Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Use of Presidential Power by Johnson and Nixon essays

The Use of Presidential Power by Johnson and Nixon essays The Use of Presidential Power by Johnson and Nixon Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1968) and Richard Milhous Nixon (1968-1974) will be remembered for the different ideals, goals, and failures within their administrations. Johnson was immediately appointed President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy and earned the trust and respect of the American people by implementing various Kennedy domestic policies such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, Johnson was overwhelmed by the growing problems in the international community that ultimately doomed his presidency and opened the door for new presidential candidates. Richard Nixon succeeded Johnson and redeemed himself following a failed 1960 election to Johnsons predecessor, John F. Kennedy. It was a different agenda under Nixon for the first time in eight years. Nixon was aware of the nations concern with the escalating Vietnam War and was able to spend his first term in office trying to compensate for years of American involvement in Vietnam. In their use of presidential power, Nixons legacy was his accomplishments of opening relations with China and ending the Vietnam War while Johnson is remembered for high casualties in Vietnam and poor maintenance of Great Society programs. The burden of resolving many problems fell on Lyndon Johnson...who was suddenly elevated to the presidency. Johnsons use of power extended solely to domestic issues but ended with the failure to control both the Vietnam War and the lack of maintenance to his Great Society programs. Johnson rode the crest of a wave of earnest popular demands to bring an end to racial discrimination, provide equal opportunity to all people, eliminate poverty, and provide all Americans with adequate healthcare. Yet the scale of this undertaking was so vast that disappointments we...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Statue of Zeus at Olympia The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a 40-foot-high, ivory and gold, seated statue of the god Zeus, king of all the Greek gods. Located in the sanctuary of Olympia on the Greek Peloponnese Peninsula, the Statue of Zeus stood proudly for over 800 years, overseeing the ancient Olympic Games and being acclaimed as one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The Sanctuary of Olympia Olympia, located near the town of Elis, was not a city and it had no population, that is, except for the priests that took care of the temple. Instead, Olympia was a sanctuary, a place where members of the warring Greek factions could come and be protected. It was a place for them to worship. It was also the place of the ancient Olympic Games. The first ancient Olympic Games was held in 776 BCE. This was an important event in the history of the ancient Greeks, and its date as well as the foot-race winner, Coroebus of Elis was a basic fact known by all. These Olympic Games and all that came after them, occurred in the area known as the Stadion, or stadium, in Olympia. Gradually, this stadium became more elaborate as the centuries passed by. So did the temples located in the nearby Altis, which was a sacred grove. Around 600 BCE, a beautiful temple was built to both Hera and Zeus. Hera, who was both the goddess of marriage and the wife of Zeus, was seated, while a statue of Zeus stood behind her. It was here that the Olympic torch was lit in ancient times and it is also here that the modern Olympic torch is lit. In 470 BCE, 130 years after the Temple of Hera was built, work began on a new temple, which was to become famous around the world for its beauty and wonder. The New Temple of Zeus After the people of Elis won the Triphylian war, they used their spoils of war to build a new, more elaborate temple at Olympia. Construction on this temple, which would be dedicated to Zeus, began around 470 BCE and was done by 456 BCE. It was designed by Libon of Elis and centered in the middle of the Altis. The Temple of Zeus, considered a prime example of Doric architecture, was a rectangular building, built upon a platform, and oriented east-west. On each of its long sides were 13 columns and its shorter sides held six columns each. These columns, made of local limestone and covered with white plaster, held up a roof made of white marble. The exterior of the Temple of Zeus was elaborately decorated, with sculpted scenes from Greek mythology on the pediments. The scene over the entrance of the temple, on the east side, depicted a chariot scene from the story of Pelops and Oenomaus. The western pediment depicted a battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. The inside of the Temple of Zeus was much different. As with other Greek temples, the interior was simple, streamlined, and meant to showcase the statue of the god. In this case, the statue of Zeus was so spectacular that it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Inside the Temple of Zeus sat a 40-foot-tall statue of the king of all Greek gods, Zeus. This masterpiece was designed by the famous sculptor Phidius, who had previously designed the large statue of Athena for the Parthenon. Unfortunately, the Statue of Zeus no longer exists and so we rely on the description of it left us by second century CE geographer Pausanias. According to Pausanias, the famous statue portrayed a bearded Zeus sitting upon a royal throne, holding a figure of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, in his right hand and a scepter topped with an eagle in his left hand. The entire seated statue rested upon a three-foot-high pedestal. It was not the size that made the Statue of Zeus unequaled, although it was definitely large, it was its beauty. The entire statue was made from rare materials. Zeus’s skin was made out of ivory and his robe was made up of plates of gold that were intricately decorated with animals and flowers. The throne was also made of ivory, precious stones, and ebony. The regal, godlike Zeus must have been amazing to behold. What Happened to Phidius and the Statue of Zeus? Phidius, the designer of the Statue of Zeus, fell out of favor after he finished his masterpiece. He was soon jailed for the offense of placing his own and his friend Pericles’ images within the Parthenon. Whether these charges were true or trumped up by political disfavor is unknown. What is known is that this master sculptor died in prison while waiting for trial. Phidius’ Statue of Zeus fared much better than its creator, at least for 800 years. For centuries, the Statue of Zeus was carefully cared for oiled regularly to avoid damage done by the humid temperatures of Olympia. It remained a focal point of the Greek world and oversaw hundreds of Olympic Games that occurred next to it. However, in 393 CE, Christian Emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympic Games. Three rulers later, in the early fifth century CE, Emperor Theodosius II ordered the Statue of Zeus destroyed and it was set on fire. Earthquakes destroyed the rest of it. There have been excavations done in Olympia that have not only revealed the base of the Temple of Zeus, but the workshop of Phidius, including a cup that once belonged to him.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Intercultural Conflict Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intercultural Conflict Analysis - Essay Example The text of the analysis in this piece of writing is about the South Africans culture and conflict resolution. Many countries in Africa have different communities living together or rather close to each other. The cultural diversity among the communities forms the basis of conflicts among members of the different beliefs and cultural practices. Solution to such conflicts is also attained through strategic cultural practices among the communities involved in the in the conflict. South Africa proves the best place to analyze due to several reasons. The first reason is that it is inclusive of the western culture and ways western culture interacts with the African custom. One can be able to see customs and practices by different groups of people and the conflict that arises with such a scenario. Another importance of the text is seen by the analysis of the dominance of the nonverbal communication among the different communities. It is seen where a man is seen as a superior being in the c ommunity and given special treatment by the feminine. Examples given on the article clearly portray the cultural values and ties during the Apartheid. Cultural values in South Africa influenced the details in the article. The female among the South African communities are the inferior beings among and are supposed to offer special services to the male. The ladies are expected to take care of the children as a man works to ensure the family is well fed and protected against all forms of dangers. The man being the masculine figure of the family and community as a whole is expected to perform hard and risky tasks. The man in the majority of the South African societies if not all, is treated with respect to the extent that the lady leans or kneels before the man as she serves food or greets the man. Local leadership among these communities is left for men and therefore the decision making on matters

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Demonstrate your understanding of the teachers role in engaging Essay

