The Beat Generation essays

The Beat Generation essays When Sal began his journey on the road, he was a young writer with nothing to lose. He had no plans set for the future of his life and could do whatever he wanted to. Life had been extremely dull for him in the past and it wasnt until he met Dean Moriarty when anything drastically changed in his life. Sal begins a journey in which he attempts to become more and more in tune with himself and tries to discover his inner soul. He says, Somewhere along the line I knew thered be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me. (Kerouac, 8) Through his endeavor, Sal was able to gain a better perspective on his life, and turn his life into something positive that had much promise for the future. In the beginning of the novel, Sal seems somewhat weakened and depressed. Hes a grown man but continues to reside in his aunts house, spending much of his time writing at home. Him and his wife had just split up and he says, I had just gotten over a serious illness that I wont bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with the miserably weary split-up and my feeling that everything was dead. (Kerouac, 1) He never actually discloses what this illness that he speaks of actually is, but it is obvious that life has not been going to well for Sal up until this point. Whether the illness was drug addiction or depression, it was clear Sal needed change in his life and this would come from Dean. Dean lived a very different lifestyle than Sal had, living a very fast paced, rebellious life that intrigued Sal greatly. Sal was at such a low in his life that Dean was easily able to take advantage of Sal. Claiming he wanted to further develop his writing skills, Dean asked Sal if he could stay at Sals aunts house and Sal graciously agreed. At first Sal was intrigued by Dean because he seemed to have this active, impulsive passion that Sal lacked, but ...

The Traits Model of Leadership

The Traits Model of Leadership Hashtag: #labourleadership Mark of a Good Leader The Traits Model of Leadership There is a popular impression that being an intellectual is one thing and being an effective leader is another. Intellectuals, according to the literature, are often seen as eccentric, iconoclast, awkward, irresponsible, self-absorbed, and individualistic thus incapable of leading collective activities.   For instance, in relation to #labourleadership or UK’s Labour Party leadership where alleged anti-austerity Jeremy Corbyn was recently elected, several politicians who led this political party in the past were not effective leaders. The late Michael Foot according to author Bruce Macfarlane had very strong academic and intellectual credentials but was not prepared to compromise his beliefs for the sake of political expediency. In fact, he is always remembered as the leader who endorsed the dispatched of the task force in the Falklands War in 1982 and led the Labor Party to its greatest election defeat in 1983. The traits model of leadership suggests that the characteristics of a person are a predictor of both successful and unsuccessful leaders.   For instance, although an intelligent, self-confident, determined, honorable, and sociable person has the capacity to be a leader, he or she according to study needs to possess the five personality factors – neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. These personality factors suggest that the most effective leaders have tendencies to be depressed, anxious, insecure, and hostile. They are not only sociable and assertive, and have positive energy, but informed, creative, insightful, and curious. They are people that have the tendency to accept, confirm, trust, and nurture. Finally, they are systematic, prepared controlled, dependable, and decisive individuals. A leader, according to the literature needs to be effective in guiding the conduct of others, thus must be effective in conveying meanings and intentions, and in receiving them. A leader for that matter does not necessarily need to be an intellectual, a quality of a person that according to organization and management expert and author Chester Bernard does not work well with leadership.   The reason is that people with superior intellect and greater intellectual accomplishments are often absent-minded, non-punctual, non-decisive, and not interested in people.   Although intellectual abilities are sometimes a critical element in leadership, it is not a substitute for the other essential qualities of leadership such as those mentioned earlier. You may like these articles: Combining Academic Knowledge and Practicality Bright Sides of Academic Intellectuals We Call Nerds The Value of Academic Debate Practice What You Preach Who and What Deserve Respect? None Creature Can Fly with Just One Wing Successful leadership occurs where heart and mind meet, the two powerful wings that allow a leader to excel.   According to the study, leaders need to have enough intellect in order to understand and perform the tasks at hand, a quality that gets people in the leadership door. However, although intellect is considered a fundamental leadership trait, it is not enough to make a leader. For instance, aside from intellect, a leader need to motivate, guide, inspire, listen, persuade, and create resonance in order to execute a vision. Intellect, according to Albert Einstein, has â€Å"powerful muscles, but no personality†¦it can serve but cannot lead†.   Moreover, Swami Vivekananda, a key figure in Indian philosophy noted in one of his London lectures that â€Å"intellect is blind and cannot move by itselfInactive secondary help, the real help is feeling†.   Moreover, intellect without feelings cannot generate â€Å"authentic power†, the sustainable type of power over individual and organizations that according to the literature is the result of mastery of authenticity and emotional intelligence – unconditional trust, respect, honesty, truth, fairness, openness, care, and forgiveness.   Authentic power is generated by a leader’s capacity to do things with others while the quality of interactions and relationships is determined by the level of his or her emotional and social intelligence.

