Monday, September 30, 2019

Returning to a Place Special to You Essay

Have you ever returned to place and asked yourself â€Å"Boy I miss those days† ! We all return to a place that holds many memoires, good or bad. For every person, some places hold great importance in their lives. A special place that is really important to me is my home country, Somalia. Somalia, most notably, Kismayo, is my birthplace and a place that I hold dearly in my heart. So many childhood memories of me and my family occurred in kismayo. All of my brothers, including myself, were all born in Kismayo. My mother and father met and married in the same neighborhood we live in. Family is of major significance to me, and living near many uncles, aunts, and cousins was a great experience. Returning to my birthplace was always a dream of mine. As a child, returning to my birthplace was all I thought about. I left Kismayo at the tender age of 10. A civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, three years before my birth. The war destroyed and demoralized many families in Somalia. My family was fortunate enough to escape unscathed during this horrible and gruesome civil war. My mom and dad, along with my brothers, relocated to Kenya in exile, hoping one day to return to the place we knew before the civil war. My family returned mid-1994, and find life in kismayo very challenging. My mother gave birth to me during this year. I remember the stories my mother use to tell me about our return to Somalia and the troubles and hardships we faced upon our return. Reminiscing about my childhood, I remember the neighborhood we lived in and the daily activities I took part in. We lived in a small two room house, which at the time was large enough for are family. We lived near many of our relatives and we visited each other every day. Family is a big part of the Somali culture, and living near one another ensured a close bond with one another. Religion is perhaps the biggest value in Somali culture. I remember running up the dusty hills along with my father and brothers to perform prayer at the local mosque. We would take the same path to the mosque five times a day to perform the five mandatory prayers. Another significant value I loved was language. Every Somali shared the same language, but there are some minor regional differences. I remember enjoying the comfort of my friends and cousins after school; we would often joke with one another. We walked up hills and dirt roads for 40 minutes to school, which was an old brick house. We were taught English and math, and most of the time was devoted to religious studies. Food is another value in our culture, the common meal in our household was oatmeal and rice. I remember eating those two meals nearly every day, which at the time was a luxury because of the state of the country. During our leisure time, we would often play soccer in a dirt field, which was better than nothing. Even though we lived in poverty, our homeland was very important to us and it was all we ever knew. Everything changed once we moved to the United States during the summer of 2003. As an adult, I have lived in the United States for nearly 9 years. We came to Minnesota from the advice of our Uncle, who traveled here alone to settle down and eventually take us in. Coming to the United States was a big technological and cultural shock. The technology all around was advanced and we never seen such a sight. The buildings were humungous and exquisite, vehicles of all kinds roamed the streets like a herd of animals, and so many different ethnicities and cultures integrated into one country. The luxury of electricity to light your house, clean running water from your sink, and eating foods other than rice and oatmeal was surreal. Eventually, my family and I settled in and after approximately 10 years I returned to my homeland. Returning was a special and troubling moment. The neighborhood we once lived in has not changed since the war. Most of Somalia is still underdeveloped and many live in extreme poverty. We once lived in these conditions and my mother always reminds us of where we came from and the conditions we once lived in. Many of my family members relocated to the United States, but some stayed preserving the way of life the always knew. It was rewarding seeing them after so many years; I left a child and returned as a man. Almost nothing changed and I was somewhat elated to see my homeland, and saddened by the lack of progress made to better the lives of the ones living in poverty. In the end, returning to my homeland taught me a life lesson. Even though it was some time ago, I fondly remember the conditions we lived in and it has made me more appreciative for what I have today. Aside from the difficult moments, I’ve many extraordinary childhood memories from my childhood. Returning to my homeland fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine. I will always look back at those memories with great pride and joy.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Understanding the Movie “Badlands”

The movie director and screenwriter Terrence Malick is known to be one of the most famous and prominent American movie maker who has already done numerous films that are all seen to be an exemplar of a movie that is superbly produced through a keen and artistic point of view. As a movie maker, Terrence Malick is also known for his profound use of meaningful camera shots and angles in most of his masterpieces. Thus, the movie Badlands is a movie of his masterpiece which is filled with his own unique usage of camera shots.In the movie, Malick has utilized the three major camera shots. Throughout the movie it is seen evident that Terrence Malick uses the wide camera shot to establish the movements of characters and visually depicts the specific setting in every scene. For instance, as early as the beginning of the film, Malick utilizes wide shots to draw a picture of a peaceful town and follow the movement of an upcoming garbage truck collecting trash.Thus, in the entire movie, the main purpose of the wide camera shot is to evidently determine the movements of the characters and show a glimpse of the setting where a specific scene is going to happen. Likewise, it aims to draw the real beauty of nature. In addition to this, wide shots in the movie are also used to capture all the significant characters in every scene. Medium camera shots, on the other hand, are often used to provide a closer look on the gesture and/or the body language of the character without eliminating a clear picture of the setting and with what is happening in the background.For example, medium shots in the movie are often used among the situation where the main characters are conversing with each other like in the scenes where Kit and Holly are interacting in the car, forest and in the deserts where the events in the movie happened. As for the close-up camera shot, its primary use is seen to be the most prominent throughout the film. Malick uses this in rendering details and clarity to the mo vements of characters and in providing the needed emotions or feelings in every scene by means of capturing the facial expression of the artists.For instance, in the specific scene where Kit confronted Holly’s father in the desert while doing his painting job, the close-up shot of Holly’s father primarily sets the emotion and the intensity through his face for that specific scene and at the same time draws a clear detail with what he is doing with the painting. In the end, Terrence Malick also seems to have been very well open in utilizing various movements and transitions of the camera and respective shots to be able to follow and clearly depict the movements of the characters as required in every scene in order to show a clear shot of what is happening in each specific scene.Nonetheless, Malick, in his movie Badlands, also utilizes extensive application of off-screen narration by his characters where Holly narrates her feelings and own point of views without her dire ct visual illustration while narrating. Rather, it is equipped with random footages of her and Kit and specific memories she has in the past. Work Cited Lee, Hwanhee. Senses of Cinema – Terrence Malick. 24 February 2009

Friday, September 27, 2019

Theme of Death across Dr Faustus, Paradise Lost, Shakespeares Sonnets Essay - 1

Theme of Death across Dr Faustus, Paradise Lost, Shakespeares Sonnets and The Pardoners Tale - Essay Example Death is that relentless time passing, causing everything to decay. It is the transience of things, of all that is mortal and born in time. Time devours everything (Shakespeare). Death is also a sad force that cannot be stopped, not by anything on earth (Shakespeare (b)): Since neither brass nor stone nor earth nor the limitless ocean is strong enough to resist the sad force of mortality, how can beauty possibly resist death’s rage when beauty is no stronger than a flower? How could your beauty, which is as fragile as the sweet breath of summer, hold out against the destructive assaults of time when neither invulnerable rocks nor gates of steel are strong enough to resist its decaying power? (Shakespeare (b)) Yet, in the midst of this grave and gloomy image of death as the incessant work of time, there is also an aspect of death that transcends the destruction, and that is the beauty of the beloved as immortalized in the poetry, according to Shakespeare (Shakespeare (c)): Despite death and ignorant enmity, you shall continue on. All those generations to come, down to the weary end of time, will devote space to praising you. So until Judgment Day, when you are raised up, you will live in this poetry, and in the eyes of lovers who read this. (Shakespeare (c)) In Christopher Marlowe’s ‘The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus’ again we see the same themes about death being, in essence, something that is of man’s making, through the decisions that he makes to either go with the good in him, or in the case of Dr. Faustus, to sign away his soul to the devil in exchange for his worldly ambitions and desires. Where in Milton the cause of the death in metaphorical terms was the disobedience by Adam and Eve of the express command of God, in Dr. Faustus by Marlowe there is the sense of the key protagonist willing to risk all, even his soul, for the sake of a worldly career and knowledge of a dubious magic that would not save him in the end. Knowledge

Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Exercise - Essay Example The expression â€Å"he lurched† is in the past simple form. It simply shows the step that Mr. Jones took. The expression â€Å"drew himself a last glass† is in the past emphatic form because it emphasizes that it was not the first glass he was drinking (Anderwald, 2012. P281). The expression â€Å"made his way up to bed† is in the past simple form because it simply shows the act of Mr. Jones going to bed. At the same time, the forms of tenses of the expressions help to show the sequence of occurrence of the events and the states of occurrence. The expressions show that Mr. Jones started by lurching across the yard then drawing a last glass of beer before he made his was to bed. In terms of the states in which the events occurred, the expressions show that Mr. Jones was drunk already as he lurched across the yard. However, he still took another glass of beer then went to bed drunk. The expression â€Å"Mrs. Jones was already snoring† is in the past continuous form. It shows that she began snoring even before Mr. Jones got to bed. The expression â€Å"went out† is in the past perfect form as it shows a fact about what happened to the light (Ambridge, 2010. P1497). The light perfectly went out. The expression â€Å"there was a stirring† is in the past continuous form because it shows an event that started and continued after the light went out. The expression â€Å"word had gone round† is in the perfect past form of past tense. It shows that word going round during the day anticipated the occurrence of some event. This was a perfect occurrence of an event. The expression â€Å"had had a strange dream† is in the past emphatic form of past tense. It emphasizes the fact that the old major had a strange dream the previous night. The forms of tenses of the words showed the states and sequence of occurrence of the events. The light bedroom light went out when Mrs. Jones was still snoring. After the light went out, the stirring began in the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Red Scare and The Second Red Scare Research Paper

