When three worlds mee essays

When three worlds mee essays At the end of the 15th century, Christopher Columbus began a journey. His journey would set in motion, the cultural collision, of a new world. This new world would now be the new home for Europeans, Africans, and a changed home for Native Americans. The residents of this new world would find comfort in their similarities and difficulty in their differences. But it is in these similarities and differences that will shape and make their new land. The similarities and differences, of these very diverse people, were many. We will focus on their societies, labor practices, religions, cultures, politics, and the relationship of men and women within these topics. These topics themselves are diverse and as we will find the collision of these diverse people helped shape the America we know today. The cultures we recognize today of European, African, and Native American are quite different in comparison from them in the 15th century. The Europeans of that time lived in a patriarchal society, in this society men where the dominant force. The amount of control or power each man had was simply based on their bloodlines. This was a patrilineal way. Your status in society was based on who your father was and the higher your father was on the political ladder, the higher the status, his family would receive. For example, the younger sons of an English noble, who were lacking property at home, were given new land to lord over in the new world. (www.pbs.org) This English nobility feeling of superiority spilled over into their labor practices as well. The labor practices of the Europeans were sexually diverse and often rigid. The men played the dominant role at home. The men were husband, father, farmer, handyman, protector, and provider. While the women were left with mother, wife, entertainer, field hand, maid, and cook. There was a great divide between the sexes. Women did not own property and had few rights...

Octopus Facts

Octopus Facts Octopuses (Octopus spp.) are a family of cephalopods (a subgroup of marine invertebrates) known for their intelligence, their uncanny ability to blend into their surroundings, their unique style of locomotion, and their ability to squirt ink. They are some of the most fascinating creatures in the sea, found in every ocean in the world, and every continents coastal waters. Fast Facts: Octopus Scientific Name: Octopus, Tremoctopus, Enteroctopus, Eledone, Pteroctopus, many othersCommon Name: OctopusBasic Animal Group: InvertebrateSize: 1 inch–16 feetWeight: 1 gram–600 poundsLifespan: One to three yearsDiet:  CarnivoreHabitat: Every ocean; coastal waters in every continentPopulation: There are at least 289 species of octopuses; population estimates are not available for anyConservation Status: Not listed. Description The octopus is essentially a mollusk that lacks a shell but has eight arms and three hearts. Where cephalopods are concerned, marine biologists are careful to distinguish between arms and tentacles. If the invertebrate structure has suckers along its entire length, its called an arm; if it only has suckers at the tip, its called a tentacle. By this standard, most octopuses have eight arms and no tentacles, while two other cephalopods, cuttlefish and squids, have eight arms and two tentacles. All vertebrate animals have one heart, but the octopus is equipped with three: one that pumps blood through the cephalopods body (including the arms), and two that pump blood through the gills, the organs that enable the octopus to breathe underwater by harvesting oxygen. And theres another key difference, too: The primary component of octopus blood is hemocyanin, which  incorporates atoms of copper, rather than hemoglobin, which incorporates atoms of iron. This is why octopus blood is blue rather than red. Octopuses are the only marine animals, apart from whales and pinnipeds, that demonstrate primitive problem-solving and pattern recognition skills. But whatever kind of intelligence these cephalopods possess, its different from the human variety, probably closer to a cat. Two-thirds of an octopuss neurons are located along the length of its arms, rather than its brain, and theres no convincing evidence that these invertebrates are capable of communicating with others of their kind. Still, theres a reason so much science fiction (such as the book and movie Arrival) feature aliens vaguely modeled on octopuses. Octopus skin is covered by three types of specialized skin cells that can quickly change their color, reflectivity, and opacity, allowing this invertebrate to easily blend in with its surroundings. Chromatophores are responsible for the colors red, orange, yellow, brown, and black; leucophores mimic white; and iridophores are reflective, and thus ideally suited to camouflage. Thanks to this arsenal of cells, some octopuses can make themselves indistinguishable from seaweed. Fleetham Dave / Perspectives / Getty Images Behavior A bit like an undersea sports car, the octopus has three gears. If its in no particular hurry, this cephalopod will walk lazily with its arms along the ocean bottom. If its feeling a bit more urgent, it will actively swim by flexing its arms and body. And if its in a real hurry (say, because it has just been spotted by a hungry shark), it will expel a jet of water from its body cavity and zoom away as fast as it possibly can, often squirting a disorienting blob of ink at the same time. When threatened by predators, most octopuses release a thick cloud of black ink, composed primarily of melanin (the same pigment that gives human beings their skin and hair color). This cloud is not simply a visual smoke screen that allows the octopus to escape unnoticed; it also interferes with predators sense of smell.  Sharks, which can sniff small droplets of blood from hundreds of yards away, are especially vulnerable to this type of olfactory attack. Marevision / age fotostock / Getty Images Diet Octopuses are carnivores, and the adults feed on small fishes, crabs, clams, snails, and other octopuses. They typically forage alone and at night, pouncing on their prey and wrapping it in the webbing between their arms. Some octopuses use venom of varying levels of toxicity, which they inject into its prey with a beak similar to a birds; they can also use their beaks to penetrate and crack hard shells. Octopuses are night hunters, and they spend some of their daylight time in dens, generally holes in shell beds or another substrate, vertical shafts sometimes with multiple openings. If the sea floor is stable enough to permit it, they can be as deep as 15 inches or so. Octopus dens are engineered by a single octopus, but they can be reused by later generations and some species are co-occupied by male and female for a few hours.   In laboratory situations, octopuses build dens out of shells (Nautilus, Strombus, barnacles), or artificial terracotta flower pots, glass bottles, PVC tubes, custom blown glass- basically, whatever is available.   Some species have den colonies, clustered in a particular substrate. The gloomy octopus (O. tetricus) lives in communal groups of about 15 animals, in situations where there is ample food, many predators, and few opportunities for den sites. Gloomy octopus den groups are excavated into shell middens, a pile of shells built by the octopuses from prey.   Reproduction and Offspring Octopuses have very short lives, between one and three years, and they are dedicated to raising the next generation. Mating occurs when the male approaches the female: One of his arms, typically the third right arm, has a special tip called hectocotylus which he uses to transfer sperm to the females oviduct. He can fertilize multiple females and females can be fertilized by more than one male.   The male dies shortly after mating; the female looks for a suitable den site and spawns a few weeks later, laying the eggs in festoons, chains which are attached to rock or coral or to the walls of the den. Depending on the species, there can be hundreds of thousands of eggs, and before they hatch, the female guards and cares for them, aerating and cleaning them until they hatch. Within a few days, after they hatch, the mother octopus dies.   Some benthic and littoral species produce a smaller number of larger eggs which house a more highly developed larva. The tiny eggs produced in the hundreds of thousands begin life as plankton, basically, living in a plankton cloud. If they are not eaten by a passing whale, the octopus larva feeds on copepods, larval crabs, and larval seastars, until they are developed enough to sink down to the bottom of the ocean.   An octopus mother fiercely guards her den.   Getty Images Species There are nearly 300 different species of octopus identified to date- more are being identified every year. The largest identified octopus is the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), the full-grown adults of which weigh about 110 pounds or so and have long, trailing, 14-foot-long arms and a total body length of about 16 feet. However, there is some tantalizing evidence of larger-than-usual Giant Pacific octopuses, including one specimen that may have weighed as much as 600 pounds. The smallest (so far) is the star-sucker pygmy octopus (Octopus wolfi), which is smaller than an inch and weighs less than a gram. Most species average the size of the common octopus (O. vulgaris) which grows to between one and three feet and weighs 6.5 to 22 pounds. This bioluminescent pelagic octopus is in the Red Sea at night. Jeff Rotman/Photolibrary/Getty Images Conservation Status None of the octopi are considered endangered by either the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) or the ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. The IUCN has not listed any of the octopuses. Sources Anderson, Roland C., Jennifer A. Maher, and James B. Wood. Octopus: The Oceans Intelligent Invertebrate. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 2010.  Bradford, Alina. Octopus Facts. Live Science / Animals, June 8, 2017.Caldwell, Roy L., et al. Behavior and Body Patterns of the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus. PLOS One 10.8 (2015): e0134152. Print.Courage, Katherine Harmon. Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea. New York: Penguin Group, 2013.  Leite, T. S., et al. Geographic Variability of Octopus Insularis Diet: From Oceanic Island to Continental Populations. Aquatic Biology 25 (2016): 17-27. Print.Lenz, Tiago M., et al. First Description of the Eggs and Paralarvae of the Tropical Octopus, Octopus Insularis, under Culture Conditions. BioOne 33.1 (2015): 101-09. Print.Octopuses, Order Octopoda. The National Wildlife Federation.Octopus Fact Sheet. World Animal Foundation.Scheel, David, et al. Octopus Engineering, Intentional and Inadvertent. Communicative Integrative Biology 1 1.1 (2018): e1395994. Print

