Bewitched Discussion

One of the strongest and perhaps oldest emotions of mankind is fear, and the most intriguing fear is the fear of the unknown. The idea of fear inspires classic and contemporary writers to explore the things that cannot be seen or fully comprehended by human understanding, from the element of fear of the unknown to the exploration of something metaphysical that motivates detachment from life. One of the common themes in relation to fear that is explored in â€Å"Bewitched† is the subject of supernatural.Classified under the supernatural genre, the Bewitched story by Ueda Akinari can be compared to the story of the â€Å"Beauty or the Beast† in contemporary literature where animals are used symbolically to imply something significant about the literature. However, the woman who turned out to be a snake in â€Å"Bewitched† is deeper and harder to explain than the man who became a beast in â€Å"Beauty and the Beast. † This is because the stories of the Japane se writer Akinari were made during 18th century where religion was highly discussed and debated.Human awareness regarding religion or divinity was very limited. In fact, the author’s religious conviction and orientation about paganism is reflected in his works. In a way, the story of â€Å"bewitched† is also like the story of the falling angel â€Å"Lucifer. † Bewitched is aesthetically unique and creative because Akinari initially and creatively delved into how to twist something wonderful into something unappealing yet stimulating.However, aside from this, there are presently limited stories that are similar to Akinari’s Bewitched story. Even in the early 20th century in the West, contemporary literature explored the topic of politics and societal concerns as a means of social movement for public awakening. Most of the contemporary literary pieces nowadays under the horror genre do not touch on the topic of supernatural kind; rather, most of them deal w ith the horrifying side of human nature.

Methodism, the most astonishing eruption in the eighteenth century history of religion, was an anomaly

The eighteenth century is commonly viewed by historians as a period of decline for the Anglican establishment which suffered increasing losses in its authority over local parishes and failing to respond adequately to the changing society of the early industrial age and challenges over the nature of religion and its role in the lives of individuals. In the 1740s, Samuel Wesley and his sons began to preach outside the confines of the Church, advocating a more voluntary approach to religious devotion and encouraging increased involvement of laymen in the work of the parish. Methodism was effectively born out of societies set up to integrate the church into the community, but in carrying voluntarism to its logical conclusion, argues Gilbert, such a movement would naturally come into conflict with the establishment by offering an alternative to the prescribed methods of religious practise and undermining the ministerial authority and organising machinery of the Church. Although the Wesley family were conservative Tories and John Wesley, who was to become the leading Methodist figure, always expressed a keen desire to remain within Anglicanism, he told a inaugural conference in 1744 that Methodism would either leave the whole church or â€Å"be thrust out of it† Whether the Methodists were in essence a radical or conservative group was at the time, and remains a much debated topic. In an essay on Methodism, Dissent and Political Stability2, Gilbert argues that it was in fact both. Methodism was a means of taking a stand against prescribed religion and the status quo of social organisation through the withdrawal of status respect and assertion of freedom. Methodism was in effect a radical means of political and social protest in an era of new ideas and social instability, epitomised abroad by the violent revolutions in France, and yet the movement was unobtrusive in its politics and the moderate nature of this radicalism had a stabilising effect on society, acting as a â€Å"safety valve† that contained tension and helped avoid the polarisation of opinions. Looking at the religious history of other European nations, Methodism is quite the anomaly, a dissenting movement, cast out of the Anglican Church that eventually serves to prop up the traditional order. Weakness in the Anglican establishment dated back to the reformation, which had been a break away from authority from Rome, but had also meant an increase in secular authority over the ecclesiastical, through the judicial courts, some tithe taxes and rights of patronage. Though the clerical influence in national politics and in local parishes was still strong, it was no longer as an independent body, but in conjunction with secular authorities. Loss of influence in the upper echelons of power, with monarchs of differing faith on the throne and the abbots losing their majority in the Lords was coupled with strain on authority in the parishes through lack of adequate funding or dynamism. The demographic boom of the late eighteenth century and the breakdown of the traditional parish based organisation of ancien regime society with the increase in manufacturing towns left many outside the network of pastoral oversight, as Ward notes, this and toleration laws paved the way for eager dissenters to exert influence3. However, the first half of the century is more commonly characterised by a mood of religious apathy. Numbers attending Anglican services were declining, but Gilbert argues, Protestant dissent was also in a state of atrophy in 1740. Looking at statistics, this could be seen as a dramatic turning point in the history of religious dissent, but it must be remembered that after new toleration acts were passed it became necessary for all groups to register, nevertheless, this was a period when old dissenting movements were being surpassed by the new evangelicals, who could serve the community where the Anglican church could no longer cope. Naturally there was a certain discontinuity of dissent, with different traditions declining and growing in different patterns across the country. The chapel movement was one that responded to local needs, in some areas lay societies along evangelical lines were even encouraged by the local clergy, but the most prominent groups inevitably sprang up where the church was least effective and inevitably would become a source of conflict with the establishment. The evangelical revival of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was above all a popular movement, and with no central driving force, it is difficult to define the limits of the movement. Dissenters within the orthodoxy of the Church had existed before, but a newfound zeal, enthusiastic conversion methods and a more coherent programme now developed into a single, if multiform, religious phenomenon. Although there were divisions between Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists and Independents, they were not fundamental. All relied on lay preachers and the centrality of village communities to spread their message of voluntary piety, based around the family and spiritual equality, whereby all could receive salvation through faith and good works. Methodism can perhaps be characterised by its system of connexion networks that linked dissenting groups across the country. Wesley had hoped to unite his movement through the Anglican ministers and in 1764 had sent fifty letters appealing for a unity of purpose, but receiving only three replies, realised he would have to unite and organise his followers outside the clergy. The strength of the movement however, was not in a system of alliances, but its dynamism. Methodism was a movement that spread rapidly through expansionist missionary societies, and Wesley's followers breached the movement further away from the church by demanding that its preachers should be able to give communion. A 1793 conference voted that members of a society who were unanimous in their desire to receive the sacrament from their preacher might do so. Ward questions whether this was a case of the preachers following the flock, or the scheming of radical ministers to use the Methodist congregations to spread their radical political ideas. Samuel Bradburn was one such minister who introduced ideas of unbounded liberty and the Rights of Man into his sermons, but he shunned Kilham, an even more defiant political Methodist, casting doubt on any suggestion of a central political aim. In the 1790s, social tensions were reaching boiling point. Evangelical societies attracted dissenters at all social levels, even at court, where many independent politicians, clergymen and intellectuals deserted George III and headed a campaign as a Unitarian group for reforms to free trade and end slavery, believing in free enquiry and social progress. Among the lower social orders there was a backlash against the increasing number of dissenters and riots broke out, prompted by food shortages but also calling for â€Å"Church and King† and were largely unhindered by the clergy and magistrates of the old order. It is important to remember that while the growth of evangelical movements was significant, it still only affected a small proportion of the population, with many remaining ambivalent towards new ideals of piety and man others choosing to remain firmly within the Anglican fold. For some, traditional means of expressing discontent were still favoured. Davidoff sees the Evangelical movement as a largely middle class phenomenon. This was a rapidly expanding social group that needed to form their identity. He argues that a sense of religious belonging was provided by the various evangelical movements became a part of middle class culture and the success of the movement can be credited to its ability to fill this need. Traditional church practise did not involve participation from the lay community, and while the middle classes were a group with little political power, there role was gradually becoming more like that of the traditional gentry, as Lords devolved their duties in a practise of stewardship. Dissenting evangelical groups formed a basis of a middle class community as well as a middle class culture. The religious focus is undeniably meritocratic in tone; that salvation was open to all through their own piety. Davidoff also believes that there was a notion that this piety could give individuals strength to bare hostility from others, as the new middle classes may well have faced in the years of hardship and social tension at the end of the eighteenth century. The central importance of the family crossed denominations, another middle class value. The ideal was of the home as a moral haven from the amoral world of the business market. This haven was created by women, who were viewed as naturally more pious than men. The concepts of masculine and feminine were being transposed into more distinct social roles, each with their own responsibilities. Men were the material providers of the family and women's role was to create a moral home for her husband and children, domestic seclusion was a moral ideal and some serious evangelicals even shunned the pleasures of sport and the theatre in favour of this domesticity. Women did have increased prominence in church life, in some denominations they could even be ministers, but overall, the new movements were still male dominated. In some areas women may even have lost influence, where before they could have performed duties of clerks where necessary, roles were now more often formalised into those that were acceptable for women and those that were not. The evangelical community gave the middle class a forum to profess their beliefs and help to form their own culture and community. Dissenting groups were most prominent in new manufacturing towns and much of their establishment can be seen as benefiting the middle classes. They set up church schools and welfare societies, seeing their community almost s an extension of their family that need to be provided for. Schools were central to the evangelical movement, supporting the middle class love of reading and reflection as alternative entertainments. Indeed it was often the case that the school came before the chapel, as was the case in Bollington, a manufacturing town in the Northwest. Although initially non-denominational, the school soon became dominated by the Methodists. But importantly, the erection of such public buildings was not decided on by the preachers, but went before an appeal to the town, in tune with democratic principals. The practise of the Sunday school was an important means of gaining support among the locals, as many sent their children to work in factories at an early age and this would still give them a chance to learn to read. The work of evangelicals within their communities through charity and education may have stunted working class resentment, but Davidoff asserts that they still tended to stay away from Church. Gilberts sees the evangelicals as targeting the lower echelons of society, corroding the image of the lower orders as simple minded and maybe thus giving cause for concern to the ruling classes, but it is probable that these are two differing views of what was essentially the same social group, seen as the lower orders by contemporaries, but viewed by some historians, in the pattern of social evolution, as the emerging middle classes. The end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries saw a demographic boom, centred around new manufacturing towns. It was the early years of the industrial age and the changing structure of society had new needs that the state and church could not provide for. Looking abroad for a point of comparison, French society, with its firmly established monarchy and church was thrust into a violent revolution that was to remove both. In England, the less powerful position occupied by the monarchy and church could be seen as perhaps what saved them from a similar fate. Dissenting movements had been allowed to develop that were then to serve as a moderating force. There was much confusion in the late eighteenth century as to Methodists and their significance. The movement grew further and faster than other evangelical societies, and what Smyth called â€Å"Christian godliness without Christian organisation† in 1795 was attacked by others as having too much organisation and followers were subject to too much pastoral oversight, threatening the formation of a radical political force. 5 Indeed, Sidney Pollard and Robert Southerly were of the view that revolution was imminent. With hindsight, historians like Halevy have argued that there was nothing for the state to fear in the rise of Methodism, but contemporary powers would not have been able to see the larger picture of changing society and the development of a middle-class and so the movement may have been forced into its unobtrusive political stance where perhaps more radical beliefs were deep-seated. Jabez Bunting, a radical Methodist figure after the death of Wesley, saw the movement as wide, but not deep. He was relatively apolitical, but was keen to preserve the liberties that Methodism had benefited from in the face of conservative reaction to social tensions and revolution in Europe. But the evangelical revival, viewed with historical hindsight is indeed a political movement, the energies of the chapel communities were a force that resisted to reactionism and later advocated reforms, but after 1850 the dynamism of the movement had dwindled, as the social tensions of the age eased.