The Red Scare and The Second Red Scare - Research Paper Example The first Red Scare The first main manifestation of strong anti-communism in the US occurred in 1919 and 1920 following the 1917 Bolshevick Revolution in Russia. It also came as a result of strong patriotic years of the First World War in which social agitation and left-wing political violence worsened the national political and social tensions. According to Murray (1971), the Red Scare can be described as a nation-wide anti-radical hysterical which was triggered by increasing anxiety and fear that the Bolshevick revolution was going to occur in America. This revolution was to change home, marriage, Church, civility and the American way of life1. During this time, newspapers increased the existing political fears into xenophobia because different radical anarchism was seen as the answers to poverty. At the same time the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) had supported many labor strikes in the period of 1916-1917. The press portrayed this as a radical threat which was inspired by the left-wing to work against the American society. However, this was a misinterpretation of the legitimate labor strikes by the press as plots to establish communism, crimes against society and crimes against the society2. In 1919, a plan to mail 36 bombs to popular members of the US economic and political establishment and immigration officers was discovered by the authorities. On 2nd June 1919, eight bombs exploded simultaneously in eight cities and the house of the Alexander Mitchell Palmer, the US Attorney General in Washington DC was one of the targets. Twelve famous lawyers and Felix Frankfurter, a Justice in the Supreme Court, criticized Palmer raids as unconstitutionally illegal3. Felix Frankfurter published a report concerning the US Department of Justice and the illegal practices in it. The report documented the violation of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments to the US constitution through the wanton violence and illegal acts which he states as Palmer-authorized. Palmer responded defensively by warning that left-wing revolution that was government-deposing would begin on 1st May, 1920. However, it failed to take place denoting that there was a shift in public opinion concerning communism. There were legal criticisms against Palmer’s claims for example that less than 600 deportations out of the thousands of resident foreigners were substantiated with evidence. The resident foreigners had been illegally arrested and deported back to their home countries. As a result to the shift in public opinion during first the Red Scare, left-wing and communist organizations for example the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the IWW lost many members. During the first Red Scare period, the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws were enacted by many US states4. These laws outlawed the campaign for violence in as a tool for affecting and achieving social change. The passage of the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws triggered aggressive police investigat ions of individuals accused of advocating for such type of violence, their arrest and deportation. The individuals were being arrested and deported because they were suspected to be either communist or left-wing members. The wave of arrests, trials and deportation by the government became the characteristic events of the first Red Scare. The second Red Scare

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Factors Affecting Trade of Sugar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Factors Affecting Trade of Sugar - Assignment Example 70% of this production is for domestic consumption while 30% is traded in the world. Since only a small portion of the production is being traded freely, it is subjected to government policies and production so that any change affects the trading practices of the commodity. These are trade barriers such as quota and bilateral agreements that limits trading opportunities of least developed countries. As 120 countries partake of sugar allocations imposed by importing countries, it is important to understand if trade barriers create equal opportunity. Sugar producers believe that by removing these restrictions and opening of markets, supply is ensured, rational pricing will be maintained, and smaller countries can have an equal share of sugar quota ( GATRL, 2009). The top sugar producing countries in the world are Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, European Union, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and United States. World production as of 2010/2012 estimates is 168,647 metric tons raw value. BraziL has the biggest share of production followed by India and next by China. The rest is accounted for by Asian production (SUCDEN). With a global population of 7 billion, sugar consumption is estimated at 171.4 million tons and a per capita consumption of 21.kg. Per capita sugar consumption is highest in Brazil, Australia, and Cuba. ... 1, and has not changed ever since (Sugarcane.org) Tariff quotas and bilateral agreements limit the free trade of small producing country with the US while farmers support policy is addressed to maintain the domestic farmers. Quota system controls the volume of sugar imports by limiting amount of sugar that enters US on a zero rate tariff rate. The amount set for import must meet the US World Trade organization requirement which is 1,117,195 tons of raw sugar and 22,000 tons of refined sugar. Any over quota export under the system is not advisable since US imposes a higher tariff rate. (Edwards, Chris, 2009). Bilateral arrangement disenfranchises smaller producing countries as they are out on agreements. For instance, the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico gives it a distinct advantage over other countries since US provided them with tariff free and attractive provisions including a guaranteed quota that increases yearly.(Office of The United States Trade Representative, n.d.) For fair treatment, the recent talks of world organizations such as the Uruguay rounds, AEFA, and APEC are all aimed toward trade liberalization. (Economic & Research Services, USDA, 1997) Simulations and five scenarios have been expounded to know effects. The Uruguay Rounds will expand global trade and social welfare of countries and regions, except China. AEFA trade liberalization would increase social welfare of ASEAN in limited way. All APEC members tend to gain in the liberalization since high import protection is eliminated. (See FAO Explanation (Annex 1) Koo, Woo ‘s scenario of trade liberalization of both US and EU, and retaining of sugar subsidies will allow most sugar producing countries to survive. However, if only the U.S. eliminates the program, Koo said all U.S. sugar

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

JavaScript-Same Origin Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

JavaScript-Same Origin Policy - Essay Example The essay "JavaScript-Same Origin Policy" overviews a security concept, the same origin policy, a concept used when there is a need to isolate documents retrieved from distinct origins. The same origin ideas thus help in avoiding the hackers from injecting evil sites into someone’s or other sites that are wanted private. This origin policy always starts with trust; a web page owns its data and is free to submit that data to the original website. Thus, the already running JavaScript will be given an assurance of not being evil. The JavaScript will load more content e.g. building a simple image gallery use that is through writing JavaScript encryptions that insert and erases into the existing page. The browser, therefore, will instantly load the image, in a way, showing that it had been present in the existing page, and removes it from the display if the image is deleted. Thus, the same origin policy code prevents the JavaScript from directing data to a dissimilar server or from writing a data belonging to a different server. Enabling communications with another domain will depend on the use of JSONP, which grounds on a -tag. The sent information to another domain is encrypted in the URL as limits. The resumed JavaScript comprises of a purpose call with the invited info as parameters. Though if some evil encryptions of JavaScript gets submitted into a clean web page, it may results into an tag and includes them on that page. It will be safe to develop a URL to any intimidating domain.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Glider 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Glider 2 - Assignment Example for measuring the length of the glider, scissors, coping saw I blade and razor blades are the main materials and tools utilized in constructing Basal Gliders. The tools are majorly used in cutting unnecessary parts. The construction should begin by constructing the wing and using a wood stripper tool in cutting the thick strips of balsa. Moreover, there should be sheet weighing at least 10.6 grams. The sheet was more the one gram but less than 10.6 grams. The remaining parts were constructed with the available materials and tools. Preparation of fuselage or glider was the first step with each base width and components of tailpiece measured and recorded. Notches and slits were cut from the balsa wood length thus resulting to a full glider. All components of glider were assembled by gluing each individual component to the body of glider. This consumed quality time thus permitting adequate time for the drying of each component before attaching the next components. At this stage of glider construction, penny-nose weight was applied to the glider. Eventually, a tape was then utilized in affixing each penny to the glider’s nose, and ultimately resulting to a full glider. A starting line on the floor was marked using a masking tape. Flight distance testing had a minimum of 17feet to the landing target such as a desk or chair. The result of the flight test was then recorded on the scorecard. This process aids in predictions of the functionality and reliability of the balsa glide of meeting its target. Testing process used a minimum of two throws for the glider. The weight and balance of the glider was changed by moving the wings of the glider forward and backward, which affected the flying process of the airplanes. The wings of the Glide were increased to have a maximum gliding distance. Glide Ratio is computed by dividing the glide distance value with the altitude value of the glide. Glide flight-testing method is normally used to test the gliding distance and

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Mark Twain Short Stories Essay Essay Example for Free

