Monday, September 30, 2019

A Discussion on the Thoughts and Philosophies of Pericles

IntroductionIt is innate among humans to be fascinated by the different things that they particularly see around them (Durant, 1986, 10). It could not be denied then that through the years, this particular fascination within the different elements that could be seen in the human environment actually developed into the many discoveries and inventions that humans produced (Sternberg, 1989, 31). Through passing civilization of humans, it could be observed that the people were never contented with what they already have or what they have already accomplished. This is especially true in terms of science and technology as well as in arts and literature (Ambuel, 2006, 15). It is indeed undeniable that people recreate the things that are already existent within their own society.   The fact that they have already been able to see what they could do regarding a certain type of field (Cooper, 1997, 18), they intend to even do better the net time that they deal with the same invention. Yes, h umans never get tired of reinventing everything there is in the environment. Why is this so?Human intelligence has always been noted by philosophers as the primary factor that makes the human creation different from that of the other God-made creations. The humans’ ability to innovate their own achievements to even better results for the present generation to see, has particularly noted them to be those who are capable of reinventing themselves to be able to evolve from generations to generations. (Corlett, 2005, 17)To discuss this particular fact further, take an example of the human literature. It is overwhelming enough to see that the society today is already flooded by the many informations that are presented to humans through the printed pages of literature. More than that, the emergence of internet technology has paved the way even for amateur writers to make mention of their thoughts to the world for them to be appreciated and particularly affect other’s opinion s as well (Cooper, 1997, 10).Literature before was primarily defined as an art of writing that follows certain rules that are strict enough to keep its standards within the classical range of reading. However, when the different generations along with the historical events covered the human generation’s development (Ambuel, 2006, 15), the art of literature became one of the major process by which humans intended to express their thoughts and their predicaments about the things that are going on in the world. As a result, more and more people joined the bandwagon of writing and began to share their thoughts to the world with regards the issues that primarily concern the human society today. (Bakalis, 2005, 17)This particular progress in literature has primarily been further fueled by the democratic arrangement of the major governments around the world, giving a chance for the freedom of human expression. It is through this that people became more aware of the world around them , they cared more than ever with the political agendas, the social issues as well as other informations that concern their interests (Cooper, 2005, 16). True, the changing situation in the society and the demand towards progress requires that human intelligence be perfected in a way that it particularly caters to the needs of the entire humanity. The human brain’s ability to store and restructure informations that were accepted by it through the years of an individual’s life is particularly a proof that the application of humans’ intelligence could still be perfected as generations are still to come along. (Allen, 2006, 18)In the same idea, both the philosophers Plato and Pericles believed that humans are indeed capable of being highly involved with developments as they are certainly given the idealism of becoming the best at anything. They use their instinct accompanied by their need of fulfilling what they particularly opt to find out about life as a satisfact ion to their curious minds (Sternberg, 1989, 14). Although both philosophers believed in this particular through, they did have different approaches in presenting the truth about their claims (Cooper, 1997, 13). To understand the issue better, the thoughts and philosophies of both Pericles and Plato shall be discussed within the paragraphs that follow in two separate presentations.The Thoughts of PlatoPlato has been widely known in the human history of philosophy as the establisher of the western culture. His succession on the position left by Aristotle and Socrates has noted him to be among the most intelligent people who have lived in human history (Corlett, 1997, 25). His special skills in literature and the mind boggling explanation of human philosophy has particularly allowed him to become one of the most sought after philosophers of the world. As a philosopher, Plato has been known for his ability to validate his claims through mathematical pattern of assumptions as he present his ideas through his writings (Corlett, 2005, 27). The possibilities and the calculation of how the human mind reacts to certain situations has been noted to be among the best expertise of Plato himself.As one of the foundations of human philosophy, Plato contributed so much on the knowledge of people at present. Plato has been known for the presentation of his thoughts through the use of dialogues. The conversations between people have been utilized by Plato as a way by which he could convey his ideas to the people. Moreover, the said dialogues discussed different issues of human elements that could noticeably be used to explain the different difficulties that could be considered when the topic about human behavior comes into attention. (Durant, 1986, 31)Among the consequential issues that his dialogues mainly cater to are that of the father and son relationship, the truth behind the human realism, and the ability of humans to perceive the truth from illusionary imaginations (Bak alis, 205, 93). On the first issue cited herein, the relation of father and son have always fascinated the mind of Plato as he tries to identify the connection between the father and the son as both grow further towards maturity. Among the answers he usually opt to discuss is that of the ways by which the values that the father implies on the son contribute to the personal growth and being of that particular individual. Most likely, Plato has long been trying to identify how the elements of fatherhood actually influence the acceptance of different individuals of the teachings, thus applying them as values for themselves to learn from and later on apply in their own systems of living.The second issue presented is on the realism of the human population. This particularly points out to the ability of humans to use their reasoning and their intelligent judgment of the things that they hear, they see, and they observe, thus defining on which one is actually true and which one is on the o ther hand imaginary. True, people have this particular ability of knowing what is real from what is not. However, the reasoning behind such ability is somewhat complex, and this is what actually moved Plato to identify the factors that affect the human judgment on such elemental factors in the human society.The third topic of attention is that of the imaginative abilities of humans. True, humans enjoy the fact that they are able to imagine different things as a part of their intellectual capabilities. When feeling down and depressed, people usually use their capabilities of imagining things to at least ease them from the truths of their present situation. However, although many consider imagination as gift, it could not be denied that the human ability of coming back to reality could still help them set their decision on which one is the real situation differentiating it from the imaginary elements that they themselves have created in their minds.(Ambuel,2006, 15)Through these thoug hts, Plato also tried to imply on his writing the idea on the â€Å"real world†, whereas he refers to the present system of things to be just a shadow of the real world, referring to the people at present as those who are living in an imaginary world. True, this thought might seem quite confusing at some point. However, if closely observed, it could not be denied that the situation is quite obvious. It all boils down to the reality of the people. Because of the fact that humans are less able to become realistic with who they are, they are then consequently living their lives in an unrealistic world that makes it even harder for themselves to â€Å"zap† back into the real life that they ought to face. This is in correspondence to the doubts of humans as to why they are at times in trouble of finding what they really want out of living on earth.The Thoughts of PericlesPericles has been known to be among the list of the most successful ancient politicians of the human his tory. This is most likely because of the skill that he himself has faced during his rule in Athens. Even when he was still on his way in being inspired in becoming an icon of the public, he knew that the responsibility that he was about to take was not that easy to fulfill (Corlett, 2005, 48). This is when he was actually able to take into consideration the understanding that he must gain with regards the philosophical make up of humankind. Dealing with people of different individualities naturally urged Pericles to search in an in-depth way on the beliefs and the elements that contribute to human behavior and development. Hence, he has also be fascinatingly interested in human philosophical education.As he progressed in the learning, he himself has been urged to bring out the best among the people that he led. Particularly referring to the ability of humans to speak out their minds for others to hear their thoughts, he implied amongst his people the importance of one’s abili ty to at least freely speak off their minds to the public (Cooper, 1997, 18). This, according to him, is one of the most important rights a person could have, a certain process by which an individual would be able to experience the reality of life that he is supposed to live with.ConclusionYes, it is indeed true that the human intelligence continues to grow through the years of its history. With the contributed foundation by those who have led the way in understanding the human capability of thinking and acting upon what they believe in, the human society today is now more confident in what they believe in, more expressive of their thoughts and more imaginative on their ways of facing the truth of their lives.From the discussion presented above, it could be observed that Plato particularly proffered on discussion the abstract factors that contribute to the continuous improvement of human intelligence. Moreover, the said thought has been mainly established by the philosopher through explaining his claims using the different dimensions of math and human philosophy. Constantly referring to the ability of the mind to imagine and to bring its thought back to reality has noted Plato as one of the most remarkable philosophers who were able to unlock the truth behind human imagination. On the other hand, Pericles has been mostly focused on the ability of humans to disperse their thoughts and actually affect the society that they are living in. It is through their freedom of speaking their thoughts off to the public that they are able to make the necessary changes that they ought to contribute to their communities.Certainly, if observed closely, Percles’ and Plato’s belief on the capabilities of humans to use their capabilities well explains how the human intelligence is actually used in the systems by which the human civilization progresses towards modernity. As people are able to imagine and disperse their thoughts to others, they are able to make diffe rent, at times even great changes to the societies that they are living in. The thoughts of the two philosophers as discussed herein could be noted as one of the most important influence that they both have left the human society.REFERENCES:Robert J. Sternberg. (1989). Handbook of Human Intelligence. Cambridge University Press.Allen, R.E. (2006). Studies in Plato's Metaphysics II. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-18-6Ambuel, David (2006). Image and Paradigm in Plato's Sophist. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-004-9Bakalis, Nikolaos (2005). Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments, Trafford Publishing ISBN 1-4120-4843-5Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-87220-349-2.Corlett, J. Angelo (2005). Interpreting Plato's Dialogues. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-02-5Durant, Will (1986). The Story of Philosophy. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-69500-2.Lawrence S. Cunningham and John J. Reich. Culture & Values: A SURVEY OF THE HUMANITIES, volume one/sixth edition,   Library of Congress Control Number: 2005923993.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Chapter Review and Trace Essay

