Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Economics - Various Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics - Various - Essay Example In the case of negative externality, one of the best examples is the concern regarding pollution. Consider a manufacturing company operating of garments marketed to Europe based in Northern Thailand. The operation of the company releases contaminants in sewage which has been linked to the decline fisheries in the lower regions of the Mekong River. In this case, the operations of the company are not impacted directly or the buyers of the products affected by the issue. To illustrate a positive externality, consider the case of state or governments providing police to ensure and monitor public safety using tax revenues. Public safety is mainly in the interest of social or public welfare. This is provided by the government or the state to its citizens but also has the effect of increasing the competitiveness’ of markets and confidence of investors. Social stability encourages foreign direct investments and economic sustainability. Mergers are a means of corporate or operational expansion, generally mutually contracted, with the objective of increasing competencies, streamlining or to consolidate market interests or economies of scale for long term profitability. To contrast it from acquisition, acquisitions usually entail one company buying or gaining control of another company. Mergers are considered to be more â€Å"friendly† than acquisitions but are also considered to be more challenging since it requires compromising more parties or interests (Lien, 2005). Mergers are mainly classified as horizontal, vertical or conglomerate. Other classification of mergers include congeneric mergers, reverse mergers, accretive mergers and dilutive mergers but these have more limited use in research and are considered in general under the aforementioned main classifications. Horizontal mergers occur when the companies involved have similar products

Monday, October 28, 2019

Roles of a Manager within Functional Areas of Business Essay Example for Free

Roles of a Manager within Functional Areas of Business Essay Business and Government are just the same except in all the important aspects.(Joseph L. Bower, 1970, p.70). This quote makes sense, because both require a management level that must be versatile and play distinct roles in different business situations or organizations. These functions are important to any business and its success. Managers Role in a Business Businesss all have different functions, goals, and ratios to gauge, to be successful. A managers job has different levels, and some are from a great extent to a lower degree. But they all must have key attributes to be successful for their subordinates and peers. They must have authority so that those they look over respect them and follow through with a task they delegate. A manager also has to be efficient, with excellent problem-solving skills. Regardless of what business you are in, you will want efficiency, but you will always run into a problem, which will need to be resolved immediately. These problems can be internal with staff, or on a larger scale impacting the business for a sooner than later failure. You will want a manager who can fix the issues, find the issues and coordinate all of this by utilizing the business metric they are using. This metric of activity should be the guidelines in which the company wishes to follow and is a foundation that should make a business successful. Marketing Marketing is another functional area that businesses thrive on. Some in my opinion view this as just a tool that is used to bring in business on a particular product. But in reality utilizes trends, ideas, generations, and considers a lot more from the inside of the company, and allow the outside  world to notice it. The purpose of marketing is not to just find and increase new areas of business. They want to bring the business to the front door, but not let out the back. This is so there can be new business obtained, but it is also retained for an extended term relationship. The marketing manager must oversee all of their team and their ideas and move forward with what they think will help the business. Human Resources Human Resources is an area of business where the manager acts as a service provider, policy police, strategic partner, change agent, and welfare officer. (Welch and Welch 2012). These managers are the enforcers of the law at these businesses, as well as the legislation of the geographic territory they reside in. They need to ensure that they hire the right person for the right job and fire those who may be crippling the business and individuals. They must consistently enforce the rules for the employees at hand and ensure they keep accurate records for the company. Finance and Accounting Finance and accounting are what is looked at as the meat of the business and is necessary for a company to be successful. This can also tell a business where its weaknesss lie. A managers role in this position is to maintain positive numbers. But if this is done correctly it also has different areas of finance. What I mean by this is, there may be a business that thrives on more than one product. If one product is not selling, the correct action could be to remove that product, market it better, or improve the product. This will also let the business know if they can expand if they need more employees and dictate the future of the enterprise. Operations Operations are the creation, moving, or services that need to be put in place so they can reach the hands of the customers. This is one of the biggest factors that can make or break a business. There is a lot of unpredictability in operations, and there must always be a backup plan in place. If there is a breakdown in delivery of a product to a customer, to the business, or not pushing a product on the floor fast enough; this can  end a relationship with a client that depends on, operations to move smoothly. If management has a plan in place, there should be no repercussions from the unexpected. Or they should be able to find a resolution to the operations issue immediately. Operation is a factor that everyone relies on, and I feel that many consumers dont realize how much they rely on it until there is this breakdown in operations. Leadership and Strategic Planning Leadership and strategic planning is an aspect that always needs to be put into place from the very beginning by the management. These plans will help oversee all aspects of a business from the environment to the lower level of subordinates. It will point everyone in the right direction to achieve the goals of the company and even the goals of those in the company. If a particular plan is set forth by the leaders, it should be known to those involved so they could follow these guidelines to meet or exceed the goals. The leadership will ensure that these plans are followed to ensure the success of everyone. Conclusion Everything that is discussed in this essay was a brief description of necessary areas in business, and how management needs to be involved in these fields. All of them are needed for the success of enterprises, and the managers who overlook these different functions need to ensure their duties are carried out properly so the company will succeed. With these areas working appropriately with good leaders, there is a greater chance of success. These guidelines and structures are the foundations on which to build a business. Each aspect plays its role that must be led by people with these foundations as their law book to abide by. These leaders should also be able to pass this knowledge down to their successors so the business can thrive long after they are gone. References Welch and Welch (2012) Joseph L. Bower, Managing the resource allocation Process: A Study of Corporate Planning and Investment, Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Boston, Harvard University Press, 1970, p.70. Anne J. Broderick (1998) Role Theory, Role Management and Service Performance Kane- Urrabazo C. (2006) Managements role in shaping organizational culture

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Conveyance of Emotion in the Writing of Zora Neale Hurston Essay

The Conveyance of Emotion in the Writing of Zora Neale Hurston Sharpening Her Oyster Knife: I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all hurt about it....No, I do not weep at the world -- I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife. ___Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston kept busy sharpening her oyster knife not to prepare for any violent confrontations with white society but quite the opposite, to extract the raw materials from her own culture and cultivate them into priceless treasures. To Hurston the Negro was always in vogue (Hughes). She didn't wait for the white culture to place its stamp of approval on the subject matter she knew and loved so well. In her well-known essay, "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," Hurston makes reference to society's view of her a the granddaughter of slaves: "It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep." Hurston must have felt that way about her writing also; she threw it out there and let the audience do with it what they willed. Sometimes we laugh; sometimes we cry. But humor always hovers nearby in all of her writing and serves as the emotional salvation needed to compensate for the often heavy subject m atter (Fauset, 166). Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston indicates that to refuse one's heritage is cultural suicide, and the loss of laughter represents an early symptom. In the novel, throug... ...w York: HarperCollins, 1995. Hurston, Zora Neale. "The Gilded Six-Bits." ZNH: The Complete Stories. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1937. Jones, Gayl. "Breaking Out of the Conventions of Dialect." Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993. Lowe, John. "'Cast in Yo' Nets Right Here': Finding a Comic Voice." Jump at the Sun. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994. Miller, Rachel. "Narrative Strategy in Hurston's 'Sweat'." http://www.as.wvu.edu/~ginsberg/sweat.htm Wall, Cheryl A. "Zora Neale Hurston: Changing Her Own Words." Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