Mark Twain Short Stories Essay Essay Mark Twain has composed a myriad of short stories over a long period of time. Twain writes with the passion to charm and amuse the reader. Every single sentence he writes makes one want to keep reading on to see what happens next. His stories also offer a comment on human nature and Twain often questions conventional wisdom. Just because someone’s life did not attach to with what many people see normal, Twain seems to be asking if that makes them lucky when they don’t fail. He responds to that question and challenges the reader to think twice in his short stories. Mark Twain’s stories seem to never be lacking hilariousness. In Luck, for example, he brings out the subject, Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby, as a dignified and decorated soldier but then makes a quick turn by quoting the town Reverend saying, â€Å"Privately – he’s an absolute fool† (Twain 265). This blunt change allows Twain the chance to recount the tale told by the Reverend concerning Scoresby’s many failures in battle. Additionally, he sets up the reader in The Story of the Bad Little Boy by painting a dreary picture as to what could happen to the main character. Twain then excitedly breaks the ice with an amusing reveal of what actually happened. Twain writes, â€Å"Is it right to disobey my mother? Isn’t it sinful to do this? Where do bad little boys go who gobble up their good kind mother’s jam?† and then he didn’t kneel down all alone and promise to never to be wicked any more, no that is the way with all other bad boys in the books†¦ He ate that jam, and said it was bully; and he put in the tar, and said that was bully, also, and laughed, and observed that the old woman would get up and snort† (11). This process of creating a sullen circumstance and then flamboyantly reversing course is depicted in most of Twain’s stories and was used to have a great effect. Mark Twain used humor to thrill the reader, which he did effectively and consistently, but he also used it make a clear point. The most frequent point he was trying to make was that society is too uptight. In The Story of the Bad Little Boy, he underlines a wide range of â€Å"bad† things that the main character does but wraps it up that it had little bearing on him when he became a man. Twain writes, â€Å"And he grew up and married, and raised a large family, and brained them all with an ax one night, and got wealthy by all manner of cheating and rascality; and now he is the infernalest wickedest  scoundrel in his native village, and is universally respected, and belongs to the legislature† (13). This was Twain’s way of getting at the notion that a naughty child will always be a bad person. He does this again in Science vs. Luck in which he pokes fun at the over-the-top laws against gambling and games of chance. Twain does this through the main character, a nifty attorney, who argues that the game of seven-up is actually a game of science rather than chance so should not be considered gambling. Twain writes, â€Å"We, the jury in the case do hereby unanimously decide that the game commonly known as old sledge or seven-up is eminently a game of science and not chance†¦ In demonstration where of it is hereby and herein stated, iterated, reiterated, set forth and made manifest that, during the entire night, the â€Å"chance† men never won a game† (73). By using humor to sink in the message, Twain was able to poke fun at the conservative folks that ruled his day, and ours. Conservative thinking includes the presumption that people who succeed while acting in an unconventional manner must be lucky. Twain also poked fun at that thinking as well. The hero in Luck, Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby, was privately thought to be a fool and the luckiest man on earth to survive in the military for decades. Twain then brings up nearly a dozen events in which Scoresby went against conventional wisdom and managed to live, leaving the reader to wonder the question, â€Å"Was it really luck or was Scoresby just good at what he did?† He also attains a familiar and similar goal in The Story of the Bad Little Boy in which the main character survives many near-fatal events to become a pillar of society. Twain seems to ask, â€Å"Was the boy really lucky to survive his childhood or was society too uptight?† Finally, in Science vs. Luck, Twain points out that games of â€Å"chance† are nothing more than complicated science or math problems. Once again, Twain intrigues the reader to consider whether the conservative view is the one and only view. Mark Twain wrote short stories with strong intent. He had a critical yet comical perspective that allowed him to see the humor in serious matters. Twain wrote about them in a way that was entertaining while also serving to share his perspective on his literature. For those readers who took themselves too seriously, they probably only saw the humor part. To those who chose to read between the lines laughed, but also probably stopped to reflect on the message. In his unique way, Mark Twain may have changed the course of human nature and society with his writings. Works Cited Twain, Mark. The Complete Short Stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Shawshank Redemption Essay Example for Free

