Punishing children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Punishing children - Essay Example Therefore, families should not adopt corporal punishment as a technique of teaching children how to behave as it impacts negatively on behavior, both in the short term and long term. Increasingly, research studies point out to the unintended negative consequences of corporal punishment. First, corporal punishment increases aggression among children as they appreciate physical violence as a form of solving conflicts, just as applied by their parents. Corporal punishment entails use of physical force which exhibits a positive curvilinear relationship with aggression in children. In fact, while vouching for the need for legislation against this form of punishment, Smith cites the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child referring to it as â€Å"legalized violence against children.† A review of various research studies by Elliman and Lynch (197) indicates that corporal punishment results in the child complying with the parental demands immediately after being hit, but f or a short term. Such a child does not learn what the desired good is and hence the threat of need for greater frequency and intensity of corporal punishment so as to maintain the compliance. This causes significant physical abuse among the children exposed to corporal punishment. Humphrey and Schmalleger observe that in school, such children are twice more likely to attack other children physically within 6 months (121). Further, such children exhibit tendencies of abuse of child or partner late in life. They become antisocial and have the sense of conscience, moral internalization and empathy in them significantly reduce (Aucoin, Frick, and Bodin 528). Therefore, corporal punishment does not cause positive behavioral gains, but rather arouses and propagates aggression in children. Corporal punishment has also been noted to increase the likelihood of children becoming delinquent. In fact, as noted by Aucoin, Frick, and Bodin (529), corporal punishment could lead to behavioral probl ems as opposed to behavioral problems leading to corporal punishment. As such, these children develop delinquent behaviors later in life. Continued use of corporal punishment upholds delinquent behavior, such trouble at school and lying, two years later (Humphrey and Schmalleger 120). Indeed, a research study documented by Elliman and Lynch on 4,888 residents of Ontario aged below 65 with no history of sexual or physical violence, but reported being spanked or slapped, exhibited significantly higher tendencies of alcohol abuse, dependence and anxiety disorders (197). It should therefore be appreciated that whereas corporal punishment aims at instilling desirable behavior in a child, it could lead to delinquency in children. The third negative impact of corporal punishment entails the lowering of self-esteem among children, together with causing depression. The physical pain that children endure as a result of corporal punishment causes a rise of bitterness in them. With limited oppo rtunities to release such feelings, such children end up being stressed and eventually depressed. Children who have been through years of emotional pain as a result of being

Sample Annotated Bibliography Essay Example for Free

Sample Annotated Bibliography Essay 1. Trossman, Susan RN (2006). Rx for Medical Marijuana? : Promoting research on and acceptance of this treatment option for patient. [Miscellaneous Article] Vol. 106 Issue 4 Page 77. AJN American Journal of Nursing. Susan promotes and publicize advances in clinical research. Her opinion and thoughts does not conflict medical science not to put her practice away but to be the face of the campaign in process improvement for legalizing marijuana use. 2. Twombly, Renee (2006). Despite Research, FDA says Marijuana has no benefit. Article Vol 98 Issue 13 Page. 888 JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute Twombly compilation of article basically explaining that certain medical authorities such FDA (Food and Drug Administrations) has not made justification that medical marijuana can fully benefited anyone that will utilize this drugs for treatment. 3. Nadelmann, Ethan (1989). Drug Prohibition in the United States: Cost, Consequences, and Alternatives. New Series, Vol. 245 No.4921 Page 939-947. Nadelmann cited serious consideration as both analytical model and a policy option for addressing the â€Å"drug problem†. Drug legalization protocol that are extremely applied can lessen the risks of legalization, drastically decrease the costs of current policies, and directly address the issues of substance abuse. 4. Herried, C., DeRei, K. (2007) intimate Debate Technique: Medicinal Use of Marijuana. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36. (4), 10-13. The authors of this paper present an outline of the debate process and how students can effectively present their sides of a controversial subject. Personal accounts in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes are given, as well as data as to why it should not be legalized. This reference will benefit the paper because it provides real accounts from people and not just statistics. 5. Marwick, C. (1994) Change of Heart Prehaps, but Not of Legislation. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 27. (21), p 1635. The author of this article details an account made in 1993 at The National Press Club by The Surgeon General of the United States Joycelyn Elders, MD, about how â€Å"legalization of illicit drugs could lead to a significant decrease of crime†. This comment caused a stir in the political world, mainly on the con side, and shows that that this issue is not new and the government remains staunchly against fully legalizing any drug, including marijuana. This article will benefit the paper in that it provides a political account from the Surgeon General who is looked upon as someone that by all accounts should be against the legalizing of illicit drugs.

Explore How Much Ado About Nothing Present Ideas About Love English Literature Essay

