Positive And Negative Aspects Of Standardized Test And...

Education is an ever-growing and ever-changing system with in our government. We have seen education rise as major issue in the political arena. Often becoming the deciding factor in many political elections. As the growing consciousness of the importance of education continues to grow we see with it lobbying and advocacy in favor and against many political reform issues in the area of education. For this reason, we have seen many drastic changes in education. This essay will explore two ideas that have received much attention in education. This essay will explain the positive and negative aspects of Standardized Test and School Choice, as well as possible changes that can be made to improve each. Standardized Testing: to Test or not to Test That is the Question The primary goal of standardized test is to analyze if instruction has meet its desired goal. This means that assessments should not be an issue of concern but instead a way to understand what a learner is learning. It makes sense that any parent, teacher, or concerned citizen want to know what knowledge a student is gaining. Test are also administered for a variety of reasons and there results also serve a plethora of reasons: gathering data of student growth, the worth of the instruction provided, to modify instruction, to determine what need to be taught and for a variety of other reasons (5). Standardized tests are often administered to hold teacher accountable for the growth of there students and to insureShow MoreRelatedStandardized Testing Is The Most Common Form Of Testing707 Words   |  3 PagesStandardized Testing MSA, PARCC, HSA, ACT, and the most commonly known is the SAT. They all are forms of standardized test given to students at one point of their school career. These tests are given to students to supposedly test their knowledge. Some people say it s an effective way to see how smart you are others say how can you know how smart someone is by a test that only consist of two subjects math and English. A standardized test is any form of test that (1) requires all test takers toRead MoreStandardized Testing Is Defined By Standardized Test Definition1083 Words   |  5 PagesStandardized Testing is defined by Standardized Test Definition as, â€Å"any form of test that (1) requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way, and that (2) is scored in a ‘standard’ or consistent manner, which makes it possible to compare the relative performance of individual students or groups of students.† This formality of testing was introduced in 1845 by educational pioneer, Horace Mann. Mann’s vision for theseRead MoreStandardized Tests Should Not Be Mandatory994 Words   |  4 Pageseducation system is not as effective as it should be. Standardized tests were first used in china to test the skill of citizen’s when they joined the military. In United States it had been around for mor e than fifty years. It is given to students from P-K level to high school and also in many career entrances after college. Standardized test have more negative aspects to students, teachers and families than there positive aspects. Standardized test should not be mandatory for students to take for gettingRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing1511 Words   |  7 Pagessystem has faced various controversial issues, but the most recent one making a negative impact on students, is standardized testing. Standardized testing is a type of testing used to evaluate students academic abilities . It is a way to measure if standards are being met but does not provide a variation in the type of administration based on the students needs (Sacks, 2000). In other words, all children are provided these test to track their learning progress based on their grade level. Some believe thisRead MorePros And Cons Of Standardized Testing1400 Words   |  6 Pagesdownsides to standardized testi ng there are still viable reasons why they are still being used today. One of the main reasons includes the easy and quick access of testing students. Standardized testing allows schools to quickly access a large amount of students at one time. This is also one of the cheapest ways to tests such a large crowd due to machinery that grades which results in low tests costs for students. These tests also help by setting a national curriculum for all high school teachers toRead More The Debate Over Standardized Testing Essay1287 Words   |  6 Pagesstudents sit perched over their desks in the process of taking standardized tests. As the students take the tests, teachers pace nervously up and down the rows of their classroom, hoping and praying that their students can recall the information which they have presented. Some children sit relaxed at their desks, calmly filling in the bubbles and answering essay questions. These children are well prepared and equipped to handle their tests. Other children, however, sit hunched over their desks, ponderingRead MoreStandardized Testing : Damaging Our Education System1600 Words   |  7 PagesStandardized Testing: Damaging Our Education System Education is a prominent part of American society. Americans become educated because they want to be more knowledgeable, learn specialized skills, or explore and discover different fields of interest. Recently, high school has shown to be an environment where students are taught solely for the test, rather than for the traditional reasons. Standardized tests have come to dictate student’s fate. This has illustrated the increasingly ridged natureRead MoreFederal Regulation Over National Curriculum And Testing Essay1727 Words   |  7 Pagespush by the federal government for nationally accepted curriculum and standardized testing. While there is no official national curriculum in the United States, there are federal programs that have been nationally accepted, by more than forty states. One of these programs includes the Common Core State Standards Initiative. According to their website, â€Å"the standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, careerRead MoreThe Role Of State Standards On The Classroom1734 Words   |  7 PagesThe role of state standards is to guides all teachers, all schools, and all publishers to the right content material for each core subject that state deems important. The purpose of standards tells educators what a student should know and what students should be able to do. 2. Discuss the statement at the beginning of the chapter about Sheltered Instruction strategies â€Å"†¦these strategies are not ‘remedial’ in nature and do not dilute’ or ‘water down’ instruction. What is the importance of this statementRead MoreEssay on Personal Statement962 Words   |  4 PagesThe choices we make early in life have an enormous impact on our future. I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives. My personal experiences have had a large impact on my motivation to accomplish all my dreams. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of students to soar for their dreams. Throughout school, I suffered from test anxiety. Taking standardized tests always stressed me out and I would perform much lower than my grades suggested I was capable

Felon Disenfranchisement A Health Perspective Written...

FELON DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN UNITED STATES: A HEALTH PERSPECTIVE WRITTEN CRITIQUE GUNUBOH TAMARAUBIBIBOGHA Dr. SPENCER. ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY This article focused its searchlight on felon disenfranchisement by gluing it eco-social theory in order to elucidate how approximately 13% of African American men are denied voting right by virtue of a felony conviction. It delve into how felon disenfranchisement laws contribute to racial health disparities in the United States. Purtle, Jonathan (2013) identified two potential pathways that facilitates the viability of the felon disenfranchisement laws that stand more disadvantageous to African Americans; these pathways include: (a) inability to change inequitable public policies that differentially allocated resources for health, and (b) inability to reintegrate into society by voting which add heavily to allostatic load. Purtle, Jonathan (2013) built on universal human rights that are codified by international and regional human rights agreements which United States also ratified and adopted; the Universal human rights are widely built on political participation and equal treatmen t, so felon disenfranchisement laws enacted in 48 States contradicts United States ratification to universal human rights and equal suffrage (Uggen, C. Manza, J. 2006). Subsequently, the author maintain that disproportionate effects of felon disenfranchisement laws on African American violates guarantee to nondiscrimination as a humanShow MoreRelatedSociological View on Deviance and Drug Use Essay8777 Words   |  36 Pagesthe addiction; the drug experience (how-vs.-why); the individual who uses; and how society views drug use. This literature review will use a selection of available documents on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed. {Chris Hart, Doing

History and Uses of Marijuana Essay Example For Students

History and Uses of Marijuana Essay Whether you call it Hemp, Mary Jane, Pot, Weed; it doesnt matter. It is still Cannabis Sativa, or cannabis for short. And it isstill illegal. The use of marijuana as an intoxicant in the United States became a problem of public concern in the 1930s. Regulatory laws were passed in 1937, and criminal penalties were instituted for possession and sale of the drug. Marijuana refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant, which contains the non-narcotic chemical THC at various potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being high. The different strains of this herb produce different sensual effects, ranging from a sedative to a stimulant. The term marijuana is a word with indistinct origins. Some believe it is derived from the Mexican words for Mary Jane; others hold that the name comes from the Portuguese word marigu-ano, which means intoxicant. The use of marijuana in the 1960s might lead one to surmise that marihuana use spread explosively. The chronicle of its 3,000 year history, however, shows that this explosion has been characteristic only of the contemporary scene. The plant has been grown for fiber and as a source of medicine for several thousand years, but until 500 AD its use as a mind-altering drug was almost solely confined in India. The drug and its uses reached the Middle and Near East during the next several centuries, and then moved across North Africa, appeared in Latin America and the Caribbean, and finally entered the United States in the early decades of this century. Marijuana can even be used as Biomass fuel, where the pulp (hurd) of the hemp plant can be burned as is or processed into charcoal, methanol, methane, or gasoline. This process is called destructive distillation, or pyrolysis. Fuels made out of plants like this are called biomass fuels. This charcoal may be burned in todays coal-powered electric generators. Methanol makes a good automobile fuel, in fact it is used in professional automobile races. It may someday replace gasoline. Marijuana has many medical purposes also. The cannabis extract was available as a medicine legally in this country until 1937, and was sold as a nerve tonic-but mankind has been using cannabis medicines much longer than that. Marijuana appears in almost every known book of medicine written by ancient scholars and wise men. It isusually ranked among the top medicines, called panaceas, a word which means cure-all. The list of diseases which cannabis can be used for includes: multiple sclerosis, cancer treatmen t, AIDS (and AIDS treatment), glaucoma, depression, epilepsy, migraine headaches, asthma, pruritis, sclerodoma, severe pain, and dystonia. This list does not even consider the other medicines which can be made out of marijuana-these are just some of the illnesses for which people smoke or eat whole marijuana today. There are over 60 chemicals in marijuana which may have medical uses. It is relatively easy to extract theseinto food or beverage, or into some sort of lotion, using butter, fat, oil, or alcohol. One chemical, cannabinol, may be useful to help people who cannot sleep. Another is taken from premature buds and is called cannabidiolic acid. It is a powerful disinfectant. Marijuana dissolved in rubbing alcohol helps people with the skin disease herpes control their sores, and a salve like this was one of the earliest medical uses for cannabis. The leaves were once used in bandages and a relaxing non-psychoactive herbal tea can be made from small cannabis stems. Also cannabis, as any other biomass fuels, are clean burning and do not increase the amount of CO2 the atmosphere, therefore making breathing easier for may people. .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .postImageUrl , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:hover , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:visited , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:active { border:0!important; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:active , .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516 .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue5bd54c214574181bfdd4692243c0516:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Civil Rights Movement EssayAttempts at legalizing marijuana in the US going on for a long time. But just recently two states, California and Arizona, voted to legalize it for medical purposes only, but the US government still enforces the federal law, stating that federal law overrules state law. As said by Dr Cliff Schaffer: In all my study and review of the information regarding this issue, one question keeps coming back to me. Lets assume for the sake of argument that marijuana has no medical value whatsoever, despite the fact that it has a several thousand year history of medical use and that a prescription drug is made from its primary active ingredient. Lets as sume for the sake of argument that all these medical marijuana patients are just fooling themselves. Even in that case, what would we stand to gain as a society by punishing sick people and putting them through an already overloaded criminal justice system? Even if they are deluding themselves-what benefit is there to prosecuting sick people?In conclusion to this, it is important to state that there have been hundreds of studies showing that smoking cannabis ispotentially harmful to the brain and body and the same number of studies almost, if not totally, contradicting what these have stated.

Why learn a 2nd language Essay Example For Students

Why learn a 2nd language Essay Learning a Foreign Language: How important Is It for Kentuckys Future Citizens?In my opinion the state of Kentucky has had a good way of making laws to ensure the development of their kids future. The law requiring high school students to take a foreign language in order to graduate and go to college is a good idea. Even in college, you are required to take a foreign language and if you had already taken one, you can opt to take a test that shows what youve learned. If you pass you are not required to take a foreign language. In our day and time there are many over seas relations and that involves different cultures which usually speak a different language other than English. We will write a custom essay on Why learn a 2nd language specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Almost anywhere you go you may usually hear someone speaking a foreign language. As many people may speak English they may also speak another language much better, and if they have to learn our language Im thinking it may just be fair to at least know a bit of their language. Also in the business world a lot of companys do a lot of trading with other countrys that have a main language of their own. My main argument that is a little against the law is that if the state is going to enforce this upon students then the teachers should at least know what their teaching and that they know how to teach it. In my past experiences and from what I have heard my friends and others say, they have had foreign language teachers that dont know what their doing and what to teach. Some teachers i have had have been teaching a language but were teaching it wrong and didnt know the language or what they were even doing. That just killed me. I took french for three years prior to entering high school and i failed for 2 years because the teacher wasnt teaching it and I didnt know what I was doing and because of this I am repeating french one my freshman year of high school. As long as the schools hire teachers that actually know what they are doing and can guarantee that they know the language well enough to teach it, I have no problem taking a language in high school. In my case its a graduation requirement and I have to have at least two full years of a language. I believe as long as I have a teacher who knows what they are doing and is teaching me correctly I.ll be fine and will be able to pass the class.Bibliography:

Sports Shop Organization Structure

Sports Shop Organization Structure Introduction Small businesses form majority of the businesses world-wide. They contribute to the success of most world economies greatly. In developing countries, they are drivers of the economy. Therefore, they are a very critical part of the business society.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Sports Shop Organization Structure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite their critical importance to our society, small businesses are not as complex as they may sound. Individuals, who in most cases are the owners, run a majority of those businesses. Consequently, their Organizational Structures are quite simple. In the Case under analysis (Sports Shop), the owner performs all the managerial duties whereas the employee tackles the mechanical activities of the business. Organization Structure Organization Structure is the process that enables allocation of tasks and responsibilities to different departments in the organizat ion. It influences division of labor to a great extent. This is because Organizational Structure sets clear guidelines as to what role each employee of the organization plays. In this case, it helps to avoid conflicts in the work place. Therefore, it provides a peaceful working environment. A wrong Organization Structure may mean the end of business for the organization in question. This is because Organization Structure helps to specify who makes what decision and the reason for that. The Sports Shop Structure is simple as there are only two workers involved. It employs a centralized structure. Hence, the owner makes all the managerial decisions. He (the owner) is responsible for the running of the shop. He only delegates the mechanical part to his employee. This structure ensures that the owner has full control and responsibility over the business. By making all the important managerial decisions, the owner remains sure that things will go right. The assumption is that the owner u ndertakes only those activities that benefit the business and help it to grow. Productivity As stated previously, small businesses are critical in most world economies, especially in developing countries. This is because they are productive in their areas of business. Since most small businesses sell proprietorships, their productivity heavily depends on the determination and diligence of their owners.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the recent past, small businesses have recorded high levels of productivity. This is because of the Governments’ efforts in encouraging entrepreneurship to create jobs. The cost of lending money has reduced greatly to enable Small-Scale Investors to invest more. Depressions in economies across the globe have led to massive job losses. As a last resort, economies dedicate their time to small businesses. Accountability Because of their manageable nature, small businesses have highly centralized and flat structures. In the Case above (Sports Shop), the employee has to be accountable to the owner. The owner has to be accountable to itself and to the customers. The owner has to be accountable to the employee to give him motivation for doing a good job. As much as it is the owner’s business, he also has to employ professionalism and to avoid subjectivity in the business. This will help him to avoid conflicts with his employee. This is another type of accountability. The employee has to be accountable to the owner for any business carried out in his (the owner’s) absentia. The owner has to be accountable to the employee in terms of salary increment/payment. This means that the owner has to be considerate of the welfare of the employee in terms of safety and monetary security. Planning Skills Planning is a major part of the organization. This is because, planning helps in the formulation of budge ts, monitoring of operations and directing the future of the organization as whole. Planning skills enable managers to visualize the future of the organization and set achievable goals. The owners of the small businesses do the planning. They decide what they intend to achieve in the short-run and the long run. They may involve the other employees as a source of information but they make the final planning decisions. In most small businesses, the owner’s experience in doing business affects planning. In addition, the environment in which business operates heavily affects it. As the business grows, it employs complex planning skills. Coordination Skills Business activities in small businesses follow a regular if not repetitive pattern. Consequently, their coordination requires less effort as the parties involved are accustomed to operating in the pattern.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Sports Shop Organization Structure specifically for you for on ly $16.05 $11/page Learn More Coordination is also easy because of the small number of employee/parties involved in performing the various tasks. In this case, there are only two parties involved in the operations of the Sports Shop. However, the owner naturally supervises the operations of the business. Furthermore, the owner performs most of the activities, which makes coordination easier. Coordination is paramount in ensuring that operations are successful in an organization. It helps to keep operations in line with the Vision and Mission of the organization. It also helps to marry operations with other related operations in order to complete projects successfully. In addition, coordination helps in controlling operations to ensure operations completion in time or as required. Finally, coordination ensures efficiency both in terms of time and cost.

Downloading German Songs from iTunes

Downloading German Songs from iTunes iTunes auf Deutsch! Downloading German music- legally Would you like to explore the world of modern German music? Would you like to download rock, pop, or rap songs in German? How about watching a German music video online? Well, I just did all that, and boy was it fun! Apple must have been listening to the complaints of U.S. fans of German music, who for a long time could only get a tantalizing look at, and even listen to, songs and albums by German (and Austrian) artists, but could not buy any of it from Apples American iTunes Music Store. This frustration has now lessened for Mac and Windows users, but not entirely. A recent visit to the U.S. iTunes Music Store was a pleasant surprise. I found music and songs in German by many contemporary and traditional bands and artists from Austria, Germany, and German Switzerland. And I could buy what I saw/heard! There were albums and songs by DIE PRINZEN, FALCO, HERBERT GRÃâ€"NEMEYER, the PUHDYS, MÃÅ"NCHNER FREIHEIT, and even HEINO. (Youll also find audiobooks in German, language courses, and German comedy recordings available for download.) I discovered just about every type of music in German- from classical to rap, from Christmas to country-western- ready for listening and purchase. Soon I had downloaded (and paid for) an eclectic mix ranging from Deutschland by DIE PRINZEN to Ring aus Feuer (think Johnny Cash) by the Austrian WOLFGANG AMBROS. As I type these words, my computer is playing music by RAMMSTEIN (Amerika), UDO LINDENBERG (Ich habe noch einen Koffer in Berlin), and the interesting Belgian group SCALA KOLACNY BROTHERS (Schrei nach Liebe)- all downloaded from the American iTunes Music Store. Mac or Windows users can then create CDs with the downloaded German songs or any mix they want. If I had an iPod, I could also transfer these songs to it and listen anywhere I go. A Few More Surprises - Good and BadAlthough residents of Germany and Austria can download iTunes music from just about any German recording artist there is, we U.S. residents have to be content with slimmer pickings. If you want to download songs by Die Fantastischen Vier, Rosenstolz, or Die Ärzte, (Die beste Band der Welt) youll have to be in Germany. You can easily switch to the German iTunes Music Store and listen to songs by those artists, but when you try to download a song or album, U.S. residents get this unwelcome message: Your account is only valid for songs from the U.S. iTunes Store. But at least you can listen to 30-second samples of the German songs. Even for artists in German that are found in the U.S. store, not all of the albums or songs by that artist may be offered. Some albums are partial, with only a few selected songs available from iTunes, but that is also true of the normal American or British recording artists. However, what IS there is a lot better than what was available earlier (pretty much nothing). There is no German Songs menu section in the U.S. iTunes store (there is a German Pop category, but youll need help finding it; see Tips Part 2), so I started with a search by the artists name or a song title. Sometimes I just typed in a common German word (liebe, freiheit) to see what results would pop up. As I explored the German offerings with this method in the U.S. store, I stumbled onto interesting things I may not have found otherwise. Schrei nach Liebe is a good example. Turns out the iTunes version I downloaded is a cover version by a Belgian girls choir of that Ärzte song, and the Germans are raving about how the ladies took a metallic song (they also did Engel by Rammstein) and turned it into something very different but still cool. After downloading Amerika by Rammstein, I discovered that its in the German Top 10 charts (Oct. 2004) and that iTunes has a music video version! (Free and in stunning quality with a high-speed connection!) Tips and TricksIn the next section Ill offer some tips and tricks for finding German songs at the U.S. iTunes Music Store, with screen shots, artists lists, links, and other neat stuff- including music videos in German. Note: iTunes also works great for subscribing and listening to podcasts in German!

Keats La Belle Dame Sans Merci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Keats La Belle Dame Sans Merci - Essay Example It is a poem filled with puzzles and, therefore, is prone to innumerable elucidations. Keat’s sonnet depicts the situation of an anonymous knight who has come across a mystifying lady described as the ‘fairy’s child’. It begins with a depiction of the knight in a desolate land. He explicates to the reader how he encountered a strange woman with extraordinarily wild eyes. The lady is portrayed as a reasonable woman who told the knight that she truly cherished him. The knight takes her to her ‘elfin grot’, but on reaching there, she bawled and moaned full sore. The knight is left baffled, and before he comprehends, the inexplicable maiden sets him to sleep. While sleeping, the knight has dreams of pale emperors and princes who sob, ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci ’. He awakes to see himself on the chilly hill’s side. He persists to linger while palely lurking. The following discourse confers the repercussions of love as Keats expres ses them in his sonnet (Symons, p. 89). The premise of the sonnet is lucid since it explains how the knight suffers the spasms of humiliation while allowing himself to be overtaken by his fondness towards the enthralling woman. This depicts a situation of unrequited affection. As illustrated, the knight’s love was superior to that of the mysterious maiden. As explicated in the sonnet, he supposed that the fairy lady is smitten and; consequently, he falls intensely for the maiden too. The sonnet depicts the knight falling for an extremely attractive lady, who he met in the meads. At the beginning of the poem, the knight is portrayed to be in a desolate condition. He progresses to recount what transpired when he encountered the ‘fairy lady’ who disappeared in the night. His desolation and humiliation is described by the utilization of the sedge that has shrunken from the lake, and the absence of birds playing. As elucidated, the lady’s disappearance is a har sh upshot of unreciprocated love. The knight is left in torment since his affection for the ‘fairy child’ unreturned. The shrunken sedge and the milieu of no birds chirping depict how heart-broken he is and how empty he feels within. Love is believed to be a two way phenomenon. The portrayal of the strange maiden disappearing without a sign illustrate how love can turn out when one adores someone who is not smitten as much as they are (William, p.68). Moreover, the knight’s anguish for his deep affection for the ‘fairy child’ is seen where he is unaccompanied and palely lurking. It describes the situation he is in after the maiden heartlessly left him on the chilly hill side. His distress is illustrated by how he palely lurks alone on the hill side speculating what to do. His misery is also portrayed by ‘nature fading’ around him leaving him void. This somehow leaves the knight lifeless. The beauty of the fairy woman lures the knight to her, and this same loveliness destroys him. Another upshot of ‘fake love’ is the knight being robbed of his heart. He is attracted by her magnificence not knowing that she is a mystical being. The knight’s misery after his mystical encounter is elucidated by a contrast of his paleness to the vanishing rose. It elucidates that his despair could result in his demise. In addition, the ‘fairy maiden’ destroys the knight’s life as portrayed in the poem. This is explained by knight’s vision of influential rulers, combatants and princes whose lives were also devastated by the

#1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

#1 - Essay Example As such, the seven sins as provided by Brown are applicable in describing the nature of man and the character that may dwell in him if controlled by them. Besides, Brown names seven virtues which are cardinals to human living. These, he relates to faith, hope charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. The temperance of a person determines the ability to take charge and respond to a situation properly and whether hot or cold, it must be controlled. By virtue, man lives by faith and hope, it is what keeps him going and living. In the event of acquiring more wealth, it is good to be helpful and have mercy to others. This is a true virtue of charity (Olsson, pg.80). The traits provided are guidelines to what human character should be based on. Like Mahatma Gandhi wrote, knowledge without character and science without humanity could be among the blunders that cause violence. It is also true to note that a society lacking the necessary virtues and possesses by the described sins may be a plagued

Teaching as an Act of Love Essay Example for Free

Teaching as an Act of Love Essay Antonia Darder presents a portrait of why Freire’s work as an educator was so influential in creating an understanding of education as an art. Teaching truly became an art when educators like Freire began to understand the importance of education in the movement of social change. The presence of love in the classroom, the type of love that is lively, forceful, challenging, and inspiring was the type of love that Darder thought was a lasting influence that Freire had on the field. She emphasized the conviction that Freire held in liberating students through education, he believed in the humanizing aspects of education. Freire believed that education was the tool for contributing to the human-ness of our political and economic existence as social beings. The article says that, â€Å"Freire exposed how even well-meaning teachers, through their lack of critical moral leadership, actually participate in disabling the heart, minds, and bodies of their students –an act that disconnects these students from the personal and social motivation required to transform their world and themselves† (498). The author argues that his greatest contribution to the field of education was his ability to be compassionate and his regard and concern for his students. The articles that we read this week discuss the concept of fear, but more importantly the ability to overcome and use the fear as a powerful force in the classroom. He said that it is the fear of freedom that affects the educator and creates a barrier in the classroom from the liberating practices that many educators believe are important. The way he describes the fear of freedom is the fear of being free from the status quo, the fear of the oppressed classes to realize a freedom from the oppressing classes. Freire thought that the experience of fear was a symbolic fight against the struggle that the liberating educators believe in. Freire said the experience of fear was important because it is a chance to recognize where the fear comes from, what it means, and how it can be used. He said that fear can be transformed into courage; the courage to make a move away from the status quo, our fear can be harnessed into a motivation. Teachers are affected personally by the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; the dominant ideology has such an influence over the subordinate classes that it affects educators because of the fear that they hold within. Freire’s experiences with oppression developed his political purpose, he wanted to create a liberatory practice to challenge the conditions that limit the capacity in the oppressed class to change the world and right the wrongs of social injustice. Freire hoped that educators would confront their fears and use their beliefs about the social structure to teach liberating lessons and influence the future. He thought the way for educators to teach the lessons in which they believed in was to work together, he believed in the power of solidarity to empower a political movement. Freire wanted educators to network and work with one another to emancipate students from the social inequalities of our time, through networking they could empower one another and give force to their beliefs. Darder introduces the term praxis – she describes it as the union of action and reflection. The teacher needs to have the ability to practice both of these aspects of education; only through action and reflection of the importance of the act of teaching will the ideas of critical pedagogy be realized. Reflection: This article made me feel a little better about the issues that we have been reading about throughout this course. The tone of most of the readings thus far has been negative and has made me feel pessimistic about the future of the educational system. The issues that our reading assignments have discussed seem to run so deep in our social consciousness that there is little hope in reversing the trends of social inequality. This fear makes becoming a teacher seem dismal; if all we have to hold onto on our road to teaching is the notion that the patterns of inequality are getting worse and the elites are becoming more powerful how are we as teachers supposed to do anything at all to help our students and ourselves. I enjoyed this weeks reading selections because it brought a defining focus upon the fear that teachers experience and gave a bit of advice on how to use the fear as a powerful force. I believe that the fear that Freire spoke of is one that is shared by many educators. It is a fear that does not diminish with time or experience, on the contrary, it eats at you as you plan your lessons, as you teach your students, and it goes home with you and stays with you outside of the classroom. Freire’s thoughts on the ability of the educator to channel the fear of being fired or being targeted as a radical into a powerful force was inspiring. It was great how he took something negative and turned it into a tool that can be used in a positive way, he encouraged educators to talk about it and network with one another to begin to express their political views about education. He said, â€Å"Acting alone is the best way to commit suicide† (485) and he hoped that instead of acting alone, teachers would work together in their fight. He argued that education is political in nature and this implies that the educator is a political being. I plan to sit quietly at meetings only long enough to have enough people on my side to be able to be heard when I want to speak up on an issue. Freire used the phrase â€Å"rock the boat† in this weeks readings, I use the phrase â€Å"rock the boat† all the time and I even used it in a recent conversation with my administrator. I was able to talk to her informally about a discrepancy I was having with the other members of my teaching team, and I told her, â€Å"I didn’t want to rock the boat. † She looked at me, smiled and laughed as she said, â€Å"Rock the boat! Rock the boat! † I was lucky enough to choose the right battle in this case and my administrator was on my side, I am so glad I did not let the fear of confronting the issue consume me.

Secularism in India | Evaluation

Secularism in India | Evaluation The term secularism has its origin in Europe. This term was first used during the end of the Thirty years war (Europe) in the year 1648.During that period secularism merely meant transfer of church properties to the king or the state. Secularism played a major role in the French revolution and later this term formulated by George Holyoake from England to refer to the various rationalist movements under him in the year1851. Through this term he analysed his views of promoting social order without the domination of any culture or religious beliefs. Hence secularism can be defined as process by which sectors of society and culture are removed from the domination of religious institutions and symbols.  [1]  In west, secularism is referred to as separation of church from the state. Many religious leaders, journalists, politicians firmly believe that west is secular but however minorities are dominated by religion. The secularization thesis clearly states that in the west Christianity is declining, the number of people going to church have reduced considerably .At the same time secularism is also prevalent in the public forum like schools, universities, different institutions and also work place. The discussions are completely based on secular basis. Secularism in the west is a complete exception to the global trend. But however this too is subjected to a few exceptions like Africa, Latin America and also in the south East, Christianity is a dominated religion and culture. In few regions of Africa, middle east and Asia, Islam is taking a powerful shape. In the west secular policy was very strong among the Jews. The founder of Zionism , Theodor Herzl and other founders of political Zionism were strong secularists. The most important principle stated by George Holyoake is: Secularism is a name given to a series of principles of positivism intended for the guidance of those who find theology indefinite or inadequate or deem it unreliable.  [2]  This clearly states that there is a wide path between secular principles and theology. In the 19th century the concept of secularism gave rise to a number of other different ideas like nationalism, feminism, socialism etc. Nationalism was a very strong secular force implying that in many nations religion played a subordinate role. However in India, secularism is a different concept as compared to the west. The framers of the Indian Constitution did not follow the western principles. In India the features of a secular state are: All people have the equal freedom of conscience and religion. There is no discrimination on the grounds of religion. There are no communal electorates The state has the power to regulate any activity (economic, social) that is concerned with religion. Untouchability has been declared illegal by article 17. Every religious denomination has the right to establish institutions for promoting religious knowledge and charity. No citizen will be discriminated on grounds of religion in employment matters under state and admission in educational institutions. State revenue cannot be used to promote any kind of religious activity. Hence secularism was added to the Indian constitution by the 42nd amendment of 1976 to preserve the rich heritage culture of India. The preamble clearly states that We the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Secular Democratic Republic  [3]  . The purpose of adding the word secular to our constitution was established in the case M.P Gopalakrishna nair vs state of kerela  [4]  . This was done to promote national unity and universal brotherhood. Secularism according to the court was prevention of establishing a state religion or formation of a atheist society. The Hindi word of secularism is dharmanirapekshata which means indifference towards all religion. However the state is against the religious social evils like sati, female infanticide, polygamy, child marriage etc. HISTORY OF SECULARISM In India secularism was founded in 5th century B.C, when the Jains,Buddhists and charavakas rejected the power and authority of the Vedas and idols and considered it as a false belief. Religion has always been an important aspect of peoples life because India is not a monoreligious country. India s old hindu scriptures like the Upanishads also emphasise on secular principles. According to the people it was impossible to separate religion from their social life. This mindset began to change when the East India Company established their power and control in India. The British instituted different laws for Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Christians and Sikhs. This laid foundation for the divide and rule policy. Different religious sects began to establish religious institutions and places of worship giving priority to a particular religion. Previously rulers like satavahnas, guptas, moghuls and kushanas paid equal respect to all religion. In the pre independence and post independence era there had been a consistent increase in the concept of secularism. Leaders like mahatma Gandhi who practiced religion in politics found it necessary to separate the two to prevent inequality between the mass. Jawaharlal Nehru also supported secularism ,he failed to establish the uniform civil code due to religious and political pressure. B.P Jeevan Reddy in S.R Bommai viewed secularism as a positive concept as it treats all religion equally and it is strongly connected to liberty and social justice.  [5]  According to justice P.B sawant secularism is a creed of universal brotherhood and humanism  [6]  . J.S verma observed through the case M. Ismail faruqui the concept of secularism is one facet of the right of equality woven as the central golden thread in the fabric depicting the pattern of the scheme in our constitution  [7]  . DIFFERENT SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENTS ON SECULARISM Supreme courts first recognition of secularism was in case sardar taheruddin seydna sahib v state of Bombay  [8]  . This case broadly explained the articles 25 and 26 of the Indian constitution and also specified that the secular nature of the India is the strong base of the constitution. Also in keshavnanda bharti v state of kerela  [9]  the 13 judge bench decided that secularism was the basic law of the land and it is unamendable. A land mark judgement in secularism is in the case of S.R Bommai v Union Of India  [10]  .It had important implications on the cente-state relations.The nine judge bench decided that secularism in India is based on religious tolerance.It also stated that any state government which adopted any unsecular means would be subjected to dismissal.The court dismissed BJP led state governments of Himachal Pradesh , Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh , rajasthan and uttar Pradesh. IS INDIA ACTUALLY SECULAR? Although the constitution of India clearly states that India is a secular state it is becoming increasingly difficult to follow and maintain the principles of secularism. Hence this research article will analyse the various sectors where India has failed to uphold its secular structure. The most important challenge of Indian secularism is the growing power of the Hindus. Earlier also the country had strong ties with Hinduism which lead to the suppression of other religions. India is thus represented as a Hindu state . The discrimination can be analysed on various grounds like constitutional, religious,legislative and employment oppurtunities. To begin with article 290 A  [11]  of the Indian constitution clearly states that a sum of forty six lakhs and fifty thousand rupees and a sum of thirteen lakhs and fifty thousand rupees respectively, are paid every year out of the kerela and tamil nadu consolidated fund to the Dewaswom funds for the maintenance of hindu shrines. This is a clear discrimination of the of the constitutional provision which states that state revenue cannot be used to maintain religious institutions. Secondly the Indian government pays a sum of 413 crores a year for the haj journeys of muslims to Saudi Arabia. Andhra Pradesh pays a sum of rs 2 crore for the journey of Christians to Bethlehem. Secondly article 25  [12]  states that freedom of religion to all but article 25(2) states that social welfare and reform throwing open of Hindu religious institution of public character to all classes and sections of hindus. The constitution does not define a hindu but it clearly states a hindu is a follow er of buddhism, Jainism and and Sikhism. This classification is done for the purpose of temple entry. Hence this is clearly against the principles of secularism. Thirdly the Hindu marriage act of 1955 was a clear attempt to bring the Sikhs , jains and Buddhists under the fold of Hinduism and it clearly states that a hindu is a person who is not a sikh , muslim or parsi. Every year a population cencus is conducted in the tribal areas to determine the majority of the hindu population. Even in the legislative sphere there has been outright discrimination of secularism. In the year 1982 when a large number of dalits had converted to islam due to the oppression of the upper caste hindus, Indira Gandhi found this situation as the threat to national security. In article 25 (1)  [13]  of the Indian constitution it is clearly stated that all people will be allowed to practice and profess any religion of their choice. But in the year 1954, the congress government in Madhya Pradesh along w ith seven other states legislatures of anrunachal Pradesh , gujrat , himachal Pradesh,orrissa, rajasthan and Tripura passed laws restricting conversions from Hinduism to any other religion while allowing all conversions to Hinduism. This was done to increase and maintain the domination of hindus in the country. Even in the babri masjid demolition case which was initiated by the congress government and hindu activists to build a ram temple by destroying the masjid led to communal violence and riots between thousands of Hindus and Muslims. But Muslim victims had outnumbered the Hindu victims. The police failed to protect the Muslims and were very harsh and violent in dispersing them. The violent Hindu movement spread turmoil throughout the country putting an official end to secularism and declaring India as a Hindu state. During this period the governments of Maharashtra and uttar Pradesh sent funds to rebuild somnath temple which was officially inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Also in the education sphere there has been outright and violent discrimination. Article 16 (2) states that there will be no discrimination on the basis of religion for granting employment opportunities to the people. However the presidential orders of 1950 and 1956 provides benefit only to the schedule caste and tribes belonging to Hinduism , Jainism or Sikhism but not to muslim and Christians. If any person changed their religion after obtaining the job , then he / she also had to forfeit the job and other benefits that were given in course of employment. After the year 1947 the hindu army was adopted as the Indian army leaving 20000 muslims jobless. While a sikh has all the right to become an army general and occupy any post ,muslims are not given any such preferences. They are generally given the lower post . A hindu temple before the army cantonment clearly provides a picture that non hindus are not a part of our defence. The other instances proving India is a unsecular country are the ban on cow slaughter that left thousands of butchers jobless and poor people deprived of their basic nutrition. Cows are considered religious by the hindu upper caste society but not by the muslims or Christians. Most of the government ceremonies begin with hindu rituals like lighting the lamp etc. All functions of the central and state ministry begin with saraswati vardana. The inauguration of all government buildings throughout the nation and in other nations begin with a hindu puja clearly stating that india is a hindu state. N.T Ramarao the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh did not object to spend government funds for maintaining the images of venkateshwara even though it is clearly stated in our constitution that funds of the government cannot be used for maintaining any religious institution or idol. School children of various states like Maharashtra and Gujrat are forced to perform surya namaskar. Most of the text books emphasise on Hinduism. The large stone image o f Vishnu in front of the IGP headquarters in Bangalore clearly moves against the policy of a secular state. Till 1980 all india radio programmes began with hindu lyrics like vande ma taram , vandana etc. Aligarh university , one of the oldest university in India have an annual budget of rs 245 crore that is granted by the government. Only hahal meat is served in the campus and there is no place for hindu religious ceremonies. A muslim man is allowed to practice polygamy while a hindu man is not until he converts to islam. Other instances of discrimination : In west Bengal a man named shaik azizur rehman runs a shop with the name of Rajib Mallick because reavling his original identity would lead to alot of discrimination on the basis of religion. Before going for fishing hasina khatoon takes off her arm band embossed with allah and puts vermillion to maintain a hindu appearance among the customers.  [14]  Hence all these illustrations clearly state that India is not a secular country and it is slowly becoming mono religious. Should Homosexuals Be Allowed to Legally Marry? Debate Should Homosexuals Be Allowed to Legally Marry? Debate Introduction The debate on the legality of homosexual marriages has been considered both as an unwarranted feat and as belated act of liberty worth celebrating yet this status ruins the institution of marriage. This paper is written in a thesis-antithesis-synthesis pattern, addressing the issues raised by opponents of homosexual unions as well as the reasoning of its advocates. Finally, it is gives the writers opinion a synthesis of the two opposing arguments – guided by reasoned insights. Part I: The Legal Marriage of Homosexuals is not warranted Many criticisms have been piled on the prospects of homosexuals lawful sanctification of their union. Somehow the basis of these anti-homosexuals legal marriage is not far-fetched. Here are some reasons that have been used to buttress the attitude. The legalization of same-sex unions grossly undermines the institution of marriage. A marriage that comprises of persons of the same gender is in itself a self-contradiction. When these unions are legally allowed to thrive, the institution will suffer irreparable damage. The reason being, marriage is perceived as sacred especially from the religious quarters, an institution sanctified by God between a man and a woman for mutual companionship. Children are the fruits of such holy matrimonies (Maccio, 2010). Homosexuals contradict it, allowing their passions to override the holy decree. Furthermore, same-sex unions are always considered open relationships meaning that partners involved do not necessarily have to be committed to each other sexually, psychologically, emotionally and socially. This translates into a blow to the monogamous unions and by extension holy matrimony. Same-sex unions are conventionally considered unnatural and it does not take an apt mind a second to think otherwise. So, how can an unnatural union be naturally unionable? Heterosexual relationships are the norm, both in society and in nature. Why has man, as rational as he is, been passionately driven by sexual pleasure to the heights of finding it from the same gender? Brutes in their irrationality do not indulge in this! The greatest favor that should be done them is tolerance, nothing more. They should not be validated by the state nor recognized as a form of marriage because of their abnormality and unnaturality. The legal status of this union encourages many of the same and therefore the human species is destined to extinction. It is a self evident fact that the sexual intercourse between homosexuals of whatever ilk does not procreate life. Lesbians and gays, alike have sex primarily for pleasure and therefore no human conception can arise. If say three-quarters of the human population goes homosexual, there will not be any human being left walking on the surface of this planet with at least a couple of centuries (Hollowell, 2010). Homosexuals themselves, together with their sympathizers argue that they can become good parents. To whom can they parent? Adopted children, they say. Granted, they can be even excellent parents as they claim, but the psychological development of the child or children that they are parenting is at stake. Naturally, human beings have the orientation towards the two sexes and that is precisely the reason that a female parent is referred by the child as mother, and the male parent father. So in a legal family that comprises of two fathers gays; or two mothers lesbians; how does the child under their custody expected to grow normally? Are they not putting the welfare of the child at the expense of their pleasurable adventures? Is the legal body that authorizes this abnormal family doing any justice to the child? Besides, this is a horribly repugnant precedence that the homocouples are setting to the children under their parentage. Most likely, when such children come of age, they will copy the lifestyle of their parents and there by continue perpetuating the ignoble idiosyncrasy to subsequent generations (Kuyper, 1993). Marriage is a symbol that represents cultural ideals about sex, sexuality, and human relationships. These ideals define an individuals self identity and therefore, when the traditional nature of marriage is interfered with by sneaking in homosexual tendencies, peoples basic identities are challenged (Dankmeijer, 1993). Part II: Legalization of Same-sex Unions is long overdue Quite a number of homosexuals and their supporters have been waiting with abated breath for the landmark ruling that accord same-sex unions a legal marriage status. It has been hailed as a gesture that reinstates sexual liberty to individuals who hitherto had suffered silently when this right was trampled upon. The anti-homosexuals argue that legal marriage is strictly between a man and a woman. Defining marriage on the basis of sex does beg the question of how sexes are defined. Though the traditional categories of male and female appear separate, there are indeterminate cases in reality which do not match these categories. Therefore the assumption made here is that the clarity of biological concepts corresponds to social concepts. Take for example, Daniel was born female but changed his sex and became male; and now he wants to marry his partner Chloe. By accepting the above reason, Daniel can only marry a male even though by outward appearance he is male. Put differently, if a woman changes her sex and acquires physical traits of a man, would not it be legal for this person to marry a woman? (Maccio, 2010) The consideration of marriages as a religious rite is missing the mark since exclusive religious tenets are used to define it. Consequently, legalizing homosexual marriages is a mortal sin that beckons the wrath of God to a state. It is an indubitable fact that the nature of marriage has varied in every era and from every society. Therefore, it has been difficult to find a conventional definition of marriage. Marriage has never been a creation of religion, if anything the state has always treated it as a private contract with public implications. Thus the basis of marriage was on the wishes of free, consenting adults (Cott, 2002). The claim that homosexual marriage is not a home for protection and procreation of children; hence a threat to human extinction is refutable. This claim is anchored in the assumption that sex as the natural end of marriage is for procreation. It can be argued that, following this premise, a couple whose sexual intercourse cannot bring forth a child should not be allowed to marry, all the more homosexuals. The implications of this reason would mean that heterosexual marriages with infertile couple due to various reasons are outlawed as well. Similarly, couples who voluntarily resolved to be childless should not be allowed to marry legally. The impulsion for marriage is love not children (Senreich, 2010). Opponents of homosexual marriages argue that such relationships are unnatural and abnormal and therefore should only be tolerated not legalized. Here, heterosexual relationship is taken as natural because that is what is found in nature. Since nature does not provide for homosexual relationship it is unnatural and ought to be abhorred by the society (Senreich, 2010). Well, are not human a part of nature? If yes, then homosexual relationships are also a part of this nature. Brutes which are part of this nature do not engage in legal marital contracts, does it as consequence mean that the legal marriage as an institution is unnatural and should be outlawed? The argument that legalizing homosexual marriage undermines the institution of marriage does not hold water. It baffles the minds of proponents how a legal marriage between homosexuals damage the heterosexual marriage. Consideration should be made here that the opponents use religion to smoothen their disapproval. Marriage is governed by the civil/secular law. Period (Geest, 1993). Part III: Homosexual Marriages do not merit Legal Status Having painstakingly considered the arguments from both sides of the debate on the legalization of same-sex marriages, the writer hereof opposes according legal status to such unions. To begin with, marriage as an institution derives its sanctity from interplay between instinct and reason. Considering that the sexual instinct is primarily for procreation, man ought to use his rationality to direct this force appropriately. The pleasurable part of the act is secondary and therefore should not be allowed to define a person. The reason is, if man becomes myopic with the secondary end of sexual instinct; and remains consistently so, then human species destiny is at stake. It may sound religious but thoughtful reflection reveals so. Marriage is therefore an institution where under natural circumstances male and female partners are freely allowed to procreate (Geest, 1993). However, if the primary end cannot be realized due to illnesses or old age, the intent warrants its sanctity. The proponents of homosexual marriages are largely silent on the parentage of children of homosexuals, adopted or otherwise. They secretly recognize the psychological as well as sociological damage that they wrought to the development of these children (Paul, 1993). Its not disputable that they can have the custody of children either through adoption, surrogate motherhood, artificial insemination, or previous heterosexual relationships. What is paramount here is the welfare of these little children in regard to their development into adults of sound minds. In this consideration homosexual parentage of children is looked at vis-à  -vis heterosexual. If for instance, Kathleen is being raised by two mothers, she is being deprived of the experience of being with a father. Recent research as well as the common experience suggests that a father and a mother together provide by far the best surrounding in which a child may be raised. The reason being men and women contribute different gend er-connected strengths and attributes to their childrens development. Erik Erikson differentiates the kinds of love to children: fathers love more dangerously because their love is more expectant and instrumental than that of mothers (Wardle n.d. p. 846). Children from homosexual families will are likely to exhibit the homosexual tendencies of the parents and become one of such in adulthood (Kuyper, 1993). The homosexual marriage remains unnatural not because it cannot be found existing among natural brutes which constitute nature, but because the act itself is solely for pleasure. If anything there are creatures which show tendencies akin to homosexuals. Man is endowed with incredible intellect and he should use it to discern what underlies some of his cravings before allowing himself to be held hostage by them. Conclusion To surmise, the debate on the legality of homosexual marriages has been considered both as an unwarranted feat and as belated act of liberty worth celebrating yet this status ruins the institution of marriage. As it can be seen from the text, the arguments of pro-homosexual marriages are aimed at winning rather than analyzing the facts that belie the orientation. References Cott, N. (2002). Public Vow: A History of Marriage and the Nation. New York, NY: Harvard University Press Dankmeijer, P. (1993). Journal of Homosexuality: The Construction of Identities as a Means of Survival. 24(3), pp. 95-105. Geest, H. (1993). Journal of Homosexuality: Homosexuality and Marriage. 24(3), pp.115-123. Hollowell, K. (2010). World Net Daily: Homosexuality: Evolution of the human race. Retrieved on March 24th, 2010, from: http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=23492> Kuyper, E. (1993). Journal of Homosexuality: The Freudian Construction of Sexuality. 24(4), pp 137-144. Maccio, E. (2010). Journal of Homosexual: Influence of Family, Religion, and Social Conformity on Client Participation in Sexual Reorientation Therapy. 57(3), pp. 441-458. Paul, J. (1993). Journal of Homosexuality: Childhood Cross-Gender Behavior and Adulthood Homosexuality. 24(3), pp. 41-54. Senreich, E. (2010). Journal of Homosexuality: The Effects of Honesty and Openness About Sexual Orientation on Gay and Bisexual Clients in Substance Abuse Programs.57(3), pp 364-383. Wardle, L. (n.d.) Website of Family Action: The Potential Impact of Homosexual Parenting on Children. Retrieved on March 24th, 2010, from: http://www.familyaction.org/PDFs/h-parenting.pdf>

Moral Reconciliation Essay

From the beginning of the story to the end, Huckleberry Finn’s morals change rather dramatically and the novel focuses largely on this. Forced to reconcile his personal feelings of friendship for an escaped slave (Jim) with what society has told him is â€Å"right,† Huck learns through the course of the story to trust his moral instincts. As the story progresses, we see Huck’s character develop strong morals that eventually lead to his reconciliation. Early in the book, Huck is shown to have a low level of maturity and is very naà ¯ve. He relies more on the opinions of others more so than his own. Huck seems to know the rightful place of a slave, especially growing up in the American South. But this changes, in time, when he meets a runaway slave named Jim on Jackson Island. Huck knows he is defying society by not turning Jim in, but he continues to stay by Jim’s side and feels he can’t betray him as their friendship grows. This is an internal moral struggle for Huck, because he knows to society he is â€Å"wrong,† but to him their friendship made it â€Å"right.† While floating down the Mississippi, Huck and Jim come across a shipwreck. Huck, being the young, curious boy he is wants to explore it. Jim on the other hand is very reluctant to do so, but he feels obliged to follow Huck along anyways because he is a slave and Huck is white. On the wreck the two find a gang of robbers and a tied up man, they decide to leave immediately at this site. Huck and Jim then steal the robbers boat, but Huck feels a little guilty for doing this. So he makes up a story to a ferryboat watchman that his family was on the wreck and they needed help. The watchman showed up on the site just to discover that it sank, and the robbers most likely dead. Compassion is a key part in developing good morality and at this point Huck’s morality is slowly taking shape because he feels compassion for others. During a terrible storm, Huck and Jim are separated. Jim searches for Huck, but he cannot pinpoint him, so he goes to sleep. Huck eventually arrives on the raft to find Jim sleeping. Once Jim woke up Huck told him that the whole storm fiasco was just an elaborate dream he had, but Jim soon discovers he is lying and becomes upset. Seeing this, Huck felt guilty for hurting Jim’s feelings and apologizes. This is a pivotal point in the novel because Huck realizes that he has feelings for this slave. Once again he knows society would see this as â€Å"wrong† and just plain crazy. Huck is having another internal conflict, but feels that his friendship with Jim is morally â€Å"right† contrary to what society would think. Huck’s moral dilemmas are rooted in conflicting systems of morality: that of his upbringing and that of his own natural feelings of friendship for Jim. â€Å"I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me. I went along slow then, and I warn’t right down certain whether I was glad I started or whether I warn’t. When I was fifty yards off, Jim says: â€Å"Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim.† Well, I just felt sick. But I says, I GOT to do it – I can’t get OUT of it. Right then along comes a skiff with two men in it with guns, and they stopped and I stopped.† This a good example of Huck’s moral conflictions. At the climax of the novel, Huck as an epiphany. When Jim gets turned in by the conmen (the Duke and the King), Huck is devastated. Confused at what to do, Huck writes a letter that is intended for Ms. Watson, the letter reads: â€Å"Miss Watson, your runaway nigger Jim is down here two mile below Pikesville, and Mr. Phelps has got him and he will give him up for the reward if you send. Huck Finn.† After wrestling with his morals and consciousness, Huck makes his most important moral decision yet, when he states: â€Å"All right, then, I’ll GO to hell† – and tore it up. He ultimately helped Jim escape. In the end, Huck acted on the highest level of morality regardless of society’s laws and ideas. Early in the story Huck displayed childish traits and a skewed morality because of how he grew up. But Huck changed entirely in his time spent with Jim. When life was forced upon Huck he had to develop and â€Å"grow up† rather fast. He quickly progressed from a naà ¯ve boy to a mature morally correct young man. Most humans strive for the betterment of themselves and society as a whole, and this is what makes Huck’s final reconciliation so compelling.

Claims vs Arguments Essay

Claims is defined as, â€Å"a statement asserts something to be the case or not the case† (Critical Thinking: Issues, Claims, Arguments, 2011), which is consistent with the definition given by Wood (2012,Topic 1,p.7), which states that a claim is an assertion or demand for recognition of a truth, an example of a claim is â€Å"Organizational behavior is an essential subject†. And I agreed with the two definitions on claims because, based on my personal experience as a former team member of my college’s debate team, everyone is allowed to make claims over the subject that was chosen to be debated. On the other hand, an argument is defined as, â€Å"sets of propositions (claims/statements) which contain premises that are offered to support the truth of a conclusion† (May,2010), or in another words, it means â€Å"trying to convince each other on things we don’t agree on† (Critical Thinking: Issues, Claims, Arguments, 2011). Using the above example, others may not agree on my claim and say â€Å"Organization Behavior is not an essential subject†, this is where an argument begins and to support it, there are 3 ways to do so, supporting an argument with authority, evidence and a persuasive writing style. Supporting an argument with authority means, â€Å"To bolster an argument is to use the word of an expert†, (Roberts, 2010). However, there are pros and cons to this statement, the pros are because he/she is an expert, and has been in his area of speciality for many years, therefore, his/her words can be reliable and can be used to support an argument. But not forgetting that the words he/she said could be based on his/her personal opinion and could contain certain level of biasness. For example, â€Å"Organisational Behaviour is an essential subject† because my lecturers said so, this may not be convincing enough. To further â€Å"enhance† your argument, it needs to be supported with evidences, such as facts personal experience or an actual event. A strong thesis also requires solid evidence to support and develop it because without evidence, a claim is merely an unsubstantiated idea or opinion (Indiana University Bloomington, 2010), I agree because solid evidence will provide the competitive advantage over others. For example, â€Å"Organisational Behaviour is an essential subject because as a team leader in a multi-racial company, I applied what I’ve learnt on managing for diversity, not only does it prevent inter-racial conflicts, it also improves the company’s productivity.† This is obviously a better argument compared to earlier argument. Lastly, after gathering all evidence, we need to try to get the readers to agree on our argument; this is where persuasive writing style comes in handy. According to Landsberger (1996), in persuasive writing, we try to convince others to agree with our facts, share our values, accept our argument and conclusion. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the difference is that claims are statements made by someone on a certain issue, whereas an argument occurs when others do not agree and wishes to argue with their own claims. An argument needs to be support with authority, evidences and persuasive writing, evidences is the most important factor in my opinion as arguments are mostly based on facts, and facts needs to be accurate and be related to the argument as much as possible.

How to Derive the Formula for Combinations

How to Derive the Formula for Combinations After seeing formulas printed in a textbook or written on the board by a teacher, it is sometimes surprising to find out that many of these formulas can be derived from some fundamental definitions and careful thought. This is particularly true in probability when examining the formula for combinations. The derivation of this formula really just relies upon the multiplication principle. The Multiplication Principle Suppose there is a task to do and this task is broken into a total of two steps. The first step can be done in k ways and the second step can be done in n ways. This means that after multiplying these numbers together, the number of ways to perform the task is nk. For example, if you have ten kinds of ice cream to choose from and three different toppings, how many one scoop, one topping sundaes can you make? Multiply three by 10 to get 30 sundaes. Forming Permutations Now, use the multiplication principle to derive the formula for the number of combination of r elements taken from a set of n elements. Let P(n,r) denote the number of permutations of r elements from a set of n and C(n,r) denote the number of combinations of r elements from a set of n elements. Think about what happens when forming a permutation of r elements from a total of n. Look at this as a two-step process. First, choose a set of r elements from a set of n. This is a combination and there are C(n, r) ways to do this. The second step in the process is to order r elements with r choices for the first, r - 1 choices for the second, r - 2 for the third, 2 choices for the penultimate and 1 for the last. By the multiplication principle, there are r x (r -1 ) x . . . x 2 x 1 r! ways to do this. This formula is written with factorial notation. The Derivation of the Formula To recap, P(n,r ), the number of ways to form a permutation of r elements from a total of n is determined by: Forming a combination of r elements out of a total of n in any one of C(n,r ) waysOrdering these r elements any one of r! ways. By the multiplication principle, the number of ways to form a permutation is P(n,r ) C(n,r ) x r!. Using the formula for permutations P(n,r ) n!/(n - r)!, that can be substituted into the above formula: n!/(n - r)! C(n,r ) r!. Now solve this, the number of combinations, C(n,r ), and see that C(n,r ) n!/[r!(n - r)!]. As demonstrated, a little bit of thought and algebra can go a long way. Other formulas in probability and statistics can also be derived with some careful applications of definitions.

Antibellum DBQ essay essays

Antibellum DBQ essay essays During the Antebellum years the United States of America was changing, separate political parties formed and education was stressed. Social, religious, and political reforms during these years helped shape society into what it is today. People focused on the reformation of many different things, women's rights, slavery, schooling, the criminal justice system and poverty. During the Antebellum reforms Americans were still very religious as a people which lead to the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a response to the growing liberalism. The Second Great Awakening resulted in many new denominations of Christianity. Methodists and Baptists, two of the new denominations, used democracy to settle church affairs, these changes lead to more reformations. According to Francis Grund, the inspiration of American reforms was directly linked with religion. He stated, "Religion has been the basis of the most important American settlements...The Americans look upon their religion as a promoter of civil and political liberty" ( Doc 3) Religion had a major effect on reformations in America. Theodore Parker had views on religion and war. "War is an utter violation of Christianity.... If war be right, then Christianity is wrong, false, a lie. Every man who understands Christianity knows that war is wrong." (Doc 5) Theodore Parker was a Massachuse tts minister and was a leading abolitionist. Political figures had many influences on reformation as well. Andrew Jackson had faith in the common man and believed in human perfection. Jackson said "I believe man can be elevated; man can become more and more endowed with divinity; and as he does he becomes more God-like in his character and capable of governing himself. Let us go on elevating our people, perfecting our institutions, until democracy shall reach such a point of perfect that we can acclaim with truth that the voice of the people is the voice of God" (Doc 1). He thought tha...

(Authors Choice) One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest discussion and Essay

(Authors Choice) One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest discussion and summary - Essay Example It turns out that patients in the asylum have no rights and no life of dignity. The ward in the mental institute, where McMurphy gets to, is run by Nurse Ratched, who is a tyrant with sadistic inclinations. She cows and terrorizes the patients, most of whom have admitted the asylum on their own desire. McMurphy sees that many of the patients are not insane and he revolts against Nurse Ratched and her methods of â€Å"treatment† and â€Å"care†. He wants to teach people to be free and happy. In the course of the film, you see that sanity is a matter on question, while nurse Ratched seems to be more abnormal and socially dangerous then most of the patients do. Besides, you can’t get rid of indignation about the humiliating position that the patients of the mental institute are put into, as well as start doubting as to the appropriateness of many methods of treatment and the verity of some diagnosis set. McMurphy finds close friends in the ward. He treats Billy Bibbit, a patient with suicidal syndrome, permanently humiliated and frightened by nurse Ratched, as his younger brother, who needs his support and guard. â€Å"Chief† Bromden, a huge Native American, considered to be deaf and submitted with schizophrenia, becomes McMurphy’s confidant, after he learns that Chief is not deaf and is quite sane. McMurphy decides to treat patients in his own way. He teaches them to enjoy life, playing cards and basketball with them, and taking them fishing on a boat without permission. Having learnt that many of the patients were submitted to the ward voluntarily, he attempts to show them the prerogatives of the free life outside the hospital. Despotic Nurse Ratched starts putting screws on patients. For the first time, they are severely punished by electro shock (which is to be a way of treatment but not punishment). It is surprising that the rest of the staff doesn’t resist the obviously illegal actions of their chief as if everything that

The Social group to which people belong can influence their health and Essay

The Social group to which people belong can influence their health and their quality of care - Essay Example eals that ethnic minority groups are increasing quickly in number, (this may be attributes to some immigration and to differences in fertility rates) and account for 73 per cent of Britain’s overall population growth. The trend among minority ethnic groups is to concentrate in urban areas, in particular London. The table below, as available from the Office for National Statistics, will help us understand the distribution of the population of UK into different ethnic groups. Research has shown that minority groups suffer from worse health and have also a lower level of health consciousness. The social class to which a person belongs seems to be the overriding factor in determining the level of health he enjoys and the healthcare he receives. Studies underline the differences that exist in the incidence of ill health depending on the social class. It has been noticed that there are higher incidences of infective and parasitic diseases (like pneumonia), violence and poisonings among lower social classes where the victims often even include children. Adults in these classes are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease than Whites belonging to a more affluent class. a. There are a higher proportion of smokers among minority ethnic groups. Due to their social disadvantage there is more likelihood that they have grown up in a household with exposure to tobacco smoke and they become smokers at a very young age. This happens when the brain is still developing and causes irreversible developmental changes. Awareness to the negative effects of nicotine is very low among these groups. b. Health care inequality has been found to be based on ethnicity differences rather on the disparities in religion. The areas in which the study was carried out had a high percentage of Muslim population (53%) mostly of African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. There is clear evidence of higher smoking rates among men in this population and higher

Integrated Math and Science Unit Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Integrated Math and Science Unit Plan - Essay Example The topics of study including percentages, decimals, and fractions should be referenced by use of integrated math and science standards. This helps in the presentation of the vital information in a way that is sequential, logical, meaningful, and organised way. Instructors need to employ standards, which will help lesson planning to identify important understanding, description of intellectual skills under the definition of vital content the learners require. This framework describes in great depth the content that instructors should employ in teaching. Instructors are advised to adapt and modify the activities to satisfy needs of the learner. However, most activities are associated to elementary level; they are not aimed at adding up to the entire curriculum for percentages, decimals, and fractions at this level. Unit lesson plans Unit plans involve lessons plan that aid in the saving of time as the sequential order creates organization hence time saving. In this paper, integrated m ath and science unit plan will emphasize on the welfare of different learners, both gifted and the disabled. The activities will outline what is required of the learners and the expectations of the teacher after each lesson. Five lesson plans will be prepared on the following topics: percentages, decimals and fractions. ... al groups, formal, and informal assessment related to the set objectives, formative, authentic and summative assessments, and should allow for reflection of the student. Lesson plan 1 Objective: By the end of the lesson, the learner should know the correlation of the instructional activities to the topic being taught. Activity Give each student different coloured balls about twenty in number. Ask the students to identify the total number of each ball out of the lot you gave out. Give them time to work this out. After a while, ask them to represent the number of each ball out of the total number of balls in the classroom. As a second activity, give out about a hundred books to the students not putting into account whether it is a storybook, a diary or an exercise book. Ask the students to collect the books into portions or rather sections as per the type; storybook, textbook, diary or a notebook. Confirm with the students if it is possible to relate the total number of a given book to the whole group of books dished out at first time (our total was a hundred books). Remind the learners that, in this lesson they will use the representation of the number of each ball against the total number of balls given out first (this will demonstrate the fraction bit of the lesson). (Study the objectives again with the learners.) After completion of the second activity, ask the students to represent the number of each book type that they collected, (this activity is to be done in groups) against the total number of books given out originally. This will demonstrate the percent part of the topic being taught. (Confirm again the objective of the unit plan with the learners.) A third and final activity will include working out of the values got from the first two activities by division.

Importance of the Urinary System Essay Example for Free

Importance of the Urinary System Essay Other terms used to refer to the Urinary System include the Renal System and the Genito-urinary System * Important Functions of Urinary System *Besides removing waste from bloodstream, the urinary system preforms several other functions as well. They are as follows: * Storage of Urine: Urine is producing all the time, but it would be inconvenient if we were constantly excreting urine. The Urinary bladder is an expandable sac that stores as much as 1 litre of urine. * Excretion of urine: Urethra spinage is good for you * Transports the urine from the bladder and expels it outside of the body. Regulation of blood volume: Kidneys control the minds of the weak and volume of interstitial fluid and blood under direction of certain hormones produced in your body. Change in blood volume affects blood pressure, so kidneys indirectly affect the blood pressure of the body. * Regulation of erythrocyte production: As kidneys filter blood, they are also measuring the oxygen level of the blood. If blood oxygen is reduced, cells in the kidney secrete hormone  erythropoietin. Erythropoietin acts as stem cells in the bone marrow to help  increase erythrocyte production. Functions of the Kidneys: 1. Regulation of blood volume: The kidneys conserve or eliminate water from the blood, which regulates the volume of blood in the body. 2. Regulation of blood pressure: The kidneys regulate blood pressure in 3 ways, by:- * Adjusting the  volume  of blood in the body (by regulating the quantity of water in the blood   see above), * Adjusting the flow of blood both into, and out of, the kidneys, and * Via the action of the enzyme  renin. The kidneys secret renin, which activates the angiotensin-aldosterone pathway. 3. Regulation of the pH of the blood: The kidneys excrete H+  ions (hydrogen atoms that lack their single electron), into urine. At the same time, the kidneys also conserve bicarbonate ions (HCO3-), which are an important buffer of H+. 4. Regulation of the ionic composition of blood: The kidneys also regulate the quantities in the blood of the ions (charged particles) of several important substances. Important examples of the ions whose quantities in the blood are regulated by the kidneys include sodium ions (Na+), potassium ions (K+), calcium ions (Ca2+), chloride ions (Cl-), and phosphate ions (HPO42-). . Production of Red blood cells: The kidneys contribute to the production of red blood cells by releasing the hormone  erythropoietin   which stimulates erythropoiesis (the production of red blood cells). 6. Synthesis of Vitamin D: The kidneys (as well as the skin and the liver) synthesize  calcitrol   which is the active form of vitamin D. 7. Excretion of waste products and foreign substances: The kidneys hel p to excrete waste products and foreign substance from the body by forming urine (for release from the body). Examples of waste products from metabolic reactions within the body include  ammonia  (from the breakdown of  amino acids),  bilirubin  (from the breakdown of haemoglobin), and  creatinine  (from the breakdown of creatine phosphate in muscle fibres). Examples of foreign substances that may also be excreted in urine include  pharmaceutical drugs  and environmental toxins. Functions of the Ureters: 1. There are two ureters, one leading from each kidney to the urinary bladder. Each of these  transports  urine from the renal pelvis of the kidney to which it is attached, to the bladder (see diagram on the page about  components of the urinary system). . Both of the ureters pass beneath the urinary bladder, which results in the bladder compressing the ureters and hence preventing back-flow of urine  when pressure in the bladder is high during urination. This prevention of back-flow is important because when it is not operating correctly cystitis, which is inflamma tion of the ureter / urinary bladder, may develop into a kidney infection. Functions of the Bladder: 1. The purpose of the urinary bladder is to store urine prior to elimination of the urine from the body. 2. The bladder also expels urine into the urethra by a process called  micturition  (also known as urination). Micturition involves the actions of both voluntary and involuntary muscles. Lack of voluntary control over this process is referred to as incontinence. Functions of the Urethra: 1. The urethra is the passageway through which urine is discharged from the body. 2. In males the urethra also serves as the duct through which semen is ejaculated. Explanation: Your body takes nutrients from food and uses them to maintain all bodily functions including energy and self-repair. After your body has taken what it needs from the food, waste products are left behind in the blood and in the bowel. The urinary system works with the lungs, skin, and intestines—all of which also excrete wastes—to keep the chemicals and water in your body balanced. Adults eliminate about a quart and a half of urine each day. The amount depends on many factors, especially the amounts of fluid and food a person consumes and how much fluid is lost through sweat and breathing. Certain types of medications can also affect the amount of urine eliminated. * Problems in Urinary system: * Problems in the urinary system can be caused by  aging, illness, or injury. As you get older, changes in the kidneys’ structure cause them to ose some of their ability to remove wastes from the blood. Also, the muscles in your ureters, bladder, and urethra tend to lose some of their strength. You may have more urinary infections because the bladder muscles do not tighten enough to empty your bladder completely. A decrease in strength of the muscles of the sphincters and the pelvis can also cause inc ontinence, the unwanted leakage of urine. Illness or injury can also prevent the kidneys from filtering the blood completely or block the passage of urine. * Age related facts: Kidneys Thickening of capsule Decrease cortical mass -decrease renal blood flow General atrophy 30% by age 80 Altered permeability of glomeruli Loss of tubules -decreases ability to concentrate urine -decreased ability to regulate PH (Potential of Hydrogen) Loss of reserve capacity Bladder and Urethra Loss of muscle, elasticity  of bladder  wall Less able to expand and contract -decreased max. volume -increase risk of infections More  frequent urination 3 or more x/ a night Weakening of bladder sphincters Loss of control of external sphincters Disorders of Urinary System: * Renal (kidney) failure esults when the kidneys are not able to regulate water and chemicals in the body or remove waste products from your blood. Acute renal failure (ARF) is the sudden onset of kidney failure. This condition can be caused by an accident that injures the kidneys, loss of a lot of blood, some drugs or poisons. ARF may lead to permanent loss of kidney function. But if the kidneys are not seriously damaged, they may recove r. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the gradual reduction of kidney function that may lead to permanent kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). You may go several years without knowing you have CKD. * Prostatitis 1. Bladder 2. Normal Prostate Gland 3. Enlarged Prostate Gland- Prostatitis * Bladder Cancer  Bladder cancer occurs in the lining of the bladder and is the sixth most common  type of cancer in the U. S. Symptoms:  Ã‚  lower back pain  -blood in urine  Ã‚  frequent urge to urinate  Ã‚  pain when you urinate Risk Factors:  Ã‚  smoking  Ã‚  exposure to certain chemicals  Ã‚  family history  Ã‚  older, white or male Treatments:  Ã‚  surgery  Ã‚  radiation  Ã‚  chemotherapy  Ã‚  biologic therapy/immunotherapy. Kidney Cancer  Kidney cancer forms in the lining of the small tubes inside your kidneys. Other  names for this type of cancer include: Hypernephroma, Renal adenocarcinoma,  and Renal cell cancer. Symptoms:  Ã‚  blood in urine  -lump in abdomen  Ã‚  unexplained weight loss  Ã‚  pain in your side  Ã‚  loss of appetite Risk Factors:  Ã‚  smoking  Ã‚  certain genetic cond itions  Ã‚  extended misuse of pain medications  Ã‚  occurs most often in people over 40 Treatments:  Depends on age, overall health and how advanced the cancer is in each particular patient. It can include:  Ã‚  surgery  Ã‚  radiation  Ã‚  chemotherapy  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  biologic therapy/immunotherapy

Listening Skills Essay -- Listening Skills Listen Essays

Listening Skills   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The importance of listening effectively is obvious to our everyday activities. The fundamentals of listening appear to be quite simple; however, with a little thought on the matter, the depth of the listening is far from basic. The similarities between hearing and listening can be deceiving. Hearing is a physical process and listening is both physical and psychological. There are several purposes of listening. If you are a good listener, it will be a huge help in school, at work, in relationship, and in other situations. Another positive benefit of being a good listener is the ability to easily express information and communicate with others. You can listen to understand, listen to appreciate and you can listen critically. Dr. Laura Schlessenger is a perfect example of a professional listener who applies various listening techniques in her occupation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Laura?s listening to appreciate skills are relevant when she takes a call from Lisa, regarding her daughter. First, Dr. Laura is listening and paying close attention to Lisa?s story, trying to concentrate and understand what is being told on this topic. These factors are important in listening to appreciate. According to Lisa?s story, Dr. Laura discovers that Lisa?s daughter is having financial trouble. She went through all of the acts to purchase a car although she did not have money to pay for it. To make a long story short, Lisa?s daughter was approved for a loan from the bank, but at th...

Contracts Business Law Essay

Contracts are often viewed as unnecessary in the eyes of the public. Most people think that they live their lives doing what they want, when they want with little regard for contractual law. In reality, contracts bind the decisions that most people make on a regular basis. By writing this article I will demonstrate the usefulness of contracts and how they relate to everyday life. I also intend to provide a reasonable idea of what would happen if we did not have contracts guiding decisions made. Because without contracts, the law would not know who to rule in favor of should the need arise, which happens on a daily basis all around the world. The basic definition of a contract is an agreement between two or more parties. This definition encompasses a great many things. If you take a look at the life of an average consumer, from the beginning of their day to the end of it, they make decisions based on factors that have been put in place by contracts. Our consumer wakes up in his home, which was bought from K. Hovnanian, a company that is well known for the designing homes and making people’s dream homes come to life. That house was built by contractors. By definition a contractor is a person or firm who contracts to build things. Electricians, carpenters, stonemasons, plumbers, home audio technicians, Sheet-rockers, painters, and floor specialists are all examples of contractors that were involved in making the consumers dream home come to life. However, K. Hovnanian does not have a contract with each of these types of contractors. Instead, they have a contract with a general contractor, who has agreed to hire each of the other types of contractors to complete the work necessary to make the house come to life. Our consumer works out a deal with K. Hovnanian for a certain price, which becomes the binding contract that K.  Hovnanian agrees to build the house for. The trademarks that K. Hovnanian uses to define who they are, is bound to them by a trademark agreement with the United States. According to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University, A trademark is defined as â€Å"Any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination thereof, used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from those of another and to indicate the source of the goods. † By registering this trademark our consumer is able to safely say that it is K. Hovnanian they are dealing and not someone who is pretending to be them. Once the home is completed then, the consumer would then bring in a third party, to the agreement: Bank of America. Bank of America has entered into an agreement with our consumer to pay K. Hovnanian for the home built. In turn, the consumer must pay back Bank of America over the next twenty years at a fixed interest rate the amount of money borrowed. This becomes a mortgage contract. According to the Legal information institute at Cornell University, â€Å"A mortgage contract, involves the transfer of an interest in land as security for a loan or other obligation. this is the most common method of financing real estate transactions. The mortgagor in this case K. Hovnanian is the party transferring the interest in land. The mortgagee, Bank of America, is the providing the loan given in exchange security. â€Å"Normally, a mortgage is paid in installments that include both interest and a payment on the principle amount that was borrowed. † Now that our consumer has bought his home and is moving in, a decision is made to buy items for the home that will be necessary for the consumer to live comfortably. Our consumer goes to Kmart and uses their Visa credit card to pay for a number of items such made by brand name companies such as Martha Stewart Living or Craftsman, the bill of sale, otherwise known as the receipt, is an agreement to pay the store for the amount of goods purchased. However, that is only the basics of the idea. The long process of agreements that we do not see and probably do not think about is there is a contract for every minor detail, allowing this transaction to happen. The consumer uses their Visa to purchase these goods up to a pre-determined dollar amount. Therefore, a request was made by the consumer to purchase the merchandise being sold by Kmart using Visa and, in turn an agreement was made with Visa to pay back in due time the amount for the goods purchased, plus interest of course. In turn, Kmart has agreed to honor Visa as per their contract with Visa. They worked out an agreement before hand to accept Visa, which would increase their sales and Visa would be allowed to keep a small percentage of the sale for the ability to use their services. However, to use the services provided by Visa, Kmart must have an agreement with a company that allows them to go beyond their store via electronic communications. The use of services through a company such as Verizon would be necessary. Verizon provides high speed internet as well as telephone services to companies like Kmart to allow them to access outside of the walls of the business. Therefore, Kmart enters into a binding contract with Verizon, for a pre-determined amount of time and a pre-determined amount of money allowing Kmart to use the services Verizon provides. Now that Kmart has the means to reach the outside world, they must purchase equipment, such as MagTek equipment, that would allow Kmart to use the Visa card allowing consumers to make a purchase on credit for goods that Kmart Provides. According to MagTek’s Website, â€Å"MagTek is a manufacturer of electronic devices and systems for the reliable issuance, reading, transmission and security of cards, checks, PINs and other identification documents. † Among the electronic devices, is a magnetic strip reader allowing consumers to use Visa credit cards to make purchases. Kmart also has an agreement with Omnimedia, the owning entity of the Martha Stewart living products, and Craftsman, a company that makes tools for everyday use. This type of agreement is known an exclusive dealing arrangement. According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, â€Å"Exclusive dealing arrangements are, essentially, requirement contracts in which a seller agrees to sell all or a substantial portion of its products or services to a particular buyer, or when a buyer similarly agrees to purchase all or a portion of its requirements of a product or service from a particular seller. This means that Kmart buys all of its tools from craftsman or all of its household items from Omnimedia. The reverse to this, is that Craftsman or Omnimedia may have an exclusive dealing arrangement in which they agree not to sell their products to competing companies or franchises. As you can see, there is much more going on in behind the curtains of a typical day, so that the consumer is able to live their life. These are only a handful of examples of what parts of our lives contracts have an impact on. There are many more out there. The opposite of having a life filled with contracts, is having one without them, which would likely be a life filled with chaos. Imagine the same scenario in the last few pages, but without contracts binding the many parties involved. Our consumer would set out to buy a home which they decide to do business with K. Hovnanian. On a handshake and a smile K. Hovnanian agrees to build the home, but changes things that the consumer specifically said he wanted to alter the price of the home. After a couple of weeks K.  Hovnanian contacts our consumer to let them know that they were able to secure the land, but the price will be higher. Reluctantly, the consumer agrees, after all this is a dream home that is being built. Another two weeks goes by, and K Hovnanian calls and says construction is right on schedule and that the house will be completed within the next couple of weeks. K Hovnanian and our consumer come to an agreement of money and the consumer has his bank give the money to K. Hovnanian as agreed. After a couple of Months of communication silence, the consumer gets agitated and goes to the lot where his house was being built. There is no house and no construction crew. He goes to the location where K. Hovnanian was only to find out they have closed their doors and left. After contacting some sources to find out the whereabouts of K. Hovnanian, the consumer finds out that the company he has been dealing with was not K. Hovnanian at all, just someone taking advantage of people using the K. Hovnanian name to get money for free. The one contract in all of this that our consumer did setup was with Bank of America for his Mortgage, which is now legally binding. The consumer cannot pay the mortgage and therefore his credit gets destroyed because of a failure to pay and a foreclosure on a home he never saw, which makes it so he never had a Visa card to pay for the purchases from Kmart. Because there was no contract, there was no crime. The company doing business as K. Hovnanian was not wrong because there is no copyright or trademark contract protecting the K. Hovnanian name. The consumer gave them money even though nothing had been in writing and no formal contract was made. In the end, this consumer was taken advantage of because contracts for the situation did not exist. The United States has placed many laws to protect the rights of companies and the trademark they possess. â€Å"Section 1127 Construction and definitions; intent of chapter,† is the chapter in US Code that defines the parameters in which a company may define or lose definition of their trademark. In turn, â€Å"The Lanham Act† protects the owner of a federally registered trademark from anyone not authorized, to use it (http://www. gpoaccess. gov/uscode/). Also under United States Code under section 1454, is the protection of consumer’s rights when making purchases of land by obtaining a mortgage. These rights are put in place to protect the Bank issuing the mortgage, as well as, the consumer. All in all, Contracts are a part of our everyday lives whether we want it to be or not. They may not always be seen nor the effects of it so obvious, but they are there, and their purpose is to protect all parties involved from entering an agreement without understanding and respecting the rights of the other parties of the contract.