Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Women Have the Right to Choose Abortion Essay - 1599 Words

Women Have the Right to Choose Abortion An abortion is a womans option to terminate a pregnancy. It is an induced miscarriage. Abortion has become an extremely controversial topic in the past 3 decades since it has been legalized. There has been extreme violence stemming from this issue that we as a country need to put under control, regardless of our personal stances on the issue. There are many reasons why a woman would choose to have an abortion. She does not feel she is ready to be a parent, she can not afford a baby, and being too young or immature to be responsible for another life are only three of these reasons. If a woman becomes pregnant due to a rape or from incest would be another reason. It has been found†¦show more content†¦There are currently two types of abortions, medical abortions and surgical abortions. A medical abortion is done without surgery. There are two steps to this abortion. First the woman is either given an injection of a drug called methotrexate or a tablet called mifepristone. These drugs stop the pregnancy. Next the woman is given Misoprostol, which may be recieved in either pill or suppository form. This causes the uterus to contract and empty, which expels the fetus from the womans body. This type of abortion can cost the woman anywhere from $200 to $350. The second type of abortion is a surgical abortion. There are three commonly used methods of surgical abortion: manual vacuum aspiration, dilation and suction cutterage, or dilation and evacuation. The method used depends upon the length of the pregnancy. The manual vacuum aspiration empties the uterus with the gentle suction of a manual syringe. This type of abortion can be used up to ten weeks from the woman s last period. The second method of surgical abortion is the dilation and suction cutterage method. During this procedure the uterus is emptied with a machine-operated suction. A narrow metal loop also known as a curette may be used to clean the walls of the uterus. This method of abortion can be from six to fourteen weeks after the womans last period. Both of these procedures take about 10 minutes to complete. The last method of surgical abortion is the dilationShow MoreRelatedEssay about Although Controversial, Abortion is a Reality845 Words   |  4 PagesPolicy Proposal Abortion is a topic that most people prefer not to talk about. Nonetheless, although it is a controversial topic, it is also an undeniable reality. Many women have practiced abortion and many more will continue doing it regardless of the laws allowing, restricting, or prohibiting this practice. According to statistics provided by Planned Parenthood 3 out of 10 women in the U.S. have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old. Abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court inRead MoreWomen Has Never Had It Easy929 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout history, women have never had it easy; women experience prejudice, stereotypes, and injustice on a daily basis, in every aspect of life. Women are typically stereotyped to cater their husbands, keep up with the housework, and most importantly stay home and take care of their children. Typically, women are stereotyped to put being a mother as her number one priority; however, some women don’t want to be mothers. What if someone does n’t want to be a mother, but accidentally gets pregnantRead MoreShould Abortion Be A Pro Choice?954 Words   |  4 Pagesbelievers support the idea that women have the choice to do what they want with their bodies. In the article, â€Å"Yes, I’m Pro-Abortion,† Lauren Rankin asserts that being Pro-Choice means accepting abortion as one of the choices women have the right to make. Rankin says that abortion is not available for all women, especially a woman of color and low-income woman. The author also mentions that it sidelines abortion and delegitimizes the valid choice. I agree that if one chooses to be Pro-Choice, then oneRead MoreAbortion: I Am Pro-Choice Essay1023 Words   |  5 PagesSince the early 1970’s abortion has been an important issue to the United States (Tietze 1). The problem begins with whether it is the woman’s choice to keep or terminate her pregnancy or the government’s choice. When this problem happens, a woman loses h er right as a person. Most women argue about this issue, but if you look at it, it is the woman’s body, and she should do with it as she pleases. I believe that if a woman, under the right circumstances, should be able to make her own choices inRead MoreEssay on The Social Conflict of Abortion1275 Words   |  6 Pages Choice, what is choice? Choice is the right, power, or opportunity to choose. Everybody in society has a choice and these choices have many outcomes. A woman’s right to choose to have an abortion or not, is her fundamental right. If society outlaws abortion, society is interfering with the woman’s right to make decisions related to her own body. Many theorists believe that sexuality is what divides women from men and makes women less valuable than men; keeping this concept in mind it can beRead MoreAbortion: The Right to Choose700 Words   |  3 PagesAbortion: The Right to Choose Abortion is a constitutional right of a woman in the United States and therefore should not be outlawed. Certain instances prove an abortion justified and blanket legislature against such useless, such as rape and incest and the health of the mother, and a simple fact that the practice would continue, only less safely and with more casualties. In 2012, 346,830 women were raped. According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourseRead MoreAbortion Is A Way For Women1726 Words   |  7 PagesKellsey Lodahl Abortion is Ethical Abortion is a way for women, or couples, to make the best decision they can for themselves and the unborn child if they are not ready to bring a child into the world. Allowing termination as a legal and ethical option lets women know they still have a choice when their world is turned upside down. The choice to abort a pregnancy allows women to remain in control of their bodies and makes women one step closer to becoming equal to men. I argue that it is ethicallyRead MoreTen Supreme Court Decisions that Impacted the Reproduction Rights of Women1067 Words   |  5 PagesReproduction Rights of Women When talking about Supreme Court decisions that have greatly impacted the lives of women it is very hard to settle on just five of the many cases that have been ruled in favor of the rights of women. When discussing the topic of reproductive freedom and The Supreme Courts rulings on these matters ten cases can and must be discussed in order to provide a total overview and timeline of these historic rulings. The American Civil Liberties Union has helped women breechRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legal?1347 Words   |  6 Pageswhether or not women should have the right to an abortion. This is a constitutional right that all women must have in order for everyone to have true equal rights. The two sides of this debate argue whether or not the fetus is â€Å"alive,† whether abortion is ever necessary, and whether or not the procedure has negative consequences. While the â€Å"pro-life† side focuses mostly on the interpretation of the definition of life, â€Å"pro-choiceà ¢â‚¬  advocates stress the importance of women’s rights. A woman shouldRead MoreAbortion Should Be Legal For Many Years986 Words   |  4 Pagesdebate over whether or not abortion should be allowed has gotten very intricate. Because this subject is such a sensitive topic to discuss, many Americans have divided. According to www.aboritions.procon.org, abortion is considered murder. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that having an abortion is an essential right to all women. For many years, people have gone back and forth on why abortion should or should not be legal. Several individuals feel that abortions should be permitted and

