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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Marriages And Families

The formation of a family conventionally starts with the union of two persons through marriage. In a marriage, the couple shares responsibilities in many aspects — child rearing, properties, home utility bills, taxes, and the likes. They also share responsibilities in resolving various problems encountered during the relationship. To most couples, this sharing of responsibilities is what they call commitment to the relationship, a commitment to their spouse. However, many couples around the world experience troubles in handling these responsibilities. Such experiences sometimes lead to their disillusion to the commitment they vowed to revere when they entered into the married life. In many cases, these couples end up filing a divorce. Divorce, which is sometimes referred to as the dissolution of marriage, â€Å"is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. † Divorce is common in many developed countries such as the United States, South Korea, Canada, as well as in countries within Europe, except for Malta where civil divorce is banned. Marriage, being a legal act, should also be dissolved through legal action. In some cases, prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements, when applicable, are given importance in determining the terms of divorce. These terms refer to the rightful partition of the responsibilities which were supposed to be carried out within the marriage. In a divorced state, the couple is still liable to hold those responsibilities, this time through their individual efforts. A recent survey of matrimonial lawyers in the United Kingdom revealed that the main causes of marriage meltdown are: extra-marital affairs, abuse (physical and/or mental), boredom, lack of sex, financial disagreements, alcohol/drug abuse, debt, workaholism, and hobbies (Wikipedia). Religious affiliations of married couples also have implications on divorce. For Muslims, divorce may be granted, but it is discouraged. Judaism, on the other hand, has regarded divorce as a fact of life. It generally preserves its principle that it is better for a couple to live separately, through divorce, than live together in a life of distress and strife. The Roman Catholics believe that marriage is permanent during the life of spouses. Although it allows divorce, it does not approve of remarriage after a divorce if the other spouse is still living. This rule, however, is not observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church and many Protestant churches, where remarriage of divorcees is allowed even with a surviving former spouse, but under certain conditions. Meanwhile, Dharmic Religions are not cognizant of the concept of divorce. Divorce in the Republic of Ireland The Republic of Ireland is mostly populated by Catholics. In their 1937 Constitution, divorce was not allowed. However, in their more recent regulations, divorce in Ireland became possible under certain circumstances. Divorce in Ireland follows the rules stipulated in the 1996 Family Law Act . It involves a process where the following conditions should be met first: the spouses should have lived apart for at least four years of the preceding five years; there is no reasonable prospect for reconciliation; and there is proper provision for the spouses and dependent children. The spouse who initiated the filing of divorce is called the applicant, and the other is the respondent. The applicant should have a solicitor who, before the divorce proceedings begin, will discuss with the applicant the possibility of reconciliation or judicial separation as an alternative to divorce. If the court sees that there is really no possibility of reconciliation, trials and hearings will proceed to discuss the terms of the proposed divorce. During the trial period, the court may issue orders relevant to the 1996 Family Law (Divorce) Act which include: a safety order, barring order, temporary barring order or protection order; an order for the custody, access or maintenance of a dependent child; an order to protect the family home, its contents or any money from its sale. The court may also order either spouse to pay maintenance for the other spouse and any dependent children, the terms and conditions of which, the court will decide. After the divorce is granted, the court is authorized to decide on the terms and conditions for the payment of maintenance of the spouse and any dependent children, giving consideration to certain conditions. The court also decides on the partition of assets as well as on disputes and claims on properties. Child custody of any dependent children under the age of 18 will also be subject of court decision. Divorce in New York, USA The Divorce Law of New York initially deals with residency and filling requirements. Divorce in New York may be maintained only when: â€Å"the parties were married in the state and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding; or the parties have resided in this state as husband and wife and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding; ort he cause occurred in the state and either party has been a resident thereof for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the action; or the cause occurred in the state and both parties are residents thereof at the time of the commencement of the action; or either party has been a resident of the state for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action. † Under the Divorce Law of New York, the spouse who initiated the filing of divorce i s called the plaintiff while the other is the defendant. The grounds for divorce are also spelled out in the Divorce Law of New York. This include: â€Å"the cruel and inhuman treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant such that the conduct of the defendant so endangers the physical or mental well being of the plaintiff as renders it unsafe or improper for the plaintiff to cohabit with the defendant; the abandonment of the plaintiff by the defendant for a period of one or more years; the confinement of the defendant in prison for a period of three or more consecutive years after the marriage of plaintiff and defendant; the commission of an act of adultery, provided that adultery for the purposes of articles ten, eleven, and eleven-A of this chapter, is hereby defined as the commission of an act of sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct, voluntarily performed by the defendant, with a person other than the plaintiff after the marriage of plaintiff and defendant; the husband and wife have lived apart pursuant to a decree or judgment of separation for a period of one or more years after the gr anting of such decree or judgment, and satisfactory proof has been submitted by the plaintiff that he or she has substantially performed all the terms and conditions of such decree or judgment; and the husband and wife have lived separate and apart pursuant to a written agreement of separation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Spousal support in a New York divorce is not an automatic obligation of either party; it is rather provided on a case-to-case basis which may be agreed upon by both parties, or upon the discretion of the court. The court is also authorized to decide on the child custody and support to any dependent child of the divorcees. Computation for child support is based on the Income Share Model, in which child support is divided proportionally based on each parent’s income. Under the New York Divorce Law, guidelines have also been set with regard to the provision of child support. Ireland and New York Divorce Laws: A Comparison Considering the fact that Irish people are mostly Catholics, divorce is relatively difficult to obtain in Ireland than in New York, which is predominated by Protestants. It may be noted that the Irish Divorce Law specifically mentions of processes that need to be undertaken to possibly settle the couple for reconciliation. As mentioned earlier, Catholics believe that marriage is permanent during the lives of the spouses. Perhaps working within this premise, the Irish court instills in the legal process of divorce actions that should be taken by the State in order to preserve marriage, and consequently the family. This attempt on the possible reconciliation of the husband and wife has no mention in the New York Divorce Law. While both laws discuss in detail the rules to abide by in the partition of assets and properties, as well as of responsibilities, certain conditions differ. One highlight is on the provision of spousal support. The Irish court obligates spousal support while the New York court does not. This ruling may be attributed to the fact that the United States of America is a developed country while the Republic of Ireland is still in its developing stage. This implies that in the United States, both spouses are assumed to have stable incomes and thus do not require financial support from each other. Irish couples, on the other hand, them being in a developing country, would mean needing of spousal support should their marriage be dissolved so that the spouse with less income can cope with the responsibilities left to him/her by the other. However, these two laws seemed to have dealt more on the partition of properties than on the rules on determining child custody. In both laws, child custody is to be decided upon by the court, but no guidelines on the court’s basis of its decision on the issue were discussed. It is noteworthy to mention that in most, if not all, divorce cases, the couple’s children are the ones most affected. A recent study showed that children of divorced parents have higher potential of having behavioral problems compared to children in intact families (Wikipedia). Various studies further revealed that the following are most of the time observed in people from divorced families: higher rates of alcoholism and substance abuse; occurrence of clinical depression attacks; and commission or attempt to commit suicide (Wikipedia). Though studies have been conducted on the effects of divorce to children, no remedy has been proven to be effective enough to lessen the incidence of such behaviors from children of divorced parents. This brings us to another observation that the laws of Ireland and New York on divorce do not present steps to be taken to ensure the protection of the children’s best interest. Conclusion Divorce laws vary from one country or state to another. In some parts of the world, the issue of divorce is still a topic of debate — whether to approve granting of it or not. For married couples who have become unhappy in their marriage, divorce is seen as an answer to end their distress. To others, it is viewed as a way to turn backs against marital problems. Many other arguments have cropped up about the issue of divorce. Depending on a person’s beliefs and biases, these arguments may be valid to some, while to others they are not. The varying rules of Ireland and New York on divorce have been put into law based on the needs and beliefs that each state deem are applicable to their respective people. It is good to note that both laws have particularly specified various scenarios that may occur after during divorce proceedings and after the divorce has been granted, and have spelled out how issues and disputes will be resolved. However, the laws have focused more on the resolution of disputes over assets and properties. Issues on child custody and support also need to be discussed in a more in depth manner so that the children’s welfare is also given equal importance. In fact, children’s welfare should have been given highest priority since the greatest effects of divorce is manifested in the behavior of affected children. Although it has been said that the child custody and support will be decided upon by the court, it is also imperative that specific rules be spelled out on what the court will give primary considerations to with respect to these issues. It may also be useful, though not yet scientifically proven, to include rules on procedures that the children will have to undertake to be able to cope with the aftereffects of divorce. We do not question the authority and integrity of these courts in their decisions on child custody and support. What is being sought is the clear definition of the law on how child custody is decided upon. In addition, it is also better to see in these laws the specific measures that the court may order for implementation that will lessen, or possibly prevent, the occurrence of adverse behaviors of children whose parents have divorced.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Agriculture and Environment Essay

INTRODUCTION The word rag – means torn clothes. Due to some or other reasons, we have cultivated an environment, where some students believe that they are seniors and therefore they have the right to be respected. There is a false sense of hierarchy, particularly in Indian mindset. There are false notions of superiority. It is a fact that this kind of ego or hierarchy is destructive at all levels. A person today wont respect his teacher or his parents, if he/ she is tortured by that – so what to talk about ragging. Respect and human dignity is a fundamental right of every person. The false notions of hierarchy and self importance, creates a spirit of ragging – where some people force others to respect them and play at their desires. RAGGING IN INSTITUTIONS When a person joins a new institution, the person is already afraid, nervous and disturbed. In such a position, the person needs mental support – and this person is vulnerable at this stage – because he / she is in a stage of transition. He must get support from teachers and all concerned. I am against the use of senior or junior words – in an academic environment, where we wish to promote equality, fraternity – every one is equal – so this kind of spirit – the spirit of junior or senior will kill this equality which is required for true academic ambiance. True academic environment develops, where there is complete fraternity – and even teachers and directors treat others as mature human beings and give them due dignity. For cultivating mutual respect, mutual understanding – we need an environment – where people try to offer space to every person and extend a willing helping hand. True understanding develops out of close interaction and collective efforts in some focused directions. We can create a true group environment by cultivating a goal orientation and by forming groups –where people join together across different disciplines and different backgrounds. RAGGING TO AVOID FEAR Ragging is a very heinous practice – in the name of introduction. Introduction must be there- but it must start from the seniors. The junior shave to get love from seniors – then only we will find equality and fraternity. It is like giving love to a new bride in a home – where everyone surrounds the new bride and gives her due care – so that she feels at home. A new student also needs similar love and care and we can create a truly friendly entombment. The heads of the institutions must take positive initiatives for creating introduction between different students and must form voluntary groups. If the heads of the institutions – don’t care for all these – the students create evil practices like ragging – therefore truly the heads of the institutions are responsible for not cultivating the right environment of mutual collaboration, trust, and openness among the academic fraternity and for creating an ambiance for proper inductio n of a new student . SHOULD THERE BE RAGGING OR NOT a marginal level of introduction may be there – but it should not hurt any persons’ feelings. It is just for enjoyment it should be light. In a professional institution every person should be able to interact with each other it is possible if they introduce each other if they introduce each other they are able to interact better. If there is no ragging the interaction will be less ,ragging will foster interaction, seniors will be able to help their juniors the students will be able to help each others. It is a positive activity for promoting interaction among students it will create a family environment. But now a days in some institutions, anti-social elements are using ragging as a cheap activity. RAGGING A RIVALRY There are many ways to promote interaction. The word rag means use of force when you are using forcing a person to interact it will not work. Ragging must be completely eliminated from institutions it is destruction of a goodculture. It creates gap between seniors and juniors – people want equality and friendly environment – ragging only creates levels and gaps. A person will get depressed and frustrated if that person finds a very depressing environment like ragging. Some students don’t go to college in fear of their seniors. Ragging is completely against the juniors. The seniors force their juniors to do many things in the name of entertainment. When these juniors are able to get united, they start fighting with their seniors and there is rivalry. If we are talking about professional institutions, we should create a helping environment – there are many ways the students can interact with each others and help them in their development. If seniors want, th ey can help their juniors in their development – without ragging. RAGGING IN THE WRONG PATH Ragging is fear causing. The world is full of risks and fear and we have to get prepared to face the world. We have to face the real world. We have to face these challenges and we have to accept these challenges. We are saying that ragging must be removed – but how will you remove fear from the world. Ragging prepares you to face the real world. Introduction is different from ragging how will a junior remember a senior in positive terms if he remembers that he was tortured by the senior. If one want to learn professional manners he can use positive manners and friendly environment. We can tell them in a friendly environment , ragging is not useful for this purpose. It creates mental tensions. CONCLUSION Ragging has completely changed due to ragging there are cases of deaths even and so ragging must change , many institutions have completely banned ragging. AICTE and government have also banned ragging.

