Atheism Essays - ACE, Antivirus Software, File Archivers, Adware

Atheism Essays - ACE, Antivirus Software, File Archivers, Adware Atheism Important Notes: ================= False virus warnings: - Due to the special exe compression we are using in our products, some executable files in the WinACE package may trigger virus alerts with some antivirus programs. These tools will report different kinds of trojan or generic viruses. In this case, it is a false alarm - as long as you downloaded WinACE from our site. If you downloaded your evaluation version of our product from another website, you should check the file length with the one given on our download page at winace.com. Please inform the developer of your antivirus toolkit about this false alarm so that they can fix the detection routine in their next release. Language selection: - If you have accidentally installed WinACE with the wrong language setting, you can reselect the desired language by launching WinACE with the additional parameter PL from the command line: WINACE.EXE PL *ENTER* Technical requirements: - WinAce requires version 4.71 (or higher) of the system file COMCTL32.DLL. This file is usually installed by default with Microsofts Internet Explorer 4.x and Windows 98. You can obtain the latest version of this DLL at Microsoft's website at microsoft.com/msdownload/ieplatform/ie/comctrlx86.asp (approx. 400k). Bibliography - Microsoft Office for Windows 95 Using Office Binders to Combine Documents [Supplemental Information] - [Why use Binders?] If you have a project that involves several different types of documents, for example, a cover letter written in Word, a financial statement prepared with Microsoft Excel, and a presentation in PowerPoint, it might be easier and more efficient to store the documents together in a Binder. Binders provide a very easy way to work on a document using the full capabilities of the application without removing the document from the Binder. The advantages to using Binders include: + Each document stored in a Binder becomes a section in the Binder. You can open and save the Binder and the sections it contains as a single document, and you can print the Binder as a whole. You can apply styles and use spell checking in all the sections, set specific properties for the whole Binder such as page orientation, and route the entire Binder through electronic mail to coworkers. + You can organize Binder sections in whatever order you like, and you can apply continuous page numbering and headers and footers that run throughout. + A number of ready-to-use Binder templates are supplied with Microsoft Office. Use Binder templates to quickly create a consistent look for all the sections of a Binder. To locate the Binder templates, click New Binder (File menu) and then click the Binders tab. + If you create a Binder format that you want to use as the basis for more than one project, you can save it as a template. + You can easily reorganize sections in a Binder, and you can quickly add and remove Binder sections. [When to work with sections outside a Binder] Because Binders are designed to help you organize and manage related documents, some application features are unavailable while working within the Binder. For example, the Binder has a Status Bar to display information about the sections of the Binder, so the individual application Status Bars are turned off to avoid confusion. For example, since the Microsoft Excel AutoCalculate feature is on the Microsoft Excel Status Bar, it is unavailable inside the Binder. The following features must be used outside the Binder. To work outside the Binder, click View Outside (Section menu). To return the document to the Binder, drag it into the left pane of the Binder window. If the Binder window is not divided into left and right panes, click the button to the left of the File menu. + If you want to view a Binder section in Print Preview, open the section outside the Binder. + The PowerPoint status bar does not display when a PowerPoint document is a section in a Binder. If you want to display the PowerPoint status bar, open the PowerPoint section outside the Binder. + If you want to use the Microsoft Excel AlwaysCalc feature, shared lists, or templates, work with the section outside the Binder. + When working in a Microsoft Excel section, the changes you make to the screen view (View tab, Options command, Tools menu) will not be saved when you save the Binder. + You can run macros in Binder however, you must edit macros outside the Binder. To do this, click the section that contains the macro, click View

QUENTIN Surname Meaning and Family History

QUENTIN Surname Meaning and Family History From the Latin quintinus, meaning the fifth, Quentin  sometimes  originated as a French  first name often given to the fifth son. The Quentin surname may also have originated as a geographical surname for someone from one of the places called Quentin in Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire or Worcestershire, England, or from  one of the places  in Normandy, France named for St. Quentin of Amiens. Surname Origin: English, French Alternate Surname Spellings:  QUINTIN, QUENTEN Famous People with the QUENTINSurname Caroline Quentin - English actressCarlos Quentin - American professional baseball player Where is the QUENTIN Surname Most Common? Surname distribution from Forebears  indicate that  the Quentin surname is most common in France where it ranks among the top 1000 surnames in the country. It is most common in northern France, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the Basse-Normandie, Picardie and Centre regions.   Genealogy Resources for the Surname QUENTIN Meanings of Common English SurnamesUncover the meaning of your English last name with this free guide to the meanings and origins of common English surnames. How to Research French AncestryLearn how to research your French family tree with this guide to genealogical records and family history research in France. Quentin  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Quentin  family crest or coat of arms for the Quentin surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. QUENTIN  Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Hartmann  ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - QUENTIN  GenealogyExplore over 490,000 results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Quentin surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. DistantCousin.com - QUENTIN  Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Quentin. GeneaNet - Quentin  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Quentin  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Quentin  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Quentin  surname from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back toGlossary of Surname Meanings Origins

In What Ways Might the Ownership and Control of the Media be said to Research Paper

In What Ways Might the Ownership and Control of the Media be said to Influence its Political Stance - Research Paper Example Political parties seek media support for creating a positive image for themselves. Corporate house and business groups look forward to this medium to create a positive brand image among their stakeholders. Mass media also depends on various sources for information needs, revenue and profit generation and operational ease. The first section of the paper discusses the role of media in general. This section is followed by ownership and control issues in the media. The next section discusses the influence of media in the political stance which is followed by a conclusion. The role of media is very important for any society. Media is one of the modes of information exchange. In the last few years, the overall industry has rapidly developed in many senses in the level of reach, frequency, mode of presentation and approach. The UK has the second largest publishing industry in Europe with a turnover of at least  £18.4 billion. More than 8000 plus companies have employed around 164,000 people. Media is an important source of various kind of information for all of us. It has been developed with the development in technologies and availability of new medium of information flows. Traditionally the source of information has been newspapers. Newspapers are still one of the most important types of media available in our society. Various kinds of media available in the present society are as follows: The print media is the traditional form of media. It includes leading newspapers, magazines. These can be categorized on the basis of target readers like their age group, gender, and other demographic profiles, on the basis of its content and subject matters and on the basis of the way it is being published like daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Daily newspapers provide daily news in details and try to cover almost all topics.