Monday, December 16, 2019

Physical Anthropology Homo Erectus Free Essays

1. Introduction/General Information a. A Dutch anatomist named Eugene Dubois is responsible for the discovery of Homo erectus. We will write a custom essay sample on Physical Anthropology: Homo Erectus or any similar topic only for you Order Now b. Fossils and remains were found in 1891 on the island of Java. c. Homo erectus is an extinct hominid that lived between 1.6 million and 250,000 years ago. d. Homo erectus is thought to have evolved in Africa from another human ancestor known as Homo habilis–which happens to be the first member of the genus Homo. e. Homo erectus dispersed into Asia more than 1.3 million years ago and then into Europe about 400,000 years ago. 2. Physical Description (What did they look like?) a. Anatomically and physiologically, Homo erectus is similar to modern humans except for a slightly heavier bone structure. b. The size of its braincase is not that different from Homo sapiens, however the cranial bones are much bigger than that of either Homo habilis or modern humans. c. There was a progressive reduction in sexual dimorphism, until there was a similar ration between the two sexes. d. Proportions of the limbs to the body are much more like those of modern humans. Arms are not long and ape-like in relation to the Homo habilis. 3. Diet Technology a. The adapted technological uses of Homo erectus was said to be significantly more complex than that of its predecessors. b. They made use of stone tools, other varieties of tools created from wood, and fire. c. Interestingly, they created and seasonally resided in oval-shaped huts. d. Homo erectus populations used these huts while also living a life that consisted of surviving based on a combination of intense hunting and the gathering of shellfish and plant foods e. With intense competition for food against large predators, in an environment subject to frequent changes, theoretically caused certain Homo erectus subsets to invent new tools etc. f. As for most hunter gatherers, their diet would have consisted of red meat, occasional shellfish, roots, leaves, nuts, berries, wild grasses, honey and bird’s eggs. 4. Behaviors/Social Interactions a. Some researchers considered the social aspects of the species closer to those of modern man than the groups who came before it. b. Members of the Homo erectus species might have communicated with a sort of â€Å"pre-language†. c. Some African sites had remains that showed evidence that despite the human-like anatomy of the species; members were physically incapable of making sounds associated with modern language. 5. Conclusion a. A brief summary of the characteristics and lifestyle of the once existent Homo erectus How to cite Physical Anthropology: Homo Erectus, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Aboriginals Indigenous People In Australia â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Aboriginals Indigenous People In Australia? Answer: Introducation The report focuses on the social policy in Australia and the implications of the same. The policy that has been dealt in the report is the assimilation policy. It further deals with the issues and problems it deals with and a detail of the term of it has been discussed. The purpose of the report is to deal the implications of the policy. The aim of the policy is to describe the history, features, and development of the policy. A suggestion has been drawn in the conclusion about how the policies could have been implemented in a better way to remove the issue. The Social Policy One of the most striking social policies is the assimilation policy. The centre for independent research has made a detailed study of this policy. This policy majorly focused on the absorption of the aboriginal people of Australia. The intention of the policy was to destroy the aboriginal society (Hollinsworth, 2013). The Aboriginal Protection Board adopted the policy in the year 1951. After the formation of the board, it officially made efforts to increase the pre-established practice of eliminating the children with comparatively fair skin who were then thought to be the partial aboriginal from the families itself. They were sent to the training institutes where they could be trained in taking part in the white society. In Australia, many were afraid of the new culture that was coming in Australia. There was a fear that the new entry would destroy the existing culture of Australia. The aboriginals were initially promised to stay in the land forever but later they were removed from their own land. Therefore, the major aspect of the policy was the lack of right to citizenship. The aboriginal people were denied the right to citizenship. The policy emerged to protect their right. The policy was forms on the assumption that the aboriginal population would be diminished but it did not work. The population went on increasing and at present many people of aboriginal decent has been from their own land and some have been even left homeless in the past (Cis.org.au/commentary/articles/indigenous-housing-deja-vu, 2017). The Emergence Of The Policy The policy was originated in the late nineteenth century. Initially it was assumed that the indigenous population in Australia would extinct. Later the population of these category of people started to increase and as a result it was understood that the aboriginals would not disappear from the society. The Australian government found the solution to this problem. It thought to discontinue the policy of protection to them, which made a separation of the indigenous people from the white ones (Beresford, Partington Gower, 2012). The indigenous people were placed on reserves and missions. The assimilation policies proposed that the original indigenous people should be allowed to die out through the process of natural elimination and on the other hand, the half- castes were inspired to mix up with the white community. The indigenous people were not allowed to use all the services that were made available only to the people with white skin. It is because of this reason that the policy cam e into effect (Van Krieken, 2012). Implementations Of The Policy The primary focus of the policy was on the children who were thought to more adaptable to the white society compared to the adults. The most remarkable application of the policy was the removal of the indigenous children in a forceful manner from the families of the children. Under this policy many generations of aboriginal children were removed from their families. They have become lost and extinct generation (Neumann, Gifford Scherr, 2014). Assimilation policy failed to improve the life of the aboriginal people in Australia, which was one of their major aims. The implication of this policy was not at all successful in Australia. It was rather a devastating one. The implementation of the policy was severe on this particular category of people and they are still suffering today. The indigenous community still today is getting affected because of the poor implication of the policy (Lingard, Creagh Vass, 2012) Analysis Of The Policy The policy was formed to preserve the rights of the aboriginals but they failed to do the same. The policy was framed with the aim of cultural assimilation. It separated the children from their native land and from their families, rather from their families. The cultural assimilation and biological absorption was a part of the assimilation policy. The biological absorption concentrated on the integration of the Aborigines with the white society by completely excluding the full-blooded individuals hoping that they would someday die out by inspiring the mixed race person to get married with the low class white people, which will result in reducing the aboriginality of the offspring. On the other hand, there is cultural assimilation, which aimed at culturally integrating the aboriginals with the white ones. It was more relevant during the Second World War (Collins, 2013). It was only after the Second World War that the realization was there that the absorption policy was not a successfu l one. The children with mixed race were still being born and the government could not ignore the indigenous population. There was no permanent solution of the problem. The population of indigenous people was not decreasing; rather it was increasing day by day. The implementation of the policy was not effective (Johnston, 2012). Conclusion The practice of the policy still mad no difference in Australia. The indigenous people are still the sufferers. It is difficult to acknowledge the effect of the policy. The Second World War played a major role in creating the issue of the assimilation policy. The implementation of the policy made the aboriginal people suffer a lot. They were literally abused and they suffered the most. Certain laws must be implemented which will serve the protection of the rights of the aboriginals in Australia. It must be checked that they are not uprooted from their land. Their current conditions must be evaluated. They must be provided with a more secure policy and secure status. References Beresford, Q., Partington, G., Gower, G. (2012). Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education.Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education, 498. Cis.org.au/commentary/articles/indigenous-housing-deja-vu/ (2017).Indigenous housing deja vu. [online] Cis.org.au. Available at: https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/indigenous-housing-deja-vu/ [Accessed 21 Sep. 2017]. Collins, J. (2013). Multiculturalism and immigrant integration in Australia.Canadian Ethnic Studies,45(3), 133-149. Hollinsworth, D. (2013). Decolonizing indigenous disability in Australia.Disability Society,28(5), 601-615. Johnston, R. (2012).The Assimilation Myth: A study of second generation Polish immigrants in Western Australia(Vol. 14). Springer Science Business Media. Lingard, B., Creagh, S., Vass, G. (2012). Education policy as numbers: Data categories and two Australian cases of misrecognition.Journal of Education Policy,27(3), 315-333. Neumann, K., Gifford, S. M., Lems, A., Scherr, S. (2014). Refugee settlement in Australia: policy, scholarship and the production of knowledge, 1952 2013.Journal of Intercultural Studies,35(1), 1-17. Van Krieken, R. (2012). Between assimilation and multiculturalism: models of integration in Australia.Patterns of Prejudice,46(5), 500-517.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

The Ecological Validity Essay Example

The Ecological Validity Paper Pennington and Hastie believed that jurors’ will construct a story to make sense of evidence and then return the verdict that has the ‘best fit’ with their story. P and H investigated whether the order of testimony had an effect on the jurors’ decisions. The sample used in this study consisted of 130 students from the University of Chicago.  The two story-telling strategies investigated in this study are; story order and witness order. Story order is when the Lawyers present evidence in the sequence that events occurred, and witness order is when lawyers present witnesses in the sequence they believe is most likely to persuade the jury (may not be the sequence in which the events occurred, also the benefits of primacy and recency effects are taken into account. Primacy effect is when for example out of a list of 10 words you are most likely to remember the first word; whereas the recency effect claims you are most likely to remember the last word. The study was a laboratory experiment, using independent groups design, with ps acting as jurors in a mock trial. The IV was the order of testimony and the DV was the verdict given. In individual cubicles ps listened to a tape recording of the stimulus trial and then responded to written questions. They were told to reach either a guilty or not guilty verdict on a murder charge. Ps were allocated to one of four conditions. In each condition, the same evidence was presented by the defence and prosecution, only the order of presentation changed (witness or story order). We will write a custom essay sample on The Ecological Validity specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Ecological Validity specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Ecological Validity specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Results of the study showed that the prosecution were most likely to win (78% of guilty verdict) when they used story order and defence used witness order. Similarly, the defence were most likely to win when they used story order and the prosecution used witness order (only 31% guilty verdict).  Pennington and Hastie concluded that order of testimony does affect juror’s decisions. In particular, jurors are more easily persuaded by ‘story order’ than ‘witness order’. P and H also suggested that the reason why 80% of criminal court cases return guilty verdicts in the US is because prosecution lawyers tend to use story order and defence lawyers tend to use witness order. Lawyers use a variety of different techniques in order to persuade a jury, into convincing their client’s innocence. Various studies have been conducted into investigating the best techniques for persuading a jury, but the main issue with many of these studies is that they l ack ecological validity. The most common method used in studies investigating persuading a jury, is a laboratory experiment in the form of a mock trial. Mock trials are often used because, people outside of the jury are not allowed into the jury room due to confidentiality of the legal process. One of the main issues with the use of mock trials is that participants often make an individual decision concerning the verdict of the trial, and are sometimes even asked to give a rating of their belief of the defendant’s guilt. For example in Edwards and Bryan, both of these issues occur, each individual participant gives a verdict as well as a number of ratings concerning their beliefs about the defendant’s guilt or innocence and their views about an appropriate sentence. As in a real court case the jury is only asked to give a verdict of guilty of innocent, which is made in a group decision, the study lacks ecological validity. Another problem with using mock trials is that there is a lack of consequence, meaning the result/verdict given by the participants has no effect on the trial, as in Pennington and Hastie’s study on the effect of order of testimony on jurors’ decisions. Due to the lack of pressure of wrongfully committing someone of a crime/vice versa as well as the lack of emotional stress associated with serving on a jury in a court room. The study is said to lack ecological validity as it cannot be applied to the real world. Mock trials often present the evidence in various ways, for instance in Pennington and Hastie’s study, the evidence is presented to the participants in individual cubicles, where they listen to a tape recording of the stimulus trial. Another form in which evidence is presented is in Cutler, ps are shown a videotaped robbery trial and in Edwards and Bryan, ps are given a transcript of an actual murder trial in California. Although in Edwards and Bran the transcript is taken from an actual case, the study is still lacking in ecological validity as it is a very different way of gathering data on the trial through a transcript or videotape than it being presented by a lawyer in court. Often small unrepresentative samples are used due to the use of opportunity sampling. For example in Edwards and Bryan 74 university students are used, as they are all students, the sample is unrepresentative of a typical jury and therefore lowing the ecological validity of the study.  Another way in which persuading a jury, can be investigated is via â€Å"shadow jury†, this is an alternative to mock trials, and consists of a group of participants who â€Å"shadow† i.e. sit in on a case/trial and at the end come to a verdict themselves, and seeing if their opinions are conclusive with the juror’s. Although there are certain advantages to this method such as an improved ecological validity as the participants receive the same amount of evidence as a real jury, presented in a real manner. However the study still lacks ecological validity due to the lack of consequences, i.e. no pressure of wrongfully committing an innocent person and vice versa.  Overall research into persuading a jury is often very lacking in ecological validity due to the laboratory method often used in the form of a mock trial. As these studies have a very low ecological validity, the studies lack applicability to the real world and have low validity in results.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Biography of Augusto Pinochet, Chiles Military Dictator

