red Scare" of the '50s is a modern example of how a sophisticated people can be brought to such lows. Wanting to get the public's attention, McCarthy spawned a massive anti-Soviet campaign. Searches for people working among us that believed in communist views or someone who might know such a person became commonplace. The crusade itself was based on non-existent claims that some government workers were communists. Senator McCarthy's "proof" was never seen by anyone, further suggesting that his claims were little more than an attempt to intensify his political power base. Taking advantage of the public's views of the Soviet Republic communist system, McCarthy did indeed become an influential power in the U.S. Senate. To gain support, he and Abby fed on worries of the general populace. Both of them had gone from a nobody, someone with little control over anyone but themselves, to someone who could control anyone they pleased. Like Abigail in "The Crucible," his grapple of the situation soon crumbled leaving him dishonored.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

SHakespeare :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare was surely the world's most performed and admired playwright. He was well known in his time, and like many artists his fame continues to grow after his death. His plays dealt with many controversial topics, from racism to witchcraft- perhaps adding to the appeal of his plays in general. Shakespeare led an amazing life for his time, a time when actors and actresses were looked down upon and discriminated. He helped to change this stereotype and altered the world perception of theatre forever. In this report, I will outline many areas of Shakespeare’s life, including His birth, marriage and children, parents and family, education, as well as his death. William Shakespeare the famous playwright was born in April, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, about 100 miles northwest of London. According to the records of Stratford's Holy Trinity Church, he was baptized on April 26. It was customary to baptize infants within days of birth, and because Shakespeare died 52 years later on April 23, and-most significantly-since April 23 is St. George's day, the patron saint of England, it has become traditional to assign the birth day of England's most famous poet to April 23. As with most sixteenth century births, the actual day was never officially recorded, but along with most remarkable men the power of myth and symmetry has proven irresistible, so April 23 it has become. Shakespeare's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare, who lived in Henley Street, in Stratford. John, the son of Richard Shakespeare, was a whittawer (a maker, worker, and seller of leather goods such as purses, belts and gloves) and a dealer in agricultural commodities. He was a solid, middle class citizen at the time of William's birth, and a man on the rise. He served in Stratford government successively as a member of the Council (1557), constable (1558), chamberlain (1561), alderman (1565), and finally high bailiff (1568)--the equivalent of town mayor. About 1577 John Shakespeare's fortunes began to decline for unknown reasons. There are records of some debts he may have had, but of course, none can be verified for certain. In 1586 he was replaced as alderman for shirking responsibilities, and in 1592 was reprimanded for not coming to church for fear of process of debt. Records for the Stratford grammar school from the time Shakespeare would have attended have been lost, but attend he undoubtedly did since the school was built and maintained expressly for the purpose of educating the sons of prominent citizens.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

My Choices for Room 101

The first thing that I would out into room 101 is the money grabbing, cold-hearted, kill joy mugs. These people walk around, head down, scribbling away in their nasty little books, feeling proud of ruining yet another innocent person's day. If you haven't guessed yet, I am talking about the selfish traffic wardens. 99. 9% of vehicle/car owners don't even realise that they have done anything to deserve a parking ticket! How would you like it if you had paid for a 1hour pay and display ticket and you came to your care at 1 minute past and a warden was stamping the sticky yellow piece of paper on your windscreen?. For arriving at your car one minute late you have to pay a massive fine of i30. Right, imagine this. You have just had the most wonderful day out with your family, and you all had a good time, suddenly you walk over to your car to find the dreaded yellow ticket. The smiles have now hit the floor. But wait, you check your paid and displayed ticket and you are back before the expiry time†¦ so why are you getting charged? Then you read the note†¦ You put your parking ticket on the wrong side of the windscreen. How can there be a right and wrong side to put a paid and displayed ticket? As I said before, selfish, and the wardens get a little gold star off his boss!! So, I am sure that you will agree with me that the only way to avoid getting a parking ticket is to leave you windscreen wipers on full speed when you leave your car Katie Price: Speaking about brassy and common, it would be rude not to mention the queen of brassy and common; â€Å"Jordan† aka Katie Price. Without a doubt I would send this excuse of a woman to room 101. Every time I step into a newsagents or corner shop she is on the cover of â€Å"Ok! † magazine, why? Why is somebody so talent less so vulgar and so disgusting branded a â€Å"celebrity? † The lengths she will go to for money makes me want to vomit and question why she's so popular. She continuously puts her children in the spotlight and exploits them for all that there worth. She often sets the camera on them in her countless reality programmes where you can see from her vulgar language what a disgusting person she is. Constantly she moans to the media how hard it is to care for her son's illness, the same son that when she was pregnant with him spent most of her time drinking. The media being a joke it has announced this woman â€Å"Mother of the Year. Is a â€Å"Mother of the year† one who swears and makes crude comments over national television, appears in countless men's magazines, and stumbles out of nightclubs confused? I could actually not think of a worse role model for teenage girls – even younger! Than Katie Price, an anorexic glamour model that has nearly died during plastic surgery trying to perfect the â€Å"perfect† looks The first thing I have chosen to talk about as something I hate most is adverts. Whether its adverts on the television or in a magazine, they are all greatly irritating and I think many people will agree with me. I am going to talk about tele advertisements. Tele adverts are highly annoying and unwanted by everybody. For example, lets pretend you have just turned on the tele and have flicked onto an interesting movie. It's a horror film, your favourite. Your getting really into the movie and enjoying it, the suspense is building up and your dying to know what's going to happen. Your coming to the climax of the film, you cant wait to see what happens and your on the edge of your seat†¦ nd then the film stops and is replaced for 2 to 3 minutes of adverts. Your sense of excitement has disappeared immediately hasn't it? When the film eventually appears back on your screen, you have lost the desire and excitement to watch the movie that you had just 3 minutes ago. Research shows a massive 91% of people agree with us, saying adverts ruin television programs, and a huge 79% of people asked said they wished advertisements were banned! So, what I wonder is why aren't adverts getting stopped forever? Well, when asking around I've been told that some people wrongly think adverts are useful, saying they use this time either to go to the toilet or make a drink or snack. Well, when counting up the amount of advert breaks in-between an hour-long program I was watching yesterday, there was a massive 4 breaks interrupting it! No way do people need to get up and do these so-called useful things 4 times in an hour, which is every 15 minutes, which is ridiculous! Furthermore, adverts are there simply to advertise different products or services. But, who actually watches the adverts? Definitely not me, and I'm not the only one. A massive 94% of people don't pay any attention to the adverts, and 86% of these people change the channel over whilst the adverts are on. So, adverts, they do nothing but annoy people, they ruin the programs you watch and the advertisements don't get any attention by the vast majority of the population, therefore meaning they aren't doing the job they are there for. They are annoying and pointless, and I am sure everyone will agree they should definitely be put into room 101.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Microbiology Chapter 1 Study Guide Essays