Atheism †my personal response Essay

I can’t see how one can claim that atheism is a religion, it is impossible by the very definition. Agnostic would be more apt. A quote from a letter sent to Ruth Crowley seems fitting; â€Å"Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair colour.† It simply cannot be done. I don’t think religion doesn’t have a place in today’s society, I just think that in many cases we would be better off without it. As far as I’m concerned Jesus is just the word of choice, substitute it for any name. It works just like any superstition. While religion at its fundamental core might have some important values, there is simply no need for the complimentary ideals that churches teach. Yes it may be an onerous expectation that schools teach it, but minus parents, they seem the next logical choice. I think it goes without saying, also, that schools and religion should be kept as separate as religion and politics should be. Art has never been, and likely ne ver will be, my forte. Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, for the most part; I see a limited shelf-life for art, as anything more then that, in modern times and would happily go so far as to question its purpose beyond the aesthetic in the past. As to this notion of the afterlife, I hate to say it, but it makes me want to laugh. It is easy to see how the myth evolved. People are reluctant to accept that someone or even something (A pet) they knew and loved is gone. Bernard Shaw sums up the reality of the matter: â€Å"The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.† While you may have learnt skills and acquired knowledge that you have used. From my perspective, in a correct world, religion should be separated to such a degree that those who choose not to partake in it will have no occasion to have to do so. Why must a legal marriage be accompanied with a religious ceremony? Why not have a separate civil union? Allowing for the legalisation of gay unions and also for a separate â€Å"marriage† which is purely religious and confined to the actual places of worship, churches. I can’t fathom this concept of semi belief in religion, and, as of yet, no one has been able to explain it to me in such a way that I can even accept it as a logical belief. Simply, you either believe or you don’t, I can’t see how you can fall in between. If you were to say you were unsure as to which religion then I can concede that. But to simply use religion as a mental appeasement for your actions, I cannot grasp. The capacity for religions to inspire violence between each other is one of the fundamental issues I have with religion. They are at the core reasoning, or at least a participant, of almost every conflict in the recorded history of our existence on this planet. On the idea of butterfly’s being a work of god I think Douglas Adams truly epitomised my beliefs when he said; â€Å"Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?† To end, I can’t but help to agree once more with Douglas Adams when he said; â€Å"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.† Sorry for the doubly long response.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Annotated bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Annotated bibliography - Essay Example The data was collected from a group of four students in CHIP and five students from ILAC through written reflections by the students as well as team debriefing, which was then analyzed by the authors using content analysis method. Through this method, initial coding categories were identified, which were then used to generate the main categories of the study: cultural competency, clinical reasoning, and international leadership. The findings were consistent with the hypothesis. It was discovered that the cultural immersion in international settings has significant effect on the main categories of the study, as does the experiential learning done in such settings. This, the study points out, is also consistent with previous studies done on this topic. The article points out the positive effect international programs have in student learning. The study is well documented and researched and goes to prove its hypothesis quite well. The focus group, however, was too small, and limited to two international settings only. This article seeks to document the need for cultural diversity in medical school programs. It also strives to look into what steps are being taken by Canadian universities and educators to cope with the ever changing health needs of the community that is now more diverse due to ever increasing immigration. The study gathered data about cultural diversity education through the websites of 14 English Canadian undergraduate medical schools. The data was gathered through manual and keyword search from these websites. This data was analyzed and reviewed via a set of criteria. An inter-coder reliability technique was used to ensure reliability. A tool was also developed to classify the various approaches used to include matters relating to cultural diversity during undergraduate medical education so that it could be used for future

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Effect of Political Issues on the Finance and Common Stock in Kuwait Research Paper

Effect of Political Issues on the Finance and Common Stock in Kuwait - Research Paper Example The history, heritage and growing development of the country have allowed Kuwait to become unique in its own way. Along with modernizations being incorporated, the country also maintains its standard traditions and cultures as well (About Kuwait). As far as the economic and financial condition of the country is concerned, Kuwait in the recent years reflected improved results in the macroeconomic issues related to the country. However, there are challenges still existing for the company needing greater developments in the social and physical infrastructure of the country. This development is required for the diversification of the economic foundation of the country. Thus although the country reflected satisfactory results as far as the fiscal and external surpluses of the country are concerned, yet the concerns are in relation to the quality of the infrastructure, health and education that also considers the gross domestic product of Kuwait (Kuwait and the IMF). However, it can be rea lized in this regard that several factors may be responsible for the finance and common stock in Kuwait. The present study focuses on learning about the political factors that may have effects on the finance and common stock in the country. ... This was also followed by the reappointment of the post of Prime Minister in the country. In the present times, the situations have become violent where protestors have been found to break into the parliament and force the Royal Family to suspend the existing legislature allowing space for immediate elections. This has led to the opposition party taking the power of the majority of the parliament and a Prime Minister has been selected from a different background of the Royal Family from that what has been traditional. Disagreements and disputes between the parliament and the Prime Minister had arisen from the time when the government was being formed. There were differences in their choices where the Prime Minister wanted to involve parliamentary members in the deliberations and meetings, and the majority of the parliament had objections to it (Omar). The degree to which members of the parliament and other political performers in Kuwait opposed to each other and struggled in Parliame nt stay put restricted to the limits of the Royal Family, keeping hold of its patrimonial position in the social order. Political disagreements are, consequently, restricted to arguments between Parliament and ministers, the compelling of the Council of Ministers at the powers of the government, and, from time to time, the obligatory resignation of ministers or all the Ministers of the Council. On the other hand, modalities of antagonism in Parliament in the present times are gradually more professed as a righteous opposition to the preferences of the political management as Parliament has turned out to be ever more decisive of the Prime Minister as well and not only for the members of his Cabinet.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

No topic - Essay Example I also believe in the importance of family life. One needs a family to survive the daily contradictions that life throws at you. I keep on living this kind of life because I have a supportive, understanding and caring family. I am able to pursue my dreams by studying. I have a reliable set of friends. I have professors who are serious about my welfare. I have a whole new world which awaits my talent and serious work. It matters a lot if the world does not exist and everything becomes an illusion. It will be a very difficult place to live in a zone which has no reality to speak of. Living things and non-living things both constitute reality. The individual lives of man take on a reality in itself. Even self-doubt is a reality for most people. The movie "The Game" (1997) is related to Descartes problem in the sense that it tackled Von Horton's self-knowledge and self-realization. The movie is a claustrophobic thriller which features the addiction of Von Horton to the Consumer Recreation Services (CRS), a form of entertainment, given to him by his brother Conrad. Von Horton uses the CRS and it leads him to experience bad and weird things. Von Horton gained from his ignorance and confusion the insight that man can seek himself.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Cult of Domesticity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cult of Domesticity - Essay Example There were jobs for men which yielded goods and services so the women and children could stay home. Secondly, with only men working to earn a living for their families, a general perception existed that only man could be the "bread earners". This view maintained that the practical world was a rough and violent place which was full of troubles and temptations and a man had to survive as best as he could. Because the women were gentle and delicate by nature, such an environment was no place for them. Instead her place was in the home where she took charge of all the affairs of the house. And third, such a family started considering itself as the backbone of society and the importance and relevance of relatives decreased. (1) This re-structuring of society also resulted in revision of the views about a woman's role in family and society. As men became the primary source of earning a livelihood for the family, women found more and more leisure time at their hands. Social leaders, male and female, began to emphasize domestic and religious activities as a way to fill that leisure time. Since men had become the primary source of income for women, it was deemed natural to invoke the Pauline doctrine that women be submissive to men. Through their increased activities in church and Sunday school, women were able to nullify Paul's decree on woman's silence in church. To show that the emerging middle class women were becoming as lady-like as the upper, leisure class, an increasing emphasis on purity in women developed. This view has been defined by Barbara Welter as the Cult of True Womanhood. (2) According to the Cult, a woman was essentially a hostage of her house-hold. In a rapidly evolving society the values changed with equal rapidity and fortunes rose and fell on a daily basis. In such uncertain times only one thing remained constant - a true woman. The attributes of True Womanhood, by which a woman judged herself and was judged by her husband, her neighbors, and her society could be divided into four cardinal virtues or ideals :- Ideal One - Piety: Religion or piety was the cardinal virtue of the True Woman. It was a common belief of the time that a woman had a natural inclination towards religion. Mrs. John __________________________________ 2 Welter, Barbara. The Cult of True Womanhood, 1820-1860. In American Quarterly, XVIII (1966), 151-74 Sanford... agreed thoroughly: "Religion is just what a woman needs. Without it she is ever restless and unhappy..." The reason why religion was given such importance was perhaps because it did not necessarily take a woman out of her sphere of influence i.e. her home. Piety was the "core of a woman's virtue, the source of her strength." All other virtues would necessarily follow. Women were expected both to uphold religious virtue within their own homes and to spread religion to others. They were the "handmaid[s] to the Gospel" whose job it was to ensure the piousness of the rest of their society. Piety, therefore, gave women "something to do" and the church reinforced all other qualities of "true women." Without piety first and foremost, a woman was "unnatural and unfeminine, in fact, no woman at all." (2) Ideal Two - Purity: Female sexual purity was

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Wayne Williams (Atlanta Child Killer) Case Study