Demonstrate your understanding of the teachers role in engaging children fully and actively in the learning process in each of the core subjects - Essay Example The authors further point out that educational institution have also put in place measures and policies that are aimed at developing the teaching practice effectively(Siegler & Alibali, 2005). In addition, a tutor’s success is measured by their ability to enhance learning of their student psychologically, socially and emotionally. The responsibility of tutors has developed to more than just academic duties. This has enhanced learning activities in institutions as students are exposed to more thanjust skillsin academics. This has increased the productivity of students produced in the society. As much as changes in learning processes have been implemented, there a lot of requirements from teachers that needs to be made. Educationalists have generated strategies and policies required for teachers to put in place. These strategies are aimed at improving teacher performance as well as increase their role in actively and fully involving students in learning processes. This requireme nt has been successful as tutors, institutions and stakeholders have generated more ways and means of making the teaching profession more effective. This paper will analyze the role of tutors in fully and actively involving students in the learning processes. The paper will include requirements and recommendations that are required from teachers to make their role more productive. Apart from learning processes, the paper will highlight other requirements from teacher that makes their role more versatile. Generally, this paper will focus on effective teaching and learning styles, scaffold learning, assessment strategies and the importance of understanding child development in the teaching profession. Learning styles are defined as different ways that people learn and enabled to incorporate learning materials. Apart from learning programs, learning styles are the most appropriate ways that people are able to learn and incorporate information and learning

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Creating a Sustainable Environment Essay Example for Free

Creating a Sustainable Environment Essay The terms Sustainable and Sustainability are used to describe many different approaches toward improving our way of life. Sustainability is a way to develop the environment without harming it, creating a system that keeps its self-feasible for future needs. Thus, sustainability means taking the long-term view of how our actions affect future generations and making sure we do not deplete resources or cause pollution at rates faster than the earth is able to renew them. Hence, if sustainability is enforced and took in action it will create a world where everyone can have fulfilling lives and enjoy a rich level of well-being within the limits of what nature can provide. Nowadays, there are many lifestyle trends that are rapidly damaging the environment and which are not sustainable. The main three lifestyle trends I am focusing on are; Children’s toys, entertainment focusing on cinema and pubs/clubs and office work environment. These lifestyle trends have a lot of unsustainable factors that can be changed and improved till year 2020. It is important that from a young age children will be taught the values of sustainability because they will inherit the world that we create today. Therefore, the stuff given to them should not damage the environment. Today there is the possibility to make sure that children’s playthings are green and healthy. Finding sustainable and less toxic toys for children is important since it can do well both for children and the environment. When buying toys it is important to look for PVC-free toys (polyvinyl chloride). PVC releases toxins into the environment all the way through its lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. Many PVC toys also contain, chemical compounds that make the PVC plastic more flexible, which can lead to both cancer and hormonal disruption. Therefore, when choosing PVC-Free toys one will not only be sustainable but will prevent children from hazardous toxins. A better and safer alternative is to choose toys made from wood since, they are more sustainable and most importantly will last generations longer than the cheap plastic stuff. Batteries have become second nature in most toys today. Not only this is harmful for the environment due to massive battery consumption but also easily children can chew batteries which are toxic. Hence, one can easily replace these battery-powered toys by simpler toys which still are of an entertainment and fun. Furthermore, these would be cheaper and sustainable. However, for the older children that have more sense and always look for original and new toys which have the latest electronics, one should opt to look into rechargeable batteries to eliminate waste. Sometimes the most rewarding toy might not be a toy at all it might be the act of planting a tree, play catch or hide and seek. Getting children outside provides them with abundant opportunities to run around, have fun, get exercise, and learn about th e urban and natural environments around them. Outdoors needs to get revived again and children should be given the opportunity to play and enjoy more outdoors activities. Another way of being sustainable is by buying Second-hand toys because it does not mean that when a toy has been used once it would not be just as much fun the second time around. Thus, this will decrease the waist of toys which sometimes are hardly used or damaged, also these would be cheaper and one will be more sustainable. Additionally, for children sometimes is not whats in the box but it is the box! Sometimes it is the stuff that one already has that can prove the most fun to imaginative children. Therefore before throwing the box from that new toy away, think of it as a potential arts and crafts project instead. These factors are really important and not such difficult to practice and understand. These simple adjustments are both beneficial for children and the environment itself. Moreover, the children will be grown up in well sustainable grounding and mentality. Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their l eisure time. Entertainment may also provide fun, enjoyment and laughter. However, it is still important to be aware of a more sustainable entertainment environment. Thus, the challenge is to create good entertainment that sustains an audience and it is sustainable. Looking at the cinema industry there are so many things that go to waste that can be easily used more than once. Starting from when one arrives at the cinema each person that pays gets a ticket, why not making it a stamp on our hand to prove that we have paid therefore, this will eliminate the use of all those paper usage every day. Furthermore, when buying snacks a lot of packaging material is used, normally it would consist of paper and plastic which are all thrown away after usage since, most of them are not good to be recycled due to certain chemicals that are present. What a waste! So let’s entre a new cinema trend instead of a paper bucket or cups let’s replace them with plastic bowl and cups, which remains in the cinema to be reused. Why Plastic? Plastic is more safe, to prevent broken glass on the floor and since people themselves has to walk with them it will prevent certain accidents. This will be more sustainable due to less of waste and even less expenses since one will diminish the cost of buying so much packaging every year. Looking and the pubs/clubs sector one has no idea how unsustainable they are. From my own experience I work in this industry and therefore know a lot of what goes on. From the bar itself the amount of plastic thrown away every night is crazy. Why this? For safety purposes drinks are given in plastic cups to prevent having a lot of injuries during fights. However, these cups are not reused or recycled thus a plastic cup is only used for a couple of minutes and then thrown away. Therefore, replacing them with solid plastic cups which can be washed during the night and reused again is a better option which is more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and cheaper on the long run. Moreover, a lot of empty plastic bottles of soft drinks and glass bottles of alcohol and beers are thrown away in the same bin without recycling them, which is a pity because one only needs two separate bins to do so. Additionally a lot of paper made tickets are given when paying beforehand for parties. Yes, giving a ticket is the best way to prevent hassle and chaos when entering the club however, the size of the ticket sometimes is too much! Since, sometimes one can actually make three tickets from the size of the normal ticket that is normally given nowadays. If minimizing the size of the tickets one will decrease the amount of paper usage every night. Moreover, a lot of fliers are used to market other parties, fair enough marketing is important however, printing thousands of fliers and not even using half of them is a waist. Today, one can market their party through facebook, internet and even automatic mobile messages, this will decrease the amount of fliers printed which is more sustainable. What about noise pollution? The sound at the clubs is set at a very high volume that one cannot even talk to someone else because it will be impossible to understand one another. Noise pollution has an effect on our health, the extra sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Then there are certain factors that can be adopted in both sectors, both in the cinema industry and the club/pubs environment. For example focusing on the bathrooms, automatic sensors can be fixed to switch on the light when entering and then switch off when no one is present. Even automatic water turn off devices can be installed to prevent water loss. Additionally, electric hand dryers with automatic turn-off system are good to prevent the use of disposable paper towels. Furthermore, it is good to use water pressure system to save water and energy by adding a water saving device for water taps in wash hands basins to decrease the consumption of water usage. These all are changes which can make a better sustainable environment. Increasing awareness on the work place about sustainable principles can encourage workers to implement sustainability principles into their own personal practices and beyond. There are also sustainable factors that can be adopted till 2020 in an office work environment. Such as using electronic mail to send memos, or route memos to staff members rather than making a paper copy for each person. One can use reused envelops for internal mail. Moreover, is better to do direct deposit instead of making a paycheque every time. Furthermore, it is essential to have a photo copier that makes double sided copies to minimize the amount of paper used every day. Also, cleaning shell be done within office hours rather than at other times which this would require lighting and air conditioning to remain on. It is also vital to encourage employees to bring their own washable mugs to work rather to use disposable cups. Also having a thermos for beverages is a good practice to decrease the use of energy daily. Additionally, it is better to use reusable containers rather than cover launches in plastic or disposable paper bags. It is also good to use a reusable cloth then disposable tissue every time one needs to wipe his/her hands. This will result to a better sustainable environment and less expenses since, an object is used consequently rather used once and then thrown away. These mentioned above are all practices that can be adopted in the future which can make the world more sustainable. If from now people will change their mentality and get more informed how to become more sustainable in 2020 people will be able to live a healthier life, a life where less money is spent, a life which helps build stronger relationship between them and their neighbours, and a life which helps protect, conserve or improve the natural environment. Children are the future, so teaching them sustainability is essential to the well-being of the planet. As a Home Economics and Textile studies teacher it is important to teach students that everything on this earth is related and demonstrated by their behaviours and actions that affect the environment. By teaching students the importance of sustainability, they will be empowered and be more convinced that even they are capable of making a difference. Moreover, in order to make students aware of the importance of sustainability, as a teacher I have to make them aware of the consequences of their actions and decisions taken know and the affect it would have in the future on the environment. Furthermore, it is important to teach students how their daily decisions can affect their ecological footprint so that they make more conscious decisions to boost the sustainability of their lifestyle. Home Economics gives the opportunity to the teacher to entre deeply in the topic (sustainability) therefore it gives us the opportunity to teach and show students the importance of sustainability and build more awareness and knowledge on the meaning and the term sustainability. Furthermore, as a teacher I can show students that being sustainable is not something that require a lot of work but only require some thought. Additionally, show students that we can be sustainable in everything that we do in our life, example trough textile studies I can encourage students to use recycled fabric and teach them how to sew simple things example; repair a zip, make patches to holes, these will prevent from throwing clothes away when little adjustments is required. Therefore it is essential that awareness and education will increase to enhance sustainability. Moreover, encouraging and stimulating good practice in the use and management of natural resources, in particular their minimal use and maximum reuse by recycling in an environmentally sustainable manner is a vital issue. Hence, Education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability.