American Square Dance

At one time, the square dance was omnipresent in rural America; but its golden age, if ever there was one, has passed. Today, it is noteworthy when a folklorist discovers a community with an unbroken tradition of square dancing, if only because it piques our interest as to why such practices endure in one place and not in another. Contemporary contexts for traditional square dance are, in fact, quite plentiful; but they persevere as isolated phenomena, largely hidden from the consciousness of the mainsream.The American square dance is the subject of a huge body of choreographic data, most of which was generated by dance educators and recreational specialists whose concerns lay apart from those of folklorists or ethnographers. Some of this descriptive material, especially some works published before World War II, are collections of regional repertoires and even, in a few cases, of localized traditions. Much of the dynamism of square dancing comes from turning motions, including rotati ons around a vertical axis and revolutions around the floor.In square dancing many rotations are energetic turns executed by two dancers together (not always opposite sex couples), but there are also more languid arcs circumscribed by enclosed circles of between three and eight dancers. In square dancing, women are often asked to make singular rotations or twirls, according to, on the one hand, traditional embellishments or, on the other hand, set variations taught by the local polka instructors. Most of the time, square dancers only step forward or stand in place.In a few instances, walking backward is called for, and a dancer will occasionally have to take a sideways step to the right or left. To accomplish this dizzying variety of spins and turns requires the manipulation of other parts of the body. The entire trunk is usually kept aligned with the line of gravity (and for all couple dances in general). It should also be noted that in the square dance walk, the dancer’s ce nter of gravity is moved slightly forward over the balls of the feet when compared to the ordinary walk.The kinesthetic sensation for the dancer is to feel as if his chest is leading the rest of his body. Arm movements in square dancing are important, but only in the context of reaching out to and grasping another dancer. The dancer reaches forward to join hands in one of three ways with another dancer, reaches to the side to hook elbows or put an arm around the waist of an adjacent dancer, or uses both hands or arms to grasp a dancer of the opposite sex in one of several stylized holds. These are known as the â€Å"swing† or â€Å"ballroom†, â€Å"courtesy turn† and â€Å"promenade† positions.Robert Bethke discusses square dancing in contemporary commercial or public settings in the Northeast, while offering very little movement data except to note the infrequency of square dances on the program in proportion to couple dances performed to popular or coun try music. What Bethke attends to is the dress and decorum of the dancers, their general age, the instrumental makeup of the band and the musical styles performed the participants’ levels of intoxication and the dancers’ incompetence relative to the past.Bethke goes into great detail on the repartee between the band leader and the audience, providing texts of some of the leader’s jokes. The inquiry on the history of square dance was first motivated in 1977 by the puzzle of why the German community around Hoagland took as its own an Anglo-American dance form. The cultural choices a folk group makes are historically conditioned. In the year previous to the first appearance of The English Dancing Master, the English and the Dutch had agreed on the borders of their North American colonies.Besides the Confederation of New England to the north and New Amsterdam in the Hudson Valley, the New World also had settlements of Swedes on the Delaware River and growing English colonies in Maryland and Virginia. In another thirty years, the first German immigrants would arrive, and, as the French consolidated their hold on the West, the first European settlement would be established at the headwaters of the Maumee River, near the Miami Indian village of Kekionga, the present site of Fort Wayne, Indiana.In the mid-eighteenth century, when the longways English country dance form was firmly established as the most popular form in European ballrooms, English emigration to the thirteen American colonies was in full sway. Along with the immigrants, and as a part of the continuing trade with the mother country, came terpsichorean skills, repertoire and paraphernalia. Not even the American Revolution disrupted these choreographic connections. Square dancing became a vital activity in nearly every rural nook and cranny through the first half of the twentieth century.In 1926, Henry Ford published â€Å"Good Morning†: After a Sleep of Twenty-five Years, Old-f ashioned is Being Revived, adding to a growing revival of interest in square dancing and other related forms of traditional American dance. In the twenties in New England, with an assist from the open air museum at Old Sturbridge, there was a growing awareness of that region’s vital and unique repertoire of country dances or contras (as cited by Tolman and Page).Indeed, Grace Ryan, a physical education instructor at Michigan’s Central State Teachers College, pioneered with an instructional manual on Dances of Our Pioneers, featuring the â€Å"quadrilles or square dances† which she collected at community dances and from local callers (Ryan). These efforts helped spark a square dance boom that was well underway in the late thirties when Lloyd Shaw, a Colorado high school principal, began to collect western figures that he taught to his students in place of the international folk dances promoted by other educators.Shaw’s performing square dancers from the Ch eyenne Mountain School garnered a great deal of renown for their exhibitions; and Shaw’s fame spread farther when he published these figures in 1939 in Cowboy Dances, an oft-reprinted volume. Besides the considerable impact wielded by his clear representation of seventy-plus figures, Shaw also sketched for Americans his view of the path traveled by this widespread variegated dance form: that the western square dance, one of three regional types, derived from an intermingling of the New England Quadrille and the running set from the southern highlands.Due to the prevalence of visiting couple figures in both the southeastern and western traditions, Shaw asserted that â€Å"the mainstream, I believe, heads in the Kentucky Mountains† (Shaw 27-31). This became the standard account of square dance history that would preface a multitude of instruction manuals published in the forties and fifties. Shaw was not alone, in those early days of the revival, in granting special stat us to the Southeastern square dance. J. Olcutt Sanders prepared a â€Å"Finding List of Southeastern Square Dance Figures† in 1942.He regarded the Southeastern square dance as a separate genre, referring to it variously as â€Å"the running set† and â€Å"the big set†, which could be characterized on the basis of internal evidence (Sanders 266). A decade later Elizabeth Burchenal extended this interpretation by crediting the supposed isolation of the southern highlands for the development of â€Å"our most indigenous dances,† including figures which â€Å"cannot be identified as transplantations† (Burchenal 20). By contrast, the Northeastern square dance, also called the New England quadrille, smacked of Gesunkenes Kulturgut.This was a cultural form that had trickled down to the folk from the cotillions and quadrilles of polite society in Europe and America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Then, as the twentieth century dawned, the Weste rn square dance emerged as a composite of movements and calls from both the Southeastern and Northeastern traditions blended with newly invented figures. Springing from America’s pervasive frontier experience, the Western idiom embodied the traits of practicality and inventiveness that historian Turner offered as keys to the American character (Turner 61).Thus the Western square dance was too new and too recreational to be regarded by folklorists as a survival of the archaic rituals hypothesized as the ultimate source of folk dance. The social symbolism school of interpretation takes in a much narrower scope, focusing on the local community rather than on national culture. David Winslow (1972) argued that the square dance is a set of â€Å"highly ritualized behavior patterns and mental processes† that help maintain social solidarity.Drawing heavily on sociologist Emile Durkheim, Winslow showed that the square dance served three social functions: (1) a cohesive function that imparts a group consciousness or sense of community, (2) a revitalizing function that â€Å"helps the group to renew the sentiment it has of itself and of its unity,† and (3) a euphoric function that provides â€Å"a pleasant feeling of social well-being† (Winslow 252-261). Not only the social interaction that takes place at a dance event, but also the square dance itself helps maintain and revitalize the interpersonal networks that constitute a rural community.For each category of the social structure represented at an event-couples, genders and the entire assembly, the â€Å"dancing behavior can be seen as expressive of the solidarity of that social unity. † The pervasive circle motif found at all structural levels of the square dance is a choreographic expression of the basic principles of equality of participation and social unity that are cultural ideals for this dancing. The basic square dance form found in New York, Pennsylvania and Hoagland, Indian a alike requires four couples for each square set. With each couple forming one side of the square.Each dance comprises two alternating parts: the break and a distinctive figure. In the break, a formulaic combination repeated from dance to dance, all eight dancers in the set participate simultaneously in equivalent and complementary roles: â€Å"circle left all eight,† â€Å"allemande left your corner,† â€Å"grand right and left around the ring,† and â€Å"meet your partner and promenade home. † The distinctive figure, unique to each discrete dance, is led by every couple in turn as they visit around the set and dance a series of formulaic moves with each of the other couples.At the end of each couple’s performance of the figure, and at the end of each repeat of the break, couples end up in their â€Å"home† or starting position. This structure, as it is danced in Pennsylvania, encapsulates well the comfortable fit between cultural form and social organization. Bert Feintuch discovered that the same basic form was used in domestic square dance events in south central Kentucky before the 1930s. According to his interpretative model, the stylized movements in the four-couple square dance affirmed both the pragmatic primacy of the couple in the dance and the symbolic primacy of the couple in the community.Thus he concluded that neighbors â€Å"symbolically acted out their norms of community† through dances â€Å"in which couples were the basic unit and their social networks – their neighborhoods – were represented as a bound unit, the square† (Feintuch 65). Square dancing, which emphasizes equality and reciprocity, is a local tradition actively treasured by many. The square dance has a long history as the symbolic action of choice (a sign) strategically called on to encompass (an interpretant) the emergent community (an object). Works Cited: Bethke, Robert D. â€Å"Old-Time Fiddling and Socia l Dance in Central St. Lawrence County.† New York Folklore Quarterly 30 (1974): 163-83. Burchenal, Elizabeth. â€Å"Folk Dances of the United States: Regional Types and Origins. † International Folk Music Journal 3 (1951): 18-21. Damon, Stephen Foster. The History of Square Dancing. Barre, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1955. Feintuch, Burt. â€Å"Dancing to the Music: Domestic Square Dances and Community in Southcentral Kentucky (1880-1940). † Journal of the Folklore Institute 18 (1981): 49-68. Jackson, Frederick. â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American History. † Frontier and Sectino: Selected Essays of Frederick Jackson Turner. Ed. Ray Allen Billington.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1961. 37-62. Ryan, Grace L. Dances of Our Pioneers. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. , 1926. Sanders, J. Olcutt. â€Å"Finding List of Southeastern Square Dance Figures. † Southern Folklore Quarterly 6 (1942): 263-75. Shaw, Lloyd. Cowboy Dances: A Coll ection of Western Square Dances. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1939. Tolman, Beth, and Ralph Page. The Country Dance Book: The Best of the Early Contras and Squares. Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1976. Winslow, David John. â€Å"The Rural Square Dance in the Northeastern United States: A Continuity of Tradition. † University of Pennsylvania, 1972.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Communal harmony: need of the hour Essay

There is hardly any other country in the world than India which has a great diversity of culture, religion, language, tradition, community etc. People live and think in terms of their respective religions, faiths and tongues, and seek to serve their selfish ends without thinking of the national good. Such thinking is dangerous and is bound to lead to the disintegration of the country in the long run. The need of the hour, therefore, is to fight the forces of disunity and disharmony and to work ceaselessly for the achievement of national harmony and peace. Communal harmony is the coming together of all the communities of the country and living together with a sense of brotherhood and equality, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion etc. We should sink our personal differences in larger interests of the country and adopt a common approach to national problems if we want to achieve the laudable goal of national integration and communal harmony. Attrocities are being committed in our country, day in and day out, in the name of caste, sect, community, social and economic differences and divergent political veiwpoints. Extremists and terrorists who have let loose the reign of terror in some parts of our country and have killed hundreds of innocent and peace-loving citizens, are being lionised as martyrs. It is our bounden duty, as patriotic citizens of our country, to fight tooth and nail against these anti-social elements who are bent upon destroying the unity and integration of the country. So our goal is clear, to put a stop to the process of disintegration that has lately started raising its ugly head and to accelerate the process of communal harmony, solidarity and oneness that has recently received a setback. How to achieve this is the main problem? We have to make all our brethren feel that the whole country belongs to them, that there is no high and low in our country, that there is no distinction between the

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Punk

Punk Punk Punk By Maeve Maddox One post often leads to another. When I wrote about the word steampunk, I learned things about the word punk that I hadn’t known before. Three meanings I’ve always attached to the word punk are: 1. punk (noun): a smart-alecky, no-account adolescent boy. Leo [Gorcey] was the filmic prototype of the young  punk. Justin Bieber is a punk, a product of social media. 2. punk (noun): a long skinny taper used to light fireworks. Fireworks should be lit with  punk  or an extended butane  lighting  device.   Dont leave matches and  lighted punk  where ladies may tread on them.   3. punk (adjective): in poor health, under the weather. Sadie is feeling punk: I think her tooth is bothering her. I woke up feeling punk, but now I feel better. Here are some other uses of the noun punk: Note: The dates refer to citations in the Oxford English Dictionary. The first is the earliest citation; the second is the most recent. a prostitute (1575-1983) a boy or young man kept as a passive sexual partner by an older man (1698-2001) the young male companion of a tramp, especially one kept for sexual purposes (1907-2002) derogatory term for a homosexual man (1935-1999) a person of no account; a petty criminal; a hoodlum, a thug (1893-2004) a coward or a weakling (1939-2003) an amateur; an apprentice (1920-1989) a performer or fan of punk rock (1976-2003) Meanings of punk as an adjective include: contemptible, despicable; thuggish; inexperienced (1907-2001) The OED offers the following definition of the word punk relating to the lighting of fireworks: soft decayed or rotten wood, especially as used for tinder 1678-1994) slang term for bread (1891-1991) incense, especially Chinese incense (1844-2000) A piece of a material that smolders when ignited, used to light fireworks or the like (1852-2005) something worthless; foolish or meaningless talk; nonsense, rubbish 1869-1973) New meanings for this old word are still developing, including a verb, â€Å"to punk.† Apparently the past participle is punk’d: Taylor Swift gets Punk’d by Justin Bieber Jusin Bieber gets punk’d by Ashton Kutcher. The odd spelling is from a candid camera show called Punk’d. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsHow to spell "in lieu of"Few vs. Several

