Love and Lust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Love and Lust - Essay Example During his life, He did all he could to deliver others from suffering. One day, He found an abandoned baby girl. He took her in and named her Love. Through the years living with her Father, she inherited traits of His personality, although less intensely. She eventually met a handsome lad named Pleasure and together they had twin boys: Affection and Desire. The twins were almost impossible to tell apart because they were so identical in form. However, their personalities were outrageously different. Affection inherited his mother’s and Grandfather’s inclination to care and forgive. Altruistic and selfless, Affection always put others before him even though he never wanted anything in return. Being near the ones he loved was what made him most happy. His best friend, Rationality was his loyal companion—he always gave Affection the best advice. A hopeless romantic, Affection never stopped looking for his significant other—someone he could care for until the end of his days. Desire was the opposite. A real daredevil, the boy grew up chasing adrenaline rushes. He didn’t care about the past or the future as long as he was having fun in the present. Completely selfish, he was oblivious to everyone else’s feelings. In his teenage years, he would flirt with all the beautiful girls, especially the ones who were already taken—Desire himself couldn’t understand why, but he liked them the most.

The Big Stick by Roosevelt Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Big Stick by Roosevelt - Article Example He believed in a poise of power between the world’s powerful nations as he saw peace as a recipe for stronger fiscal growth and stability. In the Monroe doctrine, he emphasized the American control of the western parts of the globe. Through this doctrine, he placed measures that would curb prying on the US by the European entities (Morgan, 2004). President Taft assumed the reins of influence in 1909. Having been a â€Å"secretary of war†, he was experienced in dealing with global power brokers like Japan (Morgan, 2004). However, once he assumed authority, he broke away from the Roosevelt’s foreign policy of using military might to foster economic development. He focused on investments placed in distant entities. He encouraged Americans to invest in foreign countries where America had interest, notably the Far East. He believed that large foreign presence in the oversea countries would help forge appropriate coexistence among related entities. This led the massive foreign investments abroad and thus the name the â€Å"big dollar policy† (Morgan, 2004). His continued economic investment in China found paths into Japanese areas of interest. This annoyed the Japanese and led to the treaty with Russia to stop the provision of US goods from their markets. The single term that Taft served was short and characte rized by massive economic progress (Morgan, 2004). However, Taft lacked the balance of influence and sturdy headship drawn by Roosevelt on the international front. His strict nature created enemies both within the congress and within the republican groupings. Significant proportions of republicans perceived Taft as a timid individual. Such a notion together with constant infighting caused him the presidency in 1912 (Morgan, 2004).

Call it what ever you like Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Call it what ever you like - Essay Example Summary of the conclusions of the article Interpersonal communication has a direct influence on culture development. Open and clear communication between people forms the basis for good and effective public relations. The interpersonal relationships between the politicians have a major influence on the behavioral culture of the voters. The interpersonal communication between politicians serves to depress the voter turnout, through influencing the attitudes of the voters, since the controversy raised by the interpersonal communication affects the informational gains of the voters. The disagreements of the politicians make it hard for the voters to decide which party to support (Hopmann, 265). Thus, it is apparent that interpersonal communication has a direct influence on the culture of the people, based on the techniques and skills applied in the communication. Where there seems to be disagreement and ineffective interpersonal communication between the politicians, which focuses on di screditing each other’s political parties at the expense of disseminating gainful information, there is a tendency to generate a culture of voter apathy (Hopmann, 282). On the other hand, where there is effective interpersonal communication, based on disseminating the individual and party political ideologies to the people, the voter motivation and positive attitude is enhanced. The conflict arising from the controversy of words and the disagreements between the voters serves to cause the disapproval of the voters’ party of choice, which in turn influences the political behavior and political attitudes of the people. Studies have shown that citizens tend to identify with the political network that supports their ideologies and lifestyle (Hopmann, 267). However, the controversy created by the interpersonal communication between the politicians, serves to erode the information gains that such citizens would have reaped from the discussion of the parties’ ideologie s, since the controversy seeks to discredit each other’s party pledges, at the expense of informing the citizens on the ideologies that the parties stands for. The citizens then tend to avoid controversies and thus opt out of the communication tussle between the politicians. Ineffective interpersonal communication is the basis for influencing the social pressure in a negative way. The application of good interpersonal communication skills, which amounts to diverging and disseminating gainful information to the public, constitutes a positive political behavioral attitude towards party and candidates choice decision-making (Hopmann, 278). The ineffective interpersonal communication techniques serve to influence the attitudinal effect of the voter decision and their behavioral effects. Thus the fundamental conclusion of this article is that; the application of poor interpersonal communicational skills and techniques does not only serve to ruin the relationship of the two individ uals holding a conversation, but also the third parties, who may be interested, or affected by the interpersonal relationship in any way (Watzlawick, 57). This draws a parallel relationship between the interpersonal communication and the social context, where the nature of the interpersonal communication applied, and the context where it is applied, has a great influence on the impacts that such a communication is likely to make. Argument in