Explore How Much Ado About Nothing Present Ideas About Love English Literature Essay Figuratively, the fair lord represents pure love and the woman represents lust. These two types of love are contrasted against each other, which allows the reader to evaluate and think about the ideas each type of love presents. However, where is the humanity within this sonnet? There is no mention of humans; one can only be classed as an angel or a devil. How would one go about attaining an angel, one of the purest beings that dwells in heaven? Perhaps the fact that Shakespeare has likened the fair lord to an angel is for the simple fact that he cannot attain him, that pure love cannot be attained. This idea of likening love to something that is unattainable is replicated in Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare has the character Claudio fall in love with Hero at first sight. When Benedick asks Claudio if he will buy her, he replies: Can the world buy such a jewel? Despite likening Hero to something as perfect as a jewel, again there is no humanity within a jewel. Combined with the idea that the world cannot, in fact, buy this jewel seems to suggest that Hero (this completely pure virgin) is unattainable. Perhaps Shakespeare is trying to suggest that if you compare love with wonderful and perfect objects then you simply wont be able to attain it, just like you cannot attain an angel or a priceless jewel. This idea is applicable in modern society. In Much Ado, Hero is portrayed as this completely pure and innocent virgin. Being compared to that of unattainable priceless jewels, Shakespeare highlights how a woman like Hero (in most cases) is unattainable. In todays modern society it would probably be extremely rare to find a woman like Hero, whereas perhaps in Shakespeares time it was more common, especially if the woman was of high social status. One might say that there was more of an expectation for women to behave in certain ways during Elizabethan England. However Shakespeare added the character of Margaret to his play, perhaps to juxtapose the expectations society held for a high class woman to that of an ordinary servant. Margaret seems to represent more of a realistic view on how love and relationships will be, not pure and perfect, but flawed and tainted (by physical love). Shakespeare seems to allude that a more pragmatic and realistic view to love is needed in order for it to succeed. Sonnet 130 takes more of a practical view to love. Its meaning is simple: the dark ladys beauty cannot measure up to the beauty of a goddess or to that found in nature, for she is a mortal human being. Shakespeare rejects deification of the dark lady: I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. Here the poet overtly states that his mistress is not a goddess and cannot even begin to rank close to one. Although this seems to be extremely unflattering, it is also the truth. After all, no mortal being can actually compare to a god or a goddess. She is also not as beautiful as things found in nature: My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips red. Yet Shakespeare loves her in spite of this, and in the closing couplet says that she is actually as extraordinary (rare) as any woman depicted with such overstated or false comparisons. Shakespeare has accepted the fact that his mistress is not perfect and that she will indeed have flaws, yet so does he. Sonnet 130 may be suggesting that if you recognise and accept the fact that love will have flaws and is not some perfect idealistic emotion, then the likelihood of the love lasting is more likely. This blunt but charming sincerity is also seen in Much Ado between Beatrice and Benedick. These two characters have never been pleasant with each other, and whenever they meet, they often continue a merry war between them. They have known each other of old and seem to enjoy fencing insults at each other, using them to show their true feelings of fondness towards one another. When the playwright makes his characters confess to one another there is no employment of blank verse, just simple prose. Beatrice and Benedicks confessions seem to go against the stereotypical, grand Shakespearean love confessions: I protest I love thee I was about to protest that I loved you These two characters appear to be aware of their downfalls and seem to have a mutual respect between them. The love between these two seems to be more realistic than the bashful sincerity and comely love that exists between Hero and Claudio. However, because of this there appears to be more room for Beatrice and Benedicks love to grow. Shakespeare seems to favour the idea of love as an actuality than an ideal because he appears to suggest that thinking of love as an ideal will end in tragedy. In Sonnet 116 Shakespeare refers to love as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the star to every wandering bark. While the image given to us by the poet is initially one of constancy, the idea that love will guide those who follow it to their desired destination, one must question the feasibility of it. Stars reside up in Space, and while it is true that they can be used to provide direction (in the case of the North Star, Polaris), one can never touch a star. In fact, one would never be able to get close to a star, as it is a mass of burning gas that would have you severely burned before you could even attempt to get near it. Because of this, you can never attain a star and so perhaps with this line in the sonnet Shakespeare is trying to say that, although love has the potential to be this wonderful, shining ideal like a star, the actuality is that if you blindly follow this ideal then you will get hurt. Another point about stars is that they will eventually burn out and die, they do not last forever. This seems to create a contradiction in Sonnet 116 as the overall theme of this sonnet appears to be how constant and everlasting love is. Shakespeare even goes so far as to say that: Loves not Times fool, Yet stars are always falling victim to time, being ravaged and then eventually destroyed by it. This seems rather ironic and seems to reinforce the idea of love being something that is unattainable, especially if you cling on to the perspective that love is something that is constant, perfect and pure. Not only does Shakespeare mention Polaris in Sonnet 116, but he also mentions it in Act 2, Scene One of Much Ado where the character Benedick is claiming that Beatrice: would infect the north star. The fact that the character of Beatrice is so nasty that she can influence something that is not even reachable puts her in a very negative light. After all, if she can affect something as bright and pure as a star, then she can affect anything. This claim not only appears to besmirch Beatrices reputation, but the idea of pure love itself. Perhaps Shakespeare introduces this idea of pure love being impressionable so early on in his play to make the audience consider realism in love. One may argue that this quote highlights just how easily influenced pure love can be, and how it can be tainted. Sonnet 144 continues the idea that pure love can be tainted: And whether that my angel be turned fiend Suspect I may, yet not directly tell. Shakespeare could be suggesting how easy it is for pure love to be contaminated by that of physical love. Perhaps he is suggesting that it is not possible to just have the former because an impure aspect will eventually sully it.   Though love can bring out the best in all of us, it can also cloud our judgement and expose the worst in all human beings. Claudio is used by Shakespeare to illustrate this point further. This character is constantly subjected to the emotion of jealousy. During the masked ball, Claudio immediately takes Benedicks statement of, The prince hath got your Hero to mean that Don Pedro has betrayed him and wooed Hero for his own. Later on in the play, Don John convinces Claudio that Hero is having an affair. Rather than proceeding with matters in a calm and mature manner, Claudio decides to exact revenge on their wedding day. This immediate change of heart in Claudio makes one question the strength of the love Claudio holds for his fiancà ©e. One moment he is completely infatuated with her, referring to her as a jewel, yet the character is calling Hero a rotten orange and accusing her of being an approvà ¨d wanton the next. Claudios ideas of love being this perfect ideal are shattered over the events that occur in the play, yet he seems to grow because of this. Shakespeare made it so that Claudio had to learn to appreciate Hero, and for him to realise that not all can be perfect when it comes to love. Because of this, when the two characters finally get married at the end of the play the audience is given the impression that their relationship actually has a foundation on which to can flourish, as opposed to the unstable relationship that was likely to happen between these two had they gotten married on the original wedding day. Shakespeare uses a vast array of techniques within his sonnets and Much Ado that highlight how love really is an unattainable, perfect ideal. All of Shakespeares sonnets consist of three quatrains and a final rhyming couplet which is composed in iambic parameter. The rhyme scheme for the sonnets are ABAB. Sonnet 144 is no exception to this, and is constructed in the usual Shakespearean sonnet manner. Perhaps the poet chose this conventional method of writing the sonnet because the ideas presented within the sonnet are conventional. It is not to hard to imagine becoming disillusioned between the two types of love, as we all yearn for something permanent and lasting, a pure love, yet humans also succumb to temptation and can fall victim to the desire for a purely physical encounter. As these two types of love both offer something completely different, one must struggle to choose the right one, which Shakespeare says is the pure love presented by the fair lord. However as I mentioned ea rlier, it is not possible to attain an angel. The fact that Sonnet 144 is written this way is rather ironic as the poet is writing about his conflicting emotions and the disorder that they bring, yet iambic pentameter suggests order and harmony. Perhaps Shakespeare could be suggesting that you can attempt to make love a perfect and ordered ideal but the reality is that you will, in most cases, have some element of discord. In my opinion I feel that Sonnet 130 utilises iambic pentameter to maximum effect. Shakespeare has admitted that his mistress is not perfect, yet he loves her nonetheless. This view the poet appears to hold, that love is better thought of as an actuality, seems to suggest that love will be much stronger this way. Rather than have everything be perfect, if you know about the others imperfections and accept them, then you will achieve harmony within your relationship. This is why I feel that the use of iambic pentameter is essential in this sonnet: it highlights the fact that this type of love is more likely to provide security and a sense of order, despite not being a perfect ideal. Iambic pentameter is also used in Much Ado, to elevate the importance of love in the play. When Claudio is confessing how he feels about Hero, he claims that when he looked upon her: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦thronging soft and delicate desires, All prompting me how fair young Hero is Came to him. As this happens early on in the play, the audience seems to get the (wrong) impression of harmony in the relationship of Claudio and Hero being prominent. Yet maybe the playwright deliberately did this to emphasise the fact that the complex emotion of love cannot be completely ordered when the characters relationship falls apart. In direct contrast with this, the seemingly more ordered love Shakespeare gives to Beatrice and Benedick is written in simple prose. At no point in the play do Beatrice and Benedick speak in blank verse to one another, this suggests that the two characters are comfortable with one another and perhaps feel a sense of security between them. Perhaps the playwright only utilised prose between this couple to accentuate the fact that the characters do not view love as a perfect, ordered ideal. A subtle technique Shakespeare uses to define his characters and the type of love that they are likely to have is by their names. Benedicks name comes from the Latin word bene meaning good and blessed. Beatrices name also has a similar meaning: the one who blesses. The love between Beatrice and Benedick is portrayed as a more realistic view on love, yet ultimately they seem happy together. While they have attained love, they do not view the emotion as a perfect ideal and so perhaps this is why their relationship is so strong. Shakespeare may have been trying to convey how this view on love is more likely to last and be blessed by the clever use of these two characters names. Conversely, the supposed love at first sight that Shakespeare portrays between Claudio and Hero is hinted at as being more chaotic. Claudios name is derived from the Latin word claudus which means lame or crippled. The playwright may have chosen this name for his character to illustrate how this type of love has no real support, how it is more likely to be crippled. It may also suggest that Claudios view on love, which is that it is a perfect and pure emotion, is rather handicapped. Claudio seemed convinced that Hero must be an utterly pure human being in order for them to attain love, but as I have previously mentioned a woman with these qualities is hard to find. This short sighted view on love appears to make Claudio unable when it comes to matters of love, for example: taking Don Johns word over Heros when it comes to her alleged affair. It seems that Claudios judgement becomes clouded where love is concerned, and so he had to learn how to appreciate it. Thus, I feel that overall Shakespeare is trying to say that if one is to consider love only as a perfect ideal then they will not attain it, for love is a complex emotion that is far from perfection. However, if one considers love to be more of an actuality and can accept that themselves, their partner and their relationship is bound to have a few imperfections, then love can be attained. Just because love may not be perfect doesnt mean that we shouldnt strive to attain it.

Chemistry Coursework †Fuels Essay -- GCSE Chemistry Coursework Invest

Chemistry coursework – Fuels Planning ======== Aim --- In this investigation I will have to find out which of the alcohol fuels: methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol, is the best. The ‘best’ one will be the one which creates the most energy whilst burning. Introduction and prediction --------------------------- A fuel is a substance burned for heat or power. The best type of fuel is one that: can be transported safely without the worry of it catching on fire, gives out a lot of heat for a certain mass, does not cost very much, lights quickly, burns slowly, is safe to use and does not give off any form of polluting gases. When burning alcohols, as I am going to do in this investigation, the reaction is exothermic as heat is given out. Breaking the bonds of the original alcohol by burning requires energy-it is endothermic, making the bonds of the new products of burning the alcohol ie carbon dioxide and water gives out energy-it is exothermic. I predict that Butanol will require the most energy as it has the most bonds holding the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms together. Propanol will require the second largest amount of energy, Ethanol the third and Methanol the least amount of energy to break these bonds. Methanol CH3OH Ethanol C2H5OH Propanol C3H7OH Butanol C4H9OH Pentanol C5H10OH Therefore I predict that Methanol will be the ‘best’ fuel, followed by Ethanol, then Propanol and the worst fuel will be Buta...

Big city or small town Essay

Good afternoon everyone. Today I’d like to say something about big city and small town. It sounds charming to see stars at night, to plant fruits in the garden, or to picnic on the lawn, rural life distinguished itself in being closer to nature. But truth to be told, living close to nature also means that there will be plenty of animals and insects visiting your home and vegetation. Surely Fish is more inclined to enjoy itself in marine environment instead of being stuck in a small pond. So are humans. City born and city bred, the quiet life of country has never appealed to me and I fancy the adventurous and splendid life of city. To begin with, living in a big city can enjoy the best services and entertainment as well as more opportunities. In a megalopolis, the government and wealthy people have invested lots of capital and resources in providing people with fabulous facilities, services and infrastructure like big cinemas, theatres, stadiums, big shopping malls, the best me dical services, good education resources, uncountable restaurants, theme parks, museums, convenient transport systems, etc, resulting in more job opportunities and choices. These are all rarely found in small towns as most of them are located in suburbs where population density is low and transportation is poor, so it will be very boring and inconvenient to live in a small town. In addition, living in a metropolis can broaden your horizons. With a very dense population, big cities such as New York contain a diverse realm of ideas and innovations, as well as different high valued cultural activities and lifestyles. There are uncountable things to do, thousands of all sorts of unique or strange or interesting people to meet, and numerous places to visit every day, and much more opportunities to explore various cultures and knowledge. On the other hand, a small town has a strong homogeneity, in which all people in the town share similar ideas and attitudes, so what people in a small town can experience and learn is limited to the town: what you can know are only the ideas of your neighbors, who you can meet are only the people from the same town, where you can go are only the areas nearby! Only in the big city can people satisfy their curiosity of the outside world, their thirst for knowledge and their eagerness of gaining different  experiences. Last but not least, a big city is vibrant while a small town is comparatively boring. In small towns, people usually live a stable, slow and simple lifestyle, which consists of very little changes in everyday life. However, in a big city, citizens live and work at a fast pace. People in big cities can therefore enjoy a more exciting, glamorous and productive life. Although a hurrying lifestyle may cause great pressure to the people involved, the invigorating life it brings about is very attractive. Although some people may argue that small towns have less pollution and are close to nature. Life there seems delightful but it will absolutely be very dull for youngsters like us to repeat the same simple and relax living style day and night. I embrace challenges and new things more, so despite the concentrated pollution and distance from the natural world, I still fancy the life in a big city. All in all, the life of a city dweller is more adventurous and splendid, while the life in smal l towns is rather simple and plain. Hence, small towns may be a good choice for retired, but not energetic university students like us. Thank you very much!