Islamic economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic economy - Essay Example Throughout the Muslim nations, the comprehension was nothing was lawful about banks (Thomas 4). The modern setting of Islamic banking began in the 1960s in Egypt; nevertheless, this attempt was unfruitful and limited to certain contemporary setting. There were two events that triggered and spread the development of Islamic economy. The first event was the OPEC oil crisis as it was referred to in the west; however, unlike in the west, quotas and increased oil prices resulted in increased GDP per capita in the oil-producing Islamic nations. This resulted in increase of gross savings, consumption and most significantly demand for a banking system fit with Islamic regulations for devout Muslims. The second trigger was the Islamic revolution in Iran because it inspired the Iranian government to require a banking system that complies with Islamic sharia’a laws (Thomas 55). Recognition of non-western economic thought remedied the prevailing ignorance in the west regarding contributio n of Arab-Muslim thinkers in economics. Islamic economists criticized the assumptions upon which conventional economics based and their policies. Islam emphasizes communal responsibility and harmony of the Muslim nations or Muslim community. Islamic economists associated utilitarian to hedonism, which they considered as a replacement of the moral values. Unlike Marxist approach to remuneration that considers labor as a source of value; Islamic economists identify the legitimacy of rental income together with profits. With inbuilt deepness and breadth of Islamic commercial law, current jurists find realistic and hypothetical jurisprudence upon which to draw solution when confronted with disputes of the contemporary marketplace. The initial few decades of modern Islamic economy was a period of revival and the last decade has been an era of significant innovation. Modern Muslim jurist provide sharia’a-compliant solutions to the expanding spectrum of needs. Toward the end of the 1980s, the situation began to change with Islamic and banking and economy growing beyond the expectations of Islamic economy supporters. Since then, Islamic finance has become a growth industry with several multinational banks and asset management companies taking interest in the development of Islamic economy (Thomas 5). Within the banking and finance industry significant developments began with the significant reason being the progress made by Muslim jurisprudence to, understanding the modern business of commerce and applying sharia’a principles. An additional reason was the development of facilities by sharia’a boards with normal contracts allowing Islamic economies to be at ease with the novel organization. The renewal of Islamic commercial energy led to the development of cooperation and helpful interactions between Muslims and people with different religious backgrounds. Acceptance of sharia’a in Islamic economies does not lead to rejection of tools necess ary for economic analysis; rather, it implies evaluation of economic policy with moral perspective according to religious teachings (Thomas 8). Apart from oil and gas-rich states, many Muslim economies are either low or middle-income developing nations, where often

