American Social History Essay

Immigration occurs when people from other countries enter another country to seek employment and live there permanently. The United States opened its doors to immigrants but only to a certain limit that is determined annually. Immigration has been an issue that the government is trying to address as the growing population of immigrants has affected the people and economy of the country. Immigration has both benefits and negative effects. Isaac Hourwich, a labor economist argues against the restrictions of immigration in America.With regard to the exacerbating conflict in immigration, the international market has contributed much to it. The severe damage and breakdown of economies around the world including the social and political structures have made the lives of people more difficult. The destruction of the environment is also a problem since resources are slowly drying up in other ares. People can no longer survive in their own countries. The deficits in the national budget and th e rising debt have led to the financial crises in most nations.Programs for structural adjustment have been prioritized instead of social programs because this is a requirement for countries in making international loans. This neglect in the social conditions of the countries have led people to migrate to more stable economies. Improvements and advancements in transportation and communication have provided more opportunities for people to migrate especially if they are living under such poor conditions. The reports of the Dillingham Commission, a commission created by Senator Dillingham, on industries did not take into consideration the reaction of the American workers.Immigration hurt the workers in so many ways and this was reflected in racial terms. The book of Isaac Hourwich, â€Å"Immigration and Labor†, answered the report of the Dillingham Commission. Hourwich argued that the massive unemployment in 1912 was due to the inconsistencies in the demand distribution because of the effects of the business life cycles and the presence of seasonal industries (1912). Immigration was capable of supplying a great but unnecessary unskilled workers that can cause the stimulation of the industries.Hourwich also argued that restrictions on immigration will not help in the improvement of American workers. Changes in technology and prices were the factors that greatly affect the wages of American workers. Restrictions will only affect the labor or union movement and capital will be taken outside of the country. Hourwich also further declared that the assumptions of America regarding the labor market and immigration were not correct. One assumption is that because of immigration, too many people are going after a small number of jobs – the result of which causes wages to fall.Critics of the immigration policy wanted to restrict if not ban it in the country. Hourwich argues that immigration restriction is not the answer. The rate of economic expansion is far greater that the rate of immigration. He went on to support his statements with economic data he gathered from state and federal governments. Immigration occurs in free and open capitalist economies such as the United States. Immigration responds to the demands of labor. When the demand for labor increases, the occurrence of immigration will also increase.The rise and fall of the demand for labor is an effect of broader economic activities. According to Hourwich, the immigrant labor supply is dependent on free competition in the market. The immigrant labor supply can be likened to any other commodity. There are times when the supply will exceed demand and some instances may show that demand exceeds supply. However, in the long run, the labor supply will be able to self-adjust with demand. Immigration does not displace American workers (Hourwich 1912). Hourwich reminded critics of immigration that capital is broad and international.The rate of production has developed in the United States because of capital brought in a sufficient labor supply. If however, a shortage of labor will be created because of immigration restrictions, this would result in the increase of wages and profits will decrease below the average of other nations. The scenario can only stimulate more American capital to make an investment elsewhere in foreign markets. The American industries will slow down. Capital will take advantage of the industrial development of other countries who provide cheap but skilled labor.American commodities produced by better paid American workers cannot compete in the global market because of the presence of products made by Siberian or Mexican laborers financed by American capital. The competition will result in the displacement of some American workers. The normal ratio between the active labor and reserve labor will be restored which is significant to the development of the industrial system in the United States (Hourwich 1912). If locals or native Americans will compete with immigrants in terms of labor, locals would have to reduce their expectations for a higher salary.Employers might want to hire immigrants more because they would only pay for low wages. Immigration increases the supply of labor. More and more people are competing for jobs. It is more difficult for natives or locals to start a small business because competition is high in the job market and they are forced to settle for low wages in order to have a job. Immigrants are also determined and motivated to succeed in the United States because they left their home country for a better life and even support family members back home.This drive makes them save more and spend less for the future. For them, getting lower wages will only lead to something great in the long run. Setting up a small business is not that hard to do once a person has the capital or the funds to support it. Immigrant business owners may not be afraid to take risks because operating a business of their own is a dream. They would have to take risks to see if they will succeed. As more new businesses open, this increases the competition in the market.Locals will have more to worry about as the products and services that are offered by the immigrants may be better and unique than their own. Hourwich and his arguments provided valuable insights on the negative effects of immigration restriction to the American economy in general. The restriction of immigration does not reduce employment and raise wages in the long run as previously explained in the discussion. Immigration is necessary to America's industrial economy. Reference Hourwich, I. (1912) ‘Immigration and labor: The economic aspects of European immigration to the United States', University of California

Part Three Chapter III

III Gavin could have invited Mary into his office to discuss the most recent exchange of letters with the insurance company, but decided to visit her at home instead. He had kept the late afternoon free of appointments, on the off-chance that she might ask him to stay for something to eat; she was a fantastic cook. His instinctive shying away from her naked grief had been dissipated by regular contact. He had always liked Mary, but Barry had eclipsed her in company. Not that she ever appeared to dislike her supporting role; on the contrary, she had seemed delighted to beautify the background, happy laughing at Barry's jokes, happy simply to be with him. Gavin doubted that Kay had ever been happy to play second fiddle in her life. Crashing the gears as he drove up Church Row, he thought that Kay would have been outraged by any suggestion that she modify her behaviour or suppress her opinions for the sake of her partner's enjoyment, his happiness or his self-esteem. He did not think that he had ever been unhappier in a relationship than he was now. Even in the death throes of the affair with Lisa, there had been temporary truces, laughs, sudden poignant reminders of better times. The situation with Kay was like war. Sometimes he forgot that there was supposed to be any affection between them; did she even like him? They had had their worst ever argument by telephone on the morning after Miles and Samantha's dinner party. Eventually, Kay had slammed down the receiver, cutting Gavin off. For a full twenty-four hours he had believed that their relationship was at an end, and although this was what he wanted he had experienced more fear than relief. In his fantasies, Kay simply disappeared back to London, but the reality was that she had tethered herself to Pagford with a job and a daughter at Winterdown. He faced the prospect of bumping into her wherever he went in the tiny town. Perhaps she was already poisoning the well of gossip against him; he imagined her repeating some of the things she had said to him on the telephone to Samantha, or to that nosy old woman in the delicatessen who gave him goose-flesh. I uprooted my daughter and left my job and moved house for you, and you treat me like a hooker you don't have to pay. People would say that he had behaved badly. Perhaps he had behaved badly. There must have been a crucial point when he ought to have pulled back, but he had not seen it. Gavin spent the whole weekend brooding on how it would feel to be seen as the bad guy. He had never been in that position before. After Lisa had left him, everybody had been kind and sympathetic, especially the Fairbrothers. Guilt and dread dogged him until, on Sunday evening, he cracked and called Kay to apologize. Now he was back where he did not want to be, and he hated Kay for it. Parking his car in the Fairbrothers' drive, as he had done so often when Barry was alive, he headed for the front door, noticing that somebody had mowed the lawn since he had last called. Mary answered his ring on the doorbell almost instantaneously. ‘Hi, how – Mary, what's wrong?' Her whole face was wet, her eyes brimming with diamond-bright tears. She gulped once or twice, shook her head, and then, without quite knowing how it had happened, Gavin found himself holding her in his arms on the doorstep. ‘Mary? Has something happened?' He felt her nod. Acutely aware of their exposed position, of the open road behind him, Gavin manoeuvred her inside. She was small and fragile in his arms; her fingers clutched at him, her face pressed into his coat. He relinquished his briefcase as gently as he could, but the sound of it hitting the floor made her withdraw from him, her breath short as she covered her mouth with her hands. ‘I'm sorry †¦ I'm sorry †¦ oh God, Gav †¦' ‘What's happened?' His voice sounded different from usual: forceful, take command, more like the way Miles sometimes talked in a crisis at work. ‘Someone's put †¦ I don't †¦ someone's put Barry's †¦' She beckoned him into the home office, cluttered, shabby and cosy, with Barry's old rowing trophies on the shelves, and a big framed photograph on the wall of eight teenage girls punching the air, with medals around their necks. Mary pointed a trembling finger at the computer screen. Still in his coat, Gavin dropped into the chair and stared at the message board of Pagford Parish Council's website. ‘I w-was in the delicatessen this morning, and Maureen Lowe told me that lots of people had put messages of condolence on the site †¦ so I was going to p-post a message to s-say thank you. And – look †¦' He spotted it as she spoke. Simon Price Unfit to Stand for Council, posted by The Ghost of Barry Fairbrother. ‘Jesus Christ,' said Gavin in disgust. Mary dissolved into tears again. Gavin wanted to put his arms back around her, but was afraid to, especially here, in this snug little room so full of Barry. He compromised by taking hold of her thin wrist and leading her through the hall into the kitchen. ‘You need a drink,' he told her, in that unfamiliarly strong and commanding voice. ‘Sod coffee. Where's the proper stuff?' But he remembered before she answered; he had seen Barry take the bottles out of the cupboard often enough, so he mixed her a small gin and tonic, which was the only thing he had ever known her drink before dinner. ‘Gav, it's four in the afternoon.' ‘Who gives a damn?' said Gavin, in his new voice. ‘Get that down you.' An unbalanced laugh broke her sobs; she accepted the glass and sipped. He fetched her kitchen roll to mop her face and eyes. ‘You're so kind, Gav. Don't you want anything? Coffee or †¦ or beer?' she asked, on another weak laugh. He fetched himself a bottle from the fridge, took off his coat and sat down opposite her at the island in the middle of the room. After a while, when she had drunk most of her gin, she became calm and quiet again, the way he always thought of her. ‘Who d'you think did it?' she asked him. ‘Some total bastard,' said Gavin. ‘They're all fighting over his council seat, now. Squabbling away over the Fields as usual. And he's still in there, putting his two cents in. The Ghost of Barry Fairbrother. Maybe it really is him, posting on the message board?' Gavin did not know whether this was meant as a joke, and settled for a slight smile that might be quickly removed. ‘You know, I'd love to think that he's worrying about us, wherever he is; about me and the kids. But I doubt it. I'll bet he's still most worried about Krystal Weedon. Do you know what he'd probably say to me if he was here?' She drained her glass. Gavin had not thought that he had mixed the gin very strong, but there were patches of high colour on her cheeks. ‘No,' he said cautiously. ‘He'd tell me that I've got support,' said Mary, and to Gavin's astonishment, he heard anger in the voice he always thought of as gentle. ‘Yeah, he'd probably say, â€Å"You've got all the family and our friends and the kids to comfort you, but Krystal,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Mary's voice was becoming louder, ‘†Krystal's got nobody to look out for her.† D'you know what he spent our wedding anniversary doing?' ‘No,' said Gavin again. ‘Writing an article for the local paper about Krystal. Krystal and the Fields. The bloody Fields. If I never hear them mentioned again, it'll be too soon. I want another gin. I don't drink enough.' Gavin picked up her glass automatically and returned to the drinks cupboard, stunned. He had always regarded her and Barry's marriage as literally perfect. Never had it occurred to him that Mary might be other than one hundred per cent approving of every venture and crusade with which the ever-busy Barry concerned himself. ‘Rowing practice in the evenings, driving them to races at the weekends,' she said, over the tinkling of ice he was adding to her glass, ‘and most nights he was on the computer, trying to get people to support him about the Fields, and getting stuff on the agenda for council meetings. And everyone always said, â€Å"Isn't Barry marvellous, the way he does it all, the way he volunteers, he's so involved with the community.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ She took a big gulp of her fresh gin and tonic. ‘Yes, marvellous. Absolutely marvellous. Until it killed him. All day long, on our wedding anniversary, struggling to meet that stupid deadline. They haven't even printed it yet.' Gavin could not take his eyes off her. Anger and alcohol had restored colour to her face. She was sitting upright, instead of cowed and hunched over, as she had been recently. ‘That's what killed him,' she said clearly, and her voice echoed a little in the kitchen. ‘He gave everything to everybody. Except to me.' Ever since Barry's funeral, Gavin had dwelled, with a sense of deep inadequacy, on the comparatively small gap that he was sure he would leave behind in his community, should he die. Looking at Mary, he wondered whether it would not be better to leave a huge hole in one person's heart. Had Barry not realized how Mary felt? Had he not realized how lucky he was? The front door opened with a loud clatter, and he heard the sound of the four children coming in; voices and footsteps and the thumping of shoes and bags. ‘Hi, Gav,' said eighteen-year-old Fergus, kissing his mother on top of her head. ‘Are you drinking, Mum?' ‘It's my fault,' said Gavin. ‘Blame me.' They were such nice kids, the Fairbrother kids. Gavin liked the way they talked to their mother, hugged her, chatted to each other and to him. They were open, polite and funny. He thought of Gaia, her vicious asides, silences like jagged glass, the snarling way she addressed him. ‘Gav, we haven't even talked about the insurance,' said Mary, as the children surged around the kitchen, finding themselves drinks and snacks. ‘It doesn't matter,' said Gavin, without thinking, before correcting himself hastily; ‘shall we go through to the sitting room or †¦?' ‘Yes, let's.' She wobbled a little getting down from the high kitchen stool, and he caught her arm again. ‘Are you staying for dinner, Gav?' called Fergus. ‘Do, if you want to,' said Mary. A surge of warmth flooded him. ‘I'd love to,' he said. ‘Thanks.'