Doing Your Homework Essay

You should do your own homework. Copying someone else is illegal, and you can get a failing grade or even be kicked out of school. If you cheat on your job, you can be fired or arrested and put into jail; the government will certainly find you if you cheat on your taxes! Copying someone else’s homework also means that you never learn how to do that work for yourself, so when you need the information later (let’s say the teacher actually gives you a test on it where you can’t copy! ) then you don’t know how to do it and you get another bad grade. Also, if you don’t do your homework, you never learn how to discipline yourself to do unpleasant things, and when you grow up you will always have trouble making yourself do things like your job, paying your bills, and saving money. In short, doing your own homework is the best way to go! ?You should do your own homework. Copying someone else is illegal, and you can get a failing grade or even be kicked out of school. If you cheat on your job, you can be fired or arrested and put into jail; the government will certainly find you if you cheat on your taxes! Copying someone else’s homework also means that you never learn how to do that work for yourself, so when you need the information later (let’s say the teacher actually gives you a test on it where you can’t copy! ) then you don’t know how to do it and you get another bad grade. Also, if you don’t do your homework, you never learn how to discipline yourself to do unpleasant things, and when you grow up you will always have trouble making yourself do things like your job, paying your bills, and saving money. In short, doing your own homework is the best way to go! ?You should do your own homework. Copying someone else is illegal, and you can get a failing grade or even be kicked out of school. If you cheat on your job, you can be fired or arrested and put into jail; the government will certainly find you if you cheat on your taxes! Copying someone else’s homework also means that you never learn how to do that work for yourself, so when you need the information later (let’s say the teacher actually gives you a test on it where you can’t copy! Then you don’t know how to do it and you get another bad grade. Also, if you don’t do your homework, you never learn how to discipline yourself to do unpleasant things, and when you grow up you will always have trouble making yourself do things like your job, paying your bills, and saving money. In short, doing your own homework is the best way to go! ?You should do your own homework.

A Feminist Approach to Toni Morisson’s Beloved Essay

When hearing about Toni Morrison’s novel, â€Å"Beloved†, one may imagine it as being another story about a slave’s life. And this is not wrong. â€Å"Beloved† does tell the tales of many slaves. It tells of whippings, rape, hard work and escape. But, while drawing this image of the historical aspect of enslavement and black culture, Morrison also tells the personal story of a very strong female slave. Morrison’s novel focuses mainly on the female characters – Sethe, Baby Suggs, Denver, Beloved – and their relationships. If feminism may be defined as a major movement in western thinking in western thinking since the 1960s, which puts particular emphasis upon the importance of women’s experience, then â€Å"Beloved† can be regarded through a feminist perspective. Even though â€Å"Beloved† tells the story of many slaves, because of its focus on the proactive and independent women in the novel, it also makes a feminist statement. Morrison has a particular way of writing the female body into the discourse of slavery, motherhood, human rights and morality. She presents the exploitation of the female body in both a sensory and psychological way. There are many examples in the novel that illustrate this aspect. In the case of Sethe, one of the major characters, we can observe both ways of exploitation of the human body. The stealing of her milk during the rape she suffered writes her experience as a woman slave who has no right to her body and also her experience as a slave mother with no defense, who is used to the violation of her own body, but cannot bear the forcible extraction of her milk meant for the child in her womb. The psychological trauma left behind this experience is felt by the mother who is symbolically separated from her child. The earliest need that a child has is mother’s milk. Sethe is traumatized by the experience of having her milk stolen because it means she cannot form the symbolic bond between herself and her daughter. Sethe’s body shows nothing but suffering if one takes into consideration the chokecherry tree scar on her back caused by the cruel whipping she suffered in the same night of the rape and her attempt to escape. She also felt pain when she gave birth to Denver, thing which can be judged by the bleeding feet about which Amy sais â€Å"it hurts for something new to grow†. The only time when Sethe uses her body for her own pleasure was when she has sex with Paul D. Another example of the female body being written into discourse is illustrated through Beloved, a mysterious character thought to be the daughter Sethe murdered when the girl was only two years old. Beloved’s skin is like a baby’s skin, she sleeps a lot and her faculties of speech and movement are not well developed. Physically Beloved is the embodiment of the discourse of motherhood for a slave, of the evil. Her body is a sacrifice that saves the other children’s lives from the meanness of the schoolmaster through her death. From Sethe she feeds on the attention and the maternal guilt that has been poisoning her life. Finally the physical disappearance of her body and her death is the absolving exorcism that removes the last vestiges of torment left over from the slave days. The character of Beloved is the epitome of the past and present entwined in a consciousness. She is still a baby in terms of behavior but the body is like that of the woman she would have become if she wasn’t killed. Her supernatural manifestations are the result of the unresolved conflicts in the mother-child bond between Sethe and Beloved and its very existence is because of the non linearity of her consciousness. I see Beloved’s murdering of her child a desperate gesture of a mother who wants to protect her children from salvery. The community sees Sethe’s murder an unforgivable one. Slavery created a situation where a mother is separated from her child, leaving devastating consequences behind: a whole life suffering from a bad guilt and also a psychic trauma. Motherhood feeling is universally deep and when mothers are unable to provide maternal care for their children, or when their children are taken away from her then they feel a lost sense of self. Similarly, when a child is separated from his mother, he also looses the family identity. Sethe was never able to see her mother’s true face because her smile was distorted from having spent too much time with the â€Å"bit†, so she was not able to connect with her own mother and therefore does not know how to connect with her own children even if she longs to. Concerning the language of the novel, the way of writing, one can observe a feminine way of writing, the semiotic language that Julia Kristeva mentioned sometime. There can be observed a freeplay of language, a fluidity of words free of any control unlike the fixity and linearity of male discourse. There is a passage in the third part of the novel that best illustrates this way of writing, the fluid and poetic nature of the narrative in one of the dialogues between Beloved and Sethe. There can be observed a long flowing verse in which the mother and daughter identify eachother, establishing the long lost maternal bond and acknowledging the events that took place between them: â€Å"Why did you leave me who am you/ I will never leave you again/ I drank your blood/ I brought your milk/ You forgot to smile/ I loved you/ You hurt me/ You came back to me/ You left me†. There are no punctuation marks and one sentence runs into another, each sentence is loaded with intense feelings showing accusation, guilt, assurance, love, like a rushing river that carries all the emotions in its fierce fluidity. The depth of a maternal emotional experience is rendered throughout this novel. The other female characters, Denver and Baby Suggs had the chance to see the beauty of freedom. Baby Suggs’s freedom was bought by the sacrifice of her son Halle, while Denver is far from the tormented life in slavery thanks to her mother’s protection and estrangement from the black community.

Legal Environment of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Environment of Business - Essay Example First, the US Federal system of government grants component states a certain degree of autonomy, sovereignty, and self-government. Furthermore, each state has its own laws and each State Supreme Court has the power to create the judicial determination of issues of law on their own, subject only to the limitations imposed by the Constitution and the US Supreme Court. Thus, there exist differences in state laws that hinder and impair business transactions when dealing with out-of-state entities or persons. There was a need to standardize the laws that acted as the legal foundation in interstate commercial transactions and would clear up conflicting views on contract law. Second, the burdensome legal requirements in business engagements also had a tendency to hamper efficient commercial activities, and arguments were raised as to how laws on contracts in some jurisdictions conflicted with another's. The UCC was introduced in this manner also to design a consistent basis for contract law. Also, each state continued its autonomy and had the option on whether or not to adopt the UCC in whole or in part and this also served as sufficient warning to businessmen of the legal ramifications of any business transactions in a state that may or may not have the UCC in place. Trade between countries is an integral element of the international economy. However, if trade were to go on completely unrestricted and without control of any kind, then a myriad of problems would arise. Although the trend is free trade, there must still be some level of control in order to protect the domestic citizenry and business. Too many industries in other countries have gone belly up due to unrestricted imports of competitors who end up practicing dumping.     

Health disparities in Rural areas Research Paper

Health disparities in Rural areas - Research Paper Example Great health care disparities prevail in United States. Health status of the negatively privileged population is poor. Ethnic and racial minorities suffer great segregation problems in America. The African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans struggle to meet the medical expenses. They are comparatively more vulnerable to chronic diseases than the whites. This ill-privileged group has high mortality rate and negative health outcomes. The heavy racial and ethnic disparities in United States reflect in health care sector also. For example, cancer rate is found to be very high among the African Americans (nearly 25% higher than the whites). Other blacks, especially Hispanics, are highly risky towards diabetes. The black minorities who live in unhealthy environment are also vulnerable to various other problems like AIDS and infant mortality. The healthcare policy of the United States is least favorable for this minority groups. The minority population residing in t he rural areas does not have a proper access to healthcare facilities. There is great disparity in the healthcare access of minorities and rest of the population. Minorities are deprived of efficient and good quality healthcare facilities. Rural residents of United States report poor health. They are more vulnerable to chronic conditions like diabetes. Heart disease is also not uncommon among them. Compared to their urban counterparts, minorities living in rural areas are more prone to diseases and are also deprived of good healthcare facilities. Negatively privileged minorities seldom receive the preventive services, and do not get access to good healthcare service providers. Even though they have more healthcare needs compared to others we find that they do not take proper treatment. The statistics of cancer screening and treatment of diabetes and heart diseases show that minorities are not always benefited of the treatment. Minorities residing in rural areas are disadvantaged bec ause of several reasons. Only nine percent of the doctors of the United States practice in the rural areas though rural areas have a heavy population who are in real need of healthcare facilities. Almost 20 percent of the nation’s population lives in rural areas. Rural residents choose not to avail medical facilities for they have to travel long distance to reach quality healthcare service providers. Certain improvements in healthcare for chronic conditions, availability of preventive services and access to quality healthcare have contributed to the reduction of disparity in healthcare field. These day minorities are fortunate to get better access to healthcare facilities. For example, access to pediatric vision care, timing of antibiotics, counseling for addictions, receipt of mammography and various other things have improved for negatively privileged people. However still there are disadvantaged populations who are not benefited out of these improvements. Asians, Indians, Alaska Natives, Hispanics, Latinos and few other populations still suffer from the lack of quality healthcare service. For example, when we look at the colon cancer screening statistics we can find this disparity. The disparity is increasing in spite of other attempts to give more privileges to the negatively privileged population. Disparities have also affected Hispanics and other people of color. Treatments for psychological disorders also give only a second privileged to blacks and other minorities. Health

Lewis Jeans Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lewis Jeans - Case Study Example This calls for developing innovative designs and utilising information technology in your company to study the market. Rupert has asked me to address his findings which show several problem areas within your organisation that need to be evaluated. The first area covers the style of the product itself, and Rupert is concerned that the jeans produced by the company do not appeal to younger customers. This report will offer possible solutions to this problem by suggesting ways to establish positive brand recognition. A study of the market for jeans indicates the need to offer a unique style or marketing method that will bring younger buyers to Lewis Jeans. The next area of concern is the quality of the product. Because retailers are returning 15% of sales, it is important to test the quality of the jeans manufactured to see where the weaknesses are. By improving durability, the brand will eventually be known for its wearability in addition to style. One of the most serious problems to be addressed is the high turnover of the workforce. It would appear they might not have the incentive to commit themsel ves to the company. Because you communicate only with the managers at your different factories, you may be unaware of how your workers see the company. More interaction is needed with staff from your office to each factory to encourage employees to propose innovative ideas on how to improve sales. Finally, the cost of manufacturing your line of jeans is 25 per cent more than other clothing lines in the industry, and it is important to study the various stages of manufacture to see where savings can occur without impacting quality. The report will present suggestions on how to evaluate the company and show different methods of improving all aspects of your business by applying the SWOT Analysis and developing a balanced scorecard. As the CEO, you have the opportunity in such a small company to meet personally with all of your staff and make sure your managers are reflecting your beliefs on how the company should be run. Organization Structure and Culture In studying the structure of the company according to its diagram, it is immediately obvious that there are too many managerial positions at too many levels, and sales and marketing have no real connection to the rest of the company in any of its locations, including the main office. Restructuring after setting up a strategic plan for the future is recommended. The first step would be to apply a SWOT analysis, determining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Strengths: Although a small company faces competition from major companies such as Levi, the benefit of a small company is the opportunity for leadership to interact with all areas of the business. Another strength is that the product has been successful in the past and by establishing a different marketing method and improving quality, the company can be successful again. Weaknesses: One of the most serious weaknesses for Lewis Jeans is the dependency of leadership on the telephone in a technological society. Another weakness is the high turnover of staff and lack of connection with the leadership. Opportunities: By restructuring the company and establishing new communication equipment, the company would