Friday, November 15, 2019

W.H. Audens Poems and Homosexuality Essay -- Auden Gay Homosexual Poe

W.H. Auden's Poems and Homosexuality W. H. Auden published â€Å"This lunar beauty† in 1930; he published â€Å"Now through night’s caressing grip† in 1935, and he published â€Å"Lay your sleeping head, my love† in 1937 (Auden 16; 41; 51). â€Å"[I]t has been argued that the first part of the twentieth century’s culture is dominated by attempts to keep homosexuality hidden, †¦ [and a] number of homosexual writers in the period maintain public silence about their sex lives, and dramatize homosexual themes indirectly, if at all† (Caserio). While it’s unclear whether Auden’s abovementioned 1930s poems dramatize homosexual themes, they do share obscure settings and references to wandering, clandestine lovers who seek healing, safety, and freedom. The lovers find what they seek both in the obscurity of the night and in the obscure diction of the poems’ speakers who don’t even identify them by gender. The speakers act as the mediators of the exper ience of clandestine love and they invite readers to travel to places where illicit love occurs, empathize with clandestine lovers, and see the beauty in their love. Because genders are carefully obscured, the poems serve as pieces of coded propaganda that advocate for the freedom of clandestine, and possibly homosexual, lovers. First, all three poems share obscure, nighttime settings and references to wandering, clandestine lovers who seek healing, safety, and freedom. â€Å"This lunar beauty† is described in the following manner: This like a dream Keeps other time And daytime is The loss of this; For time is inches And the heart’s changes Where ghost has haunted Lost and wanted. (8-15) Da... ... Transgender, and Queer Culture. Ed. Claude J. Summers. 5 Apr. 2005. New England Publishing Associates. 10 May 2005 . Grimshaw, Tammy. â€Å"The Sexual Offences Act, 1967.† The Literary Encyclopedia. 16 Aug. 2004. The Literary Dictionary Company Limited. 10 May 2005 . Hammelmann, H. A. â€Å"Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution.† The Modern Law Review 21.1 (1958): 68-73. Rousseau, George S. â€Å"Travel Literature.† glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,Transgender, and Queer Culture. Ed. Claude J. Summers. 23 Nov. 2002. New England Publishing Associates. 10 May 2005 . â€Å"Succubus.† Def. 1. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 10 May 2005 . Ten, C. L. â€Å"Enforcing a Shared Morality.† Ethics 82.4 (1972):' 321-329.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

How Changes in Communication and Technology Affected the Role of the Modern Diplomat