Microbiology Chapter 1 Study Guide Essays Microbiology Chapter 1 Study Guide Essay Microbiology Chapter 1 Study Guide Essay Chapter 1 Notes * Robert Hooke * Discovered Cellulae (Cells) * Formed Basis of Cell Theory * 1. Cell basic unit of life * 2. All living organisms are made of cells * 3. Must have living cells to make more cells * Anton Von Leeuwenhoek * Father microbiology microscopy * Discovered microorganisms (animalcules) * Disproved microorganisms were heaven sent * Put clean bowl out during rainstorm no microorganism * Let sit * Days later microorganisms formed from air * Ferdinand Cohn Discovered endospores (enable some bacteria to survive adverse environmental conditions) * Why growth occurred in experiments that disproved/proved SG * Louis Pasteur * Definitive experiment that disproved SG * Fermentation * Pasteurization: heat liquid to temp. that kills the most heat resistant pathogen but NOT all (milk) * Vaccination against Rabies (Rhabdovirus), anthrax (bacillusanthracis), Chicken Cholera (bacterium) * Silkworm industry * Disease (protozoan) was killing silk moths * Developed a method to detect diseased moths and separate * Lady Mary Montagu * Wife British Ambassador to Turkey * Developed Smallpox Observed Turkish women engrafting * Spread mild small pox to other by injecting into their veins * Patient would then be immune to smallpox * Reject because she was woman not doctor/scientist * Carl Linnaeus * Developed science of taxonomy * Scientific Nomenclature * Binomial nomenclature * Process of giving all organisms 2 scientific names * Genus species * Edward Jenner * Discovered process of vaccination * Worked with cowpox milkmaids * Milk cowpox scrap pustal scratch skin w/ needle develop mild cowpox immune to smallpox * John Snow * First epidemiologist Traced Cholera epidemic to common H2O pump that was contaminated * Ignaz Semmelweis * Puerperal Fever (child bed fever) major cause of mortality to mothers and infants * Death in midwife ward = low ; death in doctor/med student ward = high * Doctors/med students contact w/ cadavers that previously died from disease * Spread disease to living mothers * Required hand washing with chlorite of lime * Joseph Lister * Concerned with incidence of infection and mortality from surgery * Aseptic Surgery = used carbolic acid (phenol) on incision site, instruments, and bandages * John Tyndall Boiling was not sufficient to sterilize broths and agar * Tyndallization Process: * Liquid is heated to boiling (100Â °C) allowed to sit and cool for 24hours * Liquid is reheated to boiling (100Â °C) and then allow to cool and sit for another 24 hours * Repeat * Robert Koch * Developed concept of causative agent of disease (MO cause disease) * Germ Theory of Disease – developed many microbiological techniques, media and procedures * Tuberculin – thought founded vaccine (incorrect) .. use as first step to determine if person has TB * Fanny Hesse * Worked for Robert Koch Used Agar to convert liquid brother to slid medium * Koch’s Postulates (Identifying which bacteria causes which disease) * MO m ust be present in every case of the disease. Every host must have the same signs and symptoms of the disease * Isolate the microorganism and grow it in pure culture outside the host * Pure culture must be inoculated into a healthy susceptible host. Experimentally infected host must exhibit the same signs and symptoms of the disease * The Microorganism must be reisolated from the experimentally infected host and shown to be identical to the original MO * Paul Ehrlich Concept chemotherapy * Syphilis – Treponema palladium * Compound 606-Salvarsan (Arsenic containing compound) * Alexander Fleming * Accidently discovered antibiotics * Antibiotics = naturally produced compounds that inhibit the growth of other MOs * Working with Staphylococcus aureus (opportunistic pathogen- must be proper conditions to cause infection) * Most antibiotics produced by bacteria, followed by fungi * Martinus Beijerinck * Concept of Viruses * Soil microorganisms-isolated the first soil MOs * Sergei Win ogradsky * Sulfur metabolism by microorganisms * Concept of nitrogen fixation * Biochemical cycles Symbiotic relationships * Barbara McClintock * Transposons – cause Maize (jumping genes- genes move themselves and create different color kernals) * James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins * Structure of DNA * Molecular biology and genetics * Thomas Brock * Thermophilic microorganisms (high temperature loving microorganisms) * Thermus and Sulfolobus * Lynn Margulis * Endosymbiont Theory * Big prokaryotic cell engulfs little prokaryotic cell * Little survives insides but loses many functions (energy conversion, protein synthesis) * Little becomes mitochondria or chloroplast Eukaryotic Cell evolved * Carl B. Woese * Molecular systematic based on 16sRNA * Improved ability to identify MO * Stanley Prusinier * Discovered Prions * Protenaous Infectious Particles * Luc Montagnier * Discovered human immunodeficiency virus * Barry Marshall and Robin Warren * Ca usative agent of gastric peptic ulcers * MO colonize in stomach * Disbelieved b. c stomach is so acidic and has enzymes * Antibiotics cure ulcers * Demonstrated effect pharmaceutical industry practice of gastroenterology against 2 men

Monday, October 21, 2019

Facts and Figures About Sivapithecus, the Primate Also Known as Ramapithecus

Facts and Figures About Sivapithecus, the Primate Also Known as Ramapithecus Sivapithecus occupies an important place on the prehistoric primate evolutionary flow chart: This slender, five-foot-long ape marked the time when early primates descended from the comforting shelter of trees and started to explore the wide-open grasslands. The late Miocene Sivapithecus possessed chimpanzee-like feet with flexible ankles, but otherwise it resembled an orangutan, to which it may have been directly ancestral. (Its also possible that the orangutan-like features of Sivapithecus arose via the process of convergent evolution, the tendency of animals in similar ecosystems to evolve similar features). Most important, from the perspective of paleontologists, were the shape of Sivapithecus teeth. This primates large canines and heavily enameled molars point to a diet of tough tubers and stems (such as would be found on the open plains) rather than tender fruits (such as would be found in trees). Sivapithecus is intimately associated with Ramapithecus, a now-downgraded genus of central Asian primate, discovered in the country of Nepal, that was once considered to be directly ancestral to modern humans. It turns out that the analysis of the original Ramapithecus fossils was flawed and that this primate was less human-like, and more orangutan-like, than had initially been thought, not to mention disturbingly similar to the earlier-named Sivapithecus. Today, most paleontologists believe that the fossils attributed to Ramapithecus actually represent the slightly smaller females of genus Sivapithecus (sexual differentiation not being an uncommon feature of ancestral apes and hominids), and that neither genus was a direct Homo sapiens ancestor. Species of Sivapithecus/Ramapithecus There are three named species of Sivapithecus, each dating to slightly different time frames. The type species, S. indicus, discovered in India in the late 19th century, lived from about 12 million to 10 million years ago; a second species. S. sivalensis, discovered in northern India and Pakistan in the early 1930s, lived from about nine to eight million years ago; and a third species, S. parvada, discovered on the Indian subcontinent in the 1970s, was significantly bigger than the other two and helped drive home the affinities of Sivapithecus with modern orangutans. You might be wondering, how did a hominid like Sivapithecus (or Ramapithecus) wind up in Asia, of all places, given that the human branch of the mammalian evolutionary tree originated in Africa? Well, these two facts are not inconsistent: it could be that the last common ancestor of Sivapithecus and Homo sapiens did in fact live in Africa, and its descendants migrated out of the continent during the middle Cenozoic Era. This has very little bearing on a lively debate now going on about whether hominids did, indeed, arise in Africa; unfortunately, this scientific dispute has been tainted by some well-founded accusations of racism (of course we didnt come from Africa, say some experts, since Africa is such a backward continent). Name: Sivapithecus (Greek for Siva ape); pronounced SEE-vah-pith-ECK-us Habitat: Woodlands of central Asia Historical Epoch: Middle-Late Miocene (12-7 million years ago) Size and Weight: About five feet long and 50-75 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Chimpanzee-like feet; flexible wrists; large canines