The Life and History of Aristotle Essay Example for Free

The Life and History of Aristotle Essay Aristotle was born in 384 b. c. in the small town of Stagira on the northeast coast of Thrace. His father was the physician to the king of Macedonia. It could be that Aristotles great interest in biology and sci ence in general was nurtured in his early childhood as it was the custom, according to Galen, for families in the guild of the Asclepiadae to train their sons in the art of dissection. When he was seventeen years old, Aristotle went to Athens to enroll in Platos Academy, where he spent the next twenty years as a pupil and a member. At the Academy, Aristotle had the reputation of being the reader and the mind of the school. He was profoundly influenced by Platos thought and personality even though eventually he was to break away from Platos philosophy in order to formulate his own version of certain philosophical problems. Still, while at the Academy, he wrote many dialogues in a Platonic style, which his contemporaries praised for the golden stream of their eloquence. He even reaffirmed, in his Eudemus, the very doctrine so central to Platos thought, the doctrine of the Forms, or Ideas, which he later criticized so severely. There is no way now to reconstruct with exactness just when Aristotles thought diverged from Platos. Platos own thought, it must be remembered, was in process of change while Aristotle was at the Academy. Indeed, it is usually said that Aristotle studied with Plato during Platos later period, a time when Platos interests had shifted toward mathematics, method, and natural science. During this time, also, specialists in various sciences, such as medicine, anthropology, and archeology, came to the Academy. This meant that Aristotle was exposed to a vast array of empirical facts, which, because of his temperament, he found useful for research and for his mode of formulating scientific concepts. It may be, therefore, that the intellectual atmosphere of the Academy marked by some of Platos latest dominant concerns and the availability of collected data in special fields provided Aristotle with a direction in philosophy that was congenial to his scientific disposition. The direction Aristotle took did eventually cause him to depart from some of Platos doctrines, though the degree of difference between Plato and Aristotle is still a matter of careful interpretation. But even when they were together at the Academy, certain temperamental differences must have been apparent. Aristotle, for example, was less interested in mathematics than Plato and more interested in empirical data. Moreover, as time went on, Aristotles gaze seemed to be more firmly fixed upon the concrete processes of nature, so that he considered his abstract scientific notions to have their real habitat in this living nature. By contrast, Plato separated the world of thought from the world of flux and things, ascribing true reality to the Ideas and Forms, which, he thought, had an existence separate from the things in nature. It could be said, therefore, that Aristotle oriented his thought to the dynamic realm of becoming, whereas Platos thought was fixed more upon the static realm of timeless Being. Whatever differences there were between these two great minds, the fact is that Aristotle did not break with Plato personally, as he remained at the Academy until Platos death. Moreover, throughout Aristotles later major treatises, unmistakable influences of Platos thought are to be found in spite of Aristotles unique interpretations and style. But his distinctly Platonist period came to an end upon Platos death, when the direction of the Academy passed into the hands of Platos nephew Speusippos, whose excessive emphasis upon mathematics was uncongenial to Aristotle, for which reason, among others, Aristotle withdrew from the Academy and left Athens. It was in 348/47 b. c. that Aristotle left the Academy and accepted the invitation of Hermeias to come to Assos, near Troy. Hermeias had formerly been a student at the Academy and was now the ruler of Assos. Being somewhat of a philosopher-king, he had gathered a small group of thinkers into his court, and here Aristotle was able for the next three years to write, teach, and carry on research. While at Hermeias court, he married this rulers niece and adopted daughter, Pythias, who bore him a daughter. Later, when they had returned to Athens, his wife died and Aristotle then entered into a relationship with Herpyllis, which was never legalized but which was a happy, permanent, and affectionate union from which there came a son, Nicomachus, after whom the Nicomachean Ethics was named. After his three years in Assos, Aristotle moved to the neighboring island of Lesbos, settling there for the time being in Mitylene, where he taught and continued his investigations in biology, studying especially the many forms of marine life. Here he also became known as an advocate of a united Greece, urging that such a union would be more successful than independent city-states in resisting the might of Persia. Then, in 343/42 b. c. , Philip of Macedon invited Aristotle to become the tutor of his son Alexander, who was then thirteen years old. As a tutor to a future ruler, Aristotles interests included politics, and it is possible that it was here that he conceived the idea of collecting and comparing various constitutions, a project he later carried out by collecting digests of the constitutions of 158 Greek city-states. When Alexander ascended the throne after his father Philips death, Aristotles duties as tutor had come to an end, and after a brief stay in his hometown of Stagira, he returned to Athens. Upon his return to Athens in 335/34 b. c. , Aristotle embarked upon the most productive period of his life. Under the protection of the Macedonian statesman Antipater, Aristotle founded his own school. His school was known as the Lyceum, named after the groves where Socrates was known to have gone to think and which were the sacred precincts of Apollo Lyceus. Here Aristotle and his pupils walked in the Peripatos, a tree-covered walk, and discussed philosophy, for which reason his school was called peripatetic. Besides these peripatetic discussions, there were also lectures, some technical for small audiences and others of a more popular nature for larger audiences. Aristotle is also said to have formed the first great library by collecting hundreds of manuscripts, maps, and specimens, which he used as illustrations during his lectures. Moreover, his school developed certain formal procedures whereby its leadership would alternate among members. Aristotle formulated the rules for these procedures as he also did for the special common meal and symposium once a month when a member was selected to defend a philosophical position against the critical objections of the other members. For twelve or thirteen years Aristotle remained as the head of the Lyceum, not only teaching and lecturing, but above all formulating his main ideas about the classification of the sciences, fashioning a bold new science of logic, and writing his advanced ideas in every major area of philosophy and science, exhibiting an extraordinary command of universal knowledge. When Alexander died in 323 b. c. , a wave of anti-Macedonian feeling arose, making Aristotles position in Athens very precarious because of his close connections with Macedonia. As Socrates before him, Aristotle was charged with impiety, but, as he is reported to have said, lest the Athenians should sin twice against philosophy, he left the Lyceum and fled to Chalcis, where he died in 322 b. c. of a digestive disease of long standing. In his will he expressed sensitive human qualities by providing amply for his relatives, preventing his slaves from being sold and providing that some of his slaves should be emancipated. As with Socrates and Plato, Aristotles thought was of such decisive power that it was to influence philosophy for centuries to come. From the vast range of his philosophy, we shall consider some aspects of his logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. ETHICS Aristotles theory of morality centers around his belief that people, as everything else in nature, have a distinctive end to achieve or a function to fulfill. For this reason, his theory is rightly called teleological. He begins his Nicomachean Ethics by saying that Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good If this is so, the question for ethics is, What is the good at which human behavior aims? Plato had answered this question by saying that people aim at a knowledge of the Idea of the Good. For him this supreme principle of Good was separated from the world of experience and from individuals and was to be arrived at by the minds ascent from the visible world to the intelligible world. For Aristotle, on the other hand, the principle of good and right was imbedded within each person; moreover, this principle could be discovered by studying the essential nature of man and could be attained through his actual behavior in daily life. Aristotle warns his reader, however, not to expect more precision in a discussion of ethics than the subject-matter will admit. Still, just because this subject is susceptible of variation and error does not mean, said Aristotle, that ideas of right and wrong exist conventionally only, and not in the nature of things. With this in mind, Aristotle set out to discover the basis of morality in the structure of human nature. Types of Ends Aristotle sets the framework for his ethical theory with a preliminary illustration. Having said that all action aims toward an end, he now wants to distinguish between two major kinds of ends, which can be called instrumental ends (acts that are done as means for other ends) and intrinsic ends (acts that are done for their own sake). These two types of ends are illustrated, for example, in every action connected with war. When we consider step by step what is involved in the total activity of a war, we find, says Aristotle, that there is a series of special kinds of acts, which have their own ends but which, when they are completed, are only means by which still other ends are to be achieved. There is, for one thing, the art of the bridle maker. When the bridle is completed, its maker has achieved his end as a bridle maker. But the bridle is a means for the horseman to guide his horse in battle. Also, a carpenter builds a barrack, and when it is completed, he has fulfilled his function as a carpenter. The barracks also fulfill their function when they provide safe shelter for the soldiers. But the ends here achieved by the carpenter and the building are not ends in themselves but are instrumental in housing soldiers until they move on to their next stage of action. Similarly, the builder of ships fulfills his function when the ship is successfully launched, but again this end is in turn a means for transporting the soldiers to the field of battle. The doctor fulfills his function to the extent that he keeps the soldiers in good health. But the end of health in this case becomes a means for effective fighting. The officer aims at victory in battle, but victory is the means to peace. Peace itself, though sometimes taken mistakenly as the final end of war, is the means for creating the conditions under which men, as men, can fulfill their function as men. When we discover what men aim at, not as carpenters, doctors, or generals, but as men, we will then arrive at action for its own sake, and for which all other activity is only a means, and this, says Aristotle, must be the Good of Man. How shall the word good be understood? As Plato before him, Aristotle tied the word good to the special function of a thing. A hammer is good if it does what hammers are expected to do. A carpenter is good if he fulfills his function as a builder. This would be true for all the crafts and professions. But here Aristotle distinguishes between ones craft or profession and ones activity as a person. To be a good doctor, for example, did not for Aristotle mean the same thing as being a good person. One could be a good doctor without being a good person, and vice versa. There are two different functions here, the function of doctoring and the function of acting as a person. To discover the good at which a person should aim, Aristotle said we must discover the distinctive function of human nature. The good person, according to Aristotle, is the person who is fulfilling his or her function as a person. The Function of Man Aristotle asks, Are we then to suppose that while carpenter and cobbler have certain works and courses of action, Man as Man has none, but is left by Nature without a work? Or, if the eye, hand, foot and in general each of the parts evidently has a function, may one lay it down that man similarly has a function apart from all these? Surely, man too has a distinctive mode of activity, but what is it? Here Aristotle analyzes mans nature in order to discover his unique activity, saying, first of all, that mans end is not mere life, because that plainly is shared with him even by vegetables, and, says Aristotle, we want what is peculiar to him. Next there is the life of sensation, but this again manifestly is common to horses, oxen and every animal. There remains then an active life of the element that has a rational principle. .. if the function of man is an activity of soul which follows or implies a rational principle then the human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue. Since mans function as a man means the proper functioning of his soul, Aristotle sought to describe the nature of the soul. The soul is the form of the body. As such, the soul refers to the total person. Accordingly, Aristotle said that the soul has two parts, the irrational and the rational. The irrational part in turn is composed of two subparts, the vegetative and the desiring or appetitive parts. For the most part, these are something contrary to the rational principle, resisting and opposing it. The conflict between the rational and irrational elements in man is what raises the problems and subject matter of morality. Morality involves action, for nothing is called good unless it is functioning. Thus Aristotle says that as at the Olympic games it is not the finest and strongest men who are crowned, but they who enter the lists, for out of these the prize-men are selected; so too in life, of the honourable and good, it is they who act who rightly win the prizes. The particular kind of action implied here, if one has in mind Aristotles analysis of the soul, is the rational control and guidance of the irrational parts of the soul. Moreover, the good man is not the one who does a good deed here or there, now and then, but the one whose whole life is good, for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy. Happiness as the End Human action should aim at its proper end. Everywhere people aim at pleasure, wealth, and honor. But none of these ends, though they have value, can occupy the place of the chief good for which people should aim. To be an ultimate end an act must be self-sufficient and final, that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else, and it must be attainable by people. Aristotle seems certain that all people will agree that happiness is the end that alone meets all the requirements for the ultimate end of human action. Indeed, we choose pleasure, wealth, and honor only because we think that through their instrumentality we shall be happy. Happiness, it turns out, is another word or name for good, for like good, happiness is the fulfillment of our distinctive function; or, as Aristotle says, Happiness is a working of the soul in the way of excellence or virtue. How does the soul work to attain happiness? The general rule of morality is to act in accordance with Right Reason. What this means is that