1. What are the five elements in the rhetorical situation? The five elements in the rhetorical situation are Text, Reader, Author, Constraints, and Exigency. 2. How can a reader use the rhetorical situation to analyze an argument essay? How can a viewer use the rhetorical situation to analyze an image? How can a writer use the rhetorical situation during the planning phase of writing a paper? In an argument essay using the rhetorical situation to analyze the essay will give the exact points of the subject, clearly define the intended audience of the essay, while seeing the authors argument on the particular subject and their position, motives, or degree of expertise. It will keep focus on the events or circumstances that cause analysis to reactions to the situations that lead to the argument, and clearly see the controversy or problem that needs attention in the first place. In analyzing an image, rhetorical analysis will help highlight what stands out about the image, how the text if there is a text ties into the influence of the argument of the image, and how the author of the image feels. A writer can use the rhetorical situation when planning phase of writing a paper to help think critically and make decisions about the writing. Focusing on what is the motivation and who needs to read the argument will help pick the influences and ways to persuade the reader. Deciding how to illustrate the attitudes, beliefs, or afflictions is important to keep the reader’s attention. 3. Why is the audience important in argument? What types of positions might an audience initially hold? What possible outcomes are associated with arguments directed to each of these audiences? The audience is important in order to create common ground and achieve some definable audience outcomes. The audience may initially be a friendly audience, an undecided audience, a neutral audience, a hostile audience, an unfamiliar audience, or a linked audience. Possible outcomes are convincing people to your cause, pushing people away from your cause to the opposing side, people could remain bias, and people could become angry and/or violent towards you and your argument. 4. What is a discourse community? To what discourse communities do you belong? How does a discourse community help establish common ground for its members? A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourses, understood as basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals.  It helps to establish common ground for its members by having resources and peers interested and sharing in the same beliefs and ideals and having peers to converse with to learn and research subject matter that all or most members enjoy and share interest in. 5. What is the universal audience? What are the special qualities of this audience? Why is it a useful idea? The universal audience is an imagined audience that serves as an ethical and argumentative test for the rhetor. The universal audience is educated, reasonable, normal, adult, and willing to listen. It is especially useful when the audience is largely unknown and you cannot obtain much information about them.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Balanced Diet

Intake of appropriate food with the combination of all groups of foods called balanced diet. The balanced diet provides sufficient nutrition and energy to the body. It is combination of different foods such as Milk group, meat group, fruit and vegetable group and grain group. Taking of excessive food of any group refers to unbalanced diet. All groups of diet should be taken every day and three meals a day should be taken. The unbalanced diet causes many side effects in connection with body tissues, growth and development, bone and muscle problems etc.The human body consists of 63% water, 22% protein, 13% fat and 2% minerals and vitamins. Accordingly human should take food. The taking of food depends upon the age also Hormonal balance is required while taking diet. The hormonal balance can be achieved through providing low glycolic carbohydrates, enough protein and fat. The following should form the nutritional balance: The human body requires essential nutrients for which the balance d diet provides with the RDAs i. e. Recommended Dietary Allowances.The balanced diet avoids excessive calories such as saturated fats, cholesterol, sodium and sugar. The taking of balanced diet depends upon the age, physical activity, sex of the human. Hence there will be no universal prescription of the balanced diet to the humans. It differs all.WATER DIETWater is part of balanced diet. The human brain is made up of 95% water; blood is 82% and lungs 90%. Even 2% drop in our body’s water supply can cause signs of dehydration, short term memory etc. Water is important to the human body. The body cannot work without sufficient water.If adequate water is not consumed on a daily basis the body fluids will be out of balance, which causes dehydration. The minimum consumption of water per day is six to eight ounce glasses. Drinking water is essential for weight loss. Many people desired to take cup of coffee, tea or other liquids, but they forget to take sufficient water for every day. Water plays key role in the prevention of disease. Drinking of eight glasses of water daily can decrease the risk of cancer by 45% and it can reduce the risk of breast cancer. It is important to note that the intake water should be cool.But adding of ice should be avoided. When the pure and water taken as water diet, it helps to adjust the set point of the body’s metabolism. Because the cool water absorbs heat from the body and then body expends calories in order to heat the water up to body temperature. The water diet amounts to 60 calories.QUANTITY OF FOODBalanced diet provides regular supply of vitamins, minerals and other required nutrients in order to ensure optimum health. The optimum health causes increase of energy levels for physical activity and leads to weight loss also.Balanced diet contains all ingredients needed for the body in order to keep the body healthy. The balanced diet contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, mineral salts and fiber. But these all should be used with correct proportions. Eating of healthy foods from all the groups of foods for every day. Combination of foods from all groups such as Fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy products, meat and protein and fats should be taken with such measurements. The quantity of food should be taken with the combination of all groups as follows:PRECAUTIONSBalanced diet leads to balanced life. Women need fewer calories than men. A man who has weight of 140 pound and has low level of activity can take 2,000 calories per day, whereas woman can take 1,500 calories only. Ideal balanced diet should be preferred. Ideal balanced diet means variety of vegetables and fruits that calorie limits. Vegetable such as dark green vegetables, legumes, and starchy vegetables should be consumed several times in a day. Taking of such vegetables helps the accumulation iron and zinc levels in the body. The day meal should include with grains and milk products.In respect of Non-vegetarians, they shoul d eat lean meats and fish. The permanent part of balanced diet linked with protein rich fish, beans, nuts and seeds. Taking of balanced diet increases the healthiness and also take part in respect of the weight of the body. Balanced diet contributes healthiness, physical fitness of the body. While taking the balanced food, the following precautions should be observed on regular basisRegular exercises, decrease of calorie intake.Those people who are taking the 2,000-calorie per day have to take two cups of fruit and 2 cups of vegetables per day.Three cups of fat-free milk products can be taken.Avoidance of Trans fatty acidsThe intake of cholesterol intake should not be more than 300 mg per day.The intake of total fat should not exceed 20-35% of calories.The Added sugars should be avoided.With regard to the sodium or salt, the consumption should not be more than 2,300 mg i. e. one teaspoon of salt)The consumption of one alcoholic drink for women and in case of men it is two drinks per day.REFERENCE:http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/body.cfm? id=555563&action=articleDetail&AEProductID=Adam2004_1&AEArticleID=002449http://www. medhelp. org/Medical-Dictionary/Terms/1/002449. htmhttp://www. patrickholford. com/content. asp? id_Content=997http://www. drugs. com/cg/balanced-diet. htmlhttp://www. weightlossforall. com/balanced%20diet. htmhttp://www. purchon. com/biology/diet. htm#carbohydrates 7http://www8. utsouthwestern. edu/utsw/cda/dept27717/files/48315. htmlhttp://www. findyoga. com. au/articles. asp? articlesID=105

Friday, September 27, 2019

U.S history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S history - Essay Example Wages in United States were better than in Europe, more so for skilled laborers, this led to millions of immigrants coming to America. The industrialization increase meant real wages growing with 60% in the US. The major industry was the railroads as the factory system, finance and mining increased in importance. Europe, China and eastern states immigrants resulted to the West growing rapidly, based on mining, ranching and farming. This is the period that the United States became the leader in ahead of Britain in industrialization. The economy was fast expanding in the new areas in the country, more so heavy industry factories, coal mining, and railroads. The first Transcontinental Railroad was opened up in 1869 to the far-west ranching and mining regions. Instead of six months, travelling from New York San Francisco only took six days. Formerly isolated regions were connected by the new track to the bigger markets that facilitated the development of commercial farming, mining, and ranching, leading to a true national marketplace. Production of steel in America rose to surpass the total of Germany, France, and Britain combined. Paris and London poured money for investment into railroads through financial markets that are centered in Wall Street. By 1900, economic process concentration had already extended to industry’s most branches. Before the Gilded Age, old immigration as is commonly referred witnessed the real boom of United States’ new arrivals. Around 10 million people came in the new immigration. These people provided the industries with the workforce that they required at a very good cost (Hunger, Parshall K.  53). John Muir was a Scottish-American practitioner of naturalism, author, and early advocate of preservation United States wilderness. His books, essays, and letters telling about his nature’s adventures. He gave a lot of his time in preserving the Western forest. His enthusiasm

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Is time spent on the Internet valuable to students' interpersonal Research Paper