China and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

China and Globalization - Essay Example Similar to other developing nations, China has been affected vastly by the advent of globalization which is often argued to be comparatively more rigorous than in the context of other countries. Globalization has helped China in achieving various economic opportunities such as resource accumulation, capital inflow and labor outflow to contribute to its socio-economic growth prospects (Hangzhou and Hong Kong. â€Å"Could A Chinese Internet Business Become the World’s Most Valuable Company†). The country had also witnessed various challenges in terms of sovereignty and ideological diversity when developing with the advent of rapid globalization. Critics often argue in this regard that China has learnt to turn its economic lacunas into advantages with the help of the globalization. According to the survey report of the World Bank on global development, China’s accelerated growth has ‘helped to drive the recovery in the East Asia’ by a large extent (Keit h, â€Å"Buying up the World, The Coming Wave of Chinese Take Over†). Focusing on the recent economic developments in China, it can be affirmed that globalization effects have imposed its vital impressions over China’s economy. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China is increasing continuously on a year-on-year basis. China entails the 32nd largest power with respect to its trade prospects (Shenzen. â€Å"The Company That Spooked the World†). For instance, China’s economy, as compared to the Japanese context and other similar nations is much more open and advanced facilitating global traders to operate with the nation and thus facilitate national income substantially. As the records depict, the national income of China, earned from international trade accounts around 70% of its total GDP. In this context, it has been further revealed that the globalization of China does not confine to the opening of economy rather it confines to the globalization of the institutions trading within China. In accordance with the advent of globaliza tion, China has adopted the foreign technologies as well as the techniques of the corporate management related to the foreign terms. China has also adapted the various foreign institutions as well as the international accounting standards aptly in accordance with its economic limitations and growth needs. The important and the advanced change that globalization brought within China relates to the western concept of the rules related to the law which in turn, with the blend of Chinese traditional ideologies have widened the nation’s development prospects largely (Shenzen. â€Å"The Company That Spooked the World†). As reported in The Economist, China has adopted three basic steps to merge smoothly with the globalization imposing inevitable impacts over the world economy and the market scenario. The frank pro-globalization stand, the reformist approach and the attitude of fight back globalization have further accumulated with the rise of China as a world power in global politics. The need for this attitude by the Chinese economy was basically to sustain within the competitive scenario where globalization effects were observed to be posing a fast and advanced impact over the country’s economy. It is in this context that globalization has provided long-term benefits to China with respect to various aspects. In the aftermath, with the enhanced resource availability as facilitated with the globalization effects, the domestic industry in China became more efficient and effective which ultimately helped the nation to ensure competitiveness towards the foreign industries by accepting the legal as well as the regulatory framework with regard to the modern management in an open and

Financial modelling Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial modelling - Lab Report Example For a given value of expected return, MPT tends to explain how one can select a portfolio with the least possible risk. Standard deviation is the most commonly and widely used measure of spread and thus it measures the potential variability, volatility and risk. Standard deviation (ÏÆ'i ) can be used as a good measure of relative risk between two investments that have the same expected rate of return. It can be calculated for each and every individual shares, portfolios of shares and for the market as a whole. A larger value of ÏÆ'i implies a lower probability that actual returns will be closer to the expected returns. We first calculated standard deviation, covariance matrix and expected return. The standard deviation and expected return were calculated by applying the Excel STDEV and AVERAGE functions to the historic monthly percentage returns data. Table 1 below shows the correlation matrix, standard deviations, and the average returns for the rates of return on the stock index. After we input Table 1 into our spreadsheet as shown, we created the covariance matrix in Table 2 using the relationship . The curved line represents the return values and risks that result from combination of various shares. It is also known as the efficient frontier and it represents efficient portfolios of shares that is, portfolios that give the minimum risk for a given level of return or maximum return for a given level of risk. On the other hand, the straight line is known as capital allocation line and it represents the expected return and standard deviation from various combinations of the risk-free asset and the optimal risky portfolio. It starts at the risk-free return of 4% and is perpendicular to the curved line. It represents the highest ratio of risk premium to standard deviation (Sharpe Ratio). For our computations if we invest in a free risk with 10% portfolio we get

Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free

Capital Punishment Essay Death penalty is one the debatable topics throughout the world. There is a conflict between law and ethics. Public opinion does not coincide with the state opinion. There are 33 countries, which use death penalty as capital punishment. According to Amnesty International Report, in 2011, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and USA topped the list. According to statistics, in USA 33 states use death penalty as capital punishment and other 17 does not. (Amnesty International, 2011) Death penalty’s primary goal is to make people think twice before doing crime. The Death penalty helps to decrease the murder’s rate, however it could violate human right. The main argument in favor the death penalty is the effect of deterrence people from doing something illegal and unethical. The initial purpose of deterrence effect is to set up the highest price for murder, in order to decrease the rate of homicide. The former president of USA George W. Bush stated in the 2000 Presidential debate, â€Å"I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people’s lives†. However, according to Donohue Wolfres (2006) death penalties deterrence effect is not based on facts. Deterrence effect is good in theory, but in practice the effect is minor. As Ernest Van Dan Haag (1968,p 281) identified : Even though statistical demonstrations are not conclusive, and perhaps cannot be, capital punishment is likely to deter more than other punishments because people fear death more than anything else.† Incapacitation means taking away a persons freedom so that he or she cannot commit another crime. While the typical form of incapacitation is incarceration, and the most common form is relatively mild (probation), the ultimate form of incapacitation is death. Since the goal of incapacitation is to reduce crime by restricting the freedoms of criminals, we could conclude that incapacitation is achieved by capital punishment. However, according to Marquat and Sorensen the possibility of murderer to kill again is one out of one hundred. (Radelet Borg, 2000). The second argument supporting death penalty is providing justice for murder victims. For the most cruel and harsh crimes, punishment should also be strict. And death penalty is the right choice in these kinds of situations. Beccaria (1764) argues that the punishment should be as strict as the sufficient deter others. Justice is taking responsibility for your own actions. The System of Law is not perfect and it makes mistakes. As long as the death penalty is irrevocable process, northing can be changed after the execution. Discovering innocence of the executed can’t return him back. There are many examples of wrongful convictions. According to Amnesty International there Illinois: Madison Hobley, Aaron Patterson, Stanley Howard and Leroy Orange, pardoned in 2003. Sent to death row on the basis of confessions extracted through the use of torture by former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and other Area 2 police officers in Chicago. They were pardoned by outgoing Governor George Ryan, who also commuted the remaining 167 death sentences in Illinois to life imprisonment. I cannot support a system which, in its administration, has proven so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare, the states taking of innocent life Until I can be sure that everyone sentenced to death in Illinois is truly guilty, until I can be sure with moral certainty that no innocent man or woman is facing a lethal injection, no one will meet that fate. According to Death Penalty Information Centre, since 1973, 141 people in 26 states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. (Death Centre Information, 2011). Racial Discrimination is one of the most unpleasant factors in capital punishment process. According to Tabak, sentencing death penalty depend on two factors, first is the race of defendant, and the second is the race of the victim. (1999). However, discrimination is based also in the financial status of the defendant. According to Amnesty International, in January 2003 study released by the University of Maryland concluded that race and geography are major factors in death penalty decisions. Specifically, prosecutors are more likely to seek a death sentence when the race of the victim is white and are less likely to seek a death sentence when the victim is African-American. In 2007 study of death sentences in Connecticut conducted by Yale University School of Law revealed that African-American defendants receive the death penalty at three times the rate of white defendants in cases where the victims are white. In addition, killers of white victims are treated more severely than people who kill minorities, when it comes to deciding what charges to bring. (Amnesty International, 2011). Another important part of the death penalty issue is the financial cost of the trial and executions. A 2003 legislative audit in Kansas found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. Death penalty case costs were counted through to execution (median cost $1.26 million). Non-death penalty case costs were counted through to the end of incarceration (median cost $740,000).(Survey by the Kansas Legislative Post Audit,2003). In Tennessee, death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment. (Report from Tennessee Comtroller of the Treasury Office of Research, 2004). In Maryland death penalty cases cost 3 times more than non-death penalty cases, or $3 million for a single case. (Urban Institute, the Cost of the Death Penalty in Maryland, 2008) In California the current system costs $137 million per year; it would cost $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty. (California Commission for the Fair Administration of Justice, 2008). One of the main alternatives for death penalty is life-long imprisonment without possibility of parole plus restitution. Restitution means that prisoner can be put into labor work, and that’s how he can compensate for the victim’s family. Just killing the killer is not the best solution for the existing problem In conclusion, I would like to say that death penalty is one of the controversial topics. Death penalty abolition is the key of key factor of democratic society. . Actually, in the world there is a trend to abolish the death penalty. However, there is no evidence of deterrent effect of death penalty Nevertheless Death penalty is unethical and inhumane, it helps to achieve the balance in the country. 0

Senior Citizens Essay -- essays research papers

Activity: Chapter 9 After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly neighbours I gained insight into how they perceive the aging process and its impact on the quality if their lives. First, and foremost they viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. The believed that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes. They enjoyed the fact that they were both physically fit and cognitively alert. They both felt confident that with the advances made in health care that the quality of their lives would continue to empowering. They enjoyed the benefits of being Senior Citizens, discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards the aged. The expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous housing options geared towards the graying population, such as Retirement Villages, and assisted living. However, the subject of Long Term Care or Nursing Home placement was something that they both regarded with very negative emotions. There was als o a sense of sadness and longing for more contact with their offspring and grandchildren. In countries like China where grandparents are an integral part of the family, the United States has seen a major shift away from the nuclear family. It is my personal belief that America is a nation that suffers from ageism. It is the fear of growing old and the stereotypes that aging brings that causes ageism. Daily we are faced with advertisements that focus on youth, on looking, fe...