Hazardous waste management #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hazardous waste management #2 - Essay Example There are agencies that are given the responsibility of handling such situations. The city councils are government departments that have the directive of having specialists cater to these situations. Marine life is affected in the sense that, any untreated water from the storm water system is transferred to lakes, rivers, stream, or coastal water (Debo & Reese, 2003). Challenges may arise to areas and people in these regions if they do get to use this polluted water sources. Swimming pools, fishing areas, and drinking water may be infected, and thus; all life sustained by such water may be potentially harmed. Material recovered from this site should be disposed of depending on its nature. Battery contents tend to have a high percentage of acidity. If this is exposed to the environment through the water system, there are bound to be dangerous results for all those involved (Debo & Reese, 2003). In this case, a basic solution that can counter the effects of the acidity in the water may be appropriate. There is no perfect way or technique of disposing of the acidity. This, however, may work to decrease its impact toward the immediate environment. A city landfill will not be an appropriate avenue to dispose of this waste. There are metals that are present in the landfill and this waste is likely to corrode any of the waste present. Sulphuric acid, present in car batteries, are likely to ignite and spatter which makes this a highly dangerous reactive material. Pouring the waste through absorbent material may not be a necessarily exceptional idea. These acids tend to react and produce fumes once in contact with different material. Specialists need to identify what is needed, and when it is needed (Debo & Reese, 2003). This may prevent further contamination of the surroundings, hence; protecting human and animal life. There are

Is there an association between Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease Research Paper