Monday, October 21, 2019

Destroy College Stress With These Solid Tips

Destroy College Stress With These Solid Tips Its going to happen count on it. Sometimes it builds up slowly; sometimes it comes quickly when final exams hit for the first time. However and whenever it happens, stress in college is going to happen. If you are wondering how to be stress free, wonder no more. You cant be. You can, however, learn some basic tips for destroying it when it does come. Dont Procrastinate One of the key factors in college stress is too much work piling up all at one time. At the beginning of each semester, you get a course syllabus for a good reason. Your professors want you to know what is due when. Inevitably, they all have papers due at the same time, as well as mid-terms and finals. This can be a killer for you if you put stuff off. All of a sudden, you have 3 papers due in a week and havent started. If you are wondering how to destroy stress that comes from these situations, there really are only two ways: Get yourself organized at the beginning of the semester and calendar your assignments so that you do them over time. Pick your easiest paper first it will encourage you to go on to the next. Find an excellent academic writing service and order some of those papers. Pick those that are for courses not in your major field of study that really wont matter later on. Get Enough Sleep Of course, this is easier said than done. Lack of sleep comes with the territory of being in college, especially if you have a really active social life. Find times for naps, however, and you will be grateful later on. If you know that you are going to be pulling an all-nighter to study for an exam, then get a nap early in the afternoon. And if it is finals week, find times when you can grab and hour of sleep or so during the daytimes. Your body and mind will both thank you. Eat Better During Times of Stress Its so easy to stock up on chips and candy bars so you can snack while you bang out those papers. And that is fine, as long as you are eating correctly during meal times. But usually you are not. So, consider some different kinds of snacks dry roasted nuts (they are absolutely addictive), granola bars, and beef jerky. These will give you long-term energy and wont pile on any fat. Find Some Humor Whether it is pranking your roommate or watching hysterical YouTube videos, getting in a good laugh or two is one of the keys in how to free stress from yourself, at least temporarily. People who have a good sense of humor and who share that humor with others tend to be far less stressed than those for whom everything is just always serious Get Physical Exercise If you are seriously asking, How can I be stress free? remember that the answer is you cannot. But you can deal with it in healthy ways so that it has little to no impact on you. One of these is to get physically active in any way you can. Bicycle, jog, pay basketball or volleyball; go to the campus gym and get a serious workout in. Even if you do 30-minutes of brisk walking with your iPod in, you will be amazed how much brighter your world will look to you. And you will sleep better too. Get in Some ME Time Being around friends, partying, and studying hard is all a part of college life. But it is also good to have some alone time, to just reflect and think about all of the positive things in your life right now. Go to a coffee shop all by yourself, turn off your phone, and just sit with a beverage. Or to a zoo if there is one in your town, and just watch the animals. And if you have time in your room or apartment when your roommates are gone, all the better. Read a book, keep a journal, or try some meditation techniques. Ask for Help if You are Overwhelmed Every campus has a health center. There are counselors there you can talk to, openly and freely. They can give you even more tips than you have here, as well as a good listening ear. Sometimes, just verbally getting out what is really causing you stress in a stress-reducer in itself. Stress is not just a factor of college life. It is a factor of life long after college is behind you. The things you do now to relieve it are good habits to form they will help you for a lifetime.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Verb Mood and Voice in Spanish

Verb Mood and Voice in Spanish When we think about the properties that verbs might have, chances are that the first property that comes to mind is its tense: Does it refer to actions in the past, present or future? But verbs also have two other grammatical properties that are important to understanding how they are used: their mood and their voice. The mood of a verb (sometimes called the mode of a verb) is a property that relates to how the person using the verb feels about its factuality or likelihood; the distinction is made much more often in Spanish than it is in English. The voice of a verb has more to do with the grammatical structure of the sentence in which it is used in and refers to the connection between a verb and its subject or object. The three moods: Both English and Spanish have three verb moods: The indicative mood is the normal verb form used in everyday statements. In a sentence such as I see the dog (Veo el perro), the verb is in the indicative mood.The subjunctive mood is used in many statements that are contrary to fact, are hoped for or are in doubt. This mood is by far more common in Spanish, since it has mostly disappeared in English. An example of the subjunctive in English is the verb in the phrase if I were rich (si fuera rico in Spanish), which refers to a contrary-to-fact condition. The subjunctive is also used in a sentence such as I request that my pseudonym be published (pido que se publique mi seudà ³nimo), which indicates a type of desire.The imperative mood is used to give direct commands. The short sentence Leave! ( ¡Sal tà º!) is in the imperative mood. More about the subjunctive mood: Because it is so frequently necessary in Spanish yet unfamiliar to English speakers, the subjunctive mood is an endless source of confusion for many Spanish students. Here are some lessons that will guide you through its usage: Introduction to the subjunctive mood: This lesson gives examples of when the subjunctive mood is used and compares them with sentences in the indicative mood. In the mood: A more detailed list of examples where the subjunctive mood is used. Tenses of the subjunctive mood: Tenses in the subjunctive mood are seldom intuitive. Conjugation of the subjunctive mood. Future subjunctive: The future subjunctive is very rare in Spanish and is archaic in most uses, but it does exist. Subordinate conjunctions: Verbs in dependent clauses are often in the subjunctive mood. Translating might: Sentences translating the English auxiliary verb might often use a clause in the subjunctive mood. I dont believe ...: The negative form of the verb creer (to believe) is typically followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. Ways of making requests: The imperative and subjunctive moods arent as distinct in Spanish as they are in English, and the subjunctive is often used to make requests. Sentence structure a nd the subjunctive: Although the subjunctive usually isnt used to refer to actual, real events, it can be when the structure of the sentence so requires. Statements of necessity: Verb phrases such as es necesario que (it is necessary that) are generally followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. Statements of fear: These are sometimes followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. Use with opinar: Although the subjunctive mood is usually used in giving opinions, it usually isnt used with opinar. More about the imperative mood: The imperative mood is used for making direct commands or requests, but it is far from the only way to ask that someone do something. These lessons look at the different ways of making requests: Direct commands. Making requests without using the imperative mood. Making polite requests. Active and passive voice: The voice of a verb depends primarily on the structure of a sentence. Verbs used in a normal fashion, in which the subject of the sentence is performing the action of the verb, are in the active voice. An example of a sentence in the active voice is Sandi bought a car (Sandi comprà ³ un coche). When the passive voice is used, the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb; the person or thing performing the action of the verb isnt always specified. An example of a sentence in the passive voice is The car was bought by Sandi (El coche fue comprado por Sandi). In both languages, a past participle (bought and comprado) is used to form the passive voice. It is important to note that, while common in English, the passive voice isnt used as much in Spanish. A common reason for using the passive voice is to avoid stating who or what is performing the action of a verb. In Spanish, that same goal can be accomplished by using verbs reflexively.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Definig Terrorrism and victims of terrorism Essay

Definig Terrorrism and victims of terrorism - Essay Example Resolution 1267 was passed in 1999 and related to sanctioning the Taliban. In 2000, the Swiss Federal Council implemented Resolution 1267 by passing the Taliban Ordinance. Resolution 1333 was passed by the UN Security Council in 2000 and expanded sanctions against the Taliban to include Al-Qaeda members. The expanded sanctions required the appointed UN Sanctions Committee to coordinate intelligence from states of any individual or party that might have connections with Al-Qaeda or its leader Osama bin Laden. In 2001, the Swiss government implemented Resolution 1333 and included a provision prohibiting entrance or transit via Switzerland of any person or party covered by the Resolution.3 In October 2001 the Swiss Federal Prosecutor commenced an investigation of Nada, an Egyptian and Italian national living in Switzerland.4 The following month in November 2001, Nada together with others linked to him were included on the list maintained by the Sanctions Committee and were listed by vir tue of the Swiss Taliban Ordinance. ... In November 2002, Nada was arrested and deployed to Italy and his funds were confiscated. In the meantime, Nada’s border permit applicable to Switzerland was revoked.5 In March 2004, Nada applied to the Swiss immigration officials for permission to travel to Switzerland for medical care and to commence legal action but his application was denied. In May 2005, the Federal Prosecutor dropped the investigation of Nada on the grounds that the claims could not be substantiated. As a result, Nada requested that his name be removed from the list maintained by the Taliban Ordinance. However, the request was denied by the Federal Council on the grounds that since Nada remained listed by the UN Sanctions Committee, he could not be removed from the list maintained by Switzerland. Thus it was not until 2009 when Nada was removed from the Sanctions Committee list that his name was removed from the annex to the Taliban Ordinance. Nevertheless, Nada filed a complaint under Article 8 (protect ion of privacy and family life), Article 13 (entitlements to effective remedies) and Article 5 (security and liberty rights and a decision relative to detention without delay) of the European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 (ECHR).6 The ECtHR found that despite the fact that aliens were not guaranteed free access to foreign borders and that the threat of terrorism was particularly high when Nada was listed, there were vitiating circumstances and facts supporting Nada’s claim that his right to privacy and access to family life under Article 8 had been violated. To begin with, Nada had been confined to an enclave in Switzerland’s territory effectively cutting him off from contact with everyone else. Moreover, Nada’s health and age would be taken into account in determining violation of