Does Herodotus Offer Adequate Explanations for Colonisation

Does Herodotus offer adequate explanations for Greek colonisation in the archaic period? Herodotus gives all ancient historians invaluable insights into colonisation in the archaic period, despite having his well known limitations. We must overall regard his work ‘The Histories’ as an equal to archaeological evidence and Thucydides’ work when it comes to studying colonisation in this period. Before I begin this essay, however, I must first quickly define two crucial terms.The term ‘colonisation’ (as we mean it during the during the archaic period) has for some reason been debated at great length by ancient historians, who seem determined to remove it as far away from the imperial meaning of the word as possible. I don’t see why, as both have glaring similarities and only minute differences. They both involve one kind of people moving in significant numbers to a new place (where either a different kind of people or no people were present) and es tablishing their way of life in said location.The only real differences being the literal translation of the word in Greek meaning ‘home away from home’ or ‘trading place’ and the imperial meaning of the word leaning more towards the subjugation of the local inhabitants rather than the replacement of them (which was more common in archaic Greece). The second term is ‘Archaic Period’ which in this essay will be defined as the period from 800 to 478BC.To examine in detail Herodotus’ explanations for colonisation during this period I will examine to what extent he informs us on: land-hunger, trading considerations, drought[1]and I will also comment on his references to the Delphic oracle. I have picked these areas to judge Herodotus on, because they are the most regularly agreed upon reasons for colonisation occurring and therefore his comments on these areas have the potential to be most informative to us, as A.Graham eloquently sums up wi th ‘though a very large number of extant authors provide some piece of information relevant to the history of Greek colonisation only a few are of overriding influence†¦ their [Herodotus and Thucydides] importance lies in their relatively early date, although they belong to a period after the Archaic colonising movement, they are nearer to it than our other substantial sources’[2]. It is for this paramount reason that Herodotus’ comments on these subjects are so crucial to our study of colonisation.In scrutinizing Herodotus’ comments in this field I will look some of the examples that he uses, namely: Chalkedon, Sigeion, Egypt, Olbia and of course Cyrene. So through looking at the four main reasons for colonisation and cross-referencing it with the examples stated I will fully evaluate whether or not Herodotus is an adequate source to look to regarding the archaic colonisation period. It must also be mentioned at this point that ‘political facto rs’ would have also been a strong factor to consider, however, would take up the word count fully all by itself, so will be left for a another time.Land–hunger refers to one of the push factors that are widely believed to have caused many Greeks to leave their original homes in search of more land and in particular, more fertile land. We see this especially in the case of mainland Greece and the Peloponnese where there were less fertile plains and more arid and mountainous terrain Although Herodotus never explicitly tells us that this was a major cause for colonisation, we can infer from some of his writing that this would have been a factor.Herodotus enlightens us to the existence of a colony on the coast of the black seathat ‘have sanctuaries dedicated to the Greek gods and †¦ whose language is a mixture of Scythian and Greek’[3]. Now this alone does not specifically tell us that the Greeks moved to this area because it was particularly fertile or t hat their home region was lacking in enough land, but when you continue to read on and see that it was the Megarians who colonised Chalkedon[4] and Byzantium (located either side of the Bosphorus) then one can easily see the extent to which a Peloponnesian city-state would go to find new lands.This is a weak argument on its own, however, twinned with some basic knowledge of Antiquity it grows in strength. For instance anyone with knowledge of mainland Greek states will know that the Megarians were indeed very restricted with regards to land. They were squashed between the Peloponnesian League members such as Corinth, to the south, and Attica (ruled by Athens), to the north and east. The fact that they set up at least three colonies: Megara Hyblaea, Chalkedon and Byzantium, clearly indicates land-hunger, just as their geography would suggest.On top of this, anyone with a basic knowledge of antiquity would also be aware of the huge agricultural resources available around the black sea , proved by Athens’ later dependency on grain imports from this region during the Peloponnesian wars. The way in which Herodotus describes Cyrene as having a ‘hole in the sky’[5] (i. e. it rains more making the ground more fertile) can also be taken as a heavy hint as to why Cyrene was set up.My point being, when reading Herodotus, sometimes he must be used in conjunction with elementary knowledge to support or disprove points. In this case he has supported the idea that land-hunger was an adequate explanation for Greek colonisation though not explicitly telling us. One has to admit though that over the course of the whole work, Herodotus does fail to fully support this factor. Unless you are a primitivist, trading advantages had to be a substantial pull factor for your city to advocate colonisation.I will develop this argument assuming that the Greeks were an enterprising race because this is the argument that will prove to be entirely accepted in due course. Th e finest example of Herodotus explaining colonisation, in regards to trading motives, is