Biography of Augusto Pinochet, Chile's Military Dictator Augusto Pinochet (November 25, 1915–December 10, 2006) was an army officer and dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. His years in power were marked by inflation, poverty, and the ruthless repression of opposition leaders. Pinochet was involved in Operation Condor, a cooperative effort by several South American governments to remove leftist opposition leaders, often by murder. Several years after stepping down, he was charged with war crimes concerning his time as president but died in 2006 before being convicted on any charges. Fast Facts: Augusto Pinochet Known For: Dictator of ChileBorn: Nov. 25, 1915 in Valparaiso, ChileParents: Augusto Pinochet Vera, Avelina Ugarte MartinezDied: Dec. 10, 2006 in Santiago, ChileEducation: Chilean War AcademyPublished Works: The Crucial DaySpouse: Marà ­a  Lucà ­a  Hiriart  Rodrà ­guezChildren: Augusto Osvaldo, Jacqueline Marie, Lucà ­a, Marco Antonio, Marà ­a Verà ³nicaNotable Quote: Everything I did, all my actions, all of the problems I had I dedicate to God and to Chile, because I kept Chile from becoming Communist. Early Life Pinochet was born on Nov. 25, 1915, in Valparaiso, Chile to descendants of French settlers who had come to Chile more than a century before. His father was a middle-class government worker. The eldest of six children, Pinochet married Marà ­a  Lucà ­a  Hiriart  Rodrà ­guez in 1943 and they had five children. He entered Chilean War Academy when he turned 18  and graduated in four years as a sub-lieutenant. Military Career Begins Pinochet rose quickly through the ranks despite the fact that Chile was never at war during his military career. In fact, Pinochet never saw combat while he was in the military; the closest he came was as the commander of a detention camp for Chilean Communists. Pinochet lectured at the War Academy and wrote five  books on politics and warfare. By 1968, he was promoted to brigadier general. Pinochet and Allende In 1948, Pinochet met future President Salvador Allende, a young Chilean senator who was a socialist. Allende had come to visit the concentration camp then run by Pinochet, where many Chilean Communists were being held. In 1970, Allende was elected president, and he promoted Pinochet to be commander of the Santiago garrison. Over the next three years, Pinochet proved invaluable to Allende by helping put down opposition to Allende’s economic policies, which were devastating the nation’s economy. Allende promoted Pinochet to commander-in-chief of all Chilean armed forces in August 1973. The Coup of 1973 Allende, as it turned out, had made a grave mistake by putting his trust in Pinochet. With the people in the streets and the countrys economy in shambles, the military moved to take over the government. On Sept. 11, 1973, less than three weeks after he had been made the commander-in-chief, Pinochet directed his troops to take Santiago, the capital, and he ordered an airstrike on the presidential palace. Allende died defending the palace, and Pinochet was made part of a four-man ruling junta led by the commanders of the army, air force, police, and navy. Later, he seized absolute power. Operation Condor Pinochet and Chile were heavily involved in Operation Condor, a collaborative effort among the governments of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to control leftist dissidents such as the MIR, or Movement of the Revolutionary Left, in Bolivia, and the Tupamaros, a band of Marxist revolutionaries that operated in Uruguay. The effort consisted mainly of a series of kidnappings, disappearances, and assassinations of prominent opponents of the right-wing regimes in those countries. The Chilean DINA, a feared secret police force, was one of the driving organizations behind the operation. It is unknown how many people were killed during Operation Condor, but most of the estimates range well into the thousands. The Economy Pinochet’s team of U.S.-educated economists, who were known as â€Å"the Chicago Boys,† advocated lowering taxes, selling state-run businesses, and encouraging foreign investment. These reforms led to sustained growth, prompting the phrase â€Å"The Miracle of Chile.† However, the reforms also led to a decline in wages and a spike in unemployment, and there was a severe recession from 1980 to 1983. Steps Down In 1988, a nationwide referendum on Pinochet resulted in a majority of the people voting to deny him another term as their president. Elections were held in 1989 and the opposition candidate, Christian Democrat  Patricio Aylwin, was victorious. However, Pinochet’s supporters continued to hold enough influence in the Chilean parliament to block many proposed reforms. Pinochet remained in office until Aylwin was installed as president on March 11, 1990, although as an ex-president he remained a senator for life. He also kept his position as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Legal Troubles and Death Pinochet might have been out of the limelight, but the victims of Operation Condor did not forget about him. In October 1998, he was in the United Kingdom for medical reasons. Seizing upon his presence in a country with an extradition treaty, his opponents brought charges against him in a Spanish court in connection with the  torture  of Spanish citizens in Chile during his rule. He was charged with several counts of murder, torture, and kidnapping. The charges were dismissed in 2002 on the grounds that Pinochet, by then in his late 80s, was too unhealthy to stand trial. Further charges were brought against him in 2006, but Pinochet died on December 10 of that year in Santiago before the prosecution could proceed. Legacy   Many Chileans are divided on the topic of their former dictator. Some say they see him as a savior who rescued them from the socialist policies of Allende and who did what had to be done in a turbulent time to prevent anarchy and communism. They point to the growth of the economy under Pinochet and claim he was a patriot who loved his country. Others say he was a ruthless despot directly responsible for thousands of murders, in most cases for no more than thought crimes. They believe his economic success was not all it seemed because unemployment was high and wages were low during his rule. Regardless of these differing views, it is undeniable that Pinochet was one of the most important figures of the 20th century in South America. His involvement in Operation Condor made him the poster boy for violent dictatorship, and his actions led many in his country never to trust their government again.   Sources Dinges, John. The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents. Paperback, Reprint edition, The New Press, June 1, 2005.ï » ¿The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2018). Augusto Pinochet: President of Chile.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Biography of Lucky Luciano, American Gangster

