Investment Analysis and Strategy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Investment Analysis and Strategy - Term Paper Example Modern Portfolio theory elaborately discusses the relationship between the risk and the return. (Lintner, 1965; Brealey and Myers, 2003) Goldman Sachs, one of the largest banks, is the firm, which will be studied in this paper. Before calculating the rate of return that is expected on the investment in the shares of this company employing CAPM, it is required to briefly discuss this model for the betterment of the understanding. Whether an individual will be interested in investing his money in the shares of a particular firm depends on the exposure of the firm to the market risks as well as those risks, which are mainly specific to this firm. Now portfolio theory suggests that instead of making investment in one particular share, it would be wiser for an individual to invest in a diversified portfolio. An appropriate diversification reduces total level of risks. (Brealey and Myers, 2003; Markowitz, 1991; Bernstein, 2001) To estimate expected return on an investment in a particular stock, Capital Asset Pricing Model is used. This model specifies a formula, which is generally applied by the firms to determine market return on the shares of that firm. CAPM takes into account only those risks, which are non-diversifiable. These risks are commonly known as systematic or market risk and they are often expressed by the term beta (ÃŽ ²). (Markowitz, 1991; Bernstein, 2001; Tobin, 1958 ) E(Ri) = Rf + ÃŽ ² (E(RM) - Rf); where E(Ri) is expected return on the ith capital asset, Rf is the return on the risk free asset, ÃŽ ² represents sensitivity of the return on the stock to the market return, and E(RM) stands for the expected return on the market portfolio. (Markowitz, 1991; Bernstein, 2001) Before moving into further analysis it is necessary to understand what risk free and risky assets stand for. The classification of assets, particularly of financial

Quality Enhancement Policy Essay Example for Free

Quality Enhancement Policy Essay 1.1 Introduction and Background The Government of Pakistan established Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2002 to facilitate growth of indigenous universities of Pakistan to become centers of quality of education and research and development. Though this process, HEC aims to play its role in building of knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. In order to achieve this goal, HEC has undertaken a systematic plan of implementation that is 5year Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). The main aim of HEC was to focus on quality and relevance (HEC, 2010). The core strategic areas of MTDF are: 1- Faculty development 2- Improving enrollment 3- Quality in learning and research 4- Importance to national plan These plans are supported by well-integrated crosscutting themes for developing leadership, governance and management, enhancing quality assessment and accreditation, and physical and technological infrastructure development, (Batool, 2010). HEC introduces quality enhancement cell in universities for maintaining and improving the academic quality in the country by establishing that criteria are being met and educational activities are also in an agreement with the plans of the commission. According to international practices and development, HEC improves plans in order to more improve the standards. HEC intends to achieve excellence in the higher education and by taking major initiatives to develop the performance of universities and started up with the primary step of outlining the performance evaluation standards for the universities. For this, numbers of documents are defined, every document of these articulates a detailed element of the institutional quality. Therefor these documents are equally important for achieving the desired certifications to quality enhancement in higher education (Batool, 2010). Self-Assessment is an essential element in completing the HEC recognition. The recommendations for Self-Assessment are published as â€Å"The Manual for Self-Assessment† for the purpose of implementation at department / programed level in the universities. The complete practices of Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) are controlled by the QECs established under the umbrella of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC at the universities and consequently develop an integral part of the universities concerned. Furthermore the QECs also work in management with authorization bodies to make the process of program level accreditation. However, the institutional act of evaluation has many more measurements with greater complexity, (HEC, 2006).This thesis defines the Institutional performance evaluation standards and to make sure that quality establishment is certified by the HEC for the universities. The institutional act assessment comes under the Purview of the HEC whereas this process is dated by the results of IQA Exercise done by the universities through implementation of the â€Å"Self-Assessment Model†. The effects of Self-Assessment will agree to the process of Performance Evaluation Standards for the HEIs to be directed by the HEC in line with best performs of External Quality Assurance (Raouf,2010). The Higher Education Commission is working for continuous improvement of these standards and their effectiveness. The HEC through QAA will assess individual institutions periodically established on the performance evaluation standards defined here. These periodic reviews will be shown from side to side an arrangement of On-Site Assessment by Performance Assessment Teams under the direction of QAA. The quality standards observed by a university will be documented only as a result of successful performance assessment reviews through evaluation of institutional successes against pre-defined principles (HEC, 2011). To sustain academic quality and standards in higher education the institutions need to be professional, creative and innovative. The vision, mission and objectives are the essential values when applied in its principle, examined and measured are likely to be fruitful. The motivation of assigning all these movements and applying them under the authority of QEC is not only to emphasize on maintaining the best faculty, administrative staff and students but to be best in research, emerging interdisciplinary courses, academic performance, strategic and integrated academic planning (GCU, 2011) Quality in academic development means agreement of all the stakeholders where the challenge is to deliver education which is continuously improving and is at the same level with the international standards. In recent years it has become a requirement that institutions of higher education demonstrate the success of their academic programs in providing high quality education that impacts the concerned stakeholders. The Higher Education Commission develops methods for evaluating the quality of academic programs (Kanwal, 2007). Moreover with the establishment of Quality Assurance Agencies at Higher Education Commission, it was decided in the National Quality Assurance Committee (NQAC) meeting that Quality Enhancement Cells will be established at all universities to make stronger the internal quality assurance procedure with a special emphasis on the quality of higher education to fill the gap between the fundamental and the desired status of quality education, (HEC,2011). The matter of quality is being known as the major issue confronting the higher education sector in the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). Therefore, to enhance the quality of output and efficiency of the higher education learning systems, a mechanism for the establishment of QECs has been developed by the Quality Assurance Committee to improve the standards of quality of higher education in a systematic way with uniformity across the country. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) established Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) at ten public sector universities in 2006-07 whereas in 2007-08 more twenty QECs were established in the remaining public sector universities for enhancement of their academic, teaching and learning standards. The QEC family is being extended to additional fifteen public sectors and fifteen private sector universities in 2009-10 and twenty four in public sector universities in 2010-11 (Zafar, 2006). At the moment, the HEC has given incentives to encourage research, appoint foreign faculty, funds for workshops and conferences, and granting scholarship to go overseas to present research or do postgraduate research. It shows the deep concern of HEC regarding QA. The quality of research is a special focus and HEC has developed a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism, (kanwal, 2007) It has established a QA Cell that states the necessity to improve a culture of assessment is always together with the concept of quality. Both internal self-evaluation and external reviews are dynamic components of any well-developed quality assurance system. It is entirely critical to monitor and control growth of sub-standard institutions of higher learning. A comprehensive multi-level mechanism of accreditation is to be developed to make sure establishment of quality education. Qualification needs to occur at the department or program level, as well as the Institutional level. (HEC, 2011) 1.2FUNCTIONS OF THE QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELLS 1. The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) is to be supervised by a Dean reporting directly to Vice Chancellor/Rector. 2. QEC is responsible for maintaining public confidence that the quality and standards of the reward of degrees are improved and secured. 3. QEC is responsible for the review of quality standards and the quality of teaching and learning in each subject area. 4. QEC is responsible for the assessment of academic affiliations with other institutions in terms of effective management of standards and quality of programs. 5. QEC is responsible for essential clear and explicit standards as points of reference to the evaluations to be carried out. It should also help the employees to know as to what they could expect from candidates. 6. QEC is responsible to improve qualifications framework by setting out the qualities and skills that can be expected from the holder of a qualification, i.e. Bachelors, Bachelor with Honors, Master’s, M. Phil., and Doctoral. 7. QEC is respon sible to improve program qualifications. These are standard set of information clarifying what knowledge, understanding, skills and other qualities a student will have developed on successfully completing a Degree. 8. QEC is responsible to improve quality assurance processes and methods of assessment to affirm that the quality of provision and the standard of awards are being maintained and to foster a program of study, subject and staff development, together with research and other academic activities. 9. QEC is responsible to make sure that the universitys quality assurance techniques are designed to fit in with the arrangements in place nationally for maintaining and improving the quality of Higher Education. 10. QEC is responsible to develop procedures for the following: a). New programs approval b). Annual monitoring and evaluation including program, faculty, and students monitoring perception. c). Departmental assessment e). Student comment f). Comments of Employer g). Quality assurance of Masters, M.Phil and Ph.D. degree Programs h). Review of Subjects i). Institutional assessment j). Program specifications k). Qualification framework Universities play a significant role in the overall development of a country, their significance lies not only in providing degrees, but also in producing quality human resources for various zones of the economy (GIKI, 2011).To succeed this goal, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has designed some guiding principle to evaluate the quality of education in Pakistan to the ever changing conditions and global needs (HEC, 2011). It is state that Higher Education’s unique and symbolic phase is Quality Enhancement in Pakistan by IMscience that Importance of Quality can be understood from the fact that rapid development in higher education requires Quality Assurance in order to put up with current levels of academic standards and improve modern learning processes (IMScience, 2011).

The Folly of René Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on Fir

The Folly of Renà © Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy In order to embark on his quest for truth, Descartes first devises his four rules which should serve as a solid foundation for all else that he comes to understand. Those rules are here evaluated in terms of what they fail to take into consideration. The rules are examined individually and consecutively, and are therefore also reiterated in order to be clear about them. Furthermore, the approach of using these rules is also analyzed to some degree. Ultimately, however, it is my conjecture that Descartes’ four rules are not as solid a foundation as he claims, but fail to consider key issues which are noted herein. Descartes’ first rule deals with the notion of truth, and states it as follows. The first [rule] was never to accept anything as true that I did not plainly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid hasty judgment and prejudice; and to include nothing more in my judgments than what presented itself to my mind so clearly and so distinctly that I had no occasion to call it in doubt. (11) In essence, we are to accept only what is true. This brings up the question of how one can even know truth. For Descartes, the certain truth is â€Å"I think, therefore I am,† which is his first principle. However, even if this is a certain truth, how can we know anything else to be true? More importantly, however, the first rule states that nothing should be accepted that can be called into doubt, or to accept only that which is indubitable. Yet how can anything be indubitable, save perhaps Descartes’ first principle, and even there some may be able to find flaws? It seems doubtful whether anything can be proven beyond any reas... ..., then there is no thing that is easier to know than another. Descartes’ use of this approach is a false foundation as he does not see these complications. The underlying frailty of such rules is that it assumes absolute truths, without exceptions. I do not know of any truths that are absolute, and do not know of anyone who does. But more importantly, this approach would be much more effective if it was an inductive, and not a deductive, method. With an inductive method Descartes could not be refuted with a single instance, and he would not need to account for all contesting situations. It seems doubtful whether an absolutely deductive method could ever exist, based on the limits of human knowledge. Works Cited Renà © Descartes. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. 4th edition. Trans. Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.