Case Analysis - Political Interaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Analysis - Political Interaction - Essay Example nstitution; however, there are multiple restrictions, in form of regulations limiting how lobbyists can appeal national administration for the reparation of criticisms(Ramanna et. al, 2015). Breaking the set rules, even for the corporations guarantees serious consequences including prison sentences. Nonetheless, corporate management is among the core facilitators of financing and lobbying the government; playing roles that have positive and negative influences. Among the core roles of corporate management, lies in campaign finance that entails distribution of available financial resources as contributions and expenditures throughout the campaigning period. Typically, most of the candidates agree that tackling this successfully depends on prominent determinants such as an understanding of the geography and having excellent strategies(Ramanna et. al, 2015). However, without corporate management, most of the executed approaches eventually fail. Corporate management, even outside financing and lobbying the government has most of the practices based on implementation and execution of the best strategies. Resultantly, it enhances the effectiveness of strategies and also comes ups with approaches on handling the expenses relative to campaign finance i.e. salary for the staff and consultants, rented properties, advertisement and purchasing of the utilities. Moreover, in most cases, corporate management applies in reduction of these expenses throug h review and development of better campaigning strategies(Ramanna et. al, 2015). Typically, corporate management enables a significant percentage of campaign efficiency through the inclusion of protocols, policies, approaches and other practices that are mostly prevalent in the corporate world. On the other hand, corporate management has a negative influence through relative practices in financing and lobbying for the government. In fact, most of the critics and negative perceptions of campaign finance and lobbying have the

Friday, October 18, 2019

Urban Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Urban Politics - Research Paper Example According to pluralism, the power is split between the different actors of urban political arena. Robert Dahl, in his book â€Å"Who Governs† explains this theory very well and states that specialized influence exists according to which different leaders dominate different areas. Power is not only in the hands of one group of individuals. It can be stated that the study of urban politics is not similar to that of comparative national politics. The reason is that urban politics is in abeyance whereas comparative national politics is flourishing and widely in use. Stone does not distinguish urban politics within the wider field of American politics or comparative politics. Clarence Stone’s research shows that how unfortunate it is that Comparative Politics sections comprises of double the members as that of urban politics of APSA (American Political Science Association). Clarence Stone supports Lanyi’s balloon which can be depicted form his various research essays. He believes that politics, civil society and business are knitted together in complicated ways. So, urban regime analysis is an effort to observe how these various sections are linked together which sums up to a greater part analysis. Stone keeps on pointing to intersections to the forces, the need to differentiate each political regime from another, the varied analysis of historical trajectories, the governing differences in various cities, the resources and interests of the political actors and many other ways to resolve complexities without simplifying.

Critical Thinking Paper Draft and Self-evaluation Essay

Critical Thinking Paper Draft and Self-evaluation - Essay Example I am completely motivated and geared up to stop smoking, I remember I smoked for the very first time when I was young and I knew nothing about the damage which smoking could cause, I got to know about the damage only later on and I have been trying hard to quit but the temptation always lingers on and it is quite hard to stop it but this time around I am going to do it and I have already been quite successful. I do not even remember the last time that I smoked and this I think is really a big achievement for me and I am going to carry on and completely stop it because I have realized that it is really dangerous and can cause lung cancer, I have already seen enough pain and suffering in those videos. Those videos have been really useful and have motivated me to quit. Chewing gum has also helped me a ton, whenever I feel the urge to smoke I start chewing and this has been of great help to me, the urge to smoke goes away as soon as I pop it into my mouth and the urge to smoke instantly goes away. â€Å"Nicotine replacement therapies work by giving you a small amount of nicotine, but without the dangerous effects of inhaling tobacco smoke. This helps relieve the withdrawal symptoms and cravings for a cigarette that you get when you stop smoking, and allows you to get on with breaking the psychological habit of smoking. If you are physically addicted to nicotine, using NRT has been shown to almost double your chances of successfully quitting smoking.† (Nicorette Gum) This idea was first suggested to me by a good friend and I tried it and it works like a charm for me, the first time I tried it and I was very happy with the results and I knew this was going to save me, I have bought several gums to help me quit. These are a couple of ideas that have really helped me, discipline in life is really important and I have realized this very late but I am going to follow it till my last breath, I have also understood how difficult it is to give up on vices. Developing

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Knowledge Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Knowledge Management Techniques - Essay Example Knowledge management solutions enable the company or organization implementing it to share relevant and useful information at all levels of the organization. Knowledge management reduces redundancy, creates efficiency and allows a company to utilize information for innovativeness. New recruits require minimal training and allow the company to utilize time effectively. Intellectual property can be retained after employees stop working. The two case studies are: Northbridge Model Train Shop and Food Festival. CASE STUDY I NORTHBRIDGE  MODEL  TRAIN  SHOP  (NMTR) 1. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 1a) Northbridge  Model  Train  Shop intends to continue utilizing the existing network and improve the organizations knowledge base. The activities within and outside Northbridge   Model   Train   Shop affects knowledge management preparaedness; hence there is need to conduct an audit. NMTR knowledge management structure requires retructuring and development to accomaodate increas ing tasks. Since the management already poses a knowledge system, the existing system can be effectively used to enhance and achive a competent managements system. A central place where all the knowledge can be accessed and controlled lacks in the oragnization. There is explicict information that can be used to further generate unambigous information for knowledge management as Bennett (1999) points out1. 1b) As a knowledge management expert, it is posible to identify knowledge management gaps that exist. NMTR has acquired knowledge over the knowledge and requires expertese to adequately use the knowledge for the correct person when required. It is necessary to intergrate tacid and explict knowledge in the organization to achive competency and adequately meet NMTR knowledge management needs. Tacid sources of the organizatoin assist in identifying the knowledge gaps that exist. Moreover, the customers needs will be considered when implimenting knowledge management system and ensure t hat NMTR obtains competitive advantage. 1c) Knowledge management needs in NMTR can be adressed with an aim of assisting the company realise its goals. NMTR strategy is dependent on strategy designed by the owner, Jim. For knowledge management to be sucessful, the knowledge Jim possess together with the organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths will influence the outcome. Efficiency will be achived if NMTR stategy is propertly articulated in knowledge management. NMTR will use the existing knowledge to create competitiveness. As an expert, knowledge management mapping, the role of information technology and innovation can be considered as necessary. 1. KNOWLEDGE AUDIT 2a) Knowledge gaps and blockages identify what should be done to achieve knowledge management needs. NMTR has published materials on the train inventory system and wants to develop a new knowldge management that includes the train and slot car materials. There is need standardize the available ma terials and categorize them to allow their effective use in the new venture in train and slot car materials. Additionaly, a system where new information is documented in a procedural way can be identified to absorb information from the new area. There is need for ontology and creation of terms within the new area. Terms that are commonly used in the

Similarities and Differences Between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union Essay

Similarities and Differences Between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union Poster Propaganda in the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Both the Soviet Union and Germany used propaganda posters to incite their citizens to support the cause of their nations during World War II. In comparing their posters, it is clear that the use of fear was one way in which to incite an emotional response towards the causes that the posters represented. The Soviet Union defined their enemy as outside of the nation, while the Nazis created internal threats through providing images that placed Jewish people in a context with invented threats to diminish their humanity. Differences are also evident in the styles and methods with which the posters were created. Through an examination of Soviet and Nazi propaganda posters of World War II, the styles of the work and the identification of threats can be contrasted for differences and similarities. Jowett and O’Donnell write that â€Å"there was little appreciation of the specific social and political conditions that had made World War I propaganda so effective† (228). The natu re of propaganda is to influence, but in order to create effective influence, the imagery and text had to connect to the social conscious of the viewers. An example of a poster that did not connect to the social conscious that was considered brilliant for its intentions and artistry, but was declined by the Soviet Union government was that of El Lissitzky’s â€Å"Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge† (1919) (see Figure 1). ... Figure 1 Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (1919) El Lissitzky (Wikipedia) Socialist realism existed â€Å"with its reliance on simple classical styles and photographically accurate forms in a modern context, its demand of realism, its glorification of socialist ideals and achievements, and its anticipation of a utopian communist society† (Frucht 260). The active campaign to produce posters that reflected the desires of the government in order to align the views of the people was done through the TASS studio which adapted the style of the ROSTA posters which were stenciled. Different from the traditions of the ROSTA posters, however, was the desire to create fine art while creating important cultural messages. Where the ROSTA used iconic images that were generally graphic, The TASS studio employed the use of realist paintings as models for the work (Zegers, Druick and Akinsha np). As shown in the work of Figure 2 The Motherland will Never Forget the Heroic Deeds of its  Son s (1947) Viktor Koretsky (David Winter Bell Gallery) Viktor Koretsky, the warmth of the colors and the power of the imagery evoke the national emotions towards their sons and to a pride based in their sacrifices as they give of themselves to a belief system (David Winter Bell Gallery). The posters provide a reason for the losses that they were experiencing, placing meaning with what they have given (see Figure 2). The works were bold with their use of color and just as bold in their use of fear that asserted the concept of killing Germans with a sense of pride and national presence As exampled in the work Death to the German Murderers, the works revealed a sense