Biography of Lucky Luciano, American Gangster Charles Lucky Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania; November 24, 1897–January 26, 1962) was instrumental in creating the American Mafia as we know it today. After graduating from the gritty street gangs of New York, Luciano went on to become a henchman for the American branch of the infamous Cosa Nostra. A criminal mastermind, it was Luciano who orchestrated the unification of warring mob factions, creating the first Organized Crime Commission. In addition to taking on the mantle of the first kingpin of the modern Genovese crime family, he and his mob associates launched the highly successful and lucrative National Crime Syndicate. Lucky Luciano Known For: Charles â€Å"Lucky† Luciano was the criminal mastermind whose influence in shaping the mafia earned him the title of â€Å"father of modern organized crime.†Born: November 24, 1897 in Lercara Friddi,  Sicily, ItalyParents: Rosalia Capporelli and Antonio LucaniaDied: January 26, 1962 in Naples,  Campania, ItalySpouse:  Igea LissoniCriminal Convictions: Pandering, drug traffickingPublished Work: The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano: The Mafia Story in His Own Words (as told to Martin A. Gosch  and  Richard Hammer)Notable Quote: â€Å"There’s no such thing as good money or bad money. There’s just money. Early Years Lucianos family immigrated to the United States in 1906. His criminal career began not long after. At the age of 10, he was charged with his first crime (shoplifting). Luciano launched his first racket in 1907, charging Jewish and Italian kids in his Lower East Side neighborhood anything from one or two pennies to as much as a dime for his protection to and from school. If they refused to pay, Luciano beat them up rather than protect them. One of the kids, Meyer Lansky, refused to ante up. After Luciano failed to pound Lansky to a pulp, the two became friends and joined forces in the protection scheme. They remained friends and close associates throughout most of their lives. At the age of 14, Luciano dropped out of school and started a $7 per week delivery job, but after winning more than $200 in a craps game, he realized there were faster and easier ways of earning money. His parents sent him to The Brooklyn Truant School in hopes of straightening him out but in 1916 after his release, Luciano took over as leader of the notorious Five Points Gang, where he became acquainted with future Mafia leaders Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. In the years leading up to World War I, Luciano expanded his criminal enterprises to include pimping and drug trafficking, and while the police named him as a suspect in several local murders, he was never indicted. The 1920s By 1920, Luciano had branched out into bootlegging and illegal gambling. With financing and an education in social skills from his mentor Arnold the Brain Rothstein, Luciano and his partners were grossing over $12 million a year from the sale of illicit alcohol by 1925. Luciano, Costello, and Genovese had the largest bootlegging operation in New York with a territory that extended as far as Philadephia. By the late 1920s, Luciano had become a chief aide in the largest crime family in the country, led by Giuseppe Joe the Boss Masseria. Initially recruited as a gunman, as time went on, Luciano came to despise the old Mafia (Cosa Nostra) traditions- and especially Masserias belief that non-Sicilians could not be trusted (which ironically, turned out to be true in Lucianos case). After being kidnapped and mugged, Luciano discovered Joe the Boss was behind the attack. A few months later, he decided to betray Masseria by covertly joining forces with the second largest mafia clan led by Salvatore Maranzano. The Castellammarese War began in 1928 and, over the next two years, several gangsters connected to Masseria and Maranzana were killed. Luciano, who was still working for both camps, led four men- including Bugsy Siegel- to a meeting he had arranged with Masseria. The four men sprayed his former boss with bullets, killing him. After the death of Masseria, Maranzano became the Boss of Bosses in New York but his ultimate goal was to become the leading boss in the United States. Maranzano appointed Lucky Luciano as his No. 2 man. The working relationship was short-lived, however. After learning of a plan by Maranzano to double-cross him and wipe out Al Capone in the bargain, Luciano decided to strike first, organizing a meeting at which Maranzano was killed. Lucky Luciano became The Boss of New York and, almost overnight, he began moving into more rackets and expanding their power. The 1930s The 1930s were prosperous times for Luciano, who was now able to break ethnic barriers formerly laid out by the old Mafia. He strengthened his outreach in areas of bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, loan-sharking, narcotics, and labor rackets. In 1936, Luciano was convicted on charges of compulsory prostitution (pandering) and drug trafficking. He was sentenced to 30-50 years but maintained control of the syndicate while behind bars. The 1940s In the early 1940s at the onset of Americas involvement in World War II, Luciano struck a deal with U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence. He offered to supply information to help protect the mob-run New York docks from Nazi saboteurs  in exchange for a move to a better prison and the possibility of early parole. Luciano was transferred to Great Meadow Correctional Facility from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in upstate New York. He continued his collaboration, known as Operation Underworld, for the remaining years of the war. In 1946, Governor Thomas E. Dewey (who while serving as Special Prosecutor was responsible for Lucianos conviction) granted the mobster a commutation of sentence and had him deported to Italy, where he was able to resume control over the American syndicate. Luciano snuck into Cuba in October 1946, where he attended The Havana Conference, a meeting of the five major crime families hosted by Lansky who already had an established presence in Cuba. The cover for the meeting was an appearance by Frank Sinatra. During the week-long conference that focused on the heroin trade and gambling activities in Cuba, and also to decide the fate of Bugsy Siegel and his Las Vegas money pit, the Flamingo Hotel, Luciano met privately with Genovese, who suggested that Luciano take on a figurehead role as Boss of Bosses while allowing Genovese to control the day-to-day activities of the syndicate. Luciano declined, saying: There is no Boss of Bosses. I turned it down in front of everybody. If I ever change my mind, I will take the title. But it wont be up to you. Right now you work for me and I aint in the mood to retire. Dont you ever let me hear this again, or Ill lose my temper. When the U.S. government got wind of Lucianos presence in Cuba, it quickly moved to have him repatriated to Italy, where he remained for the rest of his life. While he continued to profit from mob-related activities, his power and influence waned. Death and Legacy As Luciano grew older, his long-time relationship with Lansky began to falter. Luciano felt he wasnt getting his fair share from the mob. Disgruntled, he arranged to have his memoirs written- not to bare his soul so much as to set the record straight as he saw it. He outlined his exploits to writer Richard Hammer and had also arranged to meet with producer Martin Gosch about a possible film version of the project. Word of his confessional (The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano: The Mafia Story in His Own Words, published posthumously) did not sit well with Lucianos former mob associates. In 1962, Luciano suffered a fatal heart attack in the Naples airport, where he talked about the movie with Gosch. There is some conjecture that Luciano did not die of natural causes and that his death may have been a hit in retribution for his turning canary. Lucianos body was sent back to the United States and buried at St. Johns Cemetery in New York City. It is believed that Luciano was one of the most powerful men in organized crime and to this day, his influence over the gangster activity can be felt in this country. He was the first person to challenge the old Mafia by breaking through ethnic barriers and creating a network of gangs that comprised the first national crime syndicate and continued to exert control organized crime long after his death. Sources Donati, William. Lucky Luciano: The Rise and Fall of a Mob Boss. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Company, 2010.  Gosch, Martin A.; Hammer, Richard. 1974.  The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano: The Mafia Story in His Own Words. Little Brown and Company.Newark, Tim. Boardwalk Gangster: The Real Lucky Luciano. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2011.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Community Development and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Community Development and Globalization - Essay Example In this way benefits are said to trickle down into the various communities. Yet, the disadvantages of globalization can have a profound impact, distorting labor and financial markets in host countries and causing undesirable changes in traditional communities (Serano 2005). The negative aspects of globalization appear to overpower the positive. Globalization, as argued by Serrano (2005) can result in adverse effects like world poverty, a greater divide between rich and poor countries, increased inequities of income within economies, discontent leading to conflict, international crime, loss of biodiversity, global warming and loss of community values. Community development, which aims to improve communities, often works in opposition of globalization by frequently adopting a bottom up approach. Community development in this sense is based on the perception of meeting the requirements of individuals who belong to a certain geographical space and have common interests and therefore, fun ctionally, require common physical and human services (Fulcher, 1989). Prior to 1910 the concept of 'community' rarely appeared in the literature, the first identifiable social definition was constructed by C. J. Galpin in 1915. It related to rural communities in terms of the trade and service areas surrounding a central village (Harper and Dunham 1959 cited in Smith 2002). As a result various definitions of community followed, focusing on concepts of geographical area, groups of people in a particular location and sharing interests. According to Frazer cited in Smith (2002) community can be conceptualized as a value incorporating a number of elements, such as, trust, commitment, solidarity, mutuality and fraternity. Community can also be approached as a descriptive category or as a set of variables, however, in reality the two are interconnected and cannot be separated (Frazer 2000 cited in Smith 2002). This is exemplified in the concepts of communities of place (Barnett and Cavanagh, 1994, cited in Serrano, 2005) and communities of interest (Fulcher, 1989) sharing common defining characteristics. For example there can be an academic community or a Muslim community in which identity is the crucial social relationship. In this sense, communities are not limited geographical boundaries. The increase of international exchange brought on by globalization has given rise to specific social communities in most multi-cultural countries. For example, Chinese communities in Toronto or Indian communities in Sydney are both "communities of place" and "communities of interest" (Serrano, 2005). The broader term, "community of interest", has also undergone various changes with the evolution of globalization. Originally based on the sharing of common identities, affinities, concerns and purposes, and a sense of belonging to a common economic, social and political environment, the concept now includes geography and interests as defining characteristics (Fulcher, 1989). Recently this conceptualization of community has developed to incorporate

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Take home final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Take home final exam - Essay Example The companies may opt to engage both the public and private investors in conducting out research on the occurring trends in the market and the market expectations from the companies to keep the competition real and be ahead of their competitors. The research will make them have hands-on information on the preferences of the customers thereby producing goods that meet their expectations (Mazzucato 76). Partnering with the correct stakeholders in trying to pull up together all the resources that are required to be ahead of their competitors is also another strategy of making sure that the companies are ahead in the market. The industries may end up employing the most qualified personnel and come up with a perfect marketing team that will sell the products of the company widely thereby surpassing the efforts of its competitors. Finally, the companies may try to focus on those programs that tend to encourage them to transform their basic and applied research into new products and manufacturing processes that lead to high-quality goods being produced for the customers (Mazzucato 56). During farmers production, profits and revenue should not be the only factor that the USA farmers should consider. These farmers should also consider factors like time, entrepreneurship and natural resources. During their production, farmers should consider entrepreneurship as a major factor of production. As entrepreneurs, the farmers should consider themselves as innovators and come up with new and improved ways to provide improved products to the market. They should decide on how their land, labor and capital should be used to make sure that they reap maximum profits from their farms. These benefits only accrue to the farmers and they, therefore, need to do many considerations during their production process (Uphoff 40). The farmers also need to put the issue of time in their considerations. The

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Food, Inc. Essay Example for Free

Food, Inc. Essay Food, Inc. broadens the consumers prospective on the production of foods such as chicken and cattle. The documentary was convincing in regards to showing the consumer what manufacturers are afraid to show us, consumers. Nowadays, there are approximately 47 thousand products in a grocery store. That of which four producers have 70% of the market. Food, Inc. had many facts and statistics telling the viewers of todays farmers and other large corporations in the food industry. It used to be that it took three months to produce a chicken from when it hatched to the time it was ready to slaughter, now, it takes only 48 days. Farmers average a borrowing of $500,000 in which they only make $18,000 profit. Large producers are keeping farmers in debt. Rather than letting the plants and animals take the time they need to produce naturally companies are always thinking faster, faster, bigger, bigger. Candy, chips, pop, and hamburgers from McDonalds are all examples of cheaper food than compared to vegetables or fruit. Although they are higher subsidized, they are low in cost. Food, Inc. could have overlooked the value some Americans have on these cheaper meals. A Hispanic family was shown on the documentary. This family was faced with having to choose between buying medication for their diabetic father or getting groceries. Him, as well as one and a half million other Mexican farmers lost their jobs due to larger corporations and with all the debt that is due, they dont have a lot of money for the quality of food they may want. Food, Inc. however did overemphasize all the negative larger companies were doing to farmers, as well as animals. Some interesting facts are as follow: at a slaughter house located in Tar Heel, 32,000 pigs are slaughter a day; thats 2,000 per hour. If a plant is always failing the USDA testing, they are said to be shut down. However, the law never took affect, instead, the plants took USDA to court. In 2008, 90% of soybeans did not have the original seed. Although documentaries are usually biased, there were many times throughout the film where a large corporations were asked to talk, however, they declined. Large corporations could have helped their side of view by taking time to conduct an interview with the Food, Inc. crew. Food, Inc.was very intriguing, although it could have furthered explained through a corporations prospective overall the documentary was successful. The harsh facts with the jaw dropping graphics were just a bonus on the heart touching stories all of the farmers told. The graphics of reality was most bothering. The fact that companies could get away with employing illegal immigrants than do nothing when they were arrested was annoying, as well as knowing that a company could sue anybody for anything even if they knew they would lose. Something that was realized as result from watching this piece, is that to eat well in this country you need money. Questions that could be asked are how can companies like Monsanto have all of one farmers bank accounts and check written from the last 10 years. How can this company sue farmers (and win) for the farmers crops being contaminated against their knowledge. Why did patenting a seed ever become acceptable when the seed needs to be grown and consumed by millions. And why can the FDA sell food without a GMO label.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Smallpox Treatment Essay -- Vaccination Vaccine Variolation