Bowlby’s research Essay

The maternal deprivation hypothesis was developed in post second world wartime and Bowlby’s research was based on children that were extremely traumatized, having possibly lost both parents at war. As a result a lot of children ended up in institutions which more than likely had substandard conditions and numerous untrained carers. It is very important to bear in mind the context of that time as there was a national need for family life to be recreated and stabilised after the war. Thus, Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis was interpreted as an opposition to the employment of women with young children and therefore the use of day-care facilities. It is important to acknowledge that Bowlby was primarily concerned with the welfare of children and that his theory of maternal deprivation played a huge role in reforming child care practices by pointing out the damaging effect of been cared for by numerous staff. In the years since however, the maternal deprivation hypothesis has been largely discredited in light of subsequent research which suggests that some separation, for example some time in a high quality day-care, may not necessarily have long-term effects on future relationships. Bowlbys monotropic model of attachment has also been highly criticised as recent evidence is revealing that children do form attachments with more than one adult, in particular with fathers, siblings and other adult carers with whom they have developed a stable relationship. Research has shown that children generally favour their father’s company to the company of a stranger. According to Lewis (1986) the attachment bond between a father and child is dependant on the quality of their relationship, that is, a child with a sensitive father that is focused on their needs will develop a stronger attachment bond with them. Nonetheless, in times of distress infants are more likely to seek out the comfort of their mother over their father (Lamb, 1981). Given the changing times and the steady increase in the proportion of working mothers, it is necessary to focus more on the effects of multiple attachments and specifically to the child’s relationship with adult caregivers other than parents and relatives. Studies however, carried out by Tizard and Rees (1975) and Tizard and Hodges (1978) caution that while children can be cared for and attached to more than one adult, having a large number of caregivers may have an adverse effect on their ability to develop close relationships. Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis was further developed by the work of Mary Ainsworth (1969), who devised a method for observing and assessing the attachment behaviour babies’ display towards their mothers/caregivers. This is known as the Strange Situation (ED209 TV4 programme) and is essentially a method for measuring a one year-old’s attachment to its mother and assessing how the child reacts to separation and more importantly to reunion with its mother when placed in a slightly stressful situation. Briefly, the experiment involves taking mother and child to a strange room and observing the child’s responses to the introduction of a stranger, the mother’s departure, reunion with the mother, leaving the child alone for a few minutes in the room (most stressful event), and leaving the child alone with the stranger. Researchers classify the maternal-child attachment relationship based on the child’s behaviour during reunion with the mot her. Ainsworth suggests that attachment relations fall into three categories: securely attached, insecure-avoidant and insecure-ambivalent infants. Sometimes an additional category (disorganised) has been used. According to Ainsworth securely attached infants explore freely when their mother is present and use her as a secure base when a stranger appears. They greet her warmly on reunion and show a clear preference for her over the stranger. Children who do not behave this way, for example by clinging (insecure-ambivalent) or been more detached (insecure-avoidant) during reunion with their mother, are described as insecurely attached. Ainsworth et al (1978) believed that children who are separated from their mother, for example children who attend day-care, are likely to form insecure attachments. This is supported by Belsky (1988) who, it is interesting to note, revised his conclusions regarding the consequences of placing children in non-maternal day-care. Initially, he believed that day care did not effect a child’s attachment to his/her mother, however subsequently in his review of a number of US studies, he concluded that children who are subjected to more than twenty hours a week of non-maternal day-care in their first year of life are at risk of developing insecure attachments. It is important to note that although the strange situation technique has been widely used by Belsky and others to assess the quality of a child’s attachment to its caregiver, it may not however be the best method for comparing children who experience day care with those who do not. Belsky’s conclusions regarding day-care have been disputed by Clark-Stewart (1988) who argues that the differences in attachment styles between infants attending non-maternal day-care for less than twenty hours a week and more than 20 hours a week are not large enough to conclude that working mothers put their children at risk of suffering from psychological problems. Furthermore, she points out that children who attend day care are used to separation and therefore react differently on reunion with their mothers than children who are with their mothers all day. Thus, children may appear detached not because they are insecure but because they are more independent and more accustomed to been separated from their mother (Clark-Stewart, 1988) . Like Bowlby, Ainsworth believed in a universal model of attachment however, evidence from cross-cultural research on secure and insecure attachments carried out by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) revealed cultural differences in the mother-child relationship. This evidence questions the validity of using the strange situation method to measure and compare attachment in different cultures. For example, children from Japan showed intense distress in the strange situation when separated from their mother, as in their culture children are never left alone at twelve months. These cultural differences highlight the importance of moving away from a universal model of attachment towards a more cultural perspective. Bowlby’s ethnocentric perspective, which sees the biological mother as the all-important person for the infants first attachment, has received a lot of criticism and has been branded as a Western cultural construction by some psychologists. It is interesting to note that out of 186 non-industrial societies Weisner and Gallimore (1977) found that, in only five of these societies was the child (almost) solely looked after by the mother! Moreover, research carried out in different countries showed the grandmother as having a special and unique attachment to the child due to her long life experience and wisdom (Tyszowka, 1991) thereby lending support to a more polyadic model of attachment.

Cultural Identity Interview and Analysis

An interview with a member of the Mexican American community was conducted on December 1st, 2007. This research will provide a summary of that interview; particularly, it will include a description of the rules, norms, traditions, and values of Mexican American culture. The research will also discuss: a) how the assumptions regarding cultural norms affect the interviewee’s behavior in his daily life; b) any disadvantages related to his culture being outside â€Å"the norm† and how he reacts to that; c) any advantages related to being assimilated to the â€Å"normative† culture and how he reacts; d) his sources of strength or support; e) an analysis of the four dimension theory and how it relates to the interviewee’s life. Finally, the research will provide some insight on how one can effectively communicate with people of other cultures. In fact, communication with various members that belong to other ethnic groups (i.e. Arab Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, etc) may be difficult some at times because of the cultural difference that exists between the groups. Jose Luis Aguilar was born in Tijuana, Mexico on January 7th, 1972. Mexican is the ethnic group he belongs. He lived in Mexico for 29 years. In 2001, he immigrated in Los Angeles, California. Job opportunities, presence of family members, and the presence of a massive Mexican community were the factors that brought him to immigrate into the United States. Mexican Americans are the largest Hispanic or Latino ethnic group in the United States. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 20 million Hispanic or Latinos of the 35 million in the United States are Mexican Americans (U.S. Census, 2000). Mr. Aguilar’s native language is Spanish. However, during the past years spent in California, he was able to learn basic English, although it remains a second language as the majority of the Mexican American who live in the United States. Richard Schaefer stated â€Å"as of 2002, about 23 percent of Mexican Americans are English dominant, 26 percent are bilingual, and 51 percent are Spanish dominant† (Schaefer, 2006, p. 241). Mr. Aguilar’s religion is Catholic. Indeed, Mexican Americans represent â€Å"the largest number of Catholic immigrants to the United States comes from Mexico; Mexico also sends the largest number of Protestant immigrants to the United States† (Murray, 2006). Mr. Aguilar is married. He has a 1 year-old son. Aguilar’s family has a patriarchal organization as the same as other many Mexican American families have. According to Kathleen Niska, Mexican Americans Families â€Å"continuity was characterized by mothers doing tasks inside the house, fathers doing tasks outside the house, and both parents performing toddler and early childhood tasks† (Niska, 2001). One of the Mexican traditions that Mr. Aguilar mentioned during the interview was â€Å"quinceanera†. This ritual is celebrated in church when women reach the age of 15 to thank God that they arrived to this stage of their lives. Similar to a wedding day celebration, the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday is a major event in most Hispanic girls’ lives as it means that she begins her journey to adulthood (Mattel, 2001). They are ready to get married. The ritual of quinceanera is viewed not only as a gesture to strengthen faith and family but also as a means to prevent teen pregnancies. A quinceanera also allows for sending a message of sexual responsibility (NC Times, 2008). Mr. Aguilar is an independent contractor mainly for real estate management companies. He provides general maintenance services at $10 an hour. So far, he had limited choices regarding the jobs (e.g. janitorial, landscaping, and maintenance) he could do since he moved into United States. Lack of education and his pending status with INS (he has not received his green card yet, work permit only) were the obstacles that did not allow him to obtain better paid jobs. According to David Spener, â€Å"Mexican immigrant workers play an important economic role inside the United States as well. They constitute a significant portion (8 percent) of the total U.S. manufacturing work force† (Spener, 2000). Mexican Americans are usually have been seen by American companies as â€Å"cheap labor†. Mr. Aguilar shared that members of his culture had been affected by any form of racism, prejudice or discrimination. In particular, he pointed out the bilingualism issue and the tension that the proposition 227 created among his community. Proposition 227 went into effect in 1998 and required that all public school instruction had to be in English. A) How do assumptions about cultural â€Å"norms† impact your interviewee’s behavior on a day-to-day basis? Mr. Aguilar pointed out how one particular assumption regarding Mexican Americans culture affects his life on a day-to-day basis. He mentioned that one of his cousins was a gang member; he was killed months ago. A popular assumption is that Mexican American gang membership is generational which means the membership from a father to a son or from a family member to another one. Therefore, based on this assumption, people believe that he is a gang member. So, Mr. Aguilar’s behavior is direct to prevent anything that may mislead people in this sense, e.g. wearing red or blue, or specific clothing, or having tattoos. B) Does your interviewee recognize any challenges or disadvantages related to her/his culture being outside the â€Å"norm†? How does he/she respond to those challenges? Similar to several other fellow Mexican Americans, Mr. Aguilar is able to communicate in his native language without learning English properly. In fact, Spanish language is commonly spoken in the city of Los Angeles. Almost every place (grocery stores, restaurants, public offices, and so forth) has signs and directions in Spanish language. This massive promotion of Mr. Aguilar’s native language in the United States encouraged by Mass Media represents a disadvantage. Radio and television have also been factors that allowed Mexican Americans, as Mr. Aguilar, to maintain their original cultural values. In fact, in 2004, there were over 678 Spanish language radio stations compared to 1982, when there were 12 Spanish language television stations in the United States. This number more than doubled within 10 years. Several artists (e.g. Jennifer Lopez or Shakira) helped to promote their cultures by singing in their traditional languages (Jandt, 2007). Mr. Aguilar has responded to this challenge by enrolling himself in an adult school in order to improve his English. However, as of today, he is still struggling to write, read and speak English fluently. C) Does your interviewee recognize any privileges or advantages associated with assimilating to the â€Å"normative† culture? How does he/she react to that recognition? Mr. Aguilar recognized that being assimilated to the â€Å"normative† culture has some advantages. In particular, he stated that a positive aspect is that immigrants learn the language of the â€Å"normative† culture; they are able to avoid any form of isolation and segregation. Furthermore, these immigrants likely will not face any prejudice from the dominant society as he experienced during his stay in the United States. During the interview Mr. Aguilar recalled a few family acquaintances with 3rd generation sons and daughters who had an adaptation in the American culture different compared to their parents. In fact, they were able to go to school, learn the language, get a college education, and obtain a good job. They became a part of the American culture. In fact, they celebrate the 4th of July and the Thanksgiving, which are truly American holidays. They also had to learn about professional sports other than Mexican soccer. He now is also watching baseball, basketball, and American football games. D) What does that person cite as being sources of strength or support? Mr. Aguilar cited church and family as his sources of strength or support. As many others fellow Mexicans Americans, Mr. Aguilar gives exceptional importance to religion and family on a day-to-day basis; he is very active in his community especially with humanitarian initiative promoted by his catholic church. Mr. Aguilar is very family orientated. He tries to spend as much time as possible with his family; it may be common to see him doing business with his families around. E) An analysis of the four dimension theory and how it relates to the interviewee’s life A theory from the course that was well related to Mr. Aguilar’s interview is the â€Å"four dimensions of culture† by Geert Hofstede. Particularly, Aguilar’s interview confirmed that in the Mexican culture masculinity is predominant, mostly due its history. Mexican families were mainly patriarchal therefore men were in charge of the family; they were working to provide money and food while women were at home taking care of the children. Mexican culture is based more on collectivism due mainly to the fact that more people with financial difficul ties seek to one another for help or gather together (e.g. two or three families living in the same apartment). Power distance is embodied in the Mexican culture. Mexico is a developing country with significant financial problems. The difference between people (e.g. poor and rich people) is well marked. Finally, the fourth dimension, uncertainty avoidance, is correlated to religion and history of the cultures (Jandt, 2007). Roman Catholic Christian cultures and cultures with Romance languages (e.g. Mexico) tend to score high. In conclusion, communication with various members that belong to other ethnic groups may be difficult at times because of the cultural difference that exists between the groups. However, inclusive language can be an effective way to communicate with such members. Mr. Aguilar and the interviewer are from different culture backgrounds. There were times during the interview where inclusive language was used to avoid miscommunication. Choosing the right words when communicating with members who have different backgrounds may help to prevent miscommunication that may end up stereotyping them on the basis of race, gender, disability, religion, or other factors. Furthermore, conducting research and gathering information on members with different backgrounds may help not only to overcome language issues but also can assist people in becoming more culturally sensitive.References http://nsq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/4/322 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/05/faith/17_56_271_3_08.txt