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Emperor Pedro II of Brazil

Emperor Pedro II of Brazil Emperor Pedro II of Brazil: Pedro II, of the House of Braganà §a, was Emperor of Brazil from 1841 to 1889. He was a fine ruler who did much for Brazil and held the nation together during chaotic times. He was an even-tempered, intelligent man who was generally respected by his people. The Empire of Brazil: In 1807 the Portuguese royal family, the House of Braganà §a, fled Europe just ahead of Napoleons troops. The ruler, Queen Maria, was mentally ill, and the decisions were made by Crown Prince Joo. Joo brought along his wife Carlota of Spain and his children, including a son who would eventually be Pedro I of Brazil. Pedro married Leopoldina of Austria in 1817. After Joo returned to claim the throne of Portugal after the defeat of Napoleon, Pedro I declared Brazil independent in 1822. Pedro and Leopoldina had four children survive into adulthood: the youngest, born on December 2, 1825, was also named Pedro and would become Pedro II of Brazil when crowned. Youth of Pedro II: Pedro lost both his parents at an early age. His mother died in 1829 when Pedro was only three. His father Pedro the elder returned to Portugal in 1831 when young Pedro was only five: Pedro the elder would die of tuberculosis in 1834. Young Pedro would have the best schooling and tutors available, including Josà © Bonifcio de Andrada, one of the leading Brazilian intellectuals of his generation. Apart from Bonifcio, the greatest influences on young Pedro were his beloved governess, Mariana de Verna, who he affectionately called â€Å"Dadama† and who was a surrogate mother to the young boy, and Rafael, an afro-Brazilian war veteran who had been a close friend of Pedro’s father. Unlike his father, whose exuberance precluded dedication to his studies, young Pedro was an excellent student. Regency and Coronation of Pedro II: Pedro the elder abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his son in 1831: Pedro the younger was only five years old. Brazil was ruled by a regency council until Pedro came of age. While young Pedro continued his studies, the nation threatened to fall apart. Liberals around the nation preferred a more democratic form of government and despised the fact that Brazil was ruled by an Emperor. Revolts broke out all over the country, including major outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul in 1835 and again in 1842, Maranho in 1839 and So Paulo and Minas Gerais in 1842. The regency council was barely able to hold Brazil together long enough to be able to hand it over to Pedro. Things got so bad that Pedro was declared of age three and a half years ahead of time: he was sworn in as Emperor on July 23, 1840, at the age of fourteen, and officially crowned about a year later on July 18, 1841. Marriage to Teresa Cristina of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies: History repeated itself for Pedro: years before, his father had accepted marriage with Maria Leopoldina of Austria based on a flattering portrait only to be disappointed when she arrived to Brazil: the same thing happened to Pedro the younger, who agreed to marriage with Teresa Cristina of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies after seeing a painting of her. When she arrived, young Pedro was noticeably disappointed. Unlike his father, however, Pedro the younger always treated Teresa Cristina extremely well and never cheated on her. He came to love her: when she died after forty-six years of marriage, he was heartbroken. They had four children, of which two daughters lived into adulthood. Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil: Pedro was tested early and often as Emperor and consistently proved himself able to deal with his nation’s problems. He showed a firm hand with the continuing revolts in different parts of the country. Dictator of Argentina Juan Manuel de Rosas often encouraged dissension in southern Brazil, hoping to pry off a province or two to add to Argentina: Pedro responded by joining a coalition of rebellious Argentine states and Uruguay in 1852 which militarily deposed Rosas. Brazil saw many improvements during his reign, such as railways, water systems, paved roads and improved port facilities. A continued close relationship with Great Britain gave Brazil an important trading partner. Pedro and Brazilian Politics: His power as ruler was kept in check by an aristocratic Senate and en elected Chamber of Deputies: these legislative bodies controlled the nation, but Pedro held a vague poder moderador or moderation power: in other words, he could affect legislation already proposed, but could not initiate much of anything himself. He used his power judiciously, and the factions in the legislature were so contentious among themselves that Pedro was able to effectively wield much more power than he supposedly had. Pedro always put Brazil first, and his decisions were always made on what he thought was best for the country: even the most dedicated opponents of monarchy and Empire came to respect him personally. The War of the Triple Alliance: Pedro’s darkest hours came during the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870). Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay had been scrapping – militarily and diplomatically – over Uruguay for decades, while politicians and parties in Uruguay played their larger neighbors off against one another. In 1864, the war got more heated: Paraguay and Argentina went to war and Uruguayan agitators invaded southern Brazil. Brazil was soon sucked into the conflict, which eventually pitted Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil (the triple alliance) against Paraguay. Pedro made his greatest mistake as head of state in 1867 when Paraguay sued for peace and he refused: the war would drag on for three more years. Paraguay was eventually defeated, but at great cost to Brazil and her allies. As for Paraguay, the nation was completely devastated and took decades to recover. Slavery: Pedro II disapproved of slavery and worked hard to abolish it. It was a huge problem: in 1845, Brazil was home to about 7-8 million people: five million of them were slaves. Slavery was an important issue during his reign: Pedro and Brazils close allies the British opposed it (Britain even chased slaver ships into Brazilian ports) and the wealthy landowner class supported it. During the American Civil War, the Brazilian legislature quickly recognized the Confederate States of America, and after the war a group of southern slaveowners even relocated to Brazil. Pedro, stymied in his efforts to outlaw slavery, even set up a fund to buy freedom for slaves and once purchased the freedom of a slave on the street. Still, he managed to whittle away at it: in 1871 a law was passed which made children born to slaves free. Slavery was finally abolished in 1888: Pedro, in Milan at the time, was overjoyed. End of Pedros Reign and Legacy: In the 1880s the movement to make Brazil into a democracy gained momentum. Everyone, including his enemies, respected Pedro II himself: they hated the Empire, however, and wanted change. After the abolition of slavery, the nation became even more polarized. The military became involved, and in November of 1889, they stepped in and removed Pedro from power. He endured the insult of being confined to his palace for a time before being encouraged to go into exile: he left on November 24. He went to Portugal, where he lived in an apartment and was visited by a steady stream of friends and well-wishers until his death on December 5, 1891: he was only 66 but his long time in office (58 years) had aged him beyond his years. Pedro II was one of Brazils finest rulers. His dedication, honor, honesty and morality kept his growing nation on an even keel for over 50 years while other South American nations fell apart and warred with one another. Perhaps Pedro was such a good ruler because he had no taste for it: he frequently said that he would rather be a teacher than an emperor. He kept Brazil on the path to modernity, but with a conscience. He sacrificed much for his homeland, including his personal dreams and happiness. When he was deposed, he simply said that if the people of Brazil didnt want him as Emperor, he would leave, and thats just what he did - one suspects he sailed off with a bit of relief. When the new republic formed in 1889 had growing pains, the people of Brazil soon found they missed Pedro terribly. When he passed away in Europe, Brazil shut down in mourning for a week, even though there was no official holiday. Pedro is fondly remembered by Brazilians today, who have given him the nickname the Magnanimous. His remains, and those of Teresa Cristina, were returned to Brazil in 1921 to great fanfare. The people of Brazil, many of whom still remembered him, turned out in droves to welcome his remains home. He holds a position of honor as one of the most distinguished Brazilians in history. Sources: Adams, Jerome R. Latin American Heroes: Liberators and Patriots from 1500 to the Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. Harvey, Robert. Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2000. Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962 Levine, Robert M. The History of Brazil. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Economic Analysis Of The Energy Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economic Analysis Of The Energy Sector - Essay Example I will use articles, journals and books relating to the energy sector business to write this essay. Section One Self Employment Opportunities in the Energy Sector are indicators of growth and prosperity of a nation. Fossil fuels are diminishing at an increasing rate and have become scarce (Steger, 2005). Due to the scarcity, conservation and efficient utilization of various forms of energy have been of concern. Conservation of energy and efficient utilization of energy has tremendous potential, self-employment opportunities (Taylor and Parish, 2008). There are various nonbanking financial institutions, which have developed as a result of promoting energy conservation. In addition, individuals can get self-employment in the energy sector through setting up energy auditing firms that are accredited or becoming an individual consultant in the line of energy auditing (Peterson’s, 2010). Methodology In writing this research, primary and secondary materials will be used. Primary sou rces include interviewing self-employed people in the energy sector and talking to people in the energy business. Secondary sources used include books, articles and various reports provided by institutions and companies in the energy sector. General Trends in the Energy Sector World energy production has undergone a pivotal transformation in energy and resource management. Due to the growing world population currently standing at seven billion, there is a need in the development of the entire energy sector to ensure sustainability in the sector (Chung, 2005). This development requires people who are skilled in taking over investments in the energy sector. A research conducted by Karen Ward reveals that there is an adequate supply of oil for the next fifty years, and that of gas for the next 100-200 years (UNEP, 2009), but due to the growing demand for oil and gas, extraction cost and environment preservation, the industry faces a future with challenges and focuses on renewable energ y sources in securing a sustainable future. Some global organizations are promoting investments in the renewable sources in order to achieve sustainability. The world’s investments in the renewable sources of energy have increased by around 30% from 2009-2010, attaining a level of $ 243 billion (UNEP, 2010). This can be attributed to the utility companies seeking the reduction of carbon emissions and organizations seeking investments in the energy sector to achieve sustainable levels. According to Allen and York (2010), they see the growth of renewable energy within the portfolio and corporate, business plans of modern companies. Hence, the number corporations seeking renewable energy investments are on the increase. The European job market in the wind targets to increase renewable energy by 20% by 2020 and is positively responding to the set targets (EWEA, 2009). According to RenewableUK (2011), strong growth in the wind energy sector is expected over the next decade, creati ng over 250,000 new employment opportunities. There is a growing demand for energy professionals in the UK due to the rise in wind energy firms (EWEA, 2009). This has created self-employment job opportunities for those individuals willing to invest in the sector (Deitche, 2010). From the recent developments in the renewable energy investments, there is an increasing demand for project managers, connection engineers, environment assessors, energy auditors, and project developers to undertake the investment business.