Smallpox Treatment Smallpox has threatened our world for the past twelve thousand years. Treatments were desperately searched for until a cure called variolation was discovered. Variolation is the use of the virus placed into a being to which they will receive the illness to a lesser degree and overcome the illness forming an immunization to it. This process was started in China and went worldwide after Lady Montagu took the process from Turkey and informed the British about it. From here the process set fire and spread across Europe, curing many, but also killing them too. This new discovery opened a channel of research for many doctors, until in 1774 a farmer named Benjamin Jesty discovered that the lesser illness of cowpox could vaccinate one from smallpox. Jesty’s discovery plagued the world and set another opening for research, into which doctors searched for the best way to vaccinate citizens with. Vaccination helped a plethora of people until 1980 when the disease was finall y eradicated. However, smallpox’s ugly face reared itself just recently with the new threat of bioterrorism. Yet this will most likely not affect our society due to the huge amount of preparatory work that would need to be placed into a new smallpox outbreak. For the past twelve thousand years, Smallpox has obliterated societies with ease. Many civilizations found ways to inoculate their citizens with the least amount of symptoms through processes known as variolation and vaccination. Development of the treatment for smallpox mostly began in the end of the eighteenth century and continued through 1970s, until smallpox was eradicated in 1980. Smallpox is thought to have first started in Africa and then moved to... ... Vaccine. 1st ed. Vol. 1. London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, 1981. 1-196. Brannon, Heather. "The History of Smallpox." About.Com. 24 Sept. 2005. Health on the Net Foundation. 26 July 2007 smallpoxhx.htm>. "The First Recorded Smallpox Vaccination." The Dorset Page. 2000. The Dorset Page. 27 July 2007 . Krasner, Gary. "Smallpox Vaccination Dangers." NaturoDoc. 2007. NaturoDoc LLC. 27 July 2007 _vaccine.htm>. Ogden, Horace G.. CDC and the Smallpox Crusade. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1987. Razzell, Peter. Edward Jenner's Cowpox Vaccine: the History of a Medical Myth. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Great Britain: Caliban Books, 1977. 5-107.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Festivals Essay

Festivals is a celebration of life. These celebrations bring peace and joy to the humanity ,and break the monotony of life. Festivals are numerous in my country. We can divide festivals into three kinds; national, religious and seasonal. In connection with the first kind, the national festivals are celebrated with great patriotic favour. The second represents the religious association of people. The third marks the change of season that public celebrate their faith or seasonal change with gaiety and enthusiasm. In my beloved country, The national festivals as Hala February; it is an annual festival, that is organized by Kuwait city. Being a distinct month in Kuwait because, it coincides with both Kuwait’s National and Liberation Days. Kuwait, in February, is known for its moderate weather and beauty of nature. Festivals are organized during all the month. Variety of activities, carnivals and special events are organized through the festival. Festival attendants, also, enjoy sp ending their time in shopping, as well as, attending musical parties, poetry evenings, cultural seminars and plastic arts. Many opportunities are available for winning special prizes and gifts in the daily raffles. In addition, sport teams on both the local and international level participate in the various activities held in the Kuwait sporting clubs. The religious festivals as Eid Al-Fitr; All Kuwaiti people look very happy, everybody wake up early in the morning and wear the best of clothes that one possesses. Then, they go to perform Eid prayer in open areas or at mosques. After the prayer, people usually visit their family, friends, give gifts to children, and make phone calls to distant relatives to give well-wishes for the Eid. These activities traditionally continue for three days. The entire 3-day period is an official holiday. The seasonal festivals as New Year’s Eve; it is one of the most celebrated days in the world. It is something that we all look forward to. It marks the beginning of a year and the end to another year. This day is shaped by different customs and traditions. Each culture celebrates this festival in its own way. Every country has its own way to celebrate New Year’s Eve. In me country, Streets become crowded with people celebrating the advent of the New Year with fireworks in a joyous occasion. The celebration continued at the maritime facade of the Gulf beach where citizens and foreigners had gathered to observe the wonderful event, there are other celebrations at various commercial complexes and in areas along t he Gulf beach, while  motorists performed amazing stunts on the roads. People enjoy the entire day, taking rest and welcoming the year with all high spirits and enjoyment. They get together with friends and family makes it more exciting and fun. Everybody hopes and wishes that the year ahead would give them peace, harmony, happiness and wealth, not only for them but to mankind across the globe. Finally, Festivals are part of one’s custom, culture and tradition. They are there for us to celebrate. It helps us forget our routine. It gives us some momentary, mental and physical relaxation and thus frees us from die shackles of monotonous work. It is a celebration, entertainment or series of performances of a certain kind, often held periodically.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Inevitable Role of Character Formation in Schools

THE INEVITABLE ROLE OF CHARACTER FORMATION IN SCHOOLS Man is a moral being. Historically, the mission of schools has been to develop in the young both intellectual and the moral virtues. Concerns for the moral virtues, such as honesty, responsibility, and the respect for others, are the domain of moral education. T. Okere maintained that â€Å"without Moral Education in our school curriculum, our future generations will continue to be systematically malformed, half-educated, mentally misshapen and spiritually dwarfed†. Then, Holmes (1929) posited that ‘the way to change our society is to foster the growth of child’s soul. Man is a composite being (body & soul). If we pay more attention to one invariably the other will suffer. There is need for harmony to exist between the duo. Your character is the real you. Character is the complex of mental and ethical traits making a person or is said to be the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual’s life which determine his or her response regardless of circumstances. Everyone has character; it transcends race, religion, education, position, age, gender and personality. No wonder, Abraham Lincoln said: ‘reputation is the shadow.Character is not just what we try to display for others to see, it is who we are even when no one is watching. ’ Good character is doing the right thing because it is right to do what is right. So, in order to make character, there is need for the formation of character. Character formation refers to helping children to acquire those virtues or moral habits that will help them individually live good lives and at the same time become productive, contributing members of their communities. In this view, moral education should contribute not only to the students as individuals, but also to the social cohesion of a community.The word Moral comes from Latin root (mos, moris) and means the code or customs of people, the social glue that defines how individual should live together Men of God are respected; men of power are feared, whereas men of character trusted. No wonder German motto reads thus: when wealth is lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost, when character is lost all is lost. When I talk of men of character I mean people of integrity because it involves wholeness. It is being upright in all our dealings. All men are alike in their promises; it is only in their deeds that they differ says Mollier.Man is like a raw material or rather a crude oil that needs purification in order to remove the impurities. Hence, the centrifugal configuration of our educational system should be character education. This is so because character is the highest, if not the sole purpose of education. Pupils’ behaviours are characterized by their way of trainings than by their talents or natural design. Character formation being the object of education deals with individual and the whole system of his thoughts, be lieves, habits, values and all those part of his personality which are reflected in his behavior.Character formation as an object of education should be a continuous process till the death of the individual. Education taken in the most formal way should adopt such patterns as to link itself with the particular environment, needs and the age of the recipient. And as such primary, Secondary and Higher Education should have a separate scheme based on their reasoning. At Primary and Secondary level it concerns itself with the instruction of some basic universal values to the children while deeper issues till higher education.There cannot be true education which is not wholly directed to man’s last end. It is good to think well and divine to act well says Horace Mann. Character development is the greatest, if not the sole, aim of education. Thus, not education but character is man’s greatest need. A simple character of mine is how treat a person who can do absolutely nothin g for me. Character once built is not easily destroyed, because character is the person’s second nature (secunda natura). Udeke, Charles Ndubuisi [email  protected] com +2348051763367