Is there an association between Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease and acquisition of Pulmonary Tuberculosis - Research Paper Example This review of literature will discuss about the possible correlation of COPD to the acquisition of pulmonary tuberculosis. COPD is often diagnosed with middle-aged adults. Unlike tuberculosis, this disease isn’t transmissible. Experts opined that there is no available cure yet to the lungs and airway’s damage caused by COPD but treatments and change of lifestyle can slow down the advancement of the disease to help a person get a better health and sustain his active life (Blanc, Flazon, Fitzpatrick, Floyd, Garcia, 2010, p. 1). Medical experts explicated that an infected person will often have difficulties in breathing because the airways and air sacs could drop its elastic ability; the air sacs walls are destroyed; the airways thickened and are inflamed; or the airways produce more mucus than what it’s normally producing (Caballero, Torres-Duque, Jaramillo, Bolivar, Sanabria, 2012, p. 1) Often, COPD disease is prevalent among cigarette smokers and those predispos ed to getting lung infections. Aside from difficulty of breathing, they cough a lot and produce deep wheezing and excessive amount of mucus, thus, tightened the chest and other symptoms (NIH, 2012; Crothers, Butt, Gibert, Rodriuez-Barradas, Crystal, & Justice, 2006, p. 1326). Family members who live with smokers are likely to get second-hand smoke and may acquire COPD or emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is a situation where the lining of the airways is always irritated and inflamed and the lining begins to thicken because of the irritation and subsequent coughing. In emphysema, air sacs, which are found at the end of bronchial tubes, lose their elasticity and the walls where the oxygen and gas exchanges occur, break down and are destroyed. Airways can also get clogged over time, creating a very dangerous situation in breathing for people. In essence, at its worst example, people are suffocating to death (NIH 2012). As COPD affect the lungs, so its tuberculosis. Un like COPD, tuberculosis is a contagious disease and the transmission could be airborne. Like COPD, if not cured, could lead to the early demise of patient. In similar context as that of COPD, the country is also plagued with numerous cases of tuberculosis that is estimated to have reached the population of 10 to 15 million people of infection. At a global scale, TB has already killed an estimated 1. 9 million people annually. Health experts reported that nearly a third of the global population is affected with pulmonary TB. Both COPD and tuberculosis affect the lungs and offer similar threats to the life of the person affected with it. Both are deadly, if not cured. As it paralyzes a person from taking an active lifestyle if not medicated, victims or those who choose to become victims of this illness will seriously impact their economic well-being and consequently become a social burden too. The stigma embed in tuberculosis could only be dealt when the family and the patient underst ood the need to undergo six months medication to mitigate the advancement of this disease. Health advocates professed that the only way to resolve this health concern is early detection and treatment to gain tuberculosis control. Based on statistical data of the World Health Organization, one-third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. The pandemic has reached an alarming figure of 8.7 million people under new cases of TB