An Analysis of New York City in Martin Scorsese’s Essay

Among the stellar names in the film directing profession in the world, Martin Scorsese’s is most likely near or at the very top of the list—as bright as the city he has chosen to showcase in most of his career pieces. Using New York City as his backdrop, Scorsese has created landmark films that explore the intricacies of specific human qualities, tightly connected to themes of identity, religion, and psychology. Three of his films—Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and Life Lessons—bear the distinct signature of an artist with an immediate message, which is clearly influenced by the dynamics of the inimitable lifestyle of New York City. A native of Flushing, New York, Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese started planning his life as a priest—which is not at all surprising, considering his Italian and Catholic upbringing. However, he shifted goals at some point and graduated with a film degree from New York University in 1964, when he was twenty-two. Soon after that he became involved in film productions under the tutelage of several directors and producers, and finally emerged with his first notable feature film, Mean Streets (Brown, 1996). This particular work signaled the birth of Scorsese’s iconic style, which is defined by idiosyncratic characters and their internal struggles, marked by various circumstances exposing violence, racism, and oppression. Religious topics and details are also common in Scorsese’s work, which, in the past, received the ire of staunch religious groups. Scorsese is also known for building the careers or collaborating with specially-chosen actors, such as Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and, in recent years, Leonardo DiCaprio. Each of these actors has starred in at least one iconic Scorsese film: De Niro and Keitel in Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, and DiCaprio in The Aviator and Gangs of New York. Common among most of these films is still the appropriation of New York City as the influential setting in playing out each character’s goal and dilemma. Credibility and accuracy in portraying the life inherent in New York City are integral in Scorsese’s work, and the nature of the city as a melting pot of cultures and its reputation for being the end goal of all personal ambition provide more than enough motivation and reason for the many twists and turns that take place in the characters’ minds and on the streets. II. Living the Gangster Life: The Italian Identity in Mean Streets One of the most definitive of New York City’s life and color is the presence of a multitude of cultures; this is largely caused by the representation of immigrants from all over the world, who have brought with them the distinct traditions and values of their countries of origin. The Italian community is mainly known for its influence on New York City cuisine, religion, and, as historically documented, organized crime in the form of the Mafia. Mean Streets is inherently Italian in identity, as it is set in New York’s Little Italy in the early 1970s—the territory and environment of most known Mafia-gangster groups. The portrayals of Charlie and his friend Johnny Boy—Keitel and De Niro, respectively—are excellent examples of life within the gangster reality, of non-negotiable orders, surprises and sudden decisions, the possibility of assault and instant death. This kind of life, however, is not always chosen by those who find themselves in it; Charlie, for one, lives by the dictates of family and religion, and refuses to take a stand on anything—even if he is plagued by his own guilt. Johnny Boy, on the other hand, is the quintessential gangster, the product of family legacy and history and his pleasure in romanticizing violence and aggression. These two personas reveal some of the most prevalent yet opposing attitudes regarding life in New York City—the struggle to accept a predetermined career, and the assertion of identity based on others’ experience. New York City is indeed a complex mixture of culture and identity, and these are often appropriated by those who desire to make their voices heard in the din of success, failure, and everything else in between. Religion, ethnicity, family, and other inherent traits that contribute to create an identity that can set one apart from the faceless rest are apparent means for survival, which is essential in the midst of such an unforgiving address. III. Left Alone and Unnoticed: Idealism, Racism, and Violence in Taxi Driver De Niro’s portrayal of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver symbolizes the outcome of a person left to survive on his own in the complicated maze that is New York City in the mid-1970s. What begins as a man with fervent dreams of success and fulfillment in the capital of realized wishes can end in cynicism, hopelessness, and despair. Idealism sets the pace for the ultimate acts of violence and racism, played out by succeeding episodes of rejection and perceived injustice—specifically in the context of sex and acceptance. Bickle’s downward spiral into madness is caused by his own set of values, which includes his idealization of women, superiority of race, and self-entitlement coming from the war experience. Finding himself in a world where he is rejected by a woman he admires, where immorality and child prostitution exists, and where blacks are shown to call the shots through violence and extortion, are enough to shape Bickle’s concept of reality and purpose. Ultimately, he decides to take matters into his own hands, in a defining act that finally pronounces his voice and presence. Rejection and disappointment are part of the New York City lifestyle, given the constant struggle and competition naturally occurring within such a lucrative environment. Likewise, the reality of prostitution and other forms of immorality are necessary effects of the ongoing tests of one’s desired fate, since negation and failure will always need a stopgap measure and means for release or revenge. This complicated economy may not always be easy to comprehend, much less seen as one’s way of life; that Bickle is established with traits akin to surreal idealism makes New York City a symbol of both fulfilled dreams and unrealized goals. Bickle’s persona is common among many who have decided to find their success in the city yet is only armed with traditional ideals of morality, justice, and equality. Race is an evident issue, particularly if it figures in the equation of opportunity and chances for success; blacks, to the white Bickle, represents all things he finds wrong in the city. Finding people of a different set of morals is also a trigger for Bickle’s downfall, since he finds himself unable to impose his own ideals on them. New York City is shown here in its element, with the images of political action and objective during the day and graphic evidences of violence and the sex trade at night. These two pictures of the city plainly show that it is not for the weak, nor for the idealistic; what is essential is toughness and open-mindedness in order to understand the nature of New York City as a place where everything can and will happen. IV. The Master and the Servant: Creativity and Political Economy in â€Å"Life Lessons† This installment in the bigger project that is New York Stories is Scorsese’s contribution to the collective efforts made with fellow film icons Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. â€Å"Life Lessons† is a simple story about artist Lionel Dobie, played by Nick Nolte, and his lover/apprentice Paulette, portrayed by Rosanna Arquette, who both engage in the literal and figurative significance of a two-way relationship. Dobie, being a famous abstract artist, imparts his knowledge, skill, and social connections to Paulette, who in turn repays him by serving as his muse and sex partner. Their relationship comes to a turning point when Paulette decides to move on and see other men, which causes Dobie to become insanely jealous. But it is this jealousy that eventually drives him to create his best work, and thus he forces Paulette to stay with him by selling her on the idea that New York City is the only place for an aspiring artist like herself. Evidently, Dobie lives on his negative emotions to survive, and has done exactly the same in his past relationships. In the end, Paulette makes good with her original decision and leaves, and soon Dobie is shown meeting another young female artist whom he convinces to become his new apprentice. This scene is shown with much sexual connotation, leaving the viewer to conclude that Dobie has once more found his muse. Art is never just for art’s sake in New York City; while some of the best minds are indeed residents of the locale, the competitive conditions and social norms that define it are also necessary factors to consider in appraising one’s success. Talent is never just the sole requirement in making it big in New York City, mainly because of the sheer number of individuals of excellent gifts trying to make names for themselves. Thus this brings about the reality and importance of social connection and status; in order to succeed in a place abound with skill and opportunity, one must look beyond the singular benefit of talent and employ all possible elements that can directly or indirectly help realize his or her goal. In this kind of situation, not everyone asked to assist will want to do so without claiming anything back—after all, the brand of opportunity existing in New York City is essentially available whenever and wherever one sees fit to call it forth. Intrinsically, New York City is probably the one significant environment where making and dealing transactions is the name of the game; to participate, one must have something to sell and/or buy. V. Conclusion Martin Scorsese’s depiction of New York City in the three films mentioned is, quite understandably, based on his own perceptions and experiences. These bases, however, are truly authentic and real—enough to convey a significant concept of New York City, as well as its nuances. The appropriation of identity in Mean Streets, idealism in Taxi Driver, and creativity in â€Å"Life Lessons† is truly apt and relevant, considering that these three themes are probably the most prevalent notions that define the city, albeit taken to each theme’s extremes. New York City may result in an assertion of identity or its eventual loss, depending on a person’s chosen path or decisions. It could progress the concept of idealism to its highest degree, particularly when success is met and values are replicated, yet it could also result in the erosion of idealist thinking, if all experiences are negative and disappointing. Lastly, the New York City experience can stimulate one’s creativity, since it is the one of the world’s capitals of art, yet can also diffuse the fire that burns one’s passion, if the right connections and exposure are not met. Nothing can be simply in the middle ground with regard to life in this city, as most things either fulfill or destroy existing beliefs and objectives. New York City is truly an enigma, a place that exists both in the mind and in its physical sense; while these two spaces may not always have the same traits or premises, the fact remains that it is an aspiration, where one should ‘make it’. Scorsese’s attempts at putting together a credible representation of New York City is laudable, but in truth, many more interpretations are still waiting to be conveyed. Such is the meaning of convergence, where anything and everything is possible. References Brown, M. (1996). â€Å"Martin Scorsese†. God Among Directors. Accessed on 10 April 2009 from http://www. godamongdirectors. com/scorsese/index. shtml Scorsese, M. (dir. ) (1989). â€Å"Life Lessons†. New York Stories. Touchstone Pictures (1973). Mean Streets. Taplin-Perry-Scorsese Productions. (1976). Taxi Driver. Bill/Phillips.