Is time spent on the Internet valuable to students' interpersonal relationships - Research Paper Example Following a survey conducted on college students to investigate the value of the time spent on the internet to their interpersonal relationships, this paper presents an analysis of the findings from the study. This study analyzes the levels of social anxiety in college students and its influence on their behavior on the internet. The findings depict a weak positive correlation between the use of internet and amount of time spent with friends and acquaintances. Introduction Communication through the internet, mainly social networking sites, has become a regular practice among internet users as computers and the internet have become part and parcel of daily life. The internet offers convenient means of establishing social contact with others as well as socially interacting with them. Internet interaction made possible by digital connection generates a situation where users bargain their time online while socializing. The spread of social media also enables users to navigate face-to-fac e and online relationships through online interactions. Many studies conducted regarding how internet use affects individual’s relationships socially have indicated a disparity in results. While some studies concluded that internet use formed new relationships and strengthened existing ones, others displayed that internet use contributed to a decline in the size of individuals’ social circles as time spent interacting on the internet lessened face-to-face interactions and Social activities. Easy access to internet facilities, especially due to increasing wireless internet in various places, is another factor which directly influences social relationships. Lately, a growing number of internet users access the internet from a wireless connection either at home, school or some restaurant. This shows that many internet users are mainly using mobile phones, laptops, tablets or other portable devices to check mail or browse the internet using cell phone networks of Wi-Fi hot spots. Some studies argue that those who depend on wireless access as a connection means build up different behaviors compared to their wired counterparts. Wi-Fi particularly makes integration of intensive internet use with the use of public space possible. Public spaces are a unique factor in the shaping and maintenance of social networks, democracy, and individual opinions. It is therefore pertinent to analyze how internet use affects interpersonal relationships and the value of this influence. The aim of this study is to investigate implications of internet use for college student’s interpersonal relationship. How valuable are these implications? This study uses questionnaires to establish the levels of anxiety among the college students and to conduct a detailed survey of the relationship between internet use and their interpersonal relationships. To gain knowledge of the intricate effects the internet has on social relationships, its critical to investigate how often the students use particular social networking websites and for what purposes. Specifically, this study analyses how these social networking websites are beneficial to the students’ lives in terms of enhancing their social relationships. Finally, this study also compares the use of social networking sites to other channels of interaction like phone calls, emails and text messages to establish the

Account principle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Account principle - Essay Example b) It is a tool to control the activities of different subunits within the organisation. c) Budget exercise is used as a tool for forecasting and it can be used to motivate employees towards the set goals. Budgetary activity facilitates the planning process of the firm in a systematised manner keeping in view the organizational goals. Budget not only helps allocate resources and set the direction of the firm but also helps determine priorities to act in a manner that can bring results. Since budget sets targets in numbers, monitoring becomes easy and effective; it helps guide and coordinate activities of different functional units within the organisation. For startup businesses, a budget acts like a roadmap that helps them formulate goals and assess their functioning. For established businesses, a budget helps them see their performance through the years and likely future growth prospects to justify their capital investments. By comparing actual and budgeted figures, management can s ee how well or bad their organisation is sailing through in the marketplace. Budgets help forecast the need of cash flow without which any business is likely to strangle and suffer immensely. Budget brings efficiency in the operation by providing a framework for performance evaluation of different unit heads and the whole organisation. Budget is the best way of controlling expenses and to take remedial measures as and when becomes necessary ((Budgets and Budgeting, 2012). Answer (B) Conventional budgeting works best when conditions are relatively stable and market is continuously growing. In a downturn, the approach has several fallacies. There is no doubt that conventional budgeting system has contributed a lot ever since corporations began working in a more systematized way yet it is a fact that conventional budgeting system has its own strengths and weaknesses. Conventional budgeting exercise looks at the numbers of the previous year and then depending on the targeted growth deci des for expense and revenue figures. Traditional budget is also known as incremental budgeting. Some of the advantages of the conventional budget are: a) It is more stable and brings gradual change. b) It is more simple and easy to work on it. c) Any changes can be observed easily. d) It is easy for managers to run their department on traditional budget formulations. e) The impact of change is visible clearly. Following disadvantages are observed in the conventional budgeting (Stokdyk, 2007). f) There is not enough space for new ideas. g) Cost reduction is not provided with suitable incentives; spending up to budgeted figure gets natural encouragement so that next year’s budget do not get converted to a reduced amount. h) It is likely that priority may have changed after budgets are set; and budgeted figure may have gone out of date due to inflation or extraneous factor that has now no connection to the level of activity and type of work being performed. Budgetary Control thr ough Variance Measurement Variance analysis sets the process for budgetary control. Any change from the budgeted figure is known as variance and variance can be either favorable or adverse. When revenue is higher or expense is less than expected, a favorable variance occurs. An adverse variance is said to have occurred when revenues are lower or expenditures are higher than forecast. Budget needs to be monitored for variance for a suitable time period so that timely remedial action can be taken. A following illustration speaks about favorable and adverse variance with respect to expense and revenue generated in a typical organization. Adverse/Favourable Variance Yearly Budget Pro rata monthly Budget Monthly Actual Variance Labour Charges ?360,000 ?30,000 ?31,500 ?1,500 (adverse) Raw Materials ? 720,000 ? 60,000 ?62,500

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Anti war Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anti war Movement - Essay Example The strength of the movement lay also in the fact that it moved past the politics of the Cold War despite being temporally located in the heyday of this ideological and military struggle between the two power blocs. The democratizing potential of this is apparent since it brought the world together in movement that was humanitarian and anti-authoritarian at the same time (Frey, 2008). In fact, the basic objective of the movement was to abstain from siding with the ideology of either superpower. It is perhaps also significant that this moment coincided with the era of decolonization across the world where erstwhile colonized nations unwilling to compromise their sovereignty by aligning with Euro-American powers voiced their support for the cause of nuclear disarmament. It is important to note that the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in Great Britain far from being a sporadic movement had firm roots in the origin of the Cold War where several â€Å"international pacifists† who had organized strategic protests against the atomic bomb (Klimke 2012). The movement in Great Britain may thus be viewed as a successful culmination of the many efforts aimed at disarmament. 2. What role has internet played in the anti-Iraq war protest? The protest against the Iraq War, much like its precedent, the Nuclear Disarmament movement, was based in international cooperation. The protest also witnessed the extensive of use an entirely new medium of expression-the internet. The internet had certain obvious advantages over the more traditional methods of voicing dissent-it could bring together people and their opinions on a common platform without necessitating physical movement over long distances and significantly, authoritarian censorship is more difficult to impose on the internet than in protest marches and demonstrations. Pickerill and Webster in their essay â€Å"The Anti-War/Peace Movement in Britain and the Conditions of Information War† discussing the idea of â€Å"Information War† which denotes both â€Å"weaponry† which makes use of computer technology for greater precision in combat and attack, as well as the â€Å"symbolic realm† where ideas and images are employed to convey specifically targeted meaning. While the intensity of casualties rose steadily in war propelled by the â€Å"microelectronics revolution,† this also meant that there was extensive media coverage of the war which in turn conferred onto people the knowledge hitherto denied them to generate anti-war sentiments (408-10, n.d.). It is interesting to note that unlike most of its predecessors, the anti-Iraq War movement did not cease to operate after the ostensible end of the war and continued to protest in the subsequent years against the insidious ways in which military occupation and economic depletion have perpetuated Western control over Iraq’s political freedom. This too was perhaps made possible because of the internet which kept the memory of the war through the many blogs and websites which advertise their cause in numerous pages that an average internet user is likely to visit. Pickerill and Webster however warn against the debilitating effects of using the internet for anti-war protest as well as they argue that the sweeping generalizations on the internet often assume a homogeneous readership, eliding thereby the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Develop business aptitude skills including communication, Assignment

Develop business aptitude skills including communication, presentation, and leadership abilities - Assignment Example However, the client wonder if another software making company comes out with more efficient and software product that can prove to deliver cut throat competition for the client. Furthermore, the client is extremely concerned that the competitors may develop software or application capable to test the cell phone signal strengths provided by different carriers such as AT & T Sprint and Verizon among others in specific building sites. The client fears that this application which might be developed by the competitors could be efficient enough to determine the need for rooftop antenna and signal re-amplification for the workers inside the building to receive calls in their cell phones. Contextually, the primary problem anticipated by the client is the threat from the competitors in terms of product imitation and innovation that might reduce the market competiveness of the client’s software. It is also feared that the competitors’ application may render more efficient service s to customers which may ultimately reduce the demand for the client’s product. However, the above identified problem can be well rationalized as opportunities for growth for the client, as it will give him the opportunity to compete with his/her rivals with constant innovations in terms of technologies. Q2: Formalize Four Objectives for the Project Based on the level of threats and the problematic issues that are drawn by the client, the primary objectives of the project were to advise him to effectively to manage and deal with these challenges in order to remain competitive at the marketplace. These objectives were also directed towards increasing the competency level and revenue generating capability for the client’s product. The four broad objectives of the project are revealed below. Firstly, the project intended to suggest the effective marketing plan including role of promotion in demand creation to client in order to attract large base of customers towards his/ her software product Secondly, the project aim at emphasizing the importance of monitoring the performance and the marketing activities of competitors for the client in order to outpace the competitors Thirdly, the project envisioned to identify and acquaint the client with the importance of continuous innovation in the technology oriented business Lastly, the project aimed at assisting client with the ways of increasing revenue and market reach (Wickham & Wickham, 2008). Q3: Consider What Problems Might Emerge in Reconciling the Client’s Objectives with Your Own as A Consulting Team From the perspective of a consulting team, there are various issues that may arise while making efforts for accomplishing such broad objectives. It can be affirmed that the accomplishment of these objectives requires considerable planning and effective execution. Accordingly, there may arise numerous issues relating to development of a market plan and involving various marketing and advertisement activities. Contextually, it can be admitted that for carrying out these activities the client may require to make considerable investment. Also, it will prove to be a problematic for the client to monitor the performances and various activities that are undertaken by the competitors. Correspondingly, this will require the client to gather considerable data regarding the competitors which may be time consuming and cumbersome tasks (Pfeffer, 1995). Additionally, creating a competitive