The Shawshank Redemption Essay Main character in the movie. Was wrongfully sent to prison for the murder of his wife. Andy did not commit the crime; he was simply at the murder scene in his car. He was going to kill them both but he was held back. Someone else killed his wife and her lover and Andy was blamed. -Ellis â€Å"Red† Redding- the man who can get you anything in prison. Red was Andy’s best friend and the only guilty man at Shawshank Prison. Red kept Andy sane for most of the movie by being his friend and getting him what he wants/needs. Warden Samuel Norton- Warden at Shawshank Prison; although he is the warden, he shows special interest towards Andy and uses him for his skills. -Tommy Williams- Young and fresh criminal who comes to Shawshank who knows the Identity of the real killer in Andy’s case. Tommy is assassinated because of his knowledge on the topic. -Brooks Hatlen- Old librarian. Is later released from prison. Not knowing what to do in life, Brooks chooses suicide. Wrongly convicted banker Andy Dufresne is sent to prison for killing his wife and her lover. When Andy gets to prison he learns the system and makes friends with Red, Red is the man that can get you anything in prison. Andy asks for a rock hammer as he is into geology and wants to make a chess board. Andy shows his knowledge of the law and money and helps Capt. Hadley with his money dilemma. The warden assigns Andy to the library to assist the librarian Brooks Hatlen. Andy soon becomes the warden’s second hand man to do the warden’s dirty financial work, which includes laundering money under the name â€Å"Randall Stevens†. In 1954, Brooks is released from prison, unable to adjust to the outside world he hangs himself. Tommy Williams comes to Shawshank in 1965 for robbery. He becomes friends with Andy and Red. After Tommy hears about why Andy is here in prison he is shocked because he is proof that Andy did not commit the crime. Andy brings this information the warden, but the warden refuses to listen because if Andy is brought to justice and freed than the warden doesn’t have someone like him to do his dirty work. The warden has Tommy shot and killed by Captain Hadley. Andy tells Red that if he is ever freed from the prison, that red should go to a specific hayfield near Buxton and look under a volcanic rock for a package. The next day at roll call, Andy is not present and his cell is empty. The warden gets so mad that he starts to destroy everything in the room and when he throws a rock at Raquel Welch’s poster, he finds a hidden pathway that Andy had created with his rock hammer over the last 20 years. Andy escaped from prison. After spending a good portion of his life in prison, Red is finally free. Red, like Brooks, can’t adapt to outside life. He remembered his promise to Andy and visits the specific spot that Andy told Red about. He finds some cash for a bus ticket to Zihuatenajo. Red breaks his parole and travels to Texas to cross the Mexican border. On a beach in Zihuatenajo, Red finds Andy, and they both are reunited and the movie ends. 1. Reliability- Reliability is the extent of how much you can count on one person or thing to get what is needed to be accomplished. Andy shows his reliability to the people of the prison, including administrators for his chance to get the upper hand so he can accomplish what he needs to do to get himself out of prison. 2. Validity- I think validity is how true something is, how just something is, or how important something is. Andy helps the prison workers with their taxes. His knowledge over the topic is tested and his validity is tested as well. 3. Cause and Effect- What happens and what effect comes from what happened. In The Shawshank Redemption cause and effect is very clear. From the time that Andy is trusted with finances and money laundering, the cause of his escape is planned. He wants to exploit the prison and by effect he can inherit the money under the fake identity. It is apparent in other times in the movie as well. Without the cause there would not be an effect. Beliefs- What a person holds dear to themselves as far as morals, faith, and their personal thoughts of how one should live their life. In The Shawshank Redemption, Red chastises Andy one day in the cafeteria for having hope. Andy’s own personal beliefs are always with him and by keeping those hopes he escapes the prison. 5. Hunting and Gathering- Getting what we want by our own will and actions and storing and releasing what we have wherever want. In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy takes pieces of the wall with him to the prison yards every day. He slowly empties his pockets on the prison yard and lets the rocks from the wall fall from him. 6. Personality- how a person is, what a person believes and how that belief shines to show what kind of person one is. In The Shawshank Redemption and in any other movie really, Personality is always present. Andy’s personality at first his quiet and he mostly keeps to himself. Even after making friends Andy is more of an Introvert than an Extrovert. 7. Status- A person’s social standing in society. A rank of sorts. Andy’s status in The Shawshank Redemption is changed from laundry duty to librarian to prison banker. Achieved status- what you do to get to where you are, how you achieved the status that you have. Andy’s status is achieved because of the skills that he has from his previous life. His achieved status in the end is a free man. Randall Stevens. 9. Social group- The people that you are with, your friends, your group. Andy’s social group in the story goes from being alone or just with Red, to having a whole group of friends and inmates. 10. Dyad- a group of 2 people, 2 friends or even 2 enemies. Andy and Red would be the only real Dyad in The Shawshank Redemption. The warden and captain Hadley would also be a dyad. 11. Authoritarianism- One person who is in control of a social group of groups. In The Shawshank Redemption, the warden is the authoritarian. His word goes and no one else can do or say anything about it. 12. Bisexuality- When a man or woman likes someone of the same sex but also likes someone of the opposite sex. Bisexuality is only present in the movie by â€Å"The Sisters†. In the prison there are only men, and the sisters are prison rapists who rape men. 13. Organized crime- an organized process to get what one needs or wants. Red has a system of organized crime to get the people what they want, whether it is a pack of cigarettes or a rock hammer. 14. Retribution- Revenge or personal satisfaction by getting revenge of some sort. Andy gets his retribution by exploiting to the public what was really going on in Shawshank prison. 15. Rehabilitation- the process of being â€Å"fixed† to abide by societies laws or social rules. The entire prison system in The Shawshank Redemption is really just a form of rehabilitation by imprisoning people; the officials believe that they will be rehabilitated so that they can come into the public once again. 6. Profession- your skill of trade, the thing that you have over anyone else. Andy’s profession was a banker and even while he is in prison, the profession is still useful.   Wealth- how much money a person has, how rich or happy they are. Andy’s job for a while in the movie is to launder the money under an alias. Wealth is all that the warden seems to care about. 18. Power- how much say a person has, their voice is power and how much of the voice is power, is also power. The Warden lusts for power and wealth; ultimately, both things are what get him exploited and ultimately result in his suicide. 9. Proletarians- Workers that work for money, wage or contract workers. The warden hires second hand workers and works off of bribes so that he may receive his own money, he cuts the prisons budget in work. 20. Faith- your beliefs or how much you believe in the validity of your beliefs. Andy always keeps his faith in hope, and in the end it was the hope that drove him to leave. I actually liked this assignment. I have seen the movie The Shawshank Redemption quite a few times. I always just looked at the movie in a sense of drama and a good story. After looking at the terms it’s easier to see how much sociology really affects anything. In a prison system, sociology is very present and by knowing certain terms and sociological information, you can really get something out of a movie that you could not get otherwise. Sociology is present in almost every movie as there is some kind of term present that has a better underlying meaning than what is just presented over the surface. Sometimes just by knowing what kind of person a character is, it’s easy to tell what categories of sociology they can fit under. I think sociology and this assignment are very relevant to The Shawshank Redemption in a sense that the movie is not action based. There is not a lot of action or special affects of computer graphics. The movie is all story and dialogue. It’s easier, yet harder to sense sociological terms in the dialogue as you are limited by certain kind of sociological group. I think the movie seems very different when it is viewed this way. I have seen this movie well over twenty times and I haven’t really looked at the movie in this way. I have learned quite a lot this semester and more importantly I believe they are things that I will remember. In many classes, there aren’t many things that students take with them, with this class, I didn’t just get a grade, I got a basis to which I can view many things at different angles just by analyzing and observing what and how people do or say what they do or say. How people act in a certain group compared to how they act online or with just a few close friends. The information that was taught in this class can be readily used in everyday life compared to some classes where things are taught that one wouldn’t use so much. I enjoyed this class very much.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Impact on the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, 1790 The French government completed its subordination of the Roman Catholic Church in France on July 12, 1790. The National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This was a culmination of events of the Catholic Church meeting opposition from the French government. The Catholic Church already faced the abolishment of tithes as well as nationalization of all property they used for revenue in 1789. Leading up to the actual Civil Constitution, monastic vows were forbidden. Only ecclesiastical orders that dealt with children and nursing the sick were kept intact, all others were dissolved. Motivations for these changes to the French Catholic Church are questionable. They could have been sparked by the French governments impending bankruptcy, or the tithes systems abuse. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a dramatic reorganization of the clergy. The number of bishops was drastically decreased from one hundred and thirty five to eighty three. Each of the new bishops and priests were required to be elected locally by their constituents, removing the popes authority over the clergys appointment. Under the Civil Constitution, the bishops and priests had to swear an oath of loyalty to the new order and the Constitution. Title II, Article XXII of the Civil Constitution states, â€Å"The bishop elect shall take a solemn oath in the presence of the municipal officers, of the people, and of the clergy to guard with care the faithful of his diocese who are confided to him, to be loyal to the nation, the law, and the king, and to support with all his power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by the King†[1]. This swearing of the oath caused great debate. Pope Pius VI refused to accept any provisions of the Civil Constitution. Louis XVI sent numerous letters to the pope complaining that he had to publicly accept the Civil Constitution. He suggested that the Pope Pius VI appease the National Assembly and accept a few articles. On December 26, 1790, Louis XVI granted his public assent despite the Popes acceptance because of pressure from the National Assembly. The next month, administrations of the oath began, drastically diminishing the numbers of the clergy. Half of the clergy and only seven of the preexisting bishops swore an oath of loyalty. A schism was created within the Catholic Church as Pope Pius VI denounced the Civil Constitution. One side of the split took the oath and was known as the constitutional clergy. Those that agreed with the Popes denouncement became non jurors or refractory priests; they faced dismissal, deportation, and death for their actions. To understand more upon the impact of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy on the French Catholic Church one examined a few books on the subject. The first was published in 1986 by the Princeton University Press. Timothy Tackett wrote Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791, a four hundred and twenty five page book. Tackett is an American historian specializing in the French Revolution; he has published a few books on different aspects of religion in the French Revolution. This particular book focuses on explaining the geography of oath taking in France, which regions were most likely to take the oath and why. In Timothy Tacketts Religion, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791, he makes convincing arguments that many have come to respect and others that have yet to be confirmed. Tackett is able to accomplish this through his use of vast archival and printed sources. In arguing his thesis, geography of oath taking, he argues that the clergys ideology, their beliefs, denominational influences, and constituency influences, is the most important deciding factor. Tackett finds that reactions to the oath usually varied depending on the region. In an area where protestant enclaves were present, it was more than likely that the local clergy would be opposed to the oath. On the other hand, in areas where there was a presence of local Jansenism or the Cures opposed Episcopal power, he found that the local clergy tended to take the oath. Tackett understands that no argument is a strong argument without acknowledgement of the opposition. With that said, it was only right for him to mention other possible influences on the reactions to the oath. Other minor influences on the regional reactions to the oath could have also been attitudes towards the Revolution, age and social origin of the bishops. According to Tackett social origin is defined as cultural and political distance from the center of France. When discussing the importance of the Oath, Tackett says, â€Å"[it is] one of those very particular kinds of historically happenings, with the potential for sharply jolting the whole historical landscape†[2]. He did not believe that the Oath of 1791 was the only shaping factor of Frances rich history. In addition to the oath, he also credits the Churchs role in society as well as the relationship between Church and State to be the reason for the laicite seen in modern day France. Tackett comes to this conclusion by the uncanny coincidence between the regions reactions to the oath and religious practices divided by areas. Timothy Tacketts book was a helpful source in the area of clear analysis of the factors that played a role in the reactions to the Oath of 1791. Through this analytical work, the reader is able to understand the impact of the oath and ultimately how it shaped France. While helpful in some areas, Tacketts book is lacking in synthesizing his analysis with a clear conclusion. This leaves issues of the development of Frances religious history unanswered. Some of the conclusions drawn were not fully developed and some times unclear, which gives the reader the idea that he may not have fully understood the entire concept or maybe his sources were lacking in these very areas. Tackett builds up his arguments to support his thesis on the geography of oath taking, but loses momentum. The next book studied was published in 1996 by Yale University Press. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791 is a three hundred and ninety page book written by Dale Van Kley. Van Kley is an American historian who is best known for this prize-wining book. His work has focused on the contributions that Augustinian theology made to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He is a professor of History at Ohio State University. In the Religious Origins, Van Kley explores the diverse religious strands of Jansenism that influence political events up to the revolution, claiming that the efforts to dechristianize the French state and citizens had long-term religious origins. Van Kley shows that French royal absolutism was a product and then a casualty of religious conflict using a wealth of primary sources. He studies a great number of individual bishops and clergy, their views, and sympathies. The relevant religious conflict that he discusses is the Jansenism- related conflicts in the eighteenth century that helped to â€Å"desacralize† the monarchy along with the French Catholic clergy. This conflict was a direct contribution to the revolution because it led to parties that were of a political and religious nature. The Patriot party was a successor to the Jansenist party. The rhetoric of such parties affected the content of the revolutionary political culture. The Civil Constitution â€Å"eliminat[ed] the clergy itself as a visibly independent corps, this ideological combination hastened the interiorization of religion and the states monopolization of public functions, a tendency long evident in judicial Jansenism itself†[3]. Before the c lergy had a role in public functions, but Jansenism supported this separation of religion into the private sphere and government control of the public sphere that was made by the Civil Constitution. Van Kley, indebts the revolutionary political culture to the varieties of French Catholicism. It was strongly influenced by the struggle between rival notions of the good society. The ultra-montanist Catholicism of the Jesuits supported the sacral monarchy. However, the Jansenists favored a contractual political order. â€Å"Jansenists could have congratulated themselves that the Civil Constitution enforced Episcopal residence, instituted clerical elections, nearly nullified papal influence†¦ banished arbitrary government†[4]. The Jansenists defense of a contractual political order over a sacral monarchy seems to have led to these provisions of the Civil Constitution. This source was less helpful in exploring the topic, because it was narrowly focused. Van Kleys attitude was obviously prejudiced against the Jesuits, as he portrayed them as the leaders of sacral monarchy and the Jansenist oppression. He describes Jansenist opposition and criticism of Catholicism. His interpretation of religions influence on the French revolution was extremely limited; however, he should be praised for shedding light on the importance of religion in the French revolution. He adds a major strand to the debate on the origins of the French Revolution. Despite, its innovative addition, Van Kley limits his focus to the Jansenists role as the chief force behind opposition the French monarchy. He states, â€Å"Some if not all of the content of the Civil Constitution was the culmination of a century of Jansenist efforts at ecclesiastical reform†[5]. Jansenist position seems to be of exaggerated importance. He also seems to leave out the Catholic features of Jansenism , and more likens them to Calvinists. He demonstrates how Jansenism inspired a radical Calvinist break with Catholic discourse and worship. This book was a tough reading, with much material through primary sources. However, its focus on Jansenism serves more as giving another side to the traditional story rather than convincing many of religions influence in the French Revolution. Nigel Aston wrote four hundred and thirty five pages on the Religion and Revolution in France, 1780 1804. Aston is Reader in History at the University of Leicester. This book is a comprehensive survey of the religious history of France from the eve of the Revolution through the early years of the nineteenth century. Using a vast array of secondary materials and printed sources, Aston creates a comprehensive survey of the religious history of France. He begins his text with discussing the special privileges of the Catholic clergy as well as the principles of Gallicanism, Jansenism, and Richerism, the strains of Catholicism that would fuel the revolt of the lower clergy against the bishops of the Estates General. There were deep social and economic divisions within the clergy. Aston also notes the religious diversity in France. He writes, Geography is crucial[6] when discussing the variations in clerical density, religious fervor, and ecclesiastical revenues from province to province. Aston also includes information on the treatment alongside male clergy of women in religious orders. His second chapter analyzes the diverse beliefs and practices of the clergy and laity. He felt the French laity remained overwhelmingly attached to the Catholic faith and practice†[7]. He is rejecting the idea t hat the French populace showed signs of secularization and questions the thesis of a â€Å"desacralization† of the monarchy. Aston also includes a chapter on other denominations in the late Old Regime. The second part of his book focuses on the relationship between religion and Revolution, exclusively on Catholicism and builds on his earlier work. He blames the leaders of the Constituent Assembly for the terrible religious divisions which marked the Revolutionary period. Events would have taken a more moderate course and scores of thousands of lives would have been saved[8]if the oath was not required. Also, if the leaders would have permitted the convocation of a National Council of the French clergy to ratify the revolutionary reorganization a less radical course would have been taken. Instead the Civil Constitution of the Clergy led to a break in the church by forcing clergy to choose between the church and the state. Faced with what was crudely reduced to a stark choice between religion and revolution, half the adult population rejected revolution[9]. The last relevant section of the book focuses on the aftermath of the Civil Constitution and the official policy of dechristianization. Most native French had no choice but to put up with the changes imposed by urban-based politicians; the non compliant risked death by their determination not to abandon their Christian faith[10]. Other chapters in this section focused on how anticlericalism triggered European opposition to the Revolution more than the decision to kill Louis XVI. He also explored the Constitutional Church and Catholic opponents of the Revolution. Aston was a helpful source as it seemed to cover all aspects of religion and the French Revolution. Its broad coverage treated Protestants and Jews alongside the Catholics. This is unique as the term religion when regarding the revolution is conflated with Catholicism in most studies. This book was very readable striking a balance between synthesis and detail. However, some of Astons conclusions lack strength because opposing stances were omitted. For instance, his sole blame on the leaders of the Assembly for the schism created by the Civil Constitution underestimates the impact of Pope Pius VI. The pope was uncompromising and rejected the Civil Constitution as well as the ideals of the revolution. When researching this topic, I would have to first seek Astons source to inform me. The comprehensive study was so helpful in getting a whole understanding of the subject. Although, he did underestimate Pope Pius VIs influence in the break between the French Catholic Church, he did bring up elements not previously discussed. However he did have the benefit, of having publications such as Tacketts to elaborate upon, as well as John McManners short synthesis of 1968. From a non expert point of view this book was very readable, and had much detail and evidence to back conclusions. It explained the atmosphere before, during, and after the Civil Constitution which is useful in figuring out the implications of the Civil Constitution. However, I wouldnt use Van Kleys book again. It was least helpful in giving a whole explanation on the impact of the Civil Constitution on the French revolution. It was very one-sided, and the information was hard to understand. Only experts, with a firm knowledge on the religious influences of the Revolution would benefit from reading this source, as they would be able to understand his point of view. However, Van Kley must receive credit for being a pioneer in his subject. His work influenced many works that came after that had information on Jansenism. I just did not receive the full picture of the Civil Constitutions impact and how other denominations were concerned. More synthesis needs to be done on this topic to really get the full gist of the importance of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Van Kleys view should be incorporated with the main historical narrative of the impact of the Civil Constitution and not disregarded as Jansenism focused and therefore irrelevant. Also Pope Pius VIs influence needs to be studied. Instead of trying to argue the importance of one side of the debate, each aspect that had an impact needs to be dissected and expanded upon. More analysis of primary sources and empirical data will only be helpful to the subject. Reading these three books by Tackett, Van Kley, and Aston is a great start in understanding the impact of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Bibliography Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. Perry, Jonathan. â€Å"The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.† Hanover Historical Texts Project. 2001. Nov 16 2009. . Tackett, Timothy. Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. [1] Perry, Jonathan. â€Å"The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.† Hanover Historical Texts Project. 2001. Nov 16 2009. . [2] Tackett, Timothy. Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. pg. vx. [3] Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. pg. 362 [4] IBID. pg. 353 [5] Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. pg. 336. [6] Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. pg. 48. [7] IBID. pg. 56. [8] IBID. pg. 161. [9] Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. pg. 162. [10] IBID. pg. 194.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Cuneiform :: Egyptian Writing Essays