Review on Childhood Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Review on Childhood Obesity - Essay Example Moreover, the effect this disease has on children is far more complicated. Clearly, there is a dearth in the literature regarding childhood obesity. In order to address this problem, this essay will review the current literature available regarding childhood obesity and its underlying causes. It aims to provide a sketch regarding the topic, and mark the starting point for possible research directions that could be taken to better understand the disease, and hopefully treat and prevent it in the future. Child obesity is one of the most challenging issues facing healthcare providers today. It has become an epidemic not only in North America, but in the whole world as well. According to statistics, approximately 22 million children under 5 years of age are overweight across the world, where the number of overweight children and adolescents has doubled in the last two to three decades, including in developing countries and regions where an increase in Western behavioral and dietary lifestyles is evident (Deckelbaum & Williams, 2001). According to Ganz (2003), Overweight is the most common health problem among young people in the United States today. In the past three decades, the proportion of overweight children and adolescents has increased 2- to 3-fold. Currently, 15% of children are overweight, with a similar number who are heavy enough to be at risk for obesity. Overweight in childhood confers a greater risk for adult obesity, as well as a number of other chronic health conditions. Clearly, overweight is a major heath issue facing our nation. In addition, the journal article, "Childhood Obesity: Future Directions and Research Priorities" (Hill, 1998), also warns of the expectation that the next generation of children is likely to be fatter and less fit than the current generation due to the low priority given to childhood obesity in the public agenda. The authors argue for the need to prioritize research agendas in the future, particularly in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of childhood obesity; and the need to move the issue of childhood obesity higher in the public agenda. Schonfeld-Warden & Warden (1997), in another study entitled "Pediatric Obesity: An Overview of Etiology and Treatment," also indicates that the primary reasons for the increasing upward trends of child obesity are the combination of sedentary behaviors and diet. He argues that fat content in American diets has increased because more foods with higher fat contents are now available. Unfortunately, finding an effective treatment for the disease is a daunting task. According to Tanios (2000), there are three reasons why it has been difficult for people today to treat obesity, he enumerates: (1) the disinterest society has had on the disease because it was never considered as a major health problem before; (2) the availability of refined foods abundant today; and (3) the tendency for the disease to be inherited. Obesity, and child obesity in particular, is therefore a complex disease, and underlying causes for it are poorly understood. Nature vs. Nurture: The Interplay of Factors In order to understand the complexity of child obesity as a disease, it is imperative to first identify the cause of the disease. There are two general arguments that explain the cause of obesity. On the one hand, there is the contention that obesity is caused by a

Reflective practice journal of Mental health Article

Reflective practice journal of Mental health - Article Example But what was disturbing to me was that any child should have to have coping strategies – the parents were either ill with bi-polar, schizophrenia or even alcoholism. Reading the comments like â€Å"Sometimes my mom’s up, sometimes my mom’s down, sometimes she’s normal. I’m always nervous† (1140) are really disturbing. But comments like this in Mordoch and Hall’s study are just a tiny representation of what children have to go through as a result of the government’s initiatives to move caring for the mentally ill in the community rather than in an institution. The lecture notes show the process of how the government went from providing full care for people diagnosed as having a mental health issue, to the now virtually non-existent level of services available. If we combine that with an overworked GP service, the cost and lack of accessibility so many people face with even trying to get some form of help, and the shambles as government decided to try and get most mentally ill patients into some form of work by denying them any financial help and it would seem that the government has totally forgotten that there are more people involved than just those diagnosed with an illness – there are family considerations that should be taken into account as well. Sawyer has completed an extensive literature review on the topic of mental health practices and the challenges of finding a system that works for everyone. Through a review of published articles she isolated what I think is the most important thing that has been ignored by government to date – â€Å"Methods too come under scrutiny here to critique the assumptions behind service evaluation and the way that statistics might blinker our view of the broad social causes of mental illness† (116). Some of those broader social issues could include the number of children who are going to need treatment themselves as adults because of the coping mechanisms they have had to adapt while

Quest Diagnostics Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Quest Diagnostics Inc - Essay Example The company offered specialized esoteric testing on both coasts with acquisition of American Medical Laboratories (AML) in 2002. The company acquired Unilab Corporation in 2003 and exhibited its presence in California State. Later in 2005 the company made its presence felt in Kansas and Ohio by acquiring LabOne (Our History). EDGAROnline (Page 1) stated that Quest Diagnostics Inc. is a national leader in the healthcare sector providing diagnostic and allied services. The company leads in clinical laboratory testing, esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics; non-hospital based anatomic pathological services and analysing drug abuse. According to Reuters, the company has more than 2000 patient service centres and 35 principal laboratories in major metros and about 150 smaller "rapid response" laboratories all over the nation with wide range of services and helping physicians detect, diagnose, evaluate, monitor and treat diseases with the help of information technology solutions. The company processed more than 144 million requisitions as of the year ending December 31, 2005 and net revenue of 78% from routine testing and 17% from esoteric testing thus summing up to 95% net revenues for clinical laboratory testing. ... nd times." In addition to above the company also provides Risk Assessment Services to life insurance industry in the US and Canada and Clinical trial testing in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. The company manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and systems for esoteric testing through its subsidiary Nichols Institute Diagnostics. According to Quest Diagnostics the company's vision reads as follows "Dedicated people improving the health of patients through unsurpassed diagnostic insights and innovation." The company's mission being "We will be the undisputed world leader of diagnostic testing, information and services" and the values are "Quality, Integrity, Innovation, Accountability, Collaboration and Leadership"(Our Vision, Mission and Values). According to Quest Diagnostics, Nichols Institute was the first laboratory in North America to achieve ISO 9001 certification in 1998 (Our Commitment to Quality). According to QMI Registration services ISO 9001 is based on the following eight Quality Management Principles, which are incorporated within the requirements of the standard, and can be applied to improve organizational performance: 1. Customer focus 2. Leadership 3. Involvement of people 4. Process approach 5. System approach to management 6. Continual improvement 7. Factual approach to decision making 8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships The standard covers all aspects of an organization's activities, including identifying its key processes, defining roles and responsibilities, policies and objectives, documentation requirements, the importance of understanding and meeting customer requirements, communication, resource requirements, training, product and process planning, design processes, purchasing, production and service,

Volly 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Volly 2 - Essay Example In this touch ten drill the defenders run hitting line with all the hitters. The coach will toss the ball to the setter and the setter sets the ball to any of the hitter he likes. The hitter will try to avoid all the defenders while smashing the ball. The defenders can start from anywhere in the court for effectively blocking the smashes (X-hitters, C-Coach, D-Defender, S-Setter) (Volleyball.com). The figure given below is another form of touch ten defensive drill. This drill teaches aggressiveness along with improving reflex reaction times. Reflexes and reflex reactions are important in every sports and volleyball is also not an exception. Here X stands for defenders and C for the coach. Coach hit the ball repeatedly to any of the three defensive players. There will not be any clue about who is going to receive the ball from the coach. All the defenders should be ready to receive the ball every time when the coach hit the ball. The coach on the other hand mixes his shot with less power, more power, less accurate, more accurate, and also he uses variety of swings also in each of the shots he make (Volleyball.com). This drill is intended for strengthening of offense. This is intended for closing the hole between the blockers by the smasher. It requires blockers at one side and the setter and the hitters on the other side. The ball tossed by the coach to the setter, sets to an outside hitter. The hitter should try to smash the ball between the blockers. The middle and the outside blocker start the drill by standing next to one another so that the timing is not an issue. This drill can be practiced using two and three blockers. Initially the drill starts with two blockers and then in order to increase the difficulty level in hitting the ball, instead of two, a third blocker is also used (Volleyball Plays and

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness Essay

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness - Essay Example â€Å"Roughly  56 percent  of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively† (National Coalition for Homeless Veternas, 2011). The biggest problem of the military veterans in America is homelessness. About 50% of the veterans that had served in the military in the Vietnam era are homeless today. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), most of the homeless veterans of the nation are men while the percentage of women is about 5. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records a minimum of 131000 homeless veterans every night while the number of military veterans that are found to experience homelessness every year is 262000 (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). They generally come from urban regions and account for one third of the total population of homeless people in America. The homelessness and lack of employment is just as much a problem for the young veterans who have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq as it is for the old veterans that have served in the previous wars. They have their lunches and dinners in the soup kitchens and are desperate for finding jobs even if they have too do menial works (USA Today, 2007). Last, but not the least, the homelessness has led the military veterans to depression. A vast majority of these veterans are single and suffer from physical and psychological illnesses. Many are patients of depression and are addicted to substance abuse. One veteran said, I shed blood for this country and got the Purple Heart after a mortar blast sent shrapnel into my face and leg. But when I came back home from Vietnam I was having problems. I tried to hurt my wife because she was Filipino. Every time I looked at her I thought I was in Vietnam again. So we broke up. (Glantz, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, there is no proper system in place to cater for

The US Liberal Criminological Tradition Critical Analysis Essay

The US Liberal Criminological Tradition Critical Analysis - Essay Example There are clear statistics that show that some ethnic minorities are more likely to be associated with crime and the punitive system within both the US1 and the UK2. There is further evidence that this may be a result of ethnic discrimination and social stratification3, leading some scholars and supporters of liberal criminology to suggest that there is racial bias within the criminal justice system. There are those that go further and suggest that the punitive system does not represent what could be seen as a ‘true definition of criminality’ but rather a skewed view based on these ethnic and economic differences that evidence themselves in the statistics. This liberal criminology has become somewhat of a tradition, particularly in the US4, meaning that it has influences on criminological research in the UK and further afield. Whilst the aim to find a definition of true crime free from the effects of social and political order is perhaps noble, it can be difficult for sc holars to move away from the shadow that the US liberal criminological tradition has cast. ... This will provide insight into crime politics and how criminological traditions and research find themselves part of the legal landscape, and the effects that this type of background can have on contemporary research and attitudes within the field. The US Liberal Criminological Tradition To fully understand the nature of the question, it is perhaps prudent to examine the US liberal criminological tradition in more detail. Liberal criminology can be said to be the ‘perennial search for a measure of actual or real criminality’5. This search is deemed necessary partly because of the thought that crime figures (and the resultant research) often fails to account for crimes that have gone unreported or criminals that have not been prosecuted or otherwise recorded by the punitive system6. Liberal criminologists often go so far as to suggest that this way of analysing crime means that it is not true scientific research as it does not represent the scientific method7. The purpose of finding this true definition of criminality is to reduce the effects of political and socioeconomic factors on the justice system8. It has also been suggested that liberal criminologists ‘tend to share the hope that once real crime has been isolated and measured, its causes can be identified and solutions devised’9. Evidently, it is incredibly difficult to separate a justice system which relies on human judgement from political and socioeconomic factors present within the culture. Liberal criminology acknowledges this factor, but insists that much of the data provided on crime and criminals is false; ‘they reflect the bias inherent in an economically, ethnically, and racially stratified society’10. The argument here is perhaps