Wayne Williams (Atlanta Child Killer) - Case Study Example The deaths were as a result of asphyxiation and strangulation. On each of the recovered victim, there were varying types of microscopic evidence ranging from dog fur, carpet fibers, and blanket fibers. It was noted that once the facts about the killings were publicized by the press, the killings went on, but the victims started appearing nude or partially nude in the Chattahoochee River (Nickell, 2011). The change in the killer’s way of handling the victims was a clear indication that the killer was keen on the media’s reports regarding the killings and was determined to clear any signs of trace evidence (Mallard, 2009). In May of 1981, intelligence officials were in high hopes of getting the killer whereby they launched surveillance along the Chattahoochee River. As they were carrying out surveillance, intelligence officers heard a loud splash and then saw a station wagon in the area along the river. At the time of the splash, there was no immediate discovery of any body. However, the intelligence offers went on to question the 23-year-old male driver who admitted that he had dropped a bag of garbage into the water. On the second day after the questioning of the driver, the body of a young black male was discovered in the Chattahoochee River at a location downstream from where intelligence officers questioned the driver (Lester, 1995). Forensic examination of the identified body revealed that the body had unique man-made yellow and green carpet fibers. This crucial evidence was found on the victim’s hair, and it matched fiber evidence identified on other victims. This piece of evidence made intelligence officers conduct a search in Wayne Williams’ house, where yellow and green carpet material was identified across many areas of the house. Convinced by the discovery of fiber that matched that found on Wayne’s carpeting material, intelligence officers were in no doubts that the killer they had been

Saturday, August 24, 2019

How Immigration Influences the Economic Issues Essay

How Immigration Influences the Economic Issues - Essay Example However, I personally believe that immigrants are proving beneficial for improving the economies of the developed countries. Stand Essay Apart from increase in the rate of crimes and drug trafficking because of some immigrants, there are also some very beneficial aspects of immigrations. People should not think negative of all immigrants because nature and activities of every person are not the same. It is only a small number of immigrants who are actually involved in criminal activities. Some news reports and researches say that 12 to 15 percent of immigrants are actually involved in illegal activities. The major part of the immigrants is very peaceful and does not take any step against the laws of the country. Such immigrants are very much concerned about their own image in the society as well as the image of their home nations. To maintain a good image, they follow the laws of the country and respect every individual they meet. Most of the immigrants are hardworking and careful in dividuals who obey the social, political, and labor laws and regulations of the foreign countries. Immigrants also help the countries improve their economies by helping them increase their GDPs. In the United States, news reports confirm that U.S. GDP increase by 0.75 percent annually due to large-scale immigrations. Immigrants work with full dedication and commitment wherever employed. They are very productive for the companies, which hire them because they have constant desire to earn money by working effectively and efficiently for they companies. Some of the immigrants include highly experienced surgeons, engineers, and professors who come to the United States to provide their high quality services to the local people. Researches prove that immigrant doctors and teachers play a valuable role in providing proper healthcare and educational needs to the local people and overcoming the labor shortage present in these professions. My personal experiences with immigrants have always b een good. A small group of Asian immigrants lives in my neighborhood. They have always helped me whenever and wherever my family and I needed it. For example, one day my younger brother was playing with his friends on the street next to my house. While they were playing, a motorcyclist appeared on the street. He was driving his motorcycle at a very a high speed. Suddenly my brother came in range of the motorcyclist who was just going to hit my brother. In the meantime, one of the immigrants rushed towards him and dragged him away of the motorcyclist’s range. That was the moment I realized that immigrants are very kind and supportive people. Opposition Essay In this part of the paper, we will see immigration to the United States from opposition’s point of view. It is a fact that a major part of the illegal immigrants living in the United States is originally from Mexico. Researches prove that approximately 13.2 million illegal immigrants living in the United States are Mexican-Americans. Increase in the number of crimes and drug trafficking are two of the most significant problems caused by the immigrants in the United States of America. Increase is the number of crimes is one of the major drawbacks associated with immigrations. Some percentage of the immigrants

Friday, August 23, 2019

Economic data analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic data analysis - Essay Example The situation is likely to be very different if we are dealing with time series data, for the observations in such data follow a natural ordering over time so that successive observations are likely to exhibit inter correlations, especially if the time interval between successive observations is short, such as a day, a week, or a month rather than. The classical model assumes that the disturbance term relating to any observation is not influenced by the disturbance term relating to any other observation. For example, if we are dealing with quarterly time series data involving the regression of output on labor and capital inputs and there is labor strike affecting output in one quarter, there is no reason to believe that this disruption will be carried over to the next quarter. That is, if output is lower this quarter, there is no reason to expect it to be lower next quarter. Similarly, if we are dealing with cross-sectional data involving regression of family consumption expenditure on family income, the effect of an increase of one family's income on its consumption expenditure is not expected to affect the consumption expenditure of another family. If such dependence exists there exists autocorrelation. Symbolically, In this situation, the disruption caused by a strike this quarte... The situation is likely to be very different if we are dealing with time series data, for the observations in such data follow a natural ordering over time so that successive observations are likely to exhibit inter correlations, especially if the time interval between successive observations is short, such as a day, a week, or a month rather than. c) What do you understand by the term 'autocorrelation' What implications will this have for the properties of ordinary least squares The term 'autocorrelation' can be defined as "correlation between members of series of observations ordered in time [as in time series data] or space [as in cross-sectional data]" In the regression context, the classical linear regression model assumes that such autocorrelati8on does not exist in the disturbances ut. Symbolically, E(ut1, ut2)=0 t1#t2 The classical model assumes that the disturbance term relating to any observation is not influenced by the disturbance term relating to any other observation. For example, if we are dealing with quarterly time series data involving the regression of output on labor and capital inputs and there is labor strike affecting output in one quarter, there is no reason to believe that this disruption will be carried over to the next quarter. That is, if output is lower this quarter, there is no reason to expect it to be lower next quarter. Similarly, if we are dealing with cross-sectional data involving regression of family consumption expenditure on family income, the effect of an increase of one family's income on its consumption expenditure is not expected to affect the consumption expenditure of another family. If such dependence exists there exists autocorrelation. Symbolically, E(ut1, ut2)#0 t1#t2 In this

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Grapes of Wrath Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Grapes of Wrath Book Review - Essay Example The condition was so ghastly and it had ruined the crops and instigated massive foreclosure on the land. The time was harder particularly in Oklahoma. It was a faulty farming method and drought which resulted into wind erosion of the topsoil. Consequently the Great Plains in the region became â€Å"The Dust Bowl.† â€Å"The Dust Bowl was caused by agricultural malpractices as well as years of sustained drought and incessant strong winds.† (Bernd Steiner 2007) It was the worst condition especially for the tenant farmers. They had been pushed off their land, as they were not able to pay the rent to the banks. Many agricultural workers left for California in search of a rich and fertile land. The journey towards California is very long and gruelling. Grandpa of the family does not want to live his original place and he is constantly complaining bitterly. He dies during their journey. Sairy is sick and showed inability to move forward to the journey. Their dreams of good fo rtune get shattered as soon as they reached to California. The number of jobs was lesser than the number of farmers, i.e. 800 jobs against 20,000 people. The entire family experienced another adversity of life when they reached to California. ... Tom Joad is the protagonist of this novel. He is a man of thirty and has just come out of prison. He had been convicted for murdering a man during a fight four years back. He is good natured and a source of vitality for his family, apart from his 4 years’ stay in prison. He earns honour from his family as well as from the other workers whom he assembled together to form workers’ organization. Other characters include Tom’s parents Ma Joad and Pa Joad. Ma Joad is like a citadel of the family. Pa Joad though sensible and good natured, sometimes feels ashamed of his weaker position. Jim Casy is depicted as a former preacher and a staunch friend of Tom. Rose of Sharon is the eldest daughter of Ma and Pa Joads and she is depicted earlier as a romantic lady but then she has to face many troubles in her life. She faces harsh realities after the death of her new born baby, and the abandonment from her husband, she become quite matured and sensible. She represents the har sh life of the migrants. The character of Joad’s grandfather is sketched in a black shade. He is violent tempered and mean. This meanness is now limited to his tongue, probably due to his old age. He gets pleasure in tormenting others by his harsh talk. Unlike him his wife Grandma Joad is pious. Ivy and Sairy Wilson is a good couple who met the Joads during their journey to California. They helped them by lending their tents to the Joad family so that Grandpa could have got comfortable place to die. There was a good relationship and mutual cooperation between the two families. Other members of Joad family included Tom’s elder brother Noah, uncle John, and second younger daughter Ruthie and Winfield Joad. Muley Graves is another character who is the

Catherine and Rodolfo running Essay Example for Free

Catherine and Rodolfo running Essay Pack it up. Go ahead. Get your stuff and get outta here. Eddie orders Rodolfo to leave even though he is innocent of any wrongdoing. This is only out of quick response to cover up his mistake. This part of the scene out brings and distinguishes the whole outline of the play. It is at this when all the truth and factuality defines out of Eddie. He now expresses himself as the character the audience have gathered. Demonstrating the actual consanguinity of Eddies emotions to Catherine. Knowing that Eddie is blameworthy, Catherine trembling with fright says It think I have to get out of here Eddie She is obviously scared and confused with the change of character and knows that she is in danger. Supporting her objective in leaving but she still feels she is letting down Eddie (she sees the tears in his eyes) At this she feels pity on her uncle and feels guilty. Eddie feels that his relationship with Catherine has been segregated and so to stop her from leaving in a rapid shocking of kissing her. As Rodolfo interferes Eddie ends up kissing Rodolfo also. This is a sign in which Eddie tries to delineate that there is no difference between kissing a woman and Rodolfo which in addition reveals him as feminine. And at this Catherine uses physical force to stop her leaving, this indicates she is angry that she must stop him. In this scene it shows of the relationship between Eddie and Catherine being damaged because of the newfound feud. Eddie does realise he has lost Catherine sexually to Rodolfo and he tries his best to reclaim her. As he witnesses Catherine and Rodolfo running out of the room it is at then he makes an immediate decision. First response he makes is the fact that his niece has lost her virginity to Rodolfo, and at this he realises that he has lost Catherine sexually to Rodolfo. To reclaim his niece he tells Rodolfo to get out. In an early scene Eddie evidently says I mean he looked so sweet there, like an angel- you could kiss him he was so sweet! this relates and concludes to Eddies kiss scene with Rodolfo. This brings out Eddies feminine side and shown his hidden true feelings to Rodolfo. I do not think Eddies actions were a way to insult him but were mixed reasons for his reactions. Personally his actions were to prove his point that Rodolfo was gay. But instead of showing this he includes himself in proving that he too is gay. This changes the view of character of Eddie. As it can somehow define the way Eddie does not want Catherine to be with Rodolfo. Meaning that he a has finally shown his true emotions towards Catherines future husband. As the tension builds up Eddie knows he has damaged the relationship with his niece, evidence that Eddie was very troubled as Alfieri describes his eyes were like tunnels using a simile on the angered look on his face. He tells Alfieri that the guy aint right. I think the reason why he goes against his society and informs because he is a victim of his emotions. As all the emotions mixing, he experiences being pressured into going against his family. This also links onto the first Greek tragedy on the Italian boy who turned against his parents for betraying them. In the beginning of the play it gives us a clue what Eddie is going to do in advance. Personally I think Eddie is a victim of his emotions as it all happens quickly and he is trapped between the pressures of society

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Application of Carbon Nanotubes