Elder Mistreatment Essay Example for Free

Elder Mistreatment Essay Old age is generally a time for great life changes, stresses, and multiple losses for a maturing adult. An individual’s capacity to manage stress fluctuates with age. There are optimism and positive energy in youth, along with physical stamina to meet demands of life and cope up with conflict. With advancing age, and consequent physical illness, bereavement and fears, people suffer a deterioration of their mental stamina in negotiating challenges of life (Gonzalez et al. , 1988, 15). With an increasing sense of loneliness and insecurity about life, aging adult face a completely different level of problems that relate more to continuity, meaning and purposefulness of life, rather than meeting its material accomplishments. Elder mistreatment: Definition Defining elder mistreatment requires due consideration of a number of factors that vary from victim profiles to type and degree of abuse. Therefore to standardize its definition, elder mistreatment has been described as a process that starts with being overwhelmed that leads to abuse, mistreatment and neglect that causes suffering and pain for the victim (Johnson, 1991). Elder mistreatment deals with such issues as maltreatment, neglect, abuse, domestic violence, conflict and lapse in care management and physical and financial exploitation (Elder Abuse). Despite all the health management plans the fact remains that elder people are very vulnerable when it comes to health care. They are easily susceptible to diseases, illness, injuries, and psychological traumas that are consequences of aging (Pillemer and Wolf, 1986). These circumstances lead to abuse owing to isolation of According to national surveys, more than 49 percent of elder population reports abuse that range from neglect in providing basic amenities such as food, water, medicines, shelter, clothing, and timely medical treatment to denial of emotional and psychological support (Elder Abuse) With significant increase in America’s elder population, providing adequate elder care at family, social, and institutional level has become a major issue. The public conscience level for the major problems facing old age people are neglect, mistreatment and mismanagement in care related aspects has seen greater academic research to find out the causative factors behind elder neglect and mistreatment. Precipitators in elder mistreatment Contrary to the general perception of American family as one that is caring, considerate and loving towards its elder members, researches in elder neglect and abuse have shown that most of the neglect and mistreatment is inflicted at the hands of close family members (Pillemer and Wolf, 1986). In a report by National Elder Abuse Incidence Study on elder abuse, it was shown that majority of abuse on people aged 60 or more takes place in domestic quarters at hands of family members (Bergeron and Gray, 2003). Close relatives such as siblings, children and in several cases even spouses have been found to be responsible for neglect and abuse. Earlier conceptions of families being a safe heaven for elderly population received setback as definition of neglect broadened to comprise sensitive issues of psychological support, emotional care, empathy and understanding (Douglass et al, 1984). An issue of grave concern is the findings pointing to elder abuse and mistreatment taking place at professional health care and nursing institutions by nursing staff that is specifically trained for taking adequate care of elderly people (Johnson, 1991) Types of mistreatment afflicting elders Elder population suffers a wide range of mistreatment and abuse. The major types of mistreatments as described at Elder Abuse Help Guide are 1. Physical abuse of Elders: It includes physically maltreating old people, assaulting, beating, pushing, using physical restraints and manhandling. Physical abuse is relatively a rare phenomenon.   2.  Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse of elders includes verbal or non verbal expression of disconcert, insult, blame, verbal harassment, ridicule, intimidation, and yelling on part of care takers. Emotional mistreatment is one of most frequent and commonly occurring abuse that elders suffer throughout the nation. 3. Neglect: Elder neglect involves ignorance of basic needs and requirements of aged people, lack of shelter, absence of supervision and monitoring, deliberate delay or denial in providing medical care and inadequate personal and hygienic care. 4. Emotional Neglect: Emotional neglect leads to severe stress among old people.  They are deliberately ignored, left to fend for themselves, not taken care of in such activities in which they require support and help of care-takers. 5. Financial Abuse: Elders are often abused financially by exploiting their financial resources and denying them the privileges of their own assets. Elders subjected to financial abuse are often deliberately isolated from rest of world by their caretakers to avoid exposure and detection of their fraud. Financial abuse of elders is a common occurrence when elders are not staying with their blood-relatives but with near relatives or friends. Reasons and warnings of abuse In the researches in elder abuse, a pertinent focus of researchers has been on the causes that lead people to inflict abuse and mistreatment on people that are vulnerable, dependent and in need of love, care and emotional and often material support (Johnson, 1991). Finding the reasons for abuse becomes critical as it also acts as pointer to possible cases of abuses and mistreatment in many social and community settings where cases of abuse are not reported out of their sensitive nature. In explaining the cause of abuse, Bonnie and Wallace (2002) have presented a detailed socio-cultural model that identifies underlying processes in abuse Overview of model of elder mistreatment Meanwhile extensive research by a number of academicians and scholars has further helped to create a structured profile of abuser. An elderly person may be undergoing abuse or is highly susceptible for it when the caretakers show psychopathological tendencies, trans-generational discrepancies, stressful life, economic hardships, burnout, drug-dependency, drinking problem, degree of dependence that is greater than care takers’ ability to handle, coercive and dominating nature of caretaker, inexperience, lack of sympathy and inability to feel empathy (Anetzberger , 1987; Anastasio , 1981;Johnson, 1991). Elders may also be suffering abuse if they show constant fear of their care-giver, if there is a confrontational atmosphere around, and if they are get suddenly isolated, uncommunicative and pensive. Preventing Elder Abuse It is a poignant fact that elders themselves can do little in preventing their abuse. In case of people who are completely dependent on care-givers, such as Alzheimer’s patients and terminally ill patients, their survival depends on the care-givers and hence they rarely report abuse incidents out of fear of antagonizing their care-givers. Therefore to prevent elder abuse requires a broad program that should focus on development of services for elderly care, training sessions for care givers, initiation and integration of family members in the elderly care programs. Moreover, it is vital to pass the message that adequate, compassionate and empathic care of elders is a holistic issue, one that has long term defining impact on social culture and ethics.

Johann Sebastian Bach Essay -- Essays Papers

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21st 1685. He is the son of Johann Ambrosius. For many years, members of the Bach family had held positions such as organists, town instrumentalists, or Cantors. When Bach was eight years old he went to the old Latin Grammar School. He was taught reading and writing, Latin grammar, and a great deal of scripture, both in Latin and German. The boys in the school formed the choir of the St. Georgenkirche. This also gave Bach an opportunity to sing in the regular services, as well as in the nearby villages. He has an uncommonly fine treble voice. During this period Bach attended the Gymnasium of Ohrdruf, which had become one of the most progressive schools in Germany. He had made great progress in Latin, Greek, theology, and had reached the top form at a very early age. It was his excellent soprano voice that found Bach a position in the choir of the wealthy Michaelis monastery at Luneburg, which was known to provide a free place for boys who were poor but had musical talent. At the end of 1703, Bach took up his post at the small town of Arnstadt. He was no doubt thrilled about having his own very large organ of two manuals and twenty-three speaking stops. He also had the responsibility of providing music for his own congregation. In 1707 Bach went to Muhlhausen to take up the post of organist to the town. Unfortunately, a quarter of the whole town was hit by a...