Cuneiform The earliest writing in Mesopotamia was a picture writing invented by the Sumerians who wrote on clay tablets using long reeds. The script the Sumerians invented and handed down to the Semitic peoples who conquered Mesopotamia in later centuries, is called cuneiform, which is derived from two Latin words: cuneus , which means "wedge," and forma , which means "shape." This picture language, similar to but more abstract than Egyptian hieroglyphics, eventually developed into a syllabic alphabet under the Semites (Assyrians and Babylonians) who eventually came to dominate the area. In Sumer, the original writing was pictographic ("picture writing"); individual words were represented by crude pictorial symbols that resembled in some way the object being represented, as in the Sumerian word for king. The first symbol pictures "gal," or "great," and the second pictures "lu," or "man." Eventually, this pictorial writing developed into a more abstract series of wedges and hooks. These wedges and hooks are the original cuneiform and represented in Sumerian entire words (this is called ideographic and the word symbols are called ideograms, which means "concept writing"); the Semites who adopted this writing, however, spoke an entirely different language, in fact, a language as different from Sumerian as English is different from Japanese. In order to adapt this foreign writing to a Semitic language, the Akkadians converted it in part to a syllabic writing system; individual signs represent entire syllables. However, in addition to syllable symbols, some cuneiform symbols are ideograms ("picture words") representing an entire word; these ideograms might also, in other contexts, be simply syllables. For instance, in Assyrian, the cuneiform for the syllable "ki" is written. However, as an ideogram, this cuneiform also stands for the Assyrian word irsitu , or "earth." So reading cuneiform involves mastering a large syllabic alphabet as well as a large number of ideograms, many of them identical to syllable symbols. This complicated writing system dominated Mesopotamia until the century before the birth of Christ; the Persians greatly simplified cuneiform until it represented something closer to an alphabet.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Knights of the Golden Circle Essay -- American History, Bickley, Valla

In 1854, a medical practitioner of ambiguous credentials, George W. L. Bickley, founded the Knights of the Golden Circle. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Golden Circle was complete with passwords, quasi-Masonic rituals, secret signs and symbols. The Knights of the Golden Circle (later called the Order of the American Knights and, by February 1864, the Sons of Liberty) (Bruce Tap, Over Lincoln Shoulder, 73) quickly hatched lodges throughout Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. To identify themselves, members wore the head of Liberty cut out from the old-style copper pennies. (Tap, 74) Affectionately, their enemies called them Copperheads, a reference to the venomous snake. Although there were many, it is arguable that the antiwar Copperheads rallied the most passionate around one leader, Clement Vallandigham. Born on July 29th, 1820 in New Lisbon, Ohio, Vallandigham was a brilliant individual, whose young mind at age two knew the alphabet, at twelve, spoke Greek and Latin, and who entered Jefferson College in Philadelphia at the age of seventeen. At nineteen, Clement Vallandigham became principle at Union Academy in Maryland, and at twenty was editor of an extremist Democratic newspaper. (Tap, 6) Later in life, Vallandigham gained the reputation in Ohio as an unbeatable, eccentric, defense attorney. After a term as governor of Ohio, Vallandigham was elected to congress with the platform of anti-Abolitionist Democrat, advocating Confederate Independence and denouncing emancipation, but was defeated in 1862. (Chandra Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over, 99) In his last speech before Congress, Vallandigham urged his countrymen to stop fighting. (Roger L. Ranson, The Confederate States of America: What Mi... ...nited States. (Ranson, 160) Lincoln’s reputation however won by over 400,000 popular votes and easily confirmed an electoral majority. Several states now allowed their soldier citizens to cast a ballot, a first in United States history. Soldiers in the army gave Lincoln over than 70% of their votes. (Manning, 148) Meanwhile, as the list of dead and wounded hit northern newspapers, Vallandigham returned from Canadian exile to attend a convention condemning this â€Å"unnecessary war† and adopting resolutions in favor of an â€Å"immediate cessation of hostilities† and a negotiated peace. (Manning, 149) Once again up to his old tricks, Vallandigham would later disguise himself by stuffing a pillow under his shirt and donning a false mustache just in time to denounce Lincoln publically in the 1864 presidential election, where at which Lincoln will ignore him. (Dickson, 316) Knights of the Golden Circle Essay -- American History, Bickley, Valla In 1854, a medical practitioner of ambiguous credentials, George W. L. Bickley, founded the Knights of the Golden Circle. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Golden Circle was complete with passwords, quasi-Masonic rituals, secret signs and symbols. The Knights of the Golden Circle (later called the Order of the American Knights and, by February 1864, the Sons of Liberty) (Bruce Tap, Over Lincoln Shoulder, 73) quickly hatched lodges throughout Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. To identify themselves, members wore the head of Liberty cut out from the old-style copper pennies. (Tap, 74) Affectionately, their enemies called them Copperheads, a reference to the venomous snake. Although there were many, it is arguable that the antiwar Copperheads rallied the most passionate around one leader, Clement Vallandigham. Born on July 29th, 1820 in New Lisbon, Ohio, Vallandigham was a brilliant individual, whose young mind at age two knew the alphabet, at twelve, spoke Greek and Latin, and who entered Jefferson College in Philadelphia at the age of seventeen. At nineteen, Clement Vallandigham became principle at Union Academy in Maryland, and at twenty was editor of an extremist Democratic newspaper. (Tap, 6) Later in life, Vallandigham gained the reputation in Ohio as an unbeatable, eccentric, defense attorney. After a term as governor of Ohio, Vallandigham was elected to congress with the platform of anti-Abolitionist Democrat, advocating Confederate Independence and denouncing emancipation, but was defeated in 1862. (Chandra Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over, 99) In his last speech before Congress, Vallandigham urged his countrymen to stop fighting. (Roger L. Ranson, The Confederate States of America: What Mi... ...nited States. (Ranson, 160) Lincoln’s reputation however won by over 400,000 popular votes and easily confirmed an electoral majority. Several states now allowed their soldier citizens to cast a ballot, a first in United States history. Soldiers in the army gave Lincoln over than 70% of their votes. (Manning, 148) Meanwhile, as the list of dead and wounded hit northern newspapers, Vallandigham returned from Canadian exile to attend a convention condemning this â€Å"unnecessary war† and adopting resolutions in favor of an â€Å"immediate cessation of hostilities† and a negotiated peace. (Manning, 149) Once again up to his old tricks, Vallandigham would later disguise himself by stuffing a pillow under his shirt and donning a false mustache just in time to denounce Lincoln publically in the 1864 presidential election, where at which Lincoln will ignore him. (Dickson, 316)