Social Entreprenuerism Questions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Entreprenuerism Questions - Research Paper Example Communities play an intricate role in the development and growth of the social enterprise. The community creates the legitimacy for the enterprise by providing marketing and distribution channels. It is; therefore, correct to insinuate that they are donor-investors as they contribute to the growth of the enterprise (Dees et al., 2002). Analyzing performance in this enterprise in crucial since everybody needs to be well- prepared for the task at hand. Any failure or laxity may prove detrimental to the growth of the enterprise (Dees et al., 2002). The rapid growth of profit-maximization organizations may prove difficult to come back from such a decline. One vital characteristic is their ability to convince a customer of the possible nature of the seemingly impossible. Their confidence is a personal trait that sets them apart from the rest (Dees et al., 2002). Confident individuals who try to sell something always have an edge over their competitors. I met a street vendor selling action figures who convinced me to purchase one. It was his confidence that enabled him to grab my

Should the US have dropped the bomb on Hiroshima Essay

Should the US have dropped the bomb on Hiroshima - Essay Example After three days allied forces used another bomb which dropped on Nagasaki, which easily killed 37000 people and injured 43000 people who also consequently died in the following days1. The bombings were intense, and were soon followed by the surrender of Japan to USA on August 14, 1945. These bombings were the first in history and till date is the only time when nuclear power has been used in the whole world2. Japan and the Atomic bombings Japan was devastated after the bombarding of US on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the after effects of which were seen through a number of years. Apart from heavy destruction, the bombs resulted in a lot of human loss, people suffered from Gamma radiation which caused instant deaths in just 2 seconds of the explosion, others died from burns as a result of the fires which were caused by the explosion along with mechanical injuries which were caused by the falling of debris resulting from the collapse of buildings. Many who did not die instantly after the e xplosion, suffered injuries from radiation and consequently died in the following days. ... The United States president, Truman provided a justification to the US citizens that the bombing was to save the lives of US citizens and to impress the Soviet Union from playing a role in the war and further making the war last many more days and even years. It was also argued that Japanese had demonstrated a very brave fanatical resistance in surrendering and so without the bombings it would have been nearly impossible for them to surrender. On an event of being asked that there should have been first a demonstration of the nuclear bomb over an unpopulated area to warn Japan and to force it to surrender, Truman said that it would have been a very risky decision to waste one bomb when there were only two available. Another justification in the favor of the bombings provided by the United States was that the two targeted cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, would have been destructed in any case with the use of fire bombs which were already being used in the war. Therefore, they justify t hat the use of the nuclear bombs did not cause more destruction than that from the fire bombings on Japan. The use of nuclear power has always been criticized, therefore, US states that they used the bombs also in order to fear people from the use of it in the future. Nagasaki and Hiroshima already had to be destroyed during the prevailing war and so the use of bombings also saved the life of US citizens, did not harm Japan more than the already predicted outcome of war and also prevented the future use of nuclear power by the rest of the World. The bombs use also ended the war quickly, which in any other scenario was not possible. In the result of the bombarding, the Soviet Union got intimidated by the US and USSR dropped the idea of demanding a joint

The global recession and workplace malfeasance Essay

The global recession and workplace malfeasance - Essay Example nnot influence those with the opportunities to malfeasance in workplace as they are trying to maintain their jobs to reduce the impact of the global recession. Though there are media reports that there has been malfeasance in workplace, it has no clear evidence that the malfeasance is because of the economic downturns and company layoffs. The Times of London for example reports that job losses in the United States is directly linked to 58 fatalities of which 13 people were killed by a Vietnamese man who was later fired from his factory job; this does not prove it was because of the recession just because the crime was committed during that recession (35). The case proves that we can learn nothing from the business press; this is because the press does not present accurate information to the public but reports opposite of the real situations. A poll conducted among 400 employers asking whether recession has brought a recent rise in monetary theft among employees such as missing cash or fraudulent transaction showed that 18% said yes, 41% were unsure, and 41% said they had not. The poll results indicates that a small percentage of employers thought the employee theft is caused by the recession, but the business press reports that â€Å"Business Say Theft by Their Workers Is Up,† which is a complete opposite of the poll result thus we cannot learn from the business press. Regarding on how to be an informed consumer on business news, difficulty illustrations by OB help in the investigation by asking questions, analyzing situations, and considering the information source. This helps the consumers in critically thinking about problems and careful analysis of the same. Therefore, the chapter provides clues on OB issues that can inform the consumer (35). Individual privacy is violated when measurers, such as fingerprint scanner are put in all cash register to monitor what the employees do. Employees feel that their privacy is violated when every move he or she makes in

Costs of Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees to Students in the Essay

Costs of Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees to Students in the European Union - Essay Example In countries, where education was not expensive, a major increase in the fees has been observed in the past few years. The example is Canada where the fee structure doubled in the last ten years. The fees of universities differ in terms of the courses, level of degree and between national or international students. Students take admission in the institutions where they are able to bear the fees because the cost of education varies from region to region. The international students are very particular in taking admission in those colleges or universities where they can afford the fees because most of these students take financial aids from the bank or funded by themselves. The international students have to show their financial balance sheet in order to take admission in a good university and they have to prove from their balance sheet that they can afford all the expenses in the first year of their education. If they are not able to meet these requirements, then they are not eligible to apply for student’s visa. In the universities of USA, it is comparatively easy to get admission because of the facility of university funding but in UK and other European countries, it is relatively difficult to take admission. The students in order apply in universities of Europe fulfill more complexed requirements and formalities and because of variation in the education cost, these universities deal with two aspects that include the cost of tuition and living expense. The purpose of this study is to compare the cost of educational degree in USA and European Union and compare which region is more suitable to study for students. Higher education differs from university to university and it is not sure that how college experience of student is going to be. In each university, there are different rules and regulations that students have to follow to compete with the social standard and reputation of university. There are some obvious similarities between the colleges and un iversities of the United States and the European countries. The standards of the United States universities are different from the standards of the European institutes and there is a cultural difference in both regions and this difference reflect in their system of education (Sheng 2012). Education in European Countries: In the 2020 Strategy of Europe, the European Council has made a structure of Union to gather all the instruments that include expansion of jobs and high growth. The main target of the European Union in this strategy is to increase the education level and all the members of the European Union must fulfill the education requirements that council have made. The economic research recently conducted reveals that in order to achieve the goals and meet the future objective of European Union, measures should be taken to improve the education in the region. The European Union has developed human capital policy because it is recognizing the significance of giving education to the people. The basic motive of the European Union to educate its citizen is that union understands upcoming requirements of education and more skills needed from people to compete in future. The cost of degree in universities of Europe is relatively low but top ten universities are planning to increase the fee structure of students and they are trying to increase the fees up to ?4,000 this year. However, they are certain requirement that

Analysis of Freire's educational theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Freire's educational theory - Essay Example In this case, the teacher fails to recognize the cognitive ability of students instead transforming them into passive learners. He writes that education suffers from narration sickness because teachers talk about the realities as if they were predictable and motionless. Teachers fill the students’ minds with the content that is outside reality thus shifting the focus of education to sonority of words instead of the transformation power. He argues that students mechanically memorize content while their teacher is the narrator of it. My current educational system is related to John Dewey’s educational theory that suggests dialogue between the learner and the instructor. This factor changes education theme and makes it an act of depositing. According to his theory, this system introduces the banking concept of education whereby knowledge is a gift that the knowledgeable bestow upon those that they consider unknowledgeable. He compares the alienation that results from the t eacher-student relationship to the slaves found within Higelian dialectic; and the students never get to discover that they also educate the teacher (Piere 73). My educational system which relates to John Dewey allows interaction with the nature through experimentation and research. The dialectic or libertarian education, as he writes, lays its drive towards the reconciliation of the poles of contradiction to ensure that both parties are simultaneously teachers and students. My educational system undergoes constant evaluation process, which aims at providing the learner with corrective measures. This type of education creates dialogue between the teacher and the student such that they are able to learn from each other and benefit. He adds that such a solution is impossible with the banking concept which tends to maintain and even stimulate such a contradiction through attitudes like those that the teacher teaches, and the students taught, or the teacher is the subject of any learnin g exercise while the students remain to be objects (Piere 75). He argues that the banking education’s capability to have the creative power of students annulled or minimized then stimulates their credulity which serves the oppressor’s interest. The oppressors utilize their humanitarianism in some profitable situation. He adds that the oppressors have an interest of having the consciousness of the oppressed changed. He mentions the oppressed as those that live just within the society and according to it. He writes that all who use the banking approach do not perceive that some contradiction about reality already exists within the deposits - a factor that may lead the students to domesticate reality later. Freire writes that something implicit within the banking concept is its assumption of the existence of some dichotomy between the human kind and the world, a concept that views an individual to be a mere spectator (Piere 78). The view does also not make any distinction between access to consciousness and entrance to consciousness. He writes that the banking concept creates a distinction between the two stages of an educator’s action. Freire’s education theory is gender insensitive. It considers males as beings who are manageable and able to adapt as compared to females who do not possess these characteristics. The oppressors, according to Freire, are concerned with banking information to student’s minds making them passive learners. The outcome of what they learn is transformed into

Question 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Question 5 - Essay Example The production chose to use macaroni, gemelli, shells and other simple stuffs to use as plasters for the interior decorations. They have been very resourceful in doing so since the effect that these little things did to the whole setting gives intricacy and creates depth that is most fitting for a royal family background. The props that are delicately hand-made by the crew include high vaulted ceilings, gallant Baroque columns, and other expensive looking interior finish. As the count groom and his bride had their scenes as the newly married couple, their elegant setting has supplemented greatly to effect giving the ambiance of a well-to-do French royal family. The splendor and the stunning combination of the tidbits of crafted props have indeed attributed to the over-all effect of the play. Plus, the comedic idea of having these unexpected nitty-gritties to be used for decorations is a mirror of the humor that the play has intended to convey to the audience. Anyone would be convince d of the authenticity of the materials used when seen from a distance. But when inspected on a closer look, they would be in awe and would have laughed at the thought of the detailed interiors to be designed as such. Over-all the set-up was equipped, the play has gone successfully and effectively, and I bet, the budget