Application of Carbon Nanotubes I will be examining and discussing carbon nanotubes and the application within industry, I will look at the History and manufacture of carbon nanotubes. I will Examine and discuss their chemical and physical properties and how these properties make them useful in a wide range of applications. The history of carbon nanotubes is not entirely clear even for those in the science therefore giving proper credit to the person that invented the carbon nanotube has been the subject of several high tech debates among the scientific communities. The initial history of nanotubes started in the 1970s. A preparation of the planned carbon filaments was completed by Morinobu Endo who was earning his Ph.D. at the University of Orleans, France. The growth of these carbon filaments were initially thought to be the first carbon nanotubes. However, they failed to meet the measurement requirements for width and thus were deemed, eventually, barrelenes. This was still a highly important development in the history of carbon nanotubes, but it just wasnt the right time to be considered the first recognized invention. Giving the proper credit to who invented carbon nanotubes would not come along for another 20 years. In 1991 the true first invention of nanotube was finally made. It seems as though there was a race between Russian nanotechnologists and Sumio Iijima of IBM. The first observation of the multiwall carbon nanotubes was credited to Iijima. There are some that hold the belief that in the 1950s there was an initial discovery of what could have possibly been seen as the first carbon nanotubes had Roger Bacon had the high powered electron microscope that would have been necessary. He was credited with the first visual impression of the tubes of atoms that roll up and are capped with fullerene molecules by many scientists in the field. Some state that his discovery just wasnt taken very seriously at the time because science did not know how this discovery could impact scientific research. It would be in 1993 that Iijima and Donald Bethune found single walled nanotubes known as buckytubes. This helped the scientific community make more sense out of not only the potential for nanotube research, but the use and existence of fullerenes. With this information, the complete discovery of carbon nanotubes was realized and Iijima and Bethune were ultimately credited with their discovery in their entirety. Russian nanotechnologists were independently discovering the same visual affirmation. They were just a little bit later in their announcement and the potential effect of this discovery. While Roger Bacon might not have been completely aware of the impact his discovery had on the scientific world, he is technically the first scientist to discover these hollow tubes of carbon that are changing lives on a daily basis. Since the initial rediscovery of the nanotubes in 1991, who discovered carbon nanotubes is no longer as important as who can come up with the most practical applications. DefinitionCarbon nanotubes are large molecules of pure carbon that are long and thin and shaped like tubes, about 1-3 nanometres (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter) in diameter, and hundreds to thousands of nanometres long. A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a miniature cylindrical carbon structure that has hexagonal graphite molecules attached at the edges. Nanotubes look like a powder or black soot, but theyre actually rolled-up sheets of graphene that form hollow strands with walls that are only one atom thick. Nanotubes, which are sometimes called buckytubes, were developed from the Fullerene, a structure that is similar to the geodesic domes. Nanotubes can be characterized by their number of concentric cylinders, cylinder radius and cylinder length. Some nanotubes have a property called chirality, an expression of longitudinal twisting. Multiple nanotubes can be assembled into microscopic mechanical systems called nanomachines. Shapes Although carbon nanotubes are strong, they are not brittle. They can be bent, and when released, they will spring back to their original shape. One type of carbon nanotube has a cylindrical shape with open ends. Another type of nanotube has closed ends, formed by some of the carbon atoms combining into pentagons on the end of the nanotube. Figure 3.2 A carbon nanotube with closed ends Carbon nanotubes can occur as multiple concentric cylinders of carbon atoms, called multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCTs). Logically enough, carbon nanotubes that have only one cylinder are called single-walled carbon nanotubes. Three orientations are possible: armchair, zigzag, and chiral. Figure 3.3 The three possible orientations of CNTs Chemical Properties Carbon nanotubes are polymers of pure carbon, and thus possess all of carbons versatility, including the ability to form countless combinations and derivatives. In addition, carbon nanotubes are direct beneficiaries of the rich history and vast body of knowledge associated with carbon chemistry. Consequently, carbon nanotubes can be functionalized in countless ways using a variety of well-understood chemical reactions. In addition, the geometry of a nanotube allows for the formation of novel synthetic structures not possible with other carbon structures. Carbon nanotubes can be derived both covalently, in which other molecules being bonded to the nanotube share an electron with the tube, and non-covalently, in which the other molecule simply adheres to the carbon nanotubes sidewall, providing a nano-scale coating of the carbon nanotube. Because the carbon nanotube sidewalls are electrically polarizable, polar molecules can easily adhere to their surfaces. When molecules adhere even n on-covalently to the carbon nanotube surface, they often cause subtle changes in the electronic structure of the tubes. Such changes can be easily detected, making carbon nanotubes exquisitely sensitive chemical sensors. An important aspect of non-covalent derivatization is the association of surfactants with the carbon nanotube surface, enabling them to be suspended in water. Physical Properties Electrical There has been considerable practical interest in the conductivity of CNTs. CNTs with particular combinations of N and M (structural parameters indicating how much the nanotube is twisted) can be highly conducting, and hence can be said to be metallic. Their conductivity has been shown to be a function of their chirality (degree of twist), as well as their diameter. CNTs can be either metallic or semi-conducting in their electrical behaviour. Conductivity in MWNTs is quite complex. Some types of armchair-structured CNTs appear to conduct better than other metallic CNTs. Furthermore, interwall reactions within MWNTs have been found to redistribute the current over individual tubes non-uniformly. However, there is no change in current across different parts of metallic single-walled CNTs. However, the behaviour of ropes of semi-conducting SWNTs is different, in that the transport current changes abruptly at various positions on the CNTs. The conductivity and resistivity of ropes of SWN Ts has been measured by placing electrodes at different parts of the CNTs. The resistivity of the SWNT ropes was in the order of 10-4 ohm-cm at 27ÂÂ °C. This means that SWNT ropes are the most conductive carbon fibres known. The current density that was possible to achieve was 107 A/cm2, however in theory the SWNT ropes should be able to sustain much higher stable current densities, as high as 1013 A/cm2. It has been reported that individual SWNTs may contain defects. Fortuitously, these defects allow the SWNTs to act as transistors. Likewise, joining CNTs together may form transistor-like devices. A nanotube with a natural junction (where a straight metallic section is joined to a chiral semiconducting section) behaves as a rectifying diode that is, a half-transistor in a single molecule. It has also recently been reported that SWNTs can route electrical signals at high speeds (up to 10 GHz) when used as interconnects on semi-conducting devices. Strength and elasticity The carbon atoms of a single (graphene) sheet of graphite form a planar honeycomb lattice, in which each atom is connected via a strong chemical bond to three neighbouring atoms. Because of these strong bonds, the basal-plane elastic modulus of graphite is one of the largest of any known material. For this reason, CNTs are expected to be the ultimate high-strength fibres. SWNTs are stiffer than steel, and are very resistant to damage from physical forces. Pressing on the tip of a nanotube will cause it to bend, but without damage to the tip. When the force is removed, the tip returns to its original state. This property makes CNTs very useful as probe tips for very high-resolution scanning probe microscopy. Quantifying these effects has been rather difficult, and an exact numerical value has not been agreed upon. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM), the unanchored ends of a freestanding nanotube can be pushed out of their equilibrium position and the force required to push the nan otube can be measured. The current Youngs modulus value of SWNTs is about 1 TeraPascal, but this value has been disputed, and a value as high as 1.8 Tpa has been reported. Other values significantly higher than that have also been reported. The differences probably arise through different experimental measurement techniques. Others have shown theoretically that the Youngs modulus depends on the size and chirality of the SWNTs, ranging from 1.22 Tpa to 1.26 Tpa. They have calculated a value of 1.09 Tpa for a generic nanotube. However, when working with different MWNTs, others have noted that the modulus measurements of MWNTs using AFM techniques do not strongly depend on the diameter. Instead, they argue that the modulus of the MWNTs correlates to the amount of disorder in the nanotube walls. Not surprisingly, when MWNTs break, the outermost layers break first. Thermal Conductivity New research from the University of Pennsylvania indicates that CNTs may be the best heat-conducting material man has ever known. Ultra-small SWNTs have even been shown to exhibit superconductivity below 20oK. Research suggests that these exotic strands, already heralded for their unparalleled strength and unique ability to adopt the electrical properties of either semiconductors or perfect metals, may someday also find applications as miniature heat conduits in a host of devices and materials. The strong in-plane graphitic C-C bonds make them exceptionally strong and stiff against axial strains. The almost zero in-plane thermal expansion but large inter-plane expansion of SWNTs implies strong in-plane coupling and high flexibility against non-axial strains. Many applications of CNTs, such as in nanoscale molecular electronics, sensing and actuating devices, or as reinforcing additive fibres in functional composite materials, have been proposed. Reports of several recent experiments on the preparation and mechanical characterization of CNT-polymer composites have also appeared. These measurements suggest modest enhancements in strength characteristics of CNT-embedded matrixes as compared to bare polymer matrixes. Preliminary experiments and simulation studies on the thermal properties of CNTs show very high thermal conductivity. It is expected, therefore, that nanotube reinforcements in polymeric materials may also significantly improve the thermal and thermo-mechanical properties of the composites.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Civil War In Sri Lanka

