Discussion about influences has television had in our society Essay

Discussion about influences has television had in our society - Essay Example Television has both good influences and bad influences on society. The following essay will talk about these in detail. There is no doubt that Television has many good influences. Firstly, Television is an audio/visual medium making it easy for the audience to follow programs. It uses graphics, sound recording and film technology to bring lively and interesting material to the enjoyment of the audience. Many people when they come back from office or school switch on the Television and relax themselves. More importantly, it also provides news bulletins and science programs for gaining knowledge. For school-going children it offers sport programming like live baseball telecast, etc. All this are very useful and perform an important social role. In fact, Television has become such an important part of everyday life that we cannot imagine how life will be without Television. (Bignell, 2004) Television has been used for the purpose of education as well. For example, class-rooms can show s tudents interesting movies that are part of the curriculum. Class-room can also show recorded lectures and science documentaries. With respect to society, Television brings awareness about global issues so that all of us can act together. One example of this is global warming, about which information is provided in Television. With this we can act together and save the planet. Television also has plenty of advertisements. While some ads can be boring, some others provide information about products, which we can use when we go shopping. (Noll, 2011) Television not only performs a social role but also a family role. It brings all members of family together during evenings. In fact, it has become part of family routine at dinner time. Television gives news about weather conditions. We can take precautions against rain and storm by watching weather news. Also, Television is used these days in closed-circuit cameras for security reasons. On the negative side too, there are many points. F irst, watching Television for long time is bad for the eyes. Television can distract students from focussing on studies. It can make young children lazy and keep them away from books and sports. Parents are especially worried that Television has bad effect on society as it shows violence and crime. Young people can get the wrong idea about life watching such programs. For example, a young person watching use of guns on Television might later kill someone with a gun in real life. So it is very dangerous in cases like this. It also gives wrong idea about how to treat women, etc. In other words, Television can show women in stereotype fashion. Hence, not everything about Television is good. (Freedman, 2002) Television can cause problems in society by showing racial discrimination, etc. For example, if black people are not shown in programs, one gets the impression that they are not important people. Television news can also be flawed. For example, we cannot believe everything the news anchor says as truth. Sometimes they give inaccurate information to deceive the viewer. So one has to be careful about the truthfulness of news. Also, the information given in advertisements can be misleading. Many companies are just trying to make quick money and will show any false claims to sell products. So we have to be careful while watching Television. (Bignell, 2004) Finally, Television has many limitations which make it not useful for in-depth analysis. That is, Television can never replace the

Cause and Consequences of urbanization in Scotland Essay Example for Free

Cause and Consequences of urbanization in Scotland Essay This essay will explore relevant cause and consequences of urbanisation in Scotland from 1700-1860. A dictionary-defined term would be the social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban.(1. 30/08/2005). Scotland went through huge political and economical changes from the 1700s onwards. The country went from being a rural, agricultural society with an estimated population of 1.2 million in 1755, to being urbanised, with the population rising to over 2.6 million in 1841(Lenman, p281, 2001). This figure is what makes the urbanisation of Scotland so interesting. What were the main factors that caused the population to grow so rapidly? The expansion of population over such a short period and the social changes that occurred with this. The great Agrarian and Industrial revolutions had a major parts to play in the urbanisation of Scotland and this essay will show some enlightenment on why it was so profoundly noticeable in Scotland. Another point that will be investigated is the consequences of urbanisation, how the country ultimately became a modern capitalised country from its rural beginnings. Before and up until 1750, Scotland was very much a feudalistic country. Lords rented tenants enough land for them to produce food to survive. In return, the tenant would have to labour the Lords land as well as his own. The Landlord would reap the benefits, the tenant would survive, and as the majority of the people depended on the land as their lively-hood, it was a means to survival. As Devine states,_ In 1750 only one Scot in eight lived in a town (population of 4000 or over) and there was only four towns with more than 10000 inhabitants_ (Devine, 1999, p125). This shows the enormity of Scots who were living in rural communities, with the main labour being in agriculture, weaving and fishing. The changes to agriculture began with those known as the improvers, whose main outlook was to modernise the way the land was cultivated. As the population of the country began to accelerate quickly, the improvers were looking to produce mass food instead of the old way of cultivation. During the period between 1790-1840 new farming equipment was introduced and the land that was formally cultivated  using the infield-outfield and rug and furrow method was improved by enclosing the land into fields making it more productive for crops and for livestock Crop rotations were also introduced which was making use of the land at all times. The introduction of single tenant farming as opposed to ferm-touns meant the beginning of the clearances, as well as agricultural tools becoming more efficient. The introduction of threshing machines reduced manual labour and the Smalls plough a two horse plough replaced the Scots plough which required a team of oxen and horses (Devine, 1998, p138). These new ideas did create more food but they also left people homeless and jobless, as there was less labour needed, which left people no choice but to move on into the towns and cities where industry had began creating jobs. The growth of the towns and cities were intricately linked with the agrarian revolution as the mass population relied on the land for the food it produced. The other main point that Devine makes is that as the agricultural market started to accelerate, the need for exchange centres that provided legal, commerce and financial facilities for the rural communities became more prominent, so several towns including Perth, Ayr and Dumfries became the provider of these services. This again contributed to expansion of towns, as people were required to work and live in the towns to facilitate these positions (Devine 1998, p32) Therefore, we can gather that three major changes occurred at the same time and they contributed towards urbanisation in Scotland: The agrarian revolution along with the population growth, and the expansion of the manufacturing industry. As T.M Devine States, _Urbanisation could not have taken place without a substantial increase in food production to sustain the needs of those who did not cultivate their own food supplies. At the same time, agrarian productivity had to improve in order to release a growing proportion of the population for non-agricultural tasks in towns and cities._ (Devine, 1998, p32) Along with theses changes the manufacturing industry began to grow rapidly. Scotland was a major player in the transatlantic trading industry and due to its geographical position, it was booming in the tobacco trade and it would go on to prosper in cotton and linen too. Scotlands Geographical position at this time was very important as it is situated between the Atlantic and Europe, which meant trading from one to the other, was very successful. The two major factors of the Industrial Revolution were, the textile industry and the productivity of the steam engine, which was revolutionised by James Watt in 1769 (Watt James online, 2005). Textiles factories and coalmines could produce more goods and they did not need to be near a water source in order to run. Due to this, the larger towns and cities began to grow rapidly. _Greenock in 1700 had a population of 2000 and by 1831 it had rose to 27500._ _Glasgow went from 31700 to 147000._ _Paisley went from 6800 to 47000._ _Kilmarnock went from 4400 to 12700_ _Falkirk went from 3900 to 11500. All within the time period from 1740-1850 (Devine 1998, p35)_ The population growth over the short period is the most significant point here as this is what made urbanisation in Scotland different. There are many different factors that affected the population growth but some are more significant than others are. Irish Immigration was very prominent and the migration of people from the rural areas had a major impact. For example:_ The majority of the migrants were young adults more concentrated in the marriageable and childbearing age groups than were the native inhabitants. High Migration because of its age composition was therefore likely to fuel natural increase in the urban areas_.(Devine 1998,p41) At the same time the  highlanders were leaving the land either through force as the lords applied the new cultivation techniques to the land or through choice. The majority chose to immigrate to America; this did not affect the population growth as many Irish migrants were coming to Scotland looking for employment in the booming industries. _Urbanisation meant more jobs, a wider diversity of social contacts and infinitely greater colour and excitement in the lives of the masses_ (Devine 1998 p43) Mortality rates demonstrate their huge impact on population growth too. It has been suggested that lower death rates, through natural immunity to disease highly contributed to urbanisation, as in the early 1800s the death rate had fallen to 25 per 1000. This suggests that natural immunity and high levels of unemployment accelerated the population growth (Devine, 1998, p48). The effect of industrialisation was economically good for the country, but with it came poverty. The majority of the working class lived in overcrowded housing areas known as slums with no sanitation, and were rife with disease. As Devine argues, during periods of industrial recession when employment had slumped, there were also periods of disease epidemic. These began in 1817-1820(Typhoid), 1826-27(Typhoid) and in 1830-1832, a cholera epidemic that wiped out 10000 people. Periods of recession run parallel, the first being 1816-1818, 1825 and then 1836 (Devine, 1999, p168). In 1839, Death rates rose to 29 per 1000. People were forced to live in abominable living conditions with huge sanitations problems, the towns and cities could not cope with the urban growth and disease was the outcome. Overcrowded, sub-divided housing was a problematic issue in all the major Towns and Cities, especially in Glasgow. _I did not believe until I visited Glasgow, that so large an amount of filth, crim e, misery and disease existed in one spot in any one civilised country (_Butt J, 1987 p41-42). People were customised to living in filthy dark, damp squalid conditions amongst disease. As the periods of recession were leaving thousands out of work in a state of poverty, the poor law amendment act was passed in 1845, which replaced the old poor relief laws of the parishes taking responsibly for the  poor. The new law allowed a claim to be made under supervision of a board of examiners, it came in the form of indoor relief, which would be admission to a poorhouse if subject had lost the ability to work, and outdoor relief, which was for short-term illness, and this may have been in the form of payment or medicine. It could be argued that the industrial revolution was the birth of the working class and capitalism in this country. Those who owned the factories and docks made a great profit and a middle class lifestyle was adopted. This could be said to be the division of the classes, with the help of the industrial revolution, people developed a working class or middle class att itude, In conclusion, the evidence points out that several major factors occurred that accelerated the urban growth of the nation. The Agrarian revolution started the mass migrating and the industrial revolution provided the work force in order for capitalism to evolve. The consequences of urbanisation were overwhelming, yes the economy did thrive, but at what cost to the working class people, death, disease and misery.