A critical analysis of the globalization strategy of a multinational Essay

A critical analysis of the globalization strategy of a multinational company (Coca-Cola) - Essay Example While conceding to the fact that internationalisation is a risky endeavour, international business theory has proposed a number of risk-minimising strategies and a set of recommendations for the constructive exploitation of globalisation for the purposes of profit maximisation. Needless to say, while some corporations have successfully implemented these recommendations and have substantially expanded their markets and financial returns as a result, others have not. This research looks at one of the corporations which has successfully reaped the rewards of globalisation: Coca-Cola. Drawing on international business theory, the study engages in a critical analysis of Coca-Cola's external and internal environments for the purposes of shedding light on its corporate strategy and the uncovering the determinants of its success. The analyses, which utilise Porter's Five Forces, SWOT and PEST, indicates that Coca Cola's success is a direct outcome of an internationalisation strategy which is deeply considerate of the particularities and peculiarities of the various national markets within which it operates. 1 Introduction Multinational corporations are popularly regarded as the primary beneficiaries of globalisation. In his defence and justification of this claim, Wartick and Wood (2006) highlight the immediate correlation between the removal of barriers to international trade and foreign direct investment and the growth and expansion of the global activities of multinational companies. While not disputing this claim, the fact is that multinational companies are not simply the primary beneficiaries of globalisation but the purveyors of globalisation. In other words, globalisation was spearheaded by globally-minded, expansionist corporations such as Coca-Cola. Indeed, as Wartick and Wood (2006) argue, corporations such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Phillip Morris, Nestle and several others globalised business through international expansion via mergers, acquisitions and franchises, prior to the inception of globalisation. The implication here is that Coca-Cola, among others played a seminal role in the glo balisation of the international economy and, indeed, designed and pursued global business strategies prior to the passage and subsequent enforcement of WTO rules. This perspective on the role of multinational companies in the globalisation process can be validated through a brief, albeit critical, review of the implications of multinationals. Understanding the role of multinationals in globalisation and the degree to which, if at all, globalisation impacted the strategies of MNC, is contingent upon knowing the meaning of MNC. Gershon (1997, p. 3) offers a very precise and concise definition of the concept, writing that a multinational corporation is "a nationally based company with overseas operations in two or more countries" (Gershon, 1997, p. 3). As may have been inferred from the introductory paragraph and as most are well aware of, multinational corporations are a significant part of the contemporary global economy and, without any doubt, its primary players. The power which multinationals command and the extent of their influence on the economy, whether at the national, regional or global level, is explicitly explained in Jacoby's (1984, p. 5) description of the multinational cor

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Pastoral Epistles Authorship - Term Paper Example In the book of ACTS of Apostles we learn about how Paul was converted to an individual believing in Jesus Christ. In the ACTS he is portrayed as a cruel man who persecuted and killed those who believed in Jesus Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles the speeches of the apostles seem to advocate for Christianity as a religion for every human being. Paul in particular says that salvation was not meant for the Jews but also for the Gentiles (Harrington, 2008). The apostles talked of the Holy Spirit and how he guided most of them during trials before roman authorities and while preaching. In reference to Towner (2009), the apostles were categorical about prayers and insisted on prayers as a way to reach the father through His son Jesus Christ. It is especially important to note that Paul spoke about oppression of the weak and marginalized in the society .we draw that Paul passed a clear message that as much as Christianity was universal everyone deserves a better treatment (Towner, 2009). It is because of Pauls faith that he was imprisoned by the Romans. Paul bore witness to Jesus Christ of whom the Jewish authorities refused to accept as the promised messiah. He was deeply concerned with the manner in which the Christians conducted themselves and the qualifications an individual had to posses in assuming any leadership position in the early church (Liefed, 1999). It was difficult for new convert to stand firm and deep rooted into Christianity. Paul had to guide them all the way. It is here that the Pastoral Epistles came about. Liefed (1999) asserts that when Paul was released by the Romans he travelled to Asia Minor. He passed through Ephesus and Crete. It is in these places that he left Timothy and Titus to be pastor’s respectively. Paul was concerned about the organization of the church. This portrays him as a person who upheld order (Harrington, 2008). From both

