The Conflict in Northern Ireland free essay sample

Examines the conflict between Irelands Catholics and Protestants. This paper explores the great parity the exists amongst Irelands Protestants and Catholics. The author looks at the religious, social and political conflict that existed and still exists between these two communities and how this may be resolved in the future. During the 12th Century, King Henry II of England attempted to annex Ireland to his kingdom. He was only able to control a small area around Dublin, but over the next 4 centuries, the English culture expanded throughout the island, despite resistance from the inhabitants, who between themselves also fought control of the land.

The impact of the Renaissance on music essays

The impact of the Renaissance on music essays In todays times, religion is something that much of the worlds population believes in. Gods, whether people believe in one or many, are seen as superior beings in which we can worship. However, I have recently learned a new way in seeing Gods from the viewpoint of Aristotle. Whatever is in motion is moved by some cause. If the moving cause is itself in motion, then it must be moved by some other cause...the nature of every natural object is an unmoved mover...each eternal unmoved mover is a god (Robinson, 52). As stated in the text, this is how Timothy Robinson sums up Aristotles view of a god. In other words, he is saying that everything is in motion, and that motion is eternal. That eternal motion has a cause, and that cause has a cause, which is moved by an unmoved mover. This unmoved mover, or cause, is seen as a god. For Aristotle, Gods are not religious the way that we see them. For him, they are the most valuable things, next to metaphysics and The Soul. Aristotle feels that he needs the Gods to exist because the whole notion of them are a scientific problem, prior to the 1600s. The question always was, What keeps the universve running? He needs an answer to this so the Gods play that role, they function as an explanation. Before the 1600s, the earth was seen to be the center of the universe. All around the earth was spherical and stationary, in other words, nothing rotated. The planets and the moon are within the spherical shape, as well as the sphere of the fixed stars. All of the items in the sky remain fixed with the exception of the five planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Each night the planets move slightly, which is the motion of the spheres that you want to know about. How the Gods move the spheres is the question. What exactly are the Gods? Aristotle explains them as being eternal but not a physical or materia ...

Employability skills Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Employability skills - Coursework Example This paper is going to provide an insight into the responsibilities and performance targets to transform Aveda into a multi-million dollar organization. Evidently, holding a managerial position requires certain critical skills that I must strive to develop and apply, in order to ensure that I can handle my responsibilities effectively. As a manager at the Aveda Corporation, experience has imparted critical knowledge in me, and I have the capacity to define my responsibilities and targets (â€Å"The Importance of Effective Management.† 2014, p.56). This involves having personal goals as a leader, and exhibiting pertinent understanding of the roles that I must play. Notably, a managerial position requires an individual to strike a balance between tasks and people. This places a critical need for me to exhibit an in-depth understanding of the tasks, and the needs of the employees belonging to my team. Some of the responsibilities and targets would be as follows: Shortly after being employed at the Aveda Corporation, I faced a major setback in my position. My team had the task of meeting certain sales percentage within a period of six months. During this time, the company had launched a new product, and effective marketing was required to ensure that it obtained a niche in the competitive market. I was working with a large marketing team, and I faced challenges in ensuring that all the activities were coordinated. This messed up the program, and the scheduled six months proved insufficient for the completion of the marketing campaign. This placed me under the compulsion to design new strategies of ensuring that the team’s output rose, in a bid to complete the task within the stipulated time (Brower & Balch 2005, p.67). Still, the team was unable to complete the task in the 6 months, and extended until 9 months. This compelled me to reflect on strategies that I could have used to ensure that my team

Business Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Business Economics - Essay Example There is an inverse relationship between a country’s current account and its foreign debt, all things remaining equal. This can be observed from the current account and foreign debt statistics of Australia, in the current year. In the year 2009 there is a deficit in Australia’s current account. This is because of a continued rise in its net foreign debt which results in a negative impact on a country’s current account. As shown in the figure below – the total current account deficit for the year 2009 amounts to $6346 million. Revenue gains received by a country help in increasing the balance in its current account while excessive expenditure leads to a deficit. Thus, if a country imports more goods and services than the goods and services it exports, it leads to a deficit in its current account and vice versa (Daly, 2004). The above figure shows an increase in Australia’s net foreign debt, over the years from $506,355 million in 2006- 07 to $616,650 million in 2008 – 09 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009), thus indicating that its exports far exceeds its imports, and the savings are relatively lower as well. Thus, it can be said that there is an inverse relationship between current account deficit and foreign debt of a country, as the foreign debt increases, with savings remaining constant, there is a deficit in the current account while, a reduction in foreign debt, increase in exports, increase in savings, etc would lead to a surplus in the country’s current account. Another significant relationship between CAD (current account deficit) and foreign debt of a country is the fact that as the country experiences a CAD it leads to an increase in foreign borrowings, which is required to pay off the deficit, which ultimately leads to a further increase in foreign debt. As the fore ign debt rises, the interest on it rises simultaneously,