Poes The Cask of Amontillado: A Psychological Analysis of Characters

Poe's The Cask of Amontillado: A Psychological Analysis of Characters Widely regarded as E. A. Poe's finest story, "The Cask of Amontillado" depicts a deed so horrific that for many it defines evil. Edmund Clarence Stedman said of Poe's writings: "He strove by a kind of divination to put his hand upon the links of mind and matter, and reach the hiding-places of the soul". Even though 20th century theories of psychology would not be formulated until many years after Poe's death, he nevertheless delved into the realm of abnormal psychology instinctively and perhaps never with a more terrifying outcome than in the character of Montressor, a man so bent upon revenge that he walls his enemy up in a crypt and leaves him to die. Is Montressor a madman, or is he evil personified? Is Fortunato merely the unfortunate victim of a deranged murderer, or did he entice Montressor to commit the deed? By applying 20th century psychological guidelines, one can speculate that Montressor is not insane per se but is afflicted with a malignant narcissistic disorder which, w hen aggravated by Fortunato's egotism and naivetà ©, drives him to commit his violent act. Fortunato is depicted from the outset of the tale as arrogant and egotistical. Montressor begins his narration by saying, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge" (240). Though the exact nature of the insult is not made known, there are numerous examples of subtle slights by Fortunato throughout the narrative. Perhaps Fortunato is unaware that his comments are frequently demeaning but his remarks make him seem arrogant and uncaring. Early in the story, he indicates his belief that Montressor is not a true connoiss... ...y points to a mental disorder but is not indicative of insanity as we define it. Did Fortunato's perceived insults drive Montressor to commit his crime? Perhaps they did, or perhaps Montressor needed little incentive. However, one thing is certain. If evil can be defined as the death or absence of a soul, then to look upon Montressor must surely be to glimpse the very face of evil. Works Cited Goode, Erica. "Stalin to Saddam: So Much for the Madman Theory." New York Times 4 May 2003: pg. 4.5. Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Reading and Writing about Literature. Phillip Sipiora. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002. 240-244. Stedman, Edmund Clarence. Scribner's Monthly, Vol. XX, May-Oct. 1880, pp. 107-124. Reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Vol. 16. GALILEO. . Yen, Duen Hsi. "Shame." 23 May 1997. Noogenesis. 4 Mar. 2004 .

Diversity in American culture Essay

The American culture is one of the outstanding cultures in nature compared with other cultures of the world. The culture of the American people can be regarded as being diversified in nature. (Bernstein N, 2001). The diversity of the American culture is attributed by the fact that America is composed of many ethnic groups with different global origin. The diversity has been found to occur in the dressing habits, eating habits, marriages habits and religion in nature. America has a unique history in nature since it was a founded world which is currently composed of the African –American, White-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and the Indian –Americans. The diversity of the American culture has a lot of controversies which has come into a lot of criticism by the public in general. This paper will try to evaluate the religious diversity among the American people at the same it will try to bring out the driving forces behind this religion diversity. Consequently it will analyze the effects of the religious diversity to the American people. The religious diversity in America has been contributed by the immigration laws which encourage the religious freedom which has created the religious tolerance of the American people. According to Becvar, D. S (1997) â€Å"perhaps the most extreme case of religious pluralism in the world. † . Moreover the American constitution has consequently protected the religious rights of its members. The first amendment of The USA has consequently promoted the right of free worship without any interruptions. Thus the religious diversity has been promoted by the democratic government of the United States of America which has tried to encourage the immigration and at the same time guarating the religious freedom of its citizens. The American religious culture is made of many religious sects. The religious groups which are presently found in America includes the Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Budhism other minority religions (Bullis K, 1996). The religious diversity in the United States of America has proved to be so important to the society in nature, for instance there are a lot of intermarriages between the religious groups. By promoting the intermarriages, harmony is created in the world. The America of today has undergone some radical changes which have created a new America with new religious landscape. Nowdays the number of the immigrants has increased in to a great existent than before. The most growing group which has migrated in larger number is the Hispanics and the Asian groups. Most of the American people have not noticed the radical changes which the religious sector is undergoing in the recent times. We need to focus on such changes and realize that the religious field is currently under metamorphosis. Although the United states of America was being regarded as being a Christian nation, it has become to light that the Muslims have started to increase in their numbers, moreover the Buddhist religion has taken roots in the American land for example the Los Angeles city is a Buddhist city which is recognized as the most concentrated Buddhist city having the immigrants from India,China,Korea and sri lanka. At the same time the immigrants from the Latin America such as from Mexico, Brazil and Spain to the United States of America cities has promoted the growth of the Christianity of the Catholic and the protestant community. According to history the American land has been composed of many religions. The United States of America is undergoing a change in the religious practices. Most of the adults are nowadays have started to change their religious believes from the Christianity since the start of the First World War. However most of the American adults have started to identify themselves with some specific religion. But it has been established that the United States of America is currently losing its protestant members due to the fact that most of the Protestants were executed during the Second World War. The gender ratio has consequently affected the religious groups. It is estimated that 38% -39% of the religious believers are women. moreovcer most of the Muslims are men since the Muslim society allows only men to worship in the mosques, thus the religious practices has been found to affect the number of the believers. The religious believers in the United States of America have been found to affiliate themselves with the political parties. For example the Christian believers affiliate themselves to the Democrat, Republican and the Independents respectively. 56% of those who are the Assemblies of God have preferred to affiliate themselves with the Republican party while 56% of the Jews have preferred the Democratic party. (Burke T,2005). The religious diversity in the United States of America has profound effects on the way people are living. The religion has consequently affected the dressing codes of the individuals, the eating habits of the individuals and the social associations of the involved candidates. On the first case religion has been found to influence the dressing codes of people, for example the Muslim women wears long clothes which are made so that they can not have the direct contact with their male counterparts as it’s believed that it’s a taboo to for the Muslim women to have direct contact with men. At the same time the Hindu men wears what they refer as â€Å"dhoti†. The Christians women on the other hand have a tendency of wearing the trousers and sometimes skirts. Thus it can be concluded that the dressing codes in the United States of America has been influenced by the religion individuals have affiliated themselves to. The religious diversity in the United States of America has influenced the eating habits of the people of the United States of America. Many of the African-Americans are mainly Protestants and hence they have no strict eating habits (Canda. K, 1998). But other Christian members who belong to some sects such as the seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah witness have a lot of the eating restricness. At the same time some Muslim communities are prohibited from eating some foods such as the pork. Consequently the Hindus are prohibited from taking beef which they believe that it is a sacred animal in their religion. In conclusion it can be determined that religion is continuing to play one of the major roles in most people. The United States of America is secular increasingly, you’ve got African groups who bring another dimension of diversity. † in nature and this phenomenon has spread in many states. Baer, H. A (1984) quoted that† In Southern California, we’ve got virtually everyone,† Roof said. â€Å"If you want an indicator of how much diversity there is in Southern California, there are approximately 100 different ethnic Buddhist groups here. With Latinos, it’s similar. With Islam, you get scores of nationalities†. The diversity of the religious believes among the Americans will continue to affect the daily activities of the Americans. References Baer, H. A. (1984). The Black spiritual movement: A religious response to racism. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. Becvar, D. S. (1997). Soul healing: A spiritual orientation in counseling and therapy. New York: Basic Books. Bernstein, N. (2001). The lost children of Wilder: The epic struggle to change foster care. New York: Vintage Books. Bullis, R. K. (1996). Spirituality in social work practice. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Burke, M. T. (2005). Religious and spiritual issues in counseling: Applications across diverse populations. New York: Brunner-Rout ledge. Canada, E. R. (Ed. ) (1998). Spirituality in social work: New directions. New York: Haworth Pastoral Press.