Child Trafficking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Child Trafficking - Essay Example These children, having suffered at the hands of fate get tempted by such offers, mainly because they want to make good money to serve their personal and family needs. Such children sometimes even step out of their houses with these agents, even without their parental consent. Actually neither the child nor the â€Å"adult is usually aware of the full implications of their actions† (What is Child Trafficking para. 2). Often, by the time these children are rescued, it is generally too late. The children who have been trafficked and sexually exploited have to bear various consequences varying from unwanted pregnancies to HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. The physical scars can still be dealt with but the psychological scars remain to haunt them for a lifetime! Unfortunately, though many children get rescued their sufferings continue. According to an NGO, Plan USA, â€Å"The causes of child trafficking are complex and often reinforce each other. Victims are often made vulnerable by factors including poverty, the attraction of perceived higher standards of living, lack of employment opportunities, organized crime, violence and discrimination against women and children, government corruption, political instability and armed conflict† (What is Child Trafficking para. 2). ... The statistics show that in the last 20 year's time, anti trafficking organizations have worked harder to accept, understand, research and resolve the issue. But, despite of these continuous efforts, the problem remains unresolved. Therefore, it is time to make cumulative effort globally to eradicate such heinous issues thriving around us. â€Å"Some shocking numbers: Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls of which upto 50% are minors. – U.S. State Department The average age of entry for children, who have been victims of the sex trade industry is about 12 years. – U.S. Department of Justice The global market for child trafficking is over $12 billion a year, with more than 1.2 million child victims. – UNICEF Surveys indicate that 30 to 35 % of all sex workers in Mekong (sub-region of Southeast Asia) are between 12 and 17 years of age. – UNICEF The average cost of slavery today is $90, a historic low† (Bales). Apart from w hat the governments across the world are doing to end child trafficking, there are other non profit agencies which are aiming towards rescuing children from hunger, abuse and disease. Each day, more and more children are trafficked into prostitution, forced labor, child marriages and other kinds of slavery. â€Å"Each day, the challenges grow greater for those who seek to prevent child trafficking and provide care for children who have been trafficked† (Our Mission para. 2). We all wait for someone else to bring about that change ! A general tendency is not to bother about the problem - unless it befalls upon us. That is precisely the reason why problems which are occurring on global level seldom find a global and effective solution. Sometimes it is people’s fear that holds them back from raising

Journal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Journal - Research Paper Example (This doesn't only apply to Americans, of course, but we are looking at the "log" in our own eye here.   I believe I can drop the prejudices, all of them, but only for a little while. I have to have my own standing, my perspective. Being biased doesn’t make me a bad person, it is a part of being human, but there is a positive prejudice and there is a hostile prejudice (Pettigrew 2). I am not on any spiritual journey at this point of my life, which is probably why I can’t answer if I am separate from nature or god, but I do feel a part of everything I see and everything I believe exists. I see animals, birds and the sky, I feel the air, I listen to sounds I hear every morning and I feel like a part of them. I do feel that we are somehow all connected to each other. This is the real ‘slow down’ that awe all need to see. When we are moving on with our lives, we barely see the world from someone else’s perspective. But let the goals of life melt away, the rat race for money simply vanish and there is no country, boundary, culture or civilization to feel proud of. There are no family names or geographical superiorities to make us see the others with contempt and hate. Question:   Think of a book that has been important to you (it may be the Bible, or young adult works; it need not be a "classic." Or, if there are no books, think of a movie or TV show). Can you see how you are in a way a "transcript" of these media, how their way of looking at things becomes "inscribed" in you? It can be intoxicating, just as Mir Camar said.   People ask me about my favorite movie, as pop culture is the most obvious topic of discussion among friends. Without a moment of hesitation, I blurt out ‘The Matrix’ , and they make an ugly face upon hearing this name. To them The Matrix trilogy is nothing but bullet dodging action, but for me it is a compete philosophy. I watched the first sequel back in 1999, when I had no idea what philoso phy is or what the movie is really about. But the dialogues of the movie kept resonating in my head. I couldn’t help but dwell on things like ‘Free Your Mind’, a phrase that Morpheus says to Neo when he is teaching him to jump. To me this felt like magic. I used to play football and I would try to tell myself, Morpheus style, to free my mind and dribble the ball all across the field and put it in the net. To me this was freeing my mind of all doubts and fears. After imagining Morpheus telling me this, I would believe that everything is possible and I would put I the extra energy enthusiasm in my play and it worked more times than it failed. To me it worked. Later I watched the documentary about the movie and came to know that the movie is based on so many philosophies that it gets hard to keep track of all of them. The theme of the movie is reality, our perception is reality. For instance the moment I’m writing this paper, I suddenly ask myself, how can I be sure what I am seeing is ‘real’, the institute I study, my professor and my friends are not a dream. Only satisfaction is that the five senses my brain has, interprets all of this so that my mind qualifies everything as real but what if I’m wrong? What if the signals my brain is getting is nothing but an illusion? After all we believe in a mirage which is nothing but our mind playing tricks on us. What is what we believe to be real is only a belief and because it’s a belief, our mind makes it real? Question:

Analysis of Price Discrimination Research Paper

Analysis of Price Discrimination - Research Paper Example Product pricing also depends on the availability of competitors in the market and certain rules and regulations of the land. Price discrimination is generally resorted for deeper penetration into the marketplace, to attract more customers from competitors or to attract certain segments. Price discrimination also might be used as a predatory pricing tactic, for setting prices below cost to certain customers, to harm competition at the supplier's level. At times this leads to legal battles. Price discrimination, also known as differential pricing may be defined as the practice by a company of charging different prices to the same buyer or to different buyers for the same commodity or service without corresponding difference in cost. This way we can define three classes of discrimination; Second-degree discrimination: The company charges different prices for blocks of units instead of for individual units e.g. different rates charged by an electricity undertaking for light and fan, for domestic power and for industrial use. Third-degree discrimination: As long as the demand elasticities among different customers are unequal, it will be profitable for the company to group the customers into separate classes according to elasticity, and charge each class a separate price. Some example of price discrimination: Airlines offering a huge discount on the destinations towards not very popular routes. Cinema and theater halls offering discounted tickets to students. Car rental firms cutting prices at weekends. The hotel offers discounted weekend breaks. Air-conditioner and refrigerator companies offering discriminatory pricing during winters. Travel agencies offering discounts for families during the school holidays. Computer manufacturers offering bargain prices when they go for newer versions and intend to offload the existing version quickly. Or sometimes when newer versions arrive in the market simultaneously from more than two manufacturers, then also to attract the customer we see price wars. Newspapers companies offering invitation prices for long duration or during weekends. Â  

Report on the UK Petrol Market Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Report on the UK Petrol Market - Coursework Example Even the retailers of petrol have declined drastically owing to this wave of competition. The fall in petrol prices is also attributed to the increased competition among dealers of petrol in the UK. But there is a notable difference in prices between the rural petrol outlets and the urban ones. This could be justified by the additional costs of distribution and the low volume of sales in the rural areas (Harrison, 2011). Objectives of the Report To explain the meaning of ‘opportunity cost’ and ‘substitution’ To show how the concepts of ‘substitution’ and ‘opportunity cost’ could be used to analyse the changes in the equilibrium price in the UK petrol market. The concepts of Substitution and Opportunity cost Opportunity cost is the value of the next best forgone alternative. It results because of the scarcity of resource required to meet people’s needs. For example if one has $100, they can buy either a book or a watch. If the y choose to buy a book, then the benefit they could have enjoyed if they had bought a watch would be an opportunity cost (Samidi et al., 2008). Opportunity cost can also result if as a result of price increase, the quantity bought reduces. For example if before price change a 100 litres of petrol at could be bought at$4,000 but only 80 litres could be bought with the same amount of money. In this case, the value of the 20 litres that is forgone after the price increase is an opportunity cost. This scenario also shows a substitution effect which is the difference between the quantity bought before and after the price change (Duguid, 2005). Substitution also results in a case where one is making a choice between two substitutes such as wheat and rice. If the price of rice is increased, the consumption of wheat is likely to be increased. Therefore, the difference between the quantity of wheat consumed before and after the price increase of rice is termed as a substitution effect. Equil ibrium Price in the UK Petrol Market The figure below shows the changes in shifts in the equilibrium position as a result of the changes in the price of petrol. The X-axis represents the quantity of petrol while the Y-axis represents the Price of petrol (per Litre). X0, X1 and X2 represent the various equilibrium positions. Q0, Q1 and Q2 represent the litres of petrol bought at various prices. D0 is the demand of petrol while S0, S1 and S2 are the supply the supply curves. The Graph of Volume of petrol and its Price per litre                S1                                                                                  S0                                        X1                Pe1                      S2 Price per Litre       X0             Pe0                                                                X2          Pe2                                                                         D0                                                                                              Q1 Q0 Q2                      Quantity (Litres)             Figure 1: Petrol Market Discussion The initial equilibrium position (where the supply curve, S0, intersect with the demand curve, D0) was represented by X0. At this equilibrium position, the consumer was able to buy Q0 Litres of petrol at a price of Pe0 per Litre. But if the price of petrol was increased to Pe1 per Litre, the consumer has to reduce the quantity consumed to Q1 litres from Q0 litres. The reduction of Q0-Q1 Litres is the volume of petrol forgone by the consumer owing to the price increase by P1-P0 dollars. The value of the foregone Litres of petrol is an opportunity cost which the consumer has