Introduction This brief aims to discuss how changes in communication and technology affected the role of the modern diplomat. A diplomat is one who is sent abroad to represent his own country to carry out diplomatic duties (Carta, 2012). Kopp and Gillespie (2011) gave a sardonic definition of a diplomat as â€Å"an honest man or woman who is sent to lie abroad to carry out certain tasks for the welfare of his/her country† (p. 3). This definition more or less shows the purpose of a diplomat’s work. Although written sardonically, the statement only conveys an atmosphere of suspicion that has always enveloped the diplomatic profession. The diplomat represents the interests of his own nation, seeking information that can provide an advantage to his government whilst being protected by international codes and regulations (Barker, 2011). In order to clarify how communication and technological changes have affected the role of the modern diplomat, this brief will first discuss how the diplomat carried out his duties in the past, followed by how these duties and roles have changed now with the advent of such changes. Overview of the Diplomat’s Role A diplomat has certain roles to perform. He must serve as a trained theologian; he must be able to quickly solve the most complex problems in correct dialectical shape, and must be a specialist in civil and canon law, amongst other relevant fields. He has several functions, such as negotiating serious and/or secret agreements, and some of these negotiations aim to prevent the occurrence of wars, while some others provoke such occurrence (Shaw, 2006). The diplomat is sent on a mission where he must represent the sending state and protect its interests in the receiving government. He reports what occurs in the receiving state and fosters friendly relations. Part of his role is to generate diplomatic documents. These documents engender the greatest amount of information about international relations (Jonsson and Hall, 2002). There are also customary functions that he must carry out with the receiving state (Aust, 2005), such as trade promotion cooperation, matters relating to economic, defence, cultural, and scientific concerns, and those relating to terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and other related issues. Diplomacy is the sort of thing that a nation cannot manage to lose; to the point that even the poorest country would make an effort to afford a modest diplomatic corps (Singh, 2002). Accordingly, when a diplomat pursues a consular function, this task is in keeping with the Vienna Consular Convention and does not forego his diplomatic immunities and privileges. This point is important to stress here since there are some overlapping functions that may take place between consular and diplomatic works, specifically in protecting one’s nationals, given that the consul has limited immunities and privileges compared to the diplomat (Aust, 2005). Performing consular work is part of the role of the diplomat, which is necessary to mention when considering changes in communication and technology. This is because such changes have in one way or another eased up the overlapping functions due to the speedier processes entailed in carrying them out. How changes in communication and technology affected the role of the modern diplomat The role of the modern diplomat has been greatly affected by changes in communication and technology. The rapid means of communication and transportation has diminished the importance of the modern diplomat. Prior to these developments, the diplomat was allowed considerable discretion in how he dealt with matters that arise on short notice. This is because of the lengthy time it took to communicate with his home government, given the limited available communication channels (Jonsson and Hall, 2002). With the absence of a previous position of his government, it was the diplomat who shaped policy; he was given enough leeway even in the implementation of policies developed in his country. In the past, the diplomat had the opportunity to avoid making decisions by doing nothing due to the slowness of events. During World War II, state leaders did not bother the diplomat (i.e. ambassador) for important things. They could not also telephone or correspond directly to one another (Singh, 2 002). The limitation posed by the then not-so-advanced technology has set this kind of environment. Today, the modern conditions characterised by speedy exchange of information paved the way for the disappearance of this opportunity (Batora, 2008). Through mobile devices, internet technology, and other similar devices, the modern diplomat can be instructed conveniently and rapidly on what position he is to take, what he is to say, etc. The advancement of technology has enabled the foreign office to direct and follow almost every detail of negotiations. In similar fashion, national leaders and foreign ministers have enabled themselves to communicate directly in as much as the diplomat is able to communicate to his home government as occasioned by advanced communication technologies. Early technological developments escorted the improvement in air travel, which affected the role of the diplomat. They would often see themselves shunted aside by the sorties that their bosses (presidents and prime ministers) performed in relation to improved air travel, where these chief executives coul d now afford to visit various foreign countries, including their diplomats’ own posts (Singh, 2002). If analysed carefully, one would surmise that the surge in communication and technology has in fact made the whole process of information sharing more rapid and convenient. This would affect the pace and speed in which the home country responds to certain information that reaches its hands. On a positive light, the diplomat is in fact aided by these information channels when relating new information to his government (Cornago, 2013). Members of the media, who in the past had difficulty accessing a foreign country due to limited air travel, have also in effect helped the diplomat in relating news stories that he may have set aside; thereby not putting all the burden of information dissemination on his shoulders. It is like providing the diplomat the opportunity to focus on more important details of his job, such as promoting friendly relations with other nations, performing negotiations, etc. Information dissemination would then become a limited area of his duties as the media enters into the scene in a very active fashion. In Gilboa’s (2000) article, changes in communication has affected the role of the diplomat in such a way that the media is now playing an important role in contemporary diplomacy, a role that it did not use to play prior to these changes. Officials and journalists often utilise the media extensively to promote negotiations. The media thus play an active part in contemporary diplomatic processes, which only the diplomat used to undertake prior to all those changes in communication and technology. As social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook continue to serve as a fresh source of information for political events, diplomats are being encouraged to use social media as a regular part of their jobs to participate directly in political discussions (Paris, 2013). If one wants the latest political news, he needs only to read blogs, follow Twitter, or watch YouTube (Cooper, et al., 2013). Gone are the days that a nation would wait for the diplomat to relate the official information about similar events. Hence, it may be inferred that the enhanced complexity of information flows in diplomatic processes, amongst others, has bridged geographic distances (Batora and Hocking, 2007). The effects of technology are greatly far-reaching so as to transform diplomacy, which is being reinvented gradually for the information age. Through available technology, diplomacy can enable physical presence in a virtual fashion (Batora, 2008). The United States and the UK have already taken this big stride to digital diplomacy. Those lagging behind are seen to lose influence over time albeit their engagement in private diplomatic communication. Canada lags far behind US and UK although it has recently displayed little interest in utilising social media in its diplomatic functions (Paris, 2013). There are more positive effects of changes in communication and technology in the role of the diplomat. With the advent of globalisation comes the so-called globalisation of international relations (Lawson, 2002), suggesting new important diplomatic functions due to an increasing awareness about the idea that global problems necessitate global solutions, thereby expanding the scope of the diplomat’s role from merely representing his country. It is worthy of note that globalisation will allow the diplomat to operate in the future at the bilateral and multilateral levels, and the advancing communications technology is seen to conveniently aid such operation by the diplomat (Copeland, 2009). With the aid of changes in communication technologies, diplomats have been transformed as ‘globalisation managers’ who are charged with managing the ‘global village’ (Lawson, 2002). The advancing communication technologies enable the diplomat to perform his duties s peedily, which can likewise permit him to respond to various issues right away, such as international terrorism, drug trafficking, and climate change, to name a few. The abounding information, which may be verifiable or not and can be readily accessed anytime and anywhere is marshaled by modern means of communication. The modern diplomat has now a genuine task of inspecting and analysing the content and credibility of all available data and opinions, putting these data in a broader and more profound political context. This can then provide a suitable guideline for decisions by the diplomat’s home country (Bolewski, 2007). It therefore proves to show that despite the information age in which the modern diplomat functions and in the midst of the available information, the diplomat’s task is to screen this information in terms of truthfulness and credibility. He must not use such information right away in his diplomatic decisions but must scrutinise them instead. Not only do changes in communication and technology expedite the diplomatic process, but they also provide the necessary information to the diplomat as well. It is therefore apparent that structural changes have taken place in the diplomatic environment due to technology and modern means of communication. The acknowledgement of the value of the media to his tasks is considered one of the ways in which changes in communication and technology have affected the role of the modern diplomat. Cooper et al. (2013) even claimed that today’s emphasis in diplomatic work is much more on interaction with the media and language ability, putting a decline to the written skills of the diplomat. Cooper et al. do not however mean this literally, but what they are pointing out is that the media have played an important role in the diplomatic process, to the point that the diplomat must consider interaction with them part of his routine. It must be noted that negotiations and diplomatic missions are two main areas of diplomacy which have been considerably influenced by technology. Virtual negotiations now take place amongst diplomats, in which they reach certain commitments and agreements electronically, such as through voice conversation, video conferencing, and exchange of emails and faxes. Virtual diplomatic missions and virtual Ministries of Foreign Affairs contribute to enhancing negotiators’ investigative power as they continuously search for information (Batora, 2008). This setting is helpful for diplomats who are engaged in other processes or events and can save themselves so much time and trouble travelling. It also allows poor countries to save much money in travelling since e-negotiations are cost effective. Thus, a diplomat can participate in multiple negotiations and other events that occur simultaneously in geographically dispersed locations (Grech, 2006). On a separate note, this can bring certain risks, such as lack of face-to-face interpersonal relations with fellow diplomats, increased participation expectancy by citizens, susceptibility to attacks, misreading of information, loss of credibility, lack of identity verification in online presence, and delicate maintenance (Grech, 2006). These threats are brought by the online nature of virtual diplomatic missions. The injection of communication technologies in diplomacy has corresponding negative repercussions such as those mentioned because virtual diplomatic missions cannot trade the culture delivered by a physical relationship in an embassy or consulate. Since human factor is of high value to diplomacy, changes in technology will not change the importance placed by the diplomat on personal contacts, feedback mechanisms, and human experience, which all characterise diplomatic procedures (Aneek, 2010). In a virtual diplomatic setting, the diplomat is in fact deprived of developing relationships with fellow diplomats and the citizens, and such deprivation could be unfavourable to certain diplomatic functions such as developing bilateral relations and negotiations. Since interpersonal relations are lacking in virtual diplomacy, it would be difficult to verify identity in this fashion and illegitimate users may exploit this service, leading to adverse results. Increased vulnerability to attacks therefore puts the virtual diplomacy in a detrimental situation. Added complexity is thus required since special care must be warranted to ensure clearness and ease of understanding of site navigation . On a similar note, delicate maintenance of mission websites is essential, which a subject specialist must ensure. This subject specialist must be a diplomat also since only a diplomat has the best understanding of the nature and context of information (Grech, 2006). There is also a threat to misinterpret information available in diplomatic mission websites because of the text-based nature of information, which can cause confusion than when such information is presented on a face-to-face basis where diplomats can have an open discussion and active deliberation (Grech, 2006). Conclusion This paper tackles the role of the modern diplomat alongside changes in communication and technology. The diplomat is sent by the home government to a receiving government for purposes of performing certain duties in behalf of the home country. Diplomacy is a process that every nation must carry out in its international relations activities. In the past, a diplomat was tasked to relate news and information in the country where he was posted, and such information can aid his own government in designing certain decisions. This has changed now however; first, due to availability of air travel, and second, because of the prevalence of communication technologies that can enable speedier transmission of information. The modern diplomat no longer holds the banner of bringing news stories and information to his own country since he is outdone by the media in this department. However, he is not involved in a rat race with the media; instead, his daily activities include interacting with the media who aid him in conveying necessary information to the home government and to the world. In the past, he did not incorporate the media to his daily activities. Globalisation, a phenomenon aided by advances in communication technologies, affects the way the modern diplomat performs his role. Alongside ease in communication and information, his role is now seen to expand bilaterally and multilaterally as he faces global issues in his task to manage the global village. The threats posed by changes in communication and technology in the role of the modern diplomat and his adoption of virtual diplomacy are increased participation expectancy by citizens, susceptibility to attacks, misreading of information, loss of credibility, lack of identity verification in online presence, and delicate maintenance. References Aneek, C. (2010). International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. Aust, SA. (2005). Handbook of International Law. UK: Cambridge University Press. Barker, J. C. (2011). The Protection of Diplomatic Personnel. England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Batora, J. (2008). Foreign Ministries and the Information Revolution: Going VirtualBoston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Batora, J. and Hocking, B. (2007). Bilateral Diplomacy in the European Union: Towards ‘Post-Modern’ PatternsECPR/SGIR 6th Pan-European Conference: Turin 12-15 September. Bolewski, W. (2007). Diplomacy and International Law in Globalized Relations. New York: Springer. Carta, C. (2012). The European Union Diplomatic Service: Ideas, Preferences and Identities. Oxon: Routledge. Cooper, A. F., Heine, J., and Thakur, R. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Copeland, D. (2009). Guerilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations. US: Lynne Rienner Publishing. Cornago, N. (2013). Plural Diplomacies: Normative Predicaments and Functional Imperatives. The Netherlands: Koniklije Brill NV, Leiden. Gilboa, E. (2000). Mass Communication and Diplomacy: A Theoretical Framework. Communication Theory, 10 (3), 275-309. Grech, O. M. (2006). Virtual Diplomacy: Diplomacy of the Digital Age [Published Dissertation]. Malta: Faculty of Arts, University of Malta. Jonsson, C. and Hall, M. (2002) .Communication: An Essential Aspect of Diplomacy. 43rd Annual ISA Convention, New Orleans, LA, March 23-27. Kopp, H. W. and Gillespie, C. A. (2011). Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service. US: Georgetown University Press. Lawson, S. (2002). The New Agenda for International Relations. Cambridge, UK: The Polity Press. Paris, R. (2013). The Digital Diplomacy Revolution: Why Canada is Lagging BehindRetrieved on March 19, 2014 from http://opencanada.org/features/the-think-tank/essays/the-digital-diplomacy-revolution/ Shaw, J. (2006). The Ambassador: Inside the Life of a Working Diplomat. Virginia: Capital Books, Inc. Singh, N. N. (2002). Diplomacy for the 21st Century. New Delhi: Naurang Rai for Mittal Publications.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Radioactive Dating