Hispanics and American Society Essay

The size of the overall population of the Hispanics found with the rural areas of America is increasing by the day and this population has trickled over to the urban areas. The effects of their increase is felt by the overall American society as the Hispanics have adopted a particular social way of living that indeed has affected the social, educational and the political life of the Americans. This paper will tackle the challenging issues faced by the Hispanics living in America including the dysfunctional families, use of drugs among individuals in this community, their educational achievements; rate of attrition and the issue of single parenthood that dominates this community. Main body Literature review Kenneth M. J. and Licther T. D. (2007) have given a recount of the population estimates of the Hispanics living within the American territory as per a research they carried between the year 2000 and 2007. They explain the rate of increase in the population of Hispanics since the year 2000 and their current estimates. They explain that the current population of the Hispanics is an estimated 14% of the total population residing in the United States. They have shown that between the year 2000 and 2007, the rate of increase in the population of this group of people accounted for more than a half of the total population gain that the United States experienced within the said period. The results of the research attributed the increase to a very high fertility rate as opposed to the rate of immigration that led to the population increase prior to the said time period. The research does not however eliminate immigration as a factor of population increase as it still accounts for a lesser percentage of the increase in population. Kenneth and Licther have also covered the redistribution of the Hispanic population towards the internal geographical areas of the United States from the traditional gateway cities found in the southwest and into the suburbs represented by large and small metro areas, the non metro communities as well as the rural areas (Kenneth & Licther 2007pp32-47) Denlinger, K. 2005 has covered the area of economic and social challenges confronted by the Hispanics in America. Five social indices that mark the social needs of the Hispanic families have been explained here. They include poverty, income, age, immigration and fertility. Poverty rates among the Hispanic families in the year 1999 are put at 20. 2% as compared to the9. 3% rate for the whole nation in the same year as well as the 5. 5% rate among non-Hispanic white families. The said rates differ with the kind of families where the single parent headed families performed badly at an overwhelming 39% and the families headed by both parents at 14. 2%. The median income for the Hispanics is approximated at 60% that of the families residing in the United States at 32,000 dollars as compared to the 52,000 dollars of the American population. Just like with the poverty rates single parent headed houses especially those headed by women performed poorly than all other types of families. On the overall age of the Hispanics is much younger than that of the overall American age. The Hispanics have an approximated median at 26. 3 for males and 25. 5 for females as compared to the 34 years for males and 36 years for females across America. Denlinger’s findings on the rates of fertility among the Hispanics are similar to that made by Kenneth and Licther. He explains that on average, the Hispanic women have much greater fertility levels than any other group residing in America. He records findings of a 2000 research that shows that 13. 6% of the 60. 9 million women of child bearing age were Hispanics who gave birth to 19. 3% of the 3. 9 million children born in 2000. The young ages of the Hispanic mothers increases the possibility of bearing children (Denlinger 2005 p45, 52-60, 73). Weber 2004 captures the rates of immigration of the Hispanics to the United States. He explains the results of the census 2000 that yielded the count of 16. 1 million Hispanics out of the 35. 4 million that were living in the United States were born elsewhere but had migrated to the United States. He goes back in time to the 1980 up to the year 2000 where he estimates the number of Hispanics that immigrated to the United States to be 12. 5 million. The significance of Weber’s book to my paper is the identification of the indices that mark the social needs of the Hispanics living in the United States. This was done by the virtue of appreciating the fact that the Hispanics living in the United States are not a homogenous group but a collection of people with particular differences in terms of financial status, social status, marital status and the many social dynamics that exist in social living. He has however attempted to comprehensively cover the indices that related to the wider group as an estimated general consideration (Weber 2004PP23-46). Akins has captured the issue of substance abuse among Hispanics immigrants living in America. He draws from a research conducted by the Oregon State University that had surveyed a total of 6,714 adults who were living in Washington of which 1,690 of them turned out to be immigrant Hispanics. He contributes to the significance of the paper by raising points that he concluded from the research conducted. He found out that the immigrants were in large numbers taking up the habits they found with the white Americans to the predicament of their own cultural practices. He has reported on a number of studies conducted in areas where there were great Hispanic concentrations like Florida, the Southwest and California. He found out that the Hispanics had a reduced chance of experiencing acculturation due to their tendencies of clumping together into ethnic communities. But the research yielded that accultured Hispanics had a 13 times possibility of doing drugs than their non-accultured counterparts. The study indicated a 6. 4% illicit drug use among the white communities while the accultured Hispanics had a 7. 2 percentage use in illicit drugs. At the same time, the research yielded a less than 1% illicit drug use among the non-accultured Hispanics. Akins reported that the general trend within the Hispanic communities was a commitment to the family and intolerance towards use of alcohol and drugs. The drug using accultured Hispanics emulated the patterns of the white drug users. Some of the findings of the research revealed that accultured Hispanics had a double tendency to binge and thrice as likely to drink continuously for days without sobering up. Frazier et al. 2006 has focused on the academics of the Hispanics living in America. He associates the massive concentrations of Hispanics found in the lowest levels of jobs in America to lack of education and their challenged use of the English language. Recent immigrants usually have little formal education and the poorest command of English which puts them at the greatest disadvantage in acquisition of well paying jobs. This problem also trickles down to their children who limited in their upward social mobility. Frazier explains that many Hispanics face problems completing high school which leaves them without the necessary skills to compete for high paying jobs seeing that the United States’ economy is driven by technology and information. The book shows how immigrant student Hispanics and the American born Hispanics have a less likelihood of graduating from high school than their non-Hispanic counterparts. A relationship between the improvements of the academic standards with the Hispanics’ success in the job market has been struck in this book and serves to create one of the dynamics within the paper that explains the predicament of the Hispanics in the United States. A study on high school graduation rates conducted in the United States approximated the percentage of high school completion among the Hispanics as the lowest at 33. 8% (Frazier et al. 2006p218-233). The overall approach with the referencing has been the utilization of a very recent time period for the studies conducted. Most of the information contained within the reference material has utilized very recent experiences of the Hispanics within the American society. Kenneth and Licther for example have limited the time period for their study between the years 2000 to 2007. Denlinger sought to focus on the year 1999 and other recent years; the author who has drawn his ideas from a long time period appears to be Weber who has drawn on the experiences of the Hispanics in the 1980s all the way to the year 2000. Even then, most of the authors have drawn their conclusions on the historical experiences of the Hispanics from their very beginnings in migrating to the America and settling there either as illegal immigrants or as American citizens by virtue of the natural birth that immediately confers American citizenry to the people born within America. The theoretical understanding of the Hispanics has been drawn from previous studies conducted by the authors e. g. Akins based his study on a research that was conducted by the Oregon state University. Other authors based their ideas on the researches that they themselves conducted among the Hispanics in America. Such authors include Denlinger. Scholarly journals and academic materials have also formed sources of information for the authors of the references I have used. The findings of this study reflect a symbolic interactionist approach since it reflects the individuals in this case the Hispanics as social products of the society from which they come from. The Hispanics for example have had problems with attaining good jobs because they do not have the academic skills required for competing for well paying jobs. This is a direct result of the kind of life they lead which is dictated by the financial challenges they face within the society. Conclusion The Hispanics who live in America are quite challenged especially due to their lack of an education that has helped to elevate the social standing of the people living within the United States. Though they have been faced by a predicament whose magnitude they bear, it is also apparent that they affect the whole of the American society since their presence in large numbers through immigration or high fertility rate happen to pressure the social amenities and other facilities e. g. the health facilities that are already in place. It has been feared that they might course a population proliferation if their current fertility trends persist and attract great competition for the good jobs that the American born population currently enjoy. Even then there is need to check on the positive side of the presence of the Hispanics within the American territory for example, they have enriched the American culture through the addition of their cultural beliefs and practices. At the same time, they have involved themselves with the low ranking jobs which the Americans loath. This way they assist with the growth of the economy. References Akins, J. & Arrighi, B. (2007) Hispanics in America Today?. Oxford University Press P101 Denlinger, K. (2005) Hispanics in America: The â€Å"resting monster† wakens?. Sage publishers p45, 52-60, 73 Frazier, J. , Margai, F & Tettey, F. (2006) Race and position: justice issues in urban America. Sage pub pp218-233? Kenneth, M. J. & Licther, T. D. (2007) Hispanics and the future of America?. McGraw hill publishers. pp32-47 Weber, D. (2004) The Spanish border in North America?. Macmillan publishers PP23-46