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Cybersecurity Act A free internet no more Essay

The Cybersecurity Act A free internet no more - Essay Example The internet is a vital tool in shaping the society. Digital technology is rapidly evolving and faster data transfer rate as well as internet connectivity using the mobile phone and the other devices have opened up the communication field with huge impact to the social changes. The internet is an imperative tool in promoting social changes and bringing about interaction that can help different cultures mingle. The internet has also be blamed for a demoralizing the society by fostering violence, encouraging the influx of phonographic materials, sex exploitation, illegal trade, encouraging children to sex, promotion of immoral behavior and other numerous social ills. This study focuses on censorship of the internet as a means of guarding the degradation of social values and norms and also as a means of fostering social interactions and shaping the society in a positive manner. Bell (1997) investigated the social impact of the digital communication and determined that the use of such devices would have both positive and negative effects. Castells (1996) argues that, the digital communications provide the material basis for pervasive expansion. Castells adds that, the internet will result to the formation of "a networking form of organization." Internet censorship refers to the act of withholding or controlling access to some information from the information superhighway or the internet. Filters and censorware are used towards this end. Though censorship seems to block information, it has been hailed by parents and governments as vital in protecting the social norms of young children as well as preventing explicit information that may taint the cultural lifestyle of a country or encourage young children to sex. Censorship may however be abused by nations and different companies and organization to archive a selfish goal. Evil political regimes also censor internet information with a view of hampering information flow, democracy and political pressure groups views. 2.0 Information censorship Though censorship has been used as a method of preventing young children or some members of a given culture from accessing information that may harm their religious, social and cultural norms, it has been used as a tool for discrimination. Information availed on the web is widely discriminatory. This papers studies internet information with a view of identifying the positive aspects of censorship and expose the wrongs of information discrimination at the other end. 2.1 Inequality of information

Property law assignment about Certainty of objects in discretionary Essay

Property law assignment about Certainty of objects in discretionary trusts - Essay Example The case of McPhail decided on the essential element of the ‘is or is not’ test and the important points that were made were that the courts that is the fact that the ‘is or is not’ test deals with conceptual certainty and the fact that that the ‘the court is never defeated on the basis of evidential certainty’. The decision is said to be the key case in this respect because the problem on the ‘is or is not’ test in respect of the broad list was considered. The essential problem in respect of certainty of objects was that the is or is not test needed be clearly spelled out in respect of such lists. This was because the trusts with such lists would fail for uncertainty of objects and thus the principle needed establishment, which was clearly done by the important decision in McPhail and a demarcation and principle in respect of such lists was clearly identified. 2. Explain the background to the Court of Appeal decision in Re Badenâ⠂¬â„¢s DT No.2, and its lasting significance. (500-600 words) The issue in this question requires an analysis of the background of the case in respect of Re Baden’s DT No.2. ... The trust in this case was about, amongst others, employees and their ‘dependants’ and ‘relatives’. The court stated that ‘dependants’ was not uncertain and the reasoning for this was that the Parliament had used it often whereby it had described dependants. However, there were issues in respect of ‘relatives’ whereby differences in interpretation arose. The meaning that was normally ascribed to relatives was descendants who originated from common ancestors thereby discussing the indefinite and large number of distant relatives. It was discussed at length that the common ancestor was not a conceptual uncertainty and the problem lied in respect of the evidential uncertainty that is the problem of proving the connection. In the case of Re Baden there was property which had been left "to or for the benefit of any of the officers or ex officers or ex employees of the company or to any of the relatives or dependants of any such persons". The applicant argued that for identification of the beneficiary it was important the each and every individual should be identified so as to ensure the question of whether they were a class or not. The respondent argued to the contrary and stated that this was not necessary to identify each and every individual and therefore the trust should be held to be valid and should not fail on the basis of uncertainty of objects. It was further argued that if the class was not considered and the trust was held to be failed then it would be contrary to the wishes of the settler as the reason for such a broad class was the intention of the settler and he could have clearly narrowed the class if he wanted to and therefore the settler had clearly by writing the words had taken

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Business law Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business law - Term Paper Example In this instance, Christopher has to fulfill the condition precedent that is the prerequisite for him to be awarded the inheritance. Luckily, he was already employed as a Marketing Liaison Officer in one of the local hotels in the city. He immediately took possession of the beautiful house left in his care and all the assets that went with it. The first evening he was alone, he decided to watch a film in the Sunnie 60† flat screen television. He was shocked as he turned on the TV when he saw that there was an ugly discoloration on the entire face of the screen, which looked like large blotches of ink thrown at the TV. He checked the records pertaining to the television, and he found out that it was purchased within six months for $5,000.00. He is aware of the warranties that go with the television unit. He browsed over the shrink-wrap agreement that he found in one of the drawers in the office. The shrink-wrap agreement is usually attached in the box of the unit, the contents o f which probably had not been discussed with the buyer. He discovered the conditions of the services that may be rendered for the unit bought and the terms of the warranties. To make it look more official, the conditions are written in various languages, and in very fine prints, to discourage the purchaser from reading it. The following morning, he complained to the dealer of Sunnie, which is the Sunrise Appliance Store, and he was told that the store could not honor the warranties in this instance because the problem was caused by excessive use of the unit. They can repair it, but they would have to charge the cost in the amount of $2,200.00. They pointed out under section E found in the shrink-wrap agreement, that it said, â€Å"Excessive use is specifically not covered by any warranty.† Christopher was quick to anger. Luckily he brought his lawyer with him.

Two listed companies on the HK stock exchange to evaluate how the Essay

Two listed companies on the HK stock exchange to evaluate how the companies report - Essay Example The company has reported the turnover from various geographical locations. The highest turnover has been reported for Mainland China. Other than regional turnover the operating profit or loss from the various countries has also been reported. Other than geographical reporting the company has also disclosed revenue from various operations like retail & distribution; export & licensing; manufacturing and inter-segment sales. The turnover and profit position of the company from the various brands like Giordano & Giordano Junior, Giordano Concepts, Giordano Ladies etc. have also been disclosed. As per the revised accounting norms the company also has to make disclosures about segment assets and segment liabilities in the annual reports (Deloitte, 22010). Based on this the Group has disclosed about the deferred tax assets and non-current assets in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company has also reported about segment assets position in other locations like Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, etc. According to the revised accounting norms a company must also disclose about the income earned by it from its product and services. In the annual reports the Group has reported about the turnover, operating profit and number of outlets of the various brands in the market. As per IFRS8 the company must also disclose about the various liabilities values of the various segments in its annual report. The revised standard requires interest income to be reported separately from an interest expense for each segment. However, in the annual report of Giordano the company has not made any such disclosures about interest expense and income of its segment. IFRS 8 also requires the company to report segment information like investment in the form of joint ventures and associations as well as any additions to assets like non-current assets and deferred tax assets, assets of the employees’ post-employment etc. Giordano has not made any disclosures about segment liabilities. The compan y has not made any disclosures about the joint ventures and association of its segments in the various locations (Giordano International Limited, 2009). Operating Segments disclosure in Bossini In the annual reports for the financial year 2009 Bossini has not followed the HFKRS 8 Operating Segments (IFRS 8). The company has presented its segment information with respect to result and revenue. As the Group derives most of its revenue from distribution and retailing of garments it has not presented a separate analysis relating to its business segments in the annual report. The company has reported about the revenue and results from various geographical segments like Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan etc. However there are no disclosures about interest income and profitability of each of its segment. The company has reported about the segment assets and segment liabilities in its annual report. The amount of investment relating to the various segments has also been reported. The amount of depreciation relating to the various segments has also been disclosed. The Group has separately disclosed the revenue earned by it from retailing & distribution of garments and from services related to its rendering. Other than this the company has n