Japanese History 18501930 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Japanese History 18501930 - Essay Example At the same time, they contributed to Japan's national project. In this paper I shall discuss why have concepts of restoration, reform reconstruction and revitalization dominated the thoughts and actions of Japan's ruling elites from the 1850s to the 1930s How have these ideas manifested themselves in governmental or elite-level policies over the same period What does the resilience of these ideologies tell us about state-society relations in Japan over the years 1850-1930 Japan has been packaged as a potential model over two periods: 1890s to 1930s and 1950s to 1970s. In between these two periods, during the 1930s and 1940s, Japan was considered as having been a failure. Ian Inkster has pointed out that in the earlier period - the period with which this paper is concerned - there was an emphasis on the role of government or the Japanese mentality2. This was certainly so in the case of Dyer. The message was that Western politicians and bureaucrats should act. In the latter period, the significance of the role of Meiji bureaucrats has been downplayed. The message to developing nations even today is that cultural traits, individuality and democracy are the best way of ensuring socioeconomic progress3. Lets analyze Japan through the eyes of the historians to understand the era better. Japan has, throughout this century, meant different things to different people. Through a close reading of one of Historian's' books, this paper will attempt to identify the historical context in which it was written and read. Historian's' writing clearly shows how their attitudes to issues, such as race, were transformed into a complex narrative about the origins and history of the Japanese people. As Prasenjit Duara has persuasively argued, "social Darwinism joined race and History to the nation-state". As George Wislon rightly states so that the histories of the nation-states which are written tend to "narrate the evolving unity of the nation" This paper argues that for Historian's, science educator and clergyman, Japan provided strong evidence of how race was the key to understanding national evolution, and how science could serve as a civilizing influence. Race was equated with nation, and by understanding Japanese racial superiority one could understand the basis for their military and economic success. In this way, Historian's' writings reveal more about himself and their times, than they do about Japan. Historian's, in short, argues that human biology (Aryan blood) can account for much of the success of the Japanese, and that power struggles between nations can be viewed as an evolutionary struggle between races. Dyer, the engineer, sees nations as competing with each other too, but in a struggle to be efficient. He attributes Japanese success to their environment, an environment, which he points out, is not unlike that of Britain! Japan however had bushid" (the way of the samurai) which helped galvanize the nation, s omething which the British could learn from. Lets see the impact of the imperialists during this

The Origin Of Rice Essay Example for Free

The Origin Of Rice Essay Kernels- a whole seed grain, as of wheat or corn; small piece Wandering- moving from place to place without a fixed plan; roaming; rambling: Banquet- a lavish meal; feast; a ceremonious public dinner, especially one honoring a person, benefiting a charity, etc. Winnow- to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., especially by throwing it into the air. 1. Whenever you hear the phrase the wandering Jew, that is an allusion to a person who seems to be travelling nonstop and without direction. 2. Before the colonizers came, our ancestors believed in deities such as Bathala. 3. To prepare the palay for consumption, farmers also winnow them in order to remove the outer covering. 4. The former first lady relived the glory of her reign as first lady of the country when during her birthday, she hosted a big banquet for her many guests. 5. The tray containing kernels of corn and nuts was passed around so that the guests have something to munch while waiting for the main course to be served. Comprehension Guide 1. Why was rice not known to the Filipinos before? Because they rely on the gifts of nature and tilling of soil is unknown. 2. What is a balangay? It a group of people living together and it commonly known today as barangays. 3. What kind of relationship did gods and ordinary human beings have before? Gods and ordinary human beings has a close relationships wherein they gods interact with humans helping them to survive 4. What is the most important benefit of knowing how to plant rice to our ancestors? It improved their way of living and they were able to stay at one place surviving not only by depending on the gift of nature but also to what they themselves have raised.

What Patriotism Means to Me Essay Example for Free

What Patriotism Means to Me Essay Patriotism, the word itself makes me think of people full of loyalty and pride. It makes me think of those who are loyal to their country, their country’s ideas, and those who fought and sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their country. You might be asking yourself, â€Å"What does patriotism mean?† To me it means a major love of a country and the willingness to die for that country. I love my country and honor those who sacrificed everything for our country’s freedom. I am inspired by those patriots who have spoken out and fought for our freedom. I am also inspired by the men and woman today who are still fighting and sacrificing their lives for our glorious country. Our forefathers were dreaming of a country with liberty and justice for all. They sacrificed everything to make this dream a reality and that is true patriotism. They fought against the most powerful army at that time. There are many examples of patriotism in the patriots of the revolutionary war. â€Å"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.†-Nathan Hale those were his last words right before he was hung by the British on September 22, 1775. Those words truly define that he was a patriot. He spoke those words so confidently. There are many more such as, George Washington, who boldly lead our country into battle, Samuel Adams who founded the sons of liberty, Patrick Henry who boldly spoke, â€Å"Give me liberty or give me death.†, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, and Thomas Paine. In my opinion they were all good patriots with the same dream; to create a nation full of liberty, which they did successfully by risking their lives to create this nation, our nation, full of liberty and justice for all! We will fight to keep it this way!

The Person That I Love the Most Essay Example for Free

The Person That I Love the Most Essay Man is a social animal, we love to live in society and found comfort in our family. It gives us ease and mental satisfaction to live among people to whom we know. It is our nature like or dislike people among whom we live. There are lots of people to whom we love or hate. I categorized three types of people to whom normally a person can love. The first type of persons are whom we love because of our natural relationship with them for instance our mother, father, daughter, son, wife, brother etc. The second type of peoples is those to whom we like because of their qualities for example we may like our mentor because the way he teaches us, we like the leader because the way he leads the nation in difficult situations, we like the scientist because the way his invention contribution to the society and so on. The third type of person to whom we love is the opposite gender. Yes this is the most widespread type of love that we can see nowadays present in most of the people. There is no age limit for having this sort of love we can see it from youngster to older ones. I will discuss here the person to I love most or I like most. This is the person whose work or invention has reshaped our lives. This is the man for whom American President Mr. Obama appraised as â€Å"Bold enough to think differently, brave enough to believe that he could change the world and talented enough to do that†. Yes, you could easily recognize him that was deceased Steve Jobs – The former Chief Executive Officer of the Apple Corporation. His nature, vision and enthusiasm have reshaped our life. Most of us are using computers, touch screen smart phones, and touch screen tablets. We are very familiar with the computer by the advent of Graphical User Interface, easily recognize computer file in the shape of icons, maven at using computer mouse; these all things have his fingerprints. He was the man behind this entire thing, this was his vision that now peoples are frenzy in using touchscreen smartphones, listening music using an Ipod. His invention of Iphone and iPod now set the standard of many things in the industry. In conclusion, I would like to state that without him we could not see the exciting things which we are now addicted to. Truly he is the man who not only made his Company the world largest in terms of market capitalization but also gave the customer more than their expectations.

The Importance Of Being On Time Essay Example for Free

The Importance Of Being On Time Essay We are successful in life only when we make the best use of time. Time cannot be stopped, paused, or regained. Some point in life whether it be business related, or for leisure, someone or something will require you to be at a certain place at a given time. Punctuality could be the key to winning a contest, finalizing a business deal, or even keeping your job. We all as human beings have been late before, things happen, but constant lateness affects your dependability. If you are not dependable your opportunities for progression will start to decrease. The life of George Washington was characterized by a scrupulous regard for punctuality. When he asked a man to bring by some horses he was interested in buying at five in the morning, and the man arrived fifteen minutes late, he was told by the stable groom that the general had been waiting there at five, but had now moved on to other business, and that he wouldn’t be able to examine the horses again until the following week. When he told Congress that he’d meet with them at noon, he could almost always be found striding into the chamber just as the clock was striking twelve. Washington’s promptness extended to his mealtimes as well. He ate dinner each day at exactly 4 o’clock, and when he invited members of Congress to dine with him, and they arrived late, they were often surprised to find the president halfway done with his meal or even pushing back from the table. To his startled, tardy guest he would say, â€Å"We are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the company has arrived, but whether the hour has come.†( www.artofmanliness.com) George Washington was a perfect example on how important punctuality is, and what opportunities can be missed. For our first president, being on time was a way of showing respect to others, and he expected to be treated with the same level of respect in return. Although no longer live in an age of knickers and powdered wigs, but being pun ctual is just as important as it ever was. â€Å"Soldiers should be minutemen. Punctuality is one of the most valuable habits a soldier can possess.† Christopher Andrews said it the best, when it comes to punctuality in the army is your bread and butter. You could be the best soldier, but if you’re late all the time you can quickly be potrayed as something way less. Being punctual builds and reveals your discipline. The  punctual man shows that he can organize his time, that he pays attention to details, and that he can put aside this to do that ; he can set aside a pleasure to take care of business. The non punctual man shows he needs to be supervised, seems unprepared, and unprofessional. These things are all the things that could stop a soldier from progressing. It is like a domino effect, one consequence leads to another, and leads you down a trail of detriment. Something so simple as being on time can be the key to being allowed to go to a promotion board, or even staying in the military. If the conduct was constant, action may be intiated to separate you from the service. If you are involuntarily separted, you could receive an Honorable discharge, a general discharge, or under other than honorable conditions discharge. An honorable discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A general discharge is a separation under honorable conditions , based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. A discharge under other than honorable conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior of one or more acts or omissions that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. An honorable discharge may be awarded under any provisions. A general discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 5, Chapter 9, Chapter 13, or Chapter 14. An under othe than honorable conditions discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 14 for misconduct. If you receive an honorable discharge, you will be qualififed for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary honorable discharge, however will disqualify you from reenlistment for some period of time and may disqualify you from receiving transitional benefits. Also the Montgomery GI Bill you have not met other program requirements. If you receive a General discharge, you will be disqualified from reenlisting in the service for some period of time and you will be ineligible for some military and VA administered benefits, including the Montgomery GI bill. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment, as employers have a low regard for the General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have the character of your discharge changed, it is  unlikely that any such applications will be successful. Time is the most influential factor in this world. It is abstract. Everything in this world is commanded and decided by time. Nobody can escape the hold of time. It is the time which gives us the opportunity to make use of it. Those who make best use of time and avail those opportunities grow and rise in life. Those who waste their time lag behind. They fail to make any mark in life. He is the wisest who makes the best use of time. He rises to the great heights who keep pace with the time. Time is very important, it should be managed as if each second , minute hour, day is money. After all time is money. If time isn’t important to you, remember its important to someone else. If you are late to something chances are you are wasting someone else’s time. Being late is a form of stealing. That’s a tough truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. When you make others wait for you, you rob minutes from them that they’ll never get back. Time they could have turned into money, or simply used for the things important to them. In coming to meet you at the agreed upon hour, they may have made sacrifices – woken up early, cut short their workout, told their kid they couldn’t read a story together – and your lateness negates those sacrifices. If you wouldn’t think of taking ten dollars from another man’s wallet, you shouldn’t think of stealing ten minutes from him either. Being punctual shows you value time yourself, and thus wouldn’t think of depriving others of this precious, but limited resource. Even when you are not dealing with work related things being on time is still important to many people, family, and friends. Being late strains your relationships. When you’re late in meeting other people, it makes them feel under-valued, that whatever you couldn’t pull yourself away from was more important or that they didn’t mean enough to you to warrant allotting sufficient time to arrive on schedule. The guest who flies in to see you feels like a dope standing at the airport alone, your date feels awkward sitting at the restaurant by herself, and your child feels abandoned as she waits with her teacher for you to arrive, all the other children having already been picked up from school. This is not the first time you’ve heard that punctuality is important. It’s easy to understand how keeping our appointments and reporting on time is a  sign of respect. This is especially the case for improving employee productivity. If your leader keeps their word about meetings, deadlines and other time-sensitive promises, it’s easy to feel motivated to get things done. Failure to be prompt has consequences. When you are late or blow someone off entirely, you are telling them that your time is more important than theirs. Of course we should all be on time. And naturally, when circumstances pop up we should call ahead to say we are running late. Let’s put aside human psychology and Army mumbo jumbo for a moment, however, and talk about machinery. Time is an essential element in any working system. The spark plugs in an engine have to fire at exactly the right speed. A bridge can hold the weight of a million cars, as long as are spaced far enough apart. A clock quickly becomes useless if every second is not precisely one second long. All of these parameters are designed for increasing employee productivity. Time is important! Being late is like taking the oil out of a well run machine. It gums up the works, cranks up the heat, and causes things to break. When you are late to a doctor’s appointment, you may cause a domino effect that disrupts other patients. And when the doctor is running behind, you may end up waiting for ages thanks to overlapping ripples in the schedule. This problem applies to any business. Improvement is only possible if we recognize that failure to manage time affects everything.