Political economy of agrarian change The WritePass Journal

Political economy of agrarian change Introduction Political economy of agrarian change IntroductionAre redistributive land reforms possible and if so are they desirable today?BibliographyRelated Introduction Are redistributive land reforms possible and if so are they desirable today? Land reform (LR) is defined as a ‘legislation intended and likely to redistribute ownership of current farmland, and thus benefit the poor by raising their absolute and relative status, power, and/or income, compared with likely situations without the legislation’ (Lipton, 2009:124). Thus, land-based wealth and power are transferred from the monopoly control of private landed class to landless working poor. This, however, is far from being universal. LR has had a rollercoaster ride in the toolbox of development strategies from a panacea that would cure all ills and help replicate the successes of Japan and Korea, to venom that destroys property rights and creates unviable production units that lead to agricultural decline and urban migration as it has purportedly done in Latin America. The issue of LR is indeed complex and nuanced. A deeper understanding of LR, therefore, is imperative. This essay discusses the desirability and possibility of LR. On one spectrum, it will argue for the desirability of land reform in terms of efficiency and poverty reduction. On the other spectrum, it will venture arguments for the possibility of LR. It concludes that LR remains alive, active and acts as a beacon of hope for those with limited or no access to land. This essay begins assessing the possibility of LR in contemporary developing countries. It argues that LR is not only possible but an ongoing battle. It is back on the policy agenda of international development institutions since the 1990s and has not disappeared since then (Borras, 2010). It was in the mid-1990s when land struggles caught the attention of the world. Three of these were the most important, the Chiapas uprising in Mexico, the state-investigated land invasions by black landless poor of white commercial farms in Zimbabwe, and the resurgence of militant peasant land occupations in Brazil reminiscent of the actions by the peasant land of the 1950s but much greater in scale and political sophistication (Akram-Lodhi et al, 2007). While the international development community grappled with the meanings and implications of such complex conflicts, trans-national agrarian movements (TAMs) emerged (Borras, 2010).   La Via Campesina (VC) is to be mentioned, beside the Internati onal Federation of Agricultural Producers and the IPC for Food Sovereignty. VC, for example, is an international movement of poor peasants and small farmers from the global South and North, which was established in 1993 as a critical response to neoliberalism and which is still very much active today (Ibid, 2010). VC validates what Ronald Herring (2003) observed, namely that LR was taken off the ‘policy agenda’ of national and international agencies in the 1980s, but never left the ‘political agendas’ of the peasants and their organisations. Herring explained that ‘even dead LR are not dead; they become nodes around which future peasant mobilisations emerge because promises unkept keep movements alive’ (Ibid, 2003: 123). Today, as in the case 50 years ago, severe poverty remains mainly rural with extreme land inequalities. As the World Bank study in 2003 shows 17.8% of the population in East and South East Asia live under 1.25$. The figure however is much higher for Latin America (38.6%) and drastic in Sub-Saharan Africa (50.3%). Further, though the LR thrust weakened from the mid-1970s, observers (de Janvry and Sadoulet,1989) saw factors tending to revive it. First, form the mid-1980s, spreading democracy and political organisation led to civil-society activism, including land invasions to press for enforcement of unimplemented LR laws (Binswanger-Mkhize, 2009). Second, growth of new markets induced many giant, near-feudal haciendas to become commercial farms; turned tied workers from feudal workers into casual, part-time employees, who are freer to press for LR (Bernstein, 2003). Third, in faster-growing countries, urban growth shifted visible poverty priorities at national levels from farms towards cities (Lipton, 2009). Thus, internal dynamics – urbanisation, unequal land and power distribution, and the expansion of democratic-consciousness among the rural population supported, rather than kill, LR in twenty-first century. Since the Mexican revolution of 1910, internal dynamics decide whether LR slows, pauses, resumes or accelerates. Sometimes it was seen as complete, either having reached its limits or succumbed to limitations, mainly underperformance and unpopularity due to collectivist rather than distributives approaches (Olsen, 1971). But in no country did LR quite die or became impossible rather it has resumed or speeded up. Indeed in some countries LR sputtered on with many stops and starts. The timing of slowdowns or reversals varied, from 1910 in Mexico or 1973 in Chile. The timing of resumption or acceleration also varied, from the early 1990s in Brazil to 2006-08 in Bolivia and Venezuela (Sen, 1997). Many huge farms have partly transformed from haciendas to partly modernised commercial farms but gross, growth-inhibiting, and largely inherited land inequality remains unaddressed – making LR vital and crucial as ever. LR, therefore, is not impossible. Much had happened; some is happening now; more remains relevant and likely. Globally, LR recedes and advances, is fulfilled or abandoned, inspires new pressures and programmes or becomes dormant with old ones. Since LR is still not only possible today but also a burning issue, the question now is whether it is also desirable. Opponents of LR, for example, Lipton (2008) argue that with increased expansion of capitalism, large farms become more suitable than small farms – rendering LR superfluous. Worldwide, rapid technical change and globalisation confront farmers with transformed processing and marketing arrangements, often impinging on production. Larger farms are considered under these circumstances as more efficient, thus advantages of smallness are reversed by economic development, globalisation and supermarkets. Moreover, it is argued that LR is internally inconsistent often due to loopholes inserted by lawmakers under pressure from large landowners (Ibid, 2008). LR, so argued, gives ‘too’ much power to the state so that the goal of putting control of land in the hands of the poor is subverted, and the reform abused to extract enforced surplus from rural people, in cluding the poor. Also argued is that LR is politically infeasible because political and social costs of implementation far exceeds benefits of reform (Rashid and Quibria, 1995). Yet, all these arguments considered are as amiss. There are two different discourses arguing in favour of LR. The one is Marxist, positivist, evolutionist, the other, neo-liberal and technocratic (Borras et al, 2010). The one has developed in Eastern and Central Europe during the late nineteenth century; the other after World War II in the technocratic language of development policy. Both traditions have resonances in today’s LR debate, however with competing political ideologies, reasoning, and conclusions. While it must be acknowledged that the debate about LR also includes institutional economics or livelihood economics, a further inquiry thereof is beyond the scope of this essay (Cousins et al., 2010). The main neo-liberal argument for LR lies in the inverse-relationship paradigm (IR) (Deiniger, 1999). The rationale is that small scale farmers are residual claimants to profits and have an incentive to provide greater efforts in the process of production. The reason for this is the following: small farms have advantages in managing labour, but larger farms in managing capital. Capital and large-farm advantage loom larger as a source of higher land productivity in developed, labour scarce rural areas; labour, and small-farm advantage, count for more in developing, capital scarce countries. Griffin, Khan and Ickowitz (2002) conclude that since the ratio of interest rates to wages is relatively low in large farms with access to credit, they tend to adopt relatively more capital intensive method of production. Small farmers on the other hand, so argued, tend to have worse access to capital and therefore tend to economize on it by adopting relatively more labour intensive technology. Sma ll farmers, therefore, generate more employment. Since the factor proportions are typically skewed in favour of labour as the abundant, small farms utilize resources more efficiently. Following this line of reasoning, there appears to be a clear policy outcome; economic policies should be geared towards reallocating land away from large farm holdings to small family farms since it is the most effective means of boosting efficiency and output. The desirability of LR based on IR, however, is disputable. Today, it is assumed that the connection between size and productivity is fallacious – even among neo-liberal economists. While the World Bank supported the IR in 1975, it now claims that ‘land ownership ceiling have been generally ineffective†¦to facilitate the break-up of big farms, and instead have led to red tapes, spurious subdivisions, and corruption’ (Binswanger-Mkhize, 2009). To argue further, IR paradigm suffers from methodological shortcomings semantic relativism. What is a ‘small’ farm? There is no general consensus on this and it varies with each case study on IR. For example, Van Zyl (1996) conducted a study into South African agriculture in which he stated that, ‘significant efficiency gains can be made if farm sizes in the commercial sector become smaller (in Sender and Johnston, 2004:152). However, the definition of a ‘small farm’ used in this study wa s one with over 500 hectares. To argue that a 500 hectare farm is a ‘small’ scale farm is preposterous when compared to a small farm in Bangladesh which normally counts for 1-2 hectare (Khan, 2004). The term ‘small’ is used ambiguously in many investigations into agriculture and productivity. Therefore, until there is a clear definition of what constitutes a ‘small’ farm, it is difficult to accept evidence about higher productivity on ‘small’ farms without a pinch of salt. Second, IR suffers from theoretical limitations. IR ignores peasant differentiation and differences in land quality (Byres, 2004b). Small peasants are not heterogeneous. In each size group, some farms are run and worked by kin, others by employees; some are remote, others peri-urban; some have favourable land, others not, some are well-managed, others not. Simple measures, which regress annual farm output per hectare against farm size, miss out these factors. In statistics term, the ‘bivariate’ IR hides ‘missing variables’, and thus hides ‘unobserved heterogeneity’ within farm size-groups (Dyer, 2004). Moreover, smaller farms may have higher output per hectare, not because of its smallness, but because of its higher land-water quality (Ibid, 2004). Small farm land with poor soil quality can not be a guarantee for higher agricultural output. The desirability of LR from a Marxist perspective, however takes a different stance. According to political economists, LR’s desirability lies in its