Thursday, November 7, 2019

New Growth theory VS Neoclassical Theory essays

New Growth theory VS Neoclassical Theory essays It is quit apparent to the human m ind that the va rious countries instituted around the world have experienced a great deal of economical instability since the formation of independent nations. Unfortunately, until this very day, there is still the existence of poor countries that have yet to converge on the level of economical development mastered by wealthier countries. This problem of national economic hardship, diseasing numerous nations, has ultimately caused many economical and political ideologies to be formulated as an attempt to remedy this common case ofnational disease? that has been around for several years. In other words, many theories have been attained by several intellectuals that have aimed at presenting a possibility of global economic equilibrium. One such theory, the neoclassical economic theory, essentially predicts that if labor and capital intensive products are moderately traded within poor and wealthy nations, the economically deprived countries will ev entually converge on the rich countries level of development thus having worldwide economic equilibrium. However, intense evidence suggests that such process can not be undertaken because, as current national economies depict, some economically disadvantaged countries are just not apt to strengthen their weaknesses due to the mechanisms of their government. The ideology of the neoclassical economic theory has been discredited by many recent intellectuals who essentially consider this theory to be a mere attempt of gaining worldwideeconomical utopia.? Scholars such as Paul Romer and Robert Lucas have recently exposed their own ideology regarding economic growth, which has basically made up for the shortfalls of the neoclassical approach to growth. In the following paragraphs, I will initially introduce the general principles of the neoclassical economic theory and its supposed attempt of converging poor countries to the more economically wealthier count...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Importance of Theory Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Importance of Theory - Coursework Example This gives the nursing profession distinction from the rest of science and medical professions. In nursing, the association between nursing theory and practice is symbiotic. As Basavanthappa (2007) asserts, theory without practice is unimaginative, and practice devoid of theory is visionless. In essence, theory is paramount to effective nursing practice and research. This essay will discuss the significance of theory in nursing practice through the help of Roy’s adaptation theory. This paper will discuss in details the significance and application of the theory of adaptation to nursing by identifying its role in the evaluation of the power of mind and body fitness in aged patients. Nursing has made efforts to institute exceptional body of knowledge that has been used to define its boundaries. However, since these limits are continually changing, perhaps it is more significant for the nurses to define their stance and their role (Basavanthappa, 2007). By offering nurses a sense of identity, Roy’s adaptation nursing theory helps patients, managers and other health care practitioners to identify the exceptional contribution of nurses in health care. In reference to Kim and Kollak (2006), Roy’s adaptation theory allows a review of physical activity and the growth of a theory-based intervention from a holistic and integrated nursing viewpoint. A well-defined body of theory such as Roy’s adaptation theory offers guidance for nursing practice in physical therapy and enhanced professional status for nurses. This theory is employed in physical therapy to assist the older patients with low physical activity (Basavanthappa, 2007). This theory has also been applied in chronic-ill patients as a strategy to foster adaptation and the quality of life. This theory has been used in nursing to guide the development of models that focus on the physical

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Definition of terrorism in United States Research Paper

Definition of terrorism in United States - Research Paper Example United States Security Agencies define terrorism as the predetermined use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to infiltrate fear. Such acts are intended to intimidate or threaten governments or societies to bend towards the perpetrators goals that are generally ideological, political, and religious. Inside the above definition, three key elements are evident —violence, fear, and intimidation— with each element intended to produce terror in its victims. The United State Intelligence defines "Terrorism as unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any part thereof, in advancing of political or social demands† (Hoffman 37).Terrorism has ever been evolving. Its evolution should be closely monitored so that the means of countering it should be developed and made robust. The administration of the day has come with more effective and novel means of countering the vice th at pose a monumental threat to the citizen of United State both in the country and abroad. The intelligence, policy makers and political advisers come up with a for fold strategy of dealing with the menace. The strategy includes the following that apply to all citizens of the America: adhering to United States of America core Values, building security partnership, Applying CT tools, and capability appropriately and building a culture of resilience.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Planning, Siting, and Permitting of Landfills Essay

Planning, Siting, and Permitting of Landfills - Essay Example To begin, the construction of a landfill site involves investment in infrastructure to facilitate environmental measures. However, there are particular steps in the construction of a landfill. The choice of the site is an important factor. There is the need to establish and formulate a joint solid waste management program that involves the landfill component, waste reduction, recycling and improved collection (UsAid 1999). Secondly, there is the need to review the land Use policy in the areas. An official application should be submitted to the authority for the evaluation and choice of the potential site. Establish the feasibility of the project and an environmental analysis to assess the impact of the construction. There are also fatal flaws in the construction process of landfills. Position of the landfill is an important factor. The fatal flaw is the positioning of the landfill upstream and near the source of surface or ground water suitable for drinking and domestic use (UsAid 1999). However, this is a public health hazard and results in the poisoning of the local citizens. The location on highly porous soil can cause erosion which results in environmental damage. Location next to the residential, commercial and industrial developments is also a fatal problem because of the increased cost of

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Telephone Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Telephone - Annotated Bibliography Example This definitive book has been written as a guideline by Lotz and facilitates its readers with offering a road map to the development and enhancement of the television. The book provides a unique prospect to have an insiders view into a captivating account of innovation and perseverance. It also gives a glimpse of the present and future of television to those people who are interested in knowing about it. The book emphasizes the significance of television in giving a culture and nation its form and shape. William argues that television has offered more chances of developing, expressing and carrying ourselves in a much better and improved manner. Besides this, he also discusses the impacts that this invention can possibly have on the future of this world. The book Media Effects and Research provides a well-elaborated and well-written introduction for the students and faculty researching upon the likely effects of the prevalence of mass media in the society. The book, through its interesting style, provides the readers a fascinating piece of information on the theories and impacts of media. Holmes, in his book, stresses upon the arousing historic relations between the culture of films and the British television during the year 1950s. He also argues upon the development of the film idea and its impacts on the societies coming ahead. The book forms a vital part of the research by elaborating upon the shows, releases and film fares which contributed greatly towards forming the relations between societies and the developing media. Besides this, it also demonstrates the way cinema and television play their parts in effectively unifying and becoming a unique form of development in the society. The book gives its readers an understanding of the television research in both, the qualitative and quantitative horizons. It

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Domestic Household Labor

Domestic Household Labor The Unequal Division of Domestic Labor: Why It Works Well for Some Families Domestic labor is the work done in the household by the members of the family and which is not paid. Domestic labor is work, which most women do on top of their employment, and the amount of work they do after they come home from their employment varies (Aulette 164). From the late nineteenth century until 1950 the relationship between husband and wife could be described as male domination (bread winner or patriarchy) (Speakman 83). The father/husband was the undoubted head of the household; his needs, his value, and his viewpoint were always considered first (Speakman 83). Women were regarded as inferior and spent their lives as mothers, looking after their children, as wives, looking after the husband, and as house wives, looking after the home (Speakman 84). The wifes role, that is the typical pattern of behavior expected of a wife, reflected the attitudes held about women at the time. These attitudes were basically that women were naturally inferior to men and should accept their authority (Speakman 84). However, it began to change, with greater emphasis on a more shared home life. The equality between husband and wife, sharing of domestic tasks, leisure time spent together with the family and greater pride in the home began to change (Speakman 85). Still today domestic labor is stereotypical gender roles predominate, which stereotypes show that women roles predominantly to do domestic labor in the household (Speakman 83). Even though the number of hours that men and women spend on housework is starting to balance, women still do more housework than men do (Aulette 167). Generally, women still do the more â€Å"feminine† housework, while men still perform the â€Å"masculine† tasks (Speakman 84). This information led me to ask the following questions: why is housework divided unequally and are married couples okay with this arrangement? My family has a very old fashioned division of housework. My mother does all of the cooking and cleaning, and my father does all of the manual labor in our house. Both of my parents work full time, however, my father works upwards of 80 hours per week. Due to the recent downturn of the United States economy, my father has to work so many more hours than my mother for them to make ends meet. Because of the number of hours that my father works, he feels that it is my mothers responsibility to do the majority of the housework. When asked if they find their housework division acceptable, both parents agree that it is what works best for them, and they would not want it any other way. Despite the fact that housework is divided unequally, some families (mine in particular) agree that this distribution of labor is simply what works best for their household. A study by Laura Sanchez and Emily W. Kane discusses how each spouses time availability, resources, and gender ideology affect a married couples division of housework. The dominant theme in this work suggested that the inevitable response to changing labor force participation and gender attitudes for most couples should be to become more equal in family work (Sanchez 358-359). According to their study, men and women should be working towards an equal division of household work, however, this is not necessarily the case (Sanchez 359-369). Another main point in this study was that men and women both find the division of housework unfair towards women (Sanchez 379). Despite the general consensus that the division of housework is unfair, little is being done to change the division (Sanchez 379). This study demonstrates how housework is divided and also shows that even though men acknowledge the fact that women do most of the housework, the division is still unequal. Sue Speakman and Mick Marchington did a study, which also delves into the unequal division of housework. This study explores the attitude of men as â€Å"breadwinners† and their involvement in housework. They consider what being the â€Å"breadwinner† means to working men and how it translates into their wives doing the majority of the housework (Speakman 99). This study demonstrated that the nature of mens resistance to equality at home might be a particularly complex power and gender interaction in which the individual feels that his position as an authoritarian, patriarchal figure at home is under threat (Speakman 101). Men in this study showed that they acknowledge the idea that â€Å"things are changing†, however they demonstrate a resistance to the implications of that change in the construction of their own roles and responsibilities (Speakman 101). This study helps show that even though the division of household labor is shifting, many men believe that th ey will not maintain the â€Å"head of the house† position that they are used to. Many sociologists have ideas about why housework is divided unequally. The social forces of gender inequality, socialization, and rational choice are some of the main influences on the unequal division of labor. These large social forces have an impact on the way that decisions are made on the micro-level of families. In my own family, all three of these factors play a big role in the division of labor. Socialization is a process where children learn how to understand people in their society and what is expected of them (Aulette 179). Many kinds of socialization take place, and gender socialization is a major type. Boys and girls learn what is expected from their gender and how they are supposed to act (Aulette 179). Many experts believe that peer interaction is an important factor of gender socialization (Aulette 179). Girls playing house and doctor help each other learn how to be good housewives, while boys playing football and war do not (Aulette 179). In an interview with my parents, my mother discussed how throughout her entire life, she only wanted to be a homemaker. She told me, â€Å"I grew up in the time where women wanted to go out and be something, but not me. I only wanted to be a mom and spend my days taking care of my children.† This is exactly what my mother did until I entered elementary school. She was a stay at home mother and loved nearly every moment of it . She had absolutely no issues with doing the day to day housework, since my father was the one working full time. I would have thought that when my mother began working full time, my father would help with some of these daily chores however this was not the case. When my mother began working, she still was responsible for the majority of the day to day running of the house, because gender stereotypes led her to believe that it was the womans responsibility. Another set of experts, believe that housework is divided in a way that is less related to childhood socialization and more related to the rational choice of who is better suited to do what (Sanchez 360). They believe that the fact that women do most of the housework in most families is explained as a result of rational cooperative decisions made by households (Sanchez 361). By following this line of thinking, the woman is more skilled at doing housework, therefore it makes the most logical sense for her to do things like cooking and laundry. My mother and my father agree that my mother is better suited to do the housework because she is very practiced in it, and simply better at cooking and cleaning. They also agree that since my father works more than my mother does, she has more time to spend on housework. Gender inequality also plays into the division of housework in my own household. My father is seen as the head of the household, which in turn entitles him to fewer responsibilities when it comes to housework. Even though my mother works full time, my father brings in almost double the money that she does. The findings in Sue Speakmans study are demonstrated by the ideas of my father. According to Speakmans study, men believe that if they take more housework responsibilities their position of â€Å"head of the household† will be in jeopardy (101). My father feels that he is entitled to less housework, because he is the â€Å"breadwinner† of the family. By not being the â€Å"breadwinner† of the family, women should be responsible for the day to day running of the household. My family can be analyzed using the sociological theory of functionalism. Functionalism is a theoretical perspective that views society as an organized and stable system that is made up of a variety of interrelated parts or structures (Aulette 10). The family from a functionalist perspective is regarded as a system that provides functions for the society and individual members (Aulette 10). It emphasizes that a differentiation of gender roles within the family is a functional necessity (Aulette 10). My family is conservative in the family values debate, and it is apparent that my parents believe that families are a functional units in which the womans role is centered in the internal affairs of the family. The main way that my family does not fit into this perspective is by the fact that my mother is employed outside of the house. According to the functionalist perspective, men should be the sole monetary providers of the household (Aulette 10). Despite this fact, the large differenc e in my parents incomes and hours worked per week reduce this argument to a minimal point. Overall, my parents have made the unequal division of household labor work for them. Despite many peoples opinions, they are both happy with the arrangement. They were placed into this arrangement by the social forces that dictated gender differences. The history of my parents gender differences is far too extensive for my family to even question. They were both raised to perform their gender-roles through childhood socialization, and see no need to change these roles. My father has always been good at fixing things, and my mother has always been good at the day to day running of the house. Both of my parents agree that the housework is unequally distributed to my mother, but neither of them question this distribution. Due to the recent downturn of the United States economy, my father has to work many more hours per week than my mother for them to make ends meet. With my father working so much, my mother believes that it is only fair that she puts in her share of work by doing the cl eaning and cooking. My mother summed up her feelings on their situation by asking, â€Å"If our arrangement works so well for us, why should I try to change it?† Works Cited Aulette, Judy R. Housework. Changing American Families. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 163-189. Aulette, Judy R. How to Study Families in the Twenty-First Century. Changing American Families. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 1-23. Clements, David. Personal interview. 20 Mar. 2008. Clements, Nancy. Personal interview. 20 Mar. 2008. Sanchez, Laura, and Emily W. Kane. Womens and Mens Constructions of Perceptions of Housework Fairness. Journal of Family Issues 17 (1996): 358-387. Sage Journals Online. Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids. 28 Mar. 2008 . Speakman, Sue, and Mick Marchington. Ambivalent Patriarchs: Shiftworkers, Breadwinners and Housework. Work Employment Society 13 (1999): 83-105. Sage Journals Online. Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids. 28 Mar. 2008 .