the rational part of the soul should control the irrational part. That the irrational part of the soul requires guidance is obvious when we consider what it consists of and what its mechanism is. Referring now only to the appetites, or the appetitive part of the soul, we discover first that it is affected or influenced by things outside of the self, such as objects and persons. Also, there are two basic ways in which the appetitive part of the soul reacts to these external factors, these ways being love and hate, or through the concupiscent and irascible passions. The concupiscent passion leads one to desire things and persons, whereas the irascible passion leads one to avoid or destroy them. It becomes quickly apparent that these passions or capacities for love and hate, attraction or repulsion, creation or destruction, taken by themselves could easily go wild. In themselves they do not contain any principle of measure or selection. What should a person desire? How much? Under what circumstances? How should he relate himself to things, wealth, honor, and other persons? We do not automatically act the right way in these matters; as Aristotle says, none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature. Morality has to do with developing habits, the habits of right thinking, right choice, and right behavior. Virtue as the Golden Mean Since the passions are capable of a wide range of action, all the way from too little to too much, a person must discover the proper meaning of excess and defect and thereby discover the appropriate mean. Virtue is concerned with our various feelings and actions, for it is in them that there can be excess and defect. For example, it is possible, says Aristotle, to feel the emotions of fear, confidence, lust, anger, compassion, pleasure, and pain, too much or too little, and in either case wrongly. To feel them when we ought to, on which occasions, toward whom, and as we should is the mean; that is the best state for people to be in, and this is virtue. Vice, again, is either extreme, excess or defect, and virtue is the mean. It is through the rational power of the soul that the passions are controlled and action is guided. The virtue of courage, for example, is the mean between two vices: namely, cowardice (defect) and foolhardiness (excess). Virtue, then, is a state of being, a state apt to exercise deliberate choice, being in the relative mean, determined by reason, and as the man of practical wisdom would determine. Therefore, virtue is a habit of choosing in accordance with a mean. The mean is not the same for every person, nor is there a mean for every act. Each mean is relative to each person inasmuch as the circumstances will vary. In the case of eating, the mean will obviously be different for an adult athlete and a little girl. But for each person, there is nevertheless a proportionate or relative mean, temperance, clearly indicating what extremes—namely, gluttony (excess) and starvation (defect)—would constitute vice for that person. Similarly, when one gives money, liberality, as the mean between prodigality and stinginess, is not an absolute figure but is relative to ones assets. Moreover, for some acts there is no mean at all; their very nature already implies badness, such as spite, envy, adultery, theft, and murder. These are bad in themselves and not in their excesses or deficiencies. One is always wrong in doing them. Deliberation and Choice There are in the rational soul two kinds of reasoning. The first is theoretical, giving us knowledge of fixed principles or philosophical wisdom. The other is practical, giving us a rational guide to our action under the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves, and this is practical wisdom. What is important about the role of reason is that without this rational element, we would not have any moral capacity. Again, Aristotle stressed that although we have a natural capacity for right behavior, we do not act rightly by nature. Our life consists of an indeterminate number of possibilities. Goodness is in us potentially; but unlike the acorn out of which the oak will grow with almost mechanical certitude, we must move from what is potential in us to its actuality by knowing what we must do, deliberating about it, and then choosing in fact to do it. Unlike Plato and Socrates, who thought that to know the good was sufficient to do the good, Aristotle saw that there must be deliberate choice in addition to knowledge. Thus, Aristotle said that the origin of moral action—its efficient, not its final cause—is choice, and (the origin) of choice is desire and reasoning with a view to an end. There cannot be choice without reason. And again, intellect itself moves nothing, but only the intellect which aims at an end and is practical. Morality and moral choice imply human responsibility. If some ways of behaving are right and others wrong, it is necessary to discover why a person acts in a wrong instead of a right way. If we are to praise or blame, praise virtue and blame vice, a person must be truly capable of making a choice. Aristotle assumed that an act for which a person could be held responsible must be a voluntary act. A genuine choice is a voluntary action. But not all our actions are voluntary. Thus, Aristotle said that praise and blame arise upon such as are voluntary, while for the involuntary allowance is made, and sometimes compassion is excited. The distinction, as he saw it, between voluntary and involuntary acts was in general this: Involuntary acts are those for which a person is not responsible because they are (1) done out of ignorance of particular circumstances, (2) done as a result of external compulsion, or (3) done to avoid a greater evil. Voluntary acts are those for which a person is responsible because none of these three extenuating circumstances obtain. The Virtues In a general way we have already defined virtue as the fulfillment of mans distinctive function and as the mean between extremes. Another way to describe Aristotles concept of virtue is to consider each virtue as the product of the rational control of the passions. In this way we can combine all aspects of human behavior. Human nature consists for Aristotle not simply in rationality but in the full range covered by the vegetative, sensitive or appetitive, and the rational souls. Virtue does not imply the negation or rejection of any of these natural capacities. The moral man employs all his capacities, physical and mental. Corresponding to these two broad divisions in man there are two functions of reason, the intellectual and the moral, and each has its own virtues. There are accordingly intellectual virtues and moral virtues. The intellectual virtues are philosophical wisdom and understanding and owe their birth and growth to teaching and learning. Moral virtue comes about as a result of habit, whence comes the name ethics (ethike), formed by a slight variation from the word ethos (habit). All the moral virtues have to be learned and practiced, and they become virtues only through action, for we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. The cardinal moral virtues are courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. In addition to these, Aristotle considered also the virtues of magnificence, liberality, friendship, and self-respect. And although he acknowledged the central role of reason as a guide to practical and moral action, he nevertheless concluded that philosophic wisdom is superior to practical wisdom, that contemplation is most likely to lead to happiness. Contemplation Aristotle concludes that if happiness is the product of our acting according to our distinctive nature, it is reasonable to assume that it is acting according to our highest nature, and that this activity is contemplative we have already said. This activity is the best, says Aristotle, since not only is reason the best thing in us, but the objects of reason are the best of know-able objects. Moreover, contemplation is most continuous, since we can contemplate truth more continuously than we can do anything. Finally, we think happiness has pleasure mingled with it, but the activity of philosophic wisdom is admittedly the pleasantest of virtuous activities. POLITICS In his Politics, as in his Ethics, Aristotle stresses the element of purpose. The state, as man, is endowed by nature with a distinctive function. Combining these two ideas, Aristotle says that it is evident that the State is a creature of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. So closely does he relate man and the state as to conclude that he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god. Not only is man by nature destined to live in a state, but the state, as every other community, is established with a view to some good, exists for some end. The family exists primarily to preserve life. The state comes into existence in the first instance to preserve life for families and villages, which in the long run are not self-sufficing. But beyond this economic end, the function of the state is to ensure the supreme good of man, namely, his moral and intellectual life. Unlike Plato, Aristotle did not create a blueprint for an ideal state. Even though Aristotle viewed the state as the agency for enabling people to achieve their ultimate goals as human beings, he nevertheless realized that any practical theory of the state must take note of what kind of government is adapted to particular states [that] the best is often unattainable and that the legislator must be acquainted with which is best relatively to circumstances how a state may be constituted under any given conditions [and] how it may be longest preserved, concluding that political writers, although they have excellent ideas, are often unpractical. For these reasons, Aristotle had little patience with Platos most radical ideas. Ridiculing Platos arrangement for the abolition of the family for the guardian class and providing a public nursery for their children, Aristotle said that there is no reason why the so-called father should care about the son, or the son about the father, or brothers about one another. The communal ownership of property would likewise destroy certain basic human pleasures as well as engender inefficiency and endless disputes. Types of States Aristotle was willing to recognize that under appropriate circumstances, a community could organize itself into at least three different kinds of government. The basic difference among them is primarily the number of rulers each has. A government can have as its rulers one, a few, or many. But each of these forms of government can have a true or a perverted form. When a government is functioning rightly, it governs for the common good of all the people. A government is perverted when its rulers govern for their own private gain or interests. The true forms of each type of government, according to Aristotle, are monarchy (one), aristocracy (few), and polity (many). The perverted forms are tyranny (one), oligarchy (few), and democracy (many). His own preference was aristocracy, chiefly because even though ideally an individual of exceptional excellence would be desirable, such persons do not exist with sufficient frequency. In an aristocracy, there is the rule of a group of men whose degree of excellence, achievement, and ownership of property makes them responsible, able, and capable of command. Differences and Inequalities Because he relied so heavily upon his observation of things, it was inevitable that Aristotle would make some mistakes. Nowhere is this more true than in his estimate of slavery. Observing that slaves invariably were strong and large, he concluded that slavery was a product of nature. It is clear, said Aristotle, that some men are by nature free, and others slaves, and that for these slavery is both expedient and right. To be sure, Aristotle took great care to distinguish between those who become slaves by nature, a mode he accepted, and those who become slaves by military conquest, a mode he rejected. He rejected slavery by conquest on the highly defensible grounds that to overpower someone does not mean that one is superior to him in nature. Moreover, the use of force may or may not be justified, in which case enslavement could very well be the product and extension of an unjust act. At the same time, speaking of the proper treatment of slaves, he proposed that it is expedient that liberty should be always held out to them as the reward of their services. The fact is that in his own last will and testament, Aristotle provided for the emancipation of some of his slaves. Aristotle also believed in the inequality of citizenship. He held that the basic qualification for citizenship was a persons ability to take his share in ruling and being ruled in turn. A citizen had the right and the obligation to participate in the administration of justice. Since a citizen would therefore have to sit in the assembly and in the law courts, he would have to have both ample time as well as an appropriate temperament and character. For this reason, Aristotle did not believe that laborers should be citizens, as they had neither the time nor the appropriate mental development, nor could they benefit from the experience of sharing in the political process. Good Government and Revolution Over and over again Aristotle made the point that the state exists for the sake of mans moral and intellectual fulfillment. A state, he said, exists for the sake of a good life, and not for the sake of life only; also, the state is the union of families and villages in a perfect and self-sufficing life, by which we mean a happy and honourable life. Finally, he said, our conclusion is that political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not mere companionship. Still, whether a state produces the good life depends upon how its rulers behave. We have already said that the perverted forms of government are distinguished from the true forms by this, that the good rulers seek to achieve the good of all, whereas the perverted rulers seek their own private gain. Whatever form a government has, it will rest upon some conception of justice and proportionate equality. But these conceptions of justice can bring disagreement and ultimately revolution. Democracy, as Aristotle knew it, arises out of the assumption that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal. On the other hand, Aristotle said oligarchy is based upon the notion that those who are unequal in one respect are in all respects unequal. Hence, being unequal in property, they suppose themselves to be unequal absolutely. For these reasons, whenever the democrats or oligarchs are in the minority and the philosophy of the incumbent government does not accord with their preconceived ideas, [they] stir up revolution Here then are opened up the very springs and fountains of revolution. Aristotle concludes that the universal and chief cause of this revolutionary feeling [is] the desire of equality, when men think they are equal to others who have more than themselves. He did not overlook other causes such as insolence and avarice as well as fear and contempt. Knowing these causes of revolution, Aristotle said that each form of government could take appropriate precautions against it; for example, a king must avoid despotic acts, an aristocracy should avoid the rule by a few rich men for the benefit of the wealthy class, and a polity should provide more time for its abler members to share in the government. Another precaution is to guard against the beginning of change. Most important of all, Aristotle urged that there is nothing which should be more jealously maintained than the spirit of obedience to law. In the end, men will always criticize the state unless their conditions of living within it are such that they can achieve happiness in the form of what they consider the good life.