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Aristotle’s two magnificent Children: Ethos the Spiritual Motivator, and Logos the Blunt Persuader Among the multiple appeals from Aristotle, there lies rhetorical analysis. Applying Aristotle’s appeals to present day advertisements breaks down all the aspects and qualities of each advertisement, thus identifying motive behind the color scheme to the emotion or lack of, behind the script. There are two different types of styles of writing that I’m going to talk about in this paper, Ethos and Logos. In this specific ad, there are examples of Pathos and Ethos used in order to have a successful advertisement. â€Å"Rhetorical approaches are concerned with the use of reason in efforts to persuade an audience, but not only with reason: they also consider the personal qualities, characteristics and skills of speakers† (Ellis). After looking at the ad for a long time and analyzing it, it’s clear that Figure Weight Loss means business. In this paper I am going to focus on the different aspects of Ethos and Logos and how they apply to the ad itself in broad terms, a side story of a girl named Shannon, and their three keen promises to make it safe, effective, and affordable for each client. In literary terms, Ethos can be referred to as a spirit that motivates ideas and customs, and it could also be traced back to times of economic change in ancient Palestine. In other literary terms, Logos means that you as the writer are persuading through reasoning. Even though that the advertisement isn’t a big one and is in a small reach magazine, it still packs a tremendous amount of meaning. When I was flipping through magazines I was getting bored because nothing was really eye appealing that’s when I decided to open up a Reach magazine because they usually have something or some things that are appealing and fun to look at. I was almost done flipping through the pages and I saw my two most favorite colors combined in such a unique way I didn’t even care what the ad was about, I stopped. Tying in with ethos, the advertisement the three physicians at the bottom right hand corner look serious and they give that sort of sense that it is okay to come to their place because they mean business and they know what to do. Tying logos to the advertisement is easy; the people at Figure Weight Loss offer an $89 first visit and free medication for the whole first month, that sounds like some good reasoning to me. â€Å"By Aristotle the systematic and technical definitions and uses of persuasion in both texts are analyzed in depth. Parallels are then drawn between the categories of persuasion used in the two texts and Aristotles philosophical categories of ethos and logos† (Kraus). The logic and reasonable qualities of the advertisement associate with Shannon, I would say if Shannon could do it then I can, but I’ve already lost 35 pounds in less than two months. However if Shannon and I can do this, anyone can. The story about Shannon is unclear, it just shows her on the ad and says that she lost 52 pounds. It doesn’t say what she weighed when she came in or her weight when she came out. However she still dropped the weight on the system created by Medical Doctors Raimi Carrigan, Robert Grober, and Greg Weckenbrock. Shannon was probably a regular woman that was overweight and went out to search for a solace. Shannon probably heard about this through a friend or went snooping around. Anyway Shannon found the spirit that ethos provides and felt motivated enough to consult a experienced physician and get started on their program to lose weight, and to become a better person. Logos can be applied because, Shannon was persuaded not only by the doctors at Figure Weight Loss, but she was also being persuaded by herself to get her life back on track†¦ and she did. â€Å"You make a choice in your life, and it affects you life in all the ways, good and bad† (Mayer). At their location in Edgewood Kentucky, the Medical Doctor’s basically have a 3-bullet point insurance policy. They ensure that their work and style is very safe, very effective, and rather light on the wallet. They also claim that you will see immediate results, they claim that they have been the best group for weight loss since 1999, and that they have the best-certified, and best trained physicians specializing in weight loss. â€Å"Physicians endorsed significantly more stringent weight loss goals for obese female patients than obese male patients. Regardless of patient gender, physician goals exceeded the 5–10% losses currently recommended† (Dutton). Ethos has a special place here because it takes the â€Å"safe, effective, and affordable† approach, and then brings it to real life. If you are on the wrong track like Shannon was, this ad should motivate you like it did her and get you where you need and want to be. Logos also has a special spot reserved here because if other companies aside from Proactive, Gillette, or Nike didn’t have famous people endorsing them like Carrie Underwood, Clay Matthews, or Tiger Woods, than those companies wouldn’t be as successful as they are now. I’m not saying that Figure Weight Loss has the potential to ever be as big as Nike is today, but they have Shannon, a living example of Figure Weight Losses’ success. Among the multiple appeals from Aristotle, there lies rhetorical analysis. Applying Aristotle’s appeals to present day advertisements breaks down all the aspects and qualities of each advertisement, thus identifying motive behind the color scheme to the emotion or lack of, behind the script. â€Å"Rhetorical Analysis can play in helping students to develop their knowledge and awareness about writing and in transferring their knowledge about writing to different tasks and contexts both in and out of the classroom† (Graff). Ethos and Logos come in all different shapes and sizes. Ethos motivates you through spirit and good will, while Pathos states real and actual facts that can persuade you to do great things. Works Cited Dutton, Garreth R. Comparison of Physician Weight Loss Goals for Obese Male and Female Patients. Ed. Perry G. Michael and Cutis C. Stine. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Ellis, Jaye. Law and the Limits of Reason: Rhetorical Approaches to Self-Determination and the Use of Force. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. Graff, Nelson. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis to Promote Transfer of Learning. Ebsco Host, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. Kraus, Manfred. How to Classify Means of Persuasion: The Rhetoric to Alexander and Aristotle on Pisteis. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 29. Mayer, John C. John Mayer Quotes. BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals what are these ideals in the context of the play in Act One, and how does Wilde present them to the audience?  In The Importance of Being Earnest, ideals are a dominant theme, and to that end are critical in determining the actions of the characters. Wilde is typically subtle in his presentation of these ideals, and consequently many of them come to be used as a means for satirising the society depicted. It is important to establish from the outset that Wildes presentation of ideals utilizes the different characters as bastions for the various ideals, and in doing that subjects them to scrutiny when ridiculing their respective characterizations. One of the most important ideals presented is fittingly one of the first to become apparent; that being the division of the classes and the social status that they entail. On line 1 of the play, Algernon asks Lane, after playing the piano in the adjoining room: Did you hear what I was playing. Lane? Lanes response: I didnt think it polite to listen, sir is indicative of various aspects of his position. Firstly, his butlership requires that he should abstain from partaking in any activity considered to be distracting to his duties, of which listening to the piano would be one. Secondly, his position in society, that of one of the lower classes, demands utter obsequiousness, hence any comment on Algernons playing would be risky in case it appeared to be unflattering. The ideal of social standing being absolute is immediately challenged by Wilde, as it is quite preposterous that Lane should think it not polite to listen, a distinctly ironic and seditious undertone is palpable. In this instance, Algernon represents the foppish dandy without a brain, whereas Lanes quiet obedience, representative of the downtrodden worker, whilst not perhaps admirable is at least sensible. Thus, Wilde establishes certain connections between the tenets of proper society, and its greatest protagonists, and hence weakens the establishment. The fact that this is done through the means of an implicitly comic exchange helps to alleviate any graveness associated with the matter. Connected to the ideal of status and society is the position of women, which is also a prevalent theme in Act 1. During the Victorian Age and before, it was considered proper practice that woman have an inferior position in society to men. This was effected by their disenfranchisement and their inability to ascend to high positions, whether it is in society or in the work place. It is therefore a shock to the system when Gwendolen challenges Jacks natural authority when speaking to him about their marriage. Whereas he is vacillating and circuitous in what he says: I do mean something else Personally, darling, to speak quite candidly, Gwendolen is forceful and direct: I thought so. In fact, I am never wrong I would certainly advise you to do so. By being so controlling, Gwendolen reverses the accepted patriarchy, and in doing so challenges the ideal. In this case in point, Wilde is quite prepared to dispose of any comic vignettes in order to make a point; instead the dialogue itself provides ample means for dismissing the given principle that women should be subordinate. The character of Lady Bracknell is another example of a dominating woman; a slightly more matronly persona gives some precedence for such commands as: Mr Worthing! Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent posture however her assumption of authority is still contradictory to the established social norms. Her verbose and eloquent manner of speaking is also out of the ordinary, as it challenges the demure image normally associated with women. Lady Bracknell challenges the patriarchal society in a more forceful and deliberate way than does Gwendolen, as seen from her interviewing Jack: You can take a seat, Mr Worthing. Although this matronly caricature is somewhat trite by todays standards, at the time of writing it would have served to provide an original attack on the males dominance of the running of society.