10 Tips to Balance Parallel Sentence Structure

10 Tips to Balance Parallel Sentence Structure 10 Tips to Balance Parallel Sentence Structure 10 Tips to Balance Parallel Sentence Structure By Mark Nichol In crafting sentences that compare one thing to another or represent one thought in contrast to another, writers often omit key words or phrases because they misunderstand how one phrase is balanced against another. In constructing sentences with parallel structure, think of the two parallel elements as figures on a seesaw, and the connecting word or phrase as the fulcrum, then check whether the elements on either side of the fulcrum are equally balanced: 1. â€Å"We often pay more attention to them than our own children.† This ambiguous sentence means either that we pay more attention to something than we do to our children, or that we pay more attention to something than our children do. This slight revision reflects that the writer meant the former choice. (â€Å"We pay more attention to them† is balanced against â€Å"[we pay attention)] to our own children.†): â€Å"We often pay more attention to them than [we pay] to our own children.† 2. â€Å"His version is created not with brush and ink, but countless Lego blocks.† The parallel phrases in this sentence, balanced by the fulcrum but, are not â€Å"with brush and ink† and â€Å"countless Lego blocks,† but â€Å"brush and ink† and â€Å"countless Lego blocks,† so repeat with: â€Å"His version is created not with brush and ink, but with countless Lego blocks.† 3. â€Å"The story here is not one of privacy infringement so much as the way real estate is changing because of technology.† The fulcrum in this sentence is â€Å"so much as,† and the phrase â€Å"is not one of privacy infringement† must be balanced against one that starts with the same verb: â€Å"The story here is not one of privacy infringement so much as it is the way real estate is changing because of technology.† 4. â€Å"The rainwater boon isn’t so much about taste as reliability in a region where hundreds of wells dried up in the last drought.† This sentence has the same fulcrum as the previous example does, but notice how the sentence reads more smoothly and has more impact because of the inversion of the constituent phrases: â€Å"In a region where hundreds of wells dried up in the last drought, the rainwater boon isn’t so much about taste as it is about reliability.† 5. â€Å"They protect consumers from purchasing products that are not effective or even dangerous.† Without the repetition of the phrase â€Å"that are,† this sentence crashes to a halt with the false parallel terms effective or dangerous. Omit the first word and the fulcrum from the equation, and the resulting sentence, â€Å"They protect consumers from purchasing products that are not even dangerous,† does not retain the meaning. The point about dangerous products needs a complete phrase: â€Å"They protect consumers from purchasing products that are not effective or that are even dangerous.† 6. â€Å"They believe in cultural and racial diversity, but not diversity of opinions.† Take away the first phrase, and you’re left with an omission in â€Å"They (don’t) believe diversity of opinions,† so the preposition in must accompany both phrases: â€Å"They believe in cultural and racial diversity, but not in diversity of opinions.† 7. â€Å"Thanks for your generous assistance and support of these books.† If â€Å"and support† is omitted, the phrase â€Å"assistance of these books† stands out as faulty, so repair the error with one of these two options: â€Å"Thanks for your generous assistance with and support of these books,† or â€Å"Thanks for your generous assistance and for your support of these books.† Better yet, perhaps, is â€Å"Thanks for your generous assistance in supporting these books.† 8. Beagles rely on their acute sense of smell to chase their quarry and alert hunters with their high-pitched barks. Beagles rely on smell to chase their quarry and alert the hunters? No. Their smelling and their barking are two parallel attributes. This sentence requires two independent clauses with parallel subjects: â€Å"Beagles rely on their acute sense of smell to chase their quarry, and they alert hunters with their high-pitched barks.† (A fulcrum assisted by a â€Å"not only . . . but also† phrase might seem useful at first glance, but that revision alters the writer’s intent.) 9. â€Å"Those who clashed with the color scheme were getting fired or relegated to the stockroom.† Without a balance to either side of or, the sentence implies that people were getting fired to the stockroom or relegated to the stockroom. Repeating the verb clarifies that only the second option involved the stockroom: â€Å"Those who clashed with the color scheme were getting fired or were relegated to the stockroom.† 10. â€Å"Families have been leaving the city not so much because of the form housing takes but its price tag.† The parallel phrases here are (or should be) â€Å"because of the form housing takes† and â€Å"because of its price tag.† Without the following fix to the second phrase, the reader trips into a prose pothole: â€Å"Families have been leaving the city not so much because of the form housing takes but because of but its price tag.† 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:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesDriver License vs. Driver’s License50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Age of the Universe essays

Age of the Universe essays The goal of the project is to find the age of the universe according to the theory that there were equal amounts of the two uranium isotopes U235 and U238 at the time of the Big Bang. At present, there are 137.7 U238 atoms for each atom of U235. We know that the half-life of U235 is 0.71 billion years, and the half-life of U238 is 4.51 billion years, we used this information to determine the age of the universe. We started by looking at the problem mathematically and then after figuring out the age of the universe with the above information. We proceeded to look for other sources of information about the age of the universe with supporting data. The two largest sources that were found were a Seattle University professor and a theory proposed by Edwin Hubble. Using the information above, we Y238(t) = Y238(0)ekt = No ekt Where No ekt is initial amount presumed equal for both isotopes. Y238(0) is the amount at Big Bang. Using the half-life formula of k = -ln2/T1. Where T1 is 4.51 in billion of years. Y235(t) = Y235(0)ekt = No ekt Y235(0) is the amount at Big Bang. Using the half-life formula of k2 = -ln2/T2. Where T2 is 0.71 in billions of years. Given these equations, they hypothesis of the problem is states that Y238(tnow) = 137.7 Y235(tnow) = 137.7 So Y238(tnow) = Y238(0) ekt = No ek2tnow = etnow(k2-K1) = 137.7 Y235(tnow) Y235(0) ekt Noek1tnow Given that tnow cancels out for both U235 and ...

Man Forgets Daughter in a Sports Bag essays

Man Forgets Daughter in a Sports Bag essays In Russias Paper, Russia Makes it Funny, a man drunk off of vodka forgets that he placed his daughter in a sports bag. Someone else sees the bag, steals it, and finds the girl inside. He gives the bag to the police and the bag is returned to the mother. This paper will discuss how their view differs from an American view. I suppose since vodka is such a popular drink in Russia, the general community finds it humorous that this man was so drunk that he completely forgot about his daughter. It may have been a funny occurrence because maybe a lot of these other people have had similar experiences while being drunk and they can relate to this mans situation. Here in America though, our view of this would be slightly altered. In America, people leave their children unattended at home and we find it to be disturbing. If a man in America left his child in a duffel bag and someone stole it, then returned it to the police, I think the man would be arrested and child services would intervene. The American public would find this behavior unacceptable and we would wonder how this event could take place. We might also think that the child should be in custody of a different guardian. In conclusion, it is hard to believe that this article was made to be taken lightly and it is hard to believe that people arent thinking of what could have happened to the child if she wasnt brought to the police. ...

SOCIOLOGY - Organizations and Social Change Essay

SOCIOLOGY - Organizations and Social Change - Essay Example Indeed this has proved to be the toughest and challenging activity, for most of America’s activists in politics and also the various community builders who are spread across the country. It is this climate that is currently prevailing within the US, with the various community developing organizations present across the country lobbying for getting the funds approved from the government, so that they can go ahead with their community job training initiatives. IAF, COPS and Metro Alliance are the main organizations that have been formed for community developing activities, that has focused its attention and influence in community development activities, in the areas around San Antonio as well as Texas. â€Å"Invest in us! Invest in us! chanted the six-hundred community residents across San Antonio as leaders of the IAF organizations COPS and Metro Alliance lobbied the mayor and city councilors for the funds to support their job training initiative, Project QUEST†. (www.go odreads.com) Indeed this is the situation of the congregation based community organizations, which are spread across the US. These organizations have to lobby for getting the necessary funds approval from the concerned mayors, if they have to go ahead with the job training initiatives for the small and poor communities across America. ... â€Å"The Texas IAF network asked gubernatorial candidate Ann Richards to support Project QUEST which was agreed upon and she won the election with strong support among low-income Mexican American and African Americans.† (www.goodreads.com) Organizations like the IAF and many others have a very high influence on the political leaders and they get the funds for the various community development and job training initiatives undertaken by them through this political clout. As the COPS organization across the US grew, they could easily get credit to the tune of several millions of dollars in public money, for undertaking various developmental activities which were needed for the communities. But all these types of the different developmental activities of the communities improved, but it was seen that the wages of the individuals residing within these communities did not show any increase. In recent years IAF have become a very powerful organization, with a lot of political influe nce that is inherent in them due to the huge influence on the population, which is residing in these communities. Hence such social organizations like the IAF, COPS and Metro Alliance have resulted in bringing about the much needed social changes and also helped in the upliftment of the poor and needy people, which has automatically resulted in the development of such communities that are scattered around America. Since such communities start developing, the whole economy of the US starts to progress and the power and the influence of these communities start to increase simultaneously â€Å"Publicity for Project Quest outreach went out through training opportunities at IAF, COPS and Metro Alliance church networks through church services and