Rapid Urban Growth Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rapid Urban Growth - Research Paper Example Planning and controlling the rapid urban growth is a matter of utter importance. It ensures that there is organisation and an intention for consideration of all areas and people in them.  Rapid growth of urban population may imply there is increase in the productivity of urban areas. This results to numerous economic benefits for distribution to all the people even in rural areas of least developed countries. Urban growth initiates realisation of specific potentials within the localities (Glover 1972, 31). If these potentials are exploited for the good of all people rather than for the benefit of the few, then democracy can be on the high.Negative contributions to growth of democracy  Urban growth in least developed countries puts immense pressure on the government functionality. The need to provide the population with necessary amenities as well as facilities for maintenance of better lives is tasking to the government. The efforts of the government in meeting the socialized nee ds of the urban population are the bargaining power.   This means that areas with high urban tend to vote for socialized programs. In least developed countries, this is the main determinant of losing or retaining a power position in the government.Legislative positions in urban areas of least developed countries vary. The urban areas where larger populations dwell seize the main positions and power in the government. When the apportionment responsibility lacks, urban growth would lead and compel the government.

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ethnographic Studies Media Essay

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ethnographic Studies Media Essay Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of society. Answer with detailed reference to at least one ethnographic study. Essay outline: Introduction the ethnographic approach to the study of society has its advantages and disadvantages; some of the disadvantages can be avoided if the researcher is made aware of the risk of encountering them I will first try to define the ethnographic studies and then analyse this approach from different perspectives, namely regarding the researcher, the participants and, respectively, the research process and, thusly, the final result Contents definition of the ethnography and briefly naming a few distinctive characteristics of the ethnographic approach, which basically comprises conducting interviews and doing fieldwork three perspectives from which one could look at the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of society: regarding the researcher time-consuming requires sustained effort and engagement personal safety of the researcher in peril however, it is rewarding regarding the subjects privacy preciseness of the information which could be affected either by the way the researcher records information, or by the participants themselves regarding the research process and, thus, affecting the final result, the complexity and accuracy of the information from the ethnography first hand data unavoidable subjectivity covert research issues related to social identities, which leads to prejudice data which cannot be generalised -practical use of ethnographic studies Conclusion Despite noting more possible flaws than strong points in using an ethnographic approach to study the social world which are due to the fact that the ethnographic approach is a more complex way of studying reality because it poses diverse problems offering a complex final study as well, its main advantage stands out: to describe and discuss in its complexity the way in which a part of society manifests itself. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethnographic Studies Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of society. Answer with detailed reference to at least one ethnographic study. The grade of complexity and accuracy of the results of a social research depends on adopting the most appropriate method. Every research method has its advantages and disadvantages, this also being the case of ethnographies. However, some of the disadvantages can be avoided if the researcher is made aware of the risk of encountering them. In order to outline and discuss some of the most relevant characteristics of an ethnographic approach to the study of society, I will first try to define the ethnographic studies and then analyse this approach from different perspectives, namely regarding the researcher, the participants and, respectively, the research process and, thusly, the final result. The theoretical aspects presented throughout the essay will be supported with methodological observations from Sidewalk, Mitchell Duneiers ethnography of the people who earn a living on Sixth Avenue, in Greenwich Village. Before proceeding to analyse the characteristics of an ethnographic study, we should cast our attention on one general definitions of ethnography. One should bear in mind that there are multiple understandings of the ethnographic approach, influenced by different schools of thought (Atkinson and Hammersley, 2007). Nevertheless, the most complete definition of the ethnography I have encountered is the following: [E]thnography at least (in its minimal definition) is iterative-inductive research (that evolves in design through the study), drawing on a family of methods, involving direct and sustained contact with human agents, within the context of their daily lives (and cultures), watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking questions, and producing a richly written account that respects the irreducibility of human experience, that acknowledges the role of theory, as well as the researchers own role, and that views humans as part object/part subject (OReilly, 2005: 3). Therefore, by using an ethnographic approach to the study of society, the social researcher enters a particular social environment in order to understand the participants in-depth, also employing open-ended interviews with the help of which to comprehend more thoroughly the participants social behaviour. After having established the broad distinctive features of ethnographic studies, we can now look at the advantages and disadvantages of adopting this social research method from the perspective of the researcher itself, namely how conducting an ethnographic research