Free

Free Will Versus Determinism Essay The excerpt I chose was â€Å"Free Will versus Determinism†, and I noticed from the beginning the piece was written with reasons to support the content. First, the presentation introduces two beliefs; the behavior of atoms is governed entirely by physical law, and humans have free will. Immediately after presenting these ideas and questioning the relations in the two, the excerpt explains the logical approach to why they do not necessarily favor one another. Any argument that is presented, or comparison of two aspects, needs facts and reasons to confirm why the person is trying to convince the reader or other person that the argument is supported. Referring to the two beliefs presented at the beginning of the excerpt, the piece supports the idea that the behavior of atoms is governed entirely by physical law and humans have free will do not have a congruent relationship. Atoms will do what they have to do because of physical law and its determination of what each atom will do in the given circumstances. This is fact which is presented clearly and holds accuracy. An interpretation of the example given would be is if an atom does Z in circumstance Q, then circumstance Q will result in the atom having to do Z. By physical law, one cannot predict, change, or control what atoms do and how they do what they do. Continuing on to the next segment of the excerpt, it explains that free will is what happens, but did not necessarily have to happen. Unlike atoms and how they are governed by physical law, free will is something that has to be invoked by a human. Choice is the root in free will and what a person chooses to do will have a result. In this second part I began to see the argument because it was the comparison to the first fact presented, and reasons are given for why the argument is being made. A quote is written into the conclusion that points out that humans have free will to a certain degree, but it does not relate to how atoms are governed. The strengths that I found were the facts presented and the explanation of the material. Also I like the order in which the excerpt was written. The two beliefs were first, followed by the questioning of validation and reasons why the two beliefs did not fit well together as one belief. I could not identify any weaknesses in the excerpt, or parts that were irrelevant. As stated before the segment was factual, and the reasons were enough to convince the reader that the theory presented is accurate. References: Moore-Bruder, (2008). Philospophy (7th ed. ). : The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Self-Discovery in Oates Naked Essay -- Oates Naked Essays

Self-Discovery in Oates Naked  Ã‚   While other, less accomplished writers use violence to shock or provoke, Joyce Carol Oates is usually more subtle and inventive. Such is the case in "Naked," the story of a forty-six year old woman whose placid outer identity is ripped away by a brutal assault while out hiking not far from her fashionable, University Heights neighborhood. Like many of Oates' stories—and in this regard she probably owes something to Flannery O'Connor—"Naked" focuses on a woman so entrenched in her rigid self-image that nothing short of violence could make her vulnerable to a humbling, though redemptive, self knowledge. The protagonist, a stolid, college administrator, prides herself on her liberal views and anti-racist, fair mindedness. Curiously, she remains unnamed throughout the story, though not without reason. Her namelessness brings us closer to her inner world while at the same time obliquely suggesting that, given these same violent circumstances, she could be anyone, even you or me. Names represent a kind of social identity, and Oates' main interest here is in exploring what might happen when her character's social framework and the comfortably predictable life that goes with it are suddenly, and irrevocably, taken away. This, of course, is precisely what happens. What then, Oates seems to be asking, would be left? The answer, which is feverishly detailed in the remaining thirteen pages of this sixteen page story, is something this woman would never have asked for nor anticipated. Like most people in her social sphere, the woman takes for granted the civility and restraints that have kept her, prior to her attack, comfortably exempt from the personal chaos that violence unleashes. All of... ...the story concludes with the woman "crouched," still naked, "in the underbrush" below her house and marveling how strange it is to be seeing her husband at last after "having wanted so desperately to get home," and yet now feeling "no emotion" at what she saw. (138)    Works Cited Hillman, James. Eranos Lectures 8, "On Paranoia," by Hillman. Dallas: Spring Publications, 1986. Oates, Joyce Carol. "Naked." Heat and Other Stories. By Oates. New York: Plume, 1991. Robinson, Sally "Heat and Cold: Recent Fiction by Joyce Carol Oates," Michigan Quarterly Review, Vol. XXXI, 1992. Notes 1. Robinson, Sally. "Heat and Cold: Recent Fiction by Joyce Carol Oates." Michigan Quarterly Review, Vol. XXXI, 1992. In Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 108. 383. 2. Hillman, James. Eranos Lectures 8, "On Paranoia." Spring Publications, 1986. 13-14.      

The No child Left Behind Statute

The â€Å"No child Left Behind† statute introduced by President Bush and passed by the congress has created a number of problems for the educational programs intended for adolescents in elementary and secondary schools. The financial situation of the elementary and secondary schools is extremely poor because the states governments have been eliminating vital elementary educational programs. The school administrations have been reluctant to provide extended courses to the students. Furthermore, the textbooks are not being printed consistently, making not only the students but also the teachers extremely vulnerable and helpless. The funding disparity has also created huge gaps between the education being provided to the children belonging to the rich families and those belonging to the poor ones. The shortcomings and the rhetoric behind â€Å"No child left behind† act needs to be exposed so that effective measures can be taken to curtail the damage (Susan, 2003). The consistent lack of attention being given to elementary and secondary education, particularly to adolescent literacy is posing a grave threat to the future of the American education system. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the shortcomings of â€Å"No child left behind† law by first understanding the basic details of the act related to adolescent literacy programs and then persuasively assessing the loopholes in it. Lastly, the thesis gives carefully crafted recommendations aimed at not only the federal and state governments but also the school districts, parents and the educators. The aim is to create an understanding of the present and future needs for those educational programs that are aimed at adolescents and identifying the present gaps in the federal educational law. The American value of education emphasizes that all children, regardless of their gender, religion ethnicity should be able to acquire the basic skills of education and then carry those basic skills through to the elementary, secondary and high level education. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reality of the present education system is on the contrary. In a recent study, conducted by â€Å"National Assessment of Educational Progress† (NAEP, 2002), it has been noted that as much as 26% of the students are unable to read their textbooks fluently and almost half cannot comprehend the meaning of the text (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). It is worth noting that the legislators and government officials realize the gravity of the situation but have been unable to cope with it. If nearly half of the students in the elementary schools are unable to effectively read their course books, then, these students will find higher education very difficult. The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act has made things even more difficult because the focus has been on a long-term solution, whereas, it is imperative that the needs of the present generations are addressed immediately. This is because millions of students will be unable to cope with the demands of the future workplace needs if their basic educative skills are not enhanced at the right time (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). The challenge for the present legislators, teachers, parents and school administrations is to counter the threat of adolescent illiteracy by introducing effective programs, backed by appropriate amount of government funds. The difficultly lies in the ineffectiveness of the present educational law to cater the needs of adolescents as the most problematical educational dilemma to deal with has been the deficiency in the reading, writing and speaking skills of adolescents. The present educational and political leadership need to create and implement productive adolescent educational programs, which are feasible in the present schooling environment (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Dough Mesecar, who is currently a senior policy adviser to the secretary of Education, while giving his comments on the present status of the NCLB act asserts in an interview, â€Å"The achievement scores are up, and we're very pleased to see both the achievement gap starting to close, kids are learning more, a very positive report in the sense that the Center for Education Policy report is a self-survey, so these are states and districts reporting on their own to the center that their scores are up, achievement gaps are closing. So we feel very positive that this is yet another report showing the trends are definitely heading in a positive direction. † Contrary to the above statement, many experts believe that the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act presents a grave threat to the American values. But, before revealing the shortcomings of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† law, it is imperative that the basic features of the law that are related to elementary education are clearly understood. It is important to note that at least four areas of the act have been considered to have severe repercussions on the adolescent literacy. These four features are as follows: The â€Å"No child left behind† (NCLB) act encourages superior standards. The law makes it imperative that those schools, which are being supported by the government through funds, align their endeavors with the standards set by the local state. Furthermore, the law makes it imperative for these schools to employ only skilled and qualified workforce and only work on evidence-founded programs that are time-oriented and result-oriented. It is believed that these measures will enhance the level of education because it will not only minimize the inadequacy of unqualified teachers but also enhance learning as only scientifically verified teaching initiatives will be offered to the adolescents (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The law asserts that the annual progress of all the schools will be noted in relation to the competence achieved by the students in subjects such as mathematics and science, and in skills such as reading, writing and speaking. Standardized procedures and methods will be drafted to evaluate the progress of each district, school, as well as every group within each school. It is important to note that these â€Å"assessments† have put a great deal of added stress on all elementary schools because they have to align their educational endeavors within the parameters of elementary education set by the state (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The NCLB act has set very high standards for elementary schools all over America. If a particular school fails to meet the standards of the state for 2 successive years then that particular school will have to craft counteractive programs. Should the school fail to meet the State†s requirements for the 3RD consecutive year, tougher measures will be introduced, which may include replacements in the school workforce, complete modification of the school syllabus and maybe even state takeover (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The law allows parents to send their children to a school located in another district should their present school fail to meet the standards set by the State. The cost for this transfer of school along with the daily cost of transportation will be met by the local government. Furthermore, if the students attending these low-performing schools need home-tutoring or any other measure to augment