The Kroger Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Kroger Company - Essay Example Although, most of its competitors have experienced negative sales growth in 2010, Kroger Co. has not failed to keep its shareholders satisfied by steady sales growth in the last 29 quarters. Kroger Co. takes pride in its loyal customer base as approximately one-half of US households have a Kroger loyalty card. This has been a result of Customer 1st strategy that Kroger Co. believes in. It has also been popular among shareholders for its consistent dividend payments. In 2010, it distributed $250 million along with maintaining investment-grade credit rating and reducing long-term debt which eventually resulted in capital gains. Profitability ratios are an indicator of a company’s performance over the year. Profitability ratios include operating profit margin, net profit margin, return on asset, and return on equity (Puxty, Dodds & Wilson 1988). Sales increased by 7.1% to $82.2 billion in 2010, which is more than its competitors. Operating profit margin for the year 2010 was 2.65% with operating profits of $2.182 billion. Return on sales, also known as net-profit margin, were impressive in 2010 with reported net earnings of $1.12 billion to get $1.74 earning per diluted share. Net profit margin for the year was 1.36%. Shareholders are also interested in return on assets and equity. Their decisions are influenced by these ratios therefore; it is essential that a company projects better return on the asset it employs and the equity it takes. For Kroger, return on equity is impressive with 21%. Moreover, Kroger has been reducing its long term debt in the past few years which makes the company less risky to benefit shareholders. Therefore, a return of 21% is notable in comparison to the industry. Return on asset has also been sufficient with 6.3%. Speaking of efficiency, Kroger Co. has performed well in this regard. Efficiency ratios judge the ability of a company to earn from its resources in an effective and efficient manner (Besley & Brigham 2008). These ratios include asset turnover ratio, receivable turnover ratio and inventory turnover ratio. Total Asset turnover is impressive for Kroger Co. as sales are about 3.5 times the total assets. This means that with every dollar of asset provided, Kroger generates $3.5 worth of sales from it. Inventory Turnover ratio has also been inspiring with a multiple of 16.55 times. This means that in a matter of 21 days, inventory is converted into sale. A high turnover rate implies that Kroger Co. is facing high sales therefore there is minimal investment tied up in the inventory (Fabozzi, Peterson & Drake 2003). Still efforts need to be made to increase its turnover rate as investment in inventory yields zero return and a company would always refrain from having its capital tied up in such an investment. Receivable turnover is calculated by dividing credit sales from average receivables. This ratio measures the efficiency of a company to collect its receivables. Kroger Co. is extremely efficient in this regard as it collects its receivables in less than four days which is remarkable. Kroger Co. generates sales of $82.2 billion and not more than 1 billion is kept as receivable means a job well done. Liquidity ratios illustrate the company’s ability to pay off obligations in the short term (Shim & Siegel 2008). Current asset ratio and acid-test ratio are observed closely when liquidity is in question. Kroger Co. has not been impressive with its ability to keep liquid assets. Current ratio which is current asset divided by current liabilities is below 1. This means that to pay off each dollar of liability, Kroger do es not have equal amount of liquid assets on hand. Acid test ratio is in a sorry state as well. Inventory constitutes major portion of current

Kotter's 8-Step Approach Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kotter's 8-Step Approach - Research Paper Example However, the deployment of the change-fostering process improves the company’s ability to change and improves the level of change, both in the present and the future. The Toyota Motors company has employed crucial company and business changes, including the diversification of the company’s production at 26 countries – where the brands produced are differentiated. In effect, the company’s business outlook is highly innovative. This paper will diagnose the Toyota Company, so as to expose the needs for change, and then discuss a plan for organizational transformation, utilizing Kottler’s 8-step approach. Company Overview of Toyota Motors The Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese, global automaker. The company is headquartered at Aichi in Japan. As of 2010, the company had 300,734 employees, across its areas of operation. The Toyota Company was the third-largest automaker in 2011, in terms of the levels of production, after the Volkswagen group and Gen eral Motors (GM). The Toyota Motors Corporation ranks at eleventh position globally, in terms of the revenues realized. As of 2012, Toyota Motors reported that it had produced its 200-millionth unit (vehicle) during its history in auto making (Toyota Motors, 2013). The company was started by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937, after the production of the Type A engine during 1934 while still a department of the parent company, Toyota industries. The Toyota group owns the Scion brand, Daihatsu, Lexus and Hino Motors, together with other non-automaker companies. The company offers a wide range of vehicle models, ranging from mini cars to large trucks. The company’s global sales for its different auto companies totaled 6.78 million in 2003 (Toyota Motors, 2013). Diagnosis of need for Change at Toyota Motors Leading and causing change entails leading the people within a company, towards the realization of a specific modification in the affairs and the processes employed at the organization. The process of change can be exceptionally quick and straightforward. In this case, the change process can also be time consuming and immensely complex. These facts lead to the conclusion of Paton and McCalman (2000) that the managers of change at any organization should deploy the change process through the following chain of stages. Figure 1: The Change Process in an Organization by Paton and McCalman (2000) One area of change that can be identified for Toyota Motors draws from the company’s innovation to develop more eco-friendly and fuel-economical engine models. The innovation was a major success, as it placed the company among the top players in the auto making industry, in the areas of perceived sensitivity of fuel efficiency, increasing driving performance and in response to environmental responsibility demands (Tabuchi, 2009). The innovative car’s drive train system was launched by the company in 2004, and the company enjoyed the success of the technology for more than five years, but was not dynamic enough to employ the technology in the development of all their car models (Tabuchi, 2009). This successful area of technology points out the need to capitalize on the hybrid technology, throughout the production of all the vehicles produced by the company. However, that has not been the case. Therefore, this is one area of change that will improve the quality of the vehicles of the company. It will increase the

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Microeconomics - Essay Example This relationship is repetitive making the circular flow continuous. The product market refers to where all the goods produced by the firm are sold to households while factor market is where all factors of production like labour, capital and land among others are traded (McEachern 5). Households sell resources or factors of production in the factor market and use the money obtained to purchase products sold by the firm in the product market. My family as a household provides labour to the firm. The family is then rewarded for the labour it sells to the firm through wages and salaries. After payment, the family uses the payment from the firm to purchase goods manufactured by the firm, hence the firm gets proceeds from sales of products. This money obtained from the family through product purchase is again used to purchase raw materials for producing goods and also used to pay workers (my family). This relationship is continuous resulting into an endless circular flow pattern of

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Microeconomics - Essay Example This relationship is repetitive making the circular flow continuous. The product market refers to where all the goods produced by the firm are sold to households while factor market is where all factors of production like labour, capital and land among others are traded (McEachern 5). Households sell resources or factors of production in the factor market and use the money obtained to purchase products sold by the firm in the product market. My family as a household provides labour to the firm. The family is then rewarded for the labour it sells to the firm through wages and salaries. After payment, the family uses the payment from the firm to purchase goods manufactured by the firm, hence the firm gets proceeds from sales of products. This money obtained from the family through product purchase is again used to purchase raw materials for producing goods and also used to pay workers (my family). This relationship is continuous resulting into an endless circular flow pattern of

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) statements for employment Essay

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) statements for employment - Essay Example nd shortfalls and finding alternate support method to enhance the transit of logistical requirements of the operation to ensure that its logistical requirements are met and present when they need it. The Joint Chief of Staff serves as military adviser to the President, SecDef, and the National Security Council (NSC). Its operational planning process involves the preparation of Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan (JSCP) which requires the approval of the Chairman of the JCS. The JSCP contains guidance to combatant commanders and the Service Chiefs for the accomplishment of military tasks. The Combatant Commander’s OPLANs, including the TPFDDs, are also forwarded to the office of JCS for review and approval. The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff (CJCS) forwards communication and direction from the President and SecDef to the combatant commanders regarding current operations and plans by issuing warning, planning, alert, prepare to deploy, deployment, and execute orders. Training begins with the identification of the gap between the desired performance and the actual performance and the training itself is the process of filling that performance gap. Training is also essential to accomplishing Air Force’s wartime mission and being such, courses and training should be made available to provide individuals basic operational and wartime planning instruction. Such training module should also be perpetually evaluated for relevance, efficacy, timeliness and result. Perpetual evaluation is necessary to keep training abreast with the need of the time that would keep the Air Force achieve its operational and wartime objectives. Streams of data must be filtered according to relevance and timeliness to make it useful to practical operation. Information received should be analyzed and sorted retaining only the essentials while considering the propriety of such data. Practicability of data also includes consideration of sensitive data. In planning for a training

See instructions Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

See instructions - Research Proposal Example Furthermore, in terms of my primary resources, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management and police) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. For the final project, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will interview three from each group- students, teachers (including Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of Community Engagement, and Andrea Goodwin, Director of Student Conduct), and the campus police- using convenient sampling. I will ask them these questions: Besides this interview, I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. The survey questions are: I will prepare for these interview and survey through asking for participants this week and conducting them as soon as possible. I will contact the target audiences too beforehand to acquire their permission. I will ask them to read the interview questionnaire beforehand if they have time and to tell me if there is anything I need to