Lending a Helping Hand

Lending hand can mean a variety of things for many people. It can mean help to get out of a financial bind, coming alongside another for a time of grief, or just being there for somebody. But most of us lend a hand to another for the purpose of seeing how one can help another in a specific situation.Especially in time when what one knows can help in the predicament of another. One of my reasons seeking admission in your program is to do just that.In my seven years in the New York City Department of Education, one of my duties has been to conduct visitations to the parents of children that have proven to difficult. These children usually come from backgrounds and stations in life that would other people ask â€Å"Why Bother? But that is where the motivation comes in for me to seek admission into your program. It's to make people understand the lives of these children are worth something.In this line of work, it is imperative that I can get a backgrounder of the children's behavior fr om the parents or guardians of these children. This would allow me to better assess the patterns of the child in relation to his various environments.Factors such as school and social life, I believe, have a great bearing on the behavior of these children. But with the knowledge I already possess, I should have a better chance at the reformation of the child should I gain entry into your program.When the case is usually presented, some people are often times just ready to give up on these children. Many people would just rationalize that these children are born to be at the low rungs of society, ending up either as beggars or criminals. But my vocation is not just to give up on them. I try hard to get them on the right track. But what is exactly the right track?For them, the first step in finding the path is talking to them. It's a big step for them to open up on the reasons that they drop out of schooling. The parents, too, have a large part in the reformation of the child. I make it a point to challenge the parents of these children to be positive influences on the lives of these children.Some may think that what I do is tiring, exasperating and down right frustrating. At some times, I would tend to agree. The many times that I talk to children and parents would tend to frustrate even the best of people. Especially when you see the efforts, the sheer amount of it, just end up in smoke. But to me, it's just not a job. If I sound a bit on the ethereal, I do find what I do to be a calling of sorts.Usually, people would connote a calling to be of a grander design. A calling would tend to make people think of going on some mission in life, away from civilization and the perks and benefits of this life to be with the down trodden and less fortunate. But how does getting children to go back to school be a calling? For me, it is a calling.If your office would office would consider my personal circumstance, most of what is apparent that apart from the house visits th at I regularly conduct with the parents of truant children, most of the facts are in the area of clerical, administrative or research work. But these credits, I believe, would prepare me in earnest to help more children if I get accepted into your program. How? I believe that your program is looking for students not just good in academics, but learners and doers.Brain knowledge and experience are, to me, two vastly opposite ends for learning. Just getting into program with just the expressed desire to acquire more brain knowledge is not a trait that I would want to carry into my field. Yes, accumulating knowledge is important in correctly doing the task that is set before an individual. But I believe that with my experience and the knowledge that I know I will gain in your program will allow me to be better at my calling.It is also mentioned in my personal circumstance that I also assist in the education of children with special needs. The children in this area are of need of extra care and attention. This is another area that I would like to improve on with the knowledge that I would gain should I gain entry into your program. But what would be the relationship of mostly clerical and administrative work in the final output?Academics, I believe, are an essential part in the execution of any program designed to help any individual. Without the knowledge gained in school, it would be difficult to be effective in any endeavor one has set out to do. But is the attainment of a degree of academic knowledge the answer in helping these children? Should that be the only basis?My advantage would be that in addition to the knowledge that I know I will gain in the event that I am accepted into your program, that knowledge will be accompanied by years of first-hand experience that I already possess.The many instances and incidents of helping and aiding children, whether to get back into school or helping them in finding suitable alternatives to formal schooling, or explain ing to the parents of special needs children their individual education plans, should serve me in good stead if I am chosen to get into your program.Why the passion in helping these children? I must also point out that I am a mother of two young boys, with one of them, my 5 year old suffering from a speech disability. This everyday first hand experience of seeing my child being helped along as he gets better from his impairment, has bolstered my resolve and conviction that I can be of greater use to other children if I combine my years of experience with further study available through your program. It is my fervent desire that should be humbly among those accepted into your program.