Our Town Analysis :: essays research papers

Our Town Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fact my town does not resemble the setting displayed in this play although I am sure the setting of our ancestors’ towns were much like this one. Back then everybody knew each other and they did not have to lock their doors and they had a strong fear of death and judgement which was indirectly implanted in their religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This play was interesting because the representation of death portrayed as being so sudden. When death hit Emily, she suddenly realized how she had wasted her life on earth because they were repeating the same actions everyday of their. She became sad and also regretful that she could not tell her husband George to get on with his life and end this incessant mourning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting is very important because the play is set in a small simple town and it demonstrates the precise actions of people of that time. The setting is special because it is vague therefore it lets your mind imagine the precise details of the scene. This is interesting because you see the scene the way you want it so the author does not need to go into dull descriptions which are not too pleasing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The atmosphere is very obvious in this play because it is one of the most prominent factors in the play itself. In the first act the dominant mood is happiness because everybody is pursuing their normal activities and gossiping and the first act is used to introduce the characters for us to know their attitudes. In the second act the action is sped up and there is a special event which is marriage involves George and Emily. Emily shows a great deal of hesitation and the attendants at the ceremony are discussing the couple and how they were when they were young. In the third act the mood is sorrow and sadness caused by the death of Emily and her reaction at the overview of her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship between George and Emily is very evident throughout the whole play. In the first act they shared a boy/girl relationship and were good neighbors.