The Civil War In Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan civil war by definition started in 1983 when two pronounced groups began to rival, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam, a separatist group that was formed seeking to represent the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka (Clarance, 2002). However civil war on an emotional level between the two ethnic groups, Sinhalese and Tamils started in 1948, when Sri Lanka was granted independence from the British (Clarance, 2002). Sri Lanka first encountered colonialism in 1505 when the Portuguese arrived in search of valuable natural resources such as cinnamon, tea, and the most valuable, land (Clarance, 2002). The Portuguese conquered regions of Kotte, Sitavaka and Jaffna. They also aimed to conquer Kandy as well but failed through several attempts (Clarance, 2002). Next were the Dutch, in 1638 King Rajsinha who ruled Kandy at that time turned to the Dutch to fight over the Portuguese, the Dutch conquered everything except Kandy (Clarance, 2002). Last to colonize Sri Lanka was the British, they set foot in 1796 when the Dutch rule gave away to the British (Clarance, 2002). The British conquered the entire island, and built coffee and tea plantations and imported laborers from India mainly Tamils to work in these plantations (Clarance, 2002). In 1947 Sri Lanka requested to become an independent nation, and in 1948 Sri Lanka gained independence (Clarance, 2002). On the surface, colonialism can be viewed as har mless and in most areas beneficial as it guided Sri Lanka into development. Even though colonialism brought forth an identity for Sri Lanka in relation to trade and international exporting, it also brought separation, discrimination, and a hunger for dominance amongst the citizens of Sri Lanka. Being a Canadian born Sri Lankan Tamil this topic brings great importance and relevance to me. My Canadian birth is a result of this civil war in which my parents found the desperate need to emigrate from their greatly loved motherland. This topic is extremely important to me because I believe in peace and safety for the innocent and vulnerable, violence and death for the individuals who choose to fight is equally remorseful however inevitable. I lost both my grandfathers as innocent civilians to the civil war in Sri Lanka likewise many Sinhalese families were destroyed. All due to the separation caused by language, as everything else between a Tamil and a Sinhalese was identical. There are great faults on both sides, with regards to the actions of both opposition parties. However when pinpointed, the foundation for this violent desire for domination, can be seen as colonization as the main cause if not the only cause for this fight for power and equality. Theoretical Backing: Colonialism has given Sri Lanka a negative impact rather than the positive outcomes it has provided the global north with. Through what can be seen as an immature rivalry between European states to gain land, and other valued goods, it is proven that lack of structure and democracy when granting independence to a colony can shatter an entire nation. The development theory that supports the argument of colonialism being the main cause of the civil war in Sri Lanka would be the post-development theory. The post-development theory believes that only with relation to the global south, colonialism has been destructive on several levels: culturally, economically, socially, and psychologically. Sri Lanka is not the only former European colony that is facing the aftermaths of colonialism; several other countries in Asia have been robbed of their full potential to run as a developed nation, especially in the Middle East. Another prime example would be in Africa, where even in the present day, systems that were brought in by the European states are still being used, such as monarchy. Another more specific theory that would back up this argument would be the postcolonial theory, the postcolonial theory investigates the effective and legacy of European invasion on global south. Postcolonial theorist, Franz Fanon states And it is clear that in the colonial countries the peasants alone are revolutionary, for they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The starving peasant, outside the class system is the first among the exploited to discover that only violence pays. For him there is no compromise, no possible coming to terms; colonization and decolonization a simply a question of relative strength. Fanon pinpoints the exact fate that Sri Lanka has overcome with its decades long civil war, the need for violence to achieve goals, in this case justice and equality. Research and Analysis: Colonialism is the leading cause for the now silent, yet on-going civil war in Sri Lanka. When the British left Sri Lanka in 1948, they built a government and left power to mainly the wealthy Sinhalese landowners (Lange, 2009). These powerful Sinhalese landowners had nothing in common with the rural areas or the minorities in Sri Lanka. Thus, taking rule and advantage of the nation to their liking. They made Sinhala as the official national language and also making Buddhism as the official national religion in Sri Lanka. This created great tension amongst the Tamil community as opportunities were not made equal, Tamils were not permitted nor able to obtain a higher level education or work for the government due to the fact they were not able to speak the national language (Lange, 2009). This created massive riots and rage throughout the Tamil community, which eventually ended in the creation of a separatist group the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam seeking to gain land separate from the Sinhalese population for the Tamils called Tamil Eelam. This was the beginning of a two-decade civil war for the Tamils to both gain equal rights and dignity or to gain a separate Tamil region. Histories of Sri Lanka prior to British colonization are important aspects when examining cause of conflict, in this case the cause of civil war in Sri Lanka. According to research of DeVotta (2000) archeological analysis can prove that Sri Lanka was physically part of India, and was separated through plate movement caused by slow, natural causes. The southern regions of India, specifically Tamil Nadu, are concentrated with a Tamil population, and the northern regions of Sri Lanka are also concentrated with Tamils. Such relations and connections cannot only be seen through language but also through religion and way of life. Clarance (2002) states that reoccurring enslavement caused by colonialism creates a need for finally holding the dominant, leading post. Both the Tamils and the Sinhalese were faced with great amounts of mental and physical damage when the Portuguese, Dutch, and the British colonized Sri Lanka, however the Sinhalese were faced with a greater level of damage becaus e it was mainly Sinhalese regions that were fought for, such as Katte, Kandy, Sitavaka, Colombo and Anuradhapura (Clarance, 2002). Therefore the Sinhalese psychologically developed the need for control, power, domination (Duncan, 2002). Wickramasinghe (2006) expands on the roles that each colonizing groups had. The Portuguese conquered Colombo on arrival which caused the Sinhalese population to move into the Kandy region of Sri Lanka. The Portuguese also forced religious conversion, Christianity, Buddhists and Moors a term used for Sri Lankan Muslims were impeached. Wickramasinghe (2006) argues that such invasion of the Sinhalese caused them to make Buddhism as their national religion when independence was gained. Clarance (2002) makes a diverse point in stating that with the colonization of the Dutch it was greatly the fault of the Sinhalese. Rajasinghe II who was the king of Kandy in 1638 requested the help of the Dutch to fight against the Portuguese, the Dutch however defeated t he Portuguese and overruled what Portuguese had conquered and everything else on the island except Kandy. They also promoted protestant views and demoted Catholicism, and to keep their legacy they mixed themselves with the Sinhalese, now known as Burgher peoples. This later on was a another major cause of great discrimination and violence. The British were the last rulers in Sri Lanka they take the majority of the blame for the current effects of colonization and the civil war in Sri Lanka today. According to Lange (2009) the Tamils and the Sinhalese were in peace living together, reason being that different regions were ruled by Kings that were associated with the citizens of that particular region, therefore conflict with other regions were minimal. When the British entered Sri Lanka in fear of the French gaining power of Sri Lanka in 1796, they started off by merely occupying the coastal areas, to remove the Dutch from the picture, through the Treaty of Amiens, the Dutch ruled areas of Sri Lanka was conceded to the British. Since the Dutch had conquered the entire island excluding the Kandy region, the British only had to fight for Kandy. Jones (2008) states that there were two Kandyan wars in which both were defeated by the Kandy. Jones (2008) clarifies that this was the real cause of independence in Sri Lanka, lac k of British gaining the most resourceful region in Sri Lanka. However Duncan (2002) elaborates on the beneficial aspects of the British rule in Sri Lanka, the British despite failing to conquer Kandy, built massive, national standard plantations for coffee which later became tea production, which was the money making resource in Sri Lanka at the time. The Sinhalese were reluctant to work on tea plantation as they were used to the working on the paddy farm. Wanting to expand the industry thousands of Tamils were shipped from India into Sri Lanka to work on these plantations. Duncan (2002) states that this was also a great cause in the separation between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. As working on a plantation was considered a job of the members of the lower castes, because the desperate and the poor were eager to gain a job at the these plantations for a fraction of what was considered a minimum wage back then. And since thousands of Tamils were imported from India by the British, t his caste was automatically generalized for the Tamils, creating a hierarchy between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Winslow (2001) expands on the final gestures of the British that caused a long term effect on the future of the nation. When Sri Lanka was granted independence the British unconcerned and naively transferred most if not all the power to the Sinhalese, maybe not intentionally by ethnicity but intentionally by who held the most power, the Sinhalese at the time had most of the islands land, business, and wealth, in comparison to the Tamils. According to Erritiouni (2010) it was this particular mistake that is until today the leading cause of the civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Effects of colonialism in Sri Lanka still take in effect today. Errotiouni (2010) proceeds to state the following occurrences that fed this hunger for war. When the Sinhalese gained power for the entire island they omitted the existence and importance of the Tamils, they made the Sinhala the national language of Sri Lanka, and they made Buddhism the national religion of Sri Lanka. This as a result lead to the discrimination of the Tamil population, not being granted access to a higher level of education such as university or college, and not being granted to opportunity to hold a government job, therefore forbidden to gain a position in the government to have a say in the rights that Tamils are given. Jacoby (2006) elaborates on the separatist group Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam that was formed, as a result of discrimination this group that represented a majority but not the entire Tamil population demanded a separate region for the Tamils, namely, Tamil Eelam. The quest for T amil Eelam was at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives over the past two and a half decades. A member of the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam was the convicted suicide bomber in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Indias Prime Minister at the time, in a deadly, sinful quest to gain international attention on Indias partnership with Sri Lankas war against the Tamils. Sri Lanka has lost a great deal as result of this war, the most important, innocent lives. Effects of colonialism are causing major issues in the present time. The recent crisis that occurred in Egypt where nearly the entire population of Egypt protested against the presidency of former President Mubarak. The fight to start a democratic government, and to end a monarch government (Pakistan article warns against struggle for power after Egypt unrest, 2011). According to Burke (1998) Europeans set up boundaries around Africa that split up tribal areas and groups of Africans, so Africans who spoke the same dialect or practiced the same traditions would be split between two different European territories. This also was the cause of monarchies that continue today within countries in Africa. This has caused many civil wars across Africa, and more importantly the mass level of poverty that was caused that even until this day is unsolvable. Power is a vital tool that needs to be transferred and received wisely. Colonialism is a prime example of how power should not be gained and withdrawn from. Sri Lanka has been greatly victimized by colonialism and has been ripped from its great potential as a nation. Through the unprofessional use of power by the European states power was distributed unequally to the people in Sri Lanka at the time of decolonization, which has caused a great deal of destruction and death for tens of thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians lost their lives due to the crossfire between the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government, they were slaughtered, shot, molested, violated, and tortured solely because they were born either Tamil or Sinhalese. As there were positive effects to colonization in Sri Lanka, they will never out weight the negative effects that have caused a greatly unstable nation even today. Power at any level is a position with immeas urable value especially when it is in relation to people. The Europeans help immense power, but childishly overthrew that power to distribute power in a nation. They thought for the better of themselves and failed to think for the better good of the nations people. Their decisions that were made carelessly have caused great damage and will continue to cause difficulty in the far future.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Photograph of the Demolition of the Crystal Palace, 1936 Essay

Photograph of the Demolition of the Crystal Palace, 1936 The Crystal Palace designed by Joseph Paxton stood for eighty-five years. It succumbed to fire "at six o'clock on the evening of 30th November 1936" (Beaver, 141). A fire was discovered in the staff lavatory, and within minutes the whole structure was ablaze. The spectacular building was engulfed in fire as it dissolved into just a skeleton of its former structure. Paxton used innovative methods of construction on the Crystal Palace, greatly influenced by the bridge and train shed construction of the day. With the introduction of iron elements, architects could be more creative, and more "modern" with their designs, straying from classical precedents. Paxton, with engineers Fox and Henderson, "created what amounted to a giant greenhouse, which was fabricated of little more then panes of glass and iron-and-wood framework" (Hyman & Trachtenberg, 482). It was predicted that the building would require a staggering amount of new materials: "900,000 square feet of glass," "3,300 iron columns; 2,224 girders; and 205 miles of sashbars" (Hobhouse, 39). The use of standardized, prefabricated materials helped to revolutionize architectural methods, prompting other designers to follow Paxton's lead. The Galerie des Machines and the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris 1889 Fair both implemented the light, airy method of iron construction. The grand exhibition building was constructed out of prefabricated elements that were easily erected and could be disassembled when the exhibition was over. The Crystal Palace was first built in Hyde Park, the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851, where it stood for one year. After the fair, it was decided that the building would be taken down and... ...ew of the sculptures added by Paxton and Cole to decorate the park (Beaver, 146). Thanks to personal photographs and private collections such as that of the University of Maryland we are able to get a glimpse of an architectural and social icon. Works Cited Beaver, Patrick. The Crystal Palace, 1851-1936: a portrait of Victorian enterprise. London, Hugh Evelyn Ltd., 1970. Cowper, Charles. The building erected in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. 1972. Hobhouse, Christopher. 1851 and the Crystal Palace; being an account of the Great Exhibition and its contents; of Sir Joseph Paxton; and the erection, the subsequent history and the destruction of his masterpiece. London, Murray, 1950. Hyman, Isabelle; Trachtenberg, Marvin. Architecture. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1986.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Young Goodman Brown: Immature Innocence vs. Mature Guilt :: essays research papers fc