Foreign Aid as a tool for Foreign Policy

Foreign aid is defined as voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another country, at times as leverage to cohorts the receiving country do what the donor country wants. But it may be given as a signal of diplomatic approval, or to strengthen a military ally, to reward a government for behavior desired by the country giving the aid, to extend the donor's cultural influence, or to gain political strength here at home as abroad. According to the USAID website, foreign aid is given through eight different types of monetary assistance. These eight different forms of assistance are agriculture, democracy and governance, economic growth and trade, environment, education and training, global health, global partnerships, and humanitarian assistance. From 1980 to 2008, U. S. total foreign assistance has increased from 9. 69 billion to just over 49 billion in 2008. From the 49 billion spent in 2008 alone, close to 15. 5 billion was spent on military aid while the rest was divided between economic assistance in fields such as agriculture, international development, and other economic growth and trade programs. The largest recipients of the two foreign aid subdivisions, military and economic aid, went respectively to the regions of the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. The country in the Middle East with the highest recipient of aid was Afghanistan, with close to 9 of the 49 billion dollars of aid in the 2008 year alone (USAID, 2013. ) As we can see a lot of our tax payer’s money goes abroad to countries many American cannot find on a world map, but we need to help these countries for the safety of our people, at least in the eyes of every politicians in office. American liberals, as described by Bob Burnett of the Huffington Post, fall between two primary types of camps that determine their views of U. S. Foreign Aid. Idealists and realist camps, focus on the need for international humanitarian aid which is similar to our own domestic welfare on a national level (Burnett, 2006. ) They tend to favor foreign aid as a means to educate and develop relationships through cooperation and financial funding. Other far left liberal groups discourage military spending while encouraging to increase social programs internationally. They believe that poverty stricken countries in need of assistance otherwise known as â€Å"Third World† countries are indebted to other countries which lead to their current status as reported on the Green Party Platform (GPP, 2000. ) As a primary focus to foreign aid and success to developing nations is the assistance to increase food production, availability to clean drinking water, reduction of infant mortality, and improvements toward health by means of the green revolution. Lastly, they utilize terms of humanitarian aid as to be consistent with their egalitarian values. In recent discussion to reform the current foreign aid policy, Democratic representative Howard Berman introduces a reform proposal â€Å"Global Partnership Act of 2012† to replace the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act. This policy would restore budget functions towards the USAID and develop new funding mechanisms focused on innovation, microenterprise development, and rapid humanitarian response, and reduce violence against women (Mungcal, 2012. In addition, this policy would focus on reduction of global poverty, accelerated economic growth, agricultural innovation, advancement in health, combating diseases, global education strategy, gender equality, assistance to persons that have been affected by conflict or disaster, and monitoring/investing towards sustaining upward success and control of financing through government regulations (HR, 2012. ) Thus, they create a more specific rational belief to solve foreign issues utilizing our government system to regulate. When observing the implementers of the USAID they have nearly 2,000 experienced employees (USAID, 2013. Other proposals by liberals represented by the Green Party express international solidarity maintaining peace and security through a global green deal. This particular deal will concentrate finances on universal education, food, sanitation and purified water, health care, and family services for every person on Earth. This particular proposal â€Å"Fund Global Basic Human Needs† would gain funding by retiring the military from our economy and closing all overseas military bases In addition, eliminate the CIA, NSA, and all other covert Warfare in order to reallocate funding towards aid. Lastly, this platform would eliminate debt from poverty stricken countries thus creating emphasizing their egalitarian beliefs (GPP, 2000. ) Another foreign aid announced by President Barack Obama is the Global Health Initiative that would continue to develop from the pre-existing program by President Bush, President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. This continued improving program will expand to other countries instead of only Africa, it would encourage prevention, care, and treatment while strengthening government partnership and invest in research internationally to maximize outcomes (UNAIDS, 2009. In addition, they seek to reduce higher statistics of disease contraction and mortality of women and children while strengthening global health partnerships. Based upon the ideological spectrum of liberal beliefs, through their core value of rationalism they exhibit faith in human reason to solve complex problems that cause poverty in third world countries. By creating regulatio ns, education about health and finances, and encouraging progress towards mutual goals through the Global Partnership Act of 2012, liberals believe that underprivileged countries will progressively develop towards sustainability based upon human rationale. As an egalitarian belief, liberals from the Green Party believe and promote human equality by their party platform of universal health care for every person on the planet which indicates equal treatment by means of education, health, and services. They promote internationalism by means of equal treatments towards other countries and foreign aid reform of the PEPFAR towards all countries instead of the countries within the African continent. Moreover, liberals seek change as soon as possible which led to the speedy approval of PEPFAR and Africa’s request for assistance in regards to immediate medical attention and assistance. Therefore, the liberals utilize the government as a strong feature to decide and guide towards our faith in solving socioeconomic problems internationally while attempting to cultivate foreign governments with their ideology. Lastly, they value their belief of individual liberties and encourage the development of foreign countries so that their citizens will be treated fairly and just by their government. When approaching foreign aid as a contemporary American conservative, they utilize the term foreign policy as opposed to aid as a reference of government action rather than a community decision. They seem to favor foreign policy by means of military and health care; however, the primary goal is to develop relationships with foreign countries to prevent conflicts. Although they discuss creating trade agreements and forming partnerships, they seem to be strategizing in terms of security and protection for America. In regards to funding, conservatives don’t seem to favor the idea of increasing tax spending towards foreign aid and seek to reform due to their subjective views on failed results. Therefore, they view investment towards a flawed foreign policy will lead to more spending in military forces to protect America from unstable countries. Moreover, I feel that conservatives have a strong belief in nationalism and would want to share this system by encouraging other undeveloped countries to conform to our system. As a conservative perspective towards foreign aid, our government allocates tax payers funding towards the Millennium Challenge Corporation or MCC which would utilize a procedural form of selecting certain countries by means of performance while being evaluated by a board and executed by 300 employees (MCC, 2013. The criteria would be based upon whether or not they can compete with other countries in regards to Gross National Income of low or middle class sustaining, improving their quality and performance as a country, or graduating with a year If there are no signs of improvement or potential, they would not be eligible for the next year and be left to thei r own elements. The form of criteria emphasizes a value of elitism on the competitive national level. Basically, if a certain country is not deemed successful due to lack of intellect, strength of its citizens, or ability to overcome poverty then we decline assistance. In another perspective, we can view our system of criteria and success based on the survival of the fittest which is a value of inequality. In addition, the goals of the MCC are to leave the responsibility of the foreign government to facilitate their own success towards growth in health and agriculture, create partnerships, and property rights (MCC 2013. ) We basically leave their government in the faith of the invisible hand to guide their success rather than micro managing their success by means of government. Lastly we encourage property and individual right through the investment policy to reduce poverty. As discussed by James Roberts a researcher for International Trade and Economics, â€Å"MCC's selectivity and associated seal of approval creates powerful incentives for developing countries to uphold democratic and free-market principles, invest responsibly in their citizens, and transition their economies from developing to emerging markets† (Roberts, 2013. ) He encourages a core value of faith in non-human institutions by means of a free market rather than government controlled. In addition, the MCC encourages national accountability towards developing democratic reform and trade policies thus validating their values within nationalism. In a recent proposed foreign aid budget, Josh Riggin reports, â€Å"The long-term budget announced on Tuesday by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan would cut the budget for international affairs and foreign assistance by 29 percent in 2012 and 44 percent by 2016 while increasing the defense budget by 14 percent over the same timeframe† (Rogin, 2011. Basically, he would be increasing the current spending bill on defense of 22 billion to 583 billion for national defense and security while decreasing national affairs from 37 billion to 22 billion. This validates the characteristic of the need to increase spending on defense or authority and stability with conservatives. Moreover, the decrease in foreign aid would be left at the hands of faith in non-human institutions. In a report by U. S. World News, Evan Moore and Patrick Christy claim â€Å"Aid is hard power. It is a weapon the United States uses to strengthen allies [and partners] and, thus, ourselves. (Moore & Christy, 2013. ) In this statement, they value a sense of authority, stability, and order in regards to security with military. However, due to sequestration to cut foreign aid, conservatives believe that it will avoid assistance towards promoting national security and create instability in weak states as well as on a global level. Basically, foreign aid directed towards developing a country will hinder strategic investment with allies in military which is the primary goal. As a statement towards nationalism, Gary Connor publisher of Palestine. Herald-Press, he claims that the U. S spends billions of tax payers’ money every year on foreign aid while we continue to be underfunded on a national level primarily with disaster relief, education, and border security (Connor, 2013. ) His conservative belief opposes internationalism while focusing on America as the priority versus developing countries that may not be contributing to our society. In addition, he emphasizes a sense of elitism in the aspect of the funding that was gained by tax payers should be used towards the tax payers despite the harsh reality underdeveloped countries. As a primary characteristic of a conservative, their primary worries in regards to the foreign aid policy are the unintended consequences. As reported by Thomas Eddlem contributor to The New American publication, â€Å"US foreign aid programs often funded autocratic regimes that have committed human rights abuses and stand against democratic principles† (Eddlem, 2013. ) In other words, American funding towards foreign aid has become the financing for their government to oppress and control opposing voices. Another report claims American aid to Egypt purchases in the last 30 years towards their regime that performs torture and brutality. The challenge to foreign aid is whether or not we have implemented proper authorities to ensure foreign aid given by America’s tax payers are being utilized effectively. Due to the conservatives lack of confidence in the government’s ability to create progressive results using the tax payers money, conservatives state that â€Å"Billions of American dollars from faith-based and other charitable, academic, and humanitarian groups go to the needy overseas every year and have far better results than government ODA† (Roberts, 2013. Although conservatives may seem reluctant to push towards foreign aid, their support through religious charity groups emphasizes a faith in non-human institutions. Contemporary American moderates would approach foreign aid in a collaborative value between conservatives and liberals; however, they would primarily compromise their beliefs to coincide with the current status quo. They would probably continue keep a balance of spending to aid foreign countries by means of finances and health assistance, but to primarily remain conscious as to prevent from leaning towards focus on the government for all assistance and seeking private donations as well. In addition, they would probably continue the traditional USAID form of foreign aid and balance with the new updated approach of the MCC or to combine both of these programs. In recent alternative propositions by the Foreign Service Despatches and Periodic Reports on U. S. Foreign Policy by Dobransky, he considers multiple alternatives in the views of moderates. The first policy would be to maintain U. S. foreign aid by continuing to utilize USAID and the recent version MCC. In the perspective of Americans, both forms of aid have been approved and criticized openly by multiple parties; however, they are both still being utilized and approved by congress as the usual form of application (Dobransky, 2011. The second alternative would be to merge both programs of the USAID and MCC which would primarily cause shared mass information to the public and be able to whittle down flaws and target areas of success to increase efficacy. Moreover, there would be one organization as opposed to two leading groups that oppose each other’s’ views despite a common goal. A proposition brought on by the Green Party that would encourage a global deal to fund tow ards education, food, and other basic needs to every human on this planet by means of American tax payers. Sounds like a truly selfless proposal; however, the majority of Americans would not want to place all resources and hard earned money to the rest of the world. This would probably exhaust America’s budget and would be impossible to ensure that every single person is receiving the same exact treatment. In addition, America would not want to sacrifice closing overseas military bases which would place our country in a higher and much vulnerable state due to weak security. When evaluating the MCC policy, they emphasize a rich value in elitism by means of leaving these countries to their own device. If we are investing in these particular countries by means of our tax payer’s money, we would want to see positive results by means of guidance and American political perspective to decrease poverty and social ills rather than finance countries then leave them to figure out how to succeed. In addition, with the amount billions of dollars spent to aid other countries we can afford to increase representatives of the limited 300 employees of MCC in order to properly work side by side with invested countries. Politicians in America use Foreign Aid as a weapon to achieve what they want from other countries, but they do not really see the real problems that this help causes in poor countries, or at least they act as they do not see it. For example Foreign Aid causes major corruption and even more poverty. The governments in poor countries do not really care about the people and they are not design like the government in the United States. If we follow the history of Foreign Aid, we can see that every time we help a country, we always end up fighting that country at one point or another. Foreign Aid should be limited and the US should hold the countries that received aid accountable for how they use it. Millions of dollars are lost in fraudulent contracts and misuse by the receiving governments, we do not have a saying in how these governments can use our hard earn money. For the US government to continue having the approval of the people in foreign aid help, it needs to fix the requirements for who qualifies to receive foreign aid, and also when to use foreign aid as a tool for foreign policy.