his account of the settlement set up at the mouth of the River Nile called Naukratis. He declares ‘Naukratis was the only trading-station and there was no other in Egypt’[6] and goes on remark on the religious temples set up in honour of Zeus, Hera and Apollo naming Aeginetans, Samians and Milesians all present in the city.This was clearly a settlement set up with the aim of extending trade relations with the Egyptians for the benefit of Greeks. In a separate example though, one can again use basic knowledge of Hellenes in antiquity (the basic knowledge being that the Bosphorus was extremely important to trade even in archaic times) combined with Herodotus’ passage on Chalkedon[7] to see that control of the Bosphorus was important enough to trade that colonies were set up here on numerous occasions.Sigeion, just south of the Bosphorus and situated on the mouth of the river St rymon was (as Herodotus informs us) fought over furiously by Athens and Mytilene[8], again signifying the importance of trade to the foundation of colonies in the archaic period. So Herodotus then giving us comprehensive proof of trade being an adequate factor in the establishment of colonies in the archaic period. Dillon points to drought as one of the factors that lead directly to colonisation. No better example of this, in ancient literature, exists than the account of Cyrene’s foundation. For the next seven years, however, no rain fell on Thera, and all their trees, with a single exception, withered. ’[9] Now, following this short passage, we again encounter a common limitation of Herodotus, ‘The islanders consulted the oracle, and the Pythia reminding them that they were supposed to colonise Libya’[10]; that is his continuous permeation of oracles into most of his work. This is not to say that we can disregard ancient historians’ reference†™s to all oracle’s all the time, but it is of my own opinion that we take much of Herodotus’ oracular reports with a pinch of salt.So although Herodotus may have been reported a tale of curses and prophecies regarding Thera’s drought, I would take his account and remedy a notion that what was most likely to have occurred was: that the Therans had some bad luck with the weather for a indeterminate period of time and as a result could not sustain the population they included†¦ so, decided to relieve pressure on the city by sending a portion of its population to a land where they could survive (or perhaps even sustain the original colony? . To clarify my earlier ‘pinch of salt’ phrase it moves me to use the words of M. Giangiulio expressing the idea that ‘cultural memory does not ‘reflect’ historical reality, even if it expresses a form of historical self-awareness’[11]. This is the sense in which I believe we should us e Herodotus, using our modern sense of hindsight and sensibility to understand ‘historical reality’ more accurately. For further details on ‘intentional history’[12] see footnote.This is the most blatant example I have touched on so far of Herodotus supporting one of the five stated reasons for colonisation and therefore yet again going some way to adequately explaining Greek colonisation in the archaic period. The Delphic Oracle is central to the explaining of why many colonies are set up. Maurizio Giangiulio supports this line of argument by telling us ‘The decisive role played by the Delphic oracle is very strongly emphasized, through various narrative devices’[13] in this case Herodotus: ‘the oracle declared that he would found a community in Libya’[14].It is ion this way that Herodotus is able to properly shed light on a crucial part of explaining the colonising process, making evident that it was foolhardy to go on an expedit ion without the expressed will of the gods ‘the importance attached to the god’s will is an integral part of a representational strategy [of a colony]’ states Giangiulio, extending this with ‘Cyrene represent themselves- it would seem –as a polies which stood high in Apollo’s favour’[15]. To conclude, there is no denying that Herodotus has his flaws in providing explanations for Greek colonisation.I am not pushing the argument that Herodotus is an infallible source on every case study he mentions either. What must be clear though after reading this essay is that Herodotus can be used with great effectiveness to inform us on the explanations of Greek colonisation. Simple guidelines can be fitted to reading his work that allow one to see past what modern minds would usually consider fantasy, but which can really help reveal the truth in many of the cases he does use.He supports three of the four reasons very strongly, and even if he does fall short in regards to land-hunger he more than makes up for it by placing huge emphasis on the importance of oracles and trading which must be considered the principal reason for explaining in the archaic period. Words: 1,961 ———————– [1] Dillon, Ancient Greece, 2000, Routledge, pp. 1 I have not looked at political consideration only due to my word count being limited to 2000, not through sloth or lack of interest. 2] Boardman, 1982, pp. 85 (Cambridge Ancient History) [3] Herodotus, 4. 108. [4] Herodotus, 4. 144 [5] Herodotus, 4. 159 [6] Herodotus, 2. 152-154, 178-181 [7] Herodotus, 4. 144 [8] 5. 94-95 [9] 4. 151 [10] 4. 151 [11] M. Giangiulio, Constructing the past: colonial traditions and the writing of history ‘the case of Cyrene’, in N. Luraghi The Historian’s Craft in the age of Herodotus, 2001, pp. 120 [12] H.Gehrke, Mythos, Geschicte, Politik-antik und modern, 1994 pp. 239-64 [13] M. Giangiulio, Co nstructing the past: colonial traditions and the writing of history ‘the case of Cyrene’, in N. Luraghi The Historian’s Craft in the age of Herodotus, 2001, pp. 117 [14] 4. 150 [15] M. Giangiulio, Constructing the past: colonial traditions and the writing of history ‘the case of Cyrene’, in N. Luraghi The Historian’s Craft in the age of Herodotus, 2001, pp. 118