Young Goodman Brown: Immature Innocence vs. Mature Guilt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne expresses his true feelings about the negative beliefs of the puritan religion through usage of expressive styles and themes, various characters, and objects within the story. Because the puritan religion was in affect during a very complicated and chaotic time known as the Salem Witch Trials many people, including Young Goodman Brown, would be shocked to discover that the pure puritan society they knew was in fact contaminated with evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hawthorne uses the main character, Young Goodman Brown, to lucidly convey the story’s main theme of corrupted innocence. When one carefully analyzes Young Goodman Brown’s character the main concept that comes to mind is that the character appears to be an implied part of his religion-pure. The reader should keep in mind that purity is often associated with innocence. The sense of purity within the character of Young Goodman Brown will later appear to be awkward. In the beginning of the story when he meets the Devil in the forest the narrator states that the Devil â€Å"was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him, (Hawthorne, 337).† Through this statement the reader now knows that Young Goodman Brown is not young as his name implies, he is actually a very old man who is just now reaching the stage in life where one realizes that the world is not surfeited with just purity alone, it also contains evil. When the reader first begins the story it is automatically assumed that his title Young Goodman Brown means that he is literally young, which further implies innocence, immaturity, and naive ness. During the Puritan times the title Goodman was equivalent to the present day title of mister. Hawthorne presents a character that has the assumed name of a child, Young Goodman Brown, and the demeanor and thought process of a child; however, the reader is to discover later that he is an adult with the mindset of a child. When the reader discovers that the character is not a child, the fact that Brown was taking a journey into what he believed was initiation to manhood during the beginning of the story now makes the situation very awkward. Young Goodman Brown maintains the mindset of a child; he is naà ¯ve to the fact that the world and people are not pure in and innocent even though they take part in the pure puritan religion.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Anonymous Research Essay

Anonymous (used as a mass noun) is a loosely associated hacktivist group. It (is estimated to have) originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic, digitized global brain.[2] It is also generally considered to be a blanket term for members of certain Internet subcultures, a way to refer to the actions of people in an environment where their actual identities are not known.[3] It strongly opposes Internet censorship and surveillance, and has hacked various government websites. It has also targeted major security corporations.[4][5][6] It also opposes Scientology, government corruption and homophobia. Its members can be distinguished in public by the wearing of stylised Guy Fawkes masks.[7] In its early form, the concept was adopted by a decentralized online community acting anonymously in a coordinated manner, usually toward a loosely self-agreed goal, and primarily focused on entertainment. Beginning with 2008, the Anonymous collective became increasingly associated with collaborative, international hacktivism. They undertook protests and other actions in retaliation against anti-digital piracy campaigns by motion picture and recording industry trade associations.[8][9] Actions credited to â€Å"Anonymous† were undertaken by unidentified individuals who applied the Anonymous label to themselves as attribution.[10] They have been called the freedom fighters of the Internet,[11] a digital Robin Hood,[12] and â€Å"anarchic cyber-guerrillas.†[13] Although not necessarily tied to a single online entity, many websites are strongly associated with Anonymous. This includes notable imageboardssuch as 4chan, their associated wikis, Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica, and a number of forums.[14] After a series of controversial, widely publicized protests, distributed denial of service (DDoS) and website defacement attacks by Anonymous in 2008, incidents linked to its cadre members have increased.[15] In consideration of its capabilities, Anonymous has been posited by CNN to be one of the three major successors to WikiLeaks.[16] In 2012, Time named Anonymous as one of the most influential groups in the world.[17] Origins The name Anonymous itself is inspired by the perceived anonymity under which users post images and comments on the Internet. Usage of the term Anonymous in the sense of a shared identity began on imageboards.[14] A tag of Anonymous is assigned to visitors who leave comments without identifying the originator of the posted content. Users of imageboards sometimes jokingly acted as if Anonymous were a real person. The concept of the Anonymous entity advanced in 2004 when an administrator on the 4chan image board activated a â€Å"Forced_Anon† protocol that signed all posts as Anonymous.[14] As the popularity of imageboards increased, the idea of Anonymous as a collective of unnamed individuals became an Internet meme.[18] Anonymous broadly represents the concept of any and all people as an unnamed collective. As a multiple-use name, individuals who share in the â€Å"Anonymous† moniker also adopt a shared online identity, characterized as hedonistic and uninhibited. This is intended as a satirical, conscious adoption of the online disinhibition effect.[19] â€Å"| We [Anonymous] just happen to be a group of people on the internet who need—just kind of an outlet to do as we wish, that we wouldn’t be able to do in regular society. †¦That’s more or less the point of it. Do as you wish. †¦ There’s a common phrase: ‘we are doing it for the lulz.’| †| —Trent Peacock. Search Engine: The face of Anonymous, February 7, 2008.[19]| Definitions tend to emphasize that the concept, and by extension the collective of users, cannot be readily encompassed by a simple definition. Instead Anonymous is often defined by aphorismsdescribing perceived qualities.[2] One self-description, originating from a protest video targeted at the Churc h of Scientology, is: We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.[20] Overview â€Å"| [Anonymous is] the first Internet-basedsuperconsciousness. Anonymous is a group, in the sense that a flock of birds is a group. How do you know they’re a group? Because they’re traveling in the same direction. At any given moment, more birds could join, leave, peel off in another direction entirely.| †| —Chris Landers. Baltimore City Paper, April 2, 2008.[2]| Anonymous consists largely of users from multiple imageboards and Internet forums. In addition, several wikis and Internet Relay Chat networks are maintained to overcome the limitations of traditional imageboards. These modes of communication are the means by which Anonymous protesters participating in Project Chanology communicate and organize upcoming protests.[21][22] A â€Å"loose coalition of Internet denizens,†[23] the group bands together through the Internet, using IRC channels[21] and sites such as 4chan,[21][23] 711chan,[21] Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica,[24] and YouTube.[3] Socia l networking services, such as Facebook, are used for to mobilize groups for real-world protests.[25] Anonymous has no leader or controlling party and relies on the collective power of its individual participants acting in such a way that the net effect benefits the group.[23] â€Å"Anyone who wants to can be Anonymous and work toward a set of goals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  a member of Anonymous explained to the Baltimore City Paper. â€Å"We have this agenda that we all agree on and we all coordinate and act, but all act independently toward it, without any want for recognition. We just want to get something that we feel is important done†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [2] Anonymous members have previously collaborated with hacker group LulzSec.[citation needed] Membership It is impossible to ‘join’ Anonymous, as there is no leadership, no ranking, and no single means of communication. Anonymous is spread over many mediums and languages, with membership being achieved simply by wishing to join.[26] Commander X and the People’s Liberation Front A person known as Commander X provided interviews and videos about Anonymous.[27] In 2011, he was at the center of an investigation into Anonymous by HBGary CEO Aaron Barr, who claimed to have identified him as a San Francisco gardener. Interviewed following the attack on HBGary Federal, Commander X revealed that while Barr suspected that he was a leader of the group, he was in his own words a â€Å"peon.† However, Commander X did claim to be a skilled hacker and founding member of an allied organization, the Peoples Liberation Front (PLF).[28] According to Commander X, Peoples Liberation Front, a collective of hactivists founded in 1985, acted with AnonOps, another sub-group of Anonymous, to carry out denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against government websites in Tunisia, Iran, Egypt, and Bahrain. Explaining the relationship between Anonymous and the PLF, he suggested an analogy to NATO, with the PLF being a smaller sub-group that could choose to opt in or out of a specific project. â€Å"AnonOps and the PLF are both capable of creating huge â€Å"Internet armies.† The main difference is AnonOps moves with huge force, but very slowly because of their decision making process. The PLF moves with great speed, like a scalpel.†[29] On September 23, 2011, a homeless man in California named Christopher Doyon was arrested and stated by officials to have used the Commander X screen name.[30] He pleaded not guilty.[31] Low Orbit Ion Cannon Main article: LOIC The Low Orbit Ion Cannon is a network stress testing application that has been used by Anonymous to accomplish its DDOS attacks. Individual users download the LOIC and voluntarily contribute their computer to a bot net. This bot net is then directed against the target by AnonOps.[32] Joining the bot net and volunteering one’s resources for the use of the group is thus one way of being a â€Å"member,† a concept that is otherwise hard to define. The Pirate Bay In April 2009, after The Pirate Bay co-defendants were found guilty of facilitating extensive copyright infringement â€Å"in a commercial and organized form†, Anonymous launched a coordinated DDoS attack against the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organisation responsible for safeguarding recording artists’ rights.[33] When co-founders lost their appeal against convictions for encouraging piracy, Anonymous again targeted the IFPI, labelling them â€Å"parasites.† A statement read: â€Å"We will continue to attack those who embrace censorship. You will not be able to hide your ludicrous ways to control us. Megaupload On January 19, 2012, Megaupload, a website providing file-sharing services, was shut down by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[36] In the hours following the shutdown, hackers took down the sites of the DOJ and FBI, as well as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.[37]Barrett Brown, described as a spokesperson for Anonymous, called the attack â€Å"the single largest Internet attack in [Anonymous’] history.†[38] With the protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) protests only a day old, Brown stated that internet users were â€Å"by-and-far ready to defend an open Internet.†[38] Although the actions of Anonymous received support,[citation needed] some commentators argued that the denial of service attack risked damaging the anti-SOPA case. Molly Wood of CNET wrote that â€Å"[i]f the SOPA/PIPA protests were the Web’s moment of inspiring, non-violent, hand-holding civil disobedience, #OpMegaUpload feels like the unsettling wave of car-burning hooligans that sweep in and incite the riot portion of the play.†[39] Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle concurred, stating that â€Å"Anonymous’ actions hurt the movement to kill SOPA/PIPA by highlighting online lawlessness.†[40] The Oxford Internet Institute’s Joss Wright wrote that â€Å"In one sense the actions of Anonymous are themselves, anonymously and unaccountably, censoring websites in response to positions with which they disagree.†[37] Government websites Anonymous claimed responsibility for taking down government websites in the UK in April 2012 in protest against government extradition and surveillance policies. A message was left on Twitter saying it was â€Å"for your draconian surveillance proposals.†[41] Occupy movement Anonymous activists merged with Occupy Wall Street protesters. Anonymous members descended on New York’s Zucotti Park and organized it partly. After it became known that some Occupy protesters would get violent, Anonymous used social networking to urge Occupy protesters to avoid disorder. Anonymous used Twitter trends to keep protests peaceful.[42] A similar protest occurred outside the London Stock Exchange in early May 2012 during a May Day Occupy protest.[43] Internet pedophilia Alleged Internet predator Chris Forcand, 53, was charged with child sexual and firearm offenses.[44] A newspaper report stated that Forcand was already being tracked by â€Å"cyber-vigilantes before police investigations commenced.[45] A television report identified a â€Å"self-described Internet vigilante group called Anonymous† who contacted the police after some members were â€Å"propositioned† by Forcand. The report stated this was the first time a suspected Internet predator was arrested by the police as a result of Internet vigilantism.[46] In October 2011, â€Å"Operation Darknet† was launched as an attempt to cease the activities of child porn sites accessed through hidden services in the deep web.[47] Anonymous published in apastebin link what it claimed were the user names of 1,589 members of Lolita City, a child porn site accessed via the Tor network. Anonymous said that it had found the site via The Hidden Wiki, and that it contained over 100 gigab ytes of child pornography. Anonymous launched a denial-of-service attack to take Lolita City offline. Cyber-attacks and other activities The group is responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, News Corp and has also threatened to destroy Facebook.[54] In October 2011, Anonymous hackers threatened the Mexican drug cartel known as Los Zetas in an online video after one of their members was kidnapped.[55] In late May 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down a GM crops website.[56] In early September 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down GoDaddy’s Domain Name Servers, affecting small businesses around the globe.[57] In mid-September 2012, Anonymous hackers threatened the Hong Kong government organization, known as National Education Centre. In their online video, Anonymous members claimed responsibility for leaking classified government documents and taking down the National Education Centre website, after the Hong Kong government repeatedly ignored months of wide-scale protests against the establishment of a new core Moral and National Education curriculum for children from 6–18 years of age. The new syllabus came under heavy criticism and international media attention, as it does not award students based on how much factual information is learned, but instead grades and evaluates students based on their level of emotional attachment and approval of the Communist Party of China, almost in blind brain-washing fashion.[58] Israel In response to Operation Pillar of Cloud in November 2012, Anonymous launched a series of attacks on Israeli government websites. Anonymous protested what they called the â€Å"barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people.†[59] Syria On November 30, 2012, the group declared an operation to shut down websites of the Syrian government, in response to a internet blackout the previous day believed to be imposed by Syrian authorities in an attempt to silence opposition groups of the Syrian civil war Reaction from law enforcement agencies Arrests â€Å"| First, who is this group called Anonymous? Put simply, it is an international cabal of criminal hackers dating back to 2003, who have shut down the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. They have hacked into the phone lines of Scotland Yard. They are responsible for attacks against MasterCard, Visa, Sony and the Governments of the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.| †| —Canadian MP Marc Garneau, 2012[67]| In December 2010, the Dutch police arrested a 16-year old for cyberattacks against Visa, MasterCard and PayPal in conjunction with Anonymous’ DDoS attacks against companies opposing Wikileaks.[68] In January 2011, the FBI issued more than 40 search warrants in a probe against the Anonymous attacks on companies that opposed Wikileaks. The FBI did not issue any arrest warrants, but issued a statement that participating in DDoS attacks is a criminal offense with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.[69][70] In January 2011, the British police arrested five male suspects between the ages of 15 and 26 with suspicion of participating in Anonymous DDoS attacks.[71] Matthew George, a Newcastle, New South Wales resident, concerned with forthcoming Australian internet filtration legislation, was arrested for his participation in Anonymous DDoS activities. George participated in Anonymous IRC discussions, and allowed his computer to be used in a denial of service attack associated with Operation Titstorm. Tracked down by authorities, he was fined $550, though he was not fully aware that his actions were illegal, and believed his participation in Operation Titstorm had been a legal form of civil protest. His experience left him disillusioned with the potential of online anonymity, warning others: â€Å"There is no way to hide on the internet, no matter how hard you cover your tracks you can get caught. You’re not invincible.†[72] On June 10, 2011, the Spanish police captured three purported members of Anonymous in the cities of Gijon, Barcelona and Valencia. The operation deactivated the main server from which the three men coordinated DDoS attacks. This particular group had made attacks on the web servers of the PlayStation Store, BBVA, Bankia, and the websites of the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand. The operation revealed that their structure consisted of â€Å"cells† which at any given time could coordinate attacks through the downloading of software; the decision-making process to attack occurred in chat rooms. The Spanish national police stated that this operation corresponds to the fact that the Spanish government and NATO considers this group of hackers a threat to national security.[73] On June 13, 2011, officials in Turkey arrested 32 individuals that were allegedly involved in DDoS attacks on Turkish government websites. These members of Anonymous were captured in different cities of Turkey including Istanbul and Ankara. According to PC Magazine these individuals were arrested after they attacked these websites as a response to the Turkish government demand to ISPs to implement a system of filters that many have perceived as censorship.[74][75] During July 19–20, 2011, as many as 20 or more arrests were made of suspected Anonymous hackers in the US, UK, and Netherlands following the 2010 Operation Avenge Assange in which the group attacked PayPal, as well as attacking MasterCard and Visa after they froze Wikileaks accounts. According to US officials statements suspects’ homes were raided and suspects were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington DC, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio, as well as a 16 year old boy being held by the police in south London on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and four being held in the Netherlands.[76][77][78][79] On February 28, 2012, Interpol issued warrants for the arrests of 25 people with suspected links to Anonymous, according to a statement from the international police agency. The suspects, between the ages of 17 and 40, were all arrested.[80] On September 12, 2012; Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown was arrested at his home in Dallas on charges of threatening an FBI agent. Agents arrested Brown while he was in the middle of aTinychat session.[81]