influences him or her. Doing an ethnographic research is time consuming, requiring the fieldworker to spend enough time in order to be accepted into a particular social system and then observe and reliably interpret the social relations which develop in that specific environment, as an insider (OReilly, 2005), and so to understand other peoples own worldview (Taylor, 2002: 3); it is also important to regard the normal as unfamiliar (May, 2001: 157). The research Mitchell Duneier (2001) conducted for Sidewalk lasted, for example, more than four years. This aspect also enables ethnographers to conduct open research, such being the case for Duneier, as well, at the beginning of his research, according to the methodological s ection of Sidewalk: I had only approximate notions about what I would do with the data I collected and what I sought to learn (2001: 336); however, during his fieldwork the leading questions became clear. Engaging in doing ethnographic research has other consequences for the researcher as well. Having to adopt a different role than when using quantitative research methods, the researcher becomes instrumental in the process of collecting the data to be analysed (Padgett, 1998; Marshall and Rossman, 2006). Thus, doing fieldwork requires more effort and commitment from the researcher, as May argues: participant observation is the most personally demanding and analytically difficult method of social research to undertake (2001: 153). Furthermore, after collecting information, the ethnographer has to analyse it, so that to elaborate categories for the relevant social issues denoted by the subjects (Padgett, 1998). This happened to Duneier (2001) in the process of writing Sidewalk, when after spending two years studying Hakim, the main participant in the research, he realised, helped by the useful feedback given by Hakim after reading the manuscript of the study, that he had omitted several important aspects from the social life on the sidewalk. Another effect on the fieldworker discussed here is related to his or her personal safety. If dealing with dangerous subjects, and mainly if undergoing covert research, i.e. research that has not gained the full consent, and is not conducted with the full knowledge, of the participants (OReilly, 2005: 60), the safety of the fieldworker could be jeopardized, such being the case if one studies criminals or other deviant people, especially in their own environment. Moreover, in order to better understand the participants, the ethnographer could engage in dangerous activities, for example drug dealing or smuggling, or in activities which would normally be considered morally degrading if judged by the current social norms. Duneier (2001) could have decided, for example, to buy and consume drugs himself, like some of the participants; this, he could have thought, would have enabled him to better understand their perspective on society. As a conclusion to this section of the essay, one could note that the work of an ethnographer has more disadvantages than advantages. However, the researcher who engages in such an effort should be willing to make some sacrifices in order to achieve a more lively and accurate account of how a part of society functions, this being what ethnographies offer, some would argue. Furthermore, despite the possible inconvenients, the work of an ethnographer can be rewarding because ethnographic studies always have at least one named author. For example, Mitchell Duneier (2001) has received an award for his first ethnography, Slims Table, and also numerous critical acclaims for Sidewalk. The participants in an ethnographic research are affected in various ways by the admittance of the fieldworker in their social environment. One of the aspects which should be considered is the privacy of the people involved as subjects. It should be noted that in an ethnographic research, the right of human subjects to privacy comes into conflict with other rights such as the right of the public to know (Homan, 1991: 65). The main disadvantage for the subjects of ethnographies is that the researcher intrudes in their lives and perturbs them. Although this happens especially when the ethnographer overtly assumes the role of a participant observer, i.e. openly conducted research, he or she can consent and even enjoy taking part in an ethnographic study, as Hakim and Keith do, two participants in Duneiers ethnography. In this situation, however, in the case of interviews, the subject has the chance to present as clearly as possible the information the ethnographer wants to know, not bei ng constrained by pre-defined answers, even if this means that they can distort information (Padgett, 1998). In qualitative research projects, participants remain individualities in the final result of the study, this being the reason why an ethnographer should always seek informed consent for using the real identities of the people observed and exact information, as Duneier did: I have received permission to quote almost all the people who were taped without their knowledge (2001: 13). Mitchell Duneier (2001) made sure that the people presented in his ethnography were content with the way they were presented in the book by having several meetings with each of them in which he showed them the pictures and read them the passages in which they appeared. In case the participants do not agree with their identity being revealed, information about their lives can still be found in the ethnography; however, this poses ethical questions. The problem becomes more important when the researche r is a covert participant observer. In this case, the subject is not made aware of the fact that aspects of his or her life will be made public through an ethnography, this raising more ethical issues, as OReilly asserts: ethical considerations are arguably most likely to be overridden when research is covert (2005: 60). Finally, we will cast our attention on the positive and negative aspects of doing fieldwork and its result: the ethnographic study. In order to do so, it should be noted that adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of society implies participating in a natural process which takes place in a dynamic and unforeseen reality, where people act in different and complex ways (Padgett, 1998). Being a participant observer means collecting first hand data, a part exact, recorded by technical devices as tape recorders