Cell Phone Industry

Cell Phone Industry INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to explain the innovation and evaluate the innovations benefits in a particular industry. The subject of my assignment is the company of Research In Motion (RIM) and RIMs product which is called Blackberry in cell phones industry. All industries need to creative new products or improve their products to satisfy the costumers. By this reason innovation is very important issue in todays competitive business world. The RIM produce innovate the e-mail wireless system and in this point Blackberries are one of the best smart phones in cell phones sector. This assignment also makes some estimates about Blackberry and its position in the cell phones sector. THE HÄ °STORY OF CELL PHONES INDUSTRY In the past centuries, nowadays communication technology was only a dream. Cell phones, internet chat, e-mail were very extreme machines or system for the people. However depend on the improving of communication technology all these dreams has been becoming real. (M. Woods 2005). During the 1940s, the radio technology was developed and this was constituted the first step of cell phones history. The beginning of cell phones was based on the innovation of radio communication which was used especially in taxi caps, police cars and other means of transportations to provide two ways communicate one to another or communicate only the central base. And also individual radios help to improving cell phone communication technology with patching into a phone line via live operator to make a phone call. Swedish police used the first official mobile phone in 1946. There was a link between telephone network and the new technology and the new system was very different from two way radio system. But it was not sufficient enough, only 6 phone calls were done before the battery was finished. The modern cell phones technology was created by the same time with creation of hexagonal cells in 1947. Moreover the development of cell phone technologies naturally has been following the improving of technologies and first electronics cell phone developed during the 1960s. The problem of these cell phones is; the user had to stay one cell area because cell areas which were serviced by a base station were unable to hand off cellular phone calls from one base station to another. While you could make a phone call, you werent able to continue the call after you reached a set range. This problem was solved by A. E. Joel in 1970, call handoff system was built up and this system provides the user carrying on the phone call from one place to another without switching off the phone. Following decades the cell phones technologies continue the improving. The cell phones can be classified with three groups; first, second and third generations. First Generation Cell Phones: In 1983, the first portable cell phone was presented to world by Motorola and the name of this product was Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. The cost of research to improve the cell phone was over 100 million dollars and it took about 15 years to prepare it for market. It looked like brick and it weighed about 28 ounces. Until the beginning of the 1990s the popularity of cell phones increase due to innovations in cellular networks. However, most common style of using was in car like a car phone because of its dimension. Second Generation Cell Phones: During the 1990s, due to new system such as GSM,IS-136 and IS-95 cell phones skipped the second generation (2G). The new digital mobile phones started to use in the United State in 1990 and in Europe by 1991. 2G mobile phones enabled to get network signal faster, the quality of calls was better and the amount of dropped calls decrease by the digital system. The size of 2G phones absolutely smaller than the â€Å"brick† phones which were produced former decade. 2G phones were usually in the range of 100 to 200 grams; in addition, most of them did not need large batteries. With these innovations also provided remarkable increase the amount of cell phone user. Third Generation Cell Phones: The most common name of third generation is 3G and these phones available today. Only few years after 2G, 3G phones were improved. Due to many innovations in technology and services, standards for 3G are usually different depending on the network. Todays cell phones are not only using for handle text messages and such contacts book. The new cell phones include GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity and motion sensors. These phones are able to get the e-mails, connect the computers and provide the videophone. According to Andy Jones, head of information security research at British Telecommunications, â€Å"Mobile phones are becoming a bigger part of our lives†. â€Å"RESEARCH IN MOTION† AND BLACKBERRY The History of Research in Motion: In 1984, a pair of engineering students, one each from the Universities of Waterloo and of Windsor found the Research in Motion. The technology of RIM created the most common Blackberry mobile communication tool. RIM was the first wireless data technology developer in North America and created several wireless products, including wireless Point-of-Sale devices, radio modems, and the first two-way messaging pager. In 1998, the small portable wireless handheld was produced by RIM and the name of the machine was RIM 950. RIM 950 handled e-mails contacts and calendaring with a fitted QWERTY keyboard. The first Blackberry two-way was produced in 1999 but the opportunity of pushing e-mail and SMS was allowed on the world in 2002 with 5810. Businesses soon saw the power of the QWERTY keypad handsets as an office tool, and havent looked back since, with the first colour models in 2003 and first packing Wi-Fi in 2004. Today, the Blackberry phone is one of the leading cell phones in the market and the popularity of the Blackberry has been increasing day by day. The user of Blackberry phones take significantly advantages, especially business who needs an advanced phone to communicate with their office when staying outside. The blackberry earned the many professionals confidence by the way of answering their needs. Also business world not only one market which Blackberry sold, many people interest in using smart phones to connect internet or GPS, take and share photos with the phone. INNOVATION According to management expert Peter Drucker, innovation is change that creates a new dimension of performance. One of the most important things is creativity for innovation. The foundation of innovation is new ideas and new criteria and also personal success. The source of creativity is statement of new ideas and new solutions. In addition, innovation get agreement from the others to be successful and the idea of innovation influence the other people ideas. All industries need innovation every time to improve their influence areas and to reach their target. Customers always have some future expectations and organizations want to answer these demands with new innovations. To make a successful innovation, recognize and estimate the new opportunities is playing significant role. Creativity involves transformation such as dramatic change in form, structure, process, appearance or character of a person, a product, or an environment. In other words, creativity involves the making change f rom present situation to future for greater returns. Form creativity new life begins in business world. (Marci Segal 2003). The results of innovation are hard to measure. It is so complicated to understand. There are many sorts of dimension that include a diversity of activities. The main point of innovation is about product, it should be new. Moreover it may also be a new process of production, alternatives of a cheaper material, include improvement for this issue and uncovered product, open for the improvement and have a easy way to developed more innovations. The transformation process to provide technological and economic consideration from innovation is also complex. (R. Landau, N. Rosenberg 1986). INNOVATION OF BLACKBERRY The innovation of Blackberry maybe creates a question about is it radical innovation or a step-change innovation. Although the e-mails are sent by computer, it is significant to note that blackberry provide an opportunity to send and receive e-mails while moving or out of office. Also the size of blackberry is very small it is exactly a smart phone and obtains important advantages to users. As a result, blackberry is a radical innovation for those corporate executives, government officials and emergency driven professionals for whom doing business has changed. Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO state an opinion about importance of time. If the blackberry had represented earlier, it may not have been very popular because e-mails did not use very common. â€Å"It was the right time for us to do that because the offering and the market opportunity and the value proposition and uniqueness stood on its own merit. We did it at the time and we certainly have no regrets. It appears, in hindsight, to have been a very wise strategy,† he says. The benefits of blackberry against laptop and the mobile phone are a little bit complicated. The position of Blackberry lie between laptop and mobile phone in other words the value of Blackberry is in the middle of these two devices. However the security of data being directly erasable if the Blackberry is lost and the management of sophisticated images are more than for the laptop and mobile phone. Moreover, time is very important in todays competitive business world. Blackberry considers using time more efficiently with providing business to check e-mails and complete their transaction out of the office without computer. (Swastik Nigam 2007). It is certain that Blackberry is one of the most powerful devices which bring the wireless technology to daily life use. The person who is carrying this extreme machine will never become out of contact. The Research In Motion (RIM), the producer of Blackberry, after the first device which called Interactive Pagers hit the market in the summer of 1998 has been becoming of a phenomena in market. THE REPORT OF RIM AND FUTURE EXPECTATÄ °ONS As I mentioned before the first RIM product hit the market at 1998. After that producing Blackberries models was followed this improvement. In a short time, Blackberry have came a popular and also RIM sales have increased sharply. The RIM started to sell the Blackberry firstly in USA and after a time period the Blackberry spread all over the world. 2009 Market 2008 Market Company Shares Sales (%) Shares Sales (%) Nokia 14,911.2 42,1 14,588.6 45,1 Research in Motion 7,233.6 19,9 4,311.8 13,3 Apple 3,938.8 10,8 1,725.3 5,3 HTC 1,957.3 5,4 1,276.9 4 Fujitsu 1,387 3,8 1,317.5 4,1 Others 6,896.4 18,8 9,094.8 28,1 The table above indicates that the smart phone sales increased from first quarter of 2008 to first quarter of 2009. Garther analysts illustrate the significant success in Research in Motion and Apple sales. â€Å"Much of the smart phone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touch screen products, both in midtier and high-end devices,† said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. Touch screen is not only one reason for this increasing, people all over the world wants mobile e-mail, music service and also internet from their phone with depending on the technological development in smart phone industry. (Stamford, Conn., May 20, 2009) Comparison with Apple: The major competitor of Research in Motion is Apple iPhone. The cost of latest version Blackberry smart phone, which is called Blackberry Storm, has a higher production cost than iPhone 3G. According to iSuppli, a research firm in electronics market, one unit of Blackberry Storm cost is $ 202.89 although an iPhone cost is $174.33. Despite the cost difference and popularity of Apples best-selling device, RIM still tops the league of smart phone sales. RIM said that it shipped 4.4 million Blackberry handsets in the fourth quarter alone, bumping up total numbers to about 14 million for the 2008 fiscal year, and more than doubling sales of 6.4 million for fiscal 2007. By comparison, Apple has said that it sold 2.3 million iPhones in the three months to December 29, and a total of about 4 million in the six months since the devices US launch. Blackberry accounted for 41 per cent of all smart phones sold in the US in the fourth quarter, compared with the iPhones 28 per cent share, according to the Reading-based researcher Canalys. With this successful year RIM recently started targeting to become a leader in consumer market. The RIMs chief executive Jim Balsilie added that despite of the global credit crunch they goals the increase the revenue and they will make more profit from the Blackberry sells. (Times Online, April 03, 2008). The Blackberry producer Research in Motion declared that they beat the analysts expectations in forth quarter of 2009. RIM made a $ 518.3 million profit in the forth quarter and a 26 percent increase from the same period last year. The revenue for the forth quarter of 2009 was $ 3.46bn, up 84 percent from a year ago. According to co-chief executive at RIM Jim Balsillie, the company is very happy about their success of Blackberry products sales in forth quarter of 2009. (Tom Young Computing, 03 April 2009). Future Plans of Research in Motion: Additionally, RIM also has some future plans to improve their products and reach their target. The company wants to add some new facilities to Blackberry. The company will add application of Java and Adobe Reader to provide the costumer better smart phone especially in internet world. With these applications consumers, who are using the Blackberry could access all information easily. The format of data will not be a problem for the Blackberrys owners. The most effective innovation might be occur in the future is; RIM thinking to do a deal with T-mobile to provide costumers better service. Although the credit crunch, according to co-chief of RIM they will try to not lose their market position and continue the improvement of their products. CONCLUSION Today, Research In Motion Limiteds Blackberry is the leading product of representing wireless e-mail for the smart phone. The Blackberry are sold across North America and Europe and nowadays it is taken root the Asia Pacific. The Blackberry is a big innovation for the cell phone industry by provides the easiest way to connect e-mail with wireless to the costumers. As far I am concerned that innovation should include some new ideas and creativity. Although wireless technology was being used by computers, the RIMs Blackberry meets the wireless to the smart phones at first time. Now, all smart phones user expects from the phones to connect internet and want to check their e-mail while buying a new one. RIM was founded in 1984 by two engineering student. The firm started to produce Blackberry in 1998 and sharply became popular in the smart phones market. Also RIMs Blackberry has some competitor in todays rivalry market such as Nokia and iPhone but the target of company is to become a leader in this sector. These days, the RIM is looking for new innovations to improve the Blackberry. All industries need to develop and create new innovation to answer costumers expectations. Following the improvement in technology products has been becoming more and better and if an organization wants to reach top or to increase the sales, they innovate new products. References 1. Michael Woods. â€Å"The History Of Communication†, Lerner Publication, First Edition 2005 2. http://www.tech-faq.com/history-of-cell-phones.shtml 3. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427301.100-the-pocket-spy-will-your-smartphone-rat-you-out.html?full=true 4. http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/8041.aspx 5. http://experts.thelink.co.uk/2008/12/19/a-brief-history-of-blackberry/ 6. Kathryn Vercillo. â€Å"History of Major Blackberry Models from RIM 96†, available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/History-of-Major-Blackberry-Models-from-RIM 7. Marci Segal. â€Å"Quick Guide to the Four Temperaments and Creativity: A Psychological Understanding of Innovation†, Telos Publication, 2003. 8. Ralph Landau, Nathan Rosenberg, National Academy of Engineering. â€Å"The Positive sum strategy: harnessing technology for economic growth†, Conference publication, 1986. 9. Swastik Nigam, â€Å"Understanding New Product Innovation: Research in Motions Blackberry† ,available at: http://insightory.com/view/231//understanding_new_product_innovation:_research_in_motion%27s_blackberry 10. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2008/id2008044_416784.htm 11. Tom Young Computing, â€Å"Blackberry maker sees strong profit growth†, 03 April 2009, available at: http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2239782/blackberry-maker-sees-strong 12. Stamford, Con., â€Å"Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Declined 8.6 Per Cent and Smartphones Grew 12.7 Per Cent in First Quarter of 2009†, available at: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=985912 13. http://laptopcom.blogspot.com/2009/01/apple-iphones-are-less-costly-to.htm 14. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3676963.ece