City of God Analysis

Edited by Ku’ulei  © PhotoWeekly Edited by Ku’ulei  © PhotoWeekly Based on a true story, the movie â€Å"City Of God† tells the story of a man named Wilson Rodrigues (also known as Rocket) and how he became a photographer. Although that was the main storyline of the movie, it had many things to build up to him becoming a photographer. In this â€Å"city of god†, Rocket and another guy named â€Å"lil ze† both grew up together in a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. One, Rocket, becomes a photographer and the other becomes a drug dealer. The director, Fernando Meirelles, illustrated a great story of how greed can ruin someone’s life.Lil Ze’ used to be called Lil Dice. He didn’t like getting picked on by the older gang members so he started shooting out of his own will and killing innocent people. Ever since then, he started his own gang and needed to be the top of everyone. He needed to have everything. For example, thereâ€℠¢s one part in the story where someone that he hated (knockout ned) was in the paper, and he wasn’t. He got furious at that one little thing. Why? because of his greed that he had. Compared to Rocket, where he has little greed, he appreciates the things that he is given.If Rocket was so greedy, he wouldn’t have been this famous that he is now. It kind of reminds me of the presidential election that’s going on right now. Every candidate has greed. They need to have the most top-notch thing before the other candidate gets it. We all can’t help it, because the world is filled with this thing called greed. Because Lil Ze had so much greed, he killed innocent people so that he could get money and become number one in the gang industry. I don’t understand how people can’t just be more like Rocket.Although Rocket grew up in a bad environment, it didn’t mean he had to live his whole life like that. Overall, this movie’s theme is all ab out greed and what you do with it. I would give this movie a 5 out of 5. Although killings not worth the money, watching this movie is worth the money. Based on a true story, the movie â€Å"City Of God† tells the story of a man named Wilson Rodrigues (also known as Rocket) and how he became a photographer. Although that was the main storyline of the movie, it had many things to build up to him becoming a photographer.In this â€Å"city of god†, Rocket and another guy named â€Å"lil ze† both grew up together in a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. One, Rocket, becomes a photographer and the other becomes a drug dealer. The director, Fernando Meirelles, illustrated a great story of how greed can ruin someone’s life. Lil Ze’ used to be called Lil Dice. He didn’t like getting picked on by the older gang members so he started shooting out of his own will and killing innocent people. Ever since then, he started his own gang and needed to be the top of everyone. He needed to have everything.For example, there’s one part in the story where someone that he hated (knockout ned) was in the paper, and he wasn’t. He got furious at that one little thing. Why? because of his greed that he had. Compared to Rocket, where he has little greed, he appreciates the things that he is given. If Rocket was so greedy, he wouldn’t have been this famous that he is now. It kind of reminds me of the presidential election that’s going on right now. Every candidate has greed. They need to have the most top-notch thing before the other candidate gets it.We all can’t help it, because the world is filled with this thing called greed. Because Lil Ze had so much greed, he killed innocent people so that he could get money and become number one in the gang industry. I don’t understand how people can’t just be more like Rocket. Although Rocket grew up in a bad environment, it didn’t mean he had to live h is whole life like that. Overall, this movie’s theme is all about greed and what you do with it. I would give this movie a 5 out of 5. Although killings not worth the money, watching this movie is worth the money. Is Killing worth the money? Is Killing worth the money?