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

History of Computers Essay

The abacus was an early aid for mathematical computations. Its only value is that it aids the memory of the human performing the calculation. A skilled abacus operator can work on addition and subtraction problems at the speed of a person equipped with a hand calculator. The abacus is often wrongly attributed to China. In fact, the oldest surviving abacus was used in 300 B. C. by the Babylonians. The abacus is still in use today, principally in the far east. A modern abacus consists of rings that slide over rods, but the older one pictured below dates from the time when pebbles were used for counting (the word â€Å"calculus† comes from the Latin word for pebble). In 1617 an eccentric Scotsman named John Napier invented logarithms, which are a technology that allows multiplication to be performed via addition. The magic ingredient is the logarithm of each operand, which was originally obtained from a printed table. But Napier also invented an alternative to tables, where the logarithm values were carved on ivory sticks which are now called Napier’s Bones. In 1642 Blaise Pascal, at age 19, invented the Pascaline as an aid for his father who was a tax collector. Pascal built 50 of this gear-driven one-function calculator but couldn’t sell many because of their exorbitant cost and because they really weren’t that accurate. Up until the present age when car dashboards went digital, the odometer portion of a car’s speedometer used the very same mechanism as the Pascaline to increment the next wheel after each full revolution of the prior wheel. Pascal was a child prodigy. At the age of 12, he was discovered doing his version of Euclid’s thirty-second proposition on the kitchen floor. Pascal went on to invent probability theory, the hydraulic press, and the syringe. Shown below is an 8 digit version of the Pascaline. Just a few years after Pascal, the German Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz managed to build a four calculator that he called the stepped reckoner because, instead of gears, it employed fluted drums having ten flutes arranged around their circumference in a stair-step fashion. Although the stepped reckoner employed the decimal number system, Leibniz was the first to advocate use of the binary number system which is fundamental to the operation of modern computers. Leibniz is considered one of the greatest of the philosophers but he died poor and alone. In 1801 the Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a power loom that could base its weave (and hence the design on the fabric) upon a pattern automatically read from punched wooden cards, held together in a long row by rope. Descendents of these punched cards have been in use ever since. By 1822 the English mathematician Charles Babbage was proposing a steam driven calculating machine the size of a room, which he called the Difference Engine. This machine would be able to compute tables of numbers, such as logarithm tables. Hollerith’s invention, known as the Hollerith desk, consisted of a card reader which sensed the holes in the cards, a gear driven mechanism which could count, and a large wall of dial indicators to display the results of the count. Hollerith built a company, the Tabulating Machine Company which, after a few buyouts, eventually became International Business Machines, known today as IBM. IBM grew rapidly and punched cards became ubiquitous. Your gas bill would arrive each month with a punch card you had to return with your payment.

Monday, September 16, 2019

ADHD Nutrition

ADHD is a disease which weakens the release and homeostasis of neurological chemicals. In full the initials stand for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Research shows that ADHD is a hereditary disorder that is it can be passed on through genes.Its occurrence comes with many other disorders such as being defiant, learning disorders and other behavioral disorders ( Paul, 2000 p.4 )There are no specific laboratory tests to establish this condition. The diagnosis can be made upon the parents careful evaluation of their past to see whether they could have had symptoms similar to those that are clear indicators of the disease.Useful tests to diagnose the condition can be through achievement tests that can be used to measure the learner’s learning disorders.Drugs used to treat the disorder are noted to be very addictive. However, psychological treatment can be very helpful. It is also important to note that the drugs used are only used to control the situation and not to treat it.Symptoms of this condition include being restless, lack of concentration, and if there is some, they last for a short time, the child is easily distracted, engagement in excess activities and being impulsive. It can also lead to many allergies to additives and food dyes.More boys are affected by this condition by girls, a phenomenon that has been explained as being as a result of the aggressive nature of boys as opposed to the girls. Many people believe that there is a relationship between food additives and hyperactivity which is seen in this condition called ADHD.The question as to whether there is a relation between nutrition is a claim that has no scientific proof. Many scientists have ended their researches inconclusively.Though claims that there are causes of ADHD that are related to diet–specifically a diet that contains food additives or is high in sugar–and allergies, these claims were seriously investigated by a number of scientists and according to Paul, ( 2000 ) â€Å"many parents whose children are affected by this condition participated† ( p.42 ) Their concern was whether sugar could cause the symptoms of ADHD.Scientific studies show that sugar and carbohydrates cannot cause the symptoms of ADHD, but rather children with this condition can react with sugars in differently from the rest. However, there are no marked effects identified. In fact in one study ADHD children’s reaction to carbohydrates was better than that for proteins surprisingly. This fact also applies with the vitamins and ADHD.Regulated intake can help the situation rather than the exaggerated belief that it causes ADHD related symptoms. Neither too much sugar nor deficiency in vitamins can cause ADHD. The condition cannot be improved by excessive intake of vitamins as the results might be negative since some vitamins when taken in excess can be harmful.  The other causes identified include lead poisoning which has been known for a long time as a major cause of psychological problems. Its interesting that even those children who have not consumed lead can develop the condition may be as a result of breathing in or rather inhaling fumes from the vehicles, nearby industries especially for those in urban centers.Even though many researchers try to dissociate ADHD with nutrition, there is further evidence that reduction of certain additives in foods can be a good way of reversing the c ondition.It has also been observed that the blood of children suffering from this condition has a low DHA fat level. In addition, beneficial nutrients from greens, certain fish, and an adequate level of the DHA fats is a superb way of reversing such conditions in children who suffer from this condition. Recommended dose for the DHA fat is 100mg to 600 mg, according to the age and condition of the child.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Jungian archetypes in today’s global society Essay