contribution to the resolution of the agrarian question (AQ). The AQ constitutes the continued existence in the countryside, in a substantive sense, of obstacles to an unleashing of accumulation in both the countryside itself and more generally - in particular, the accumulation associated with capitalist industrialisation (Byres, 2004a).Byres’ definition demonstrates the historical contribution of LR to develop capitalist economies. It was LR that unleashed the forces of production necessary for a ‘primitive accumulation’ by eroding feudal and semi-feudal relations of production and replacing them with a class of capitalist farmers and one of wage labourers. The resolution of the AQ was achieved in a variety of ways, ‘from above’, as in the case of nineteenth century Prussia, where a land owning class metamorphosed into an agrarian capitalist class, or ‘from below’ in America, where peasants differentiate themselves over time into classes of agrarian capital (Ibid, 2004a). To destroy the power of pre-capitalist property class, LR is required. The function of LR in this context, therefore, lies in its contribution as the promoter of capitalism in pre-capitalist areas. Contemporary AQ, however, is centred on the crisis of the reproduction of increasingly fragmented classes of labour within a capitalist system (Bernstein, 2009). Here, the desirability of LR is argued on the basis of securing the livelihood of peasants. Land is seen as ‘a basic livelihood asset, the principal form of natural capital from which people produce food and earn a living’ (Cousins et al 2010:32). Land also ‘provides a supplementary source of livelihoods for rural workers and the urban poor’ and ‘as a heritable asset, land is the basis for the wealth and livelihood security of future rural generations’ (Ibid, 2010:33). Moreover, Kay (1988) buttresses LR by arguing that small-scale farming is multiplier-rich. LR enhances growth for the overall economy because family farmers spend more of their incomes in the locally produced goods than do larger farms, creating a positive relationship between family farms and non-farm incomes in the loca l economy. In China, for instance, access to land enabled peasants to take increased risk and move into non-farm activities which produced the boom in small-scale entrepreneurship (Bramall, 2004). From a Marxist perspective henceforth, desirability of LR not only results in capital accumulation but in improved prospects for the livelihood security of differentiated classes of labour, for whom farming may be only one source of income. So far we have considered the desirability of LR entirely from an economic perspective. Leaving this aside, LR has also major socio-political implications – buttressing the desirability argument. Advocates of political LR, appreciate, for instance, the dissolution of feudal relationships of production and excessively concentrated and exploitative à ©lite power structures (Bhaduri, 1973). While the main goal of land reformers is to enhance the rural poor’s access to land, it is also to reduce poverty, inequality, and to increase liberty (Sen, 2001). Having land on their own, the poor rely less on non-farm employment, emergency loans, or trade with local ‘rural tyrants’ (Hall, 2004) who are almost always major land controllers, but often also employers, landlords, lenders with interlocking market power over things that the local poor can neither live without nor, in many cases readily get elsewhere. Political LR, also include the creation of political stabil ity and peace. In post-conflict situations, this would suggest a focus on provision of land to war-veterans and people displaced by war. In Zimbabwe, for instance, LR focused on white-owned farms and exempted black owners from expropriation (Jacobs, 2000). In post-colonial situations, the political LR also included correcting the racial imbalance in land ownership (Algeria, East-Southern Africa) and empowering members of the new elite (Kenya and Zimbabwe) (Lipton, 2004). Therefore LR, apart from having economic benefits, contributes to unlock many of today’s rural societies from quasi-feudalism. LR – its desirability and possibility – has been hotly debated among various economic ideologies. Yet, in a world of continuing poverty and inequality, slow agricultural growth, changing economic structures, rapid urbanisation, profound challenges of climate structures, and rapid urbanisation, institutions, policies and pressures concerning access to and use of land are as important as ever. In the past century, LR played a central role in the time-paths of rural and national poverty, progress, freedom, conflict, and suffering. Arguing that LR is ‘passà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢- is therefore erroneous. And such thinking underrates the reach of LR. LR, like education or tax reform, is a thrust towards more equitable and efficient distribution. The thrust weakens or strengthens with economic situations and power balances, but does not become impossible. For the next half-century at least, where agriculture continues central to the lives of the poor, the role of LR will not declin e. Indeed growing populations, scarcer land, and the low and falling employment intensity of non-farm growth may well increase pressures for and resistance to LR. Although, it carries the potential for severe land conflicts, it nevertheless permits huge gains, in terms of liberty and peace as well as growth and reduced inequality. Bibliography Akram-Lodhi, A.H., Borras, M. Jr, Kay,C., and McKinley, T. (2007), Land, poverty and livelihoods in an era of globalization.London: Routledge. Bernstein, H. (2009), ‘Agrarian questions from transition to globalization’, in A Haroon Akram Lodhi and C Kay (eds), Peasants and Globalization. Political economy, rural transformation and the agrarian question, London: Routledge. Bernstein, H. (2003), ‘Land Reform in Southern Africa in World-Historical Perspective’, Review of African Political Economy, vol.30, no.96. Bhaduri, A. (1973), ‘A study in economic backwardness under semi-feudalism’. Economic Journal vol.5, no.83. Binswanger-Mkhize, H. P (2009), Agricultural Land Redistribution. Towards a Greater Consensus. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Bloch, M. (1964), Feudal Society: The growth of ties of dependence. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Borras, S., Kay C., and Lahiff E. (2007), ‘Market-Led Agrarian Reform: Policies, Performance and Prospects’, Third World Quarterly, vol.28, no.8. Borras, S., and Franco, J. (2010), ‘Contemporary Discourses and Contestations around Pro-poor Land Policies and Land Governance’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 10, no.1. Borras, S. (2010), ‘The Politics of Transnational Agrarian Movements’, Development and Change, vol. 41, no.5. Bramall, C. (2004), ‘Chinese Land Reform in Long-Run Perspective and in the Wider East Asian Context’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol.4, no 12. Byres, T.J. (2004a), ‘Neo-Classical Neo-populism 25 Years On: Dà ©j vu and Dà ©j Passà ©. Towards a Critique ’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 4, no.12. Byres, T.J. (2004b), ‘Introduction: Contextualizing and Interrogating the GKI Case for Redistributive Land Reform’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 4, no 12. Chimhowu, A. and Woodhouse, A. (2006), ‘Customary vs. Private Property Rights? Dynamics and Trajectories of Vernacular Land Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol.6, no.3. Cousins, B. and Scoones I. (2010), ‘Contested paradigms of ‘viability’ in redistributive land reform: perspectives from Southern Africa’. Journalof Peasant Studies, vol. 37, no. 1. Deininger, K. (1999), ‘Making Negotiated Land Reform Work: Initial Experience from Columbia, Brazil and South Africa’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, Washington D.C: World Bank. Deininger, K. (2003), Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Dyer, G. (2004), ‘Redistributive Land Reform: No April Rose.   The Poverty of Berry and Cline and GKI on the Inverse Relationship’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol.4., no12. De Janvry, A. and Sadoulet, E. (1989), ‘Path dependent policy reforms: from land reform to rural development in Columbia’, in Hoff et al., 2003, the Economics of Rural organisation: Theory, practise, and Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Griffin, K., Khan, R., and Ickowitz, A.(2002), ‘Poverty and the Distribution of Land’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 2, no.3 Griffin, K., Khan, A.R., and Ickowitz, A. (2004), ‘In Defence of Neo-Classical Neo-Populism’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 4, no 3. Hall, R. (2004), ‘A Political Economy of Land Reform in South Africa’, Review of African Political Economy, vol.100, Herring, R. (2003) Carrots, Sticks and Ethnic Conflict: Rethinking Development Assistance. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Jacobs, S. (2000), ‘Zimbabwe: Why Land Reform is a Gender Issue’, Sociological Research Online, vol. 5, no.2. Johnston, D. and Le Roux, H. (2007), ‘Leaving the Household out of Family Labour: The Implications for the Size-Efficiency Debate’, European Journal of Development Research. Kay, C. (1998), ‘Latin Americas agrarian reform: lights and shadows’. Land reform, Land Settlement and Co-operatives, vol.2, no.7. Kevane, M. and Gray, L.C. (1999), ‘A Womans Field is Made at Night: Gendered Land Rights and Norms in Burkina Faso’, Feminist Economics, vol. 5, no.1. Khan, M.H. (2004), ‘Power, Property Rights and the Issue of Land Reform: A General Case Illustrated with Reference to Bangladesh’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol.4, no 12. Lipton M. (2009), Land Reform in Developing Countries. Property rights and property wrongs. London: Routledge. Manji, A. (2003), ‘Capital, Labour and Land Relations in Africa: A Gender Analysis of the World Banks Policy Research Report on Land Institutions and Land Policy’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 24, no.1. Olsen, M. (1971), The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Peters, P. (2004), ‘Inequality and Social Conflict Over Land in Africa’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol.4, no.3. Rashid, S. and Quibria, M. (1995), Critical Issues in Asia Development: Theories, Experiences and Policies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Schultz, T. (1964) Transforming Traditional Agriculture. New Haven: Yale University Press. Sen, A. K. (1997), ‘Radical Needs and Moderate Reforms’, in J. Dreze and A.K Sen (eds), Indian Development: Selected Regional Perspectives, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sen, A. K. (2001), Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sender, J. and Johnston, D. (2004), ‘Searching for a Weapon of Mass Production in Rural Africa: Unconvincing Arguments for Land Reform’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 4, no.12. Vergera-Camus, L. (2009), ‘The MST and the EZLN struggle for land: new forms of peasant rebellions’, Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 9, no.3. Walker, C. (2002). ‘Agrarian Change, Gender And Land Reform: A South African Case Study’, UNRISD Social Policy Development Programme, Paper no 10. Woodhouse, P. (2003), ‘African Enclosures: A Default Mode of Development’, World Development vol.31, no.10.