The Fundamentals of Nouns

The Fundamentals of Nouns The Fundamentals of Nouns The Fundamentals of Nouns By Mark Nichol Parts of speech serve our communication needs with hardly a conscious thought on our part, but they operate according to a complex, interdependent set of rules and procedures. Here are the basic principles of the noun. A noun was traditionally described (at least, in the US public school system I oh so slowly passed through and briefly taught in) as a person, a place, or a thing, though some resources extend the definition to apply to intangible things ideas such as peace and qualities such as fear as separate categories. Nouns are also subdivided into proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns refer to a specifically named entity such as, for example, a person named Mark, a place called California, a thing called a Mac, and an idea or quality personified as Perfection. Common nouns, by contrast, are generic: man, state, computer, perfection. Three other classifications to distinguish nouns include countable and uncountable nouns, collective nouns, and concrete and abstract nouns. Countable nouns can be pluralized (word, words), can be accompanied by numbers or quantifiers (â€Å"Did he say, ‘Seven words’ or ‘several words’?), and can appear after an indefinite article (â€Å"In a word, yes†). Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns and noncount nouns) share none of these qualities; examples include anger, geology, and weather. (Anger cannot be pluralized to angers, one would not say â€Å"seven geologies,† and weather would be preceded by a only if it is used as an adjective, as in â€Å"a weather system†). Collective nouns are those denoting a single entity consisting of multiple components, such as team. Concrete nouns are those that name a physical entity or something experienced by operation of one or more senses (computer, article), while abstract ones refer to concepts or ideas (democracy, liberty). Some nouns have both concrete and abstract senses; for example, dance refers to physical movement usually performed to music as well as a social event at which such activity occurs (and has a figurative meaning of â€Å"a careful interaction,† as in â€Å"The two superpowers exchanged messages in a delicate diplomatic dance†), but the word also denotes an art form involving often rhythmic and patterned physical movement. A noun serves one of three syntactical functions in a sentence, all of which are demonstrated in the first clause of this sentence: the subject of a clause (â€Å"A noun†), the object of a verb (â€Å"serves . . . functions†), or the object of a preposition (â€Å"in a sentence†). Nouns, in English, are marked by their association with an article (a, an, the, and sometimes some), such as in the phrase â€Å"an article† here, or with one or more attributive adjectives. (In the preceding phrase and a few words farther along in this sentence attributive itself is an attributive adjective for adjective.) A noun is also distinguished as the head, or key word, of a noun phrase; in this clause, clause is the head of the noun phrase â€Å"in this clause† and head is the head of the phrase â€Å"the head of the noun phrase†; note that that phrase has two nouns (head and phrase), but the latter is subordinate to the former. Some grammar theories hold that a single word can constitute a noun phrase and it doesn’t have to be a noun; consider the function of it in â€Å"It is true.† A noun consisting of an adjective used in noun form is known as a nominalization; the last word in the phrase â€Å"a word to the wise† is an example. Nouns are not essential to isolated sentences â€Å"Yes,† for example, can constitute a sentence but they are integral to communication. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About HandsBest Websites to Learn EnglishHonorary vs. Honourary

Proper Punctuation for Appositive Phrases

Proper Punctuation for Appositive Phrases Proper Punctuation for Appositive Phrases Proper Punctuation for Appositive Phrases By Mark Nichol When two terms that mean the same thing are introduced in succession in a sentence, careless writers, by omitting a crucial comma, often imply that the definition of the terms is in fact distinct. Here are some examples of misleading statements, plus discussions and revisions. 1. â€Å"Sunlight is a mixture of different colors or wavelengths, which combine to form white light.† Colors and wavelengths are, for practical purposes, the same thing, but â€Å"colors or wavelengths† implies otherwise. To signal that wavelengths is an alternative term for colors, it should be set off in an appositive phrase: â€Å"Sunlight is a mixture of colors, or wavelengths, that combine to form white light.† (Notice, too, the replacement of which with that and the deletion of the comma that followed it not all colors, or wavelengths, combine to form white light; only these do. I also deleted the usually superfluous adjective different.) 2. â€Å"Its odd properties are essential for the evolution and survival of life on Earth, particularly given its ability to form a weak connection called a hydrogen or H-bond.† The weak connection is not called a hydrogen or H-bond, and it does not have the alternative names hydrogen and H-bond, both of which possibilities are suggested by this statement; the choices are â€Å"hydrogen bond† and H-bond. To indicate that H-bond is a distinct term, that it is not an alternative to hydrogen alone, and that it is an abbreviation of â€Å"hydrogen bond† requires a minimal pair of corrections: the use of the full phrase â€Å"hydrogen bond† and the insertion of a comma after that phrase. The revision is â€Å"Its odd properties are essential for the evolution and survival of life on Earth, particularly given its ability to form a weak connection called a hydrogen bond, or H-bond.† 3. â€Å"Then, as that part of Earth passes out of the gravitational bulge, the tide goes out or ebbs.† Again, the lack of a comma between two terms separated by or implies distinct meanings (suggesting that going out and ebbing are different actions), but this sentence, in describing a scientific phenomenon, explains a process and then supplies a perhaps unfamiliar synonym, so a comma should divide them. But there’s another problem one that I haven’t seen discussed in writing guides or grammar handbooks but that has always bothered me: Why, when introducing a new term, supply the better-known synonym or a definition first what’s the use of including the new term if it’s not presented before the aid to comprehension? It seems more logical to provide the new term first, then provide context: â€Å"Then, as that part of Earth passes out of the gravitational bulge, the tide ebbs, or goes out.† (The second example in this post at least positions the appositive terms sensibly, and the first example does not apply, as one term does not define the other, as here, or clarify it, as in the second example.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should AvoidStory Writing 101The Difference Between "Un-" and "Dis-"