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The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed Sunday in the northern city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. Residents said the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead were mostly civilians. But by the American account, the battle was the bloodiest combat reported since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led invasion. On Monday, assailants ambushed a U.S. military convoy with small arms fire about 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing one soldier, the U.S. military said. The U.S. military said attackers in Samarra, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's Fedayeen paramilitary force, struck at two U.S. convoys at opposite sides of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. Capt. Andy Deponai, whose tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said the guerrillas had deployed about 30-40 men near each of the two banks where the new currency was being delivered. "It was a large group of people," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. "Are we looking at this one closely? Yes. Is this something larger than we've seen over the past couple of months? Yes. Are we concerned about it? We'll look at it and take appropriate measures in future operations." Deponai said he was surprised by the scale of the attack. "Up to now you've seen a progression - initially it was hit and run, single RPG shots on patrols, then they started doing volley fire, multiple RPG ambushes, and then from there this is the first well-coordinated one," he said. "Here, it seems they had the training to stand and fight," Deponai said. The scars of the battle were evident Monday. About a dozen cars lay destroyed in the streets, many apparently crushed by tanks, and bullet holes pocked many buildings. A rowdy crowd gathered at one spot, chanting pro-Saddam slogans. One man fired warning shots in the air wh... Free Essays on Bills Free Essays on Bills The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed Sunday in the northern city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. Residents said the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead were mostly civilians. But by the American account, the battle was the bloodiest combat reported since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led invasion. On Monday, assailants ambushed a U.S. military convoy with small arms fire about 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing one soldier, the U.S. military said. The U.S. military said attackers in Samarra, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's Fedayeen paramilitary force, struck at two U.S. convoys at opposite sides of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. Capt. Andy Deponai, whose tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said the guerrillas had deployed about 30-40 men near each of the two banks where the new currency was being delivered. "It was a large group of people," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. "Are we looking at this one closely? Yes. Is this something larger than we've seen over the past couple of months? Yes. Are we concerned about it? We'll look at it and take appropriate measures in future operations." Deponai said he was surprised by the scale of the attack. "Up to now you've seen a progression - initially it was hit and run, single RPG shots on patrols, then they started doing volley fire, multiple RPG ambushes, and then from there this is the first well-coordinated one," he said. "Here, it seems they had the training to stand and fight," Deponai said. The scars of the battle were evident Monday. About a dozen cars lay destroyed in the streets, many apparently crushed by tanks, and bullet holes pocked many buildings. A rowdy crowd gathered at one spot, chanting pro-Saddam slogans. One man fired warning shots in the air wh...