Monday, September 23, 2019

Documenting the Media Revolution Research Paper - 1

Documenting the Media Revolution - Research Paper Example However, the advent of the computer era and the development of various electronic based gadgets have allowed man to finally come up with an alternative to print media. I speak of the eBook readers that come bundled with most of our smartphones and tablet PC's. This paper will take a look into the history of the eBook, what gadgets existed prior to the advent of the modern day eBook reader, and how the technology has made reading a more interactive activity these days. eBooks first appeared on the market back in 1998. The precursor of today's readers were the Softbook and Gemstar Rocket eBook Reader. These particular readers did not easily catch on at the time since most people were still adapting to the internet and paperless era so very little attention if any were actually paid to the launch of these readers. However, the year 2000 launch of Stephen King's horror novel Ride the bullet in pure eBook format called attention to the up and coming technology. By 2003, eBooks and readers were still trying to break into the market as paper books still remain the traditional favorite. by July, Gemstar is merely a footnote in the history of the readers while Barnes and Noble pulls out eBooks from their stores. Critics then begin to predict the beginning of the end for the digital reader format. But the technology gains a new life with the advent of the Sony Librie which is a marked improvement upon its predecessors since it now uses electronic ink and has managed to reduce the backlight glare thus allowing the reader to show the same type of actual ink quality for the reader. By 2007, the Kindle is released and everyone now knows that the eBook reader is here to stay. From that point on other ebook reader devices such as the Nook come into market play. (Kozlowski, Michael â€Å"A Brief History of eBooks†). Even print book manufacturers cannot help but acknowledge that the eBook is fast edging out its physical format competitor in terms of book sales. According to research done by the Pew Research Center: The population of e-book readers is growing. In the past year, the number of those who read e-books increased from 16% of all Americans ages 16 and older to 23%. At the same time, the number of those who read printed books in the previous 12 months fell from 72% of the population ages 16 and older to 67%. (Rainie, Lee & Duggan Maeve â€Å"E-Book Reading Jumps; Print Book Reading Declines†) If one were to think about it, the rise of the eBook reader was actually something that was going to happen eventually. Our society is fast becoming a very tech savvy, gadget obsessed group that is constantly on the look out for the next big gadget that can make their lives easier. In this case, the eBook reader came across at just the right time. People were already conditioned to reading newspapers and other material via the internet and through their computer screens that using the eBook reader was not something that people feared anymore. The technology also found itself vastly improved thanks to the constantly evolving structure of the laptops as well. Newspapers and book publishers acknowledged the fact that there was more money for them to make through the electronic publication of their newspapers and books, so it is easy to surmise that the publishing sector also had a direct hand in the decision of their subscribers to switch to the eBook version of their reading material. (Fowler, Geoffrey & Baca, Marie â€Å"The ABC's of E-Reading). One reason that people are

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Mexican Migrant Workers Essay Example for Free