African Slave Trade and West African Underdevelopment

African Slave Trade and West African Underdevelopment This paper looks at whether the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. The paper argues that the issue of African underdevelopment is extremely complex, including many factors, aside from the Atlantic slave trade, that have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the underdevelopment of Africa. The paper begins with a review of the slave trade, in terms of the numbers of people involved in this, and the immediate effects of this trade on local economies. The effects of this trade on importing economies is then reviewed, and it is shown that many importing countries benefited massively from this trade, through increased labour supply and through monetary gains which were then applied to developing industry in the importing countries. The repercussions of this industrial development are then discussed, in terms of its effects on Africa. The paper then moves on to look at the effect of the slave trade on Africa, in terms of the demographic imbalances this caused, and the effects this had on the development of African countries, in terms of social, political and economic development. The paper then moves on to look at the roles, and effects, of the colonial powers on African countries, in terms of exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the immediate and long-lasting effects this has had on Africa, and the continuing exploitation of Africa, through development loans, for example, which cripple the economies of many African countries, through the massive interest payments required, which leaves little money for investment to develop local industry, or social projects. The paper thus sees African underdevelopment as a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans. In addition to looking at the effects of the slave trade on African underdevelopment, the term ‘underdevelopment’ will be discussed in an African context. As will be seen, Rodney (1972) argues, in his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). The paper will conclude that capitalist exploitation of Africa began with the slave trade and continues to the present day and is, as we have see, the major factor that was, and continues to be, responsible for th e comparative underdevelopment of African nations. As we have argued, the slave trade per se did not contribute to the comparative underdevelopment of Africa, rather a complex mixture of exploitation, lack of opportunity, and capitalist interests contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa. It is estimated by Curtin (1969) that 9,566,100 slaves were exported from Africa to the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin, from it’s beginning in 1451 to when this trade ended in 1870. Many subsequent researchers have, however, provided evidence which shows that this figure is an under-estimation; for example, Stein (1978) has presented a figure some twenty per cent higher than Curtin’s (1969) estimation and Lovejoy (1982) used new calculations, and new shipping data, to put the figure at some 11,698,000. Whatever the exact figure, however, it is clear that demographically, this trade had a massive impact on West Africa, with Thornton (1980) showing that there are marked differences in economic, demographic, political and social development between slave-depleted areas, slave-importing areas and slave-trading areas. The debate that subsequently surrounded Curtin’s estimation of the number of people involved in the Atlantic slave trade has therefore i nvolved much more than a disagreement about numbers: it rests more, now, on whether the slave trade was actually a contributing factor in the current underdevelopment of West Africa. This paper expands the ideas presented by Curtin (1969), and Thornton (1980), looking at the social, economic and political effects of the slave trade on Africa. Rodney (1972; p9-10) argues very strongly that development is characterised by growth in economic production, equity in the distribution of social product and autonomy in control over social processes, and that, as such, underdevelopment is not a state that can be overcome as ‘backward’ societies move through the same stages of growth as ‘advances’ societies, as, instead, Rodney sees capitalist development and underdevelopment as two sides of the same coin (Legassick, 1976). Rodney argues strongly, throughout his book, for African capability, but argues that deeply rooted, externally imposed structural constraints prevented, and prevents, the further development of African society[1]; for example, he argues that what he terms the ‘determinative power’ of the colonial state was one factor that contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa, not necessarily, therefore, that it was the slave trade per se that contributed wholly to the underdeve lopment of West Africa; this argument is somewhat supported by Brett (1973), who argues strongly throughout his book that the colonial state presence prevented industrialisation in the East African countries he studied, arguing that resource allocation led to peasant agricultural systems becoming the dominant form of agriculture in these countries, for example. It is interesting, then, that both these authors see colonial rule (i.e., political structure) as being the dominant force shaping underdevelopment in Africa, with Brett (1973) arguing that this was the sole factor important in shaping underdevelopment, and Rodney (1972) arguing that colonial rule was but one factor shaping underdevelopment in Africa, in concert with, for example, the demographic skews caused by the slave trade. As such, as Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972) argue, the presence of a colonial power in Africa prevented the development of political structures which would have been conducive to a coherent and holistic development of an industrialised society in Africa; without a political structure which supported assessments of the international economy, from an African perspective, and without political power with an African interest, Africa was left high and dry, unable to develop on African terms, and left at the mercy of the colonial political power, who made decisions based on their own interests, not decisions that were best, in the short or long term, for Africa. The presence of the colonial power thus, itself, led to the underdevelopment of Africa, politically, which had, and continues to have (as we shall see) massive repercussions for African society, in terms of its economic and social development. This academic argument over the numbers of slaves involved in the slave trade shadows the massive scale of the problem: slaves were preferred to be between the ages of fifteen and thirty five, and more men were taken than women, at a ratio of 2:1, skewing the demographics of the towns and villages from where the slaves were taken (Rodney, 1972). As we have seen, 9,566,100 slaves were exported from Africa to the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin, from it’s beginning in 1451 to when this trade ended in 1870. Many subsequent researchers have, however, provided evidence which shows that this figure is an under-estimation; for example, Stein (1978) has presented a figure some twenty per cent higher than Curtin’s (1969) estimation and Lovejoy (1982) used new calculations, and new shipping data, to put the figure at some 11,698,000. Whatever the number of slaves that were exported, however, the slave trade essentially extracted all of the healthy men, of reproductive age from African countries involved in the slave trade: this, essentially, led to a lack of a suitable workforce with which to forge ahead with agricultural, social or technological developments, leading to a lack of internal development within Africa, which, couple with the import of cheap goods in to Africa from industrialising nations (i.e., the colonial powers) led to the death of the African manufacturing industry. This, coupled with the lack of a coherent African political power with a presence, and an influence in the region, led directly to the underdevelopment of African countries. In essence, due to the slave trade and the presence of the colonial power, Africa (African leaders) never had a chance to assess itself and to make decisions as to how to go forward and develop political, economic or social structures that would have led to econo mic success. This alone has contributed to the lag in development of Africa, if, indeed it is a lag, if Africa can ever come out of the underdeveloped state it is in, which is a moot point, and which many argue can never happen. This, in conjunction with the massive exploitation of Africa’s natural resources, such as oil, diamonds, bauxite, copper, by external companies (owned by individuals based within the colonial powers) seeking to make a profit from these resources has, many argue, doomed Africa to perpetual underdevelopment. This, in conjunction with ‘aid’ loans given by the World Bank, for example, which have left the economies of African countries in massive debt, with the interest, alone, crippling the economies of these countries, has, again, left Africa in a situation from which it is difficult to see a recovery, let alone a move towards any form of meaningful economic development. The raping of Africa: it’s people, it’s resources, it’s opportun ities, is therefore something that has been present throughout it’s history and which continues to the present day. Thus, not only did the Atlantic slave trade contribute to the underdevelopment of Africa, through the many routes that have already been discussed, but the colonial presence in Africa which led to the raping of Africa’s natural resources, and the domination of these natural resources by external, foreign, companies, has led directly to underdevelopment. These resources were not available for exploitation by Africans, and so Africans were not able to profit from these resources, and were not able to invest these profits in growing industry or technological developments. As such, many scholars argue, Africa was, by the very fact of the raping of its natural resources, doomed to underdevelopment. This coupled with crippling levels of debt that have been incurred through ‘developmental aid’ loans with unfairly high levels of interest, from previous colonial powers, has led to the continued underdevelopment of many African countries. Current campaigns to ‘drop th e debt’ in many African countries may, it has to be said, have come far too late to have much effect, especially when one considers the other, more deadly, scourge which is altering African demographics today: HIV, which, it is estimated, culls more of the African population in many African countries than was ever taken by the slave trade. This new demographic threat is even more deadly considering that drugs are available to treat the disease caused by this virus, but that the current colonial powers, and the companies that are protected by laws of these colonial powers, do not allow these drugs to be sold at a reasonable cost to Africa, essentially blocking off a route to treatment, and condemning a whole generation of Africans to death, and through this, condemning Africa to decades, if not centuries, of continued underdevelopment. In light of this historic pattern of the raping of Africa, perhaps the question should not be how did the slave trade contribute to Africa’s underdevelopment, but, rather, how did the imported slaves contribute to the rapid development of the host countries. For example, African slaves were used in gold and silver mining in the Americas, and certainly speeded up Europe’s technological development, with, for example, English ports involved in the slave trade, such as Liverpool, growing economically with the importing of slaves, and then this economic growth fuelling development in this region which, ultimately, led to the Industrial Revolution. Other specific examples from an English context include individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insuranc e following involvement in the slave trade. James Watt, of steam engine fame, also accepted money from slave traders to fund the development of his steam engine; without the slave trade, therefore, many technological developments in Europe, particularly England, would not have happened, and Europe, the world, would not be so well-developed. Imagine a world without the Industrial Revolution: it would, ironically, perhaps look something like Africa looks today. This simplistic analysis of the effects of the importing of slaves is just that: simplistic, but it shows, in rough terms, how the slave trade contributed to economic development and societal progress in the importing countries. This, then, fuelled the rise, the development, of these societies, at the expense of the exporting countries, fuelling longer and stricter periods of colonial rule in the exporting countries, and causing yet more underdevelopment in these countries. This process, in concert with massive demographic depletions, which left, realistically, no workforce in some regions of West Africa, contributed to the underdevelopment of these societies, economically, socially and politically, as, we have seen, is argued by Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972)[2]. In addition, as many current scholars argue, it was, perhaps is, the inability of African societies to come to terms with the consequences of the slave trade that has also held the development of Africa back in realistic terms. For example, many of the African slaves were actually sold to Europeans by Africans themselves, either African leaders or traders, who often conducted raids to collect (i.e., kidnap) suitable subjects for sale in to slavery. Some of these African slave traders became very rich on the profits of their trade, but, unlike in Europe, as we have seen, these traders did not invest their profits in African society or in technological developments; they simply used the money for personal gain and personal interests. The interests of African slave traders in the slave trade, and their reliance on this trade, was shown to be extremely strong following the discussions to abolish this trade; much of the opposition to abolition was from African slave traders themselves, wh o were worried that they would lose out on a massive source of income. Indeed, many did lose income from the Atlantic slave trade and then turned to internal slave trading as a means of generating income. Thus, the slave trade, whilst lessening in volume, did not cease entirely in many African countries, and continued to contribute to a disruption of local societies and to a lack of holistic development of