The Ultimate Study Guide for ACT English Tips, Rules, Practice, and Strategies

The Ultimate Study Guide for ACT English Tips, Rules, Practice, and Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips This guide collects the best ACT English prep material on the internet. We've created everything here from scratch, and we think it's the best guide available anywhere. In writing it, we pored over real ACTs, consulted the best existing books, and thought deeply about what you'll need to excel on ACT English. Our subject guides closely reflect what you’ll see on the actual test and our strategies have all been used successfully by our past students. We’ve covered everything you need to know about ACT English. This post is a table of contents, designed to lead you through the different articles you’ll want to study in a logical order and explain how to get the most out of them. It starts with the big-picture, high-level ideas that will get you thinking about the best way to approach ACT English. Then it moves on to our coverage of the skills and concepts you’ll see on the test.The last section includes a variety of ACT English tips and strategies that can help you create a study plan and learn to attack the test in the most efficient way. Whether you’re looking for a complete study guide or just some additional help in a few areas, this guide can help. If you plan to use this information as your main source for ACT English prep, simply read through the pages below more or less in order- this approach will walk you through every step of studying for ACT English. If, on the other hand, you’re just looking for some further depth on a few topics or some helpful tips for the section as whole, scroll through this post and follow any links that look interesting. We recommend the first option, but it’s up to you! A quick note: If you aren’t familiar with ACT English yet, it’ll be helpful to look at an example test before reading this guide. You can download an official test here (the ACT English section starts on page 12). High-Level ACT English Guidance A big mistake many students make is assuming that because they take tests in school all the time, they know exactly what to expect from the ACT.This test has its own special quirks, however, and learning how to navigate the ACT'sunique structure and style is a key part of preparing for it and the English section specifically. What’s Actually Tested on the ACT English Section? The first step to tackling the ACT English section is to know what’s on it. This guide will help you understand how the ACT English is structured and what concepts it tests so that you can begin planning your prep. 5 Critical Concepts You Must Understand to Ace ACT English The ACT English section has certain quirks that set it apart from a grammar test you might see in English class. In this article, you’ll read about the key big-picture concepts you need to understand in order to excel on this section of the test. The Best Way to Approach ACT English Passages It’s easy to ignore the passage format of ACT English, but doing so puts you at a real disadvantage. This post will help you understand why it’s important to have strategy for how to attack the ACT English passages and determine the best way for you to approach them. How Often Is NO CHANGE the Right Answer on ACT English? One of the most common mistakes students make on ACT English is assuming that there must be an error in every question. NO CHANGE is actually the answer more than 25% of the time it’s an option. The Complete Guide to ACT Grammar Rules The 14 ACT Grammar Rules You Must Know The first article outlinesall the concepts covered byACT English, from punctuation to grammar, and the second one goes over the most important grammar rules that appear on the ACT.Use both articles to quickly review the rules and determine what you need to study further. ACT English Skills A key part of preparing for ACT English is learning rules covered by the test. I've listed ourguides to all the major concepts below, split into Grammar and Usage and Rhetorical Skills, and organized roughly in order of importance (from the most commonly tested rules to the least commonly tested ones). Grammar and Usage Parts of Speech The ACT English section doesn’t directly test parts of speech, but this guide outlines all the basics you need to know in order to understand the more complex topics. Run-on Sentences and Fragments Questions about sentence structure and correctly connecting independent clauses are the most common type on ACT English. Make sure you understand how to spot and fix run-ons and fragments. Commas On ACT English, commas are the single greatest source of confusion for most students. It's the most often tested punctuation mark on ACT English and appears very frequently. It’s vital to understand when you really need them so you can avoid overusing this tricky punctuation mark. Other Punctuation The other forms of punctuation you'll see tested on ACT English are semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes. This guide covers them all! Subject-Verb Agreement Verb errors are another major topic for ACT English questions. Make sure you understand how to spot even the most well hidden agreement errors. For example, while the sentence, "Each of the siblings have their own rooms" might sound OK, the singular subject "each" actually requires the singular verb "has." Verb Tenses and Forms Issues with verb forms are a lot more common than you might think. For ACT English, you'll need to be especially familiar with problems such as inconsistent tense usage, confusion of would and will, and gerund errors. Pronoun Agreement The final major category of grammar issues is pronoun errors. Pronoun agreement, especially plural versus singular pronouns (e.g., it/he/she vs they), trips up a lot of students on the ACT. Pronoun Case You’ll see questions about pronoun case (e.g., me vs I) less often, but it’s still important to know what it is and how it’s tested. (Hint: the hard pronoun case questions usually involve compound objects.) Idioms Idiom errors, which deal with the correct usage of prepositions and conjunctions (e.g., "talk to" vs "talk at"), are one of the most confusing topics on ACT English because they don’t follow any general rules. Make sure you know when to trust your instincts about which answer sounds right. Faulty Modifiers Both misplaced and dangling modifiers appear on the ACT English section. These errors, which involve descriptors that are separated from the nouns they're describing, usually aren’t obvious, so it’s important that you know how to spot them. Parallel Structure Items in lists and comparisons need to be in the same form- that’s the basic rule of parallelism. This guide will help you understand exactly where parallelism errors appear on ACT English and how to fix them. Relative Pronouns Relative pronouns are words, such as "who," "when," and "which," that introduce additional information. Common errors with relative pronouns are creating a fragment and using the wrong pronoun for what it’s describing. Adjectives vs Adverbs Adjective and adverb issues are relatively rare, but when they do appear on ACT English, they usually involve an adjective being used in place of an adverb (e.g., "He ran quick" instead of "He ran quickly"). You might also see questions about superlatives (most) versus comparatives (more). Rhetorical Skills Transitions Transitions are the most common type of rhetorical skills question on the ACT. These questions can be confusing, but learning a few simple tricks will make themmuch easier. Wordiness and Redundancy Another common rhetorical skills topic, redundancy is confusing because it’s not necessarily something that would be considered wrong when you’re talking or writing normally. Make sure you know what counts as redundancy on ACT English. Add/Delete Add/Delete questions, which ask whether a sentence or phrase should be included or removed from the passage, are some of the most common and challenging rhetorical skills questions on ACT English. You need to know how to approach them systematically to succeed on the ACT. Author Technique/Intent The key to author intent questions, which ask about how best to achieve a certain effect, is reading them closely and understanding what they’re asking. This guide breaks down techniques for doing so effectively. Macro Logic and Organization Macro-logic is just a fancy term forquestions that ask you where a sentence or paragraph should go. These questions tend to seem more complicated than they really are- make sure to use the process of elimination to narrow down answers. Author Main Idea Main goalquestions, which ask about what the author's overall purpose is, are kind of weird because they seem to belong more on the reading section than the English one. Nonetheless, there’s usually one or two on each test, so it’s important to know how to answer them. Relevance Like redundancy, relevance is tricky because it’s likely to be a concept you haven’t encountered in this form before. Relevance questions ask you to determine whether a piece ofinformation is necessary in context. Word Choice/Diction Like idiom questions, word choice questions are tricky because they’re hard to predict and require you to have a deep knowledge of common English usage. Unlike idiom questions, however, they aren’t that common. Formality Questions that deal with formality are relatively rare- you might or might not see one on test day- so this topic should be one of the lowest priorities for your ACT English prep. ACT English Tips and Strategies This section collects a range of posts on study strategies, test-day tips, and other helpful info for your ACT English prep. You can find everything you need to know about how to build an ACT English study plan and also get helpful tricks for the test and materials for further study. The 8 Most Common Mistakes You Make on ACT English Because ACT English tests such a limited set of topics, most students miss multiple questions on just a few ideas. If you avoid making these eight common mistakes, you can raise your score by 1-2 points. Full Analysis of ACT Grammar Rules: Which Are Most Important? This article breaks down the frequency with which different types of questions appear on ACT English. Use this guide to help prioritize your studying. ACT English Prep: The Best Methods and Strategies Make sure you know the best approach for ACT English practice and prep so you can make the most progress with the least amount of work! (You’ll still have to do a lot of work, though.) The Best Sources for ACT English Practice Don’t waste your time with bad practice tests. This guide will tell you where to find the best ACT English practice tests- and a lot of them are free! The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Must Use This post outlines the key strategies that you need to implement in your ACT English prep. The 8 ACT English Tips You Must Use in Your Prep Using these eight ACT English tips can boost your score even if the test is tomorrow, but they’ll be a lot more effective if you incorporate them into your ACT study routine. The 18 Hardest ACT English Questions Ever This guide introduces some of the hardest ACT English questions in existence and offers tips for approaching and solving them. Use these if you're aiming for a top score! How to Get 36 on ACT English: 10 Strategies From a Perfect Scorer If you’re aiming for an especially high score on ACT English, check out this guide to getting a perfect score(from someone who actually did so!). Even if you have more modest aims, this post provides some helpful tips on how to approach the test. The Top Prep Books for ACT English If you’re looking to supplement your online study with some old-fashioned paper books, these are the ones you should use for your ACT English prep. The Best ACT Vocabulary Lists on the Web ACT Vocabulary | Words You Must Know ACT English doesn’t test vocabulary that much (see the diction post above for more info), but if you’re concerned about not knowing key words, take a look at these posts, which round up the best online sources for ACT vocab and identify which words you really need toknow. Conclusion: How to Use This Ultimate ACT English Guide Having read most (hopefully all!) of these ACT English guides, youprobably know what I'm going to say you need to do next: practice with actual ACT test questions! You can only improve so much by reading about the test- you have to try out the strategies and tips for yourself.Use full-length ACT practice tests to determine whether you're on track to hitting your target score. When doing so, make sure you also know the best way to review missed questions, since you can't improve unless you learn from your mistakes.In addition, I recommend looking over questions you guessed on and got right so you can ensure you know how to get the correct answer. Overall, remember to balance your ACT prep by coming up with a foolproof study plan. And know that, with a little hard work,you can get a great score on ACT English! What's Next? Looking for help with other sections of the ACT?Don't forget to take a look at our expert guides to ACT Math,Reading,Science, andWriting. There's alsoan ultimate guide to the entire ACT! Not sure what ACT score you should be aiming for?Get help setting a personalized goal score with our guide to what good, bad, and excellent ACT scores look like. This guide has everything you'll need to build an effective ACT English prep program, but if you're feeling overwhelmed by the idea of doing it all by yourself,consider giving our online prep program a try.Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the PrepScholar ACT program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, and then customizes the program to your needs to give youthe most effective prep possible. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Biography of Jeffrey Dahmer, Serial Killer