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Business law Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business law - Term Paper Example In this instance, Christopher has to fulfill the condition precedent that is the prerequisite for him to be awarded the inheritance. Luckily, he was already employed as a Marketing Liaison Officer in one of the local hotels in the city. He immediately took possession of the beautiful house left in his care and all the assets that went with it. The first evening he was alone, he decided to watch a film in the Sunnie 60† flat screen television. He was shocked as he turned on the TV when he saw that there was an ugly discoloration on the entire face of the screen, which looked like large blotches of ink thrown at the TV. He checked the records pertaining to the television, and he found out that it was purchased within six months for $5,000.00. He is aware of the warranties that go with the television unit. He browsed over the shrink-wrap agreement that he found in one of the drawers in the office. The shrink-wrap agreement is usually attached in the box of the unit, the contents o f which probably had not been discussed with the buyer. He discovered the conditions of the services that may be rendered for the unit bought and the terms of the warranties. To make it look more official, the conditions are written in various languages, and in very fine prints, to discourage the purchaser from reading it. The following morning, he complained to the dealer of Sunnie, which is the Sunrise Appliance Store, and he was told that the store could not honor the warranties in this instance because the problem was caused by excessive use of the unit. They can repair it, but they would have to charge the cost in the amount of $2,200.00. They pointed out under section E found in the shrink-wrap agreement, that it said, â€Å"Excessive use is specifically not covered by any warranty.† Christopher was quick to anger. Luckily he brought his lawyer with him.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

International Marketing Feasibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

International Marketing Feasibility - Essay Example The government’s encouragement of foreign investment would fast tract legal actions that may enhance the speed of operation. However, the country’s unstable political system may affect the implementation process. Not so much problem with to whom should accept the program since there is a remarkable number of urban elite who can afford for such academic service. However, it is a good marketing proposition to tie up with Thailand’s government when it comes to educating its people since it is clear that the government has to start maximizing its subsidy on education. Not only that, Thailand would be a good venue and strategic place for the neighboring and developing countries to access the service of ANOVA Education Center considering that the cost of leaving is definitely not that high. The company is ANOVA Education Centre. It is situated solely in Singapore since it has not expanded to anywhere else yet. All from its website ANOVA Education Centre (2009), the company has promoted itself as the one that provides preparatory courses for foreign students who have interest to study in Singapore. Among of its many objectives, the main is to give students preparation for entrance examinations to Singapore’s local schools. The company was able to promise of courses that are in line with the recent syllabus of Ministry of Education. The company also ensures that its students will have a conducive environment as well as competent and highly-trained teachers as they receive their trainings. To give much more focus to every student, each teacher has 10 to 15 students. With all of these, the ANOVA Education Center is simply trying to provide opportunity for each individual willing to enter in the international language where the medium of speech is English. A message from the principal of ANOVA Education Center, David Sum, simply states the company’s commitment to provide their students a high standard of service.

Open Systems Interconnection (Osi) Model Essay Example for Free

Open Systems Interconnection (Osi) Model Essay The two most recognized network reference models are: The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model †¢ The Department of Defense (DoD) model Without the framework that network models provide, all network hardware and software would have been proprietary. Organizations would have been locked into a single vendor’s equipment, and global networks like the Internet would have been impractical, if not impossible. Network models are organized into layers, with each layer representing a specific networking function. These functions are controlled by protocols, which are rules that govern end-to-end communication between devices. Protocols on one layer will interact with protocols on the layer above and below it, forming a protocol suite or stack. The TCP/IP suite is the most prevalent protocol suite, and is the foundation of the Internet. A network model is not a physical entity – there is no OSI device. Manufacturers do not always strictly adhere to a reference model’s blueprint, and thus not every protocol fits perfectly within a single layer. Some protocols can function across multiple layers. *** All original material copyright  © 2012 by Aaron Balchunas ([emailprotected] com), unless otherwise noted. All other material copyright  © of their respective owners. This material may be copied and used freely, but may not be altered or sold without the expressed written consent of the owner of the above copyright. Updated material may be found at http://www. routeralley. com. OSI Reference Model v1. 21 – Aaron Balchunas 2 OSI Reference Model The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and formalized in 1984. It provided the first framework governing how information should be sent across a network.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Analysis of Approaches to Bargaining Models