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Feudal System Exposed :: Men With Guns John Sayles Movies Essays

The Feudal System Exposed In his movie Men With Guns, John Sayles shows his viewer many participants in the feudal, agricultural system of an unnamed Latin American country. The peasants who work the land present, as are soldiers who terrorize the laborers, guerillas and others who try to escape it, and a priest who had been targeted by the military. Even people who are not directly involved in the feudal system are portrayed in Sayles' film; the protagonist is a city doctor who had no idea what life was like in the rural areas. American tourists wander Sayles' countryside, ignorant of the horror that is taking place literally all around them. One group of active participants in any feudal system are conspicuously absent from Sayles' screen; while the plantation owners are mentioned, they are never physically present on the rural landscape. That they are absent, at least in Sayle's film, but always seemingly in control is significant and is important in one's understanding of how feudal systems are reproduced . The viewer does come face-to-face with a feudal lord, or one at least connected to plantation owners, but he is at a nice restaurant in the city not on the fields in the country. Over the course of the meal he tells Umberto, the doctor, that Umberto knows nothing about the Indians and that people from the city should not try to help the Indians in any way. "The more you do for them," the plantation owner warns, "the lazier they get." The only other image of the peasants comes from a military general who describes the Indians in need of protection from guerrillas. Because the only contact that city people have with the plantation system is through the point of view of plantation owners, they have little idea about the Indians' lives and how they are treated by feudal lords; without accurate information, people from the outside have little interest in changing the feudal system. After Umberto leaves the city for the country, he loses contact with feudal lords. Instead, he has to deal with the violent reality of the feudal system in the rural areas. In the country, where people work and live on plantations, plantation owners are absent. What is ever present is a military bent on terrorizing laborers. As Umberto's travelling companion, a former soldier, tells Umberto, the army exists for the plantation owners, feudal lords, who depend on force and violence to coerce peasants to work.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Cognitive, Research ad Learning Theory

The diversity in classrooms today challenges teachers to develop cultural and social competencies together with keeping current with the developing theories in learning and education. For example, in Avram Noam Chomsky’s study of the language development, which can be extended to the process of learning any body of knowledge, he points out that language can not be learned by conditioning or stimuli alone (Sylwester, 2005). This suggests that need to develop associations regarding the meaning and concept of objects: for a child to learn that the earth is the third planet from the sun, the concept of ordinal order must first be established. Thus, Jean Piaget suggest that learning programs should be student centered to support the individual cognitive capacity and methodology (Gardner, 2006). The case of presented by Maria Testoni’s sixth-grade class reflects this challenge: the diversity in learning styles, academic skills and ethnicity as well as their work habits, behaviors and levels of participation requires the development of approaches unique to the child (Griffin et al, 2003).   However, in reality, there are significant constraints in doing so in terms of resources, expertise and time. Thus, there is a need for teachers to strategize their methods. In Maria’s case, one approach is to utilize a cognitive perspective for the learning theories that will serve as the foundation of her strategies. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   What factors are influencing students’ assimilation and accommodation? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the commonalities and contrasts of students’ schema or context? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the modalities of methods of accommodation? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How can mental processes of learning be mapped? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Are there typologies to characterize the population based on individual characteristic of students? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Can the cognitive evaluation of students provide insights to current behavior and performance in class? In the use of cognitive theory and research and learning theory, Maria’s focus will be in understanding the mental processes of her students. Cognition, suggests that there is learning occurs through the process of generative development (Cronin& Mandich, 2004). In using this as a leaning theory, Maria will have to consider the existing competencies of her students and the curriculum she is creating for them. This will then consider observed behavior become secondary in the evaluation (Sylwester, 2005). The approach can limit behavioral factors in the assessment which can be extraneous to evaluate. Thus, the process of cognition is considered to influence behavior rather than behavior influencing the level of cognition (Griffin et al, 2003). In general, cognition and its related learning perspectives reject the majority of behaviorist views on the process of learning (Cronin& Mandich, 2004). They highlight that learning goes beyond the stimuli-response process and depends more on the individual’s cognitive processes. As Maria proceeds with the assessment, she will see the significance of the cognition in her students’ performance in class. In conclusion, insights regarding the manner by which individual students create their network of concept relationships can allow Maria to create exercises of lectures that will subscribe to students’ needs. In doing so, the cognition process of the child only has to assimilate information rather than accommodate it. At the same time, if the cognitive methods of students have varies highly, the same insights on concept relationship networks can also be used to reinforce accommodation of knowledge. References Cronin, Anne and Mandich, Mary Beth (2004). Human Development and Performance Throughout the Life Span. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning Gardner, H. (2006). The development and education of the mind. New York: Basic Books. Griffin, C., Holford, J. & Jarvis, P. (2003).   The Theory & Practice of Learning.   London: Kogan Page. Sylwester, R. (2005).   How to explain a brain: An educator’s handbook of brain terms and cognitive process.   Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.            