their children†s achievements, then the local government will provide funds for those measures as well. The primary objective of the NCLB law is to enhance the possibility of success in elementary education for all Americans. This is being done by placing specific standards and then taking effective measures to make sure that these requirements are being met (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The most severe negative outcome for the elementary schools will be that they will loose their freedom to experiment with the instructional methods. While scientifically proven methods offer a great deal of benefits to the students, the creativity and progress in discovering newer and more effective instructional methods will be lost. Furthermore, while numerous research studies about effective reading methods have been conducted, very little research exists on other educative areas, such as speaking, writing and learning. Therefore, elementary teachers and schools will be finding it very difficult to meet the standards of the State (Jim Donlevy, 2002). Another major loophole in the NCLB act is that the â€Å"counteractive measures† for schools will be extremely costly. It is important to note that the measures set forth for under-performing schools are unfeasible to implement. If the number of schools that fail to comply with the standards set by the State for 2 successive years increases substantially, then the funds required to bring the necessary changes in the workforce, syllabus and structures of the schools or a complete State takeover will be extremely difficult to manage as the funds for education are being slashed every year by the Bush Administration (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The condition laid out by the NCLP to only employ specialized, qualified and licensed teachers is posing severe problems for struggling schools. It is vital to note that those schools that have either failed to or are struggling to comply with the standards set by the local government consistently employ replacement-teachers from far-off areas and are bound to face shortages of licensed teachers. Furthermore, many experts believe that this tendency will increase in the coming years and the struggling schools will face tougher challenges to meet this condition, while those schools that have been meeting the State†s standards of initiatives have been consistently employing certified teachers. Therefore, the persistence of the NCLB act to employ only licensed and specialized teachers has made it unrealistic for low-performing schools to meet this condition (Jim Donlevy, 2002). Additional troubling features of the NCLB Act The funds allocated for the successful implementation of NCLB are not only limited but also very poorly directed. While the NCLP act lays clear emphasis and provides adequate funds for crafting accountability structures and carrying out transformations for schools that fail to comply with the Standards of the State, it fails to provide adequate funds for conducting research on equally important academic areas for adolescents† literacy, namely, educator training and constant learning, the needs and interests of adolescents and framework for educating and learning in subject areas. This misdirection of funds will further hamper the progress of low-performing schools (Mark W. Conley and Kathleen A. Hinchman, 2004). Furthermore, NCLB gives very little consideration to the framework of literacy strategies. The three areas cited in the NCLB act are alphabetic acquaintance, fluency, and comprehension strategies. While the adolescents have been able to develop the first two categories (alphabetic knowledge and fluency), they have found the last category (comprehension strategies) to be extremely difficult. This is mainly due to the fact that new frameworks for subject-contents are being developed, which create the need for the development of newer comprehension strategies. Nevertheless, several studies have asserted that NCLB mirrors very limited research on this issue and sets a very restricted standard on strategies related to the development of newer comprehension strategies (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Alexander & Jetton, 2000). It is important to note that adolescents do not come prepared for the challenges they will face in their elementary and secondary education. One cannot wait for newer laws to be enacted or school reforms to be initiated. Immediate strategies have to be developed so that the present threats emerging from the NCLB act can be turned into an opportunity for all schools. The federal and local State governments should reflect on the following strategies for immediate and quick-fix actions: Firstly, recognizing those strategies that have been successfully implemented by high-performing schools and then enforcing the low-performing schools to adopt those strategies (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). In order to present those successful strategies to low-performing schools and ensuring that they have comprehensively understood all the aspects of the strategies, the government ought to set up presentation-places to illustrate those plans and achievements (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Encourage programs that educate teachers on scientifically verified instructional methods. Despite the fact that confusion about the proper definition of adolescent literacy still prevails, modern research has been able to give some direction to the dilemma. These directions should be used as a framework to allocate funds for teacher training programs that have been clinically verified to be productive (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Increased consideration should be given to literacy instruction because no current teacher training programs inform the teachers about the difficulties they will face while dealing with the literacy instructions in their teaching careers (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). These recommendations should be implemented with immediate affect because we are all aware that schools are very multifaceted and therefore manifold characteristics and strategies have got to be adopted (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Marzano, 2003). It is important for the government officials to note that neither the adolescents nor the teachers can be ignored because they both are the pillars for growth and development of any society (e. g. , Pressley, 2001; Strickland & Morrow, 2000; Stronge, 2002) (Margaret Taylor, 2004) The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act can be considered to be more idealistic than realistic because while the aims are very noble, the funds required to achieve these noble aims are very limited and a number of vital issues have been ignored. The State governments have been busy in establishing high standards of achievements for all schools without making efforts to really understand the complexities of the present system and the repercussions of their policies on the schools, parents, teachers and the students. Therefore, a proper reaction to the present threats being posed by the NCLB act should be thorough, carefully directed, and all-inclusive if across-the-board transformations are desired. Lastly, endeavors to bridge the differences amid the objectives and the present capabilities have got to be the most important concern if the aim is for adolescents to productively challenge the needs of the business and the society.