Analysis of Approaches to Bargaining Models Abstract This paper discusses the various types of approaches to bargaining models, namely indifference curves and iso-profit curves, monopoly union behaviour and efficient contracts. Then we go on to study the concept of efficiency wages in a unionised as well as a non-unionised environment and with the help of existing economic theories we develop a model and incorporate the alternative wage rate. On completion of this paper, we will be able to understand the influence of wage level, alternative wage rate and other factors on the employment level, which would be highly important to both the firms as well as the labourer’s side while framing policies. Introduction Before starting with the paper, we need to know what efficiency wages are. It is the wage that is set by the firms or the employers which is higher than the market clearing wage. There are certain implications behind this action. Doing this, it would encourage workers’ loyalty towards the employer; the firms would be able to attract higher number of talents and thereby improving the applicants’ pool, raise the morale of the workers and as a result the overall efficiency of the firms increases. In various efficiency wage models, labour productivity has a positive relationship with the wage rate. Also worth mentioning, is that the efficiency wage model is an extension from the Shapiro-Stiglitz model of efficiency wage. In this paper, we combine both the microeconomics concept of labour union and the model of Shapiro-Stiglitz to derive the various propositions. Moving ahead, we discuss the basic two models of wage rate determination for the unionised and non-unionised sector of the economy. The first would be the monopoly model, as prescribed by Oswald in 1985, assumes that the labour union sets the wage and the employer chooses the profit maximizing employment level. The second case also stated by Oswald in 1985, notes that both the employer’s side as well as the worker’s side can benefit from the monopoly outcome by jointly bargaining over the wages and employment level. Literature Review Oswald, A. (1985): â€Å"The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey† Scandinavian Journal of Economics, volume 87. Oswald assumed that the union sets the wage and the employer chooses the profit maximising employment level. He also stated that the efficient bargaining model notes that both sides can improve on the monopoly outcome by jointly bargaining over wages and employment. Brown, J. and Ashenfelter, O (1986, June): â€Å"Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts† Journal of Political Economy, volume 94. They used the significance of a measure of alternative wages in an employment regression as evidence for the efficient bargaining model. Stiglitz, J. (1987, March): â€Å"The Causes and Consequences of the dependence of quality on price† Journal of Economic Literature, volume 25. In relation to the efficiency wages hypothesis, Stiglitz stated that, â€Å"one motivation for this literature is to explain involuntary unemployment: If the efficiency wage is framework is valid, then firms may not lower wages even in the face of excess supplies of labour. Krueger, A. and Summers, L. (1988, March): â€Å"Efficiency wages and the inter-industry wage structure† Econometrica, volume 56 Another additional motivation of this literature is the that the empirical observation that inter-firm or inter-industry wage differentials remain even after most possible economic determinants of these differentials have been controlled. Katz, L. and Summers, L. (1989): â€Å"Industry rents: Evidence and Implications† Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Microeconomics. The wage differentials tend to lower quits and increases the length of queues of job seekers attempting to gain entry. They explained the relationship between the existences of rents associated with efficiency wages. Research Question What is the effect of general wage level and alternative wage rate on the employment level, when efficiency wages are paid both in a non-union as well as union setting? Methodology The theory of income distribution is the study of the determination of the shares of the factors of production in the total output produced in the economy over a given period of time. For simplicity, we assume two factors of production, labour and capital, their shares are defined as follows: Share of Labour = (w*L)/ X and share of capital = (r*K)/X Where w= wage rate, r= rental of capital, L=quantity of labour employed, K=quantity of capital employed and X=value of output produced in economy. With this backdrop, we proceed on to the model where we consider firms and labours perspective, in both unionised and non-unionised labour setting. Initially, labour force is unionised. As a union, three of the most commonly pursued goals are: maximization of employment, maximization of total wage bill and maximization of total gains to the union as a whole. The general conclusions derived from this microeconomic thought are firstly, if the firm buyers have no monopsonistic power, labour unions can possibly attain an increase in the wage rate at the cost of a lower level of unemployment. Secondly, if the firm buyers have monopsonistic power, the unions actions can eliminate one part of the monopsonistic exploitation and thirdly, if the firm buyers have monopsonistic power, trade unions can increase the total wage bill in most of the cases, by either increasing employment or the wage rate or both. Considering, the concept of efficiency wage hypothesis and incorporating the alternative wage rate as used by Shapiro and Stiglitz we combine this macroeconomic phenomenon with the microeconomic concept of labour union. Looking at the employment level, alternative wage rate, normal wage rate we can run a regression analysis on the employment level with various other variables and determine the significance of these and come up with propositions under different cases. Bargaining Models In the context of labour unions, there are different types of bargaining that can take place between a firm and a labour union. These methods are also applicable in many other aspects other than labour unions. Indifference Curves and Iso-profit Curves Here, we look at the union’s preferences as the preference for a single worker. We can formulate the utility of the worker as a function of consumption, C and leisure, L, i.e. U (C, L). Representing, the utility function in terms of wage rate, w and labour supplied, h, we can write it as follows: U (h, w) = U (w*h, 1-h)where C = w*h and considering time constraint L= 1 – h. An indifference curve in (h, w) space is defined by setting u as (constant) and we define w implicitly as a function of h, w (h). Therefore, we can write it as follows: U (h, w (h)) = U (w (h)*h, 1-h) = Differentiating, the above equality with respect to h and hence obtaining the slope of the indifference curve. This implies that along the labour supply curve, where MRS = w the indifference curve will have zero slope. To the left of the labour supply curve, workers work more and so MRS w and the indifference curve is upward sloping. We can reinterpret the first order condition for finding labour supply as the worker finding the highest indifference curve in (w, h) subject to the constraint that w equals the offered wage, leading to the tangency shown below. Looking at the firm’s side, its preferences are derived using the iso-cost curve. The firm’s profit function can be written as follows: ÃŽ   (E, w) = f (E) – w*E We set the price to unity and along an iso-profit curve, we set the profit equal to some constant , which implies an implicit relationship between w and E. Therefore, we can write it as f (E) – w (E)*E = . Differentiating, the above equation implicitly, we find the slope of the iso-profit curvealong the demand curve MPE = w, implying that iso-profit curves are flat when they cross the labour demand curve. Left of the demand curve, means MPE > w hence iso-profit curve is upward sloping, and right of the labour demand curve, means MPE Monopoly union Bargaining In this model, the labour union sets the wage rate, w and the firm chooses the employment level, E. Since, the firm’s objective is to maximize profits, it will set the employment level at the point where VMPE = w. Assuming the union acts like a single individual so that h = E, its problem is then Max U (w*E, 1- E)subject to MPE = w Maximizing with respect to E, and using the first order conditions we get, f’ (E) = w. The above expression implies that the indifference curve will have a negative slope while the iso-profit curve has a zero slope and to interpret the cross of the two curves it would mean inefficiency. Workers would be willing to work more at a slightly lower wage and firms would make profits hiring them. However even if unions do function this way, that does not mean they are necessarily bad workers are made better off, but these gains are smaller than the losses to firms and consumers. If the value of the redistribution to workers is considered more important than the loss to the other parties then the union may still be a good thing. However it would be better for everyone if the union and firm could find a more efficient way of bargaining. Efficient Contracts This is another model of unions which assumes that the labour union and firm will bargain in such a way that it leads to an efficient outcome. Now, any Pareto efficient outcome will be reached between two parties by guaranteeing some level of profits to the firm, and maximizing the union’s utility. Max U (w*E, 1- E)subject to f (E) – w*E = On solving, we get w = (f (E) ) / E. The first order condition can be written as follows Solving algebraically we get that the iso-profit curve and the indifference curves are tangent. It cannot be solved as to which combination of (E, w) will be chosen as there are several points- the locus of all these points represent the contract curve. Some information on profit and utility functions is necessary to determine whether the contract curve of the efficient contracts is downward or upward sloping, or vertical (the strongly efficient case). The Model General Assumptions: All the workers are identical. The worker’s choose their own level of work effort and this work effort is monitored by the firm with the help of technology. The monitoring process by the firm is not the most efficient or it is not perfect. The monitoring process can be expressed in terms of work effort as follows, q (e), >0, which implies that a worker will not be dismissed for an exogenously given level of work effort. All the workers have an identical utility function given as follows: U (w, e) = w – e2(eqn. 1) The workers are provided with unemployment insurance or they can obtain another or alternative job with wage rate. Efficiency Wages in a non-union setting Analysis: Now, if the workers are able to choose their level of work effort, which is not monitored perfectly by the firm, then the firm may pay wages above the market wage rate to ensure a higher level of efficiency or effort by the worker. The question is how would alternative wages enter an employment regression in this case? We have already assumed that the firm’s monitoring process can be expressed as a function of, q (e), suggesting that the workers are not dismissed for an exogenously given level of work effort. The workers can reduce their likelihood of getting dismissed, by the firm, by increasing their level of work effort. Implication behind this statement suggests that, q’ >0. Let n be the elasticity of q with respect to level of effort. We can therefore show that the optimal effort for the worker is e =(eqn. 2) In order to model the firm, we make another assumption of a concave revenue function, f’’ ÃŽ   = f (e*L) – w*L(eqn. 3) Using the optimization technique, the firm chooses the level of w and L, subject to the worker’s choice of e. From the equations 2 and 3, we find out that the optimal wage rate, w is twice that of the alternative wage rate,. Expressing f’ as a logarithmic form as a linear combination of various exogenous variables that affect the revenue and effective units of labour, the optimal amount of labour for the non-union firm is ln L = + ln ln w + X + ln (w ) And ln f’ = ÃŽ ±0 + ÃŽ ±1X – ÃŽ ±2 ln(e*L)(eqn. 4) X is the vector of non-labour factors affecting the marginal revenue product of labour. Interpretation of equation 4, is that the alternative wage rate, , conditional on w and X, will be negatively correlated with the actual or observed employment. Proposition: On running a regression of employment on wage level and alternative wage rate, it should yield a negative coefficient for the alternative wage if efficiency wages are paid even in the absence of efficient bargaining. Efficiency Wages in a Union setting Here, we discuss the case for efficiency wages in a unionised scenario and find the resulting demand for labour under both (a) monopoly unions and (b) efficient bargaining methods. Monopoly Unions Considering that the union comprises total of N number of workers, who are employed at the wage rate, 2. Using, the previous method discussed we calculate the optimal worker effort, e*, where e* = Each worker faces the probability of getting dismissed with a probability of q (e*). We also assume that the workers getting dismissed by the firms are replaced immediately. Now, the union’s objective is to choose w, so as to maximize the expected utility, V, of unionised worker. Let L be the employment level at the new union wage, w. Then for each wage, w, we have, V = [ q (w – e2 ) ] + if L And V = q (w – e2 ) + if L ≠¥N (eqn. 5) Now, in the case for monopoly unions, as the union raises the wage levels, it generally lowers the total employment level, hence we have L , a rising w would lead to rising employment because of increased work effort. The union balances the negative effect of wages on employment and positive effects of wages on employed members’ utility. Multiplying, equation 5 by N, the union chooses w to maximize V = Lq ((w – e2 ) (eqn. 6) Subject to f’e = w Using the optimization techniques, we solve for the monopoly union wage, w w = (eqn. 7) 2 is the measure of the slope or the steepness of the marginal revenue product curve. Higher the elasticity, n, with respect to effort, higher will be the union wage. In this model, the marginal revenue productivity condition for the monopoly model with efficiency wages is similar to the condition for non-union firms, although in this case, the unions will raise the wages and lower the total employment. This leads to the following proposition. Proposition: Under monopoly model and efficiency wages, if we run a regression of employment on X, w and and a union shift term, the coefficient on the union shift should be zero. However, in a regression that includes only the exogenous variables X and and a union shift term, the coefficient should be negative. Efficient Bargaining Here, we focus on the case where labour and the management jointly set wage rate, w and employment level, L. According to Mc. Donald and Solow, 1981, to derive the set of efficient contracts, they have suggested the necessary conditions for the contract curve. Vw / VL = Ï€w / Ï€L The subscripts represent the partial derivatives. Using equations 3 and 6, and substituting in the above contract curve relation, we get, (w – f’e) / (1 – f’ew) = (w ) > 0 (eqn. 8) As long as the union raises the wages above the non-union wage 1- f’ew > 0 and so is w – f’e. Wages exceed the marginal revenue product of labour (as already suggested by McDonald and Solow, 1981). Algebraically, solving the slope of contract curve is not possible and hence is indeterminate which leads to the next proposition. Proposition: Under efficient bargaining method and efficiency wages, if we run a regression of employment on X, w and and a union shift term, it will yield a positive coefficient for the union shift term as compared to a zero coefficient under monopoly model. However, in a regression that includes only the exogenous variables X and, the sign of the union shift coefficient is ambiguous, as compared to a negative coefficient in the monopoly model. Conclusion The results from the above classification of models suggests that traditional way of determining wage bill, i.e. labour times the wage rate, by the labour union and the employment level determination by the firm side are not the only factors that affect the decision making process of both the sides. Rather, the alternative wage rate, which is one of the factors taken up by Shapiro and Stiglitz in their â€Å"efficiency wage model†, is also instrumental in affecting the employment level. Another union shift term incorporated while running the regression, we find that it is also one of the determinants of employment determination. So, the ultimate conclusion that we can derive is that there are certain other factors as well in both wage and employment determination and these factors are statistically significant in different cases which again lead to various policy implications. Hence, modification of the theoretical microeconomic foundation and including certain other variables will show us a greater and deeper understanding of the employment determination and thereby various other policy prescriptions that both the sides can take into account while framing one. References Stiglitz, J. (1976, July): â€Å"The Efficiency Wage Hypothesis, Surplus Labour and the Distribution of Income in L.D.C.s† Oxford Economics Papers, pp.185-207. Oswald, A. (1985): â€Å"The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey† Scandinavian Journal of Economics, volume 87. Brown, J. and Ashenfelter, O (1986, June): â€Å"Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts† Journal of Political Economy, volume 94. Katz, L. and Summers, L. (1989): â€Å"Industry rents: Evidence and Implications† Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Microeconomics. Krueger, A. and Summers, L. (1988, March): â€Å"Efficiency wages and the inter-industry wage structure† Econometrica, volume 56 Stiglitz, J. (1987, March): â€Å"The Causes and Consequences of the dependence of quality on price† Journal of Economic Literature, volume 25. Cowell, F.A. (2004, December): â€Å"Microeconomics: Principles and Analysis† STICERD and Department of Economics, London School of Economics. Autor, D.H. (2003, November): â€Å"Lecture Note: Efficiency Wages, Shapiro-Stiglitz Model† MIT and NBER. Koutsoyiannis, A. (1979): â€Å"Modern Microeconomics† Macmillan. 1