or photo cameras, another part filtered by the ethnographer (Bourgeois, 2002). Hence, de facto, writing an ethnographic study is a very subjective process, as Duneier admits: [l]ike all observers, I have my subjectivities. [†¦] [However,] I try to help the reader recognize the lens through which the reality is refracted (2001: 14). Subjectivity can be identified as well in the fact that the researcher observes only what is caught in his eyesight and has to select the g athered information. However, by using technical devices to accurately register the words of the participants, the level of subjectivity could diminish: the meanings of a culture are embodied, in part, in its language, which cannot be grasped by an outsider without attention to the choice and order of the words and sentences (Duneier, 2001: 339); therefore this possible disadvantage of the ethnographic approach can be eliminated. In order to be a good participant observer, one has to gain the trust of the other participants, either overtly or covertly. The advantage when researching covertly is that people can be observed in natural circumstances in their environment; however, this raises ethical issues. Undertaking overt research, as the case of Duneier in Sidewalk, has the advantage of being honest with the participants, but it influences the normal state of the social relations observed; in this particular situation, Duneier emphasises the fact that there are many things members of the different races will not say in one anothers presence (2001, 338). Hence, issues of social identity rise in cases similar to the one presented in Duneiers Sidewalk (2001): the differences of race, class and social status (and in other situations of age and sex as well) between the ethnographer and the participants in the research not only made the people observed be more reserved in what they told Duneier, but also posed pro blems to the ethnographer who had to surpass his prejudices which were due to his social background. This could affect the researchers goal [which] is to describe the symbols and values of such a culture without passing judgment based on his cultural context (Marshall and Rossman, 2006: 82). Another critique of the ethnographic approach is related to the qualities of the research process, to the unsystematic way of conducting the fieldwork and collecting data (Atkinson and Hammersley, 2007; Padgett, 1998). However, social life itself is guided by unknown laws which are not systematic, so this is an adaptive method of studying it. The critics would continue by stating that this approach [is] using small, non-representative samples to produce impressionistic findings vulnerable to almost any bias one could imagine (Padgett, 1998: 12). Nevertheless, ethnographic studies reveal and explain the complexity of the human relations in a limited particular environment, which goal Duneier (2001) achieves in his ethnography, after a long lasting labour and several versions of manuscripts. As Taylor writes, an ethnographic study is said to produce situated knowledge rather than universals and to capture the detail of social life (2002: 3) and, according to Gray, some critics argue th at the findings are inadequate in representativeness and generalisability, two key criteria of validity in sociological research (2003: 15). Moreover, due to the fact that ethnographies are the result of a researchers work carried throughout long periods of time, they show a more accurate image of society, unlike the quantitative methods which register the reality of a particular moment in time. Moreover, by having contact with the world the interviewee is referring to, the ethnographer can discern what is true or plausible in his or her statements (Weinberg, 2002). Furthermore, the researcher can also make use of information related to aspects of their lives which are considered unimportant by the research participant. Duneier (2001) recalls a situation when he was rendered confused by an interviewee, without his intention; the ethnographer could realise which was the real situation because of his findings. The last point to be highlighted in this essay regards the practical use of ethnographic studies in comparison to quantitative analysis. If the latter is more useful for developing strategies, the work of an ethnographer resembles more the work of a writer; its use is not often that of changing policies, one of its critiques being concerned with its lack of impact on policy-making and practice, its limited payoff in the everyday worlds of politics and work (Atkinson and Hammersley, 2007: 17). Duneier (2001) emphasises in Sidewalk the importance of using the conclusions drawn from the ethnography to change policies and prejudices; apart from the measure he suggests the authorities should take, Duneier states that only by understanding the rich social organization of the sidewalk, in all its complexity, might citizens and politicians appreciate how much is lost when we accept the idea that the presence of a few broken windows justifies tearing down the whole informal structure (2001: 3 15). Besides the ineffective attempt to change policies, ethnographies can determine the readers to think in a different manner about what is happening around them, i.e. to think sociologically; I would say that the use of ethnographies is more personal, as is their subject. After reading Sidewalk, for example, it is desirable that people should start looking at least at the street vendors and panhandlers with different eyes, not expressing ready-made assumptions about them. To conclude, in this essay I have analysed a small part of the possible advantages and disadvantages of adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of society. I have looked at the effects of the decision to employ this research method on the researcher him/herself, on the participants and on the process and result of the research, drawing on examples from Mitchell Duneiers Sidewalk (2001). Despite noting more possible flaws than strong points in using an ethnographic approach to study the social world which are due to the fact that the ethnographic approach is a more complex way of studying reality because it poses diverse problems, offering a complex final study as well, its main advantage stands out: to describe and discuss in its complexity the way in which a part of society manifests itself. Word count: 2399 Mark: 65 (Mid Upper 2nd)