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Microeconomics - Essay Example This relationship is repetitive making the circular flow continuous. The product market refers to where all the goods produced by the firm are sold to households while factor market is where all factors of production like labour, capital and land among others are traded (McEachern 5). Households sell resources or factors of production in the factor market and use the money obtained to purchase products sold by the firm in the product market. My family as a household provides labour to the firm. The family is then rewarded for the labour it sells to the firm through wages and salaries. After payment, the family uses the payment from the firm to purchase goods manufactured by the firm, hence the firm gets proceeds from sales of products. This money obtained from the family through product purchase is again used to purchase raw materials for producing goods and also used to pay workers (my family). This relationship is continuous resulting into an endless circular flow pattern of

See instructions Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

See instructions - Research Proposal Example Furthermore, in terms of my primary resources, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management and police) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. For the final project, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will interview three from each group- students, teachers (including Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of Community Engagement, and Andrea Goodwin, Director of Student Conduct), and the campus police- using convenient sampling. I will ask them these questions: Besides this interview, I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. The survey questions are: I will prepare for these interview and survey through asking for participants this week and conducting them as soon as possible. I will contact the target audiences too beforehand to acquire their permission. I will ask them to read the interview questionnaire beforehand if they have time and to tell me if there is anything I need to

Improvement in Operational Efficiency Due Essay Example for Free

Improvement in Operational Efficiency Due Essay IT Investments ply chain integration; and euro conversion. Many IT landmarks have been achieved during this period: more than 4 billion Web pages on the Internet; creation of software to combat cyber worms, viruses, and warfare; millions of distributed databases; and widespread utilization of data warehouses and data mining for decision support systems. To support these IT initiatives and to achieve these landmarks, IT budgets of most companies during this decade Copyright  © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Information Resources Management Journal, 19(2), 18-36, April-June 2006 19 increased substantially (Seewald, 2002). There is, however, a growing criticism of escalating IT investments (Mears Dubie, 2002) and their lack of justification (Krochmel, 1999). ERP systems are software systems to support and to automate the business processes, providing timely and accurate enterprise-wide information for decision making. ERP systems have a long history of evolution. The production scheduling, material ordering, and product shipment systems evolved from manual reorder point systems for material procurement to computerized Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) to Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP-II) systems that integrated MRP and capacity requirements planning to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) that further integrated MRP-II and shop floor and device control systems, and finally to ERP systems. Much of the streamlining of materials procurement process was achieved by MRP and MRP-II. By the late 1980s, tens of thousands of firms were using MRP-II systems (Rondeau Litteral, 2001). The SAP R/3 modules and submodules consisting of sales and distribution, materials management, warehouse management, quality management, production planning for process industries, financial accounting, controlling, project system, and office communication were expected to reduce inventories, improve cash management, and cut down operating expenses. Kalling (2003) recently provided a theoretical framework in which resource-based views (RBV) are advanced to understand how ERP can provide sustainable competitive advantage. The RBV is not universally accepted as a final explanation of competitive advantage. Some believe that dynamic capabilities, not resources, are the source of competitive advantage. It is possible that ERP provides both unique resources as well as dynamic capabilities in the form of improved information and decision making to improve competitive advantage. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems To avoid struggling with integrating myriad IT applications, many companies implemented ERP systems that required substantial investment of time, internal resources, and capital, resulting in significant organizational change (Dorien Wolf, 2002). Often, ERP system implementation is accompanied by other improvements and enhancements in existing legacy systems. Due to many simultaneous changes that accompany ERP system implementation, it is hard to attribute any performance changes after ERP system installation solely to ERP systems. However, ERP system implementation is, by far, the most criticized aspect of IT investments. ERP systems require outlays ranging from a few million dollars to several hundred million dollars (Mabert et al. , 2001). Despite high expenditures, ERP implementations have resulted in problems. Rushed software installations and inadequate training are blamed for well-publicized troubles with ERP. In 1999, soon after the rollout of its ERP system, Hershey Food Corp. , in the third quarter of that year, lost $60. 4 million due to problems in customer service, warehousing, order processing, and timely shipments to retailers. ERP implementation problems of Whirlpool Corporation and W. L. Gore Associates Inc. also have received considerable attention (Collett, 1999). The bankruptcy of FoxMeyer (a drug distribution company) in 1996 is directly attributed by many to flawed implementation of ERP systems. www. igi-global. com/article/improvement-operational-efficiency-due-erp/1289 www. igi-global. com/chapter/tutor/13373 www. igi-global. com/chapter/object-database-benchmarks/14575