Mexican Migrant Workers Essay Migrant workers have long played a crucial role in the economy of the United States, there has always been a rather heavy flow of both legal and illegal immigrants to the United States. There is a large variety of different jobs available for both legal and illegal immigrants in the United States, many women find work with more affluent families and are employed as nannies or maids. Some women find work in factories, often turning out clothes or toys, which is often labor-intensive low-wage work and especially for those migrant workers that may not be in the country legally. Perhaps the most important role that these women play in the U. S. ’s economy involves our extensive agriculture sector. Prior to slave labor restrictions agriculture in the U. S. was largely dependent on slave labor, which was essentially free as one might expect. The first English colonies imported slave labor as early as 1619 and Spanish colonies had practiced intensive slave labor since the 1560s. Slave labor became increasingly important in producing high-value cash crops such as tobacco, sugar, coffee and cotton. Although slave labor was most important in Southern plantation style agriculture, it also played an integral role in agriculture in the North which is contrary to the popular belief of Northern states being intolerant towards slavery. After slavery was abolished in the 1860s and the slaves were emancipated, it was clear that those involved in agriculture would have to find another source of cheap labor to pick up the slack (Valdez 1). Luckily for North American farmers there were many sources of cheap labor at this time and many people willing to immigrate to find work. Shortly after the abolishment of slavery there was a very large influx of Chinese immigrants, a vast majority of these immigrants were put to work in agriculture as well as being integral to building the nations railroads. The flow of Chinese immigrants was curtailed by the U. S. government when they passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, generally believed to be a reaction to the decline of the gold rush with legislators using the Chinese as a scapegoat. Partially due to the loss of Chinese immigrant labor, many workers began migrating to the U. S. from Mexico and the Philippines. It is important to note that there were plenty of European immigrants that also found employment doing menial agricultural work, however their experiences were generally different than the experiences faced by Mexican workers. For instance, workers from England shared a common language and religion with their employers so it became easier to assimilate into society. Although there was some discrimination towards German and Irish immigrants due to the fact that these were generally Catholic countries, these differences were usually reconciled and didn’t take as much of a toll on those immigrants. However, employers soon found out that their Mexican laborers generally did not go on strike or demand higher wages even when their working conditions were quite poor, this led to increased discrimination and abuse towards Mexican migrants (Valdez 1). The use of Mexican migrant labor declined during the Great Depression, as many of the agricultural jobs filled by Mexicans were now highly sought after by internal migrant workers that hailed from Dust Bowl states and were generally desperate to find work. After World War Two, the U. S. economy was once again healthy and began to thrive as it had before the Great Depression. During the thirty or so years following World War Two a new trend began developing. This trend involved a large number of laborers traveling from the southern United States and Latin America (most notably Mexico) to perform seasonal agriculture work in the more northern states. Indeed, there were plenty of U. S. citizens that performed migrant labor at this time, often being placed in jobs by the Farm Labor Agency, though most employers began to see the benefits of informally employed migrant workers. Although many of these foreign workers were hired through government programs, their contracts were pre-determined by prospective employers. Essentially, this meant that employers had complete control over their workers and if any of them complained about poor working conditions or demanded higher wages they could immediately be deported at their employers whim. Working conditions certainly were poor during this time, many trends that are still perpetuated today began during this period. For instance, most migrant workers depended solely on their crew leader for goods and food which were often sold at exorbitant prices that created â€Å"company† debt for the workers. Aside from the grueling labor, most migrant workers lived in very poor conditions as well with far too many people often crammed into small, dilapidated shacks. Another trend that developed during this period is the increasing use of illegal migrant labor. Beginning during World War II Mexican citizens could legally travel to and work in the U. S. under the Bracero Program, justified due to the fact that crops couldn’t go un-harvested during war time. Essentially a guest worker program, the Bracero Program was active from 1942 to 1964 and during this time it sponsored approximately 4. million border crossings by Mexican migrant workers. This program enforced certain requirements on employers that mandated that an acceptable level of wages, housing, food and medical care be provided to their workers and as a result many migrant workers enjoyed higher standards of living than they had back home. As a result employers began seeking out illegal migrant workers that were not involved in the program, as they could pay them much lower wages while not providing any of the afore mentioned services. Pressure from employers as well as domestic agriculture labor unions (who viewed the Bracero program as an impediment to U.  S. born workers) eventually led to the demise of the Bracero program in 1964. As there was still a huge demand for cheap, agriculture labor and no longer a legal labor pool it is easy to see why there was such a flood of illegal migrant workers from Mexico (Valdez 2). Today, migrant workers are still every bit as important as they were in the past and a large majority of them continue to hail from Mexico. Federal law defines migrant workers as anyone that travels more than 75 miles in search of employment, and by this definition at the turn of the 21st Century there were an estimated 2. million people working as agricultural laborers with a scant 12 % of these workers establishing temporary residences while working and roughly half still considering Mexico to be home. Between 1990 and 2001 the total of Mexican born migrant workers working in agriculture rose from about 30% of the work force to nearly 50%. Although these workers still constitute a small portion of all the U. S. ’s wage and salaried workers they play a critical role in the more labor intensive aspects involved in the production of all fresh, canned, frozen and processed foods consumed in the U. S. More than 85% of all fruit and vegetable crops in the U.  S. require hand planting, hand cultivation and hand harvesting which is extremely labor intensive. Despite their importance in this industry, around the turn of the 21st Century Mexican migrant workers earned an average yearly income that was only about 40% of the official poverty rate (CIA 1). Although the large majority of migrant agriculture workers are male, there is still a very large number of female migrant workers seeking employment within the U. S. To understand the plight of these women we first must understand exactly why they choose to travel to the U. S. in search of work. One of the key push factors for these women is the poor economic conditions that Mexico has historically faced. Mexico went through a very harmful debt crisis in the 1980s that has played a large role in the countries current economic woes. Currently, Mexico’s GDP growth rate is a dismal -6. 5% which places it 200th compared to the rest of the world. Mexico also has an unemployment rate of 5. 5% with an underemployment rate of nearly 25%. Using a food based definition of poverty about 18% of Mexico lives in poverty, however when using an asset based definition for poverty a whopping 47% of Mexicans live in poverty (CIA 1). Due to this impoverished conditions many Mexican women have trouble finding work, and although the literacy rates for males and females are roughly equal in Mexico, and males are generally chosen over women for the jobs that do exist. It is easy to see why so many Mexican women are eager to travel to the U. S. in hopes of finding better jobs and higher wages. Along with money woes, this extensive level of poverty also takes its toll on relationships. When times get tough, there is often more strain at home and husbands and wives are more likely to not get along. Although this is certainly not a problem that is unique to Mexico, there is one key cultural component: Machismo. There is no single, set definition of Machismo, but it is generally viewed as what traditional Mexican culture believes to be acceptable masculinity. Certainly, not every Mexican male fits this Machismo stereotype and there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the ideals that men should aspire to be strong and tough. However, there are many critics of the Machismo culture and believe that it is very counter-productive and harmful towards women. For instance, it is believed that the Macho man should be able to provide for his wife and family and when poor economic conditions are an obstacle to this the man may often feel inadequate and embarrassed (Soong 1). This wouldn’t be as big of an issue if one of the key pillars of the Machismo man involved violence. Shockingly, one-third of native Mexican women interviewed stated that a husband had the right to hit his wife if she hadn’t fulfilled her obligations and 42% of those interviewed admitted that they had even been beaten as young girls. It appears that the ability for men to assert their dominance over women through violence is an accepted part of Mexican culture and most men are never punished for committing what amounts to very criminal acts. It is believed that between 1999 and 2005 an estimated 6,000 women were murdered in Mexico, with most of these deaths being caused by domestic violence at the hands of their husbands or boyfriends. Of course, we realize that not all or even most Mexican men behave this way however it is certainly a large enough cultural problem to cause a lot of strain on Mexican women. Many women, already overwhelmed by economic worries, leave Mexico simply to get themselves, and often their children, away from abusive relationships (Soong 2). As we have now outlined two key push factors, both economic and social, it is also important to recognize the pull factors: the reasons behind why women choose to migrate to the U. S. The U. S. is very appealing to Mexican women, as they believe that they will be offered better jobs and better wages upon arriving. Unsurprisingly, American companies are also integral in luring these Mexican women to the U. S. s they have began to rely on the cheap, docile labor that these women provide. In fact, many U. S. companies have been known to use Mexican immigrants as an example for how the American Dream can be accomplished. Many American businesses are now creating marketing campaigns that explicitly target Mexican immigrants, knowing full well that they will attract just as many illegal immigrants in the process. Even though these businesses are only seeking to exploit them, many Mexicans and especially Mexican women are interpreting these ads as a sign that they will be more readily accepted in American society and this makes migrating to the U.  S. even more appealing (Wyans 4). Many Mexican women also believe that the U. S. is some sort of egalitarian utopia, even though that is far from true. With the American societies push to be â€Å"politically correct† and aim for a level playing field, many Mexican women feel that the gender inequalities they experienced in Mexico will not exist in the U. S. This idea of an egalitarian U. S. most certainly stems from the very biased media that America exports to around the world, which undoubtedly paints America in a very positive light. Even though the Mexican woman migrating to the U. S. ay secure a more lucrative job and better living conditions, she will most likely face most of the same social ills she had experienced in Mexico (Wyans 5). When taking these push/pull factors in to account it is no shock that so many Mexican women are migrating to the U. S. Most casual observers assume that these Mexican women are only migrating because they are passively accompanying their husbands but this is certainly not the case, especially in recent years. In fact, more than half of the migrant workers from all Latin American countries traveling to the U. S. are women traveling by the own volition. Migrant workers as a whole are confided to the lower skill sector of the labor market, and the women among these migrant workers usually only find work in the lowest manual positions such as childcare, industrial cleaning, food processing and sewing. Not only are female migrant workers given the worst of already poor jobs, they are almost always paid less than their male migrant counterparts. Employers have also caught on to one key trait among female migrant workers, many of them are unwilling to demand higher wages or complain about working conditions simply because they are responsible for their children at home. This leads many employers to subject women to longer hours, lower pay and worse working conditions than they would expect a male worker to put up with (Cultural Survival 1). As I had previously stated, migrant workers play a key role in harvesting and processing our nations food. A very intriguing example of the role that female Mexican migrant workers play in this sector of our economy involves Maryland’s crab industry. Each year, hundreds of Mexican women travel to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to work for Maryland crab companies. These women generally enter the U. S. legally, by obtaining a temporary work visa known as an H-2B Visa. Although the H-2B program was originally intended to the employer to temporarily supplement his current domestic work force with migrant workers, most of Maryland’s crab companies have begun to rely solely on H-2B workers. The H-2B program is quite similar to the government programs I mentioned earlier. The key similarity and cause for concern is the fact that an H-2B guest worker is essentially bound by regulations to a single employer, so any demand for higher wages or better working conditions can still be met with the threat of deportation (Paral 8). In order to obtain an H-2B visa most women meet with local recruiters in Mexico.  These women are already being exploited before they leave their home town, as these H-2B recruiters illegally force them to pay large fees in order to obtain their H-2B permits. Many of the women that can’t afford these fabricated fees wind up working out loans with their H-2B recruiter, which generally have exorbitant interest rates that put the women further in debt. Legally, these recruiters are not allowed to charge any fees but it is impossible to enforce U. S. relations south of the border. Employers are often able to send certain messages via recruiters that violate U. S.  Civil Rights laws, they are able to suggest that recruiters discriminate when choosing employees and are able to plead ignorance if ever reprimanded for their recruiters behavior. After receiving their H-2B visas, the women cross the border and board a bus that will take them to Maryland. They are not informed how long the trip will take, and although they are told to bring American dollars to buy food, many women either cannot afford to eat or are too intimidated by the language barrier to shop for food and as a result go the entire 2-3 day bus trip without eating (Kloer 1). When these women finally make it to Maryland they typically rent houses that are owned by their employers and located on islands in Chesapeake Bay. Crab companies are not legally required to provide housing for the crab pickers, but most own and operate rental houses in order to ensure that their workers remain close to the crab picking houses. The houses not located on islands may just as well be, because during high tide the bridges and roads connecting them with the mainland become impassable. These houses are usually in very poor condition and the women often complain about such problems as non-working stoves, leaks, and poor plumbing. These poorly maintained houses have also been known to house up to 30 women at one time, some women interviewed reported sharing a bedroom with up to 7 other women. Most women must either share beds with other women or sleep on the floor and generally have little to no privacy while staying in rental housing. To top it off, very few companies give keys to their tenants which means they cannot even lock their houses to protect their possessions while working in the crab picking houses (AUWCL 3). Many of the rental houses also have problems that are in direct violation of the counties housing code, such as broken windows and mold infestations. Despite these infractions, no legal action has been taken by the county in order to ensure that these rental houses be in livable condition. Not only are the living conditions of these rental properties very poor, living on an island is also detrimental to the women in some very significant ways. Since these women reside on an island when not working, they become very isolated from the rest of the local community. One almost wonders if these houses weren’t strategically placed by the employers, because living in such isolation shields their plight from the locals and also forces them to rely solely on their employer (Kloer 2). Since there is no public transportation to and from the island, and these women cannot afford to buy a boat, they must rely on their employer for transportation to the mainland. Many companies only arrange transportation for their workers weekly and on fixed days, because there is limited space on the boat only a limited number of women can go to town at once. As a result of this some women reported having to wait two or three weeks before they could get to the mainland to purchase groceries, this meant that they had to rely on fellow workers for food and other items.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Descartes Views on the Mind and Body