How to Write a Novel Using The Three-Act Structure

How to Write a Novel Using The Three-Act Structure How to Write a Novel Using The Three Act Structure The three-act structure is perhaps the most common technique in the English-speaking world for plotting stories - widely used by screenwriters and novelists. It digs deep into the popular notion that a story must have a beginning, middle, and end, and goes even further, defining specific plot events that must take place at each stageIn this post, we dissect the three acts and each of their plot points - using three-act structure examples from popular culture to illustrate each point.Let’s begin! In three, two, one... How to write a novel using the ever-popular three-act structure. What is the three-act structure?How to Outline a Novel: an Author's Guide (with Template) Read post The three-act structure is just one way to think about a story, so writers shouldn’t feel limited. The benefit of using the three-act structure is that it will help ensure that every scene starts and end with a clear purpose and direction. Even if you don't start outlining your novel with it, if you find yourself struck by pacing issues, it's often useful to fit your story into the three-act structure to see why that might be.Have you written a novel using the three-act structure? Leave any questions or thoughts on this popular plotting method in the comments below!

How to Use the Conditional Tense in German

How to Use the Conditional Tense in German The conditional tense in German is established through the subjunctive II  (past). But that is not the only way. As important as it is to learn the subjunctive II for such purposes, there are sometimes other ways to form a conditional statement, depending on your intent. The following is a listing of a few examples. Introducing a Condition With the Preposition Bei Bei schà ¶nem Wetter, gehen wir schwimmen.(When the weather is nice, we’ll go swimming.)Remember that the preposition bei is always followed by the dative. If you would use the subjunctive, the sentence would read as follows: Wenn es schà ¶nes Wetter sein sollte, dann gehen wir schwimmen. Using Wenn Use wenn plus the present tense if the condition is possible. Wenn du mà ¼de bist, leg dich hin.(If you are tired, lie down.) Wenn du Hunger hast, nimm dir ein Stà ¼ck Kuchen.(If you are hungry, you can have a piece of cake.) Use wenn plus the subjunctive II if the sentence indicates a hypothesis not realized. Wenn ich jung wre, wà ¼rde ich mir diese Schuhe kaufen.If I were young, then I would buy these shoes. Wenn wir reich wren, wà ¼rden wir auf eine Weltreise gehen.(If we were rich, we would go on a world trip.) Use wenn plus the subjunctive II if the sentence indicates a hypothesis that was not realized in the past. Wenn er studiert htte, wà ¼rde er gute Noten bekommen haben.(If he had studied, he would have gotten good marks.) Wenn er seine Medizin genommen htte, wà ¼rde er jetzt gesund sein.(If he had taken his medicine, he would be healthy now.) Using Falls/im Falle When something is possible. Falls du zum Museum hingehst, vergiss nicht dein Mitgliedsausweis.(In case you go to the museum, don’t forget your membership card.) Im Falle, dass wir spt sind, will ich mir eine Ausrede denken.(In case that we are late, I want to think of an excuse.) Using Es Sei Denn, Dass (Unless)/Vorausgesetzt, Dass Geh nicht im Keller, es sei denn, dass du vorher gefragst hast.(Don’t go in the basement, unless you’ve asked beforehand.) Guck nicht im Schrank, es sei denn du willst wissen was du fà ¼r deinen Geburtstag bekommen wirst.(Don’t look in the closet, unless you want to find out what you will be getting for your birthday.) Ich komme mit, vorausgesetzt, dass deine Eltern einverstanden sind.(Im coming, only unless your parents agree.) Adverbs Sonst (Else) or Andernfalls (Otherwise) These adverbs make reference to the past that would have influenced the past, that the situation occurred. Ich bin froh, dass du mitgekommen bist, sonst htte ich mich sehr gelangweilt haben.(I am happy that you came along, or else I would have been so bored.) Gute Sache, dass er die Suppe nicht gegessen hat, andernfalls wà ¼rde er auch krank gewesen sein.(Good thing, he didn’t eat the soup, otherwise he’d be sick too.)

English-Spanish Basketball Glossary

English-Spanish Basketball Glossary If you want to talk basketball in Spanish, here are the words to do it. Since its origins in the late 18th century in Massachusetts, basketball has become an international sport. But it continues to be dominated by the United States, so it shouldnt be surprising that much of the Spanish-language vocabulary of the game comes from English. In fact, even in Spanish-speaking countries, English terms may be understood more readily than their Spanish equivalents. The Spanish vocabulary for the sport developed somewhat independently in various regions, so terms can vary not only between Spain and Latin America, but even between neighboring countries. Even the name of the game isnt uniform throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The vocabulary below represents some of the most common terms used by Spanish speakers, but it shouldnt be considered complete. Basketball Terms In Spanish air ball - el air ballassist (noun) - la asistenciabackboard - el tablerobank shot - el tiro a tablabasket (goal) - el cesto, la canastabasket (score) - la canasta, el encestebasketball (ball) - el balà ³n, la pelotabasketball (game) - el baloncesto, el bsquetbol, el basquetbol, el bsquetbox score - el box score, el sumariocenter - el/la pà ­votcheerleader - la animadora, el animador, el/la cheerleadercoach - el entrenador, la entrenadoracorner - la esquinacourt (playing field) - la pista, la canchadefend - defenderdribble (noun) - el drible, la finta, la bota, el dribblingdribble (verb) - driblardunk (noun) - el mate, el dunkfast break - el ataque rpido, el contraataqueforward - el/la alerofree throw - el tiro librehalf, quarter (period of play) - el periodo, el perà ­odohook shot - el ganchojump ball - el salto entre dosjump pass - el pase en suspensià ³njump shot - el tiro en suspensià ³nkey - la botella, la zona de tres segundosman-to-man (defense) - (la defensa) hombre a hombre, (la defensa) al hombreoffense - el ataqueovertime - la prà ³rroga, el tiempo aà ±adido, el tiempo extrapass (noun) - el pasepass (verb) - pasarpersonal foul - la falta personalpivot (verb) - pivotearplay (noun, as in three-point play) - la jugada (la jugada de tres puntos)player - el jugador, la jugadora, el/la baloncestistaplayoff - la liguilla, la eliminatoria, el playoffpoint (score) - el puntopoint guard - el/la base, el armador, la armadorapost - el postepower forward - el/la alero fuerte, el/la ala-pà ­votpress (noun) - la presià ³nrebound (noun) - el reboterebound (verb) - rebotarrecord  -   el rà ©cordreferee - el/la rbitro, el/la refereerookie - el novato, la novata, el/la rookiescreen (noun) - el bloqueoscreen (verb) - bloquearscrimmage - la escaramuzaseason - la temporadaseed, seeded (as in a tournament)  -   la clasificacià ³n, clasificadoshoot - tirarshooting guard - el/la escoltashot - el tiroteam - el equipotechnical foul - la falta tà ©cnicatimeout - el tiempo muertotip-off  -   salto entre dostournament - el torneoturnover - el balà ³n perdido, la pelota perdida, el turnoverwarmup - el calentamientowing - el/la alerozone defense - la defensa en zonazone offense - el ataque zonalzone press - el marcaje en zona Sample Spanish Sentences About Basketball These sentences have been adapted from current online publications to show how these words are used in real life. Cuando caigo hago dos movimiento de pivot y luego paso la pelota. (When I fall, I do two pivoting movements and then I pass the ball.)Pà ©rez convirtià ³ una jugada de tres puntos con 18.2 segundos por jugar en el tiempo extra. (Pà ©rez converted a three-point play with 18.2 seconds left in overtime.)Los ganadores de cada regià ³n avanzan a la Final Four. (The winners in each region adance to the Final Four. Final Four is feminine because the reference is to la ronda Final Four, or the Final Four round.)La temporada 2018-19 de la NBA es la septuagà ©simo tercera  temporada de la historia de la competicià ³n. (The 2018-19 season of the NBA is the 73rd season in the history of the competition. Note that the abbreviation NBA is treated as feminine because asociacià ³n, the word for association, is feminine.)El proceso de clasificacià ³n para el torneo de la NCAA consta de los torneos de cada conferencia. (The seeding process for the NCAA tpournament is made up of the tournamen ts of each conferencia.)El torneo es de eliminacià ³n directa y no existen partidos de consolacià ³n. (The tournament is single-elimination and there are no consolation games.) Dos tiros libres dieron la victoria a los Bulls. (Two free throws gave the win to the Bulls.)Una falta personal implica un contacto con el adversario mientras el balà ³n est en juego. (A personal foul involves contact with an opposing player while the ball is in play.)