John Kenneth Galbraith Biography

John Kenneth Galbraith Biography Archibald Galbraith, a Canadian schoolteacher, once climbed onto a platform atop a  steaming pile of manure to address a group of Liberal party voters before the coming Ontario  elections. â€Å"Before I begin,† he said, â€Å"I must apologize for speaking from the Tory platform.†Ã‚  Later on, his teenage son, John Kenneth, would congratulate him on the dig, to which he  [Archibald] would respond, â€Å"It was good. But it didn’t change any votes.† (Arthur Scheslinger,  1984, p. 7) So, from an early age, John Kenneth Galbraith was between the world of politics and  pragmatism.   John Kenneth Galbraith was born in 1908. His father’s involvement in politics had a  profound impact on the young John Kenneth, politicizing him at an early age. He originally  studied Agricultural Economics at the Ontario Agricultural College, but would eventually say  that he took his first â€Å"real† economics course at UC Berkeley, and that the economics instruction  in Canada was â€Å"very poor† (Dunn, 2002, p. 350). As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, he  continued his study of agricultural economics and worked as a research assistant for a â€Å"very zany  old man by the name of Edwin Voorhies† (Kreisler, 1986). He stated that it was his study of  agricultural economics that left him with a strong feeling that â€Å"social science should be tested by  its usefulness,† an idea inspired by Veblen’s dichotomy between exoteric knowledge (knowledge  that is valuable and applicable) and esoteric knowledge (knowledge tha t has no practical  application, but because of that, is considered more â€Å"prestigious†). Galbraith believed that social  sciences should be exoteric, not esoteric. In his book Economics and The Public Purpose,  Galbraith develops this idea further, saying, â€Å"The ultimate test of a set of economic ideas is  whether it illuminates the anxietes of the time† (Galbraith, 1973, p.198). In the 1930’s, while Galbraith was studying to receive his Ph. D, it was clear that  economic theory was not addressing the anxietes of the time. Economists were struggling to  explain how free markets had led the United States to economic ruin. One in four Americans  were jobless. Production had all but ground to a halt. Obviously, there were egregious errors in  the accepted dogma, which stated that free markets left to their own devices would bring about  efficiency and employment. Galbraith said that his method of coming to an understanding was to  Ã¢â‚¬Å"for years†¦start with [Alfred] Marshall, see the world as it is, and make the requisite  modifications† (Dunn, 2002, p. 351). Upon graduating, Galbraith traveled to Washington D.C.  and took a position assisting with the implementation of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, before  taking a position as a tutor at Harvard. At Harvard, he made speeches supporting the reelection of Roosevelt, cement ing his initial ties with the Democratic party. Not long after, he was offered  a fellowship at Cambridge, where the discussions centered around Keynes, who had just published his General Theory of Employment, Money, and Interest (Dunn, 2002, pp. 350-355).   Galbraith returned from England to his tutor position at Harvard a confirmed Keynesian. He spent a few more years tutoring at Harvard (where he met John F. Kennedy) and then took a  job as resident economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington. Galbraith’s  observation of the farm industry solidified his belief in the power of government to move  industries forward. In 1930, farm households accounted for a quarter of the population, whereas  today they account for only 1% of the population and yet on the whole, they now produce more  than they did in 1930. This is due to strong government support of the farming industry. That  national planning could â€Å"transform a weak, disorganized, and poverty prone sector of the  economy into America’s most spectacular productive success†¦preserved his political concerns†Ã‚  (Arthur Schlesinger, 1984, p. 8). Galbraith became head of the Office of Price Administration in  1941 during World War II, and at the same time began his long career as a ghostwriter, penning  spe eches for Samuel Rosenman and Robert Sherwood (Arthur Schlesinger, 1984, p. 8). Galbraith then became editor of Fortune magazine, where he worked directly for Harry  Luce, founder of Time Inc., whom he called â€Å"one of the most ruthless editors I have ever known,  or anyone has ever known† (Kreisler, 1986). Galbraith has credited Luce with dramatically  improving his writing via ruthless editing. Galbraith credited Fortune with giving him a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"marvelous introduction to the corporate mind,† because the focus of the magazine at the time  was â€Å"the anatomy of the big corporations† (Dunn, 2002, p. 353). The decision making processes  of major corporations would be a recurring phenomenon that he would write about in many of  his publications. Galbraith returned to Academia in 1948, having spent five years as editor of Fortune. He  was nominated to a position teaching economics at Harvard. However, members of Harvard’s  board of overseers regarded him as a â€Å"dangerous Keynesian,† and as a result, â€Å"took the step,  almost unprecedented in modern times, of blocking the appointment† (Dunn, 2002, p. 353). However, Galbraith had many political allies, and among them was Harvard’s president, James  B. Conant. Conant was such a fan of Galbraith that he threatened to resign unless the board of  overseers backed down. Eventually they did, and Galbraith became a tenured professor at  Harvard. It was then that he began work on his first major bestseller, American Capitalism: The  Concept of Countervailing Power. Galbraith begins his discussion of capitalism in America by pointing out the following  conundrum: Mainstream economic theory asserts that in the case of monopoly, prices will rise,  business will screw consumers, fail to innovate, and as a result, the economy will be in bad  shape. He then notes the work of Joan Robinson in developing the idea of monopolistic and  oligopolistic competition, noting that oligopolistic industries behave in the same way as  monopolies would, and through informal agreements can have the exact same effect. Then, using  the actual data collected by the American government, he shows that the majority of industries  are in fact oligopolistic. But he goes even further than that, saying that almost all industries will  eventually become oligopolistic for the following reasons: At the birth of an industry,  competetion is necessary and possible, as no firms have clear and significant advantages yet. But  over time, it will become increasingl y difficult to enter the industry because of the barriers to  entry created by high capital requirements and increasing returns to scale. At the same time that  increasing returns to scale start to set in (as they inevitably do), existing firms will also gain the  advantage of experience and prior organization. The convergence of these factors leads, in most  cases, to an industry with a few power players and a larger but still relatively small number of  hangers-on, who exist by filling niches that aren’t worth the time of the large firms. Galbraith poses a question in American Capitalism, and before getting to that question, it  is important to get a sense of the context in which he asks it. After World War II, America was  experiencing incredible prosperity. But underlying this prosperity was the fear of depression. The  Great Depression was still fresh in the collective consciousness, and the average man’s faith that  capitalism would bring about efficiency and full employment was shaken. And yet, as the years  after the war progressed, things were stable and employment was plentiful. It is also important to  note that the era of non-depression Keynesianism was beginning, and much to the chagrin of the  business community, government was becoming a much more participatory force in markets. The business community was reacting violently against this expansion of government, claiming  that it was a complete disaster, wasteful to the very extreme and bound to cripple growth. The  state of the American economy in the 1950’s then was that of big government, near-ubiquitous  monopoly or oligopoly, and an underlying fear of depression. Yet, by almost any measure, the  economy was a success. The problem, according to Galbraith, was that, â€Å"in principle, the economy pleased no  one; in practice it satisfied most. Social inefficiency [government spending], unrationalized  power [monopoly and oligopoly], intrusive government [regulation], and depression were all  matters for deep concern. But neither liberal nor conservatives, neither the rich nor all but the  very poor, found the consequences intolerable† (Galbraith, 1954, p. 85). What fascinated  Galbraith was how an economy which was so flawed in theory could work so well in practice. The question he asked was: Why are things so†¦well†¦good? Thus, he states that his aim in  American Capitalism is to â€Å"examine in turn the circumstances that have kept social inefficiency,  private power, government intervention, and unemployment from ruining us in the recent  present† (Galbraith, 1954, p. 85). The first answer that he gives is that oligopoly is much more conducive to techonological  innovation than classical competetion. â€Å"There is no more pleasant fiction than that technical  change is the product of the matchless ingenuity of the small man forced by competition to  employ his wits to better his neighbor. Unhappily, it is a fiction,† he says. â€Å"Technical  development has long since become the preserve of the scientist and engineer† (Galbraith, 1954,  p.86). His argument is that due to the costliness of development, it can only be undertaken by a  firm with considerable resources. In highly competitive industries, no one firm has considerable  resources. Moreover, because innovations can easily be imitated, it is not economical for a small  competitive firm to bear the research and development costs for an entire industry. Galbraith then turns his keen eye to the idea of inefficiency. He deals with this issue by  asserting that America’s relative opulence shields us and is moreover a cause of such  inefficiency. At the time that the classical economists were writing, an opulent economy had yet  to be observed. For Malthus and Ricardo, â€Å"inefficiency was, indeed, an evil thing. It denied  bread to the hungry and clothing to the naked† (Galbraith, 1954, p.102). The true power of  Galbraith’s insight is his ability to point out the obvious. He criticizes his fellow economists for  bringing the mentality of the nineteenth century, with all its poverty and degradation, to the  opulent twentieth century. Galbraith finds this error both amusing and absurd, saying, â€Å"He [the  mainstream economist] worries far too much about partially monopolized prices†¦for tobacco, liquor, automobiles, and soap, in a land which is already suffering from nicotine poisoning and   alcoholism, which is nutritionally gorged with sugar, which is filling its hospitals and cemeteries  with those who have been maimed or murdered on its highways, and which is dangerously  neurotic about body odors† (Galbraith, 1954, p.102). His point is that these inefficiencies are in  fact a sign of the wealth of America. They are the symptom of a wealthy economy, and thus we  ought not to worry so much about them. He also discredits the idea of intrusive government,  noting that, â€Å"alarm over pending action by government on economic matters, which frequently  reaches almost pathological proportions when the decision is pending, almost invariably  evaporates completely once the action is taken. One of the profound sources of American  strength has been the margin of error provided by our well-being† (Galbraith, 1954, p.106). But the most significant reason that monopoly has failed to capsize the American  economy, according to Galbraith is the exercise of what he calls countervailing power. The  assumption always made by economists, when they would consider the case of markets, was that  the check on an individual firm’s power wold come from the supply side of the industry. Galbraith disagrees. He admits that the existence of monopoly power in a competitive market  does in fact encourage the entry of more producers to appropriate some of that power for  themselves. â€Å"In other words,† he says. â€Å"Competition was regarded [and is] a self-generating  regulatory force† (Galbraith, 1954, p. 112). But in a market that is not competitive, the incentive for some economic agent to  approptiate that power still exists. But it need not come from the supply side. That power is, in  practice, usually appropriated by strong buyers or coalitions of buyers, who can sometimes take  even more than their share. Because of the tendency of power to be organized in response to  existing power, â€Å"countervailing power is also a self-generating force† (Galbraith, 1954, p. 113). According to Galbraith, it is the large retailers who, by way of their absolute power over  manufacturers, bargain for the consumer and protect the consumer from the high monopoly  prices that would otherwise result. Likewise, the considerable market power of large firms is  checked by trade unions for a simple reason, there is something to be bargained for Galbraith  notes that trade unions are most powerful in the least competitive industries. This is because the  surplus that a company derives from monopoly power acts as an incentive to unions. In the very  competitive industries, producers and workers are operating at bare minimum profit and the  incentives to organization insignificant. These are the basic ideas laid out in American Capitalism. The book in many ways lays  the framework and tone for the books he would publish in the sixties and seventies. But while  American Capitalism was Galbraith’s first major bestseller, it was The Affluent Society that  skyrocketed him to fame. The Affluent Society builds on many of the concepts introduced in his  first book, but with several key differences. Though Galbraith could not suppress his urge to  social commentary, The Affluent Society is a much more prescriptive book, growing out of his  chapter on technical development in American Capitalism. To his original analysis he adds a  significantly moral component. The Affluent Society concerns itself with the policies that ought  to be undertaken once the basic needs of the people have been met. Galbraith’s main argument is  that our ratio of private good (cars, televisions, automobiles) to public goods (schools, roads) is  inequitable an d ridiculous. The premise of his argument is that once our basic desires such as  food, clothing, and shelter have been satisfied, large corporations employ advertising to concoct  new demand for products. The traditional economic and utilitarian argument for goods qua  goods falls on its face if consumer demand is not sovereign. What is really necessary is the use  of society’s productive resources in the public realm in juxtaposition with growth in the private  realm. He calls this idea â€Å"social balance,† saying, â€Å"the problem of social balance is ubiquitous,  and frequently it is obtrusive. As noted, an increase in the consumption of automobiles requires a  facilitating supply of streets, highways, traffic control, and parking spaces† (Galbraith, 1958, p.  193). He also confronts the existence of poverty in an affluent society as being the result of  outdated nineteenth century attitudes. â€Å"A poor society,† he says,  "had to enforce the rule that  someone who did not work could not eat. An affluent society has no similar excuse for such  rigor† (Galbraith, 1958, p. 251). But he admits that, â€Å"nothing requires such a society to be  compassionate. But it no longer has a high philosophical justification for its callousness†Ã‚  (Galbraith, 1958, p. 251). In the 50’s, America was in the midst of the cold war and attempts at engineering a better  society were very suspect. Galbraith throughout The Affluent Society understands the inherent  and ideological opposition to big government and social policy, but he is adamant in stating,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"that cities’ residents should have a nontoxic supply of air suggests no revolutionary dalliance with socialism† (Galbraith, 1958, p. 191). In fact, Galbraith eventually finds socialism and central planning to be in many ways  similar to the kind of capitalism that developed in America in the latter half of the 20th century. 9 In The New Industral State, Galbraith focuses his effort on understanding what he calls the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"technostructure.† In an era when the division of intellectual labor is so overwhelming, the  management or even management team of a powerful corporation doesn’t actually make most of  the decisions. The decisions are instead made collectively by teams of experts. Galbraith coins  the term technostructure as, â€Å"embracing all who bring specialized knowledge, talent or  experience to group decision-making. This,† he says, â€Å"not the management, is the guiding  intelligence, the brain, of the enterprise† (Galbraith, 1967, p.71). Many of Galbraith’s ideas resonate to this day. Unfortunately, most do not. It would be  tempting to end this essay optimistically, expounding poetically on the way Galbraith’s ideas  continue to influence national policy. In reality, although he was a well-respected and powerful  man, many of his ideas continue to be ignored by mainstream economists and politicians. Rarely  does one hear a contemporary economist talk about countervailing power, or reference the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"technostructure.† While as a society we owe much to Galbraith and his ideas, the discipline of  economics has for all intents and purposes laid his practical ideas by the wayside. But whether or  not his continued influence on economics is felt by the mainstream, his contribution to the  discipline remains poignant and accessible for those who choose to seek it out on their own. Galbraith’s main contribution to economic thought was his tackling of the problem of  power. He was convinced that the most glaring, most significant, and most ignored problem in  the field of economics was the effect of power on economic activity. Understanding why  Galbraith was so affixed by this idea of power is actually quite simple; he was surrounded by it. Through his political work, Galbraith knew not only Kennedy, but several other presidents and  all the most powerful officials in the democratic party. Through his work at Fortune he became  acquainted with the heads of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world. He saw,  10 clearly, the extent to which the decisions of these men (and the technostructures supporting  them) affected the direction and performance of the economy of the whole. Given that he was an  astute man, for him to ignore the influence of power on economies, in order to advance a series  of aesthetically pleasing models and equations, would have been not only unthinkable but  dishonest. Galbraith wanted badly to be useful, to â€Å"change votes,† as his father would have said. To him, sitting in a room concocting theories did not qualify as usefulness. He longed to be in  the thick of policy-making. Later in life, he wanted badly to avoid what he called â€Å"Belmont Syndrome†1 Thus, his struggle to be relevant was not only ideological but moral. John Kenneth Galbraith died peacefully at home in 2006. He left behind not only an  extensive body of economic work, but two novels. His first novel, The Triumph, written in 1969,  was about U.S. foreign policy disasters in Latin America. His second novel, A Tenured  Professor, written in 1990, was about an eccentric Harvard professor, and lampooned the elite  institution. He lived ninety-seven years, almost all of them (excepting the first few) were  preoccupied with upending the â€Å"conventional wisdom.† He remains one of the most famous and  controversial economists of the twentieth century, and a fine novelist.