Sunday, October 13, 2019

A Comparison of Online Shopping at JCPenney and Kohls Essays -- compar

JCPenney Dominates Over Kohl’s in Online Shopping Being a multi-billion dollar retailer comes with its perks. JCPenney’s dominance over catalog merchandising has now extended into the cyber world at www.jcpenney.com. This website is multi-functional and easy to navigate, but how would JCPenney’s new e-commerce site stack up against its toughest competitor, Kohl’s, on the web? The answer may surprise you. This is an intriguing look at how varied retail comparisons can be. While JCPenney is struggling with sales on the retail floor, Kohl’s continues to exceed expectations in their stores. Online though, it is a completely different story. Kohl’s has a fledgling site located at www.kohls.com. The homepage for this site looks very modern and eye-catching with its large feature window and cute icons. Navigating into the site; however, a customer may notice that there are no opportunities to make online purchases or to view product. JCPenney’s homepage is dedicated to listing all departments and displaying several links to some of our strategic alliances. For instance, JCPenney’s ... A Comparison of Online Shopping at JCPenney and Kohl's Essays -- compar JCPenney Dominates Over Kohl’s in Online Shopping Being a multi-billion dollar retailer comes with its perks. JCPenney’s dominance over catalog merchandising has now extended into the cyber world at www.jcpenney.com. This website is multi-functional and easy to navigate, but how would JCPenney’s new e-commerce site stack up against its toughest competitor, Kohl’s, on the web? The answer may surprise you. This is an intriguing look at how varied retail comparisons can be. While JCPenney is struggling with sales on the retail floor, Kohl’s continues to exceed expectations in their stores. Online though, it is a completely different story. Kohl’s has a fledgling site located at www.kohls.com. The homepage for this site looks very modern and eye-catching with its large feature window and cute icons. Navigating into the site; however, a customer may notice that there are no opportunities to make online purchases or to view product. JCPenney’s homepage is dedicated to listing all departments and displaying several links to some of our strategic alliances. For instance, JCPenney’s ...

Friday, October 11, 2019

Essay --

Carla Molina December 19th, 2013 Period.8 Judicial Review Research ‘ Case One: â€Å"Georgia .vs. Randolph† Summary This case is about Scott Randolph, who’s home was searched without a warrant. Due to this â€Å"corrupted† search, police ended up finding cocaine in his home. As a matter of fact both Randolph and his wife Janet Randolph were present during the search, it’s stated that Randolph’s wife gave permission to search the house. However Randolph denied to give that consistent, but police believed that the wife’s permission was all they needed. After the encounter with the drugs, Randolph was arrested for drug possession. This case was taken to trail and both the appellate court and Georgie Supreme court believed that the search of Randolph's home was unconstitutional. Key Details & Ideas Majority Opinion: Said by Justice David Souter â€Å" In the majority opinion, compared the reasonableness of such a search to a more casual interaction.† He believes that the co-occupants consent is not valid because their was the refusal of an other occupant. Beside on the Fourth Amendment it states that â€Å" a valid warrantless entry and search of a premises when the police obtain the voluntary consent of an occupant who shares, or is reasonably believed to share, common authority over the property, and no present co-tenant objects.† Dissenting Opinion Said by Justice Scalia â€Å" It is an act of responsible citi... .... Madison was applied to this decision because the actions committed were unconstitutional. According to the Supreme Court the 8th Amendment was broken because the District Court of Appeal was giving a cruel and unusual punishment to Graham. The 8th amendment claus does not allow a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in jail without a parole for a non-homicidal crime. Therefore Terrance could not fall through with this punishment. Opinion In my opinion, I actually agree with the court decision because yes although he did committed a crime, to be sentenced for life at young age is pretty harsh. I do agree that he should pay for his consequences but not to that extreme. They should honestly come up with a plan that suits his crime. Plus he has the right of the 8th Amendment, to not condone a cruel punishment if it does not suit the crime in which he committed.