social, political and economic forces within many African societies, in which the slave traders (often rulers, as we have seen) began to act, to take the role of, the colonial power, forging similar patterns of underdevelopment to those described by Brett (1973) for colonial powers in Africa. In addition, much of the profit from the slave trade made by African slave traders was not invested in infrastructure or social projects, or in planning for development through technological improvements; most of the profits, as we have seen, were invested in arms for warfare or in consumer goods. This flood of consumer goods, produced outside of Africa, in Europe for example, had the effect of destroying the few local industries there were, with the long-term effect of destroying many of the manufacturing industries in Africa and, as such, denying Africans the basic conditions for economic growth. The slave trade did not encourage African societies to enter in to the international economy in a positive way, rather it encouraged Western economic development, through, as we have seen, providing a source of labour and income, and by providing markets for some of the new products that were being produced by the Industrial Revolution. This paper will conclude, therefore, that the Atlantic slave trade did not per se cause underdevelopment in Africa, rather that the slave trade is but one piece of a complicated jigsaw of effects that, as a whole, forced Africa in to underdevelopment. The slave trade did take massive numbers of young males out of Africa, thus causing severe depletions in the African workforce, and meaning that the African population growth was curtailed for many years, through lack of breeding, for example[3]. In addition, the import of a workforce in to Europe caused inflations in the local economies at the importing ports, which had cascade effects on the local areas; the slave trade also meant that many individuals became rich, and were able to fund technological developments, which helped to fuel, in part, the Industrial Revolution, for example. This meant that the colonial powers could govern more effectively and for a more prolonged period; meaning that political and social systems of control w ere not developed internally within the African slave-importing countries, this itself fuelling years of political and social underdevelopment. Thus, many factors, not just the slave trade per se contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. A statement such as â€Å"the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa† is far too simplistic to describe the whole cascade of effects that were, have been, and continue to be important in the underdevelopment of West Africa. James Baldwin’s statement, â€Å"The past is what makes the present coherent, and the past will remain horribly incoherent for as long as we refuse to assess it honestly† is particularly apt for the current discussion of this issue. Scholars of different persuasions (whites vs. blacks, Marxists vs. non-Marxists etc) all have their own interpretations of this period of African history, but it is the responsibility of all mankind to assess this situation responsibly, to acknowledge the continued underdevelopment of Africa as a global, moral, responsibility of all humankind, and not to distort the past and use it to cause continued repression and underdevelopment of this continent. Recent plans, and recent events, for example, leading to the privatisation of water in many African countries is, for example, nothing more than a repeat of colonialism in Africa, a repeat of the raping of Africa, with foreign firms entering in to African economies and destroying them: water privatisation has been shown, for example, to devastate local economies, through ground-up failures in local businesses who can no longer afford to use water. That this has been allowed to happen is a travesty, an insult to Africa, and to all underdeveloped nations; it is a continuation of the exploitation of Africa, its people and its resources, that began at the time of the inception of the slave trade and which continues until the present day. It should ideally be that governments learn from their mistakes through analysis of historical records, not that these mistakes are hidden and repeated in future. As Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972) argue strongly, however, money talks more than moral resp onsibilities, and capitalism will always have two sides: one side that wins and another that loses, facing underdevelopment and poverty as a consequence of losing this battle. As we have seen, this paper has looked at whether the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. The paper has argued that the issue of African underdevelopment is extremely complex, including many factors, aside from the Atlantic slave trade, that have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the underdevelopment of Africa. The paper began with a review of the slave trade, in terms of the numbers of people involved in this, and the immediate effects of this trade on local economies. The effects of this trade on importing economies was then reviewed, and it was shown that many importing countries benefited massively from this trade, through increased labour supply and through monetary gains which were then applied to developing industry in the importing countries[4]. The repercussions of this industrial development were then discussed, in terms of its effects on Africa, showing that local industry was destroyed as a result of cheap imports of textiles, for example, following the manufacturing of this in England following the Industrial Revolution. The paper then moved on to look at the effect of the slave trade on Africa, in terms of the demographic imbalances this caused, and the effects this had on the development of African countries, in terms of social, political and economic development. It was shown that African economic development was held back directly, due to the lack of a workforce and the decline in population growth in Africa over the period the slave trade was active. The paper then moved on to look at the roles, and effects, of the colonial powers on African countries, in terms of exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the immediate and long-lasting effects this has had on Africa, and the continuing exploitation of Africa, through development loans, for example, which cripple the economies of many African countries, through the massive interest payments required, which leaves little money for investment to develop local industry, or social projects. The paper thus concludes that African underdevelopment as a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans. The future is bleak for Africa, and it should be the responsibility of all mankind to act to improve the chances, the opportunities for, all African children, so that the cycle of underdevelopment is not repeated in future. Whether this will happen, however, is dependent on governments, who are run on capitalist principles, and as history has shown us, capitalist, whilst having its shining glories also has a very dark side, which is, essentially, underdevelopment. As we have seen, in light of this historic pattern of the raping of Africa, perhaps the question should not be how did the slave trade contribute to Africa’s underdevelopment, but, rather, how did the imported slaves contribute to the rapid development of the host countries. African slaves were used in gold and silver mining in the Americas, harvesting gold and silver, which was then used to develop these countries. Slavery also certainly speeded up Europe’s technological development, with, for example, English ports involved in the slave trade, such as Liverpool, growing economically with the importing of slaves, and then this economic growth fuelling development in this region, which, ultimately, led to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution led the world in to industrialisation, or rather, those sections of the world which had political, economic and social systems in place to realise the implications of the Industrial Revolution and to jump on board of it before they got left behind and exploited. As we have seen, other specific examples from an English context include individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insurance following involvement in the slave trade. James Watt, of steam engine fame, also accepted money from slave traders to fund the development of his steam engine; without the slave trade, therefore, many technological developments in Europe, particularly England, would not have happened, and Europe, the world, would not be so well-developed. Thus, there is a direct line linking the slave trade with industrial development in the industrial world. Imagine a world without the Industrial Revolution: it would, ironically, perhaps look something like Africa looks today. That Africa was not part of this development, despite the fact that Africans he lped fuel this development is a cruelly ironic historical fact. This simplistic analysis of the effects of the importing of slaves is just that: simplistic, but it shows, in rough terms, how the slave trade contributed to economic development and societal progress in the importing countries. This, then, fuelled the rise, the development, of these societies, at the expense of the exporting countries, fuelling longer and stricter periods of colonial rule in the exporting countries, and causing yet more underdevelopment in these countries. This process, in concert with massive demographic depletions, which left, realistically, no workforce in some regions of West Africa, contributed to the underdevelopment of these societies, economically, socially and politically, as, we have seen, is argued by Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972). As we have seen, this paper thus concludes that African underdevelopment is a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans[5]. The future is bleak for Africa, and it should be the responsibility of all mankind to act to improve the chances, the opportunities for, all African children, so that the cycle of underdevelopment is not repeated in future. Whether this will happen, however, is dependent on governments, who are run on capitalist principles, and as history has shown us, capitalist, whilst having its shining glories also has a very dark side, which is, essentially, underdevelopment. As we have seen, Rodney argues that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). Capitalist exploitation of Africa began with the slave trade and continues to the present day and is, as we have see, the major factor that was, and continues to be, responsible for the comparative underdevelopment of African nations. As we have argued, the slave trade per se did not contribute to the comparative underdevelopment of Africa, rather a complex mixture of exploitation, lack of opportunity, and capitalist interests contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa. That this can be allowed to continue in to the present day is a blight on the whole of mankind, on everyone who allows this to happen, and on everyone who stands by whilst it happens. In this day and age, when children of eight years old have mobile phones and laptop computers in the ‘developed’ world, it is a travesty that many Africans are having to pay for their water, that many Africans die of AIDS because drug companies refuse to sell drugs to Africa at a reasonable cost, that the legacy of colonialism is still alive in Africa, causing continued suffering, death and exploitation. Africa, romantic, beautiful Africa, of sunsets and safaris, is more than that: it is a rich country, with strong cultures, the birthplace of mankind, and, as such, it deserves more than continued exploitation. Why should an African child’s life be worth less than an English child’s life? In this day and age this modern form of slavery, i.e., lack of opportunity, is as harmful as previous forms of slavery, if not more harmful, and is little more than a repeat of previous forms of slavery, in terms of condemning Africans to a life of misery whilst, all around, everyone else enjoys the benefits of development. Bibliography Brett, E.A., 1973. Colonialism and underdevelopment in East Africa: the politics of economic change. London: Heinemann Educational Books. Curtin, P.D., 1969. The Atlantic slave trade: a census. Madison: Wisconsin. Henige, D., 1986. Measuring the immeasurable: the Atlantic slave trade, West African population and the Pyrrhonian Critic. The Journal of African History 27(2), pp.295-313. Legassick, M., 1976. Review article: perspectives on African development. Journal of African History 17(3), pp.435-440. Lovejoy, P.E., 1982. The volume of the Atlantic slave trade. The Journal of African History 23(4), pp.473-501. Rodney, W., 1972. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications. Stein, R., 1978. Measuring the French slave trade 1713-1792/3. Journal of African history 19(4), pp.515-521. Thornton, J., 1980. The slave trade in eighteenth century Angola: effects on demographic structures. Canadian Journal of African Studies 14(3), pp.417-427. 1 Footnotes [1] In the same vein, Rodney argues that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). [2] As has been argued, the slave trade essentially extracted all of the healthy men, of reproductive age from African countries involved in the slave trade: this, essentially, led to a lack of a suitable workforce with which to forge ahead with agricultural, social or technological developments, leading to a lack of internal development within Africa, which, couple with the import of cheap goods in to Africa from industrialising nations (i.e., the colonial powers) led to the death of the African manufacturing industry. This, coupled with the lack of a coherent African political power with a presence, and an influence in the region, led directly to the underdevelopment of African countries. In essence, due to the slave trade and the presence of the colonial power, Africa (African leaders) never had a chance to assess itself and to make decisions as to how to go forward and develop political, economic or social structures that would have led to economic success. [3] Rodney, for example, in his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa shows that whilst the population of Europe quadrupled over the period when the slave trade was functioning, the population of Africa grew by only twenty per cent. [4] For example, we have seen specific examples from an English context, including individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insurance following involvement in the slave trade. We have also seen how James Watt, of steam en