Net Neutrality and Freedom on the Internet

Net Neutrality and Freedom on the Internet Net Neutrality: The end of internet freedom The internet has been one of the greatest technological advances ever seen in the last 40 years. It has opened the doors to many new advances in many other fields and has changed the way the world works today. Now, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and the government have decided that they need to regulate it. In theory, the regulation they would like to put in place seems like a good idea. The regulation they are putting in place is called net neutrality and it is supposed to do three things. The three things that net neutrality aims to do is no blocking, no throttling, and no paid prioritization. These all seem like good ideas and they are, the only problem is what must be sacrificed in order for the government to ensure these regulations are enforced. Net Neutrality laws should be removed so the internet can continue to grow. The first new rule of Net Neutrality is no blocking. According to CNET, this means that the ISP (Internet Service Provider) cannot block access of any legal content, services, or applications. The key here is what does the government consider legal. People would be surprised how much of what they view online each day may not be considered legal by the government. Another problem with the government blocking access to these certain website and services is that in order for them to block someone from visiting an illegal site or service, they must be monitoring them all the time. If someone is not being monitored, they could just as easily visit that site or service as they could before. So, by making strict new rules to block any illegal content, the FCC will always be monitoring everything that everyone is doing online. This will give the government a whole new level of access to peoples’ personal lives and nothing will be completely private anymore. Another common happening to day is networks and systems being hacked (Science Alert). This requires very fast implementation of new security methods and protocols to prevent mass hacking. So, what happens when the government is going to be involved with the ISP’s? Every time an ISP needs to do a network update, it will likely need to be approved by the government first in order to make sure that it is still complying with the no blocking rules. That way, an ISP could not secretly start blocking a service without the FCC being aware of it. As can be demonstrated by how fast and efficient a post office works, the government is not very fast in what it does, this means that if a new network vulnerability is found, it is possible that in the time it takes for the government to look over and approve the update, a hacker or group of hackers could have already hacked into the network and start stealing information from millions of people. How could this be improved? The answer is no blocking, period. ISPâ€⠄¢s simply do not need to block any content of any kind unless their own system detects that it is a threat. Using this method, it would allow all content to be available to everyone just as most people are used to now. However, with an automated threat detector, it would make the internet safer as well and less vulnerable to viruses and other hacking threats. This is basically how the internet works right now. Essentially, the government does not need to fix what is not broken already. Nonetheless, the government does not want things to be that simple. The reasoning behind their no blocking policy is not to protect people from the big evil internet service providers, but rather it is so that no one is downloading or viewing anything illegal (Wired). Otherwise, the government would have little interest in the no blocking policy. This is simply a way for them to get their foot in the door to block people from doing anything they determine to be illegal on the internet. Here are some examples of illegal things that most people do every day on the internet and dont even realize its illegal. For examples, it is illegal to fake a name online, it is illegal to use ad blocking software, and it is illegal to save pictures from the internet because they are someone elses property. People view lots of illegal content on YouTube all the time and one of the more ridiculous things that is illegal to do online is to post anyone singing happy birthday because it is a copyrighted s ong. If this rule of Net Neutrality were to be kept, many of the freedoms that people are able to experience online today would be gone. No more happy birthday videos on YouTube. The next rule that Net Neutrality will enforce is no throttling. This means that ISP’s cannot slow down or speed up certain services as long as they are legal (USA Today). This comes back again to the issue of what does the government consider legal on the internet. The real point here, though, is that an ISP should not be able to slow down a certain service because they use a lot of bandwidth or if they are providing content that the ISP does not agree with. An example of this throttling happening is if someone were trying to view content on a competitor of the ISP that someone is currently subscribed to. So, if someone on Comcast’s network was trying to view a news story on a website other than NBC (Comcast owns NBC), it is possible that Comcast could throttle them because they are viewing content on a competing news network site. This is where the idea of no throttling is a very good idea, it is not right for one company to throttle data to impair access to a competi tor. However, there is one perspective of throttling that the government does not take into consideration. In some instances, throttling ensures that many people are not impeded by the usage of the few. In other words, a few people could be hogging tons of available bandwidth to access a media intensive site or service while everyone else ends up with reduced speeds and network reliability while they try and do less bandwidth intensive tasks. This has been becoming less of an issue as ISP’s continue to invest in their infrastructure and try to improve total available bandwidth so that more people can be accessing more content at the same time. An example of throttling being necessary, however, was demonstrated when an app on Android became very popular and everyone was using it to communicate, which caused a massive bandwidth problem over the T-Mobile network. In order to keep the network stable so that everyone could still use it in some capacity, T-Mobile had to throttle th e users who were using the communication app. In this case, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. It’s cases like these where throttling can be a necessity in order to maintain network integrity. Netflix has often been the victim of throttling. Almost one third of the internet traffic, today, is from people streaming Netflix (Time). Most networks now have the capability to allow for that. However, a few years ago, when Netflix was starting to become big, this was quite a strain on the current networks and in many cases people would get stuck with buffering because the ISP’s were having to throttle Netflix in order to keep the network in working order. Throttling is a self-solving problem in many ways. If people complain that a service they like is being throttled, then the ISP will have to make improvements to handle the additional traffic and this leads to network improvements and an overall better service. The part that can be an issue is when an ISP tries to throttle a competitor, which is when Net Neutrality could be good. However, this problem as well can be self-solving. If someone is trying to view something from a competitor of the ISP and they keep getting throttled, they will either complain or they will switch ISP’s. This will then force the ISP to stop throttling that site or they will lose customers. So, once again, the problem solves itself without the government needing to intervene. The third rule of Net Neutrality is no paid prioritization. This is meant to prevent any ISP from favoring some legal traffic over other legal traffic that has paid them (Wired). This is often referred to as â€Å"no fast lanes.† The best way to look at this is to think of a highway. Say there are eight lanes to this highway and the speed limit is the same for six of the lanes. However, two of the lanes have a higher speed limit and have less traffic, but they require a toll to use them. This is basically what some ISPs have been doing. They will charge certain companies to use these faster and less congested lanes so that their service is better. The idea behind this third rule of Net Neutrality is that no one gets access to fast lanes and everyone has equal access to everything. In theory, this is a great idea, but the problem here is similar to the problem with the second Net Neutrality rule. If one service is using most of the bandwidth, they should have to pay a premium t o be a drain on the network. When a massive bandwidth using company like Netflix is being used on a network, it is a huge drain on the network and it requires often expensive upgrades to be made in order to handle that new bandwidth demand. These upgrade costs are partly due to the fact that the bandwidth hog is impeding the networks performance, so they should have to pay a premium for a fast lane so that it can offset the cost of network upgrades. This also allows the network to advance and overall advance the way the internet is used. When a new company comes around and starts putting a strain on the network, this makes it so the network needs to be upgraded in order to handle it which leads to an overall better network. If there is no paid prioritization, then ISP’s may not be able to justify the costs associated with making network improvements and then that will lead to an even worse service overall. Thus, the third rule of Net neutrality is also a bad idea as it will c ause the US to fall even farther behind in average internet speeds around the globe. Those were the three main points that the government highlights about Net Neutrality and about how great it is, but what are they hiding? One key detail that they never want to mention to anyone is the fact that they will have control over how the internet is run. They are trying to stop ISP’s from regulating the internet by regulating it themselves. The government isnt exactly well known for providing great regulations, generally they are tedious and time consuming and ultimately pointless. Why should the internet have to move at the same pace as the government? It has cost taxpayers over two billion dollars so far to make the government run healthcare website work, and it still doesnt work properly. From the beginning to the very end of the enrollment period for the healthcare website, it was having tons of problems. Constantly freezing and glutting and kicking people off the server. The same people that developed this system now want to be in charge of how the internet is r egulated and run. It would be only a matter of time before the government wants to further tighten its grip on how the internet is regulated and run. Before too long, they may end up being completely in charge of how the internet works and that will lead to disaster. The internet today is by no means perfect. However, the last thing it needs is a bunch of incompetent politicians in charge of how it works. These are all things that the Net Neutrality bill will secretly allow. Therefore, it was enacted without a proper vote even being taken, it was just suddenly put into place, a bill that as over 300 pages was put into place without anyone even having time to read it. Essentially, it was put into action without anyone even knowing what it all really entailed. A huge right that will be infringed upon by Net Neutrality is everyone’s own right to privacy. Part of the Net Neutrality act allows the government to monitor internet activity. The NSA is a part of the government which allows the NSA to view every bit of activity from everyone on the internet. No one will have any privacy from the government anymore. Any time someone looks at anything on the internet, the NSA can find out about it. This is a huge infringement on a right to privacy from the government. The government knows enough about the citizens of the United States, they dont need to know what size cloths someone wears or that somebody is very interested in funny cat videos. This is just giving the government more control over what people do every day and not allowing them to feel like what they are doing is somewhat private. The argument to this is that once something is on the internet, it never goes away, and anyone can have access to it. That is true, however, with the government monitoring everyone’s activity, it makes it just that much easier for them to keep tabs on people. The other fact is that while what someone posts to the internet is no secret, what they are doing on the internet can still be unknown to many. With the government able to monitor activity through ISP’s, nothing that is done over the internet anymore is private. The government could start monitoring if someone is selling lots of their things on Craigslist and could then audit them if they did not report their profits on their taxes. Technically, profit made even from selling items can be taxed. This will simply reduce the freedom on the internet even more. It’s all just a step closer to complete government control over what everyone does everywhere. In the end, the government is ultimately enacting these new Net Neutrality rules, so they can gain more control over people on the internet. It will give them a whole new level of access and control over everything that everyone is doing. The no blocking policy allows them to control what is displayed on the internet by not blocking things that are legal, but making sure anything they consider illegal is blocked. The no throttling policy will make it so that everyone has an equal playing ground. This will make sure that things people want to be faster are not simply in order to make it equal for everyone. Lastly, not having the paid prioritization could cause the ISP’s to not get enough money to continue making important network improvements that make the internet an overall better place. The government is going to end up holding back the internet and will slow down its evolution. If the government had been in charge of the internet from the beginning, it would be nowhere near as powerful as it is today. E-Mail probably never would have come into existence because it would compete with the Post Office, making the Post Office less profitable. The way the very world today works could have been changed if the government had been in charge from the beginning. Hopefully, in the future, the Net Neutrality laws will be repealed to help the internet grow, not the government. So far, seven ISP’s have filed lawsuits against it, so it is likely that more ISP’s will join together to help ensure that the internet will not become crippled by the government. The government needs the internet, the internet does not need the government. Works Cited Babcock, Grant. Net Neutrality And Obamas Scheme for the Internet Are Lousy Ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reason.com. Reason Foundation, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Beck, Glenn. Tell The FCC To Stay Away From The Internet. Glenn Beck. MERCURY RADIO ARTS, 16 Feb. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Berkman, Fran. Net Neutrality Jargon Explained. The Daily Dot. N.p., 25 May 2014. Web.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Apr. 2015. Cobb, Kelly W. Why Net Neutrality and Open Internet Mandates Are Bad for Consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Americans for Tax Reforms. Braynard Group, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. Apr. 2015. Dorfman, Jeffrey. Net Neutrality Is A Bad Idea Supported By Poor Analogies. Forbes. Forbes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Magazine, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Gillula, Jeremy. The FCC Is Keeping an Eye on Interconnection, But More Clarity Is Needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Gross, Grant. Thousands Call on Congress to Overturn Net Neutrality Rules. PCWorld. IDG   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consumer & SMB, 31 Mar. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. May, Randolph. Why Net Neutrality Is Incompatible with Internet Freedom CNET. CNET.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CBS Interactive Inc., 03 Sept. 2012. Web. Apr. 2015. McSherry, Corynne. The FCCs Latest Net Neutrality Proposal: Pros, Cons, and Question   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marks. Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Skorup, Brent, and Berin Szoka. Killing Net Neutrality Helps Underdogs Succeed | WIRED.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 17 Feb. 14. Web. Apr. 2015. Steimle, Joshua. Am I The Only Techie Against Net Neutrality? Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Walker, Bruce E. Net Neutrality Is a Bad Marriage of Government, Internet. Net Neutrality Is a Bad Marriage of Government, Internet. The Heartland Institute, n.d. Web. Apr. 2015.