Dating techniques are procedures used by scientists to determine the age of a specimen. 2 types of Dating: *Relative Dating *Absolute Dating Relative Dating -methods tell only if one sample is older or younger than another sample. -They do not provide an age in years. Stratigraphy -Main Relative Dating Method -is the study of layers of rocks or the objects embedded within those layers. -based on the assumption that deeper layers were deposited earlier, and thus are older than more shallow layers. Seriation is the ordering of objects according to their age.James Ford – used seriation to determine the chronological order of American Indian pottery styles in the Mississippi Valley. Absolute dating * any method of measuring the age of an event or object in years. * To determine the absolute ages of fossils and rocks, * scientists analyze isotopes of radioactive elements. Isotopes * atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. * Most isotopes are stable, meaning that they stay in their original form. * Other isotopes are unstable. * Scientists call unstable isotopes radioactive.Radioactive decay * Radioactive isotopes tend to break down into stable isotopes of the same or other elements. * Refers to the process in which a radioactive form of an element is converted into a decay product at a regular rate. – This dating is not a single method of absolute dating but instead a group of related methods for absolute dating of samples. * Because radioactive decay occurs at a steady rate, * Scientists can use the relative amounts of stable and unstable isotopes present in an object to determine the object’s age. Dating Rocks — How Does It Work? In radioactive decay, an unstable radioactive isotope of one element breaks down into a stable isotope.* The stable isotope may be of the same element or of a different element. Parent isotope * The unstable radioactive isotope. Daughter isotope * The st able isotope produced by the radioactive decay of the parent isotope. * The rate of radioactive decay is constant so scientists can compare the amount of parent material with the amount of daughter material to date rock. The more daughter material there is the older the rock is. Absolute Dating Methods Cation-Ratio Dating – used to date rock surfaces such as stone artifacts and cliff and ground drawings.-this technique can only be applied to rocks from desert areas, where the varnish is most stable. *Thermoluminescence Dating – very useful for determining the age of pottery. Has the advantage of covering the time interval between radiocarbon and pottasium-argon dating or 40,000,000 years. *Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) – very similar to thermoluminescence dating, both of which are considered â€Å"clock setting†. * This technique can be used to determine the age of unheated sediments les than 500,000 years old. a disadvantage to this technique i s that in order to get accurate results, the sediment to be tested cannot be exposed to light, making sampling difficult. Radiometric Dating Determining the absolute age of a sample, based on the ratio of parent material to daughter material. If you know the rate of decay for a radioactive element in a rock you can figure out the absolute age of the rock. Half-life * the time needed for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay.After every half-life, the amount of parent material decrease by one-half. Types of Radiometric Dating Scientists use different radiometric-dating methods based on the estimated age of an object. * There are four radiometric-dating techniques. 1. Potassium-Argon Method * Potassium-40 has a half-life of 1. 3 billion years, and it decays leaving a daughter material of argon. * This method is used mainly to date rocks older than 100,000 years. * Relies on the fact that when volcanic rocks are heated to extremely high temperatures, they release any argon trapped in them. 2. Uranium-Lead Method * Uranium-238 is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 4. 5 billion years.Uranium-238 decays in a series of steps to lead-206. * The uranium-lead method can be used to date rocks more than 10 million years old. 2 types of Uranium-Lead Dating *Daughter deficiency methods *Daughter excess methods * In daughter deficiency situations, the parent radioisotope is initially deposited by itself, without its daughter (the isotope into which it decays) present. * In the case of daughter excess, a larger amount of the daughter is initially deposited than the parent. 3. Rubidium-Strontium Method * The unstable parent isotope rubidium-87 forms a stable daughter isotope strontium-87.The half-life of rubidium-87 is 49 billion years * This method is used for rocks older than 10 million years. 4. Carbon-14 Method * used to date charcoal, wood, and other biological materials. * Carbon is normally found in three forms,, the stable isot opes carbon-12 and carbon-13 and the radioactive isotope carbon-14. * Living plants and animals contain a constant ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12. 1. Once a plant or animal dies, no new carbon is taken in. 2. The amount of carbon-14 begins to decrease as the plant or animal decays. 3. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years.The carbon-14 method of radiometric dating is used mainly for dating things that lived within the last 50,000 years. – Radiocarbon (14C) is a radioactive form of the element carbon. It decays spontaneously into nitrogen-14 (14N). Fossils: evidence of past life Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals (also known aszoolites), plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. -Fossilization processes proceed differently according to tissue type and e xternal conditions:– 1. Permineralization is a process of fossilization that occurs when an organism is buried. .2. Casts and molds The remaining organism-shaped hole in the rock is called an external mold. If this hole is later filled with other minerals, it is a cast. An endocast or internal mold is formed when sediments or minerals fill the internal cavity of an organism. 3. Authigenic mineralisation This is a special form of cast and mold formation. he organism (or fragment of organism) can act as a nucleus for the precipitation of minerals such as siderite, resulting in a nodule forming around it. 4. Replacement and recrystallization Replacement occurs when the shell, bone or other tissue is replaced with another mineral. A shell is said to be recrystallized when the original skeletal compounds are still present but in a different crystal form, as from aragonite to calcite. 5. Adpression (compression-impression) Compression Fossils, such as those of fossil ferns, are the result of chemical reduction of the complex organic molecules composing the organism's tissues.However, the phytoleim is lost and all that remains is an impression of the organism in the rock-an impression fossil. 6. Carbon films are thin film coatings which consist predominantly of the chemical element carbon. 7. Bioimmuration occurs when a skeletal organism overgrows or otherwise subsumes another organism, preserving the latter, or an impression of it, within the skeleton Palaeontologists rely on stratigraphy to date fossils. Stratigraphy is the science of deciphering the â€Å"layer-cake† that is the sedimentary record.If a fossil is found between two layers whose ages are known, the fossil's age is claimed to lie between the two known ages. Types of Fossils: 1. Index – (also known as guide fossils, indicator fossils or zone fossils) are fossils used to define and identify geologic periods (or faunal stages). 2. Trace – consist mainly of tracks and burrows, but also include coprolites (fossil feces) and marks left by feeding. – are particularly significant because they represent a data source that is not limited to animals with easily-fossilized hard parts, and they reflect animal behaviours.Transitional – is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group. This is especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross anatomy and mode of living from the ancestral group. 4. Microfossils a descriptive term applied to fossilized plants and animals whose size is just at or below the level at which the fossil can be analyzed by the naked eye. 5. Resin Fossil resin (colloquially called amber) is a natural polymer found in many types of strata throughout the world, even the Arctic.Derived A derived, reworked or remanià © fossil is a fossil found in rock made significantly later than when the fossilized animal or plant died : it happens when a hard fossil is freed from a soft rock formation by erosion and redeposited in a currently forming sedimentary deposit. 7. Wood -wood that is preserved in the fossil record. Wood is usually the part of a plant that is best preserved (and most easily found). Fossil wood may or may not be petrified. The fossil wood may be the only part of the plant that has been preserved: therefore such wood may get a special kind of botanical name.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Lab Report on Psychology