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Knowledge Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Knowledge Management Techniques - Essay Example Knowledge management solutions enable the company or organization implementing it to share relevant and useful information at all levels of the organization. Knowledge management reduces redundancy, creates efficiency and allows a company to utilize information for innovativeness. New recruits require minimal training and allow the company to utilize time effectively. Intellectual property can be retained after employees stop working. The two case studies are: Northbridge Model Train Shop and Food Festival. CASE STUDY I NORTHBRIDGE  MODEL  TRAIN  SHOP  (NMTR) 1. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 1a) Northbridge  Model  Train  Shop intends to continue utilizing the existing network and improve the organizations knowledge base. The activities within and outside Northbridge   Model   Train   Shop affects knowledge management preparaedness; hence there is need to conduct an audit. NMTR knowledge management structure requires retructuring and development to accomaodate increas ing tasks. Since the management already poses a knowledge system, the existing system can be effectively used to enhance and achive a competent managements system. A central place where all the knowledge can be accessed and controlled lacks in the oragnization. There is explicict information that can be used to further generate unambigous information for knowledge management as Bennett (1999) points out1. 1b) As a knowledge management expert, it is posible to identify knowledge management gaps that exist. NMTR has acquired knowledge over the knowledge and requires expertese to adequately use the knowledge for the correct person when required. It is necessary to intergrate tacid and explict knowledge in the organization to achive competency and adequately meet NMTR knowledge management needs. Tacid sources of the organizatoin assist in identifying the knowledge gaps that exist. Moreover, the customers needs will be considered when implimenting knowledge management system and ensure t hat NMTR obtains competitive advantage. 1c) Knowledge management needs in NMTR can be adressed with an aim of assisting the company realise its goals. NMTR strategy is dependent on strategy designed by the owner, Jim. For knowledge management to be sucessful, the knowledge Jim possess together with the organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths will influence the outcome. Efficiency will be achived if NMTR stategy is propertly articulated in knowledge management. NMTR will use the existing knowledge to create competitiveness. As an expert, knowledge management mapping, the role of information technology and innovation can be considered as necessary. 1. KNOWLEDGE AUDIT 2a) Knowledge gaps and blockages identify what should be done to achieve knowledge management needs. NMTR has published materials on the train inventory system and wants to develop a new knowldge management that includes the train and slot car materials. There is need standardize the available ma terials and categorize them to allow their effective use in the new venture in train and slot car materials. Additionaly, a system where new information is documented in a procedural way can be identified to absorb information from the new area. There is need for ontology and creation of terms within the new area. Terms that are commonly used in the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The question is the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The question is the topic - Essay Example This will teach children to resolve manageable problems by assuming responsibility. Part of self-reliance means learning from mistakes therefore,parents must encourage the children more to keep going when things go wrong from the consequences of their action. Bibliotherapy is also an effective way to raise their awareness and is useful in resolving behavior problems by means of reading current events to them(Miller, 2010, 260). Delaying gratification of children also helps to develop their personal responsibility and good impulse control. Impulse control is theability to wait or be patient in order to obtain something they want.Another critical aspect that parents must consider while making their kids self-reliant and personally developed is to allow children to think independently and on their own. If children fail in their attempts leading to the right answersbut eventually find the right solutions for a given problem, praise them for their success and achievement. Generally, parents’ behaviors are often the child’s model of self-reliance and children demonstrated this role modeling by their own actions as well.All parents want their kids to perform and achieve better in their lives, and one definite way to help them is to let parents know the importance of being independent and to execute values learned among

Monday, October 14, 2019

Economic globalization Essay Example for Free

Economic globalization Essay Economic globalization has changed the concept of crime and justice from being unique to one area to now knowing no boundaries. Terrorism is the most recent issue brought before the world and knows no boundaries. Is terrorism a crime that screams for justice? Or a declaration of war? If we use traditional meanings we cannot use the term war because war is started by a state and the terrorist acts of today are by small groups with fundamental ideas. The United States has declared war on terror calling for justice after 911. The world was outraged and shocked. The terrorist attacks were intended to destroy the foundation of western society. The events did not change the world order, but did change the world none the less. Technology that has helped business to go global also enhanced criminal networks to go global also. Global crime begs for global justice. The increase in global crime needs a global response. There has been progress towards global law such as the international criminal tribune that began in the 1990’s for Rwanda and The International Criminal Courts, ICC, created in 1998 in Yugoslavia. These organizations created treaties that were recommended for use by the European Parliament (Delmar-Marty, 287). But the reluctance of the United States to acknowledge a need for global justice has prevented the concept from developing to its fullest potential. How the U. S. defines terrorism conflicts with international interpretation and this fact won’t help to end global crime. International criminal law, on the other hand, would help in global crime. The creation of these global courts would â€Å"guarantee the independence and impartiality of judges, for it recognizes that they represent different legal traditions, including that of Muslim states† (Delmar-Marty, 291). The concept of crime or what is deemed a crime varies from culture to culture, so that fact alone calls for an international court that can accomplish more than relying on each countries law for justice. In the article â€Å"Global Crime Calls for Global Justice†, the author suggests instead of using the word terrorism to decide criminality the term â€Å"crime against humanity† should be used. Giving recognition of universal values that would ensure not only protection of human rights but also dignity of human beings around the globe (2002, 292). So when looking at 911 one should consider it a terrorist act, but instead as a crime against humanity. The global war on terrorism is constricting the flow of financial support to terror groups through Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. To circumvent these measures, transnational terrorist organizations are moving deeper into organized criminal activity. This transition poses a tremendous challenge to states struggling with a threat that has changed significantly since September 11. As terror groups transform into hybrid criminal/terror entities and partner with criminal syndicates, the threat to the United States increasing every day. Over the past few years and increasingly in recent months, leading intelligence and national security minds have noted the growing threat created by the transformation and convergence of transnational organized crime and terrorist groups. While there is some debate as to whether these groups are converging or transforming, it is clear that this growing threat is complex and increasingly difficult to counter with standard law enforcement and military counter-measures. As the United States and other nations adjust to the post 911 world of stubborn problems such as the Iraqi insurgency, Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda, the nexus of organized crime and terrorism, especially between the tri-borders of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil could prolong these challenges and lead to further disruptions and threats to global security and prosperity. Impediments to wholesale cooperation between the two parties remain, but the merging of transnational organized crime and international terrorism in these countries is nonetheless on the rise (Sanderson, 2007). Global economics has truly been the core of crime that is called terrorism. There has been a connection to terrorism and money from oil. In an article by D. Ekman Kaplin he suggests billions of dollars in oil money goes to fund global terror and their networks. The article in U. S. News and World Report showed that I the 1980’s Saudi Arabia’s somewhat official charities became the primary source of funding for the jihad movement that spanned some 20 countries. The money was used to run paramilitary training camps, buy weapons and recruit new members. The charities the Saudi’s had started was in hopes of spreading their fundamentalists ideas globally. The money that was raised went to build hundreds of radical mosques, schools and Islamic centers that supported networks for the jihad movement. This is despite the fact that the United States had knowledge of this since 1996. The U. S. felt that foreign terrorism outweighed fighting terrorism at that time. In 1998, when terrorist struck two U. S. Embassies in East Africa officials in the White House felt a better picture of just how much money and where this money was coming from was needed. This was where the connection was found and it was shocking. The White House enlisted the help of the CIA to answer questions into the funding of Al Qaeda and of the leaders, Osama Bin Laden’s personal finances. Most of the money Al Qaeda had was a direct source of fundraising by Saudi Arabia. An ally to America and the world’s largest producers of oil. Many believed and probably still do today, that Osama Bin Laden’s personal fortune and businesses in Sudan was the source of this funding. William Wechsler, director of the task force NSC (responsible for the investigation), stated that, â€Å"Al Qaeda was a constant fundraising machine† (Kaplan, 18). U. S. officials did not confront the Saudi’s about this fact until after Sept 11, 2001. In 25 years the Saudi’s have been â€Å"the single greatest force in spreading Islamic Fundamentalism. † (20). The Saudi’s unregulated charities have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Al Qaeda cells and jihad groups globally. U. S. Ambassadors, CIA station Chiefs and Cabinet secretaries were encouraged by Saudi’s using billions of dollars in contracts, grants and salaries, to turn a blind eye. When Washington refused to confront the Saudi’s on their part of the terrorist’s network. This was the failure point in sounding the alarm of the rising of the jihad movements globally and of the events of 911. The Saudi’s argued that their charities have done an enormous amount of good work and blames the problems on what they call â€Å"renegade offices† (22). Foreign advisor to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia promises that steps are being taken that will ensure that it never happens again. The fear is that some of the Saudi’s charities played more of a role in terrorist activities. These charities helped to make the more primitive jihadists and insurgents into a more sophisticated global movement. It seems that individuals that were spreading the Wahhabist doctrine, a doctrine held by the Saudi royal family, turned out to be the most radical of the believers in the holly wars. They poured huge sums of money into the newly formed Al Qaeda network. According to a 2002 report Al Qaeda and others jihadists received $300 million and $500 million from Saudi Charities and private donors (Kaplan, 2003). To fund the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Washington and Riyadh helped with some $3. billion to aid in the fight with soviets. Bin Laden personally helped gain millions from clerics in the Muslim world to aid in this cause. The Saudi charities were able to operate in some of the hottest spots around the globe. There was no control on how the money was spent, U. S. officials said. The charities were perfect front’s organizations. They provided safe houses, false identities, travel documents and arms. All the organization were able to dispense large amounts of cash with little or no documentation. The private foundations were not what Americans would call charities. At the time terrorism was not views as a threat and the link of Saudi Arabia with terrorism was not deem as important and kept on the back burner (Kaplan, 2003). In 1998 the CIA began an investigation in Chicago which led them to over $1. 2 million terrorist gained from a local chemical firm. The money had been sent t Hamas and the source of the money came from a Saudi charity. Saudi’s spread the money through-out Washington by the millions that helped to buy friends and influences. One group, Carlyle Group in particular, made huge amounts of money dealings with the Saudi’s. Top advisors for the group included former President George H. W. Bush, James Baker, his secretary of state and Frank Carlucci, former Secretary of Defense. Saudi investment in America was as much as $600 billion in U. S. banks and stock markets. In 1998 attacks on the U. S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania changed all of that. A Task force on terrorist’s finances was formed and in 1999 the charities were even closer linked to the jihad movement. In June of 2003 Saudi officials finally admitted something had gone very wrong and felt they were not at fault for their shortcomings on how funds from the charities were handled. But in 2003 a lawsuit was filed by the 900 members of families of the victims of 911 totaling over $1 trillion dollars and names Saudi princes, businessmen and charities that handled terrorist responsible for the 911 attacks. Reform for the Saudi’s society will be the ultimate test (Halloran, 2006). Presidents Bush’s military tribunal system is another way of the U. S. is attempting to control crime and terrorism. The system is struggling with issues that range from questions that arise such as, what would qualify an individual as a combatant and are the same rules for war applicable to the war on terror (Waldman, 2006). The United States government has come to another problem with the war on terror. In recent years U. S. anti-terrorism units has been slowly decreasing the assets that were frozen stating the effort to â€Å"lack of urgency† as the reason. President Bush disagrees and believes that in order to stop terrorism the flow of money must stop (Johnson, 2007). Since it is clear that terrorism is here for sometime and funding is a key force to keeping them active and needs to eliminated, it is still clear that international laws governing terror is still another key focus the globe needs to address.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Teaching Method For Environment Education