The Powerful Effect of Fake News Essay -- Media Today News TV Essays P

The Powerful Effect of â€Å"Fake News† Introduction From the beginning days of the printing press to the always evolving internet of present day, the media has greatly evolved and changed over the years. No one can possibly overstate the influential power of the new media of television on the rest of the industry. Television continues to influence the media, which recently an era of comedic television shows that specialize in providing â€Å"fake news† has captivated. The groundbreaking The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its spin-off The Colbert Report have successfully attracted the youth demographic and have become the new era’s leading political news source. By parodying news companies and satirizing the government, â€Å"fake news† has affected the media, the government, and its audience in such a way that Bill Moyers has claimed â€Å"you simply can’t understand American politics in the new millennium without The Daily Show,† that started it all (PBS). Old Media In order to understand new media, one must first have a solid background of the old media. The old media traces its origins back to the â€Å"elite or partisan press [that] dominated American journalism in the early days of the republic† (Davis 29). With the advent of the penny press around 1833, the press changed its basic purpose and function from obtaining voters for its affiliated political party to making profit (Davis 29). With more available papers, individual companies competed with each other with â€Å"muckraking journalism†Ã¢â‚¬â€investigative journalism exposing corruption—and â€Å"yellow journalism†Ã¢â‚¬â€sensationalist journalism that completely disregarded the facts (Davis 30). The press continued to evolve its journalistic approaches and next shifted to â€Å"lapdog journalism,† r... ...l Moyers. Originally broadcast July 11, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_stewart.html. Peyser, Marc. â€Å"The Truthiness Teller; Stephen Colbert Loves This Country Like he Loves Himself. Comedy Central’s Hot News Anchor is a Goofy Caricature of Our Blustery Culture. But he’s Starting to Make Sense.† Newsweek 13 February 2006: 50 Sabato, Larry J. Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics. Baltimore: Lanahan Publishers, Inc., 1991. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. â€Å"Laugh, and the Voters Laugh With You, or at Least at You.† New York Times 26 February 2006, New England ed.: Week in Review 1, 14. Wasserman, Edward. â€Å"Murder by Media: The Dean Scream.† Knight Ridder Newspapers 23 February 2005. Wolper, Allan. â€Å"Ethics Corner: Did Critical Media Send Dean Packing?† Editor & Publisher March 2004: 25.

Essay examples --

Name: Deniz CALIK Section: PLSC 382R-01 Professor: Gregory Robinson Date: 12/16/13 How National Socialist Ideology Affected the World? When Germany was defeated in World War I, German emperor Wilhelm II left the throne and the new republic was founded which is called Weimar Republic. Germany passed from monarchy to republic however the problems were not vanished. That is when the National Socialism first appeared. There was unemployment, poverty and inflation and the national socialists claimed that the democratic institutions, communists and incapable politicians were to blame. These national socialists established a political party called Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers' Party). Their leader was Adolf Hitler. They were anti-capitalist, anti-Marxist, ethnic nationalist, extremely rightist, racist. In politics they were extremely nationalist and in economics they were socialists. The members of the party wore soldier uniforms and behaved as if they were soldiers. By placing their socialist ideology forefront, they became the most and the only power in Germany officia lly. As the time flew, they caused one of the most bloody and brutal wars in history. The Great Depression had also affected Germany. The existing problems came to foreground more than ever. Hitler was seen as a solution for the existing problems according to the general opinion. Thus, the president Paul von Hindenburg assigned Adolf Hitler as the prime minister in 1933. A few months later, in 5 March 1933 the National Socialist German Workers Party polled the 43.9 % of the votes and guaranteed its position as the only party in power. National Socialist principals and its ideas supp... ...Germany but affected whole world, changed political and social structure. In Germany, it created hostility towards Jews and other people who are non-Aryan. Nazi party members killed a lot of people in order to create an Aryan race. They have made various experiments on them, forced them to work until they die, made them live in inhuman conditions and exposed them to numerous other kinds of tortures. National Socialists were deeply committed to the ideology that they could murdered numerous of innocent people without a second thought and accepted the thoughts and orders of their leader blindfold. If National Socialist ideology`s consequence were not that serious, human rights issue would not gain so much importance globally. World War II can be the best and obvious example of how an ideology can conquer mass amounts of people’s minds and reshape the world deeply. Essay examples -- Name: Deniz CALIK Section: PLSC 382R-01 Professor: Gregory Robinson Date: 12/16/13 How National Socialist Ideology Affected the World? When Germany was defeated in World War I, German emperor Wilhelm II left the throne and the new republic was founded which is called Weimar Republic. Germany passed from monarchy to republic however the problems were not vanished. That is when the National Socialism first appeared. There was unemployment, poverty and inflation and the national socialists claimed that the democratic institutions, communists and incapable politicians were to blame. These national socialists established a political party called Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers' Party). Their leader was Adolf Hitler. They were anti-capitalist, anti-Marxist, ethnic nationalist, extremely rightist, racist. In politics they were extremely nationalist and in economics they were socialists. The members of the party wore soldier uniforms and behaved as if they were soldiers. By placing their socialist ideology forefront, they became the most and the only power in Germany officia lly. As the time flew, they caused one of the most bloody and brutal wars in history. The Great Depression had also affected Germany. The existing problems came to foreground more than ever. Hitler was seen as a solution for the existing problems according to the general opinion. Thus, the president Paul von Hindenburg assigned Adolf Hitler as the prime minister in 1933. A few months later, in 5 March 1933 the National Socialist German Workers Party polled the 43.9 % of the votes and guaranteed its position as the only party in power. National Socialist principals and its ideas supp... ...Germany but affected whole world, changed political and social structure. In Germany, it created hostility towards Jews and other people who are non-Aryan. Nazi party members killed a lot of people in order to create an Aryan race. They have made various experiments on them, forced them to work until they die, made them live in inhuman conditions and exposed them to numerous other kinds of tortures. National Socialists were deeply committed to the ideology that they could murdered numerous of innocent people without a second thought and accepted the thoughts and orders of their leader blindfold. If National Socialist ideology`s consequence were not that serious, human rights issue would not gain so much importance globally. World War II can be the best and obvious example of how an ideology can conquer mass amounts of people’s minds and reshape the world deeply.