Waste to Energy Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Waste to Energy Technology - Research Paper Example Undoubtedly, the waste to energy technology will address the waste disposal issues as well as the growing energy needs of the world. Waste to Energy Technology Waste to energy, or interchangeably energy from waste, can be referred to the process of generating energy in the form of heat or electricity through the incineration of waste materials. Incineration is â€Å"the process of reducing combustible waste to inert residues by high temperature combustion† (Lettsome, 2008, p.191). However, many countries have set strict emission standards for this process as many traditional WtE plants released huge amounts of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and dioxins. Modern incineration plants are eco-friendly and they release little toxic gases or other pollutants. As Ramboll (2006) points out, modern incinerators are capable of reducing the original waste volume by 95 to 96 percent depending on the type of waste material under incineration. The use of incineration technique for the con version of municipal solid waste to energy is a conventional application of waste to energy technology. In the incineration process, generally an RDF is burned to boil water and thereby power stream generators for the purpose of generating electricity for home and business use. However, the method of incineration of municipal solid waste for the generation of electrical energy was widely criticized since this process has been damaging the environment by causing acid rain. In response to this environmental concern, companies used technologies like lime scrubbers on smokestacks. The modern incineration plants are eco-friendly, because â€Å"many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration† (Rosenthal, 2010). Today, a number of new and improved technologies have been developed to produce energy from waste materials without combusting them directly. Majority of such technologies can generate more amount of electric power fr om the same volume of waste materials than through direct combustion method. As described in Bio Earth (2009), in new waste to energy technologies, corrosive components are separated from the converted fuels and therefore, this process contributes to higher combustion temperatures in internal combustion engines and boilers. Hence, they are more productive than conventional WtE plants. Some of those technologies have the potential to convert energy into liquid or gaseous fuels. As reported in World News Inc (2012), gasification, thermal depolymerization, Pyrolysis, Plasma arc gasification PGP are some of the thermal WtE technologies whereas anaerobic digestion, fermentation, mechanical biological treatment are non-thermal technologies. The popularity of waste to energy technologies has considerably increased over the last decade. During this period, industrially important countries like China and Japan built a number of WtE plants in order promote their national productivity. Global Group Consulting Services LLC operates across America and Caribbean in order to promote the application of potential waste to energy technologies and to resolve Municipal Solid Waste issues in small to mid-size cities. As Herndon (2011) reports, Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc has been scheduled to commence the operations of its new $180 million WTE plant in 2010; and the project designers forecast that the plant may produce

Cities have the right to ban smoking in public Essay - 1

Cities have the right to ban smoking in public - Essay Example All cities around the world have a right to ban smoking in order to safeguard the health of its masses. On that note, it is going to follow the five steps of persuasion that entails the establishment of credibility, acknowledging the audience’s position, constructing a rationale, transplanting root elements, and seeking for a response (Lakhani, 2005). For instance, in the establishment of credibility, it is significant to observe that smoking causes health problems both to the active and passive smoker. Experts note that out of the 4000 chemical compounds that are found in cigarettes, 400 are noxious substances and cause various diseases and health risks. Similarly, the tar contained in all cigarettes causes both lung and mouth cancer. Additionally, addictive nicotine raises the cholesterol levels in a human body. Apart from the harmful effects of tar and nicotine, there is carbon monoxide that depletes the oxygen levels in the body. Another fundamental factor why banning of smoking in the cities is paramount is it reduce risks to non-smokers. These are the people also called the passive smokers. It is said that passive smokers are more exposed to the harmful effects of smoking than the active smokers (Haneline & Meeker, 2010). They, for instance, are prone to asthmatic attacks and the infections of the bronchia. Alternatively, according to Action on Smoking and Health group, the risk of heart attack increases for non-smokers if they are exposed to 30 minutes of smoking. On the same account, in a BBC News report released in 2002, many people in London succumbed to heart disease because of secondhand smoke. Therefore, despite the doubts that the audience may harbor against the banning of smoking in the cities around the world, there are other valid reasons. For example, my rationale construction postulation states that the ban of smoking will have many positive effects. This means that there will be

Case Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Case Brief - Essay Example She was also expected to reserve $ 200.00 every month for taxes and pay-- collecting the rents, paying for the net rentals towards the mortgage debt. However, On November 29, 1938, the mortgagee threatened foreclosure of the property after the reorganization of the interest grew to $ 15,857.71. Mrs. Crane, therefore, decided to sell it to a third party for $ 3,000.00 cash and paid $ 500.00 expenses of sale. She reported a taxable increment of $ 1,250.00. She argued that her property acquired from 1932-1938 was only the equity. She claimed that the equity was of zero worth when she acquired it. No depreciation could be taken on a zero value. Secondly, neither she nor her vendee ever assumed the debt; therefore, upon selling the equity, the amount she realized on the sale was $ 2,500.00. Nonetheless, he Commissioner determined that petitioner realized a net taxable gain of $ 23,767.03. He argued that, in addition to the net cash accounted by the petitioner, the amount realized should a lso contain the standard amount of the mortgage of $250,000 when sold. Issues: First, how the gain or loss on the sale of a physical property acquired by bequest subject is determined. Secondly, how the amount realized on the sale of a physical property is calculated and lastly, whether there are any depreciation allowances from the value of a property at the time of gaining. Analysis: The tax court first established the selling price comprised of the land and the building although the building is not a â€Å"capital asset†. The whole gain should, therefore, be taxed after the adjustments of the property were and tear has been made, under  §113 (a). The first question, the court determined that, under section  § 113 (a) (5), unadjusted basis for determining loss or gain on sale of a physical property. Mrs. Crane should determine her property value undiminished by the amount of the mortgage. In the second question, under  § 111 (b), the "amount realized" is calculated as the

Continental Airlines, Inc and McDonnell Douglas Corporation Article

Continental Airlines, Inc and McDonnell Douglas Corporation - Article Example The case was submitted to the jury. On the basis of Continental’s theories of fraud, it was taken as evidence by the jury. Supreme Court ruling Hauter v. Zogarts (1975), it was held that the promises of safety were not statements of â€Å"opinion† or just â€Å"puffing† but representations of facts. Thus, the four representations of the brochure were not opinions but statements of facts. Further, the statements made by McDonnell Douglas were material. There is substantial evidence that Douglass statements regarding Landing Gear Breakaway were material and that Continental rightly trusted them in deciding to clinch the DC-10 deal. The court viewed the evidence in the light most well disposed to the judgment, taking all reasonable inferences and not taking conflicting evidence. There was evidence as quoted in section F that the landing gear was designed to break away from the wing without rupturing the wing fuel tank, which was material and rightfully trusted by Co ntinental. It is further proved by Douglass argument that Continental must prove that a clean landing gear breakaway was a condition of its decision to purchase the DC-10, rather than the L-1011, proving that Continental trusted the statements of McDonnell Douglas. California law is quite clear about whether it constitutes fraud making reckless false representations without any consideration to the truth. It states that â€Å"[s]ince direct proof of fraudulent intent is often impossible, the intent may be established by [in]ference [216 Cal.App.3d 412] from acts of the parties.' [Citation]† Another established law is that if evidence is applicable for any purpose it must be taken into consideration, even if it may not be proper for another purpose.   California law is quite clear