Criminological Theory and Burglary Essay

Scarce research is available on active offenders due to their unwillingness to corporate with researchers and past and convicted offenders may have changed their perspectives after being convicted or left their lifestyle of crime. The most reliable data on these offenses and their perpetrators may come from active burglars themselves. Richard T. Wright and Scott Decker’s book, Burglars on the Job seeks to explain the reasons why burglars commit the crimes they do. They have taken their research to another level by gaining the trust of active offenders in the St.  Louis area and gaining inside knowledge of these criminals’ daily lives and their crimes. This paper will address anomie and bond theories and how it relates to the offenders in this study and the socialization of these subjects into criminality and the street culture in which they live. Conventional Goals? According to Robert Merton’s anomie theory, people are not born criminals; they conform to the environment in which they live. Conventional means of reaching a goal are often more readily available to some than others in our society. Merton suggests that crime is a result of this bias due to the anomic culture in America. Our society places great emphasis on the â€Å"American Dream† but conventional means of reaching this goal are denied to some unfortunate individuals, placing strain on them. The burglars in Wright and Decker’s book have conventional goals, but lack the capacity to achieve them by conventional means. Burglar #30 Mark Smith says, â€Å"I didn’t have the luxury of laying back in no damn pinstriped suit. I’m poor and I’m raggedy and I need some food and I need some shoes†¦ So I got to have some money some kind of way. If it’s got to be the wrong way, then so be it. †(pg. 7) This burglar has the conventional goal of buying food and shoes but, as anomie theory suggest, does not have the conventional means of getting what he wants, therefore he commits crime to obtain the money to buy what he desires. Not every burglar in this study claimed to have conventional goals, drugs were a popular desire among these offenders as well. These burglars want to get high and party continuously, but rather than gain lawful employment to supply their habits, they would rather burglarize a residence to gain the financial means to keep the party going. This is evident in one burglar’s response to why he chooses to commit the crimes he does. Burglar #009 Richard Jackson replies, â€Å"You ever had an urge before? Maybe a cigarette urge or a food urge, where you eat that and you get to have more and more? That’s how the crack is. You smoke it and it hits you in the back of the throat and you got to have more†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (pg. 39) The majority of these offenders’ wanted the status and appearance of being successful, the â€Å"American Dream†, but lacked the resources or drives to reach their goals conventionally. The book describes the majority of the offenders as having very few resources in which to work with. Wright and Decker write, â€Å"Decent employment opportunities are limited for inner city residents and the offenders, who by large are poorly educated, unskilled, and heavy illicit drugs and alcohol users, are not well placed to compete for the few good jobs available. †(pg. 50) When field researchers asked them why they chose burglary over other legitimate means some replied that they were unable to gain suitable employment or they just didn’t want a job to infringe on their current lifestyles. Burglar #085 Tony Scott replied, â€Å"I ain’t workin’ and too lazy to work and just all that. I like it to where I can just run around†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (pg. 48) Some burglars wished to gain lawful employment, Wright and Decker write, â€Å"43 of the 78 unemployed subjects who said they did burglaries mostly for the money claimed they would stop committing offenses if someone gave them a good job. †(pg. 49) Since the overall expectation of these offenders’ was financially motivated, conventional goals are present as is innovation. Some of these offenders’ burglarized for drug’s, even burglarizing their drug dealer’s home, making them rebels instead of innovators. Burglar #24 James Brown says, â€Å"My house burglaries are based on dope dealers. † (pg. 66) Merton describes rebels as those who lack conventional goals and the conventional means of reaching them. I would even describe some of them as retreatist, according to Merton’s theory, as they use drugs and criminal behavior as a way to escape the pressures or strains placed on them. One burglar, Ricky Davis #015 describes how he burglarizes and spends his money on drugs, alcohol, and prostitution. He has unconventional goals, with no apparent desire to live a conventional lifestyle. He says, â€Å"I spend the money on something to drink, then get me some marijuana. Then I’m gonna find me a duck. † (pg. 42) Weak Social bonds A bond theory explanation would suggest that the offenders lacked adequate social bonds which, in turn, gave them the freedom to commit crimes. They did not have the parental guidance to steer them away from crime. The social bonds in Travis Hirshi’s bond theory are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Several of these offenders seemed to be lacking in at least one of these areas. Attachment, or emotional closeness to others, was lacking in many of these offenders. They were more attached to the street culture than decent culture. Those offenders who did mention their families never spoke of engagement with them other than in the context of trying to borrow money from them or burglarizing them. This shows that these offenders had very weak, if any, attachment bonds. Most of these offenders’ had very little commitment either. As stated earlier, they had little education, no jobs, and no social networks to deter them from a life of crime. They had nothing or almost nothing to lose. The offenders’ involvement in conventional activities was also very limited. Their strongest involvements seemed to be with their â€Å"street life. † They felt that jobs or other conventional activities would damper their party time. Burglar #85 Scott says, â€Å"†¦ I ain’t got to go to bed at a certain time to get up at a certain time. Go to bed around one o’clock or whenever I want. Ain’t got to go to work and work eight hours. Just go in and do a five minute job, get that money, and that’s basically it. †(pg. 48) It is the quick and easy, with very little planning or effort, that makes burglary a choice crime for these offenders. While some offenders seemed to hold some conventional moral values, others seemed only to be thinking of themselves in their day to day activities. Burglar #13 Larry Washington states, â€Å"see, if you rob a person, they can identify you cause you lookin’ right at em’ you know? They lookin’ right at you and they can identify you. And armed robbery is what? Five to ten years? Or ten to fifteen years? † This offender prefers burglary over robbery out of fear of a harsher punishment for himself if caught. He shows no consideration of the victim. Burglar #79 Die Leo, on the other hand, did show some compassion for a victim in his statement, â€Å"I’d never personally rob a human being, like walk up to them and say, â€Å"Give me your wallet and give me your purse! † No Way! † Hirishi believed that all people are equally motivated to commit crimes but that motivation in itself was not strong enough to overpower their social bonds and push them into a life of crime. The lack of these social bonds gave them the freedom to commit their crimes, and the motivation was already present as it is in all people. The social bond theory generally sums up crime as it relates to their social bonds. As these bonds weaken and begin to deteriorate, the restraints that once bound you and kept you abiding by the law are loosened. This differs from anomie theory in that, anomie explains crime as being a result of strain placed on an individual from income inequality, socioeconomic status, etc. These theories are both plausible explanations as to why these offenders committed their crimes. High strain and lack of solid bonds may both play a vital role in criminal roles. Now let’s take a look at how socialization and self-control relate to crime. Socialization and Self Control Socialization into crime refers to an individual who conforms to the norms and roles in their given communities. I believe that these offenders criminality can be attributed to their socialization into an environment that values low self-control. The offenders in this study exhibited spontaneity in their decisions to commit burglaries, amplifying their lack of self-control. These offenders learned a great deal about their communities, the people who live in it and their vulnerabilities and so were able to commit their crimes putting forth little effort or planning. In my opinion there is a connection between criminality, low self-control, and the culture of immediate gratification. These offenders seem to have gone through a process starting off with socialization into street culture which leads them to a lack of self-control, and then the culture of immediate gratification. To simplify Gottfredson and Hirishi’s self-control theory, I would say that low self-control is related to crime and that need for immediate gratification and low self-control are connecting factors that contribute to criminal behavior. These offenders are accustomed to spending a lot of time on street corners with other offenders, learning the ways of the street, so to speak. This is their socialization period. Once they are socialized into crime they lose their sense of self control. These offenders apparently don’t have much guidance from their parents or others because they are allotted so much free time to commit their crimes. This tells me that their parents likely don’t have strong social control either. Once their social control is lost, they yearn for immediate gratification. They want things right now; they are not willing to wait until they can find a job and get it conventionally. All the research done by Wright and Decker has shed light on the lifestyle of an active burglar. As mentioned in the introduction, this research is scarce but could be much more reliable than research conducted with offenders who are no longer active burglars. This type of field research should be continued and expanded with all types of crimes, which may give us a better understanding of what drives people to commit them and in the long run may help us understand how to stop them.