Autonomous Vehicles and Software Architectures

Author: Anonymous Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 10:07:54 AM EDT Subject:Week 1 Discussion 2 â€Å"Autonomous Vehicles and Software Architectures † Please respond to the following: * Autonomous vehicles utilize integrated imaging and vision systems, sensor systems, and control systems to â€Å"drive a car†. Determine what you believe are the top-five challenges of integrating these systems. Provide one example for each challenge and explain why you believe it is a challenge. * Explain whether you believe there is a difference between designing and developing software for distributed architectures and stand-alone essay writer help, non-distributed systems.Provide at least five reasons to support your position. Autonomous Vehicles and Top-Five Challenges 1. ) Just for starters, who would be responsible for accidents? Software used in such cars would have to have the same basic reactions as humans, and if there is a computational fault that causes a crash, would the driver or the software-making firm be at fault? Not only this, but vehicle safety standards would have to be assessed and potentially rewritten to account for electronics as well as mechanics — and knowing how governments work, this could take a while. . ) No system is faultless, and everything has a chance of failure. But if a computer system fails when you’re on the highway, not only could it prove more dangerous than usual — as your attention is unlikely to be fully on the road if something else is in control — and so a self-driving car would have to come with a plethora of safety mechanisms in place to cater for these issues. Not only this, but such a system would have to be able to react to unexpected situations. For example, how would an autonomous car react if a child ran out into a road?The technology may be shiny and new, but safety will prove a massive challenge before this kind of technology will be allowed to see the light of day when it comes down to the general public. Specifically, driving in snow is proving challenging because the snow covers the markers and visual cues that the autonomous sensor technology relies on to pilot a vehicle on its own. 3. ) There also may be problems with new roads or changes in street names as well as with situations in which police are manually directing traffic. 4. Another challenge is driving through construction zones, accident zones, or other situations in which a human is directing traffic with hand signals. The cars are excellent at observing stop signs, traffic lights, speed limits, the behavior of other cars, and other common cues that human drivers use to figure out how fast to go and where and when to turn. But when a human is directing traffic with hand signals–and especially when these hand signals conflict with a traffic light or stop sign–the cars get confused. 5. Data Challenges: An enormous amount of data will become available for alternative usage, which is like ly to present challenges and opportunities pertaining to data security, privacy concerns, and data analytics and aggregation. Privacy concerns must be resolved to enable the deployment of integrated sensor-based and cooperative vehicle technologies. A balance between privacy protection interests and other affected interests is essential to resolve conflicts between the stakeholders who will make decisions about how information is collected, archived, and distributed.Potential stakeholder concerns are numerous: disclosure of vehicle data could reveal trade secrets; public personalities, such as politicians and celebrities, could be connected to potentially embarrassing locations or routes; and ordinary citizens could find themselves spammed or stalked as the data enables a variety of harmful applications such a as commercial misuse, public corruption, and identity theft. And what’s to prevent nefarious governments from using the expanded surveillance capabilities to spy on the ir citizens?Data Security: Numerous security threats will arise once personal mobility is dominated by self-driving vehicles. Unauthorized parties, hackers, or even terrorists could capture data, alter records, instigate attacks on systems, compromise driver privacy by tracking individual vehicles, or identify residences. They could provide bogus information to drivers, masquerade as a different vehicle, or use denial-of-service attacks to bring down the network. The nefarious possibilities are mind-boggling—the stuff of sci-fi thrillers.But system security will undoubtedly become a paramount issue for transportation systems with the successful deployment of integrated sensor based and cooperative vehicles. Difference Between Distributed and Non-Distributed Systems A distributed system is a computing system in which a number of components cooperate by communicating over a network. Computer software traditionally ran in stand-alone systems, where the user interface, applicatio n ‘business’ processing, and persistent data resided in one computer, with peripherals attached to it by buses or cables.Inherent complexities, which arise from fundamental domain challenges: E. g. , components of a distributed system often reside in separate address spaces on separate nodes, so inter-node communication needs different mechanisms, policies, and protocols than those used for intra-node communication in a stand-alone systems. Likewise, synchronization and coordination is more complicated in a distributed system since components may run in parallel and network communication can be asynchronous and non-deterministic.The networks that connect components in distributed systems introduce additional forces, such as latency, jitter, transient failures, and overload, with corresponding impact on system efficiency, predictability, and availability [VKZ04]. †¢ Accidental complexities, which arise from limitations with software tools and development techniques, such as non-portable programming APIs and poor distributed debuggers.Ironically, many accidental complexities stem from deliberate choices made by developers who favor low-level languages and platforms, such as C and C-based operating system APIs and libraries, that scale up poorly when applied to distributed systems. As the complexity of application requirements increases, moreover, new layers of distributed infrastructure are conceived and released, not all of which are equally mature or capable, which complicates development, integration, and evolution of working systems. †¢ Inadequate methods and techniques.Popular software analysis methods and design techniques have focused on constructing single-process, single-threaded applications with ‘best-effort’ quality of service (QoS) requirements. The development of high-quality distributed systems—particularly those with stringent performance requirements, such as video-conferencing or air traffic control sy stems—has been left to the expertise of skilled software architects and engineers. Moreover, it has been hard to gain experience with software techniques for distributed systems without spending much time wrestling with platform-specific details and fixing mistakes by costly trial and error. Continuous re-invention and re-discovery of core concepts and techniques. The software industry has a long history of recreating incompatible solutions to problems that have already been solved. There are dozens of general-purpose and real-time operating systems that manage the same hardware resources. Similarly, there are dozens of incompatible operating system encapsulation libraries, virtual machines, and middleware that provide slightly different APIs that implement essentially the same features and services. If effort had instead been focused on rapidly by reusing common tools and standard platforms and components.Distributed Systems Therefore, distributed and non-distributed compute r system are different in these ways. * Distributed architecture has the ability to scale out and load balance business logic independently. * Distributed architecture has separate server resources that are available for separate layers. * Distributed architecture is flexible. * Distributed architecture has additional serialization and network latency overheads due to remote calls. * Distributed architecture is potentially more complex and more expensive in terms of total cost of ownership. Non-Distributed Systems Non-distributed architecture is less complex than distributed architecture. * Non-distributed architecture has performance advantages gained through local calls. * With non-distributed architecture, it is difficult to share business logic with other applications. * With non-distributed architecture, server resources are shared across layers. This can be good or bad — layers may work well together and result in optimized usage because one of them is always busy. Howe ver, if one layer requires disproportionately more resources, another layer may be starved of resources.

Drown

The story â€Å"Drown† sets in the summer time in New Jersey. Diaz and his friend Beto are raging, out of control, in their neighborhood known as the ghetto. They† stole, broke windows†¦ pissed on peoples steps and then challenged them to come out and stop us. † While Diaz has another year of high school, Beto for college on the other hand is leaving for college at the end of the summer. Diaz has several recurring feelings such as, suffocation, problems defining his masculinity, and being trapped, problem is that Diaz would rather stay trapped in the Ghetto if it means not turning out like Beto.Why does Diaz use the metaphor drown? Why does Diaz struggle with masculinity? Does Diaz want to come up for air or continue to suffocate? In â€Å"Drown† the setting plays a key role in the story. Diaz described his neighborhood as, † The broken apart buildings, little strips of grass, the piles of garbage around the cans, and the dump†(Drown 91). Th e neighborhood where Diaz live shapes his life, so it plays an important role in the story. Most of Diaz anxiety is caused by the fact that he cannot leave his neighborhood, because he fears the outcome once in the outside world. Another setting that is important is the pool.The pool is described in a way that is similar to the neighborhood where Diaz live, † The water feels good†¦ while everything above me is loud and bright, everything below is whispers†¦ † this particular quote coincides with the fact that Diaz is trapped, but he'd rather stay below than come up and see the outcome of him leaving for the outside world like Beto. The metaphor suffocation occurs throughout the story and ties to the story title itself. In this story Diaz shows it more at the pool scene, it seem as Diaz move through the story, but something always draws him back to the pool where most of his drowning occur.This particular metaphor is used in several parts of the story, for insta nce, Diaz is suffocating where he lives because of all the poverty, misery, and drugs. Another way the author uses this metaphor is when he talks about how his mother keeps all the windows and doors locked, † Before we head out she drags us through the apartment to make sure the windows are locked†¦ we never open the windows†¦ this place just isn't safe†¦ â€Å"(Drown 96), this quote gives the notion that maybe his mother is also suffocating him by keeping all the windows closed at all times trapping the hot air which can also make Diaz think he is suffocating.Masculinity is something that Diaz struggle with more than anything in this story. In the start Beto and Diaz are both confused about their masculinity, but Beto in a different way because he's really a homosexual. In Diaz neighborhood homosexuality is viewed very negatively. On page 103 in the story, Diaz talks about how his friend Alex will stop by the side of the rode and say, Excuse me. When somebody comes over he'll point his pistol in their face just to see what they'll do, they also call the homosexuals patos throughout the story.Once Diaz have several sexual encounters with Beto, that's when Diaz starts to question his masculinity. Diaz states, † Mostly i stayed in the basement terrified that i would end up abnormal, a fucking pato†(Drown 104). It is obvious that Beto questioning of their masculinity is not so much like Diaz anymore, because Beto excepts the fact that he is a homosexual by going to college, while Diaz on the other hand is still trapped and confused with his masculinity. Diaz is maybe afraid to leave for the outside world because that would mean he's excepting that he is also a homosexual like Beto.In the story Diaz doesn't say it exactly that he wants to do the complete opposite of whatever Beto do, but he gives the reader that feeling. It is possible that Diaz can be satisfied with drowning in his neighborhood, because on page 100 the army recru iter offers Diaz a chance to escape his drowning, but Diaz refuses to come up for air. The author pathos, logos, and ethos plays a role in the story also. Diaz uses some symbols such as the pool and specific words to express himself in a way that makes the story feel more, drawing the reader into his world and his observation from first person point of view.Throughout the author Junot Diaz moves in and out of his character quotes, which is a good thing because it gives the author a credibility and it communicates that their statements are more than just facts, they're a piece of Diaz memory of a feeling or a specific time. However the only way possible for Diaz to discontinue his suffocation and drowning is by joining the Army, but Diaz is still against and unwilling to come up for air, but uses the fact that he helps his mother as an excuse for not leaving his neighborhood and coming up for air.