Raising Capital in the Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Raising Capital in the Financial Markets - Essay Example Total equity capital of a company is divided into equal units of small denominations, each called a share. The company and merchant banker are however required to give full disclosures of the parameters which they had considered while deciding the issue price. There are two types of issues one where company and Lead Merchant Banker fix a price (called fixed price) and other, where the company and the Lead Manager (LM) stipulate a floor price or a price band and leave it to market forces to determine the final price. (Thompson 27) Primarily, issues can be classified as a Public, Rights or Preferential issues (also known as private placements). While public and rights issues involve a detailed procedure, private placements or preferential issues are relatively simpler. The classification of issues is illustrated below: Initial Public Offering is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public. This paves way for listing and trading of the issuer's securities. An Initial Public Offer (IPO) is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market. It is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public. This paves way for listing and trading of the issuer's securities. An Initial Public Offer (IPO) is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market. It is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public. This paves way for listing and trading of the issuer's securities. The sale of securities can be either through book building or through normal public issue. A follow on public offering (Further Issue) A follow on public offering is when an already listed company makes either a fresh issue of securities to the public or an offer for sale to the public, through an offer document. Rights Issue Rights Issue is when a listed company which proposes to issue fresh securities to its existing shareholders as on a record date. The rights are normally offered in a particular ratio to the number of securities held prior to the issue. This route is best suited for companies who would like to raise capital without diluting stake of its existing shareholders. A Preferential issue A Preferential issue is an issue of shares or of convertible securities by listed companies to a select group of persons which is neither a rights issue nor a public issue. This is a faster way for a company to raise equity capital. The issuer company has to comply with the all the regulations and the requirements laid down by the appropriate agencies pertaining to preferential allotment in Financial Market guidelines which inter-alia include pricing, disclosures in notice etc. Courtesy : Dyjan A "All About Money "page-52 Issue price The price at which a company's shares are offered initially in the primary market is called as the Issue price. When they begin to be traded, the market price may be above or below the issue price. Market Capitalization The market value of a quoted company, which is calculated by multiplying its current share price (market price) by the number of shares in issue is called as market capitalization. Listing of Securities Listing means admission of securities of an issuer to trading privileges on a stock exchange through a formal agreement. The prime objective of admission to dealings on the exchange is to provide liquidity and marketability

Continental Airlines, Inc and McDonnell Douglas Corporation Article

Continental Airlines, Inc and McDonnell Douglas Corporation - Article Example The case was submitted to the jury. On the basis of Continental’s theories of fraud, it was taken as evidence by the jury. Supreme Court ruling Hauter v. Zogarts (1975), it was held that the promises of safety were not statements of â€Å"opinion† or just â€Å"puffing† but representations of facts. Thus, the four representations of the brochure were not opinions but statements of facts. Further, the statements made by McDonnell Douglas were material. There is substantial evidence that Douglass statements regarding Landing Gear Breakaway were material and that Continental rightly trusted them in deciding to clinch the DC-10 deal. The court viewed the evidence in the light most well disposed to the judgment, taking all reasonable inferences and not taking conflicting evidence. There was evidence as quoted in section F that the landing gear was designed to break away from the wing without rupturing the wing fuel tank, which was material and rightfully trusted by Co ntinental. It is further proved by Douglass argument that Continental must prove that a clean landing gear breakaway was a condition of its decision to purchase the DC-10, rather than the L-1011, proving that Continental trusted the statements of McDonnell Douglas. California law is quite clear about whether it constitutes fraud making reckless false representations without any consideration to the truth. It states that â€Å"[s]ince direct proof of fraudulent intent is often impossible, the intent may be established by [in]ference [216 Cal.App.3d 412] from acts of the parties.' [Citation]† Another established law is that if evidence is applicable for any purpose it must be taken into consideration, even if it may not be proper for another purpose.   California law is quite clear

Drama 115 - Construct a Dialogue on Hamlet & Daly's, Under the Glass Essay

Drama 115 - Construct a Dialogue on Hamlet & Daly's, Under the Glass Light - Essay Example WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Argh. First of all my plays aren’t as pretentious as you’re making them out to be. During my time they were attended by many people from the lower classes. They were regarded as popular entertainment, while other playwrights like Christopher Marlowe were considered intellectual and pretentious, as you so politely indicated (Greenblatt). As for filler, the opening scene of Hamlet opens to a ghost sighting. A terrifying ghost sighting! The play is immediately in the thriller/horror genre, not like yours which just meanders around for a -- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Look I wrote long monologues because it allowed me to capture the character’s in-depth thoughts. This way I was able to explore aspects of the human condition that typical dialogue can’t attain. It was also the style of the time; sure I could have written realistic dialogue, but it wouldn’t have appealed to as large as an audience. I worked within the conventions of my time, but explored timeless themes. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Partially I wrote that way so my actors could learn their lines easier (Greenblatt). I also wrote that way because it more closely approaches the sonorous quality of music. This way my characters weren’t merely talking, they were singing to the essence of the heavens and human condition! AUGUSTIN DALY: Are you really this full of yourself? Your ego has been blow up beyond all proportion. You think you’re like God or something. Look, with my work I’m not trying to explore the meaning of life, I’m just trying to make a statement of society. Expose some hypocrisy. Maybe change some minds. AUGUSTIN DALY: You obviously don’t understand subtlety. So for instance, consider the scene when Pearl tells Ray that Laura was actually a poor pickpocket and instead got brought into aristocracy at the age of 6. AUGUSTIN DALY: So in this scene Ray, who had been professing his unending love for Laura just 2 minutes earlier, starts saying that he can

Philosophy Meaning Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Meaning Essay PHILOSOPHY greek meaning â€Å"love of wisdom†, encompassed the love of all wisdom, but only in recent centuries came to refer to a special branch of enquiry, separate from other sciences, such as â€Å"natural philosophy†. * is universally defined as â€Å"the study of the wisdom or knowledge about the general problems, facts, and situations connected with human existence, values, reasons, and general reality. † It seeks reasons, answers, and general explanations to life and its factors. Thus, if we talk about philosophy, we talk about a school of thoughts. â€Å"philosophers† which makes a profession of studying things in their separation from human life and practice. The main branches of Philosophy are Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics. Western philosophy is referred to as the school of thought from Greek philosophy that influenced the greater part of Western civilization. * takes its roots from Rome and Christianity, specifically Judeo-Christianity. * Latin * Rational, Scientific, Logical schools. Western civilization is more individualistic, trying to find the meaning of life here and now with self at the center as it is already given and part of the divine. Eastern philosophy is based mainly in Asia, more specifically the Chinese philosophy. * Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Taoism. Chinese. Hinduism, Integral Yoga, Islam, Zen * Relationship with religion; Integration Search for absolute truth: * Systemic approach – all events in the universe are interconnected * Searching inside yourself – by becoming a part of the universe through meditation and right living. Eastern philosophy is drawn much more into groups or society or people’s actions and thoughts as one in order to find meaning in life as they try to get rid of the false â€Å"me† concept and find meaning in discovering the true â€Å"me† in relation to everything around them, or as part of a bigger scheme. Summary: * Western philosophy is mainly used in the Western parts of the world, such as in the European countries, while the Eastern philosophy is prevalent in Asian countries. * Both philosophies center on virtues. * West’s Individualism ( and the East’s Collectivism (A human being is an integral part of the universe and the society. People are fundamentally connected. Duty towards all others is a very important matter. Collectivism is stronger. ) * Eastern philosophy takes more of a spiritual approach while Western philosophy is more hands-on. The Ionian Philosophers * comes from Aristotle; first source to attempt systematic exposition of their doctrines. Thales * Prediction of the eclipse, and other astronomical activities. * Prediction of solstices * Mathematical discoveries (geometry ) * Cosmology * Natural phenomena including the heavens could be discussed as processes governed by natural laws. * Believed that the Earth was a large (? at) disk ? oating on an in? nite ocean of water, and that earthquakes resulted from disturbances in this ocean that shook and cracked the Earth. * concept of â€Å"unity underlying diversity† some fundamental principles tying together all the multitude of things we see on Earth * water was the fundamental element from which all things were derived. Anaximander * Zoogony and anthropogony * thought the Universe formed out of an in? nite chaos he called the â€Å"boundless† due to a â€Å"separating out† of opposites (such as hot and cold, wet and dry). * ? rst recorded attempt to model the Universe. (the Earth was a cylinder and that the Sun, Moon and stars were all located on concentric cylinders, or hoops, rotating about the Earth. ) Anaximenes * one ruling material principle is air; imperceptible. * Air was the fundamental material of all things. * ? rst attempt to explain the diversity of the world with qualitative differences in terms of quantitative differences. Babylonians and Egyptians were excellent at mathematics. Greeks began to move away from their mythical view of the world and started to seek explanations of natural phenomena; later called science. * All questioned the origin of the Universe, what was here in the beginning, and what things are made from. They all believed that material substance (rather than some spiritual or supernatural substance; thus the name materialists) made up the Universe. In other words, matter is the only substance, and reality is identical with the actually occurring states of energy and matter. * physicalism. to distance oneself from what seems a historically important but no longer scientifically relevant thesis of materialism.