Descartes Views on the Mind and Body In Meditation VI (see week 5 reading) Descartes argues that there is fundamental difference between mind and body. Do you think Descartes is right? If yes, explain why, if not, explain why The mind body dilemma has been subject of philosophical analysis for decades and has yet to be fully understood. As the principal advocate for dualism, Descartes states that as humans we are composed of two major substances: the mental and the physical which manage to exist side by side. Without a doubt, Cartesian Dualism was one of Descartes major contributions to the study of philosophy; idea with which I agree based on the following analysis. The fundamental choice between the mind-body problem and its contra argument is the existence of materialism and its denial. Descartes states that the mind is separate from the body based on the reasoning that the mind exists and stands alone as a substance, therefore; they must be separate things. He then proceeds to add that anything that is physical occupies space. Unlike the mind, the body can be altered due to its materialistic nature, and can be changed and divided into smaller components. We find further support in Leibniz Law, which states that if a has a property that b lacks, then a is not identical to b which are applicable to the mind and body, as the mind does not occupy space, it is just housed by the body. Another argument is the one of introspection, which relays on the rationale that our best evidence for the existence of mental substance is the access to our own minds. Via introspection of the mind, we are capable of accessing and assessing different features of our own minds such as feelings, sensations, desires, etc. None of them have physical properties. Descartes then elaborates on this principle stating that there are certain things that come naturally to us as humans such as desires, which come instinctively. However, there are others such as thinking, which needs to be based on intentionality. Among these features we also encounter consciousness, which has been defines by Descartes as the epitome of the human nature, although it is not something that can be perceived by the senses, thus, it is not physical. We are capable of imagining the existence of our mind without the body. In the case of any material object, you can describe object a as existing or object a as not existi ng; however there cannot be a blending of both premises. Contrary to this, we have consciously just pictured the mind existing without the body, therefore it must follow that the mind and the body are separate things. As written in Descartes Mediation VI: And although I may, or rather, as I will shortly say, although I certainly do possess a body with which I am very closely conjoined; nevertheless, because, on the one hand, I have a clear and distinct idea of myself, in as far as I am only a thinking and unextended thing, and as, on the other hand, I possess a distinct idea of body, in as far as it is only an extended and unthinking thing, it is certain that I, that is, my mind, by which I am what I am, is entirely and truly distinct from my body, and may exist without it. [i](Descartes, Meditation VI) An example would be a paralyzed patient, where he is totally aware of his environment, and is conscious about his desire to perform an action, yet he cannot do so. He lacks the capability to acquire sensations physically, although he can still imagine what it would feel like to perform such task. As with any major idea, we find opposition, in this case, on the hands of the scientific community. The notion that Descartes work fails to completely explain how the connection between mind and body works is enough to trigger a response. As explained in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Willis wrote about the pineal gland that we can scarcely believe this to be the seat of the soul, or its chief faculties to arise from it because animals which imagination, memory and other superior powers of the soul have this glandula or kernel large and fair enough. (Lockhorst, 2013)[ii] Furthermore, Descartes idea has been rejected based on the fact that the attributes linked to the mind are simple responses to neurological and chemical stimulus in the brain. An example can be the use of any drug. Although the mind is supposed to be an independent entity from the body, when any sort of chemical/drug is ingested it can alter the mental state, though most of the time, it also alters your body as well. Same analogy applies if the patient suffers some physiological damage to the brain; it will yield physical consequences and changes in motor coordination. Although the bridge between the mind and the body may not lay at the pineal gland, a clear distinction between these two properties has been done in the past and it should not be neglected the fact that according to Descartes the single most important characteristic of the human nature is consciousness and not the soul as the human essence, our ability to think and rationalize our thoughts. As in all, although Descartes dualism theory is not infallible and it fails to thoroughly explain how exactly the connection between body and mind works, it does satisfy the purposes of explaining why would the mind be something different from the body via means of his very simple, yet logical arguments. Descartes went as far as creating what it is called a trialistic distinction where he unites and acknowledges the possibilities of the existence of the mind, the body and the union of the latter as a third state. References [i] Descartes, Meditation VI Canvas excerpt. [ii] Lokhorst, G.-J. (2013, September 18). Descartes and the Pineal gland. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pineal-gland/

Friday, September 20, 2019

Legalization of Assault Rifles Debate: Personal Opinion

Legalization of Assault Rifles Debate: Personal Opinion Nathan Eakin When faced with a situation that puts harm into the family’s life, anyone would like reliable weapon to protect them. Assault rifles are an accurate weapon and that’s why a lot of gun enthusiast collect them and build them. Coming from the standpoint of an enthusiast, a lot of people rarely get out and shoot all their guns that they have. Now the only thing everybody hears is people talking negatively about them, and about how dangerous they are. If the government banned the semi-auto assault rifle it would cause a huge wave of a black markets and a lot of fighting if they tried to come abolish already owned weapons. But still they are trying to change the Second amendment even though it declares the right to bear arms which then can be extended to semi-auto weapons that are now getting debated on the legalization (Acosta, Luis). The modern assault rifle was made back at the end of World War 2 and Vietnam. There have been several different types of assault weapons made. Back in 1963 the first AR like guns were sold to the public. There are several different types of assault weapons made. And most of these are available to the public. The M16 and M1A1 were the first modern assault rifles. They were used in the military through Vietnam. Now mainly all for sale is the AR15. The AR15 uses .223 rounds and some can shoot the 5.56 (†The Truth About Assault Weapons†). These are the main weapons that are being debated on. A lot of people don’t actually know what assault weapons are. Now there are so many types of old military weapons that are open to the public. There are lots of types of semi-auto weapons for sale. These weapons you can pretty much go anywhere and buy them. You also can obtain full automatic weapons through a long process of back ground checks and fingerprints. All of these assault weapons are getting debated now. This whole debate isn’t just on one gun either. It’s on several different weapons, magazines, ammunition amounts. They disagree on a lot of these things. The NRA is a huge group that is against the banning of all these weapons. They have several different classes you can take for safety, basics, and all hunting tutorials. The NRA is a huge group with thousands of members that all are gun enthusiasts that know all about the real use for weapons. They are a great organization to talk to about some of the information and the sides to this debate (James A. Peden and Mark Yaworski). The banning of assault rifles would cause a huge fight in the United States. Most of the people that use the assault rifle are professionals that use them for a lot of competitions. A lot of people are against it just because they have large magazines and they can be shot in a very fast manner. They think they are some kind of killing machine, even though it’s not guns that kill people, people kill people. Even though 69% of murders used with firearms are with pistols and shotguns not assault rifles. This shows that assault weapons aren’t the most dangerous thing out there. Even though all the professionals have been shooting for several years, and more than likely have their conceal carry permit and have went through so many different types of classes of safety people still worry about them. There is a lot of time and dedication to obtain this permit. First you have to get a back ground check, and then you have to get a fingerprinted. Last you have to get approved by t he sheriff’s office. There are a lot of classes a lot of them take for safety and practice. This helps the person with their overall shooting ability. They all have been trained in great manners and banning this gun could hurt the professional’s careers. A lot of people use these weapons to protect them. Assault rifles are an overall great gun to use for protection around the home. They are an accurate weapon, if you need to shoot several times you can. Everybody knows the look of these guns, and the crook or robber probably would immediately run as soon as he saw it in your hands. He would more than completely second guess trying something that could possibly hurt you. It’s a great weapon to teach your kids how to shoot and how to safely operate a weapon. It’s not a terribly loud gun and it doesn’t kick much, and it’s just a .223 which is very small rifle round. They guns are very accurate up to long ranges and can be an accurate weapon at short and close shots to. The way these guns are made is to shoot several rounds at a fast past and to be able to keep the gun in the same spot. These weapons are what most of the military personal use. That kind of shows how amazing these guns are. In the long run they are a great weapon to have around the house and a great weapon to protect your family with. Even people that are doing research on this exact topic find that 69% of firearm murders happen with pistols and hunting weapons like shotguns. Pistols are such a small weapon but can sure pack a punch. They can be easily hidden anywhere, some are decently accurate depending on the shooter, and you still have 14 rounds in most magazines. And most of people against this topic always bring up the magazine capacity, even though some are 10 and some are 30. But still assault rifles aren’t too much more powerful at the same range as pistols. Assault rifles are great at long distances but still a pistol you can put in your pocket and have 15 rounds ready to go. With an assault rifle they would see you carrying a big gun into wherever you are and everybody would freak out. Assault rifles aren’t made for close range especially if you have a zoomed optic so it’s pointless to use one close. All these points really show that assault rifles aren’t meant to hurt people . They are used for long range target practice, coyote hunting, etc. Despite all the information on my side, most of the other people on the other side think about how dangerous the weapons are to them and everyone around them. They think that since they can carry several rounds and they can be shot at high rates of fire they are bad weapons for people to have. Even though you have to go through a lot of papers, back ground checks, fingerprints, etc. Some people just don’t trust other people which is understandable, but it’s not fair for most of the people that just want to shoot and hunt with. People now have to go through all these processes to just get a gun. Even some weapons that are classified in class A and B you have to go through longer processes that can take several months just to get the weapon you want. To conclude this paper, the decision they should make is assault rifles shouldn’t be debate or banned in any form. I can understand regulating the magazine size and categorize it as a class 2 type of material. From all the details and research that has been done it’s safe to say that assault rifles aren’t the most dangerous think out there. Pistols and hunting weapons still come in with the higher percentages. Not only are assault rifles very high in price, mainly gun enthusiasts are the only ones interested in these weapons. In the end it would cause several different problems for all of America. It could cause some people to attack back against the law ans government. It could cause a huge black market of assault weapons which can make everything a lot harder for people to solve murders because the gun wouldn’t be registered to anyone. All these reasons show that banning assault weapons wouldn’t be the best idea. Works Cited Acosta, Luis. United States: Gun Ownership and the Supreme Court. Second Amendment. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.loc.gov/law/help/second-amendment.php Everything You Need to Know about the Assault Weapons Ban, in One Post. Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-banning-assault-weapons-in-one-post/ GUN CONTROL and THE SECOND AMENDMENT. GUN CONTROL and THE SECOND AMENDMENT. Tntech, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.http://iweb.tntech.edu/kosburn/history-201/second-amendment.htm James A. Peden and Mark Yaworski. And, You Can Join the NRA Right Now..click Here. National Rifle Association Information Page. Vermont Friends of the NRA, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. http://www.middlebury.net/nra/ Mathews, Jake. For Lives and Liberty: Banning Assault Weapons in America. The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. N.p., n.d. http://www.iop.harvard.edu/lives-and-liberty-banning-assault-weapons-america Sherfinski, David. Six in 10 Favor Ban on Semi-automatic Weapons: Poll. Washington Times. The Washington Times, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/2/poll-6-10-favor-ban-semi-automatic-weapons/ The Truth About Assault Weapons. The Truth About Assault Weapons. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. . United States Senator Dianne Feinstein. Assault Weapons Ban Summary. Senator Dianne Feinstein, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons-ban-summary