Lab Report on Psychology Lab Report on Death Thought Accessibility Hypothesis: Abstract Terror management theory has been on research more than a decade to this far. Behind this research is proof on the position that this theory affirms human motivation. It is a theory that has unfolded the true existence and position where mortality actually holds in the society. The explanations and revelations it has given in regard to the impacts on possible death with regard to behavior and emotions. A revealing research, it has shows that two culturally given psychological attributes are basically in part to reward off death of personalized death. This involves self gratification individually enhanced and culturally world wide acceptance. Case studies have been conducted to try and explain if indeed there is any correlation between people and the environment. In the quest to find answers to this relationship an elaborate study has been conducted to find the implication on the hypothesized relationship. Introduction This report is intended to show an empirical of a lap test on specific individuals to show the authenticity of terror management. The design was clear to the aim as volunteered individuals in the lap were given questionnaires in which they were required to fill under specific but different factors and later the results were compared. In response to the outcomes of the lap reactions, the observations that ware made were of distinct is results but few were much varied. This was in effect of the fact that the information this sample of individuals had before the actual interview. This empirical study is a pairing of a basic instinct for self-preservation that means that final â€Å"mortality is a creation of the able terror and curiosity that is capable of continuity, target intended behavior involvement, and that is if all were impossible,† (Ajzen, 1980, p. 253). This means that to function efficiently, surrounded with thoughts and any concern about death. Following, this people developed setbacks in trying to reduce the human death fear. So in that regard, for this case of interview to hold some people had to receive information perceived to threaten their future life. Definitely the results of these individuals are so biased to be relied on. For that matter therefore this lap report is the effects of peak oil as a cultural threat. Oil is a natural empowerment that is mined from the earth crust by help of sophisticated and modern tools aided by technology and this economical practice is fully expressed in most countries in the Middle East as major oil marketers and producers. The trend is different as revealing in recent past research, exploration on the oil reserves reveals that the quantity levels of oil barrels now available for extraction is on the downward trend in their natural deposits. This decrease is a threatening rate, as oil is k nown be the black gold. This is because all over the world oil is the major source of energy in industries, domestic use and every day productions. Because of research most energy experts and scientists have tried to work out for possible substitutes of energy for oil; their research has not sufficiently bored fruits. This is because oil is still the main supply of energy. Developments in the energy sector has shown and given the possibility to analyze the future developments of economies. This in turn affects human beings and there way of life. This lap test has revealed that the peak oil exploitation has to this far been reached. This is a cause to people’s curiosity. This influences people’s decisions (Anderson, 1965, p. 44–56.). Objectives of this study This lap test empirical study was intended to answer the following questions- Accordingly as a result of the maintained human mental capability as they evolved, human beings have not only had a motivation indicative to self-preservation but also there seem to be ability. So the question: what is it?  Secondly, TMT in this case pointing to it, what if any two psychological avenues that are in function and can mitigate the fear of individual mortality? Thirdly, what is cultural world perception? And lastly, are there major hypotheses with regard to â€Å"TMT and do they have any prediction,† (Arndt at el., 2001, p. 253–277)? Methodology This lap test procedure was mainly quantitative and for the reason of precision the lab test was conducted on volunteered individuals. Participants: The composition of these individuals was 30 men and 30 women to suppress any unforeseeable complaint. All these participants were psychology students in the university. Within the lab, the volunteers were given wit questionnaires to fill under different prevailing factors on the ground and thereafter the reactions compared. According to the lab results, there was esteemed variations on the participant’s outcomes which arise because of information that the participants were told before the interview (Adams, 1997, p. 1177–1196) Materials and procedure: Participating individuals were allowed to take part in a program of personality of traits and social human psychology at personalized level. They were instructed to fill the provided questionnaire. They were packed in completion. The rate of filling them was not fact of consideration but individuals were to complete them after critically studying them and making sure all information regarding it is requirement was dispensed. As a result the socio economic and demographic sheet lap test sheet, participating individuals were allowed to complete a short questionnaire on. Following a brief social demographic sheet, participants completed a shortened new scale of the Neuroticism liker scale on self-preservation that influences decisions on mortality creation. Also individual participants were allowed complete a new version on social issues of survey and which then acted on possible and random division into four conditions with respect to three open-ended discussio n questions aimed at making salient specific thoughts. These questions have been used in previous studies. Apparatus: Since the sample size is more than 30 of all the participating individuals in the lab test, we employed z-score test statistic. To analyze the results we employed SPSS software; a statistical analyzing package. To interpret the results we employed the use of pie charts and graphs (Adams, 1997, p. 1177–1196). Terror management Terror management theory is a theory that highlights the human as an advanced animal that is aware of his existence with the help of instincts and has anticipations about the foreseeable future. The theory has further recognized human beings as the tools and there awareness of inevitable death and the potential inducement of pain. Having the realization that death is mandatory, individual human beings are faced with the fear of vulnerability until the time of death and awareness of their mortality. Despite all the fear that faces human beings, research findings show that all animals share a common origin that is life, and there is a driving force for each species of living organisms to continue In explanation of terror management, it is essential to consider the origin of all living organism, and it is said that they all evolved by undergoing a series of transformations. According toTMT, the psychological system does give the buffers of thoughts of the human death; instilling â€Å" fear factor in individuals to constantly remember the death cause and death in human beings and how it could increase their main reliance based on the system of psychology,† (Ben-Ari, 1999, p. 35–45). The simple explanation is that if human and their environment in their commitment acts as a curiosity death buffer, the expectation of one would be that exposing persons to a mortality salience induction would increase their feelings of relationship commitment. In examining this hypothesis, participants completed a neuroticism scale. In view of evolution, both animals and human beings share a common origin, but the only difference between the two is that human beings underwent more stages of development than the rest. Hence, the stronger desire to live despite the calamities that threaten human life. Despite the advantage that human beings have over other animals that may include the intellectuals, they must still understand that they must die like other animals although they cannot estimate the time of death. It is human nature to respond negatively to mortality threatening situations (Arndt at el., 2001, p. 253–277). Ideally, humankind does not want to think about his mortality, and, therefore; he will be harsh when answering questions about his/her mortality. The peak oil is, therefore, a worldwide threat because it challenges the mortality of humankind by imposing the death in the short-run. Based on terror management system, individuals manage their own terror by living up to the standards of worldlier, and by having faith in worldlier itself. In a society, everyone has got varied beliefs and conceptions about the cultural worldlier so that the mortality of the individual is influenced by the attitude towards worldlier. Human kind regards their own worldviews as fragile social setup that keeps reminding them of their own mortality, and the fact that they are vulnerable. For safe existence, it is, therefore, necessary that the people closer to them constantly remind themselves of their worldlier. In addition, when people with identical worldviews stay together they will form a cultural worldvie w, and the factor reminding them of their mortality bring out the positivity and the desire to fight back together. In view, of the case where peak oil is a threat to the cultural worldview, the individuals in the society possessing identical worldviews will have the opportunity to solve the situation through the best means in order to ensure that the threat to their mortality is eliminated (Ben-Ari at el., 1999, p. 35–45). Results The hypothesis that clarifies the fact that psychological factors are responsible for buffering the way people think about death, and hence; weakening of this psychological factor will in people being vulnerable to think about death and feel their mortality being threatened. This reaction is evident from the lab results where the respondent’s cultural world is weakened by viewing of the video. Respondents receive similar response after reading of the material that is against the Canadian requirements. The respondents’ cultural world is weakened by exposure to these materials, and the death thought becomes closure to their minds. The mortality salient hypothesis requires that human beings observe two practices that help them in managing terror. These are to have faith in the cultural worldview and the significance standardization of the factors leading to worldview. The theory articulates that some factor that help in making people avoid the terror thought that may inclu de arousal, moods, and self-awareness should be upheld. The hypothesis explaining the terror and the death thought awareness may be used to illustrate contradicting situation involving theory justification where one theory justifies the actions of the other in avoidance of the death thought (Ben-Ari, 1999, p. 35–45). Based on the lab results, the respondents may be willing to commit murder in so that they avoid the death thought. While others will punish murders so that he/she can avoid the death thought, it should be realized that, in both cases, the individuals act that way because they perceive that their mortality is being threatened, and their cultural world’s remains are not compromised by the actions of the others thereby posing a death threat to them. The hypothesis of schimel to test the death thought the use materials that depicted hatred for the Canadians against the Canadian respondents illustrated analysis. The respondents were then interviewed separately and the outcomes compared. The results revealed that delayed respondents and controlled respondents almost marched in the number of times they pronounced the death threat words, but the group that pronounced the death word many times were the that was not allowed any delay time. The reason being that they felt their mortality being threatened and because of the terror they felt they wanted to react and keep their cultural worldview unchanged. The choice of the material on the web page to be shown to the Canadian respondents was a fair choice because, in order to get accurate results for the interview, the respondent had to be put in the real situation where there cultural worldview was being threatened (Adams, 1997, p. 1177–1196). Conclusions Different people have got different attitudes, which attributes, to behavior and sometimes, people with the same behavior joins together in a society. Being that the society comprises of people with identical sense of mortality, it follows that they share the same cultural worldviews. The peak oil is a threat to worldview because it threatens the mortality by posing uncertainty of the future and posing a difficulty in undertaking the normal day business. Based on the requirement of terror management system individuals must, therefore, â€Å"manage their own cultural worldview by living to the standards and having faith in the worldview itself,† (Arndt at el., 2001, p. 253–277). By viewing the message that reminds me of my own mortality, I will not accept the situation that death is looming and, therefore; I will get angry with the person responsible for showing me the message and with the message itself. Alternatively, because we all know that all animals must die I must then apply the teachings of death thought to have faith in my worldview and live according to the standards of my worldview. The fear caused by the realization of the fact that death is inevitable in the future, and vulnerability to live until that moment of death will result in the development of anger, and hatred (Adams, 1997, p. 1177–1196).