Sex Education As Intervention Against Teenage Pregnancy Social Work Essay

Sex Education As Intervention Against Teenage Pregnancy Social Work Essay Promotion of sexual health, and all Adolescence, the second decade of life, is increasingly recognized as a critical phase in the life course, especially from the health and social perspectives. The most challenging aspect of adolescence is sexual and reproductive health, as it is aspect of adolescence is sexual and reproductive health, the area that poses the greatest difficulty in maintaining adolescents health and implementing appropriate and effective interventions. For a start, there is a paucity of information and, if there is information, it is often uncoordinated and fragmented and not very useful for policy-making and programme interventions (WHO, 2005) Understanding human sexuality is a prerequisite to the promotion of sexual health, and all over the world sexuality remains one of the most problematic and dangerous aspects of person-hood (Wilson and Mcandrew, S, 2000). Professor Catherine Ingram of the school of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has defined sexuality perhaps more succinctly than most authors in this field. She describes sexuality as an important dimension of the human personality and sees it as being inextricably woven into the fabric of human existence (Catherine Ingram, 1990) The belief prevalent in the early part of the twentieth century, that sexual education of the intelligent adolescent was best served by one short, sharp talk- in the fifth if the school was enlightened, in the sixth if it was felt to be an unpleasant but unavoidable duty-was perhaps typical of attitudes to education in many other disciplines. Facts were enough, and sex was put over in a way similar to that used when dealing with the maps of the coalfields. The only difference was the special atmosphere which surrounded the short, sharp talk. It must often convey to its victim that these matters were unspeakable and no well-bred pupil would either need or investigate them further. This method had at least one advantage- it did not attract unfavourable critic from parents or education committees large because all concerned were much too embarrassed to mention it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the first World- war, pragmatic objectives in sex education become more apparent and by early 1930s several of our national agencies with the prevention the prevention of illegitimacy, the spread of knowledge about contraceptives and marriages guidance had begun. There was a small but interesting upsurge of intellectuals who nobly hid their embarrassments they discussed sexual matters with their children and solemnly left the bathroom door unlocked so that nudity could be rationally displayed. There were, however, even in those days, teachers in schools effectively relieving adolescent anxiety and ignorance about sex often under the name of human biology, wit equivocally worded syllabuses, and without a word to the head. Such strategies are still in use today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ironic evidence from research on the effects of fear-arousing information in connection with types of preventive health behaviour is that people tend to reject the information rather than change their behaviour (Radelfinger, 1965; Young, 1967) In 1936, Wilhelm Reich commented that sex education of his time was a work of deception, focusing on biology while concealing excitement arousal, which is what a pubescent individual, is mostly interested in. Reich added that this emphasis obscures what he believed to be a basic psychological principle: that all worries and difficulties originate from unsatisfied sexual impulse (Reich W, 1936) The existence of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has given a new sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. In many African nations, where AIDS is at epidemic level, sex education is seen by most scientists as a vital public health strategy. Some international organizations such as Planned Parenthood consider that broad sex education has global benefits, such as controlling the risk of overpopulation and the advancement of womens rights. According to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), 93% of adults they surveyed support sexuality education in high school and 845 support it in junior high school (SIECUS,1984). In fact, 885 of parents of junior high school students and 80% of parents of high students believe that sex education in school makes it easier for them to talk to their adolescents about sex. Also, 92% of adolescents report that they want both to talk to their parents about sex and to have comprehensive in-school examination. When sex education is contentiously debated, the chief controversial points are whether covering child sexuality is valuable or detrimental: the use of birth control such as condoms and hormonal contraception: and the impact of such use on pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs.) Increasing support for abstinence-only sex education by conservative groups has been one of the primary causes of this controversy. Countries with conservative attitudes towards sex education (including the United Kingdom and the United states ) have a higher incidence of STIs and teenage pregnancy (Monbiot, 2004) The proportion of women aged 20-24, who had a child before age 20 is a useful summary indicator that reflects the differences in teenage birth rates by country. This proportion is lowest in Sweden (4%), slightly higher in France (6%), much greater in Canada and Great Britain (11% and 15%, respectively) and highest in the United States (22%). Differences in the proportion giving birth by age 15 and by age 18 are also much higher in the United States than in the other four countries (Jacqueline et al, 2001) Teenage pregnancy is times is a factor of early sexual exposure. Immaturity, inexperience or risky sexual experience often results in the unplanned pregnancy. In the study carried, between 1980 and 1998, among men and women to determine the age of first sexual experience, women were found to be exposed earlier than men (figure 1). Figure 1.  Proportion of participants younger than 16 years at first intercourse, by year of first intercourse. Teenage pregnancy in Europe : The incidence of teenage pregnancy across Europe varies considerably. The United Kingdom has the highest rate in Western Europe and is lower only than Bulgaria , Russia , and Ukraine in Europe as a whole. Throughout most of Western Europe, teenage birth rates fell during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but in the United Kingdom , rates have remained high-at or above the level of the early 80s. http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7491/590.full Figure 2: showing teenage pregnancy in 6 European countries over a 25 year period. The graph shows the trend over a twenty-five year period (1973-1995) There is a sharp decline in the United Kingdom figures and then a near steady value in the late 70s and early 80s, before gradually reaching a crescendo in 1991 and then a sharp drop towards the end of the survey. The Netherland has the least and was fairly constant throughout the study period. Germany , France , Ireland ad Italy had fluctuating values, but generally, there was a decline towards the end of the study.   UNITED KINGDOM: In England and Wales , sex education is not compulsory in schools as parents can refuse their children take parting the lessons. The curriculum focuses on the reproductive system, foetal development and the physical and emotional changes of adolescence, while information about contraception and safe sex is discretionary and discussion about relationships is often neglected. Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rate s in Europe and sex education is a heated issues I government and media reports. In 2000 study by the University of Brighton , many 14 to 15 year olds reported disappointment with the content of sex education lessons and felt that confidentiality prevents teenagers from asking teachers about contraception. In a 2008 study conducted by YouGov for channel 4 it was revealed that almost three in ten teenagers said they need more sex and relationships education. In Scotland , the main sex education programme is Healthy respect, which focuses not only on the biological aspects of reproduction but also on relationships and emotions.  Ã‚  Education about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases are included in the programme as a way of encouraging good sexual health. In response to a refusal bythe catholic school to commit to the programme, however, a separate sex education programme has been developed for use in those schools. Funded by the Scottish Government, the programme Called to Love focuses on encourage children to delay sex until marriage and does not cover contraception and as such is a form of  Ã‚  Abstinence-only sex education. It is important to recognise that for some young women, particularly from certain ethnic or social groups, teenage pregnancy can be a positive life choice. Rates of teenage pregnancy within marriage are high, for example, in some South Asian ethnic groups in the United Kingdom . However, for many other young women, the costs of teenage pregnancy can be very high, particularly when linked with poverty. These risks include poorer outcomes for the children of teenage mothers as well as for the mothers themselves.   Ã‚  http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7491/590.full Figure 3: showing the rate of teenage pregnancy in 17 European countries. A sex survey by the World Health Organization concerning the habits of European teenagers in 2006 revealed that the birth rate among 15-19-year-olds in the UK was 27.8 births per 1,000 populations. The graph shows, the United States with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and Switzerland with the least. The United Kingdom has the highest rate in Europe, which is clearly above the average value in Europe   FRANCE: In France , sex education has been part of school curricula since 1973. Schools are expected to provide 30 to 40 hours of sexual education and pass out condoms to students in grades eight and nine. In January,2000, the French government launched an information campaign on contraception with television and radio spots and the distribution of five million leaflets on contraception to high school students GERMANY: In Germany , sex education has been part of school curricula since 1970. Since 1992 sex education is by law a government duty. It normally covers all subjects concerning the growing-up process, body change during puberty, emotions the biological process of reproduction, sexual activity, partnership, homosexuality, unwanted pregnancies and complications of abortion, the dangers of sexual violence, child abuse and sex-transmitted diseases, but sometimes also things like sex positions. Most schools offer courses on the correct usage of contraception. A survey by the World Health Organization concerning the habits of European teenagers in 2006 revealed German teenagers about contraception. The birth rate among under 15- to 19-year-olds was very low- only 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to the UKs 27.8 births per 1,000 population and in first place -Bulgarias 39.0 per 1,000. FINLAND: Sexual education is usually incorporated into various obligatory courses, mainly as part of biology lessons (in lower grades) and later in a course related to general health issues. The Population and Family Welfare Federation provide all 15-year-olds on introductory sexual package that includes an information brochure, a condom and to be most effective when a multifaceted approach is used, as the problem is multiple determined and multidimensional. The interventions cartoon love story should not only focus on sexual factors and related on sequences, rather Interventions that are designed to reduce teen pregnancy appears they should include non sexual factors such as skills training, and personal development as well. Further, stakeholders including pregnant teens, parents, health sector, schools and churches should work together to devise programs that are practical, evidence based, culturally appropriated and acceptable to the target population. Boostma writing on Sex Education: Preparing Instead of Prevention, surmise that the teenage pregnancy rates has been (one of) the Netherlands for years now. Asking the question if Netherlands are hardly sexual active or if the Dutch promote abstinence from sexual intercourse? He asserts that in the Netherlands , there is not one specific governmental programme for teenage sex education or contraception. There is however, a lot of information about sexuality and contraception that is coming from all directions. Boostma believes that the Dutch approach attitude towards sexuality is one of tolerance, open mindedness and pragmatism and that studies from many countries that giving the message to young people not to have sex are having the opposite effects. The same account for countries where the subject sex is more or less a taboo to talk about. The Dutch concluded that many young people will have sex anyway, so they should be prepared for sexuality than to be prevented from it. This preparing attitude is coming from different levels of the society: The government through the National Health insurance pay for the contraception. Parents talk about sexuality and its consequence. The Mass-media (Television, newspaper, magazines, radio) addresses sexuality and sexual health. Schools give sexuality talk/sex education.  There many accessible services for sexuality and contraception. These and other factors result in a tolerant and pragmatic attitude  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  towards sex make information and contraception accessible and explains the low rate teenage abortion or pregnancy. Sexual heath in the Netherlands means preparation instead of prevention. This preparation means that young people are stimulated to become sexually autonomous and can make their own sensible discussions. Up till now, the Dutch method has proven its effectiveness over and over again.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ian Sutherland, who was director in the Health department of Britain in the early 80s co-authored a book, Health Education, perspective and Choices which dwells on the several choices available to people and the choices they make based on the information they have. The book analyses the different areas where choice is inevitable and the ideological basis for which certain choices should be made. Various authors contributed various topics on the theme Health education. The book first published in 1979 is invaluable as it coincide with the transition period of balancing health needs in Britain . The increased rate in teenage pregnancies and the consequence rise in abortion rates. It was also a period Britain was trying to establish formal curriculum on sex education. In an effort to include as much as possible, the authors referred extensively to a literature which begins with Plato. The authors tried to draw  Ã‚  the readers attention to as many authorities as possible, and so made attempt at bringing together in  Ã‚  one book the extensive libraries of health, education, and health education.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crosby et al (2008) in a study titled, The Protective Value of Parental Sex Education: A clinical-based exploratory study of adolescent females compared the impact of sex education provided by parents to female adolescents against the same education provided by formal settings to female adolescent. They sampled females aged 16-24 years, attending an adolescent medical clinic in urban area of the south were recruited prior to examination. Each patient completed an anonymous self administered questionnaire. Data from 110 respondents were analysed to compare those who indicating they had learned about each of 4 topics from parents to those not indicating learning about all 4 topics from a parent. The same process was repeated relative to learning about all 4 topics in a formal education setting. The result showed that in controlled, multivariate analyses, adolescent not communicating with parent on all 4 topics were nearly 5 times more likely to report having sex partners in the past 3 months. Further, adolescents were 3.5 times more likely to have low self efficacy for condom use, 2.7 times more likely to ever using alcohol or drugs or sex and about 70% less likely to have ever talked about HIV prevention with a partner before engaging in sex. Differences relative to learning about all 4 topics in formal settings were not found out. Looking at works done recently in the United Kingdom, (SHARE: Sexual Health And Relationships; Safe, Happy and Responsible) included 8400 pupils aged 13-15years in 25 secondary schools in east of Scotland (Wight et al,2002) Questionnaires was completed at base line and follow up done 2 years later. The intervention was a new 5-day teacher training programme plus a 20-session pack: 10sessions were delivered in the third year (at 13-14 years) of secondary school and 10 in the fourth year (at 14-15years). The primary outcome for the study was use of condoms at first intercourse. Similar proportions of both intervention and control groups used condom at first intercourse with less than 105 of pupils reporting first intercourse without condom. For all other behavioural outcomes (condom use after first intercourse, oral contraceptive use and unplanned pregnancy) there were no differences with the groups. However, as with Martiniuks study in Belize, published in this issue of the internatio nal journal of epidemiology, pupils in the intervention group were more knowledgeable than those in the control group.(Martiniuk,2003). The Belize study was well designed in allowing for the clustered nature of samples both when calculating and the sample size and analyzing the data. Publishing the intra-cluster correlation will be good for planning future research. However, there are a number of weaknesses with the randomized procedures discussed by the authors in their paper. The imbalance between groups in the number of classrooms could have been overcome by a block method rather than the simple coin toss employed here. (Schulz and Grimmes, 2002)  Ã‚  There were considerable differences between groups at baseline in terms of gender and sexual experience. These data were not available to the researchers prior to the study starting. It may have been appropriate to allocate classes to intervention and control groups when the results from pre-test questionnaires were available. At this time an alternative randomization procedure such as stratification or minimization may have reduced the chances of imbalance between groups in the study (Pocock, 1984) Anna Graham noted that the factor with the strongest influence preventing teenage pregnancy is educational opportunity. It is well-educated women who tend to delay childbearing. For women aged 20-24 years the longer a woman remains in school the less likely she is to have a child before the age of 20. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more education to have baby before their 20th  birthday. For example, 46% of young Columbian women with less than 7 years schooling have their first child by the age of 20, compared with 19% of those with more education. The contrast is even greater in Egyptian, where 51% of less educated women have their first birth before the age of 20 compared with 9% of better educated women. She noted that the link between lack of education and early childbearing is also strong among adolescents in the US . Some 58% of young American women who receive less than a high school education give birth by their 20th  birthday, c ompared with 13% of young women who complete at least 12 years of schooling. The report from the Alan Guttmacher Institute, from which these data came, suggested that low level of education is not necessary a direct cause of early child bearing, however, the two characteristic of living in impoverished and rural environments. She further argued that when school is the main source of information about sexual matters, like the cross-sectional surveys in the UK , early and unprotected sexual intercourse is less likely, compared with when other sources such as friends and the media dominate. She surmised that, the greatest impact to be made in reducing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections is to increase the time spent in education by young women worldwide. She believes this form of intervention is likely to change the role of women in society empowering them to avoid the adverse consequences of sexual activity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The author in her work tried to justify the need for a comprehensive education over and above the micro aspect of education-sex education. Believing that with increased time spent acquiring education, a women is more likely to avoid the bad aspect of sexual activity. She had looked into certain aspects of form of sex education and did not really weigh each on its own merit. She probably relied on her experience to draw a far reaching conclusion.   Boostma writing on Sex Education: Preparing Instead of Prevention, surmise that the teenage pregnancy rates has been (one of) the Netherlands for years now. Asking the question if Netherlands are hardly sexual active or if the Dutch promote abstinence from sexual intercourse? He asserts that in the Netherlands , there is not one specific governmental programme for teenage sex education or contraception. There is however, a lot of information about sexuality and contraception that is coming from all directions. He believes that the Dutch approach attitude towards sexuality is one of tolerance, open mindedness and pragmatism and that studies from many countries that giving the message to young people not to have sex are having the opposite effects. The same account for countries where the subject sex is more or less a taboo to talk about. The Dutch concluded that many young people will have sex anyway, so they should be prepared for sexuality than to be prevented from it. This preparing attitude is coming from different levels of the society. He noted that the government through the National Health insurance pay for the contraception. Also parents talk about sexuality and its consequence. The Mass-media (Television, newspaper, magazines, radio) addresses sexuality and sexual health. Schools give sexuality talk/sex education.There many accessible services for sexuality and contraception. These and other factors result in a tolerant and pragmatic attitude  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  towards sex make inform ation and contraception accessible and explain the low rate teenage abortion or pregnancy. Sexual heath in the Netherlands means preparation instead of prevention. This preparation means that young people are stimulated to become sexually autonomous and can make their own sensible discussions. Up till now, the Dutch method has proven its effectiveness over and over again.  Ã‚  Perspective and choices which dwells on the several choices available to people and the choices they make based on the information they have is important in tackling the issue of teenage pregnancy. The different areas where choice is inevitable and the ideological basis for which certain choices should be made should essentially be based on informed choices. Health authorities have proposed several methods of addressing Health education. This was very significant, particularly during the transition period of balancing health needs in Britain . The increased rate in teenage pregnancies and the consequence rise in abortion rates is significant, particularly going back to the period Britain was trying to establish formal curriculum on sex education. Abortion seems to be on the increase in the United Kingdom , according to the office of national statistics in the United Kingdom , the proportion of conceptions terminated by abortion among under 20-year-olds increased slightly from 36 per cent in 1990 to 39 per cent in 2000. Over half (51 per cent) of all conceptions among under 16-year-olds resulted in a termination in 1990 and this increased slightly to 54 per cent in 2000. Legal abortion rates were highest in London and the West Midlands in 2000 and 2001. Similarly, the data collected by the agency noted a corresponding decrease in conception rate, it noted that, In 2000, the conception rate among females under 20 years was 63 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 years. This marks a decrease in conception rates over the last decade that mirrors a general decrease among females of all ages. The exception however has been among females aged 13 to 15 years. Rates of conceptions in this group have remained consistent at between 8 to 10 p er 1,000 females from 1990 to 2000.  Ã‚  A likely consequence of abortion is decreased fertility and sexual infections, the agency equally noted a rise in sexual related infection within this time period, Genital infection with chlamydia trachomatis if untreated, is associated with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women and infertility. The diagnostic rate of genital chlamydia infection in females aged under 20 years old has increased since the mid-1990s. In 2001, the highest rates of diagnosed chlamydia seen in GUM clinics, were among 16- to 19-year-olds (1,035 per 100,000 females). Genital warts are the most commonly diagnosed viral STI. In 2001, 29 per cent of females diagnosed with genital warts were under 20 years of age, compared with only 10 per cent of males in the same age group. Rates of diagnosis among females aged 16 to 19 years increased by more than 15 per cent during the last decade and reached 680 per 100,000 females in 2001. Intervention in teenage pregnancy, need to among other things focus on improving contraceptive use, and initiate attitudinal changes and life style  Ã‚  likely to prevent pregnancy and sexual transmission infection transmission. This should involve long-term services and interventions, which are tailored to addressing the major causes of teenage pregnancy. This should be spelt in information, which are clear and unambiguous and may involve ideas which the youths relate with. It should also be home grown, in that it should relate with the culture or practices inherent in the society. This will start with identifying the risk group. There are certain categories among this age, which appear to be vulnerable. Vulnerability may be by choice or imposed due to social economic reasons or accessibility to health care, such as contraception use. Interpersonal skills development is vital in achieving this objective. Programmes and other educational facilities, which allow interpersonal development, should be explored, this will allow productive engagement. Clinic service for education and information, will also serve a vital role in checkmating the trend. As teenage will not only benefit, but the society will be better for it as well. Information dissemination is vital and there is the possibility of teenagers accessing this on their own, if encouraged to talk to health personnel or attend clinics for advice and education. Education in this sense should be all encompassing and structured to the need at hand. Constructive engagement and participation of all and sundry are v ital. Periodic review of methods is important in our ever changing world. Therefore, interventions should not just be in theory, but clear goals which are practicable should be outlined to follow the strategies mapped out. Outcomes envisaged, need to be weighed in relation to the input. The delicate age, adolescence confers on teenage, makes it imperative, to address peer pressure and to make leaders of peer groups participatory in addressing the problems identified. All this need be done in an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality. It is often difficult to identify sexually active individuals, therefore, the scope of the intervention need be broad-based to cater for all and sundry. This can be achieved by recruiting experts or people trained in working with youths, who have enough experience to deal with the challenges teenage present. Catherine et al 2003, working on reviews which looked at teenage pregnancy and interventional means of check in the scourge, surmised the intervention on socio-demographics, which addressed the various health, education and psycho-social needs of teenagers and their environment in tackling the problem. They found out that, there is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of school-based and/or teacher-delivered sex education. They are of the opinion that, the best chance of interventions being successful in this setting is when they are multifactor and address a broad range of issues, including self esteem, vocational development, and access to services. In the area of Clinic/primary care as an interventional means, they equally believe that, there is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that take place in a clinic/primary care setting alone, and that it will be beat, based on the literature search, that they are linked widely to other community and school services, and evaluated as part of a broader programme. They are of the view that, confidentiality is of utmost importance considering the age group. They also surmised that in the UK context, particularly on UK-specific services and settings, such as doctors who may be the first to see these individuals. On Education and information dissemination, there is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of educational approaches. It was found out that, the more positive outcomes, have been found for education based approaches which link directly to services offered. This also includes a broad range of skills to help improve confidence and relationships among teenagers Vocational development may also be useful. It is said that, programmes should be long term, sustained across school years, and be in place before teenagers become sexually active. It is also suggested that, there is the need to support young parents to continue their education to enhance educational and employment opportunity for parents, mother/child interaction, and social outcomes for children. Early educational interventions for disadvantaged children can improve long-term. The family is foremost in checking the trend and this is dependent on teenagers getting support from parents and families. Neglect has always been attributed as a cause of teenage pregnancy. This could be deliberate or due to pressure from social responsibilities from parents to support the family, often leading to children not getting enough or desired attention from their parents. They further found out that, community interventions should be developed with regard to local needs and existing services. There is some evidence that multi-factor interventions involving a degree of community activity or service may be effective at improving contraceptive use. On  Ã‚  school-based clinics., it is noted that, although, more research is needed on these as the evidence covered by reviews here was methodologically weak, They may be effective as part of multi-factor programmes, but clinic-based healthcare programmes for teenage mothers and their children can improve their health outcomes, if taken as a priority at all stages.  The media and the Internet are often seen as social agents which are often not properly utilised, either as a child educator and form of entertainment, but also as a means of redeeming the problem. The study noted that much work has not been done in the United Kingdom , but again, further work is needed here for the UK . Skills, meant to give self-esteem are vital.  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is encouraging result for approaches that focus on these factors, particularly when they are part of a broad-ranging intervention. Peer education, is also important in addressing the core issues right from the onset. Abstinence, as an interventional means has actually, not been fully found to be effective, as there are little or no evidence for the e