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Fear of Flying and Classical Conditioning Theory Essays -- Classical C

How Lauren may have learned of her Fear of Flying? How Lauren learned she had a fear in flying? Using the Classical Conditioning theory the possibilities could be endless. Classical conditioning in simple terms is the method in which one determines why and the cause of a condition as well as what has brought it about. There are many stimulus both conditioned and unconditioned that can cause fear or other problems, but the major reason for causes regarding the fear of flying has been mentioned in several articles regarding anxiety disorders. Fear of flying is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. When using the neutral stimulus explanation, Lauren may not have had a relevant response of interest. Lauren may have learned something or heard someone from her past that caused the continuous fear. Due to the facts in this case, there’s little information to provide us regarding Lauren. First we know she’s afraid to fly, but we have no further information regarding the condition that caused the fear or the circumstances to what led to this fear. The first step in Pavlov’s theory is trying to discover how Lauren’s fear came about, but without more information one can only speculate or guess how Lauren’s condition developed. Pavlov’s theory states several actions and read actions that could have caused Lauren’s Condition. The conditioning of the plane could be neutral stimulus, and the activities on the plane is the unconditioned stimulus. During condit...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Rift Wars :: essays research papers

THE RIFT WARS Long before humans came to this part of the world, dwarves and elves made their homes in Caspia. Neither group bothered the other because they did not desire the lands of the other. After a time, however, their racial incompatibility began to wear on them. Since their basic attitudes and outlooks were so different, their infrequent encounters became less and less civil. Eventually, their leaders forbade their subjects to have anything to do with the other race. Feelings of mistrust and dislike grew as the years passed, eventually blossoming into hatred. Often, the younger, more hotheaded dwarves and elves disobeyed the orders of their elders. Members of each race began to stage guerilla raids on the other. Finally, the elves and dwarves declared an all-out war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The elves, armed with powerful magic, reduced the fortresses of the dwarves to rubble. Their skilled archers also decimated the dwarven offense in the forest. Defeat for the dwarven army seemed certain, but the dwarves were not to be easily beaten. Exploiting the blustery winds of the Rift, the dwarves lit and burned large tracts of woods. Either to avenge the burning forest or to escape the mounting flames, the elves poured out of the woods in droves. As they emerged from the flaming trees, half blinded by hot ash and choking smoke, the dwarves mowed them down. The blood of these two peoples ran thick in the Caspian River.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Meanwhile, the truly evil god Morgion with his orcs and goblins capitalized on a chance to wreak havoc on two of their most hated enemies. They began to covertly destroy the villages of both elves and dwarves, knowing that the feuding creatures would blame each other for these atrocities. The young, the old, the crippled, and the infirm of both races began to feel the bite of both lawful and chaotic blades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For a time, this ruse worked perfectly. The slaughter of the innocents served to inflame the passions of the combatants, and they fought all the more fiercely because of it. The elves and dwarves might well have exterminated one another, had not an elven child escaped the carnage in one of the orc raids and told his rescuers of the monsters who were actually responsible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then the elves and dwarves met under a flag of truce, where they agreed to set aside their differences and deal with the common enemy. Their combined forces were mighty enough to crush the hordes of the evil Morgion.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Harverd Case Roche

Advanced Corporate Finance Final Case: Roche 1 2 Reasons for Roche’s 100% ownership of Genentech Since Roche and Genentech both operate in the pharmaceutical industry, but still have their own specialty, they can benefit from a partnership. Roche owns a majority stake in Genentech since 1990 and since 2007, it owns 56% of Genentech. Genentech was founded in 1976, their focus lies on biotechnology in which they are the second largest firm of the world. Genentech had become an important part of Roche’s business representing 24% of Roche’s pharmaceutical product sales in 2008.In July 2008, Roche made public that they’d want to acquire the remaining 44% of Genentech. For Roche this acquisition beholds several benefits, but of course also several risks. These benefits and risk are stated below. Benefits First of all since Genentech, in terms of revenue, is the second largest firm in biotechnology in 2007, a full acquisition will strengthen the market positions of both companies. Genentech experiences an expanding growth in sales (see exhibit B), so both companies notice more and more direct competition of each other in several U.S. markets. A merger of Roche and Genentech would take away the direct competition and create new opportunities and strengths which would give them the opportunity to excessively work together on a world wide scale. Secondly, the acquisition beholds a great cost reduction. Roche managers believed there was increasing duplication of effort and facilities at the two companies and, thus, opportunities to create value by cutting costs and streamlining operations.They identified that annual savings realizable over five years would be between $750 million and $850 million, most of which would be in manufacturing, General &Administrative and commercial operations. Another benefit of Roche owning 100%, a merge of the two companies would give Roche access to all the intelligence of Genentech. The concerns about property ri ghts blocked the flow of information between researchers at the two companies. By the merge, they can share their intellectual property, which might facilitate product development and research.Thus the constraint between Roche’s and Genentech’s R&D efforts would disappear. Since the R&D pipeline of Genentech grew stronger by the day in the ten years before the announcement (see exhibit A, B and C), a merge would be a big advantage to Roche. Finally, since the beginning of 2007, the free cash flow of Genentech grew largely. Roche could not access Genentech’s cash directly under the present ownership structure. If a merge occurred, Roche would gain full access to the cash of Genentech.Because expectations are that Genentech’s cash flow will remain high, full access to this cash would have many advantages to Roche, like repaying the debt made by the acquisition. Risks Besides the benefits, there are also several risks involved with the takeover. First, the t akeover would cost $44 billion, which partially would have to be loaned. The management wasn’t sure that Roche would be able to raise the required debt funding given the state of the financial markets. In the middle of the financial crisis, banks weren’t very keen in arranging bridge loans to finance such acquisitions.As a result of this, even if they were able to manage in getting a bridge loan, this would be very expensive. Secondly, it is very hard to value the benefits to Roche in taking over Genentech. One of the causes of a misvaluation is that synergies tend to be mispriced. On top of that, Genentech was waiting on test results of their cancer drug Avastin, wich were to be expected in April 2009. If the acquisition would take place before this date, Roche bears the risk that the drug is rejected. Which would result in a drop in value of Genentech.The risk that Roche takes by waiting on the test results is that, if the test results tend to be positive, stock pric e of Genentech would increase, making a deal substantially more expensive and thus making it even harder to finance it. Finally, there is a big chance of losing a lot of the human capital of Genentech. Genentech has become famous for its strong working culture. This is partially because of the fact that most of the minority shareholders are Genentech employees. By taking over Genentech, Roche risks destroying the old culture and as a result, losing the employees to other firms.Acquisition of Genentech by Roche would bring synergies to both companies. The several risks that are involved, are mostly being compensated by the benefits to Roche. The high debt can be repaid by the large amount of cash of Genentech, the risk brought by the uncertainty of the test results can be reduced by letting independent firms estimate Genentech’s stand alone value, and the employees can be compensated for the loss of their share in Genentech in another way, e. g. by developing a strategy which maintains the important current working culture. Both companies would increase in strength

Monday, September 16, 2019

Keeping Pets Essay

Nowadays keeping pets is gaining increasing popularity. The relationship between human and animals are always changing. To begin with, pets can keep a good company to people so as to bring pleasure and drive away loneliness. After a long period of staying together, people view their lovely pets as an old friend and even as family members. When people have something unhappy and do not want to tell anyone else, we can always talk with our pets,though they don’t understand at all. It is true that my friend , Jenny,who grew up with an absentee father and a peripatetic mother. I think Jenny is very unfortunate. However, she is very optimistic about her life. Because when she was young,her mom worried about nobody can take care of her, so she bought a dog for her. Jenny named its Beef and it is really a lovely dog. It often does some antics to make her laugh and warms her up. At the present, Jenny does not complain about her family or indulge herself like some other kids from a sing le parent family. She said that Beef always stays with her and relieves this loneliness to some extent. From Jenny/s experience , I feel the need to have another living being to share our daily lives. On the other hand, in contemporary society, many intelligent animals have been trained to be a doorkeepers since long time ago. It is reported that pets can often avoid thieves stealing something valuable from people’s house .Because busy work make people enable to dismiss the suggestion as trivial ,but thanks to smart pets today we can live in a safe and comfortable environment. On the contrary, there are also many stray animals in the society. Sometimes their owners abolish them or they just lose the way. It is actually a serious problem,but people often ignore this issue. I think that we should find a shelter to help them even though we cannot adopt all of the pets . If we meet those stray animals, we have the responsibility to protect them in order that the relationship between animals and people will get better and better. Otherwise, animals are likely to become aggressive.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Nora’s Individualism