Enjoying King Lear :: King Lear William Shakespeare Literature Essays

Enjoying King Lear If there was ever a historical King Lear, his memory has faded into mythology and/or been conflated with others. Llyr and his son Manannan are Celtic ocean-gods; Manannan reappeared in Yeats's plays and the "Dungeons and Dragons" games. The "children of Lir / Llyr" were transformed into waterbirds in another Celtic myth. Anglo-Israelite lore describes ("Llyr Lleddiarth "Half-Speech", king of Siluria / the Britains, father of Bran the Archdruid, who married Anna, the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea; his close relatives included Cymbeline (Cunobelinus, fictionalized in Shakespeare's later play), and Caractacus (Caradoc), a well-attested historical figure better-known today from the children's song ("It's too late... they just passed by"). In the Mabinogion, one of Llyr's two wives is Iweradd ("Ireland"). Geoffrey of Monmouth ("History of the English Kings", around 1140), who provides our oldest written reference to King Lear (spelled "Leir"), describes him as a pre-Christian warrior king in what is now southwest England. (Click here to read it yourself.) This area now includes Cornwall (origin of cornish game hens.) Saint Albans ("Albany", for which the capital of New York State is named, is farther away. In the old story remembered by Geoffrey, Lear asked his three daughters whether they loved him. Two claimed to do so extravagantly, while the third said she loved him only as a daughter should. Lear disinherited the honest daughter. The story appears elsewhere in world folklore; there is an Eastern European version in which the honest daughter says she loves her father as much as she loves salt. Lear went to live with his first daughter, bringing a hundred followers. She demanded that he reduce his followers to fifty. Lear then went to live with the other daughter, who reduced the n umber to twenty-five. Lear went back and forth between the daughters until he was alone. Then the third daughter raised an army, defeated the other two, and restored him to his kingdom. (The story appears in Holinshed, who adds that Cordelia succeeded her father as monarch and was deposed by the sons of her sisters.) This tale about how actions speak louder than words had recently been played on the London stage in "The True Chronicle of King Leir.

Dramatically effective Essay

â€Å"And as I sat many afternoons asking myself why, being an intelligent man, I was so powerless to stop it. I even went to a certain old lady in the neighbourhood, a very wise old woman, and I told her, she only nodded, and said, â€Å"pray for him†¦ † and so I waited her† These are the words we hear from Alfieri after a very peculiar visit from one Eddie Carbone. Following the visit with Alfieri, Eddie’s mood is very tense. It is here where the audience receive a clear indication of Eddie’s feelings towards Catherine. Alfieri says to Eddie that Catherine wants to get married and there’s nothing Eddie can do about it, but adds unless she he wants her to marry him. After hearing this Eddie furiously goes on the defensive and becomes very edgy. He then replies very harshly at Alfieri as if Alfieri is talking absolute rubbish and doesn’t have a clue. Eddie starts going on about all skills which Rodolfo has are not manly. He has difficulty describing his doubts to Alfieri â€Å"The guy aint right† he says and â€Å"you know what I mean†. Miller shows how uncomfortable it is mentioning these things by the stage directions as Eddie twists and turns. Eddie talks about how he welcomed Rodolfo into his house and fed him and given him blankets right from his own bed and passionately say but he’s putting his filthy hands on her meaning Catherine. Just after that he then adds he’s stealing from me Mr Alfieri showing that Eddie thinks a lot of Catherine. He means stealing away something which should be his like Catherine as his lover. He keeps speaking of how he does not like Rodolfo; â€Å"He gives me the heebie-jeebies†, â€Å"I don’t like his whole way† and also hinted at his doubts on Rodolfo’s sexuality; â€Å"He’s like a weird†, â€Å"I just hope that’s his regular hair! † Lastly Alfieri makes a very important speech and says about how God mixes up people and there’s love between them but sometimes there’s too much, whether it’s to a daughter or a niece and the person never realises it but there is too much love for the daughter, there’s too much love for the niece. Eddie pretends not to really understand him and hide behind just caring for her but Alfieri is slyly hinting about Eddie’s feelings for Catherine. Mainly the reason there is conflict between Eddie and Catherine is because of how Eddie is so protective of her. He tells her she is walking wavy and he doesn’t like that, at the same time he also refers to her as a â€Å"Madonna. † This gives the audience the idea that she is pure and she is a virgin and Eddie wants her to stay as she is. After the visit with Alfieri, Eddie gets home where everyone is talking about Rodolfo. Catherine seems very fascinated at everything Rodolfo does because of love, Even if some are the simplest things she is amazed. She acts like a curious child. Eddie notices her interest in Rodolfo’s singing so he quickly silences him. His ability to do this lets him believe that he is in charge in the house. The stage directions show his power because he stands up all the time. She starts of by saying â€Å"They went to Africa once. On a fishing boat. (Eddie then glances at her). Its true, Eddie. † Eddie replies and says he didn’t say they didn’t. The glance at Catherine from Eddie was to say that he really didn’t care what they’ve done, and don’t want to get involved at all if it involves praising Rodolfo. I also found how every time in this section Eddie said something it was always directed at Marco and didn’t really want to talk to Rodolfo, sometimes even ignoring what he said. Eddie just wants to snap and put down anything good Rodolfo does, he seems to be just getting more anxious to tell him to shut up as you go on. Finally when Eddie and Marco are talking about oranges in Italy being painted, Rodolfo adds in how lemons are green. Eddie snaps â€Å"I know lemons are green, for Christ sake, you see them in the store they’re green sometimes. I said oranges they paint; I didn’t say nothing about lemons. † It seems from Eddie’s point of view that Rodolfo is just trying to make Eddie out to be a fool or less of a man. Eddie always seems to mock Rodolfo. They call him a â€Å"canary† and a â€Å"paper doll†. This all leads up to dramatic tension, for example eddies kiss with Catherine at the beginning of act two.

Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essays

Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essays Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essay Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essay Basil Al Bader 99629 English Composition I Contras/Comparative Essay Final Draft Malcolm X / Frederick Douglas Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas were two main figures of the black community in the United States. Both of them were self-educated. Both of them faced challenges to achieve their education and both of them had impacted by the growth of their knowledge. We will see in this essay how they learned, the challenges they faced while trying to learn and what impact learning had on them. For both Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas, learning to read was a whole process that took time. The first point that we will state is the environment in which they learned to read and write. In 1946,Malcolm X was sentenced eight to ten years in prison. This is where his interest for reading and writing took birth. It is alone in prison that Malcolm opened his first book, which for a matter was a dictionary. In his biography, Malcolm explains the frustration he constantly felt while trying to express his feelings in letter that he wrote. It is this frustration that led him to request a dictionary. At that point, Malcolm did not realize so many words existed â€Å"I spent two days just riffling ncertainly through the dictionary pages. I’d never realized so many words existed! † (211) It is at that point that he started to copy the dictionary. After copying the first page, he’d read his notes out loud over and over. By this process, Malcolm created for himself a great way to learn â€Å" I woke up next morning, thinking about those words †¦ I could also remember what many of those words meant† (211). At that point Malcolm was launched â€Å"I was so fascinated that I went on †¦ I copied the dictionary’s next page†. Frederick Douglas process to learn was different. The first point that we will state is that Frederick was a slave. : He wasn’t initially allowed to learn to read and write. However, he had the chance to be introduced to that valuable knowledge by his mistress â€Å"Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C† (Page given in class). Unfortunately, this situation didn’t last. Once his master realized what was going on, the mistress’s attitude changed. She actually stopped teaching him and for a matter of fact became an obstacle to his learning. From now on Frederick had to find an other way to learn. One way that he describes as being the most successful was to convert every sing id that he met into a teacher â€Å" The plan, which I adopted, and the one by which I was the most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street† (130). This is the main reason of his success to learn reading â€Å"With their kindly aid †¦ I finally succeeded in learning to rea d†. The main difference that we can find between the ways they learned is that Malcolm X learned on his own, with no help while Frederick Douglas used the knowledge of his peers. Learning to read was a long process but it is important to say that it was a hard process. Both of them faced challenges while learning. Life in prison is ruled by very strict rules. Malcolm X had, in a certain way, to fight with theses rules. One of them was the light extinction. Every night, at ten P. M. , lights were turned of and night guards passes in front of every room every hour. Malcolm X describes this situation â€Å" †¦ every night at about ten P. M. I would be outraged with the ‘’lights out’’†¦ At one-hour interval at night guards paced past every room† (213). Determined to read Malcolm always founded a way to overcome theses challenges â€Å" Fortunately, right outside my door was a orridor light that cast a glow into my room. The glow was enough to read by †¦ each time I heard the approaching footsteps, I jumped into bed and feigned sleep†. Frederick Douglas had to face an other type of challenge. The first one was the mean behavior of his masters. As said previously, Frederick’s mistress’ s attitude changes. This changes is a major obstacle to his learning as he describes in his biography how violent her opposition was â€Å"The first step in her downward course was in her ceasing to instruct me †¦ She became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself â€Å". Frederick had also the feeling of being watched, under surveillance, which he describes in his book â€Å" From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room †¦ I was sure to be suspected of having a book† (130). One thing that we can notice on both Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas is the impact that learning to read and write had on them. Both of them realized and understood more about the Black history, the injustice they had to face and the sadness of this situation. It also impacted on their self-esteem and self confidence. In â€Å"Learning to Read†, Malcolm X makes us understand how learning to read as positive for him and helped him to support his imprisonment as he says â€Å"Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life† (212). The passion he developed for reading made time timeless. Reading allowed him to understand the history of black people, which became the main subject of his readings â€Å"I never will forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery’s total horror †¦ Book after book showed me how the white man had brought upon the world’s black†¦peoples every variety of the suffering of exploitation† (214-215). For Malcolm X reading is the lement that will change his life forever as he says â€Å" reading opened to me †¦ reading had changed forever the course of my life† (217). We can definitely say that reading had a positive impact on Malcolm X. It opened his eyes and allowed him to gain confidence in himself and to become the great activist that we know. Frederick Douglas, in the contrary, makes us feel that he did not appreciate the consequences of that learning as much as Malcolm. Actually, reading and more specifically learning about the black history arouses in him a deep anger, as he says â€Å"The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslav ers† (132). Frederick also describes the very deep sufferance he had by reading, â€Å"read had already come, to torment and sting my soul† (132). It is obvious that it is not much reading that hurt him but the knowledge he gets out of it. The impact was so negative; he really gives us the feeling that at some point he was going threw a real depression, â€Å"I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity †¦ I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead† (132). After comparing Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas, we can notice that both of them learned to read and write in their own way, that both of them had to face hallenges but the most important thing to notice is that both of them became very important figures of the black community in America and both of them played an important role in the evolution of the conditions of the black community. It is important to say that in both cases, reading opened doors for them. It allowed them to be more conscio us of their history and of course gives them more knowledge to understand it. I really think that the overall message that we should get from these two stories is the importance to educate ourselves, that this education that now a days, a lot of people still can’t access is one of the keys to freedom.