The Free Will of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Free Will of Macbeth      Ã‚   Destiny "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our own destiny, our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth willfully choose evil in order to achieve his "destiny"? Or, is his "destiny" doomed by the witches' prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird sisters hadn't come to him. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, the path he chose to take to achieve his aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free will. Macbeth knew exactly what he was doing in order to attain his destiny of becoming king. Although Macbeth was skeptical about the witches' predictions he later learned as the play progressed that destiny truly determined his future.    The prophecy of the witches was that Macbeth would become king. Nowhere did the witches predict the following events in Macbeth's life before he reached the throne. The prophecy of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor had already come true, enhancing Macbeth's aspirations of becoming king. The second prophecy would certainly come true for him, but he has to choose how to get there. Macbeth was destined for the throne, however obtaining that destiny was completely up to him. Killing Duncan seemed to be the only way for him, even though he knew it was wrong. Macbeth was well-aware his actions were immoral and unjust, and he continued with the murders anyway. He contemplates the reasons for why it would be wrong to kill Duncan, showing he could have ... ...rely different way if he had not already been told his future. The witches could have very well enhanced Macbeth's desires he had held up inside him, causing him to make such evil and terrible choices. Macbeth believed that there was a destiny, for he was so threatened by Banquo's destiny of being father to a whole line of kings, that he had Banquo murdered. As the play progressed, Macbeth learned that his destiny ultimately forms his future.    All Macbeth's actions were choices to attain his destiny, but they were nonetheless choices of his own free will. Macbeth was destined to become king; however, destiny doesn't come along with the choices made to achieve that destiny. Macbeth knew what he was doing.    Work Cited Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚   Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Possible Extra Terrestrial Life