Teaching Method For Environment Education Abstract :This paper will discuss how during teaching and learning in environmental education using a neuro-conservation approach is useful to promote active learning and the students ability to integrate knowledge, as well as effectively motivate students; promote learning curiosity and develop creative abilities. This study will focus on postgraduate science education students. who enroll for The Environment and Its Sustainability course. Students will work in small groups of five, heterogeneous in terms of gender and age. This study will be restricted to global warming issues. The big idea for this intervention program is quite broad. At the end of this experience, students will describe how human activity can alter climate and the environment. They will study climate changes and how these changes correlate with human behaviour in relation to the changing earth. Students will generate conclusion based on their findings and predict future problems that could occur if human activiti es are not changed Keywords: Neuroscience cognitive learning, brain based learning, problem based learning, environmental education INTRODUCTION More than 30 years have passed since the appearance of Environmental Education in Malaysia, however expert still encounter difficulties integrating Environmental Education into academic programs the classroom. The existing curriculum should not only provide environmental awareness to students, but to prepare students to act on environmental problems (WWF, 2008) Education is an essential tool for achieving a sustainable future. Environmental education is one of Sustainable Development agenda implemented through the education system. Various definitions of Environmental Education (EE) produced by several parties. UNESCO (1999) defines Environmental Education as a form of education or knowledge which includes such as physical aspect; environmental impact directly and indirectly; and interaction between the local communities and the impact of activities in a given time. In Malaysia, the definition of the concept of Environmental Education is based on the definition issued by the Division of Teacher Education (1997) and Department of Environment and the Institute for Environment and Development University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM SUSTAINABLE) (2004). According to both of these organizations, Environmental education involves learning to understand the interaction humans and the environment and how the environment is managed in a wise and responsible to the sustainability of life on Earth. It involves education about the environment to increase awareness, knowledge and understanding about environmental management wisely. While the process is said to involve education about the environment, through the environment and for the environment. byPalmer(1998), interaction between these three components can be seen as the Figure 1. Attempts are now being made by environmental educators to fully become interdisciplinary and reach beyond just the Science classro om. To become fully interdisciplinary, environmental education needs to reach out into all subjects; Math, English, Fine Arts and Social Studies, to mention a few. To leave the topic of the environment merely in the Science classrooms is to ignore the interdisciplinary nature of the issues involved with the environment. Students need to learn how to write about the environment, understand how environmental issues are dealt with in other countries, learn how historically the environment was treated, and the actual mathematical side of environmental problems, like the impact of oil spills on local ecosystems. There should be a greater emphasis on teaching about the environment, for the environment, and in the environment. Figure Palmer, A model for blending together these components in environmental education. This paper will discuss how during teaching and learning in environmental education using a neuro-conservation approach is useful to promote active learning and the students ability to integrate knowledge, as well as effectively motivate students; promote learning curiosity and develop creative abilities. This study will focus on postgraduate science education students. who enroll for The Environment and Its Sustainability course. This focus age group is chosen because according to neurobiological development, during this post-puberty stage, the individual is ready to discuss heavy issues of ecological degradation(Puk, 2012) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA EDUCATION SYSTEM In the Malaysian school system, Environmental education was introduced through the infusion and integration approach; as well as introduced in relevant subjects such as English Language, Malay Language, Geography, Science, Local Studies, Civics and Citizenship. It was also infused through co-curricular activities such as Nature Clubs. The Curriculum Development Centre in the Ministry of Education has also developed and distributed a Teachers Guide Book to infuse Environmental education across the primary and secondary school curriculum. However researches indicated that these approaches were generally not coordinated and not implemented effectively. Researches showed that till 2005 although Malaysians in general know and realize that the environment need to be taken care of, however most of them are not oriented to translating their knowledge into action. Environmental Education allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development consequently promotes competencies like critical thinking, imagining future scenarios and making decisions in a collaborative way. Environmental Education requires far-reaching changes in the way education is often practised today. Environmental Education, is not simply about giving students information, but ensuring that education and schools specifically is mobilized to re-orient society towards sustainable practices ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION APPROACH PROBLEM Previous studies have shown that students in primary, secondary and higher education institutions in Malaysia have knowledge about the environment but possess low awareness of the environment (Daniel Shafiee, 2006). Some related literature states that, low knowledge and awareness is due to failure to appreciate the values of the environment itself. To engage diverse students actively in classroom is to understand and interact within their unique worlds. Traditional teaching methods tend to neglect active student involvement, and so fail to tap their rich wells of diversity in class. When lessons do not accommodate students interests and abilities as tools to achieve, learners lose interest and feel disengaged (Ronis 2008). Some related literature states that, low knowledge and awareness is due to failure to appreciate the values of the environment itself. The problem arises from the difficulty of students to master the concepts of abstract environmental teaching. Students who do not understand the basic concept of the abstract environment is always looking for short cuts to memorize a concept but did not understand what was said. By just memorizing the concepts, meaningful learning environment does not occur. When meaningful learning does not occur, knowledge and awareness of the environment relatively will be low. This opinion is based on the Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior (Hungerford Volk, 1990) which states that individuals with high knowledge and awareness of environmental will showed positive behavior towards the environment Hence, environmental education should incorporate elements that promote thinking and problem solving skills. Environmental education also having the difficulty o f empowering students into meaningful action, the challenge of using innovative methods, the difficulties associated with values education, and deficiencies in teacher preparation (Thomas 2005). Recognising the importance of the responsibility to protect our environment cultivated, the Environmental Education in Malaysia education system should be able to function efficiently to form a community that are sensitive and concerned about environmental issues and acquire the knowledge, skills, values and commitment to work and act individually or together toward solving environmental issues. Many will have positive attitude and knowledge about the environment but fail to reflect environmental values in terms of their commitment towards environment (Kollmuss Agyemen 2002). However, knowledge about environmental issues per se cant be the only determinant for pro-environmental behavior, other factors also play an important role (SitiNurDiyana Mahmud Kamisah Osman 2010). Teaching and learning approaches adopted in Environmental Education was also found to be less effective in generating optimum learning potential of students with learning style preferences vary. This is because generally practiced method is just give priority to certain groups of students in the classroom. Teaching often emphasizes linear information processing approach (Lourdusamy, 1994). This method is found only in favor of the students who have left brain dominance and less able to attract students who are dominated by the ability of the right brain (Sousa 1995). Consequently, only students with specific learning styles benefit from teaching while the others were less keen to learn. When subject areas are taught in a conventional format, they are taken out of their natural context and presented to learners as independent and isolated units. Unfortunately, this traditional format operates in opposition to the brains natural way of integrating and processing new information (Ronis 2008). According to that problem, therefore various approaches in teaching and learning have been explored for the purpose to enhance learning environmental education. Recently one of the areas have been concerned by the educational communities is the potential of Problem-based Learning with consideration of neuroscience cognitive elements to promote environmental education. Problem-based Learning approach appears to be a potential method to inculcate students with sustainable knowledge, since it require action on the ground, to provide students with opportunity to apply their knowledge into practice (Steinemann, 2003). NEURO-CONSERVATION APPROACH Proposed neuroscience cognitive approach is one of the suitable methods to overcome problems as described earlier. This approach taking into account relevant aspects of the principle of the brain capacity to generate meaningful learning. With different primary structures (reptiles brain, midbrain/ limbic system and neocortex), the brain requires specific approach to operate at its optimum. Neuro-conservation approach which taking into consideration the emotional climate, teaching strategies and reinforcing strategies can enhance the brains learning. The changing nature of the neuroplasticity of the brain may also have implications for lifelong ecological literacy and provides direction towards the restructuring that schooling may require in order to influence global efforts to deal with ecological degradation. This involves the manner in which internal representations (the content of neural networks) are laid down in human beings during childhood and the resulting resistance to chang e during adulthood(Puk, 2012). Neuroscientists are just beginning to understanding how brain development is related to aspect of adolescence such as risk taking, decision making, and managing impulsive behaviours. It is the job of the prefrontal cortex to control these impulses through reason, planning or delay of gratification. But the impulse inhibiting capacities of the brain are not present at birth. Research now indicates that it take at least two decades for the biological processes of brain development to produce a fully functional prefrontal cortex (Weinberger, 2001). Thus middle and high school students still lack the brain development to balance impulse with reason and planning. Figure 2 visualizes the neuro-conservation approach. The approach integrates principles of brain-based learning and problem based learning. The Brain Based Teaching Approach advocates three instructional techniques: Orchestrated Immersion (creates a learning environment that fully immerses students in many educational experiences), Relaxed Alertness (eliminates fear in the learners while maintaining highly challenging environments) and, Active Processing (allows the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it). According to this theory, each education should integrate all of these elements: a) Relaxed Alerteness i. The brain learns best in its optimal state. ii. The brains cognitive cycle influences the learning process. iii. Emotions are critical to the brains patterning process. iv. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. v. Positive climate stimulates brain function. vi. Appropriate environment, music and aroma exvite brain activity. b) Orchestrated Immersion i. The brain is a parallel processor it able to perform multi activities in the same time. ii. Search for meaning comes through brain patterning process. iii. The brain processor works in wholes and parts simultaneously iv. Complex and active experiences involving movements stimulate the brain development. v. Learning engages the whole physiology. c) Active Processing i. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception. ii. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes. iii.Learning always takes place in two memory approaches to retain facts, skills and procesures and making sense of experience. iv. The brain can easily grasp and remember facts and skills embedded in its memory space. Figure Neuro-conservation approach model Figure The PBL learning principles (Based on the works of GraaffKolmos 2003, KolmosGraaff 2007) In this neuro-conservation approach these three instructional techniques (orchestrated immersion, relaxed alertness and active processing) are implemented across the entire process of learning. The integration of these learning optimum state elements is believed to be able to fulfill various learning requirements whilst fostering interest among students to learn. This is due to the fact that the shift from teaching to learning is considered the most important innovative aspect of this educational concept, and consequently, the task of the teacher is altered from transferring knowledge into facilitating the learning process of the students (Kolmos 2006). This approach is expected to stimulate and generate conceptual understanding and motivation to learn, 21st century skills and environmental awareness among students and hence increase their learning potential of a learning style preferences vary. In neuro-conservation approach, the PBL principles suggested by de Graaff and Kolmos (2003) is adopted. In general, de Graaff and Kolmos (de Graaff and Kolmos 2003, Kolmos and de Graaff 2007) summarize the main learning principles in three approaches: cognitive learning, collaborative learning and contents (See Figure 3). (1) The cognitive learning approach Learning is organised around problems and will be carried out in projects. It is a fundamental principle for the development of motivation. A problem provides the starting point for the learning process, places learning in a context, and bases learning on the learners experience. (2) The contents approach This approach especially concerns interdisciplinary learning, which not only stresses but also spans traditional subject-related restrictions and techniques. It is exemplary practice in the sense that the learning outcome provides a good example of the overall objectives. Furthermore, it supports the relation between theory and practice by demonstrating the fact that the learning process involves an analytical approach using theory in the analysis of problems and problem-solving methods. (3) The social approach is team-based learning. The team learning aspect shows the learning process as a social act in which learning takes place through dialogue and communication. Furthermore, the students are not only learning from each other, but they also learn to share knowledge and organize the process of collaborative learning. The social approach also covers the concept of participant-directed learning, which indicates a collective ownership of the learning process and, especially, the identification of the problem. Stonewater (2005) argues that the best way for teachers to equip learners with the skills and attitudes they need is through problem solving and inquiry learning. Learning should involve the use of inadequately structured problems, problem that provide only minimum amount of information, just enough to guide the investigation. In relation to Environmental Education in Biology, this theoretical background paves the way for the employment of neuro-conservation approach as an innovative strategy for subsequent educational design (See Figure 3). By its very nature, the problem-based approach requires an organizational framework which is similar to detective work. By first identifying specific focus questions and then proceeding through systematic research for answers, students learn the discipline of logic along with the excitement of mental connection that click, resulting in insight and epiphany. The urgent need for and emphasis on interactivity in the learning process is directly linked to the idea that each learner actively creates his or her own knowledge through direct and meaningful experience (Ronis 2008). When students explore information through a variety of different instructional approaches, they often become more interested in and receptive to the subjects they are studying. Because the brain is functioning with greater efficacy through these varied approaches, students are able to invest more of their mental energy in learning and thereby commit concept to memory with greater comprehension (Cowley Underwood 1998). Additionally, using neuro-conservation approach allows teachers to help their students become successful in most of these areas, including learning/innovation skills; information, media and technology skills; and life/career skills. Depending upon the PBL scenario, many of the core subjects and themes can also be included. As students work together to define the problem, find and evaluate evidence and reconsider the problem from multiple angles, they develop higher order thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills. These skills are transferable to all contexts, in school settings as well as in real-life. Research indicates that the use of PBL enhances problem-solving skills and effective reasoning strategies, while increasing long-term student retention and application of knowledge (Goodnough Cashion, 2006; Strobel van Barneveld, 2009). PBL also has the potential as an effective learning approach in Environmental Education (Clara Vasconcelos 2010). In PBL, sce narios relating to real life are used as a point of departure for the learning process. In this learning approach, the ill structured nature of the problems not only personally relevant to the students, but address timely community issues and thus establishing a valid connection with the learners themselves. PHASES OF IMPLEMENTATION A neuro-conservation intervention program will be implemented for postgraduate science education students. Students will work in small groups of five, heterogeneous in terms of gender and age. This study will be restricted to global warming issues. The big idea for this intervention program is quite broad. At the end of this experience, students will describe how human activity can alter climate and the environment. They will study climate changes and how these changes correlate with human behaviour in relation to the changing earth. Students will generate conclusion based on their findings and predict future problems that could occur if human activities are not changed. In addition, students will suggest possible solutions to change current patterns in the climate change. The focus will be to create solutions that are fact based and practical. Solutions should span personal, local and global changes that could decrease global warming. The program will comprise six lesson (45 minute each) and one field trip. The instruction will be implemented within a period of approximately 6 weeks. The seven week course will be based on the three main phases considered as the compulsory axis in PBL program: a) Involvement in the program, b) Solving the problem within group work and c) evaluation of the learning process. A field trip will be organised in order to present the problem within an appropriate context. Prior to beginning this neuro-conservation learning lesson, respondents will be given pre-test of global warming conceptual understanding. This provides the researcher with one summative assessment that compare the repondents growt and learning prior to the lesson experience and following the activity. This study will evaluate respondents motivation to learn, environmental awareness, conceptual understanding about global warming and also respondents 21st century skills. In neuro-conservation approach, teacher needs to help learners build their own problem-solving skill and thinking abilities while teaching the content necessary to apply those skills. . Table 1. Phase of Implementation Neuro-Conservation Approach Phase Activity Features PBL Phase Brain Based Learning Principles Involvement in the program Activity 1: Class Discussion and Hyphothesis Generation Task: Students are given a real-life problem statement. Students brainstrom and suggest the kind of infromation or data that they would need to answer the question posed. Activate the memory processor system and students prior knowledge to stimulate the transfer process. Problem Design The teacher begins the learning process by developing a real world open ended problem. This problem is related to the unit that is being taught in that it should involve the application of the content skills and concepts covered. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. Emotions are critical to the brains patterning process. Solving the problem within group work Activity 2:Field Sampling Task:The choice of the field site should be based on easy of sampling. The student guide gives the students a brief outline of the bioassessment physical parameter procedures that they will perform in the fiels. Acivity 3: Class Meeting Task:Each team will meet and with the help of the instructor, decide what the data they have collected may mead to their hypotheses and what information yet needs be obtained. Activity 4:Class Meeting Task: Students are encourage to discuss and form a plan of action especially in regard to the laboratory data they need. Some students may have already done this and may begin actual laboratory work. Activity 5:Action Items/ Laboratory Work Task:Instructor needs to be available to consult with the students before they begin their work so they have a clear idea of what they need to do and advise. Activity 6: Class Meeting Task:Students share information and draw final conclusions concerning their assignment. They begin planning their posters and position papers. Activate the right brain processor prior to the left brain. Alleviate anxieties over accessibility and relevance material. The stage for brain active processing The stage for digesting, thinking about, reflecting on and making sense of experience utilizing visualization, auditory, kinesthetic in multiple context. Locating and Identifying Resources The second phase, the resources phase refer to the stage when students gather data as well as acquire learning resources and engage in experiences. The brain is a parallel processor it able to perform multi activities in the same time. Search for meaning comes through brain patterning process. The brain processor works in wholes and parts simultaneously Complex and active experiences involving movements stimulate the brain development. Learning engages the whole physiology. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes. Learning always takes place in two memory approaches to retain facts, skills and procesures and making sense of experience. The brain can easily grasp and remember facts and skills embedded in its memory space. Evaluation of the learning process Activity 7: Final Assessment Task: In this activity, students will be asked to present their posters and conduct a formal evaluation of the posters of the other groups. Additionally, each student will hand in the position paper that support his/her conclusion to the problem. The activity stimulates working memory to summarize the lesson Problem Analysis In the final phase, the problem analysis phase, the teacher role is to encourage students to offer answers, hypotheses and reflection that may consist of either closed or open activities inquiries. The brain is a parallel processor it able to perform multi activities in the same time . Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes The purpose of neuro-conservation approach is to help educators make sense of current research in the neuroscience and the resulting implication for environmental education and science instruction. Research indicates that an integrated approach to learning aligns with the way brain naturally processes and internalizes new information. However, problem based learning alone is no guarantee that learning will take place. Students also need reflection and interpretation to make sense of learning activities and for locating activities in a wider framework of meaning and purpose., CONCLUSION This paper seminally highlights the integrative principles of brain-based learning and problem-based learning that were previously studied independently. The integration of these two theories becomes a basis for neuro-conservation approach. Arguably, neuro-conservation approach is also capable in enriching the idea of teaching and learning methods based on the architecture of the brain that can be implemented in accordance with holistic learning strategies. To say the least, neuro-conservation approach is expected to increase the students motivation to study Environmental Education and instill environmental awareness. This will lead to subsequent improvement of their understanding of Biological concept and nourish their 21st century skills.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