Free Essays on Triangle Of Poverty

Triangle of Poverty Poverty defined by Merriam’s Webster is, â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions,† it is where the level of personal or family income is below the standards made by the government. Money is just one of the causes of poverty, another cause is access. Access is the basic necessities people need in order to survive, such as food, clothing and shelter, education, proper health care, and clean water - rights which most of us take for granted. Poverty is a problem all over the world, â€Å"half of the worlds-nearly three billion people-live on less than two dollars a day† (globalissues.org/). In this paper, I am going to focus on areas such as Mexico, California, and Texas. It is clear through my research that unemployment rates, and discrimination of women in the workforce affect poverty rates across the world. What I found during my research was very interesting. Women are the majority in each state, but men make up the majority of the workforce. There are 11,479,705 women 16 years and older, and 6,622,034 of these women are involved in the workforce. Of these women 16 years and older 435,414 of them are unemployed. This means that only 57.6% of women are involved in the workplace (Graph 1). What are the rest of the women doing? The problem caused by the women’s absence in the workforce is children living in poverty. Of all the children living in California, 28.7% live in poverty (Graph 3). What increases women’s chance of living in poverty is where she works. It is seen that the majority of jobs held in California are low paying jobs such as retail work and clerical work. Places where advancements are minimal, and the starting rate is usually the minimum wage of $5.75 an hour (National Center for Children and Poverty). Children suffer a great deal in such a situa tion, whether the children live in poverty because thei... Free Essays on Triangle Of Poverty Free Essays on Triangle Of Poverty Triangle of Poverty Poverty defined by Merriam’s Webster is, â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions,† it is where the level of personal or family income is below the standards made by the government. Money is just one of the causes of poverty, another cause is access. Access is the basic necessities people need in order to survive, such as food, clothing and shelter, education, proper health care, and clean water - rights which most of us take for granted. Poverty is a problem all over the world, â€Å"half of the worlds-nearly three billion people-live on less than two dollars a day† (globalissues.org/). In this paper, I am going to focus on areas such as Mexico, California, and Texas. It is clear through my research that unemployment rates, and discrimination of women in the workforce affect poverty rates across the world. What I found during my research was very interesting. Women are the majority in each state, but men make up the majority of the workforce. There are 11,479,705 women 16 years and older, and 6,622,034 of these women are involved in the workforce. Of these women 16 years and older 435,414 of them are unemployed. This means that only 57.6% of women are involved in the workplace (Graph 1). What are the rest of the women doing? The problem caused by the women’s absence in the workforce is children living in poverty. Of all the children living in California, 28.7% live in poverty (Graph 3). What increases women’s chance of living in poverty is where she works. It is seen that the majority of jobs held in California are low paying jobs such as retail work and clerical work. Places where advancements are minimal, and the starting rate is usually the minimum wage of $5.75 an hour (National Center for Children and Poverty). Children suffer a great deal in such a situa tion, whether the children live in poverty because thei...