Gender section 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender section 3 - Essay Example The author pointed in her writing that human security should deal with both gender and militarization. I did not believe the militarization could affect the role of gender in the society or create discrimination. However, after reading the first two sections of the book, I started to realize that military power plays a significant role when it comes to gender and most of the human security issues and concerns are because of military power. 3. Human security is an approach that focuses on the security and the safety of the people and the communities instead of states. It also allows us to identify various kind of violence, including cultural and structural violence; and how these are related to gender especially women (197). 4. Colonization can affect citizen identity and change the way a specific society was created. Indeed, most people, who suffer colonization or a series of civil war, even though they gain independent they still suffer from insecurity and the fear of being colonize d again. In fact, most people experience trauma and the unfoldings of the past conflicts bring them sad memories, which might lead to depression. 5. Most countries exist in a militarized sphere, where people live with polices and law that are created by a fraction of people, who mostly have higher privilege and power than normal citizens. In addition, most of the laws that are enacted by the few people in society are forced on normal citizens, and they have to accept and adhere to them without questioning the authority. Indeed, in some societies, the people, who are confident enough to question the authority and power, are viewed as terrorist and a source of corruption. 6. When caregiving institutions are militarized, most of the people who work there are women. However, these do not receive any significant form of support. 7. Culture governance, patriarchy, and militarization define gender violence. These are among the major aspects that can be considered as root of gender violence . 8. Militarization and militarized mentalities is not always a direct violence. This is because it can start with structural violence. 9. Women in the Pacific point out that the major causes of conflict in the region are linked to gender inequality and inequality. The most form of inequality in this case is the unequal distribution of resources between men and women in society. For instance, in wealth distribution, men get to benefit the most, as compared to their female counterparts. It is a pity to see women suffering from this kind of discrimination. In fact, it makes me think about the nature of marriage in such countries, considering that men are the main cause of oppression to women. Then it is surprising how marriage can survive in such scenarios, as the institution of marriage involves the relationship between husband and wife, and father and daughters. Nonetheless, it is more saddening that the men in such countries do not participate in the promotion of the rights of wome n. 10. The resolution 1325 by the UN that called for the involvement of more women in the community structure did not affect the Pacific women at a significant measure. In my opinion, I believe that creating laws and announcing them to the public and asking other governments to adhere to them in their functions does not always work. Instead of creating all these laws and policies, the United Nation and other organization should work on understanding the history and the roots of

The benefits of using a web portal in high schools Essay

The benefits of using a web portal in high schools - Essay Example A web portal is a very important tool used to develop scientific knowledge. People bond with one another to develop an education community using web portals. The portal serves as podiums where all the facts, resources, and professional in the field of science can be retrieved (Cappel and Huang, 2007). The portal is a full time available source of information that helps in the growth of the learning community as they engage in discussions, exchange views, and conduct activities that promote learning. Online document libraries available in the portal are constantly updated with latest research findings. Simulation of real life is also made available through the web portal (Cappel and Huang, 2007). 3) Brief relevant background literature A web portal gives information that is assorted in a combined manner. These are sites of information, which developed during 1990s and in 2000. A web portal operates just like an investigative or an explore mechanism (Becker, 2005; Luke, 2005). However, this portal as argued by Becker (2005) has several features or purpose than the search device itself (Becker, 2005). A web portal, provides information a researcher wants to discover or search, as well as certified web portal. Apart from this, it also provides email internet services, entertainment cites to the users (Cappel and Huang, 2007). ... Therefore, the horizontal portal covers several areas, while the vertical portal covers specific areas (Pang et al., 2009). The web portal has the following major functions; search, navigate, provides information or manages content, personalization, push technology, management of tasks, conducts the integration of applications and organizes business infrastructure (Pearson and Pearson, 2008). The web portal aims at increasing student interaction (Preece, Rogers and Sharp, 2002). It provides students with an opportunity to interact with their lecturers and their fellow students, and be more engaged in their studying (Preece, Rogers and Sharp, 2002). It also tends to provide students with learning resources and campus sources from library subject to achieve curses offered online. Through it, the faculty members get accesses to teaching and learning resources. Lectures also use the web to assess their students, record their grades, and communicate the outcome to the students and their c olleagues (Preece, Rogers, and Sharp, 2002). The students can use the site to register for their classes, get access to financial assistance, pay for their tuition, sign up for programs like lunch programs, and indicate any absences (Adonis, 2006). Through it, the school can create communities that interact online that include the students, administration, faculty members, and alumni to work together (Abdous, 2005). A web portal is an online opening where learners can log into a website to access significant information (Townsend, Schaffer & Deon, 2004). Portals are normally used in schools and universities where quick information and school bring up to date available information to a big number of learners within the institution. Education departments