Nora's Individualism Women in the 19th century live in the shadows of men. They don't have occupations. Their gender role was to cook, clean, shop for the household, and to care for the children. They were expected to find a suitor; this man would take care of the family financially. Women were submissive to their husbands back then. They didn't stand up for their rights or voice their opinions. Women catered to their husbands. Nora is submissive to Torvalds's needs. The play is about Nora's behavior to her husband. She submits to him and is a mother to their children.She is unhappy as a caretaker. She over enthusiastic personality throughout the play seems forced. She feels she has no purpose in life, being a mother or housewife isn't fulfilling her needs. She lacks being a mother the nannies constantly look after the children. She is searching for her true self subconsciously in the beginning of the play. Due to her upbringing, Nora has been raised to live under a man, to be submis sive to them. Nora doesn't know any other way than being an oppressed woman. The way Nora grew up influences her behavior now as an adult.She grew up wealthy, her father took care of her, and then she married Helmer at any early age. Nora says to Torvald † When I lived at home with Papa, he gave me his opinion about everything, she had the same opinions and if I didn't I keep my mouth shut he wouldn't have liked it. And then I came to live in your house. I was Just passed from Papa's hands to yours. You arranged everything according to your own taste, and I choose the same tastes as you. Or else I pretended to† (Ibsen 1167). Nora was raised by her father to live under a man.She transitioned from living with her father and now to her husband, Torvald. Through this realization she isn't content with her well-being. Nora appears to be happy on the outside, she is not deep inside. Her personality is over exaggerated to all. It's apparent that it is ungenuine. She is quite gi ddy about small things, such as showing Torvald the items she bought. Nora says, â€Å"But come here and let me show you what I bought. And all so cheap! Look a new suit for Ivar, and a sword, a horse and a trumpet for Bob, and a doll and a doll's bed for Emily' (Ibsen 1122).She doesn't ave anything exciting going on in her life, she has to focus on something no matter how minute it is. The only excitement she has is hiding the secret from Torvald. Which isn't excitement at all, she fears he will find out about it. That's why Nora keeps up her charade of shopping for her children and the household. That's what she use to do before borrowing the money. This loan has given her purpose; she has to find ways to pay it back. She has done side Jobs and started being more frugal about her money she gets from her husband. Through this experience she realizes she is nhappy in her marriage.Her husband's expectations of her are too high with a lack of love and care for one another on an intim ate level. She has to live up to her husband's standards of being a trophy wife. Nora is not satisfied with knowing that Torvald Just cares about the outward appearance ot ner and the tamily, and not the love they should share with each other. Torvald wants to have the appearance to others they are well put together. He focuses on small things like Nora dancing the Tarantella. It must be perfection in his eyes, he wouldn't settle for anything less.He makes her practice it numerous times and gets quickly frustrated with her when she doesn't perform the moves correctly. He should focus on her feelings, not worrying about his wife's outward appearance. Torvalds's narcissism makes it difficult for Nora to be happy in their marriage. She likes materialistic things but cares about her marriage more. She forged her signature on a formal document for a loan to travel to Italy to save her husband's life when he was ill. She shows her love to him by getting this loan in secret and by taking c are of their children.What has Torvald done lovingly for Nora? That is the issue; he hasn't done anything loving or romantic for her. Women need their love shown by spending quality time together, not by getting money to buy gifts. Torvald see's providing for his wife as sustainable to keep their relationship going. Women like to hear that men love them and to be shown that they are loved through actions. Nora is unhappy with Torvalds's behavior. Their marriage is for show and spurious in Nora's perspective, she is unhappy. She feels there is no substance or closeness there.They don't share intimate details with one another. Torvald is always concerned about work, while Nora is looking after the children or preparing for an event they will attend in the near future. Torvald isn't aware of Nora's unhappiness in the most of the play because Nora masks her feelings. She expresses herself when she can't hold her feelings in about their lack of a marriage anymore. Nora realizes that noth ing is going to change in her life and she won't settle for less. Nora has gone on for eight years doing what Torvald expects of her. She is willing to makes a change for her happiness.Nora begins to tell Torvald that their relationship lacks a good solid foundation based on trust and concern for one another mutually. Nora says you have never understood me. IVe been treated badly, first by Papa and now by you (Ibsen 1167). She has a husband who she hardly knows and won't accept it. She no longer has the interest in being a wife or a mother. She decides to leave it all to figure herself out. Nora tells Torvald, Duties to myself. I believe that first and foremost I'm a human being, Just as you are, or at least I have to try to become one.I can't be satisfied with what most people say or with what's in books. I have to think things through for myself and come to understand them (Ibsen 1168). Nora has decided to leave her old life to discover a new one. She is willing to sacrifice her c hildren for her happiness. What is more realistic? For a woman to have children and be in an unhappy marriage or abandon her children and pursue her desires? Nora pursues herself she no longer has interest in taking care of others. Nora leaving her husband in the 1800's is unheard of. Women didn't venture from their roles as a wife and a mother.Ibsen's play got negative attention, being that his main character did the unthinkable at the end of the play; leave her family for her goals. The play leads the audience to believe she doesn't need her husband anymore. That she is strong and will discover her needs and aspirations. Nora has gone through a transformation of being an oppressed women to now caring about herself. She has had to make a drastic change to start a new Journey to meet her new goals. I'm proud of Nora for standing up for herself. She went against the grain of all women and explor ed her dreams.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Land Ordinance of 1785

Land Ordinance of 1785 I)The Land Ordinance A. Adoption 1. The United States Congress adopted the Land Ordinance of 1785 in May 1785. 2. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Ordinance of 1784, which called for the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River to be divided. a. This ordinance did not exactly describe how the land would be settled, governed, or how the land would become a state. 3.The Land Ordinance of 1785 put the 1784 resolution in operation by providing mechanism for selling or settling the land. B. Goals and Accomplishments: 1. Due to the fact that Congress could not raise taxes, the main goal of the ordinance was to sell the unmapped territory west of the states acquired in 1783 through the Treaty of Paris and uses the income as federal profit. 2. Over three-fourths of the continental US was surveyed using the rectangular survey, which provided the following: a. Easily recognizable land descriptions . Economic, political, and social development in the townships. 4. The Ordinance divided the land into townships, six square miles each that were divided into 36 1 square mile sections. a. Each of the 36 sections were subdivided into portions of land that were sold or used for a specific purpose. b. Section 16 of every township was reserved for the maintenance of public schools. c. In later townships, section 36 was designated as a school section. d. Sections 8, 11, 26, and 29 were reserved for federal sale Related article: Land of Opportunity

Friday, September 13, 2019

Psychologists and Jury Selection Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychologists and Jury Selection - Term Paper Example The researcher states that in case such as Bruno Hauptmann, there could be strong public mood against the accused which could influence the jury to convict the innocent. Here, the jurists’ personality characteristics and traits might play an important role. In a media intensity society, it is particularly true as it often wages psychological wars to mobilize public opinion over what it considers as truth. The trial of O. J. Simpson was characterized by ‘continued media interest and public fascination with his actions and statements. The belief that â€Å"he got away with murder† even led to proposals to reform and restrict the jury system’. The certainty necessary to punish nay accused could be accumulated by the jurists based on their prejudices and worldview. Most importantly, according to Greene et.al, ‘truth is elusive, and in the legal system, all truth seekers are subject to human error, even though the system seems to assume that they approach infallibility. The failure to achieve perfection in our decision making will become evident as the steps in the trial process are reviewed’. Jury sentiments are directly a product of jurists’ opinions, attitudes and beliefs. Attorneys have two options for selecting new juries. First of all, a panel of prospective jurors need to be identified which is known as venire. Secondly, ‘a process known as voir dire is employed to question and select the eventual jurors’. It involves every jurist telling truth about himself/herself. This process naturally involves elimination as the jurists who hold biases over a particular case are dismissed from the trial. Only the ones who hold a free mind and free from limitations are selected. There is a difference between judges’ decisions and Juries’ decisions. It has been found that â€Å"citizens believe a jury decision offers more procedural fairness (greater thoroughness, better representation of the commun ity, fewer personal biases affecting decisions) than a decision by a judge†. Jury sentiments are the major cause for the discrepancies in the judicial verdicts. In their famous survey, ‘Kalven and Zeisel, after reviewing the multitude of discrepancies, used this term to cover all trials in which, in the judge’s view, the jury’s verdict was detrimentally determined by factors beyond the evidence and the law’. Especially in victimless crimes, there could a stronger tendency for sentiments towards the culprit. In some cases, if the case gets more social importance through media intervention, the number of jurists may be relatively high. It is very difficult even to keep the jury selection procedure just as it would involve discrimination against minority religions, races, nationalities and other cognizable groups.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Using Geography to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse Research Paper

Using Geography to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse - Research Paper Example He argues that geography skills are important during this time because it will help people analyze the push and pull factors of migration, or movement, that can help them survive. Push factors refer to elements that make people want to leave the place, while pull factors are factors that make people want to go that place. Hunter (2013) mentioned that some of the pull factors of migration are cities that are connected to other cities, access to resources, such as food, water, reliable shelter, weapons, and transportation, and safety levels. Finally, he explained three steps that can help people analyze their options: (1) identifying points of analysis; (2) finding connections among communities or cities; and (3) finding patterns of movement over these connections. I agree with Hunter (2013) that geography skills will help people survive during the Zombie Apocalypse because they will help examine the movements of people, resources, ideas, and other factors that can help them decide whe re to go, in case it happens. If Zombie Apocalypse happens, the five pull factors that are critical to my movement are: (1) access to basic resources, including weapons and transportation, (2) access to people with ideas on how to survive during these times, (3) existence of safe havens, (4) connection among cities through transportation systems, and (5) availability of open, flat lands. I find access to basic resources important, particularly food, water, shelter, and medicine, because they are critical to survival.