This essay presents Jungian â€Å"archetypes† derived from the theoretical formulations of Carl Gustav Jung aimed at understanding their impacts in today’s global society. This essay also presents a list of individuals noted for their contributions for changing the image of the world totally different from those of the Medieval Period’s and from these thoughts one can imagine the prospects of the future. This essay concludes with the citation of some present-day personalities, technologies, and significant events as objects of Jung’s archetypes. Jung’s theory of personality has tremendous influence on sociology—â€Å"the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships [or] specifically the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings† (Merriam-Webster 2004). In order to appreciate the impact of the personality theory of Jung in sociological settings, it is necessary to mention key components of the theoretical constructs foremost of which is the â€Å"collective unconscious†Ã¢â‚¬â€in which Jungian archetypes reside. The â€Å"Ego† is the â€Å"conscious mind†Ã¢â‚¬â€it is the seat of â€Å"perceptions, memories, thoughts, and feelings †¦ from the viewpoint of an individual person it is regarded as the center of consciousness,† write Hall & Lindsey (118). The â€Å"Personal Unconscious† is the â€Å"region adjoining the ego †¦ consists of experiences that were once conscious but which have been repressed, suppressed, forgotten, or ignored† (118). Under the â€Å"Personal Unconscious† are various â€Å"complexes†Ã¢â‚¬â€the organized group or constellation of feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and memories; that have mental life of their own and have the capacity to seize the personality and to utilize for its end, like â€Å"Napoleon’s lust for power† (118). The â€Å"Collective Unconscious†Ã¢â‚¬â€considered as the â€Å"storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from one’s ancestral past, a past that includes not only the racial history of humans as a separate species but their prehuman or animal ancestry as well †¦ [It is] the psychic residue of human evolutionary development, a residue that accumulates as a consequence of repeated experiences over many generations. † If we humans today are afraid, for example, of the dark or of snakes, it is because our primitive parents â€Å"encountered many dangers in the dark and were victims of poisonous snakes,† write Hall and Lindzey (118). And â€Å"what a person learns is substantially influenced by the collective unconscious that exercises a guiding or selective influence over the behavior of the person from the very beginning of life. † Furthermore, the â€Å"two unconscious regions of the mind, the personal and the collective, can be of immense service to humans †¦ the unconscious holds possibilities which are locked away from the conscious mind, for it has its disposal all subliminal contents, all those things which have been forgotten or overlooked, as well as the wisdom and experience of uncounted centuries, which are laid down in its archetypal organs† (119-120). The â€Å"structural components of the collective unconscious are called by various names: archetypes †¦ primordial images †¦ mythological images, and behavior patterns† quotes Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1943). â€Å"An archetype is a universal thought (idea) form that contains a large element of emotion† (Hall and Lindzey 120). An example is the â€Å"mother archetype†Ã¢â‚¬â€an image or a perception of an individual recognized by an infant irregardless of race anywhere in the world. How can this happen? â€Å"It is a permanent deposit in the mind of an experience that has been constantly repeated for many generations. † (Hall and Lindzey 121). Another example is an image of the â€Å"sun† which has been seen by all inhabitants of the world (except the blinds) rose in the east and set on the west horizons—so that â€Å"certain concepts and images of a supreme deity are off-shoots of the sun archetype† (121). â€Å"In a similar manner, humans have been exposed through their existence to innumerable instances of great natural forces—earthquakes, waterfalls, floods, hurricanes, lightning, forest fires †¦ Out of these experiences there has developed an archetype of energy† (121). On the other hand, two or more archetypes sometimes fuse together so that one can see the person of a â€Å"Hitler† as a form of fused archetypes of â€Å"demon and hero †¦ so that one gets a satanic leader. † Furthermore, â€Å"[m]yths, dreams, visions, rituals, neurotic and psychotic symptoms, and works of art contain a great deal of archetypal material, and constitute the best source of knowledge regarding archetypes,† write Hall and Lindzey (122-123). Jung identified four key archetypes in his personality theory—they are briefly described here, namely: The â€Å"Persona†Ã¢â‚¬â€is a â€Å"mask adopted by the person in response to the demands of social convention and tradition and to his or her own inner archetypal needs,† quote Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1945). This persona is the â€Å"role assigned to one by society, the part that society expects one to play in life. The purpose of the mask is to make a definite impression upon others and it often †¦ conceals the real nature of the person. The persona is the public personality †¦ contrasted with private personality that exists behind the social facade† (Hall and Lindzey 122). The person archetype â€Å"originates out of the experiences of the race; in this case, the experiences consist of social interactions in which the assumption of a social role has served a useful purpose to humans throughout their history as social animals† (122). The â€Å"Anima and the Animus†Ã¢â‚¬â€it is â€Å"fairly well recognized and accepted that a human is a bisexual animal. On a physiological level, the male secretes both male and female sex hormones, as does the female. On the psychological level, masculine and feminine characteristics are found in both sexes†¦. The feminine archetype in man is called the anima, the masculine archetype in woman is called the animus,† quote Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1945, 1954b). These archetypes are the â€Å"products of the racial experiences of man with woman and woman with man †¦ by living with woman throughout the ages man has become feminized; by living with man woman has become masculinized† (122-123). The â€Å"Shadow† archetype consists of the animal instincts that humans inherited in their evolution from lower forms of life, cites Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1948a). Consequently, the shadow †¦ typifies the animal side of human nature. As an archetype, â€Å"the shadow is responsible for our conception of original sin; when it is projected outward it becomes the devil and an enemy†¦. [It is] responsible for the appearance in consciousness and behavior of unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings and actions. These then may either be hidden from public view by the persona or repressed into the personal unconscious† (Hall and Lindzey 123). The â€Å"Self† archetype â€Å"expresses itself in various symbols, the chief one being the mandala or magic circle,† writes Jung (1955a). The self according to Jung is the total unity of all the systems that make up the personality. The self â€Å"holds these systems together and provides the personality with unity, equilibrium, and stability. † The self is â€Å"life’s goal, a goal that people constantly strive for but rarely reach †¦ it motivates human behavior and causes one to search for wholeness especially through the avenues provided by religion,† and it is here where the â€Å"figures of Christ and Buddha are as highly differentiated expressions of the self archetype as one will find in the modern world,† write Hall & Lindzey (124). The foregoing presented an overview of the key Jungian archetypes. Hall and Lindzey write that the â€Å"most salient feature of Jung’s theory of personality †¦ is the emphasis that he places upon the forward-going character of personality development †¦ [that] humans are constantly progressing or attempting to progress from a less complete stage of development to a more complete one †¦ [and] that mankind as a species is constantly evolving more differentiated forms of existence† (134). Table 1 shows the Table of Contents of a special edition of the Reader’s Digest magazine capturing the significant contributions of popular and important persons the world has ever produced so far. Each one of the persons mentioned walked in the alleys of human endeavors leaving a legacy that benefited many generations to come after theirs including today’s generation. Table 1. Table of Contents of a Pocket Book on â€Å"popular and important subjects. † Adapt from Reader’s Digest (n. d. ) I. Giants of the World of Science—Copernicus: The man who moved the World (pp. 3-8); Galileo—Bold Discoverer (pp.9-14); Sir Isaac Newton, Explorer of the Universe (pp. 15-20); The Evolution of Charles Darwin (pp. 21-28); Albert Einstein, the man, and the Theory (pp. 29-33). II. They Opened Our Minds—Socrates: A One-Man Turning Point in History (pp. 37-42); What Plato Says to Us (pp. 43-48); Aristotle: Master Mind of 300 B. C. (pp. 49-52); Listen to Wisdom of Confucius (pp. 53-56); William James and the Adventure of Being Human (pp. 57-66); Emerson’s vital Message for Today (pp. 67-74). III. They Sought the True Way—The Man Called Jesus (pp. 77-82); Saint Paul – Apostle to All Men (pp. 83-88); Islam: the Misunderstood Religion (pp.89-98); Buddha, â€Å"The Enlightened One† (pp. 99-104). IV. They Fought for Democracy—Thomas Jefferson, Architect of Democracy (pp. 107-112); The Prodigious Gifts of Benjamin Franklin (pp. 113-118); Woodrow Wilson’s fight for Peace (pp. 119-124); â€Å"We Must Never Deny Our Gratitude†: A Portrait of Winston Churchill (pp. 125-130). V. They Opened the Door—Columbus: He Knew the World Was Round (pp. 133-140); Westward – With Lewis and Clark (pp. 141-148); And Then Came Ford (pp. 149-158); Alexander Graham Bell: The Man Who Tied the World Together (pp. 159-164). VI. Apostle of Human Rights—Abraham Lincoln’s Hardest Decision (pp.167-172); Mr. Thoreau of Walden Pond (pp. 173-180); Gandhi: Apostle of Non-Violence (pp. 181-188). VII. Giants of the Arts—Leonardo da Vinci: The Firs Modern (pp. 191-198); Delacroix: He Opened the Door to Modern Art (pp. 199-202); Pablo Picasso, Artist of the Century (pp. 203-208); Beethoven the Incredible (pp. 209-214); Frederic Chopin: Poet of the Piano (pp. 215-218); Mozart, Music’s Wonder Child (pp. 219-224). VIII. They Took Us Into the Future—The Day the Atomic Age Was Born (pp. 227-232); We Tamed Penicillin (pp. 233-238); With Ranger VII-To the Moon (pp. 239-245). What is the goal of human development? Toward what end are humans and mankind striving? Hall and Lindzey’s answer to these questions is this: the â€Å"ultimate goal is summed up by the term self-realization. Self-realization means the fullest, most complete differentiation and harmonious blending of all aspects of a human’s total personality. † To this end, there is one significant thing that appears to be consistent in all human history—this is what Hall and Lindzey write as â€Å"progress† which â€Å"did not stop with the creation of humans; just as humans represent an advancement over all other species of animals, so does civilized man represent an improvement over primitive man† (134). Meanwhile, Koontz, O’Donnell, and Heinz Weihrich, write â€Å"Every group of people that performs near its total capability has some person as its head who is skilled in the art of leadership [with] †¦ at least three major ingredients—the ability to comprehend that human beings have differing motivating forces at varying times and in different situations, the ability to inspire, and the ability to act in a way that will develop a climate for responding to an arousing motivations† (663). Who are the prime persons and entities in the 1990’s and in the current decade that could have influenced the direction of the world affairs in today’s â€Å"global society†? I have a few names to mention before ending this essay: the introduction of the â€Å"internet† in the early 1990’s that almost shattered the communication barriers overnight with Bill Gates’s Microsoft Internet Explorer; George W. Bush, Sr. and the first Gulf War in the Middle East that reinforced the resentment of the Muslim world against Christendom and in particular the United States; Osama Bin Landen and the 9/11 terrorism; George W. Bush, Jr. and Weapons of Mass Destruction with Iraq War; astronomy and the Hubble Space Telescope that captured close-up photos of far-flung universes never before seen (Voit); and the twin rovers that traversed the Martian face with Intel’s microprocessors as enablers of nanotechnology. These never-ceasing human endeavors reflect Jung’s archetypal descriptions present in all human undertakings in any given society around the world. References Hall, Calvin S. , and Gardner Lindzey. Theories of Personality. 3rd Ed.. New York, NY: Wiley, 1978. Koontz, Harold, Cyril O’Donnell, and Heinz Weihrich. Management. 7th ed. Tokyo, Japan: McGraw, 1980. They Changed Our World. Editors of Reader’s Digest. USA: Berkely, (n. d. ). Voit, Mark. Hubble space telescope: new views of the universe. Ed. Himmel, Eric. New York, NY: Abrams.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg. Functions vs. roles Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg are â€Å"two sides of the one coin†. Each man has his own opinion on what the manager does. Fayol has his â€Å"five functions† and Mintzberg has his â€Å"roles of management†. In this essay I will discuss both men’s opinions and try to come to a conclusion on which I think is better. Henri Fayol, a French management theorist and managing director of a French mining company, came up with the five functions of management. These functions serve the purpose of predicting the future of the environment and planning a relevant business strategy, developing a social and technical structure to the organisation, managing the activities of the staff, integrating plans and activities across the organisation and ensuring conformity with the plan via authority and feedback mechanisms to correct inappropriate activity. Planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. These five functions have been around since Fayol came up with them back in 1916 and have dominated management vocabulary since then. These functions would seem to cover all the criteria needed for a manager to do his job but Henry Mintzberg has a different opinion. Henry Mintzberg is an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management with over 140 articles and thirteen books written. He came up with the roles of management, which he believes cover most of the things a manager will encounter in their job. These roles are split into 3 interpersonal roles, 3 informational roles and 4 decision making roles. The 3 interpersonal roles are; the figurehead which helps reinforce what the company stands for and reinforces the organisational culture, the leader who provide their employees with a sense of mission and the liaison who mixes with others outside the business to represent the needs of their group. The 3 informational roles are; the monitor who collects information form within the group and finds out what is going on in the business, the disseminator who shares the information with others who would not find out the information and the spokesperson who represents the views of the group in the wider environment. The 4 decision making roles are; the entrepreneur who make decisions to improve the contribution of their subordinates to the performance of the business, the disturbance handler who deals with any problems that might occur within the group, the resource allocator who allocates resources throughout their subordinates and the negotiator who negotiates to secure contracts, budgets etc. Henry Mintzberg believes that the five functions of management do not really tell us much about what a manager actually does but at best paint a vague picture of what objectives managers have when they work. He has come up with the idea that there are 4 myths relating to the role of the manager which if looked at closely do not support Fayol’s functions. The first of these myths is that â€Å"a manager is a reflective, systematic planner† when studies show that most managers work at a fast and unrelenting pace, that their activities are often brief and varied and that they dislike reflective activities but are more action orientated. The second of these myths is â€Å"the effective manager has no regular duties to perform†. Evidence shows that managers do infact perform a number of regular duties like rituals and ceremonies as well as negotiations and processing information with links between the organisation and its environments. The third myth is â€Å"The senior manager needs aggregated information, which a formal management information system provides†. The fact in this case is that managers prefer to get their information through telephone calls or meetings. The fourth and final myth is â€Å"Management is, or at least is quickly becoming a science and a profession†. The fact behind this myth is that the manager programs to schedule time, process information, make decisions and so stay in their own head and deal with things in their own way. The first of the four myths is probably the one that conflicts most with Fayol’s functions and shows that although there is some degree to a managers job, they prefer to work fast and would rather take action to try and resolve a problem rather than waste time thinking on different ways to overcome it. In my opinion, I would be more inclined to agree with Mintzberg and his roles of management over Fayol’s functions. This is because the roles of management have a lot more scope and would allow a manager more ways to deal with a wider variety of situations. They also cover the roles that I have seen managers in my working environment undertake such as the Liaison, the Negotiator, the Disturbance handler etc. In conclusion, although the five functions are a good way to look at the role of a manager I think that Mintzberg, having done all the studies on managers and actually seeing what they do in their day to day workings has given him a better idea of what the job of the manager actually entails. Fayol’s views look good when you see and hear them but in reality, is management as straight forward as the five steps that he has set out? I don’t think that he has looked at all the areas and all the things that could go wrong in jobs. In reality, I think Fayol’s functions are more like the ways we would like the job of the manager to be whereas Mintzberg’s roles have given us the way a managers job actually is and covers most of the things that a manager would encounter in the running of a business. By Alan Young References DR R DONNELLY , â€Å"the role of the manager†, heriot-watt university. HENRY MINTZBERG, July-august 1975â€Å"the manager’s job: Folklore and fact† Harvard business review.