Benjamin Hastings April 10, 2013 Did Someone Move in Down the Street? An Exploration of Possible Extraterrestrial Life in the Universe, Perhaps Our Own System Other life in the universe just makes sense. Think about it, there are trillions of other stars in existence in our universe, and most of those stars have satellites, and those satellites have satellites. There are literally hundreds of trillions, if not more, planets or planet-sized satellites orbiting stars. To think that none of these could have life on them is just to be naive.If it happened to our planet, out of hundreds of trillions of them out there, it can happen to another, and another. We can’t be alone; distant, maybe, but alone is just too far-fetched a theory. Belief in extraterrestrial life dates back quite far, even back to ancient society. â€Å"Regarding the existence of other worlds, the ancients of both Greece and rome were deeply divided. Arguing affirmative were the Epicureans, so called after Epicu rus (341-270 B. C. ), who developed certain ideas that had originated with Democritus and Leucippus two centuries earlier. Among the theories that we today consider most modern are†¦ hat life exists elsewhere in the universe†¦ Modern though these ideas may seem to us, they all indisputably date from antiquity†¦ † (Crowe- 3) We aren’t the first people to think that life must exist elsewhere, we’ve simply brought the thought back into popularity. But where could life be sustained? Bacteria have been observed to endure extreme conditions â€Å"in environments with very high or low temperature and where conditions are very acidic or very alkaline. † (Fix) Principles such as this suggest that â€Å"the search for life in the solar system should not be confined to the most benign environments. (Fix) Research and discoveries by Dr. Gene D. McDonald in Siberian permafrost showed that â€Å"single-celled organisms such as bacteria, archaeans, and f ungi repair cellular damage for tens of thousands of years – and perhaps many times longer—after being frozen solid. † (Hart) This is incredible when considering the damage the organisms sustain while being frozen; â€Å"even when all life processes appear to have stopped, processes that affect life do not. Organisms frozen in soil continue to be bombarded by radiation from elements within the soil itself.And at any temperature above absolute zero, all molecules vibrate a little. Thus, cells' DNA and other important molecules continue to sustain life-threatening damage. For organisms to remain viable for long periods of time, they must somehow maintain a minimal level of molecular repair. † (Hart) A breakthrough such as this suggests that if bacteria on Earth could survive temperatures this low, then certainly organisms outside of What we consider to be the inhabitable temperature zone could certainly adapt and survive on distant moons or dwarf planets.Mar s, the fourth and last Solar terran planet, could hold, or have held, life on its surface. Recent study of an ancient meteorite strengthens this theory. â€Å"The meteorite†¦ is made of igneous rock that solidified about 4. 5 billion years ago at the time that Mars formed. About 3. 6 billion years ago globules of carbonate minerals were deposited in cracks in the rock. The carbonate minerals may have been deposited when liquid water seeped into the cracks. The impact of an asteroid or comet on Mars 16 million years ago ejected the rock from Mars into interplanetary space.About thirteen thousand years ago the rock fell into the Antarctic ice fields as a meteorite. † (Fix) This meteorite was carefully studied for two years, revealing several different types of evidence of primitive life on the red planet. â€Å"Another piece of evidence was the discovery of inorganic compounds like iron sulfides that can be produced by bacteria and other terrestrial organisms. The most dr amatic evidence, however, is tiny structures in the carbonate globules that resemble microscopic fossils of ancient terrestrial bacteria. (Fix) Life may be closer than we think, but it also may have died out eons ago when the liquid water on the surface of Mars seemingly refused to stay in liquid form any longer. Titan, or Saturn VI, the largest Moon of Saturn, and second largest moon in the Solar System, seems promising for handling life. While being much cooler than our own planet, again, organisms that live there could adapt to the temperature, as well as atmospheric pressure it sustains; a pressure of 1. 6 bars, 60% than greater that of Earth. Titan’s atmosphere brings interesting points to itself because of its composition. Titan's air is predominantly made up of nitrogen with other hydrocarbon elements which give Titan its orange hue. These hydrocarbon rich elements are the building blocks for amino acids necessary for the formation of life. Scientists believe that Tita n's environment may be similar to that of the Earth's before life began putting oxygen into the atmosphere. † (Hamilton) This means that life on Titan has a potential to begin as it did theoretically on Earth, or could even have already even begun in very early stages, although these organisms would have to be highly resilient if they are anything like us. Titan's surface temperature appears to be about -178 °C (-289 °F)†¦ scientists believe lakes of ethane exist that contain dissolved methane. Titan's methane, through continuing photochemistry, is converted to ethane, acetylene, ethylene, and (when combined with nitrogen) hydrogen cyanide. The last is an especially important molecule; it is a building block of amino acids. † (Hamilton) Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is another highly considered candidate for life. Its surface is covered completely by a shell of ice, cracked and scarred by tidal forces deep beneath.The moon’s tidal forces â€Å"raise and low er the sea beneath the ice, causing constant motion and likely causing the cracks we see in images of Europa's surface from visiting robotic probes. This â€Å"tidal heating† causes Europa to be warmer than it would otherwise be at its average distance of about 780,000,000 km (485,000,000 miles) from the sun, more than five times as far as the distance from the Earth to the sun. The warmth of Europa's liquid ocean could prove critical to the survival of simple organisms within the ocean, if they exist. (Harvey&Burdick) This ocean, thought to span globally â€Å"with more than twice the volume of Earth's seas,† may have deep hidden secrets, â€Å"with conditions that might not be completely alien to some forms of life on Earth. Under its frozen crust, Europa may harbor the key ingredients required to create a habitable environment. † (Harvey) Europa’s closer, though still very far distance from the sun, along with what may be hidden in its ocean, make it p ossibly a better candidate for life within our own star system.One great physicist, Stephen Hawking, believes the possibility of life outside of our planet is too great to ignore. He jokes that â€Å"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare. † Although he is very fond of the theory of extraterrestrial beings, he does warn us heavily about them. â€Å"We should be careful if we ever happen upon extraterrestrial life†¦ Alien life may not have DNA like ours: ‘Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance. What we normally think of as ‘life' is based on chains of carbon atoms, with a few other atoms, such as nitrogen or phosphorous†¦ we can imagine that one might have life with some other chemical basis, such as silicon. † (dailygalaxy. com) Life to him seems undeniable in other parts of the universe, but he does suggest logically that it just may very likely not b e like us. This theory is to be respected, because many planets and subterran objects may fall in every planetary guideline to support life, just not in the way we see it in ourselves.Life must exist elsewhere, whether it be out neighbor, next door or down the block, or whether it be outside of our closely knit family of planets, moons, asteroids, etc. It could host similar structure to our own, or be composed differently, and therefore could survive completely different conditions from our own. Simply put, it may be considered to be foolish to completely ignore the possibilities of any terran planet to sustain life, because life is almost certainly out there somewhere, and it may be the in last place we think to look. Works Cited Crowe, Micheal J. The Extraterrestrial Life Debate 1750-1900.Cambridge UP. 1986. Print. Fix, John D. Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2008. Print. Hamilton, Calvin J. â€Å"Views of the Solar System: Titan. † solarviews. com. Solarviews, 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Hart, Stephan. â€Å"Bacteria: Survival in Siberia† astrobio. net. Astrobiology Magazine, 2002. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Harvey, Samantha and Autumn Burdick. â€Å"Solar System Exploration. † nasa. gov. NASA, 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Stephen Hawking on the Possibility of Non-Carbon-Based Extraterrestrial Life. † dailygalaxy. com. The Daily Galaxy, 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.