Choose 2 scenes in Twelfth Night and state how you would direct them Es

Choose 2 scenes in Twelfth Night and state how you would direct them Choose 2 scenes in Twelfth Night and state how you would direct them. Discuss some of the challenges you might face in directing the play to a modern audience. Being one of Shakespeare’s best romantic comedies, Twelfth Night has been re-enacted many a times, be it during Elizabethan times, or in modern times. Although set in the Elizabethan era, Twelfth Night has its charms. And indeed, it proves to be relevant and intimate to a modern audience, with its applicable themes and endearing characters. In directing a play of such mannerism, one would have to consider many factors affecting the overall effect of the play, and how it brings forth its true message and intentions. Hence, I have chosen to direct Act 3 Scene 1, as well as Act 2 Scene 3. The reasons why I have chosen the above scenes, is so as in Act 2 Scene 3, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Feste portray a kind of platonic love, that can be applied to a modern audience. In addition, Malvolio is shown forth as the typical puritan, who is the wet blanket for every party and discourages any kind of fun and disorder. This, hence, is also applicable to a modern audience, as the audience see Malvolio as the kind of person everyone would dislike. Thus, later on, when Malvolio is plotted against, the audience can comprehend why. This scene is seen to be a comical one, where humour is the main theme. Henceforth, Shakespeare’s theme of comedy still stands, despite later scenes of seriousness. Act 3 Scene 1 is a scene where we can see Olivia’s desperate and intensifying infatuation for Viola pouring out uncontrollably. Through Viola’s focused and straightforward rejections, we once again sense her dilemma due to her disguise, and also her devotion towards her task and towards Orsino. On the other hand, the message is brought forth that perhaps, woman aren’t always the ones waiting to be wooed. Olivia tries hard to achieve her goals (even when she fails), and gives a sense of stubbornness towards her ‘love’ for Viola (Cesario). Therefore, I have chosen to direct these two scenes. Firstly, Act 2 Scene 4. For this scene, it could be summarized as a comic scene with Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Feste having fun amongst them. Then, Malvolio, the puritan comes in, and spoils their fun, insulting them a... ...ness, and brings forth the carefree tone of the play. Overall, this challenge still stands in the sense of showing Shakespeare’s ‘see-saw’ method in its best light. Another challenge that I think I would face in directing this play would be making the costumes fit the Elizabethan times, yet attracting the modern audience and adding a personal touch to display the play in a way impressing to a modern audience, whom I believe like to watch plays which attract them at first glance. Hence, the clothing could be modern cum Elizabethan, creating an interesting mix. Yet another challenge would be keeping the audience engaged and have continued interest in the show, so as to bring the show to them fully and meaningfully. This is important as if the audience cannot stay focused, the overall effect may be affected. Hence, perhaps the actors could engage the audience with eye contact and stand in such a way as to not have their backs face the audience (unless completely necessary). All in all, directing the play of Twelfth Night to a modern audience proves to be a challenging task, but possible with perseverance in keeping the overall comedy-romantic genre of the play.

Human Gene Therapy :: Biology Biological Genetic Essays

Human Gene Therapy Ashanthi Desilva is now able to ride her bike in her suburban Cleveland neighborhood. She can play basketball with her friends or go fishing with her family. She is slightly inconvenienced by her weekly shot of the critical immune system enzyme: adenosine deaminase (ADA). Ashanthi was born with a faulty gene that results in the inability for her body to produce ADA, leaving her dangerously susceptible to even the weakest of infections (Brown). In 1990, researchers collected samples of Ashanthi's blood, isolated some of her white blood cells, and incorporated into them a virus engineered to contain a healthy ADA gene. These cells were then injected back into her body. She was the first patient to undergo gene therapy, and without that therapy and the weekly shots of ADA, she would have been destined for a life of isolation. Human gene therapy is the replacement of an absent or faulty gene with a functioning gene. As a result, the body is able to produce the correct enzyme or protein, thereby eliminating the cause of the disease (Gene_Therapy_Overview). There are essentially two types of gene therapy: somatic cell therapy and germ line therapy. Somatic cell therapy involves treating any cells of the individual, except the gametes, at the cellular level to correct an absent or malfunctioning gene. This can be accomplished in three ways: ex vivo, in situ, or in vivo. Ex vivo involves removing cells from the patient, altering the genetic material, and placing them back into the patient. In situ requires the vector be placed directly into the affected tissues. In vivo gene therapy involves injecting the vector into the bloodstream. The vector then must find the target tissue and deliver the therapeutic genes. Germ line gene therapy treats the gametes or an embryo, which would be used in the case of in vitro fertilization. The difference between somatic and germ line gene therapy may seem to be subtle; however, the alterations obtained through germ line therapy are not only found in that generation, but are passed on to the individuals progeny. That has serious repercussions when it comes to discussing the ethics of using germ line therapy. Presently, similar techniques are being examined for both somatic and germ line gene therapy, but germ line therapy is more difficult (Coults). This is not to say that somatic cell gene therapy is easily accomplished. One challenge facing researchers is finding a suitable vector that would safely and efficiently deliver the genetic payload into the patients' genome.

Meet me in St, Louis and the Aspect of Sound :: essays research papers fc

The Aspect of Sound in Meet Me In St. Louis In 1904 Eugene Lauste successfully recorded sound onto a piece of photographic film. This invention was known as a â€Å"Sound Grate† the results where still far to crude to be used to public display. The cameras used to film â€Å"The Talkies† as they where known, had to be kept in enormous soundproof casing. This immediately hindered directors creativity and made movies such as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) much more rigid. Because of the fascination with the lip-syncing that this new technology achieved less attention was played to other attributes that silent films used such as the comedic elements in Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931.) The invention of talking pictures also had severe repercussions on the censorship process. Initially the entire process was nearly impossible, as any cuts made would have an effect on the synchronisation of the sound and the film. Minnelli’s 1944 musical Meet Me In St. Louis: â€Å"Serves to implicate the contemporary 1944 audience† (Mundy, J 1999.) This because in many ways the film aims to personify a period of loss and change as was the case in America during the Second World War period. This can be witnessed through Rose Smith’s (Lucille Bremer) loss of a possible fiancà © in New York as well as the heartache the entire family feels of the possibility of moving away from St. Louis to New York. John Mundy (1999) sums this up in the following quote: â€Å"Like so many folk musicals, the film is suffused with a yearning nostalgia for a cultural past which is both desirable and as the text suggests attainable.† This also reflects upon the 1944 audience whereby they will be â€Å"yearning† for a happier past when there is no war. The film uses the device of music to make it seem as if this is attainable for the audience. Andre Bazin saw the movement of film as a total progression towards: â€Å"A progressive movement toward an ultimate goal a total and complete representation of reality... the reconstruction of a perfect illusion of the outside world in sound, colour, and relief† (http://www.thestranger.com/2001-07-05/periphery.html) Bazin called this the â€Å"Myth of Total Cinema.† He believed that a total representation of reality was an ideal. Musicals are popularly believed to be leading away from the ideal of total cinema. This is because they are filmed using non-diegetic sound. This is to say sound that originates from outside of the film.