Poverty in the United States Research Paper Essay

Today, â€Å"the number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is increasing to record levels with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty† (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). When looking at the increasingly important issue of poverty in the United States, one cannot help but wonder how this will affect future generations and the stability of the nation as a whole. In order to fully understand the problem at hand, poverty must first be defined, have the causes and effects of it examined, look at it from a world-wide perspective, and then consider how it will affect the future of the United States. The goal of this document is to bring to the readers attention the potential consequences of ignoring poverty in the United States and motivate them to do something about it. â€Å"Poverty is the deprivation of well being that occurs when people cannot satisfy their basic needs† (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). There are two kinds of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty, or destitution, refers to the lack of basis needs such as food, water, clothing, shelter, health care, education, and the necessary supplies to live hygienically (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). When poverty is measured in relative terms, it is defined contextually by the median income of where people live (Smeeding, 2006, p. 71). Relative poverty does not imply that that the person is lacking anything, just that they are living below a certain level of income (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). For example: a person with an annual income of $150,000 living in a neighborhood with an average annual income of $500,000 is relatively poor even though they by no means lack the ability to provide the basic essential needs outlined by absolute poverty. Both types of poverty vary from location to location, but absolute poverty tends to be more of a universal definition while relative poverty is strictly dependent upon the Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 3 location in which a person lives. â€Å"Since the 1960s, the United States government has defined poverty in absolute terms. When the Johnson administration declared ‘war on poverty’ in 1964, it chose an absolute measure. The ‘absolute poverty line’ is the threshold below which families or individuals are considered to be lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; having insufficient income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health† (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). â€Å"A 2001 poll in the United States asked: ‘In your opinion, which is the bigger cause of poverty today- that people are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty, or that circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor?’ Responses were nearly evenly split between ‘people not doing enough’ (48 percent) and ‘circumstances’ (45 percent)† (Iceland, 2006, p. 70). There are many speculations as to what the causes of poverty in the United States are and studies show that the main causes are both social and economic, both of which will be discussed here. Problems leading to poverty in the United States include family status, the level of education of the head of household, age of the head of household, and race. â€Å"In 1991, 8.3% of children in two-parent families were likely to live in poverty; 19.6% of children living with father in single parent family; and 47.1% in single parent family headed by mother† (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). That means that an average of 33.35% of children coming from a single parent family are likely to live in poverty compared to a mere 8.3% of children living in the traditional, two-parent, family. Another great factor leading to poverty is the level of education of the head of household. â€Å"Studies have shown that people who invest in their education or skills can expect higher incomes† (Iceland, 2006, p. 70-71). Obviously, income has Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 4 a direct correlation with poverty as it is in the essence of its definition. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, â€Å"the median earnings of household headed by individuals with less than a 9th grade education was $20,805 while households headed by high school graduates earned $40,456, households headed by holders of a bachelor’s degree earned $77,605, and families headed by individuals with professional degrees earned $100,00† (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). In 2009, households headed by individuals age 15-24 averaged an income of $30,750 annually, while households headed by individuals age 25-34 averaged $50,188, and households with a head age 35-44 averaged $61,083 (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). Along with this study, there were no indicators as to what the primary cause of this was; however, it’s possible that work experience and additional education may be factors. While this is more of a combination of a social and economic factor to poverty, it is more of a social one because it deals directly with the head of household. The factor related to poverty to look at is race. In 2003, the poverty rate amongst African Americans in the United States was 24.4%, almost double the national poverty rate of 12.5% (Iceland, 2006, p. 81). This could be due to the oppressions of society through racial discrimination or profiling, or simply the effects of the oppression that once was- slavery and the racist discrimination of the early 20th century. â€Å"Poverty increases the risk of homelessness† (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012), and children who grow up in low income families have less of a chance to get a good education and attempt to better themselves and their income (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). With this in mind, it makes sense that the African American community makes up a large majority of the poor in the United States. Their beginnings in this nation were the lowest, poorest conditions of anyone in that day. Many believe that they simply have not been able to Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 5 climb out of the hole they were placed in to when they were enslaved back in the 1700’s. â€Å"Another factor that contributes to higher poverty rates among African Americans is human-capital skills differentials. This refers to differences in average levels of education, quality of educational opportunities, and subsequent work experience. The gap in average levels of education has declined over the past few decades. Nevertheless, the quality of schooling received by children varies widely, and African Americans are more likely to attend inferior schools with fewer resources† (Iceland, 2006, P. 84). Attendance to schools with fewer resources is a direct result of their economic situation, which causes the poor to stay poor in this case. Another example of race being a factor of poverty in the United States can be seen when observing the hispanic culture. In 2003, the Latino poverty rate was at 22.5%, just below that of the African American community (Iceland, 2006, p. 85). This is in large part due to immigration, as â€Å"immigrant families are at greater risk of poverty than nonimmigrant families† (Iceland, 2006, p. 85). Also, â€Å"in places with many immigrants, the competition for low-wage jobs also appears to drive down wages for these immigrants† (Iceland, 2006, p. 86). For as much as Americans focus on equal opportunity and not discriminating based upon race, it would appear that poverty does discriminate based upon race and does not provide all races with equal opportunities in the United States. Obviously there are exceptions, and not everyone who grows up in poverty stays poor. Nonetheless, there is still a trend of minority races having higher poverty rates in the United States. â€Å"21% of all children in the United States live in poverty; about 46% of black children and 40% of Latino children live in poverty† (â€Å"Poverty in the United States,† 2012). Now that the factors leading to poverty and effects of them have been examined, it is time Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 6 to look at poverty from a world-wide perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said, â€Å"Poverty is the worst form of violence.† All across the world, this violence is real, and to many, a way of life. The poverty line is much lower in some other countries due to an uneven distribution of wealth. In the USA, the wealthy middle class brings the median up and causes the poverty threshold to be higher. However, different factors such as the level and trend of poverty and inequality amongst nations, along with considerable detail on the sources of market incomes and public policies are used to compare poverty levels from nation to nation (Smeeding, 2006, p. 69). With that said, absolute poverty is much more rampant in some other countries than it is in the United States. For example: in 2008, of the estimated 1.29 billion people living in absolute poverty, 400 million of them lived in India and 173 million lived in China. That’s almost half of the world’s poor living in just those two countries, while the United States hosted just 39.1 million. Everyone reacts to their circumstances in a different way. For example: â€Å"in Zimbabwe, a number of girls are turning to prostitution for food to survive† (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). Some turn to violence or steal to get what they need to survive. For many Children living in poverty, their lives are deemed a failure before they are ever given a chance to succeed. â€Å"Research has found that there is a high risk of educational underachievement for children who are from low-income housing circumstances† (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). In some countries, young children can be seen begging in the streets for money. As Abraham Maslow showed in his hierarchy of needs, when people don’t have their basic needs- food, water, shelter, safety, comfort, etc.- it can be very difficult to focus on much more than those. For children living in absolute poverty, these are the very things that they seek after on a Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 7 daily basis. The number of homeless children in America rose from 1.2 million in 2007 to 1.6 million in 2010 (â€Å"Poverty,† 2012). Children are the future of this great nation. If so many are forced to grow up in sub-par circumstances without the necessary tools and opportunities to be successful, how can the United States fulfill its potential as a nation. Poverty rates are on the rise once again. It is everybody’s responsibility to do something about it. Give what can be given. Feed the homeless. Care for them. Provide the poor with an opportunity to better their lives. â€Å"Give a man a fish and you’ve fed him that day, teach a man to fish and he can eat for the rest of his life.† Sometimes all that needs to be given is a little bit of time and energy to reach out and attempt to better someone else’s circumstances. In this paper, poverty was defined, the causes and effects of poverty were examined, it was looked at from a world-wide perspective, and the long term effects of poverty in the United States were considered. People can never know what they are truly capable of until they truly apply themselves. Just because poverty has always been an issue in the world does not mean that it always has to be. Take it from a man who spent his life serving the poor and trying to better the world around him: â€Å"be the change you wish to see in the world† -Mahatma Gandhi. Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 8 References Poverty. (10/6/2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty. Poverty in the United States. (9/24/2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States. Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook. Berkley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Smeeding, T. (2006). Poor people in rich nations: The United States in comparative perspective. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 69-90.