Sheltered Instruction and the English Language Learner

Each twelvemonth, the United States has become more ethnically and linguistically diverse, with more than 90 per centum of recent immigrants coming from non-English speech production states. There are presently more than 10.5 million school-aged kids in the United States who live in places in which a linguistic communication other than English is spoken. Some of these pupils are fluid in English, while others are non ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 ) . Guaranting that pupils who are non fluid in English receive a quality instruction, and have a quality instruction, and achieve the same academic success as their English proficient equals, is an indispensable portion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act ( ESEA ) , as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( NCLB ) , ( U.S. Department of Education, 2007 ) . Harmonizing to the National Clearinghouse for Language Acquisition ( 2007 ) , informations submitted by provinces indicate that there are about 5 million pupils classified as Limited English proficient ( LEP ) through their engagement in a Title III appraisal of English Language proficiency. Harmonizing to the U.S. Census, LEP pupils are among the fastest-growing demographic group of pupils in the United States. While the overall school population has grown by less than 3 per centum in the last 10 old ages, the figure of LEP pupils has increased by more than 60 per centum in that same clip. While the figure of pupils with limited proficiency in English has grown exponentially across the United States, their degree of academic accomplishment has lagged significantly behind that of their linguistic communication bulk equals ( Echevarria, Vogt, & A ; Short, 2004 ) . These findings reflect turning grounds that most schools are non run intoing the challenge of educating linguistically and culturally diverse pupils good. This deficiency of success in educating ELLs is debatable because federal and province authoritiess expect all pupils to run into high criterions and have adjusted national and province appraisals to reflect new degrees of accomplishment and to suit demands under the NCLB Act of 2001. In add-on, the criterions motion, which is brushing the United States, has straight impacted the course of study and methodological analysis of K-8 ESL plans ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . Second linguistic communication scholars, every bit good as mainstream pupils, are now req uired to larn state-prescribed content course of study and show this cognition through public presentation on state-mandated trials. In add-on, TESOL ‘S ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 pupils has focused attending on the acquisition demands of ELLs by bridging the spread between traditional ESL course of study and the development of academic proficiencies ( TESOL, 2007 ) . Although these authorizations will hold a positive impact on the instruction of ELLs, they present instructional challenges to ELL and mainstream instructors who work with 2nd linguistic communication scholars ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . Once pupils have been identified as LEP utilizing state-approved ELP appraisal, their school territories must find the type of research-based Language Instruction Educational Program ( LIEP ) for K-12 LEP pupils that will function their pupils best. Title III requires territories to supply high quality LIEPs that are based on scientifically based research showing the effectivity of the plan ( National Clearinghouse for Language Acquisition, 2007 ) . One such plan that focuses on developing literacy in English is Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol ( SIOP ) . Sheltered Instruction ( SI ) is non a plan, it is a procedure of readying, direction and appraisal that is centered on clearly communicated content and linguistic communication larning marks. It is a procedure of learning content to English Language Learners in a mode that will guarantee their academic success while advancing their development of the English linguistic communication. Sheltered Instruction is delivered to ELL pupils through relevant, meaningful, and comprehendible agencies. There is no set method ( s ) on how to shelter direction ; nevertheless, the end of this procedure should be to guarantee that whatever construct or larning nonsubjective is being taught to the pupils is clearly understood by them. Therefore, the direction should be sheltered to the extent that it matches the pupils ‘ linguistic communication ability to understand the lesson. The term â€Å" sheltered † refers to the agencies for doing academic content comprehensible for English scholars while they develop English proficiency. Classrooms with sheltered direction learning methods may be used in self-contained ELL classes that contain both English talkers and English scholars. The schemes identified in SIOP are important for English scholars and may turn out good to other scholars as good ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . The SI attack must non be viewed as a set of extra or replacement instructional techniques that instructors utilize in their schoolrooms. The sheltered attack draws from and regards methods and schemes advocated for both 2nd linguistic communication and mainstream schoolrooms. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol provides concrete illustrations of the characteristics of sheltered direction that can heighten and spread out instructors ‘ direction. SIOP organizes 30 characteristics of good lessons for English scholars into eight overarching constituents: Preparation, Building background, Comprehensible Input, Strategies, Interaction, Practice/Application, Lesson Delivery, and Review/Assessment. These constituents emphasize the instructional patterns that are critical for ELLs every bit good as high-quality patterns that benefit all pupils. Lesson planning and readying are critical to both the pupil ‘s and the instructor ‘s success. For optimal acquisition to take topographic point, be aftering must bring forth lessons that will enable the pupils to do connexions between their ain cognition and experiences, and the new information being taught ( Bouchard, 2005 ) . With careful planning, acquisition is made more meaningful and relevant by including appropriate motivation stuffs and activities that promote real-life application of constructs studied. In effectual direction for ELLs, concrete content aims that identify what pupils should cognize and be able to make should be the steering force for learning and larning. These aims should back up school-district and state-content criterions and larning results. Foe English scholars, content aims for each lesson need to be stated merely, orally and in authorship, and tied to specific grade degree criterions ( Echevarria & A ; Graves, 2007 ) . An effectual lesson program focuses on merchandises and larning straight related to these aims. While carefully be aftering and presenting content aims, sheltered direction instructors should besides integrate in their lesson programs techniques that support pupils ‘ linguistic communication development ( Short, 1999 ) . As with content aims, linguistic communication aim should be stated clearly and merely both orally and in composing. A broad assortment of linguistic communication aims can be planned harmonizing to the ends and activities in the lesson. Language objectives may concentrate on vocabulary development, reading comprehension accomplishments pattern, objectives that focal point on functional linguistic communication usage, higher-order thought accomplishments, every bit good as specific grammar accomplishments. Planing should besides affect careful consideration of the content constructs and grade-level content criterions to be taught. In sheltered schoolrooms, this involves guaranting that although the stuff may be adapted to run into the demands of ELLs, the content should non be diminished. When be aftering lessons around content constructs, the followers should be considered: ( 1 ) the pupils ‘ first linguistic communication literacy ( L1 ) , ( 2 ) their English proficiency degree ( L2 ) , ( 3 ) their reading ability, ( 4 ) the cultural and age rightness of the L2 stuffs, and ( 5 ) the trouble degree of the stuff to be read ( Gunderson, 1991 ) . Lesson readying should besides reflect the sum of background experience needed to larn and use the content constructs, and include ways to trip pupils ‘ anterior cognition. A reader ‘s scheme, or cognition of the universe, provides a footing for understanding, acquisition, and retrieving facts and thoughts presented. Students with cognition of a subject have better callback and are better able to lucubrate on facets of the subject than those who have limited cognition of subjects ( Hill, 2007 ) . Harrell & A ; Jordan ( 2004 ) have suggested that when readers lack the anterior cognition necessary to read, three major instructional intercessions need to be considered: ( 1 ) Teach vocabulary as a prereading measure ; ( 2 ) provide experiences ; and ( 3 ) present a conceptual model that will enable pupils to construct appropriate background for themselves. In sheltered direction lessons for ELLs, instructors select words that are critical for understanding the text or stuff and supply a assortment of ways for pupils to larn, retrieve, and utilize the words in meaningful contexts. There are multiple ways that background experiences can be created or ways that instructors can utilize the experiences that pupils bring. Connecting the pupils ‘ ain background experiences to the text, triping their background cognition and showing background information about the text to be read are all effectual ways of increasing comprehension for ELLs. The 3rd intercession, supplying ways for pupils to construct background cognition, can be accomplished by learning ELLs to utilize in writing organisers and other auxiliary stuffs. Effective SI involves the usage of many auxiliary stuffs that support the nucleus course of study and contextualize acquisition ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . Auxiliary stuffs provide a real-life context and enable ELL pupils to bridge anterior experiences with new larning. These attacks can be used throughout a lesson and supply ways for doing the text accessible for all pupils thereby accommodating them so that the content constructs are left integral ( Short, 1991 ) . Effective sheltered direction takes into history the alone features of English scholars. For ELLs, the instructor makes verbal communicating more comprehendible by consciously go toing to the pupils ‘ lingual demands. Making accommodations to speech so that the message to the pupils is apprehensible is referred to as comprehendible input ( Krashen, 1985 ) . In the SI schoolroom, instructors invariably modulate and adjust their address when learning ELLs to guarantee that the context is comprehendible. Concepts are taught utilizing a assortment of techniques, including mold, gestures, hands-on activities, and presentations, so that pupils understand and learn the content stuff. Effective SI instructors besides provide accounts of academic undertakings that make clear what pupils are expected to carry through and that promote pupil success ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . English scholars benefit from structured chances to utilize and pattern English in multiple scenes and across content countries. Harmonizing to Echevarria et Al. ( 2008 ) surveies have indicated, that in most schoolrooms, instructors dominate the lingual facets of the lesson, go forthing pupils badly limited in footings of chances to utilize linguistic communication in a assortment of ways. In the SI schoolroom, content categories are structured so that pupils are interacting in a collaborative probe of a organic structure of cognition. This SIOP component emphasizes the importance of equilibrating lingual turn-taking between the instructor and pupils, and among pupils. Students benefit from