Friday, September 13, 2019

An Interview with Teachers on Diversity, Inclusivity, Strategies and Respect in the Classroom

An Interview with Teachers on Diversity, Inclusivity, Strategies and Respect in the Classroom I interviewed two teachers about diversity, inclusivity, strategies, and respect in their classrooms. The first teacher, Rachael, is outgoing, creative, family oriented, and very dependable. She is a staple at our school and her opinion is sought by many other teachers. The second teacher I interviewed, Patricia, is a speech pathologist who tends to keep to herself, has an extremely large wealth of knowledge, and is the backbone of our Exceptional Student Education (ESE) department. Educational Setting Education is a field of hard working professionals who are willing to give their time and resources to make a difference in a child’s life. I have the privilege of working with several teachers at my elementary school who inspire both children and their colleagues.The culture of our school is diverse with a large Hispanic and Caucasian population. The ELL department works very hard to make sure students are tested and placed in the appropriate language group. Grade, Age Level, or Subject Areaand Years of Teaching Experience Rachael has been teaching for 11 years. She has taught various elementary grade levels and is currently teaching fourth grade. Rachael is the grade chair (team lead) for fourth grade and is also on the school instructional leadership team (ILT).Patricia teaches speech therapy and language therapy. She assists the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) team with various lesson plan ideas, research based strategies, and writing techniques to promote successful writing. Patricia has been teaching for 19 years and is a huge asset to our school. Patricia teaches every grade level in language or Speech therapy. Diversity of Students They Teach Again, the culture of our school is diverse with a large Hispanic population representing several countries such as Honduras, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Argentina. We also have a student from Greece, a student from England, and a student from Spain. A Description of How the Educators Illustrate the Current State of Inclusivity and Diversity in Their Settings When asked the question â€Å"Describe the current state of diversity and inclusivity in your educational setting†, Rachael answered â€Å"I think we have a pretty diverse setting. We have children from all different walks of life culturally and economically. I personally try to make sure everyone feels valued and has a voice-even if their voice is small-it’s important that they feel important.†, (Rachael, personal communication, May24, 2017).When Patricia was asked this question, she stated â€Å"Diversity tends to be a function of the neighborhood in which a school is situated. Within the school, students appear to be evenly distributed among teachers both when considering race/cultural background/language and when considering disabilities including SLD, Other Health Impaired, and Autism among others. The Administration appears to actively recruit teachers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Our school is also challenged to bring diversity as one of the ol dest schools in our County. Segregation had a long hold on our school and it continues to push against this legacy. Inclusivity is sometimes challenging for English-speaking staff who cannot communicate effectively with parents of students who do not speak English. There is also a range of experience and skill within the teacher and staff population to respond to the special needs of students with disabilities. The issue of inclusivity seems to be more a function of District support than an intrinsic lack of desire for understanding on the part of teachers toward unique students. In sum, things are good, things are getting better, and theres quite a ways to go before we get there.† (Patricia, personal communication, May24, 2017). A Description of Strategies the Educators Use for Creating Inclusive Learning Environments. When asked the second interview question, what strategies do you use to create inclusive learning environments? Rachael answered â€Å"I try to make an inclusive learning environment by using Kagan structures. It gives each student a chance to participate and have a voice. I also differentiate instruction so that they feel successful at their level. The easiest thing I do is just listen to them and let them talk about their weekend, thoughts, and family. Classroom jobs also help to make the students feel valued.† (Rachael, personal communication, May24, 2017). Patricia answered the second question with this statement â€Å"Speaking only for myself, rather than the general sense as above, inclusivity is the mission for a speech language pathologist. This career exists to help those with communication gaps bridge the gap, or ideally fill the gap. To this end, I am constantly seeking to know the standard for a student without a disability and devising ways for students to reach or come close to meeting the expectations of the regular classroom. At this school, there is also some income disparity. While we are a Title I school and the majority of students meet the poverty criteria, there are students who enjoy a middle and upper-middle class life. The disparity is sometimes glaring as one student may have shoes with soles separating from the shoe body and another is wearing SPARKLY boots today instead of the leather carved pair. I compliment both students, genuinely, appreciating not just the aesthetic of the material item I love those rainbo w sparkles! but the gesture of the item Those shoes must have seen a lot of amazing places! Where have they taken you? Inclusivity also embodies the idea that fair is not necessarily equal. I have used my own resources, time and money, to fill resource gaps for poverty-affected students boxes of crayons just to take home for example outside of the treasure everyone earns. Students know I am here for everyone, not just the ones that look like me!†(Patricia, personal communication, May24, 2017). A Description of Strategies the Educators Use for Demonstrating Respect Toward and Valuing Students from Diverse Backgrounds For the final interview question, what strategies do you to show you value and respect diversity in your classroom setting? Rachael answered â€Å"I know that I can be better at thisits easy to call on the same students because you know they have the right answer or wont waste your time with a silly answer. Sometimes I dont even have time to listen to them. But, I know that they need to feel like they are important.†(Rachael, personal communication, May24, 2017). Patricia answered the final question with this statement â€Å"Growing up in a foreign country, a Spanish-speaking foreign country, has afforded some advantages for me especially in working with the large Hispanic population at our school. Daily, I take a risk and exchange a few conversational turns in the language students hear at home, creating rapport. I do the same for the parents that come to meet with me. I have also integrated materials that resonate with students culture and history such as the lesson I built on Cactus Soup a version of the fable Stone Soup, that includes Spanish words, illustrations rich with images found in towns of the Mexican desert, and Mexican cooking ingredients. Many students here are connected to the strawberry crop. Lessons have also revolved around all things strawberry. This platform allows for more than just discussions about fresas, it creates an opportunity for students to talk about daily life for their family as their parents pick through th e light hours and the students themselves help in the fields on the weekends. Realizing the lesson objective may sometimes take a back seat to conversation is paramount. However, will we guide students toward knowledge if there is not mutual trust and respect that the journey will be what both envision?†(Patricia, personal communication, May24, 2017). An Analysis of How Well the Educators are Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for All Students The Educator I Believe is More Proficient at This Skill Patricia is far more proficient at this skill than the other teacher. Her years of experience and diverse background provide her with various outlooks on any topic. Patricia tends to support her ideas and approach to teaching with research based articles and materials. An Assessment of the Evidence I Have that Supports My View I have witnessed Rachael in action and she truly allows each student an equal opportunity to express themselves. She is quite a remarkable teacher. Patricia’s passion is a reflection of our entire team. Working with her these past three years has been a pleasure and she has taught me many valuable lessons. She utilized so many research-based strategies, programs (LIPS by Linda Mood), and professional development materials in all of her lesson plans and IEP’s. Conclusions or Big Ideas I Drew about Inclusivity and Diversity from My Interviews. My ‘aha† moments, that Patricia inspired, revolve around student self-assessments. Patricia has changed the way I view teaching and her inspiration will be with me for the remainder of my career. She taught me to teach the students to assess themselves and allow them to tell you their comfort level about their knowledge of a topic. An Application of These Big Ideas to My Own Educational Setting How These Big Ideas May Be Applied in My Own Setting to Promote Valuing of Diversity This made such an impact on me. Her response was so heartfelt and sincere. Patricia and I have worked hard to make sure a student is able to attend summer camp at our local science museum. There have been times when we have paid his way out of our own pocket. The look on his is worth a hundred times more.