Cyberschools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cyberschools - Essay Example The first area where cyber education poses difficulties is with isolation with restricted face-to-face peer interactions. A study by Lee & Chan (2007) found negative effects of distance learning at universities, as distance learners had a significantly higher rate of dropping out. The article mentions that a lack of belonging to a community through social ties is a distinct disadvantage. In addition, the inability to interact face-to-face with students can hinder motivation and enthusiasm (Lee & Chan, 2007). Social isolation can also be a problem if the student wastes time by pursuing material that is not of relevant importance to the instructor. Such proper direction could be clarified better in face-to-face interaction (Lee & Chan, 2007). Additionally, non-verbal cues to learning are not available with cyber schooling. This includes the teacher’s ability to pick up on subtle signals of student interest, student understanding, or student confusion. The subtle ways that face-to-face interaction can reveal emotions related to learning are more present in the traditional classroom (Lee & Chan, 2007). The second way that cyber schooling is at a perceived disadvantage is through uncertainty in the quality of cyber education. Rosendale (2009) points out how problems result from cyber schooling programs that have either low quality assurance or no quality assurance guidelines in place. Also, there is disagreement on what learning quality entails (Rosendale, 2009). The article goes on to show that test scores show how cyber school students are lagging behind traditional schools in test results (Rosendale, 2009). An example is with the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test results. They found â€Å"of the 11 cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania, only 3 are meeting or exceeding the â€Å"No Child Left Behind†

Urban Planning and Sustainable Development Essay

Urban Planning and Sustainable Development - Essay Example Urban Planning and Sustainable Development Venice is also known as queen of Adriatic and is the capital of Veneto. Later many people like Huns, Lombards had their fair share of occupancy of the region. This led to new development of ports and shift of political administration to these places. During this time seat of governor was located in Malamocco. Later seat of Olivolo was created. Some time later the high seat of Malamocco was shifted to Rialto Island., This marked a historic change in the political administration of the Venice as the Rialto Island paved its way to form what we call the modern day location of Venice. This was subsequently bolstered by the fact that construction of monastery of St Zachary and basilica of St Mark. This formed the major defining moment of the futuristic idea of sustainable development of the city. In the year 828 the patriarchal seat was also moved to rialto and at the same time city of Venice started to grow in autonomous mode due to decline of Byzantine power. These events formed the development of city of Venice and from here started the great revolution of medieval world. After the decline of Byzantine power till 12th century Venice transformed from its dependency region into a city state. It shared its status along with Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi. No sooner than its transformation took place .everyone soon realized the importance of the location of place where Venice stood. Venice being at the mouth of Adriatic Sea made it a strategically important place .It soon became a naval and commercial power and became one of the most prominent chain links between the European or the western world to the other parts of the world. Soon the power of Venice was confirmed with the construction of Venetian arsenal. Venetian Arsenal was one of the most important areas of the city of Venice .Lying in the castello sestiere; it was a shipyard and naval depot. It was started around 1104 and was believed to play active role in the control affairs of the city by 12th century. The Arsenal became an important centre for rope manufacture.The people and the staff present in the shipyard also developed new firearms, during the later part of fourteenth century and numerous small arms against the Genoese a few years later.Later administaration extended its location scope till Adda river and lake garda. Similarly to develop its already advantegous location into a potential martime super power of the medieval world it started to aquire neighboring areas like aegean areas of crete. The city later was governed by Great Council .It appoints public offcials and elects a senate. The senate in turn chose a ten member team who looked after the administration of the city . and head of this team group was called as duke.. Now if we look at this whole picture of the government structure ,we can sense some similarity between the structure of the government present in venice and that present in rome in its ancient era.. The reason we have explained about its history and the government present in the city region is that we have to understand these events which were laid out in the timelines of history and the people who have governed this great city have also changed the way the city looks through its administrative planning and practices and thus the concept of urban planning and