Martin Luther

THEMES IN U. S. & WORLD HISTORY Task 2 Roberta Gauvin Two of the most significant social and/ political changes that occurred as a result of the actions of one individual was Nelson Mandela. Mandela represented an example of a powerful leader who inspired millions of people around the world. First of all Mandela won the first multi-racial elections in South Africa thus creating a significant change in perception and building of a color blind society in Africa and around the world. Prior to becoming a president, people knew him for his anti-apartheid violent actions, his actions attracted attention to the existing problem. His actions made him well known around the world. Martin Luther King was well known around the world for his significant movements for the society. Martin Luther King became an iconic figure, whose courage inspired countless people. First, Martin Luther King advocated for civil rights by means of the peaceful method and never encouraged using violence for achieving the goals. His speech â€Å"I Have a Dream† encouraged the creation of a colorblind society and society based on equality among all people. â€Å"When he was notified of winning a Nobel Peace Prize, he stated that all the funds were to go to further the civil rights movement (King, M 1964). He actively addressed issues of poverty and contributed to the end of the War in Vietnam. References I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King in Text and Pictures. , New York, Time Life Books, 1968. â€Å"Martin Luther King, Biography†, Nobel prize (1964), Retrieved 14 September 2011 from http://www. nobelprize. or g/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio. html Themes in History, Individuals and Institutions (2006), retrieved 14 September 2011, from http://history. webtexts. com/courses/4573-history/toc/chapters/389802-individuals-and-institutions-as-mechanisms-of-social-change/assignments/342712-7-nelson-mandela