Biography of Jeffrey Dahmer, Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer (May 21, 1960–November 28, 1994) was responsible for a series of gruesome murders of 17 young men from 1988 until he was caught on July 22, 1991, in Milwaukee. Fast Facts: Jeffrey Dahmer Known For: Convicted serial killer of 17 peopleAlso Known As: Milwaukee Cannibal, Milwaukee MonsterBorn: May 21, 1960 in  Milwaukee, WisconsinParents: Lionel Dahmer,  Joyce DahmerDied: November 28, 1994 at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, WisconsinNotable Quote:  The only motive that there ever was was to completely control a person; a person I found physically attractive. And keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant just keeping a part of them. Early Life Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. From all accounts, Dahmer was a happy child who enjoyed typical toddler activities. It was not until the age of 6, after he underwent hernia surgery, that his personality began to change from a jubilant social child to a loner who was uncommunicative and withdrawn. His facial expressions transformed from sweet, childish smiles to a blank, emotionless stare- a look that remained with him throughout his life. Pre-Teen Years In 1966, the Dahmers moved to Bath, Ohio. Dahmers insecurities grew after the move and his shyness kept him from making many friends. While his peers were busy listening to the latest songs, Dahmer was busy collecting road kill and stripping the animal carcasses and saving the bones. Other idle time was spent alone, buried deep inside his fantasies. His nonconfrontational attitude with his parents was considered an attribute, but in reality, it was his apathy toward the real world that made him appear obedient. High School and the Army Dahmer continued being a loner during his years at Revere High School. He had average grades, worked on the school newspaper, and developed a dangerous drinking problem. His parents, struggling with issues of their own, divorced when Jeffrey was almost 18. He remained living with his father who traveled often and was busy nurturing a relationship with his new wife. After high school, Dahmer enrolled at Ohio State University and spent most of his time skipping classes and getting drunk. He dropped out and returned home after two semesters. His father then issued him an ultimatum- get a job or join the Army. In 1979, Dahmer enlisted for six years in the Army, but his drinking continued and in 1981, after just two years, he was discharged because of his drunken behavior. First Kill Unknown to anyone, Jeffery Dahmer was mentally disintegrating. In June 1978, he was struggling with his own homosexual desires, mixed with his need to act out his sadistic fantasies. Perhaps this struggle is what pushed him to pick up a hitchhiker, 18-year-old Steven Hicks. He invited Hicks to his fathers home and the two drank alcohol. When Hicks was ready to leave, Dahmer bashed him in the head with a barbell and killed him. He then cut up the body, placing the parts in garbage bags, which he buried in the woods surrounding his fathers property. Years later, he returned and dug up the bags and crushed the bones and disbursed the remains around the woods. As insane as he had become, he had not lost sight of the need to cover his murderous tracks. Later, his explanation for killing Hicks was simply that he didnt want him to leave. Prison Time Dahmer spent the next six years living with his grandmother in West Allis, Wisconsin. He continued drinking heavily and often got into trouble with the police. In August 1982, he was arrested after exposing himself at a state fair. In September 1986, he was arrested and charged with public exposure after being accused of masturbating in public. He served 10 months in jail  but was arrested soon after his release after sexually fondling a 13-year-old boy in Milwaukee. He was given five years probation after convincing the judge that he needed therapy. His father, unable to understand what was happening to his son, continued to stand by him, making certain he had good legal counsel. He also began to accept that there was little he could do to help the demons that seemed to rule Dahmers behavior. He realized that his son was missing a basic human element: a conscience. Murder Spree In September 1987, while on probation on the molestation charges, Dahmer met 26-year-old Steven Toumi and the two spent the night drinking heavily and cruising gay bars before going to a hotel room. When Dahmer awoke from his drunken stupor, he found Toumi dead. Dahmer put Toumis body into a suitcase, which he took to his grandmothers basement. There, he discarded the body in the garbage after dismembering it, but not before gratifying his sexual necrophilia desires. Unlike most serial killers, who kill then move on to find another victim, Dahmers fantasies included a series of crimes against the corpse of his victims, or what he referred to as passive sex. This became part of his regular pattern and possibly the one obsession that pushed him to kill. Killing his victims in his grandmothers basement was becoming increasingly difficult to hide. He was working as a mixer at Ambrosia Chocolate Factory and could afford a small apartment, so in September 1988, he got a one-bedroom apartment on North 24th St. in Milwaukee. Dahmers killing spree continued and for most of his victims, the scene was the same. He would meet them at a gay bar or a mall and entice them with free alcohol and money if they agreed to pose for photographs. Once alone, he would drug them, sometimes torture them, and then kill them usually by strangulation. He would then masturbate over the corpse or have sex with the corpse, cut the body up and get rid of the remains. He also kept parts of the bodies, including the skulls, which he would clean- much like he did with his childhood road kill collection- and often refrigerated organs, which he would occasionally eat. Known Victims Stephen Hicks, 18: June 1978Steven Tuomi, 26: September 1987Jamie Doxtator, 14: October 1987Richard Guerrero, 25: March 1988Anthony Sears, 24: February 1989Eddie Smith, 36: June 1990Ricky Beeks, 27: July 1990Ernest Miller, 22: September 1990David Thomas, 23: September 1990Curtis Straughter, 16: February 1991Errol Lindsey, 19: April 1991Tony Hughes, 31: May 24, 1991Konerak Sinthasomphone, 14: May 27, 1991Matt Turner, 20: June 30, 1991Jeremiah Weinberger, 23: July 5, 1991Oliver Lacy, 23: July 12, 1991Joseph Bradeholt, 25: July 19, 1991 The Dahmer Victim That Nearly Escaped Dahmers murdering activity continued uninterrupted until an incident on May 27, 1991. His 13th victim was 14-year-old Konerak  Sinthasomphone, who was also the younger brother of the boy Dahmer was convicted of molesting in 1989. Early in the morning, the young Sinthasomphone was seen wandering the streets nude and disoriented. When police arrived on the scene there were paramedics, two women who were standing close to the confused Sinthasomphone, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer told police that Sinthasomphone was his 19-year-old lover who was drunk and the two had quarreled. The police escorted Dahmer and the boy back to Dahmers apartment, much against the protest of the women, who had witnessed Sinthasomphone fighting off Dahmer before the police had arrived. The police found Dahmers apartment neat and other than noticing an unpleasant smell, nothing seemed amiss. They left Sinthasomphone under Dahmers care. Later, the police officers John Balcerzak and Joseph Gabrish joked with their dispatcher about reuniting the lovers. Within hours, Dahmer killed Sinthasomphone and performed his usual ritual on the body. The Killing Escalates In June and July 1991, Dahmers killing had escalated to one a week until July 22, when Dahmer was unable to hold captive his 18th victim, Tracy Edwards. According to Edwards, Dahmer tried to handcuff him and the two struggled. Edwards escaped and was spotted at around midnight by police, with the handcuff dangling from his wrist. Assuming he had somehow escaped from the authorities, the police stopped him. Edwards immediately told them about his encounter with Dahmer and led them to his apartment. Dahmer opened his door to the officers and answered their questions calmly. He agreed to turn over the key to unlock Edwardss handcuffs and moved to the bedroom to get it. One of the officers went with him and as he glanced around the room, he noticed photographs of what appeared to be parts of bodies and a refrigerator full of human skulls. They decided to place Dahmer under arrest and attempted to handcuff him, but his calm demeanor changed and he began to fight and struggle unsuccessfully to get away. With Dahmer under control, the police then began their initial search of the apartment and quickly discovered skulls and other various body parts, along with an extensive photo collection Dahmer had taken documenting his crimes. The Crime Scene The details of what was found in Dahmers apartment were horrific, matching only to his confessions as to what he did to his victims. Items found in Dahmers apartment included: A human head and three bags of organs, which included two hearts, were found in the refrigerator.Three heads, a torso, and various internal organs were inside a free-standing freezer.Chemicals, formaldehyde, ether, and chloroform plus two skulls, two hands and male genitalia were found in the closet.A filing cabinet that contained three painted skulls, a skeleton, a dried scalp, male genitalia, and various photographs of his victims.A box with two skulls inside.A 57-gallon vat filled with acid and three torsos.Victims identification.Bleach used to bleach the skulls and bones.Incense sticks. Neighbors often complained to Dahmer about the smell coming from his apartment.Tools:  Clawhammer, handsaw, 3/8 drill, 1/16 drill, drill bits.A hypodermic needle.Various videos, some pornographic.Blood soaked mattress and blood splatters.King James Bible. The Trial Jeffrey Dahmer  was indicted on 17 murder charges, which was later reduced to 15. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Much of the testimony was based on Dahmers 160-page confession and from various witnesses, who testified that Dahmers necrophilia urges were so strong that he was not in control of his actions. The defense sought to prove that he was in control and capable of planning, manipulating, and covering up his crimes. The jury deliberated for five hours and returned a verdict of guilty on 15 counts of murder. Dahmer was sentenced to 15 life terms, a total of 937 years in prison. At his sentencing, Dahmer calmly read his four-page statement to the court. He apologized for his crimes and ended with: I hated no one. I knew I was sick or evil or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness, and now I have some peace. I know how much harm I have caused...Thank God there will be no more harm that I can do. I believe that only the Lord Jesus Christ can save me from my sins...I ask for no consideration. Life Sentence Dahmer was sent to the Columbia Correctional Institute in Portage, Wisconsin. At first, he was separated from the general prison population for his own safety. But by all reports, he was considered a model prisoner who had adjusted well to prison life and was a self-proclaimed, born-again Christian. Gradually, he was permitted to have some contact with other inmates. Death On November 28, 1994, Dahmer and inmate Jesse Anderson were beaten to death by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver while on a work detail in the prison gym. Anderson was in prison for killing his wife and Scarver was a schizophrenic convicted of first-degree murder. For reasons unknown, the guards left the three alone for 20 minutes. They returned to find Anderson dead and Dahmer dying from severe head trauma. Dahmer died in the ambulance before reaching the hospital. Legacy In Dahmers will, he had requested upon his death that his body be cremated as soon as possible, but some medical researchers wanted his brain preserved so it could be studied. Lionel Dahmer wanted to respect his sons wishes and cremate all remains of his son. His mother felt his brain should go to research. The two parents went to court and a judge sided with Lionel. After more than a year, Dahmers body was released from being held as evidence and the remains were cremated. Sources â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 18 Jan. 2019.â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer | Crime Library | Serial Killers.†Ã‚  Crime Museum.Jenkins, John Philip. â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 11 Feb. 2019.