Cultural and Relationship Values Analysis Essay

Baderman Island Resorts has decided that it is a good time to implement a new employee handbook. Please be sure to read this memo in its entirety to understand why the handbook has been changed. Baderman Island Resort continues to grow in popularity and brings all types of travelers to the island. Because of this, the Boardman Management Group thinks that having a well-developed employee handbook will be beneficial for current and future employees. Also, The Boardman Management Group understands how important it is that every employee understand the organization’s specific goals, cultural values. As well as understanding the significance of each member of the organization to providing the finest customer service to our guests. Baderman Island Resorts will be changing to follow a more compliance-based cultural system. Boardman Management Group feels that this change will allow for increased growth, success and profitability. This new system is not meant to discourage the employees from continuing to take the initiative to be self-motivating and to continue to provide quality customer service. The internet blog section will continue to remain so employees can make suggestions and offer ideas. This new handbook will still encourage anindividual-based culture. Employees are responsible for their own job performance and for making sure that they follow the policies and procedures. Although there will indeed be times when a team-based culture will be necessary in order to complete certain duties accurately and successfully. The mission and vision statement for all employees is the quality customer service, an extraordinary vacation experience where the guests’ needs and desires are met above and beyond, and to guarantee the guests will not be disappointed. There has been a change to the mission and vision statement that discusses the future additions and attractions that are the process of developmental stages which will show the future and current guests that the Baderman Island Resort will be the place to visit in the future. The first thing that will be covered in the new employee handbook will be employer rights. This will include health and safety, diversity, affirmative action and due process procedures. There will also be coverage of the employee rights as well. This will include the same items covered in the employer rights. The final use of the employee handbook will be as a training, reference, and compliance tool to help the organization stay organized and focused on the goals and objectives of the company. Employees will be able to stay knowledgeable on the policies and procedures, and to remind the employees of the employer’s responsibilities and their rights. My hope is that this memo has been informative towards the new employee handbook and the direction that Baderman Island Resorts is heading towards. I believe that the new employee handbook will be an excellent tool for the employees to prevent confusion and questions that the employees may have. Employee Handbook for Baderman Island Resort Mission and Vision of Baderman Island Resort The mission and vision statement for all employees is the quality customer service, an extraordinary vacation experience where the guests’ needs and desires are met above and beyond, and to guarantee the guests will not be disappointed. Cultural Values of Baderman Island Resort Baderman Island Resort has the belief that in order to continue to succeed in the current market that the organization will need to become a morecompliance-based culture. To ensure that all laws are followed to make sure that the integrity of the company and employees is followed. Employee Rights Baderman Island Resort is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEOC). The company’s philosophy is to recognize individual attributes and values that each employee brings to the job with respect and acknowledgement. By recognizing these principles it will allow the company to successfully reach its goals of providing excellent customer services and ultimately corporate profitability. Employer Rights Baderman Island Resort has contracted with an employment law firm to provide legal advice and to handle any employee/employer disputes and EEOC issues. Baderman also has the responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work place for all employees. However in the event that an employee is injured on the job or becomes ill, workers compensation and FMLA leave are offered as well.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Amusing Ourselves to Death Summary

Amusing Ourselves to Death Summary Neil Postman in his speech called â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death,† which he gave in the year of 1984, takes a point of view which explains how the American society is slowly trying to have entertainment over-take every aspect of their lives. He explains how America is losing its desire to read or explore education and informative literary sources. He says in his speech, â€Å"America is engaged in the world’s most ambitious experiment to accommodate itself to the technological distractions made possible by the electric plug. He states statistics that ninety-eight percent of all American homes have a television set and fifty-one percent have two or more television sets in 1984. He’s main point is that Americans use the television to provide entertainment to all aspects of their world. This includes the news, educational programs, and even religion. He says that, â€Å"television is transforming all serious public business int o junk. America is now forced with creating programs that will catch the attention of an audience that is used to having entertaining aspects in all forms of their life. In order to give a point of view or some other important information, television needs to present it in a way to keep the viewer interested. Neil Postman is afraid that America is starting to lose the ability to engage in discussions and lectures without an entertaining aspect in it. He says, â€Å"America is the world’s first culture in jeopardy of amusing itself to death. †

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Observation Instrument Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Observation Instrument Paper - Essay Example This renewed interest has been stimulated by the education accountability movement, the teacher minimum competency movement, and the continuing emphasis on excellence in education Contemporary teacher classroom performance†. (Carolyn Lavely,   Neal Berger,   Joseph Blackman,   John Follman,   Jan McCarthyObservation instruments Education,   Summer, 1994    - retrieved on 4/11/2008 rethttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3673/is_/ai_n28646693) The class room teacher observation instruments will help a teacher for a diagnosis about his level of teaching. How far a teacher is effective for the students in the classroom? What are the defects of the methodology implemented by the teacher? How can a teacher correct himself? Which errors should be corrected and which should be ignored? Who should be correcting the errors? Is it appropriate to correct the mistakes in the classroom itself? These questions can be answered in order to improve the level of teaching with the help of observation instruments. The most commonly used classroom teacher observation instruments are â€Å"Classroom Observation Form Open Ended – (Form A), Classroom Observation Report, Classroom Observation The observer will check the development of learning materials, Use and selection of instructional materials, the learning climate, variety of materials used, preparation of the class session, method of instruction and student participation, student responses and feedback, learning difficulties etc. using the Classroom Observation Form Open Ended – (Form A). The observer can study whether the objectives for the specified class given or not. He can also analyse the outcome of the instruction. He can also analyse the appropriateness, quantity and quality of the instructional materials used. The class climate also can be analysed using this instrument. The overall activeness, the student attitude towards the topic and the teacher, their participation and the teacher’s

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Oedipus the King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oedipus the King - Essay Example A true hero is characterized by his emotional strength. Analysis of Oedipus suggests that Oedipus was a true as well as tragic hero. Human experience tells that a responsible king strives hard for the peace of the nation. In the start of the play, Oedipus takes all measures in the capacity of the King of Thebes to protect his people from the plague that has caught them. He not only provides everything that his people need, but also makes sure that they stay in good health. Therefore he sends Creon to the house of Apollo to seek the oracle’s advice. This is expected of a responsible king. Then to find Laius’s murderer, Oedipus seeks advice from the Chorus and hence approaches Teiresias for help. The fact that Oedipus consults the Chorus regarding the way he should proceed with the investigation speaks of the value he gives to his people and immense confidence that he places in them. People feel honored when they have been consulted by the ruler before he makes important decisions. Human experience tells that subordinates’ morale is vital to the success of any system, be that as small as an organizational setup or as large as a country. Oedipus cares a lot for his people, and involves them in the decision making. By doing this, he provides another proof of being a people’s property. ... He would go to any length to provide his people with a safe environment to live in. His efforts to search for the cure of plague, his involvement of the public in decision making and his dare to know the truth despite having been warned make Oedipus a hero. Oedipus has no other way but to suspect that there has been a deal between Teirasias and Creon. He fully believes that Creon is the traitor and yet he lets go of him when his wife and the Chorus plead him to be open-minded. Such generosity and forgiveness can be expected of nobody else but a hero. This potentially means that Oedipus forgives a person that insults him overtly in front of the whole public and for something, that Oedipus has not even done. Oedipus was in power. He could have got Creon as well as Teirasias killed for their act. Even a king who has actually done all the crimes Teirasias accused Oedipus of would not spare Teirasias and Creon for bringing this secret in the public eye, but Oedipus was kind enough to let go of them when he was actually innocent! Oedipus also knows what forgiving Creon means. Creon says to the Chorus, â€Å"I would have you know that this request of yours really requests my death or banishment†¦Well, let go him then – if I must die ten times for it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sophocles and Grene, line 669). There is little wonder he does so because heroes do that! Oedipus has sufficient evidence to believe what Teirasias said. He had killed a stranger at a place where three roads met. He could tell that Jocasta was talking about the very stranger as she mentioned some identity marks for Laius. He also knows that his ankles are pierced. All of these together with an oracle’s prediction that Oedipus would kill his own father and marry his own mother before he left his hometown