AgDscam is a Receptor found in Vectors Correlates to Malaria Essay

Introduction The most dangerous creature in the world is the mosquito. Every year, mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, viral encephalitis, and West Nile virus, cripple and kill millions of people. In fact, malaria, a parasitic mosquito-borne disease, infects more than 400 million people and kills more than two million people each year. It is one of the principal causes of mortality in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The most fatal version of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is transmitted by the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Malaria infected Cell Disease-transmitting mosquitoes are exposed to a wide range of deadly pathogens, and yet, they are able to resist infection. These invertebrates produce pattern recognition receptors, PRRs, which discern the specific molecular pattern associated with a pathogen. Upon recognition, the PRRs activate the insects immune system, which then isolates the pathogens by confining it within another molecule. The Anopheles gambiae mosquito generates approximately 150 PRR genes, each one with the ability to distinguish the molecular pattern for a particular pathogen. Another insect, the Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the fruit fly, contains a gene, Dscam (short for Down Syndrome Cell Adhesion Molecule), that plays a large role in producing PRRs. A recent study has shown that the fruit flies ability to quarantine bacteria is impaired when the Dscam gene is silenced. The Anopheles gambiae species has a related gene known as AgDscam. In this study, AgDscam was silenced; as a result, the mosquitos ability to resist infections with bacteria and defend against the malaria parasite Plasmodium was severely compromised. .. ... drawing forth the infectious organism through the production of challenge-specific splice form repertoires enriched with receptor molecules, which can easily identify molecules associated with microbial pathogens. The induction of this pathogen is done via immune signaling pathways. The mammalian down syndrome cell adhesion molecule gene does not undergo as much alternative splicing as that of insects, and it can only produce three different mRNA forms. This may imply that Dscam in mammalian nervous systems have a more specialized function which utilizes antibodies for patter recognition. Overall, understanding the immune system of the Anopheles Gambiae vector is very important. If we can become familiar with the way its immune system works and how it recognizes Plasmodium, it could become helpful in devising control strategies for the spread of malaria.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Beloved herself Essay