List and briefly describe at least five of the programs included with Essay

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POL2000 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WK 1 ASSIGNMENT Essay

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Mandating Nurse-Patient Ratio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mandating Nurse-Patient Ratio - Assignment Example Comprehensive studies undertaken by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) confirms that there is a relationship between nurse staffing and health care outcomes (Kane et al., 2007). An increase in the nurse staffing leads to a reduction in the prevalence and mortality rates caused by treatable diseases. At the local level, nurses should be encouraged to use the reward power when lobbying for support from the legislators. The candidates should only be assured of votes if they offer their support to the health issue (Abood, 2007). The hospitals should be required to establish nurse controlled staffing committees. This creates the strategies necessary for matching the patient population with the available staffing. The results from such committee are presented to the legislative members to provide them with the real problem for support. At the state level, nurses should be involved in the sponsoring of the annual state legislative days to arrest the attention of legislato rs and influential leaders. The legislative days will be characterized by fellowships and internships that offer information on the importance of maintaining suitable nursing ratios for effective health care delivery. These workshops will bring nurses together and raise awareness on the current health care issues. Once the nurses are made aware of the situation, they can identify the pros and cons of the necessary solutions to the problem. Awareness will also motivate individual nurses to attract the involvement.

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Mandating Nurse-Patient Ratio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mandating Nurse-Patient Ratio - Assignment Example Comprehensive studies undertaken by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) confirms that there is a relationship between nurse staffing and health care outcomes (Kane et al., 2007). An increase in the nurse staffing leads to a reduction in the prevalence and mortality rates caused by treatable diseases. At the local level, nurses should be encouraged to use the reward power when lobbying for support from the legislators. The candidates should only be assured of votes if they offer their support to the health issue (Abood, 2007). The hospitals should be required to establish nurse controlled staffing committees. This creates the strategies necessary for matching the patient population with the available staffing. The results from such committee are presented to the legislative members to provide them with the real problem for support. At the state level, nurses should be involved in the sponsoring of the annual state legislative days to arrest the attention of legislato rs and influential leaders. The legislative days will be characterized by fellowships and internships that offer information on the importance of maintaining suitable nursing ratios for effective health care delivery. These workshops will bring nurses together and raise awareness on the current health care issues. Once the nurses are made aware of the situation, they can identify the pros and cons of the necessary solutions to the problem. Awareness will also motivate individual nurses to attract the involvement.

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Discrimination Of Women - Essay Example As we all know, global society is divided across many epidemiological variables and out of all these variables â€Å"gender† is the most primary one; as gender and equality have been the subject of many heated debates over the years. There are certain lines that are drawn according to one’s sex and these restrictions are particularly imposed upon women. Women all over the world; be it a developed or a developing country, all women endure the problems of harassment, discrimination and ill-treatment. Discrimination of women surfaces in the society in many forms; however, in the workplace, such occurrences are more ostensible and occur in the form of unequal pay, lower workforce participation, and a major disparity in the access that is given to all the male and female employees in the workforce. The problem has been a scourge and as mentioned earlier, it exists in the facet of the society. There has been numerous where women were subjected to intense discrimination; in many circumstances were looked down upon and deemed inferior to men. The bigotry involved in the view of women is a multifaceted phenomenon and its existence gave birth to the concept of â€Å"feminism† that subsequently led to the birth Women Empowerment movements. Its dynamics and prevalence in the society will be discussed in greater details as the substance of the prose progresses. Sex discrimination is a phenomenon that has been around for ages, as it is stated earlier; women were often deemed as the weaker sex and men were at the forefront all activities. This is also largely due to the fact that since women have ability t procreate, they were required to restrict themselves to domestic chores. This led to widespread domestication of women and they had a very restricted role in the society. This was fundamentally because of the physiological differences between men and women, but there were plenty other factors that contributed to the disparity that will be discussed in greater detail in the following parts. In the past, women were treated as â€Å"articles of trade† and were used to settle disputes between two tribes. There was widespread objectification of women, men viewed them only objects of pleasure and they did not have any real position in the society. Indian societal dynamics epitomizes this aspect of the subject and is perfect to further elab orate and compare the role of women in ancient and contemporary society. In India, female infanticide and sex-selective abortions are highly prevalent. (Weisner, 2001, p. 108) Incidents of female infanticide and feticide are particularly common in the rural India, where people are vastly hardwired to their religious and cultural values that are often considered to be quite misogynistic in their teachings. In India, the birth of a female child is considered a bad omen; an aspect that is similar to the Chinese society as well. However, in case f Indian societies there is an economic reason as well due to the widespread trend of dowries and the high costs that are associated with it have often led to disparity between males and females. Sex selective abortions were so prevalent in the early 70’