The Physics Of Sound Essays - Acoustics, Waves, Sound, Free Essays

The Physics Of Sound Essays - Acoustics, Waves, Sound, Free Essays The Physics Of Sound Sound surrounds us at all times. The ring of an alarm clock or the whistle of birds may wake us up in the morning. Through out the day, we hear a variety of sounds; for instance, the banging of pots and pans, the roar of traffic, and the voices of people. When we fall asleep at night, we might listen to the sounds of frogs croaking or the wind whistling. All sounds have one thing in common. This being that the vibrations of an object makes every sound. When an object vibrates, it causes the air around it to vibrate. The vibrations in the air travel out from all directions of the object. They then reach our ears, and the brain reads them as sounds. Many sounds we hear travel through the air; however, they can also travel through solid objects like the earth. Our voice is made in the larynx, which is a part of the throat. Two small pieces of tissue are spread across the larynx. These pieces, called vocal chords, make the opening smaller. Air from he lungs quickly passes trough the tightened chords, causing them to vibrate. The vibrations make the sound of the voice. The tighter the chords are, the faster the vibrations and the higher the resulting sound. If a rock is thrown onto a still pond, several waves travel out from the place where the rock hit the surface. Likewise, sound moves in waves through the air or some other medium. The understanding that sound travels in the form of waves may have originated with the artist Leonardo Da Vinci in 1500. Generally, waves can be spread transversely or longitudinally. In both cases, only the energy of wave motion is spread through medium. No portion of the medium actually moves very far. As the waves caused by the moving object travel outward, they are carried by a medium. This movement causes compression. As the movements move backward it is called rarefractions. Sound requires a medium to travel; therefore, it cannot travel in space, which is a vacuum with no medium. The number of compressions and rarefractions per second is called frequency, The more rapidly and object vibrates, the higher the frequency. Frequency is measured in hertz. As the frequency of a sound wave increases, the wavelength decreases. Wavelength is the distance between one point on a wave to the corresponding point on the next wave. Most people hear sounds with frequencies that fall between 20 and 20,000 hertz. Many animals can hear sounds about 20,000 hertz. A persons voice can have a range of about 85 to 1,100 hertz. When sound waves leave one medium and enter another in which the speed of sound differs, the direction of the waves is altered. This change in direction results from a change in the speed of waves called refraction. Sound waves can also be refracted if the speed of the sound changes according to their position in a medium. The waves bend toward the region of slower speed. Sound travels farther when the air is cooler. During the day, the ground is warmer than the air above. Sound waves are bent away from the ground into the cooler air above, where their speed is slower allowing the sound to be heard over longer distances. The spreading out of waves as they pass by the edge of an obstacle or through and opening is called diffraction. It occurs whenever a sound wave encounters an obstacle or opening. Diffraction enables sound to be heard around a corner, even though no straight path exists from the source of the sound to the ear. If sound travels at about the same speed in both materials with the same density, little sound will be reflected. Instead, most of the sound will be transmitted into the new medium. If the speed differs greatly in the two mediums and their densities are greatly different, most of the sound will be reflected. The intensity of a sound is related to the amount of energy in the sound waves. Intensity depends on the amplitude of the vibrations making the waves. Amplitude is the distance that the object producing the sound travels as it vibrates.

Good SAT Scores Ivy League Plus Edition

Good SAT Scores Ivy League Plus Edition SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Setting a target SAT score to aim for is important, but what if you want to shoot for the moon and get an Ivy League-caliber SAT score? Read on to find out what SAT scores Ivy League Plus schools require. feature image credit: Strauss Hall, Harvard Yard/used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Ivy League SAT Scores While your SAT score isn’t the only factor that determines whether or not you get accepted to Ivy League-level schools, it does play a significant role in helping colleges compare candidates from different high schools. This is even more true for international students who don't have AP or IB courses in their schools, since US colleges and universities use those courses as ways to evaluate the academic potential of students attending a wide range of high schools, including students from countries with different grading systems altogether. Your personal target SAT score is determined by the scores of students attending the schools you want to attend. If you’re aiming for top-tier schools like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, or UChicago, this target score is going to necessarily be higher than it would be for less selective institutions, but just how high does this score have to be? To answer this question, we've compiled a chart of the 25th and 75th percentile scores from all eight Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale) as well as from MIT, UChicago, and Stanford. The chart includes averages of section scores from all the schools as well as the total SAT scores. School Names New SAT 25th %ile Scores New SAT 75th %ile scores EBRW Math TOTAL EBRW Math TOTAL MIT 720 770 1490 770 800 1570 UChicago 730 750 1480 780 800 1580 Harvard 730 730 1460 790 800 1590 Columbia 720 730 1450 780 800 1580 Princeton 710 720 1430 780 790 1570 Dartmouth 710 720 1430 770 790 1560 Yale 710 710 1420 790 800 1590 UPenn 700 720 1420 770 790 1560 Brown 710 700 1410 780 790 1570 Cornell 690 700 1390 760 790 1550 Stanford 690 700 1390 760 780 1540 Average 7 723 1433 775 794 1569 Score data taken from College Board; section scores may not add up to the total score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Tired of wasting time prepping in ways that don't work? We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. It's the best prep program available right now. Best of all, we guarantee your money back if you don't improve your score by 160 points or more. Check out our 5-day free trial today: What Does This Mean For You? Going by our standard recommendations for setting target scores, you’d need to get a 1540 new SAT score to be on par with the top 75% of students admitted to Ivy League Plus schools; students with scores below 1390 on the new SAT are unlikely to be accepted. The school with the largest spread between the 25th and 75th percentile scores is Yale (170 point difference), while the school with the smallest spread is MIT (80 point difference). This is important because it means there’s a lot more SAT score wiggle room for the middle 50% of students who apply to, say, Yale or Brown than there is for students applying to MIT or UChicago. Untitled/used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from orignal. Realistically speaking, few students apply exclusively to Ivy League Plus schools because they are so selective. If you do, you might fail to get into any college at all (this happened to a student a year above me in high school). Plus, a high SAT score doesn’t guarantee you admission to any school; other quantitative measures like GPA also matter a great deal. For example, Harvard’s scatterplot of admitted students for Fall 2016 shows the vast majority of students with a GPA of 3.8 or better out of 4.0. The bottom line: a score of 1540 or above on the SAT means that you are highly competitive for the top schools in the country, while a score of 1390 or below likely shuts you out of most of the Ivy League Plus schools. What’s Next? Are you all fired up about getting into the toughest schools in the country after reading this article? Then you'll love our complete guide on how to get into Harvard and the Ivy League and these two sample recommendation letters that got PrepScholar co-founder Allen Cheng into Harvard (and other Ivy League Plus schools). Want to ensure your SAT prep isn't time wasted? Make sure you're following all the top tips from our article on how to get a perfect SAT score. Took the SAT before March 2016 and not sure how you measure up to students taking the new SAT? Use our Old to New SAT Conversion charts to figure out where you stand. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today!

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 4

International Marketing - Essay Example Because of the wrong interpretation of globalization, many organizations were failed in their attempts to market their products in international market. The best example is the writing equipment manufacturer Parker Pen Company which tried to market their pens all over the world using the same marketing strategies and failed in their attempt. â€Å"Globalization requires many internal modifications like changes in philosophy concerning local autonomy, concern for local operating results rather than corporate performance, local strategies designed for local rather than global competitors etc.† (Marketing across cultures, p.194, n.d) International Marketing strategies need to be tailor made not only for each country, but even for each states or regions based on the cultural, communal, political social and economical differences. In this paper the main focus is limited to the cultural aspects of international marketing alone. â€Å"Technology has been one of the single most powerful driving forces to internationalism† (Global agricultural marketing management) As technology and science advanced, the agricultural and industrial segments have developed immensely in many countries. Developing and developed countries have produced goods more than what they actually required and that forced them to explore international arenas for marketing their surplus products. International marketing has not been evolved over a night. It has gradually came into exist because of the immense technological developments. â€Å"Many global opportunities have arisen because of the clustering of market opportunities worldwide. Organizations have found that similar basic segments exist worldwide and, therefore, can be met with a global orientation† (Global agricultural marketing management) Countries like US though a prominent manufacturer of goods, not a main international marketing player like China because of imm ense domestic requirement of