Introduction Toni Morrison is famed for her portrayal of African American life in her vivid novels, especially her portrayal of African American women and their place and position within society. Morrison was herself born in a working class family but worked hard and attended Howard University and then Cornell University. Although she faced discrimination and sexism throughout her early life, she overcame the obstacles and went on to become a successful editor before writing her first novel in 1970, The Bluest Eye. All of Morrison’s later novels earned her praise and a place within a white-dominated literary world. She used her influence to advance fellow African American writers, but it was Beloved that she became best known for. The novel, which is set in rural Ohio following the Civil War, contains multiple stories, voices, and shifts in time. The narrative swings back and forth in time to reveal the disturbing and complicated maternal experiences of Sethe, now a former slave living with her mother-in-law Baby Suggs and daughter Denver in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Cincinnati. While much of the novel takes place in this 1873 post-war setting, the past lies at the devastating core of the novel and impacts the present with vicious intensity. Indeed, as critic Valerie Smith points out, â€Å"The characters have been so profoundly affected by the experience of slavery that time cannot separate them from its horrors or undo its effects† (345). Certainly, this is the case for Sethe and Paul D, a former Sweet Home slave who comes to live with Sethe and Denver in Ohio after the war. Having endured unspeakable horrors during slavery, both find the past a constant, threatening presence in their lives. To a significant extent, Beloved embodies the past and serves as a disrupting force in the present. Moreover, with her multiple incarnations, Beloved also represents the complex, multi-layered treatment given to maternal experience in the novel. The first and most obvious level of the maternal in Beloved consists of the social and historical realities that lie beneath the text. Morrison acknowledges that the actual story of Margaret Garner of Ohio provides the historical substance of Beloved (qtd. in Naylor 206). According to various accounts, Garner, like Sethe, attempted to kill her children rather return them to slavery (Lerner 60-63). She succeeded in killing one child, whom Morrison transforms into the figure of Beloved herself. According to Morrison, â€Å"I just imagined the life of a dead girl which was the girl that Margaret Garner killed, the baby girl that she killed† (qtd. in Naylor 208). With Garner’s story then becoming Sethe’s, Morrison depicts both the cruel realities of motherhood under slavery and the interiority of such maternal experience. In this process, she exposes the â€Å"the silences in the generic first-person slave narratives† and crosses â€Å"the boundaries between fiction and history† (Grewal 156) Mothering, although about loving, caretaking, nurturing, and teaching, has the primary function of protection that stems from the request to survive. The survival includes that of self and of offspring, who will ensure the existence of future generations of families. Because survival of self is a necessary phase of survival of the offspring, with it come characteristics seemingly unmotherly. Although mothers are stereotypically viewed as soft, selfless, and abounding with patience, in fact, they have the capacity to be selfish, angry, and cruel in the process of being protective of their children. Mothers work to maintain life, or what they regard as right in terms of their definitions of life, regardless of the morality of their actions. And who determines the morality? Mothers are expected to be authoritative in their realm and are charged with the protection, at all costs, of the children of which they are the source or guardian. However, most of them don’t have certain rights or power to make the rules in society to carry out the protection. Therefore it is interesting to examine the social construction of mothering, both for mothers that chose motherhood, and for those upon whom motherhood was imposed; the dismantling of mothering stereotypes; and the way racial tragedies, culture, and survival define a mother’s role. Part of the issue, then, is that we place modern day standards on women from other eras. Another issue is raised as well. It is the question as to what determines how a mother will do her job. The answer includes nature and nurture, as well as, perhaps, the division of essentialism and social constructionism. According to essentialism, a mother has born qualities, nature determined, that manipulate her thought process and her decision-making process. Yet, these born qualities co-exist with environmental factors. Morrison therefore identifies de-essentializing critical strategies that still give a place to the slavery problem but revise the direction of this criticism. Nevertheless, the essentialist versus social constructionist theory still remains inherent to issues of motherhood. Eyer notes that â€Å"bonding is described as a maternal instinct†¦ designed to ensure survival† (69). Yet even the notion of maternal instinct can be questioned, especially if this mean it is to question biological determinism. Once again the issue of essentialism in motherhood is directly related to the social construction of what it is to be a â€Å"Good Mother† (Eyer 69). But who defines motherhood, survival and bonding? Is it possible that physical survival can be worse than death? Is it possible that the mother-child bond, so tightly fused, requires mothers to question the norm of the time, of the societal conditions? To protect may be interpreted as kill, as in Sethe’s case. Do these mothers have the obligation, whether essentialist or socially constructed mothers, to determine what is appropriate mothering in their situations? Perhaps these mothering characters absorb the language of biological determinism and actually use their biological differences as the source of their power, the source of their decisions and choices. The focus of this thesis, then, is the breakdown of the stereotype of mother as a result of racial and cultural oppressions in the most extreme circumstances, or after these extreme circumstances, illustrating that the cultures themselves are not always supportive of mothers and their inherent roles in society. The thesis also focuses on the crucial mothering characters in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, as well as offers relevant theoretical background that provides important perspectives on mothering in racial and cultural contexts. Morrison presents mothers who are very willing to be soft and hard, loving and cruel, moral and amoral for the sake of future generations. In Beloved, the crucial mothers are Sethe’s mother, Sethe, Baby Suggs, and Denver. Ella and Nan, though briefly addressed, are not considered central, as their mothering or othermothering capacities are demonstrated in a limited manner. The thesis would argue further, based upon the actions of Sethe that the socially constructed mother may refuse to act in full accordance with essentialism, for the purpose to do what they feel right, rather than the rules and morality based on social definitions. A lot of sources have been examined throughout this literary research study. A brief literature review on these sources is presented further. Deborah White in Ar’n’t I a Woman? attempts the mythology of the Southern mammy and other myths and challenges a richer, more multifaceted picture of the lives of African American women in slavery. Drawing on historical proof, including slave narratives and the diaries and autobiographies, in addition to the modern scholarship on the African American family, the author examines slave women’s routine, livelihood, female networks, and family roles. She finds power and ingenuity, but denies that female slaves played a dominant role in their families. Toni Morrison and Motherhood, by Andrea O’Reilly, offer a critical reading of motherhood and mothering complexly depicted in Beloved. The author intimately scrutinizes Morrison’s text and interviews as well as other appraisal of Morrison and feminism to theorize Black women’s daily experiences, which have been basically ignored by white feminists. Angelyn Mitchell in The Freedom to Remember studies current literary revisions of slavery in the United States by African American women writers. She claims that the modern studies have examined these works only from the perspective of victimization. Author transforms the conceptualization of these accounts in Beloved, focusing on the theme of freedom, not slavery, defining it as â€Å"liberatory narrative. † The Freedom to Remember shows how the liberatory narrative serves to emancipate its readers from the heritage of slavery in American culture: by facilitating a deeper dialogue of the problem and by making them new-fangled through elucidation and questioning. In the Toni Morrison’s Developing Class Consciousness, Doreatha Mbalia followed the growing of Morrison’s consciousness from her examination of racism in her early fiction, to her growing understanding of the nature of capitalism and the necessity for collective struggle in and Beloved. Diane Eyer in Motherguilt: How Our Culture Blames Mothers for What’s Wrong with Society, is convinced that the pseudo scientific conception of maternal â€Å"bond† is one of the ways the rules of mothering have been revised to restrain mothers’ interests in such possessions as work for income outside the home. Eyer is disturbed with the political and subjective twists that scientific investigation is given when attitudes about maternal nature and the principles of motherhood are questioned. Jan Furman in Toni Morrison’s Fiction, traces the persistent characters, subjects, and settings that represent Morrison’s literary vision and strike a well-known chords for Morrison’s readers. Showing that novelist sturdily supports the thought that the artist must beget and interpret culture, Furman discloses the Morrison ‘s contribution to the development and restatement of the American literary tenets through her depiction of the Black woman experience. As well, Furman scrutinizes Morrison’s distress with the threat of gender and racial stereotyping and with her appreciation for those who defy such boundaries. Pointing to the Morrison ‘s astonishing portrayals of human pain, survival, and triumph, Furman moves ahead of literary analysis to enlighten what she argues to be the crucial achievement of Morrison’s narrative: the presentation of the pathway to emotional independence and spiritual freedom. Trudier Harris in Fiction and Folklore: The Novels of Toni Morrison, shows how Morrison’s previous novels reveal interest to the folkloric elements in the form of narrator as storyteller; in the use of folk tales, funny stories, false notions, and other kinds of traditions; and in the emphasis on such â€Å"verbal† features as music. Jacqueline Jones’s tremendous study Labor of Love. Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, takes us far into the insinuations of the extensive social distinctions between the African American and the white experiences and practices in America. Jones’s book gets rid of several nasty stereotypes and obstinate myths, it is free of the bigotry and racism it portrays, and it shows old facts in new ways. This thesis has been divided into 5 parts, introduction, main body and conclusion. Main body is dived into three chapters. The first part explores the social construction of slavery motherhood. Theoretical background to the mothering aspects of Morrison’s novel is presented here briefly. Certain generalized assumptions are made about motherhood, mothering and othermothering. Although they cannot be accurate definitions for all mothers or all situations, they perhaps indicate the relation between essentialism and constructionism, in the identification of motherhood. This part looks at mothering under pressure and threat. The second part examines the roles and representations of motherhood in the novel, and Sethe’s role as a mother in particular. The role of breasts and breastmilk images are discussed and considered as a bond between mother and a child. Then, thesis, especially in terms of Sethe, distinguishes how mothers’ reactions to situations, though seemingly â€Å"animalistic† are, in fact, logically thought out, using human reasoning. If, according to society, the essential aspects of mothering are to be loving, caring, and nurturing, then it is through circumstances that a mother must determine how she can best be all these things, doing what is â€Å"best† for her child or children. In the third part, thesis is focused on the breakdown of the stereotype of mother as a result of racial and cultural oppressions in the most extreme circumstances, or in the aftermath of these extreme circumstances, illustrating that the cultures themselves are not always supportive of mothers and their inherent roles in society. The character of Baby Suggs has also been analyzed here thoroughly, showing how a destreotyping of black womanhood can contribute to a de-essentialized image of slavery. The thesis concludes, that the socially constructed mother who rejects the essential aspects of motherhood in order to do what she feels is â€Å"right,† rather than what is expected by society as a human mother. Thus, one must ascertain with respect to these culturally diverse mothers whether the essential aspects of being a mother transcend the socially constructed aspects of motherhood or not. Their desire and ultimate goal is still keeping their children and themselves alive. Indeed, the interpretation of mothering for each of the mothers makes the difference. Each woman identifies herself as a mother or othermother includes motherhood into her personal identity. A mother creates identity, or, if she does not create it, she nurtures it so that it may bloom and grow of its own accord. Considering social constructionism, this creation becomes exceedingly evident in the mothers and daughters in the novel, as well as in reality.