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Workplace ethics

Workplace ethics Conduct Internet research on a selected business topic. Take notes on Internet research. For this project, you will conduct Internet research on a productive business skills topic of your choice from the following list: teamwork and collaboration; time management; conflict resolution; workplace ethics; professional dress and grooming; effective speaking and presentation skills.Each of the following parts of this project will help you use the skills you have learned in this unit to complete a well-written report on the business skill you have selected. Part 1: For this section of the project, you will select your topic and begin to conduct Internet research related to this topic. You should review a minimum of three sources for this project. Take notes on each source using the following points as a guide: Source (title and URL) Summary of the information How do you know this source is credible?Part 2: Using your notes, write a five-paragraph (minimum) essay about your selected business skills topic. You must incorporate references from the research you did (remember to cite your sources). Be sure to organize your ideas logically and equentially, including a compelling introduction and a summarizing conclusion. Part 3: You will read and review one of your classmate's reports and give constructive feedback on their report.You should identify what they have done well as well as give suggestions for improvement. Remember the components of effective feedback you learned in Chapter 2. Question #1 Essay Download g_bcsl au01 p14d. rtf Upload Answer File Max File Size : IOMB Accepted File Type : [csv, doc, docx, pdf, xls, xlsx, txt, rtf, ppt, pptx, odf, odt, ods, odp, mdb, accdb, pub, Jpg, Jpeg] File Actions NO File workplace ethics By Jinksauce300

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Arguments of the Legalization of Marijuana Essays

Arguments of the Legalization of Marijuana Essays Arguments of the Legalization of Marijuana Paper Arguments of the Legalization of Marijuana Paper Essay Topic: Arguments When discussing the legalization of Marijuana, take a mechanistic view of one symptom of a much larger social problem. You cannot talk about legalizing marijuana without getting into discussions of other Social problems. I am talking about all other drugs prostitution, health care, social security, or just about any other issue that we as a country, and as a people are dealing with. For the purposes of this paper, I will confine, or rather use the legalization of marijuana issue as a model for how we can deal with this, as well as other problems that we are correcting as we approach the next millenium. The obvious arguments for legalization that are used, happen to be ones that the masses that make this argument usually resort to the health and environment benefits. One argument that is hardly ever used, however, and the one that I wish to concentrate on, is the fact that the drug problems in this country, as well as the others that are listed above are included in the group of SOICIAL PROBLEMS. Think about that for a minute. What entails? A social problem is a problem that faces a society. Now I want you to think about your society. Not society, but your specific and immediate society. What does it consist of? Whom does it consist of? Immediate answers might be school, neighborhood, church, work, town, and family. In other words, we can define it as your community. Your community is your society, now exclusive of your friends and others you consider to be in your peer group who may actually encourage certain types of Immoral behavior. Who in your community would sit back and let you abuse your body and mind with excessive drug use? Schools would suspend; families could react with everything from tough love to ultimatums. Very rarely is it someone outside of your society that will reach out to you and give that helping hand. Some ex-drug abusers testimony may spark the revelation in you to kick your habit. But it is your community that will help you. You see, put very simply, drug abuse is a Social Problem and more often than not your society will help you or ostracize you, depending of course on your particular situation. Thus, while you may not kick, you would certainly take steps to curb your habit from becoming obvious or debilitating to your life. Now what does this have to do with legalization? Ill tell you. As long as the government is waging the war on drugs, in a poor manner I might add, society wont. Society wont because it doesnt have to, the government takes care of it for us, so rather than discuss these issues with your child you can spend that time working, in order to pay the government to keep protecting your child for you. The problem with government intervention, stretching past drugs, is that the government is not a community, it is a large beaurocratic mess of forms, protocols, and so on. The reason for this is nothing more than the simple fact that the government tries to deal with everyone at the same time. What works in Peoria, Illinois on Tuesday may not work for Winder, Georgia on Wednesday. The government looks at us as a series of numbers and statistics and then they create the laws and regulations designed to effect the greatest number of people, or the majority. When the anomalies pop up into the equation, more structures and regulations are added to try and accommodate the new statistics. Lets take a look at how this would work in a classroom. The exercise is simple using just the first initial and last name of each of the students in a random class, as well as their social security numbers and the grades that they have received over the course of the current school year, divide the class into three groups. Every group is to write an evaluation of the study habits, and general scholastic performance of every student. Using that information, design a system to improve the class. Next, put all of this information together and try and apply it to the rest of the school, and then apply it to the entire school system. Now this is a very simplistic exercise and I acknowledge the fact that the drug problem is more complex, but this serves as an example of what happens when the government tries to use regulations to deal with a social problem. First of all, the information consists of nothing but numbers. The information tells nothing of whether a student was sick on the week he received a zero on a test, or what was happening in their private lives that could effect the grades received for a particular assignment. There are thousands of unique factors that contribute to each and every students individual performance. To try and look at just numbers and try to regulate behavior based on that information is not only a Herculean task, but also it is an almost impossible mission to accomplish. The sheer manpower that such an endeavor would take gathering the information, collating, processing, analyzing, modifying, and then turning it over to a committee to decide how it is all going to be used is a never ending task. Youd have a better chance of gathering an infinite number of monkeys to write all of Shakespeares works, and It would take less time for the monkeys. (Haha) You can start to see the ineffectiveness of a large beauracracy trying to deal with problems that are so obviously needed to be dealt with by our social communities, in turn, social problems. Now if you asked the instructor of a class to summarize the scholastic performance of each of their students, chances are they are going to be able to tell you things. For example, when the student was sick, or whether or not they had difficulty understanding a particular segment or assignment, but otherwise do fine in class. Now ask that instructor what they would do to improve their classroom. It will probably work for that classroom or society if you will. Say for instance there is a window that opens onto a playground and the teacher says that a set of blinds to keep the kids from being distracted would improve class performance. Does that mean that all classrooms should have blinds on their windows? With marijuana, the problem is essentially the same. If you look at all of the kids who smoke marijuana as individuals you will see that the reasons and motivations for their use numbers in the thousands. You have peer pressure, escapism, or just simple experimentation and these are just a few to name. Later on, take a piece of paper and make a list of reasons for using drugs, such as marijuana. Not your reasons, just the reasons that anybody may feel at a given time. Now, similar to the first exercise, try and make a regulation that covers all of the reasons why abuse runs rampant. Now remember, these are the reasons you came up with, there are now 259 million other Americans with their own list of reasons why. You get the idea that the task on hand is an overwhelming one at the least. It is something that the government, any government anywhere, could never ever accomplish. This brings us back to the main thrust of this paper. Legalization of marijuana like any other social problem is just that a social problem. And as a social problem, it is best dealt with within a society. Societies that consist of people who know you, care for you, and even love you. Given the chance, we as a people will in fact work out these and any other problems that we, as a society, and individuals are confronted with in our daily existence.

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Solar System Essays - Planetary Science, Solar System, Planet

The Solar System Essays - Planetary Science, Solar System, Planet The Solar System Assignment 1: The Solar System The solar system consists of the Sun; the nine planets, 67 satellites of the planets and a large number of small bodies (comets and asteroids). The inner solar system contains the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars: The planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto: The orbits of the planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus, though all except Mercury and Pluto are very nearly circular. The orbits of the planets are all more or less in the same plane (called the ecliptic and defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit). The ecliptic is inclined only 7 degrees from the plane of the Sun's equator. Pluto's orbit deviates the most from the plane of the ecliptic with an inclination of 17 degrees. Below you see a diagram that show some relative information about most of the objects in our Solar System: Diameter (km) Moons Surface temp. Surface gravity Axial inclination Axial rotation The Sun 1 390 000 - 5800c - - 25 - 36 days Mercury 4 878 None 350c / -170c 0.38 0 58 days Venus 12 104 None 480c 0.9 178 243 days The Earth 12 756 1 20c 1 23.4 23h 56m Mars 6 787 None -23c 0.38 24 24h 37m Jupiter N/A 16 -150c 2.64 3.1 9h 50m Saturn 199 300 18 -180c 1.2 26.7 10h 39m Uranus 51 800 15 -210c 1.2 98 17h 10m Neptune 49 500 8 -220c 1.2 29.5 18h 24m Pluto 2 320 1 N/A 0.04 50 178 years The Moon 3 474 - 107c / -153c 0.17 1.5 27 days The Sun The sun is the most important part of our solar system. It is the biggest object and does have about 98% of the whole mass of the solar system. About 1,3 billion earths would fit inside the sun. The sun travels around the galaxy together with planets and other objects bound to it by gravitational forces. The largest of the bodies we call planets, most of which are in turn are orbited by smaller moons or satellites. These objects, together with many lesser masses, are known as the Solar system. The Sun is just a star, one of a hundred billion inhabiting our galaxy alone. Being a star the Sun is an example of the fundamental building blocks of our universe. It formed, 4.5 billion years ago, as the nucleus of a cloud of gas which was collapsing under its own gravitational attraction. At formation, hydrogen was the most abundant gas, as elsewhere in the universe, and accounted for three quarters of the Sun's original material. This will changes as the hydrogen is burned, and within the very central regions virtually all the hydrogen has been converted to helium. The outer regions have not yet taken part in hydrogen burning. Astronomers have measured the chemical composition of the Sun, and can thus estimate that of the initial solar nebula from which the sun and planets formed. In addition to 78 percent by weight of hydrogen, they find 20 percent to be helium, while only 2 percent remains for other elements such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and iron. Later, as its hydrogen becomes depleted, it will evolve into a giant red star, swelling to engulf the earth and the inner planets. The remnant Sun will fade gradually to oblivion, passing through the white dwarf stage on its way. Mercury Mercury is named after the messenger of the Roman gods. It is the smallest of the inner planets and the second smallest in the whole Solar System. It has a very weak magnetic field and - being the closest planet to the Sun - has only a very thin atmosphere of helium captured from the solar wind. The surface of Mercury is very much like the Moon's - with craters, mountains and valleys. Since there is no form of atmosphere, life on Mercury is impossible. Nor will there be any manned flights in the forseeable future. However, there will be new unmanned probes sent out, if only to complete the map of the surface. Although Mercury has only a third the diameter of Earth, its density is about the same. This suggests that 65 to 70 percent of Mercury's weight is made up of