Pronounce the Spanish R

Pronounce the Spanish R The Spanish letter R is easy to pronounce but is often mispronounced by English speakers. Here are some tips for getting it right. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10 minutes Heres How: Keep in mind that there are two R sounds in Spanish: the single R sound and the double R (or RR) sound.Keep in mind that the single R sound is used whenever the single R appears in a word, except when its at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S, when the RR sound is used.Keep in mind that the Spanish R doesnt have the distinctive R sound of English. Think of it as a separate letter entirely.Remember that the single R is pronounced with a single flap of the tongue against the roof of mouth.Say these words rapidly as you would if they were English words, and with the accent on the first syllable: peddo, pahdah, cahdah.Congratulate yourself. You have approximately pronounced the Spanish words pero (but), para (for) and cara (face).Note similarly that in English many words that have T or TT between vowels have the same sound, which is different than the T in today. Examples are cattle, bitter and attic.Practice using the same sound in other positions. For example, to say primo ( cousin), rapidly say pdee-mo, but pronounce the d by hitting your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Again congratulate yourself. Youre on your way to learning this sound.You can hear the r pronounced by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the r . Words spoken in that lesson are pero (but), caro (expensive), primo (cousin), tres (three), seà ±or (Mr.) and hablar (to speak).You can also get advice from About.com readers on pronouncing the r. Tips: Try to imitate the sound of the R as it is pronounced by native speakers.Dont even be tempted to pronounce the R as it is pronounced in English.

Fashion and consumer science Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 2

Fashion and consumer science - Term Paper Example The essay "Fashion and consumer science" discovers the consumerism and fashion. The research question would be primarily based on the present consumer perception of the fashion counterfeit industry and the factors influencing their purchase decisions. The research objective would seek to present the benefits which the research would result in. The literature review would throw insight into the global trends in the sector and its implications on society. This is complemented by exploring the impacts of the business in the job market. The research would then conduct a hypothesis testing for the project. The research methodology chosen for the purpose would include both qualitative and quantitative methods. The several contributions that the dissertation would contribute to the literature would be presented as managerial and theoretical contributions or implications. Finally the major learning points from the research would be presented in the project. The project brings forth a compreh ensive view of the counterfeit fashion industry and the menace that it creates across the world. This is not a problem which is limited to few product and product categories, rather it has emerged a global phenomena affecting numerous industries. It can also have devastating effects on the society and its people. The report presents the menacing effects that this phenomenon has on society, the factors influencing the same and the means that may be adopted by the genuine fashion brands for protecting it. The clandestine nature of the activity makes it hard to obtain any accurate statistics on the same. However, copyright industries in USA have claimed that this sector remain subjected to huge losses. Counterfeit clothing and other items in the fashion world have predominantly prevalent in Europe. The most common technique of counterfeiting is by importing clothing and then attaching labels in one of the states which is followed by releasing the product for sales in some other state. The process gains from the goods freely moving across the borders. Most nations have demonstrated transactions in the sector and some of them have even evolved notorious in the field of production and exporting of fake products. Information provided by the European Union and United States have shown insight into the extent of such transactions and their impacts on society (Vithlani, 1997, p.4). Research Questions Since the project seeks to explore the factors influencing consumer’s behavior towards buying counterfeit fashion products, the research question has been developed based on the above idea. Even after having complete knowledge of the counterfeit fashion business, consumers are tempted towards buying the products. Moreover, such behavior of consumers also influences his preference for buying luxury brands. The project tries to explore both of the above aspects of consumer behavior. The research questions are as follows: Why consumers purchase the counterfeit fashion p roducts even after having knowledge of the same? When and how do counterfeits influence the genuine item consumers’ preference for luxury brands? Research Objectives This research would demonstrate that consumers’