Developing a Philosophy of Education Essay

I believe the purposes of education are to instill knowledge, instill forms of proper behavior, instill values and principles in the minds of children, and include the development of skills, physical, mental and social. Formal education begins with primary and then secondary education and higher education. It is when we grow up we begin to achieve the purpose of education and understanding of its application in daily life. It is believed that education is to be responsible for the cultivation of a civilized society. Providing education for citizens manages to develop a responsible and thoughtful community. Education helps in imbibing moral and ethical values in individuals and education, in turn, helps in creating a healthy society, which holds a deep understanding of the principles and philosophy of life. The purpose of getting an education is to achieve progress in the areas of operation to enable every member of the community of learners to earn a living. Also, one of the beliefs about the purpose of education is that education aims to create a good teacher. I believe that students learn best when they are taught under certain conditions and in certain ways. Some of these include the student’s support and encouragement, give them self-confidence, and give them the opportunity to participate and discuss in the classroom. Also, teachers encourage them to be themselves and use their creativity. Gentle treatment and respectful treatment of students gives students a sense of comfort and the ability to be tender. The curriculum of any classroom should include certain â€Å"basics† that contribute to students’ intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development. These basics are activities that help them to read and write. As well as activities that help to open mental thinking such as mathematics. By doing so you will teach the student the skills needed. Students learn best in an environment that promotes learning. Some of the characteristics of a good learning environment are to be a sponsor of the learner environment and be keen to learning and development. A learning environment is comfortable and equipped with the necessary settings that help the student focus and pay attention in the classroom. Lighting, air conditioning and classroom size appropriate for the number of students that help the students focus. Should all be taken into account. A teacher should have certain qualities and behave in certain ways. Qualities I think are important for teaching are respect between the student and the teacher, which helps in the creation of the student values. The teacher must be patient and bear the mistakes of their students and help them to live. Be friendly in dealing so that students feel comfortable toward the teacher. That makes flexibility in communication between student and teacher. Creative teachers are able to motivate students by using creative and inspirational methods of teaching.

Meaningful Learning Essay

The importance of education cannot be emphasized enough, as it is the driving force behind our nation’s competitiveness on the global market, and the foundation of our status as a world leader. However, alarming recent statistics conclude that the level of education in our country is rapidly declining. This is the result of repeated failures by various governments to reform our public schools, by using methods that focus on small-part fixes rather than on changing the system at the core. The American public education system has a set of structural problems derived from the level of political involvment. In order to serve their own long term business interests, top CEOs and big corporations invest billions of dollars in our public schools, and in return they are allowed to influence the content of the education programs. In order to be successful, education reform should be free of politics, and it should be up to the experts to decide the direction of curriculum, and what methods are used to assess readiness. Grades and test results are important tools to assess knowledge, but equally important is meaningful learning inspired by competent teachers and exposure to the arts. Millions of students enrolled in the American public schools are not receiving a complete education, mainly because students’ and teachers’ performance is reduced to numbers, such as grades and test results. In order to meet the national standards, educators are under immense pressures to produce certain results, and children are mislead in thinking that if they get high scores in english and math, they are successful products of the school system. And so, under current reform, educators often lose sight of what’s important, and that is developing the child’s individuality by aiding them explore all aspects of themselves and the world around them. As a result, students no longer learn with pleasure, or for their own benefit and for the beauty of knowledge. Critics argue that â€Å"Children will race to the top when they discover passion and purpose from the inside, not because of extrinsic rewards like test scores, grades, or trophies† (Price-Mitchell 2). A child’s education should be molded around their pesonal qualities, interests, and aptitudes. In order to find out how to spark a student’s interest in the academic material, and decide what methods to use in order to motivate them, a teacher must primarily know the child’s likes and dislikes. That way, the educator should be able to connect the curriculum with examples from the student’s personal life, and things that the child can relate to. At the same time, the student will also get to know themselves and their environment better. Through self exploration, the child can find their true vocation. Self-knowledge also teaches students how to use their strenghts and how to overcome their weaknesses to improve academic performance. Therefore, in order to improve both students’ and teachers’ achievements, the public education policy should shift its focus away from high test scores, and enforce meaningful learning inspired by self-discovery. An effective school system should free teachers of the burden of restrictive polictics, and allow them to inspire meaningful learning in students, by utilizing their own personal traits, knowledge and skills. People always search for the best quality service they can get: the best doctor, the best lawyer, or the best accountant. Quality is even more relevant when we think of someone as important as the person in charge of our children’s education, which eventually dictates their path in life. That is because in a young student’s mind, the connection between their overall school experience and their teacher’s persona is so strong, that it sets the tone for their entire educational career. There are even instances when a child prefers the safehaven of a classroom, as opposed the grim reality of a bad neighborhood or a troubled household. That’s why a teacher should be more than just an instructor, they should become a child’s mentor, by developing a caring and compassionate relationship with each student. By connecting with kids on a personal level, a good teacher can taylor their technique in accordance to their students’ various interests and potentials. By arousing kids’ curiosity to the curriculum, teachers can motivate students to come to scool, and do well. Critics argue that good teachers are becoming an endangered species in the American education system, mainly because of misguided school politics â€Å"driven by the arrogance of reformers who are convinced that teaching is a simple process of delivering content. That approach is likely to increase test scores, simply by pressuring teachers to teach to the test. But †¦ t’s also likely to interfere with teachers’ ability to lure students into learning† (). Most professionals come into this field of work eager to make a difference, but even the most enthusiastic teachers lose their motivation to excel when they are met with stumbling blocks like standardized teaching methods, teaching to the test, or peer incompetency. Teachers lose their drive to do a good job when they are not allowed to conduct lectures in the way they see fit, but instead, by having to follow a factory type model. Educators lose respect for a system that does not respect them as capable individuals, and requires them to lose their identity and become as impersonal as production line workers. Continuing in the trend of measuring success by test results, teacher quality is also being wrongly assessed, and so our teachers are judged mainly by their students’ test scores in core subjects, even if those results don’t always reflect the students’ true level of education. Moreover, having to make up for their peers’ incompetency only adds to the general frustration. Lazy teachers take advantage of bureaucratic measures like tenure or reassignments, which often doubles the work load for capable teachers, and causes them to surrender under the pressure. Indeed, there are teachers who are just inheretly incompetent, but in most cases, poor teachers are just victims of bad school politics themselves. That’s why a good teacher should be allowed to develop and implement their own technique, unobstructed by counterproductive education policies, in order to guide students towards academic success. Art plays a major role in a nation’s cultural identity, and therefore, it should also be a significant part of children’s scool curriculum. A well rounded education shapes a student’s distinctive personality, and going beyond academics, it should also cultivate appreciation for visual and performing arts. Art education instills in students many qualities that cannot be otherwise be taught, like persevearance, attention to detail, leadership, and setting a high bar for personal excellence. These attitudes are crucial to the proper development of one’s work ethic. Extensive research sheds more light onto the importance of art education in connection to improved academic performance. â€Å"In music we see a lot of connections between studying keyboards and understanding mathematical concepts. We see drama as a way to help early readers develop their comprehension skills. When they have an opportunity to act out the story, they gain a greater comprehension in reading† (Baker 260). Art is fun. It is gratifying. Therefore, unbeknownst to them, the little learners deepen their cognitive skills just by practicing their artistic talents. Students can then use those skills to excel in other areas of the curriculum, by relating science projects to easy-to-understand examlples from the art world. Moreover, fun art programs can be utilized as motivation to bring kids to school. Teachers can improve attendance by craftly alternating fun art sessions with science lectures. Lastly, art education in schools is neccessary for children with extraordinarry artistic abilities, but who are academically challenged. By including creative education in its structure, our school system gives artistic students the opportunity to develop their abilities, and choose a career doing something they love. Thus, due to its versatility, art training helps students not just to gain high academic achievements, but also establish their individuality as valued members of the society. Today’s students will be tomorrow’s professionals, and as adults, they will have a major responsability to our nation’s progress and prosperity. But by then -warn analysts- they might not have the abilities to deliver the needed results, and the culprit is the current approach of our education system. Due to the recent financial crisis, school budgets have shrunk, and as a result, many teachers have been laid off, and schools have eliminated many art programs from their curriculum. Art advocates warn that children educated by the American public schools are not getting enough art education. The design of our current curriculum completely disregards the importance of art education for students’ future, by focusing soley on literacy and numeracy. â€Å"With the emphasis on reading and math skills aimed at passing the tests, school curricula are narrowed, depriving students of valuable exposure to the arts† (Taylor 2). Economic progress is made possible through innovation, and human creativity is at the root of all innovation. A new product comes to life when its creator first envisions it, and then uses their scientific knowledge to bring it to reality. There are countless industries that rely on both science and creativity, and amongst the most notable ones are the entertainment, fashion, and automobile industries. In fact, the perfect example of how visual art and science can be used together successfully is information technology – one of the most profitable industries in the world. Our country’s groudbreaking achievements in that technological field are one of the reasons for America’s competitiveness on the global market. This is proof that cognitive knowledge is necessary to our nation’s development, but it is not enough to drive progress. Therefore, by developing students’ artistic abilities hand in hand with their scientific expertise, the American school system should produce well rounded individuals, capable to promote the economical growth necessary to our nation’s prosperity for generations to come. A well rounded education should come down to a student and a teacher armed with the right tools for success: the teacher’s expertise and a balanced curriculum. The direction of our education system is majorly influenced by political interests, and ruled by the misconception that one size fits all. Yes, with the current strategies, we are producing great businessmen, but not every student is fit to be a businessman. The curriculum should be structured in a way that it can give equal opportunities to all the other students to discover what they’re good at and what they like. Otherwise they won’t be able to keep up, and would eventually drop out of school. That means America would become a nation of businessmen battling for the few jobs available in that field, and school dropouts living a life of poverty and crime. It is a grimm outlook, but also one that seems not far away. That is why our education system is in urgent need for an intervention, especially in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, as our country is searching for a new direction. Minimizing the pressures of political involvment in America’s public schools should allow educators to perform their jobs free of pressure, to help children develop into knowledgeable and innovative citizens who will ensure our nation’s competitiveness in the 21st century.