utilizing and practising English as a agency of showing their thoughts, sentiments, and replies. SI lessons are structured in ways that promote pupil treatment and they strive to supply a more balanced lingual exchange between pupils and their instructors. Teachers in Sheltered Instruction school rooms must make multiple chances for ELL pupils to utilize the English linguistic communication in order to spread out their verbal and written responses. ELL pupils will merely go proficient in English if they pattern the linguistic communication in reliable state of affairss. Frequent pattern reduces pupils ‘ anxiousness while take parting in category treatments and encourages them to take hazards in utilizing the linguistic communication ( Herrell et al. , 2004 ) . Integrating a figure of grouping constellations into lessons frequently facilitates utilizing English in ways that besides supports the lessons ‘ aims. Sheltered Direction categories are characterized by a assortment of grouping constructions, including single work, spouses, threes, little groups of four, concerted acquisition groups, and whole groups ( Hill, 2007 ) . Groups may besides change in that they may be homogenous or heterogenous by gender, linguistic communication proficiency, linguistic communication background, and/or ability. Using a assortment of grouping schemes helps to keep pupils ‘ involvement and increases their engagement in the acquisition procedure. It besides increases the opportunity that a pupil ‘s preferable manner of direction, or larning manner, will be matched ( Echevarria et al. , 2004 ) . Practice and application of freshly acquired accomplishments are needed for ELL pupils to guarantee command of content constructs. In the SI schoolroom, for pupils geting English, the demand to use the new information is of import because discoursing and making do abstract constructs concrete ( Echevarria et al. , 2007 ) . Application can happen in a figure of ways, such as bunch, utilizing in writing organisers, work outing jobs in concerted acquisition groups, composing in diaries, and treatment circles ( Bouchard, 2005 ) . These activities involve ELLs in relevant, meaningful application of what they are larning. For English scholars, application must besides include chances for them to pattern linguistic communication cognition in the schoolroom. Opportunities for societal interaction promote linguistic communication development can be achieved through treatment, working with spouses and little groups and describing out information orally and in authorship ( Bouchard, 2005 ) . Reading, composing, hearing, and talking are complex, cognitive linguistic communication processes that are interrelated and integrated ( Echevarria et al. , 2004 ) . Sheltered Instruction creates chances for ELLs to pattern and utilize all four spheres in an incorporate mode. ELLs benefit from multiple experiences that incorporate reading, promote interactions with others, supply the opportunity to listen to equals ‘ thoughts, and promote composing about what it is that they are larning. Besides, by learning through pupils ‘ preferred acquisition manners and encouraging pupils to pattern and use new cognition through multiple linguistic communication spheres, they will hold a more chances to develop their linguistic communication and content country cognition. Effective instructors of sheltered direction incorporate reappraisal and appraisal into their day-to-day lessons. In SI schoolrooms it is of import to find how good ELL pupils have understood and retained cardinal vocabulary and content constructs. Students, particularly those at the early phases of English proficiency, give considerable clip and energy into calculating out what the instructor is stating or the text is stating them at a basic degree ( Echevarria et al. , 2004 ) . Because of this, they are much less able to find which information among all they input they are having is most of import to retrieve. Teachers must hence take the clip to reexamine and sum up throughout the lesson non merely at the terminal as a wrap-up activity. SI helps pupils develop cardinal vocabulary by learning and so reexamining nomenclature and constructs through analogy and associating freshly learned words to other new words with the same construction or forms. Reviewing vocabulary besides involves pulling pupils ‘ attending to strain, parts of address, and sentence construction. Repeating and reenforcing linguistic communication forms helps ELLs become familiar with English constructions. In add-on, multiple exposures to identify vocabulary besides build acquaintance, assurance, and English proficiency. The more exposure pupils have to new words, particularly if the vocabulary is reinforced through multiple modes, the more likely they are to retrieve and utilize them ( Herrell et al. , 2004 ) . Students may pull a image to picture a construct or to retrieve a word. ELLs can show word significance through physical gestures or move out several words within the context of function drama. Activities that engage pupils in synergi stic pattern with words are effectual ways to advance academic linguistic communication development for ELL pupils ( Echevarria et al. , 2007 ) . Merely as it is of import to reexamine cardinal vocabulary throughout a lesson, it is besides indispensable that English scholars have cardinal content constructs reviewed during and at the terminal of a lesson ( Echavarria et al. , 2004 ) . Understandings are scaffolded in SI lessons when instructors stop and briefly sum up, along with the pupils ‘ engagement, the cardinal content covered to that point in the lesson. Students can besides sum up with spouses, write in diaries, or possibly list cardinal points on the board. For ELLs, it is of import to associate the reappraisal to the content aims so that the pupils stay focused on the indispensable content constructs of the lesson ( Echavarria et al. , 2008 ) . Appraisal occurs throughout a lesson to find if pupils are understanding and applying linguistic communication and content aims. Assessment must be linked to the direction and needs to aim the lesson aims. Merely as pupils need to cognize what the aims are, they need to be informed about how and what type of appraisals they will hold. Toward the terminal of the lesson, pupils ‘ progressed is assessed to find whether it is appropriate to travel on or to reexamine and reteach. Appraisals can be informal, reliable, multidimensional, and include multiple indexs that reflect pupil acquisition, accomplishment, and attitudes ( Hill, 2007 ) . As instructors in SI schoolrooms prepare for formal and informal appraisals, it is of import to observe that linguistic communication and content are intertwined in sheltered categories, dividing one from the other in the assessment procedure can be hard but necessary. When pupils demonstrate trouble or deficiency of public presentation, instructo rs need to find if it is the content that has non been mastered, or if it is a deficiency of English proficiency that is interfering with their acquisition and application of information. By be aftering multiple appraisals such as public presentation based undertakings, portfolios, diaries and undertakings, in add-on to more formalistic trials, pupils are given chances to show their cognition much more to the full. Assessment assortment is of import for ELLs because they are frequently unfamiliar with the type of standardised trials required in U.S. schools and may hold different testing and acquisition manners. Finally, to the extent possible, pupils should be evaluated on their personal advancement to find if acquisition has taken topographic point. In SI schoolrooms, where pupils frequently have different degrees of English linguistic communication proficiency, the value of multiple appraisals becomes evident. If instructors gather baseline informations on what their pupils know and can make with the content information before direction occurs and so what they know and can make afterwards, this can take to supportive feedback, and can supply for just and comprehensive judgements about pupil public presentation. In SI schoolrooms, there is a high degree of pupil battle and interaction with the instructor, with other pupils, and with text, which leads to lucubrate discourse and critical thought ( Echevarria et al. , 2008 ) . ELL pupils are explicitly taught functional linguistic communication accomplishments every bit good as how to negociate significance, confirm information, argue, persuade, and disagree. Teachers of SI introduce pupils to the schoolroom discourse community and demonstrate accomplishments such as taking bends in a conversation and disrupting courteously to inquire for elucidation. Through instructional conversation and meaningful activities, pupils pattern their English and content cognition. Sheltered direction, specifically SIOP, is characterized by careful attending to Ells typical 2nd linguistic communication development demands ( Echevarria et al. , 2007 ) . Sheltered direction plays a major function in a assortment of educational plan designs ( Genesee, 1999 ) . It may be portion of an ESL plan, a late-exit bilingual plan, a bipartisan bilingual submergence plan, a newcomer plan, or a foreign linguistic communication submergence plan. For pupils analyzing content-based ELL classs, SI frequently provides the span to the mainstream and the sum of SI provided should increase as pupils move toward passage out of these plans. Harmonizing to Echevarria et Al. ( 2008 ) any plan in which pupils are larning content through a non-native linguistic communication should utilize the sheltered direction attack. Mentions Bouchard, M. ( 2005 ) . Comprehension schemes for English linguistic communication scholars. New York: Scholastic Books. Echevarria, J. , & A ; Graves, A. ( 2007 ) . Sheltered content direction: Teaching English linguistic communication scholars with diverse disablements 3rd edition: Allyn and Bacon, 16-21, 56-72. Echevarria, J. , Vogt, M. , & A ; Short, D. ( 2008 ) . Making content comprehendible for English scholars: The SIOP theoretical account 3rd edition: Allyn and Bacon. Echevarria, J. , Vogt, M. , & A ; Short, D. ( 2004 ) . Making content comprehendible for English scholars: The SIOP theoretical account 2nd edition: Allyn and Bacon. Genesee, F. ( 1999 ) . Program options for linguistically diverse pupils. Educational Practice Report No.1. Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & A ; Excellence. Gunderson, L. ( 1991 ) . ESL literacy direction: A guidebook to theory and pattern. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Regents/Prentice hall. Harrell, A. , & A ; Jordan, M. ( 2004 ) . 50 schemes for learning English linguistic communication scholars 2nd edition. Upper saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Mentions Hill, J. ( 2007 ) . A participant ‘s manual for schoolroom direction that works for English linguistic communication scholars. Denver, Col: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, 32-38. Krashen, S. ( 1985 ) . The input hypothesis: Issues and deductions. New York: Longman. National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. ( 2007a. ) . Adjustments for English linguistic communication scholars. Washington, DC: Writer. Retrieved July 16, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncela.gwu.edu/accountability/ Short, D. ( 1999 ) . Integrating linguistic communication and content for effectual sheltered direction plans. New York: Teachers College Press. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //tapestry.usf.edu/Short/resources.html Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages ( TESOL ) . ( 2007 ) . Meeting the challenges of content direction. Retrieved July 16, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //everythingesl.net/inservices/judith.php U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. ( 2005 ) . Characteristics of people who talk a linguistic communication other than English at place. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts? _event= & A ; geo_id=01000US & A ; _geo