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

About the United States Postal Service (USPS)

About the United States Postal Service (USPS) Early History of the U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service first began moving the mail on July 26, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the nations first Postmaster General. In accepting the position, Franklin dedicated his efforts to fulfilling George Washingtons vision. Washington, who championed a free flow of information between citizens and their government as a cornerstone of freedom, often spoke of a nation bound together by a system of postal roads and post offices. Publisher William Goddard (1740-1817) first suggested the idea of an organized U.S. postal service in 1774, as a way to pass the latest news past the prying eyes of colonial British postal inspectors. Goddard formally proposed a postal service to Congress nearly two years before the  adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Congress took no action on Goddards plan until after the battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775. On July 16, 1775, with revolution brewing, Congress enacted the Constitutional Post as a way to ensure communication between the general populace and the patriots preparing to fight for Americas independence. Goddard was reported to have been deeply disappointed when Congress chose Franklin as Postmaster General. The Postal Act of 1792 further defined the role of the Postal Service. Under the act, newspapers were allowed in the mail  at low rates to promote the spread of information across the states. To ensure the sanctity and privacy of the mails, postal officials were forbidden to open any letters in their charge unless they were determined to be  undeliverable. The Post Office Department issued its first postage stamps on July 1, 1847. Previously, letters were taken to a Post Office, where the postmaster would note the postage in the upper right corner. The postage rate was based on the number of sheets in the letter and the distance it would travel. Postage could be paid in advance by the writer, collected from the addressee on delivery, or paid partially in advance and partially upon delivery. For a complete history of the early Postal Service, visit the USPS Postal History website. The Modern Postal Service: Agency or Business? Until the  adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government. According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit. In 1982, U.S. postage stamps became postal products, rather than a form of taxation. Since then, the bulk of the cost of operating the postal system has been paid for by customers through the sale of postal products and services rather than taxes. Each class of mail is also expected to cover its share of the costs, a requirement that causes the percentage rate adjustments to vary in different classes of mail, according  to the costs associated with the processing and delivery characteristics of each class. According to the costs of operations, U.S. Postal Service rates are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission according to the recommendations of the Postal Board of Governors. Look, the USPS is an Agency! The USPS is created as a government agency under Title 39, Section 101.1 of the United States Code which states, in part: (a) The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people. Under paragraph (d) of Title 39, Section 101.1, Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis. No, the USPS is a Business! the Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Section 401, which include: power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;power to enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and the necessity for, its expenditures;power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities. All of which are typical functions and powers of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain. The USPS does get some taxpayer support. Around $96 million is budgeted annually by Congress for the Postal Service Fund. These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies. Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law merely requires the Postal Service to remain revenue neutral, neither making a profit or suffering a loss. How is the Postal Service ‘Business’ Doing Financially? Though intended to be a self-funding entity, the Postal Service has suffered a dismal string of financial losses since the 1970s, when it sometimes at least broke even. After the Great Recession of 2008, the volume of advertising mail- the vast majority of mail- dropped sharply as many businesses switched to less-costly email correspondence. Since then, mail volume has continued to drop, creating a crisis for a business whose costs are all but guaranteed to rise annually. For example, the number of addresses to which the USPS must deliver increases constantly. In FY2018, the USPS suffered what it called a â€Å"controllable† operating deficit of $3.9 billion and reports that it expects costs to continue to rise in FY2019. â€Å"Compensation and benefits expenses are planned to increase by $1.1 billion in FY2019, due to wage increases by $0.6 billion resulting from contractual general increases and cost-of-living adjustments.† In addition, the agency sees its retiree health benefits and transportation expenses to increase by $1 billion in FY2019.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Gifted and Talented Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gifted and Talented - Essay Example It was Francis Galton, who is credited with using the term â€Å"gifted† for these individuals (Ford, et al, 1996, p. 75). The perception amongst educators reveals that they remain critical of the ability of nonverbal tests to assess intelligence because it appears as a test for nonverbal students (students that cannot converse well). It is crucial that they understand that nonverbal tests can also measure of highlight intelligence (Distin, 2006, p. 85). More importantly, these tests provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their intelligence and ability without linking their ability to perform on the test to the influence of language, vocabulary, and academic exposure. Consider the example of musically, creatively, and spatially gifted students and other students who manifest a great deal of practical and creative intelligence (Ford, et al, 1996, p. 75). These students are less likely to demonstrate the same degree of command over the English language, grammar, voca bulary, and presentation, but the same does not translate into their non-giftedness. In fact, it remains the responsibility of educational institutions to identify and accommodate these students as well (Phillipson & McCann, 2007, p. 52). Nevertheless, it is important here to note that the inability of the tools employed at measuring giftedness to incorporate racial, income and ethnic differences. Even the first and the longest running longitudinal study concerning giftedness individuals, conducted by Lewis Terman, failed to take into account cultural differences amongst the diverse population. In fact, this also represents that despite all the claims of equality and equal opportunity, United States is still far from achieving the status of a colorblind society (Ford & Trotman, 2001, p. 237). Furthermore, Terman study on giftedness, which began in 1921, also highlights other critical factors about giftedness that it is not correlated with high achievements. Several studies and resea rches in the recent future have also confirmed this fact. Terman cherry-picked individuals for his study of gifted individuals and then continued to take deep interest within their lives (Pfeiffer, 2008, p. 97). He played the roles of a counselor, mentor, teacher, and friend for these people and did not hesitate to pull strings and write letters of recommendations for this student. The prime reason being that he wanted to ensure that these gifted students could live up to their potential. Interestingly enough, one of the most crucial conclusions derived from this study is the fact that achievement and giftedness are not correlated despite repeated attempts by Terman to influence the results of this sample (Ford, et al, 1996, p. 75). This finding is crucial to study multiculturalism within gifted students because there are many institutions, which factor the achievements and accomplishments of students to measure and identify their giftedness. Quite understandably, giftedness can all ow individuals to achieve more than the average student population; this causation is not a necessity (Phillipson & McCann, 2007, p. 52). In fact, the insistence of institutions on factoring achievements to measure giftedness has also played a critical role in excluding minority populations from gifted students. In most cases, these minority students belong from lower income class families, where they fail to gather the same level of resources to assist them in standing out of the crowd.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Individual Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Individual Report - Essay Example One of the company rules was that leadership was to be chosen based on merit and looking at all the other members; I noted that I would effectively fit the role. Given that the company was a management based on shares, I had prior knowledge on business law in which the issues relating to shares was a special focus for me. Moreover, I had taken some communications skills courses beforehand and I believed that this was a strong pre-qualification to lead others in the most senior position. According to Maloney (2012), good communicators tend to send a message of charisma even if they may not. In my case, it was communication and natural charisma. The role of administration tends to attract more responsibility as opposed to the specific function of operations that I initially held. Beforehand, I had the natural trait of working longer and smartly, some kind of workaholic. There was much to be done initially and the choice of my taking the post of administration was not just personal but pure democracy. In a democracy, all the stakeholders take part in the decision making and the majority rules (Munjuri, 2012, p. 213). My case was, however a situation of en masse process in which all the other members decided that I was to take the post. I determined that I had much to my shoulder in the new position but I was determined to do it for the sake of the company. Maloney, T. R. (2012, 10 10). Employee Recruitment And Selection: How To Hire The Right People. Retrieved 12 4, 2013, from Cornell University: