The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin

Compare Prices When you hear the name Benedict Arnold what words comes to mind? You probably aren’t thinking war hero or military genius, but according to historian Steve Sheinken, that’s just what Benedict Arnold was until†¦Well, you’ll get the rest of the story when you read this marvelous  nonfiction book The Notorious Benedict Arnold  about the early life, high adventures, and the tragic  end to an infamous icon. The Story: The Early Years He was a sixth generation Benedict Arnold born into a wealthy New Haven, Connecticut family in 1741. His father, Captain Arnold, owned a lucrative shipping business and the family enjoyed an elite lifestyle. Benedict, however, was an unruly child and difficult to control. He often got into trouble and refused to follow rules. Hoping he would learn respect and some discipline, his parents sent him away to a boarding school when he was eleven, but this did little to  cure his wild ways. Economic hardships turned the Arnold’s fortunes to ruin. His father’s shipping business suffered greatly and creditors were demanding their money. Arnold’s father was jailed for not paying his debts and he quickly turned to drinking. No longer able to afford the boarding school, Benedict’s mother had him return. Now a teenager the rebellious boy was humiliated when he had to deal publicly with his drunken father.  A grim determination settled over Benedict who vowed to never be poor or suffer humiliation again. He focused his attention on learning business and become a successful tradesman himself.  His ambition and reckless drive brought him great success and helped prepare him to become a fearless military man when he threw his support in favor of the American Revolution. The Story: Military Success and Treason Benedict Arnold did not like the British. He did not like the taxes imposed on his business. Headstrong and not always waiting for instruction, Arnold would organize his own militia and march into battle before Congress or even General Washington could intervene. He boldly engaged in what some soldiers called â€Å"chaotic combat† but always managed to come out of the battle successful. One British official commented on Arnold saying, â€Å" I think he has shown himself the most enterprising and dangerous man among the rebels. (Roaring Book Press, 145). Arnold is credited with turning the tide of the American Revolution with his success at the Battle of Saratoga. However, problems started when Arnold felt  he wasn’t getting the recognition he deserved. His pride and inability to get along with other military officers branded him a difficult and power hungry individual. As Arnold began to feel unappreciated he turned his loyalties to the British and began a communication with high ranked British officer named John Andre. The treasonous plot between the two, if successful, would have changed the outcome of the American Revolution.  A series of coincidental and perhaps fateful events resulted in revealing the dangerous plot and changing the course of history. The Author: Steve Sheinkin Steve Sheinkin is a textbook writer by profession with a long held interest in the story of Benedict Arnold.  Admittedly obsessed with Benedict Arnold, Sheinkin spent years researching his life in order to write the adventurous tale. Writes Sheinkin, â€Å"I’m convinced it’s one of the best action/adventure tales in American History. (Roaring Book Press,  309). Sheinkin has written several historical books for young readers including King George: What was His Problem?  and Two Miserable Presidents. The Notorious Benedict Arnold is the 2012 winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and also recognized with the 2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. The book is also listed on School Library Journal’s  Best Children’s Books of 2010and is on the Horn Book Magazine’s Fanfare List, Best of 2010. (Source: Macmillan) My Recommendation: The Notorious Benedict Arnold The Notorious Benedict Arnold is a nonfiction book that reads like an adventure novel.  From his wild boyhood pranks to his manic battlefield heroics to the ultimate act that would brand him a notorious traitor, Benedict Arnold’s life was anything but dull. He was fearless, reckless, prideful, greedy, and one of George Washington’s favorite military leaders. The irony is that if Arnold had actually died while engaged in battle, it’s quite possible he’d have gone down in the history books as one of the heroes of the American Revolution, but instead his actions branded him a traitor. This nonfiction read is extremely engaging and detailed. Sheinkin’s impeccable research weaves together a fascinating narrative of the life of a very interesting man. Using many resources including several primary documents such as journals, letters,  and memoirs, Sheinkin recreates battle scenes and relationships that help readers understand the events leading up to Arnold’s decision to betray his country. Readers will be fascinated by this story that is a play by play account of events whose final outcome could have changed the course of American history.   Although the publisher recommends this nonfiction middle grade book for readers 11-14, I consider it a young adult book because  of its  mature themes of war, death,  and betrayal. Sheinkins book is a first rate example of in depth and credible research and is an excellent introduction on how to use primary documents when writing a research paper.(Roaring Book Press, 2011. ISBN: 9781596434868) Compare Prices

Evolution of Oracle Time Machine FlashBack Essay - 901 Words

Evolution of Oracle Time Machine: FlashBack â€Å"It’s gone by mistake†. We human beings are tend to make mistakes. But what happens when this mistake committed by database user. Is there any simple recycle bin concept or simple time travelling concept The answer is YES, there is. Sometimes it’s just simple a query or some data cleansing methods used by the users or data librarians, whatever may the cause be, data-loss is a very common phenomenon. Backup and recovery methods are provided by the Oracle database management systems which ensure the safety of valuable data in case of data loss however, not all data-loss situations can utilize the complete and tedious recovery concepts from the backup. Oracle introduced flashback features from†¦show more content†¦Changes made to the database which includes user data and data dictionary are recorded in the Oracle redo log files. This redo log file plays a critical role during database recovery. Oracle Log Miner enables to query the contents of the redo log files with the help of the SQL interface. Oracle9i: Flashback Query wan first introduced in Oracle 9i. It enables the user to view the database as it existed at a point in time in the recent past using DBMS_FLASHBACK package .This functionality was enhanced from Oracle 9i release 2 onwards with the addition of the AS OF TIMESTAMP clause to the SELECT statement. Oracle10g: Two major improvements has been made in the backup and recovery areas in Oracle 10g.If there is a logical corruptions occur in the database ,oracle flashback technology provides fast and flexible data recovery. Some of the extended features includes -FlashBack database (One of the fastest way to bring back the database to a prior point in time without restoring from the backup.),Flashback Stand By Database, Flashback Drop (user can restore table that were dropped accidentally),Flashback Table(User can recover a table without restoring it from backup),Flashback Row History, Flashback Transaction History(User can audit and diagnose database transactions),User can issue ALTER DATABASE BEGIN BACKUP and END BACKUP statements when the database is open. Oracle11g: With Oracle Database 11g, we have a new option available, called Total RecallShow MoreRelatedCase Infosys13356 Words   |  54 Pagesinformation technology consulting that shortened the lifecycle from business consulting to technology implementation, reduced the costs of a typical client engagement and delivered measurable benefits to clients. FLASHBACK TO APRIL 2004: THE INCEPTION OF INFOSYS CONSULTING The evolution of global Information Technology (IT) service companies in India began in the 1990s with the procurement of application development and maintenance services by American companies. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)Read MoreCrossing the Chasm76808 Words   |  308 PagesGetting Beyond the Chasm About the Author Credits About the Publisher Front Cover Preface to the Revised Edition â€Å"Obiwan Kenobi,† says Sir Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars movie— â€Å"Now there’s a name I haven’t heard for a long, long time.† The same might well be said of a number of the companies that served as examples in the original edition of Crossing the Chasm. Reading through its index brings to mind the medieval lament, â€Å"Where are the snows of yesteryear?† Where indeed are

Capgemini Interview free essay sample

The firm has over 110,000 employees in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific region and the Middle East . Apart from management and support roles, the firms employees are grouped into four major disciplines, each of which is governed by its specific economic rules, and managed with its own profit: Consulting Services Outsourcing Services Technology Services Local Professional Services Application and Interview Process[Edit] The Capgemini application process involves three or four main stages, depending on which programme you apply for: On-line application form or applying through a headhunter/recruitment agency. Telephone interview. Half-day assessment centre in a Capgemini office, for your specific graduatescheme. Telephone Interview[Edit] The Capgemini telephone interview lasts for approximately 30 40 minutes. Questions may include: Give me a 2-3 minute overview about yourself. Why did you choose Capgemini/Consultancy? Are you aware of the travelling involved in consultancy and do you think youcan deal with it? Do you have any family commitments, (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Capgemini Interview or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page g wife/girlfriend) that means youwould be unable to travel long distances and stay in other locations for extended periods of time? Tell me what you know about Capgemini and their competitors. What do you think makes Capgemini different from their competitors? What is a development life cycle? What is currently happening in the IT market? Are you comfortable with technology? Tell me a situation where youve worked in a team and individually. What do you think the future holds for Capgemini and IT based organisations? Competency Questions you may be asked during the telephone interview include: Give me an example of a time when you were in a team and you faced a difficult task. Give me an example of a time when you persuaded a team about something, how did you persuade them, what was the outcome? Give me an example of a time when you adapted to change, what did you learn,what was the outcome? Give me an example of a time when you changed something (system, procedure etc), and got others to implement the same system? How did you go about telling them to do this?

TO KNOW LIFE IS TO SEE DEATH. Essays - American Christians

TO KNOW LIFE IS TO SEE DEATH. After selecting and reading numerous Emily Dickinson poems at random I began to see a pattern in that a majority of her poems were touching on the same subject in Death. Poem after poem death was her main focus and I didn't know why. Being that I didn't really have any previous knowledge of Dickinson's work, besides the dialogue we had in class, I decided to look further into her life. I found that the later years of Dickinson's life were primarily spent in mourning because of several deaths within the time frame of a few years. Emily's father died in 1874, Samuel Bowles died in 1878, J.G. Holland died in 1881, her nephew Gilbert died in 1883, and both Charles Wadsworth and Emily's mother died in 1882. Over those five years, many of the most influential and precious friendships of Emily's passed away, and that gave way to the more concentrated obsession with death in her poetry. After suffering the loss of so many important people in her life, it would seem like Dickinson would despise death, but instead I got the impression that she not only had come to accept death, but she also admired it in her own little way. This sounded very awkward at first, but after spending several hours of absorbing her poetry, I think I began to understand where she was coming from. I don't mean to say that she completely became in love with death, but I do think that a very strange fascination came over her. In many of her poems she talked as if she were present while some of these people were on their deathbed. This is where I think that Dickinson separated herself from other writers of her time, in that she made sure that as a reader one would also feel present as things occurred. She demonstrated this best in her poems "I've Seen a Dying Eye," and my favorite, "So Proud She was to Die." In the poem "I've Seen a Dying Eye," Dickinson first introduces us to the nature of death. Immediately a sense of uncertainty and uncontrollability over death seems to exist: I've see a dying eye Run round and round a room In search of something, as it seemed, Then cloudier become; And then, obscure with fog, And then be soldered down, Without disclosing what it be, 'Twere blessed to have seen. The observer's speech sounds hesitant and unsure of what he or she is seeing. The picture that goes through my mind as I read this passage is that of a person lying on their deathbed as family and friends are present. Dickinson is present, but she really isn't that close to the dying. I say this because of the way she describes this otherwise gut-wrenching scene. There seems to be no sentimentality involved what so ever. She seems as if she is simply in the background while all is happening, until something grabs her attention by surprise. What grabs her is the dying eye! It catches her attention as it dances around obviously in search of something. Here, it seems like Dickinson really seems to focus in on the eye, as she is able to see it become "cloudier" and "obscure with fog." She sees that the expiring person seems to have no control over the clouds covering their eye. It is frantically searching for something that it can only hope to find before the clouds completely consume i t. The most important part of the poem comes in the end when the eye closes and ceases to search the room. "And then be soldered down, /Without disclosing what it be/'Twere blessed to have seen." The eye, as discussed earlier, seems to be agitated and searching desperately for something. The failing person's eye is then "soldered down" and fails to let its observers know what was seen. The use of the word "solder" implies to me that whatever answer the eye found beyond the clouds is now permanently sealed away from us, and the rest of the living world. It seems that we sometimes, as in the case of this particular observer, envy a dead person because they have discovered the answer to that haunting question. The

Some Things I Like About Myself ( Expository Essay) Essays

Some Things I Like About Myself ( Expository Essay) Essays Some Things I Like About Myself ( Expository Essay) Essay Some Things I Like About Myself ( Expository Essay) Essay † that the possibility to achieve a goal is what makes life meaningful†, this is why I have worked very hard throughout my entire life to achieve the goals and dreams that I have set up for myself , for example my newest goal is to be able to validate my career, in order to accomplish this I need to improve my English skills , for that reason I have returned to school at my age right now I am focusing on oral communication and writing skills. I hope I will not have trouble understanding native speakers and my writing documents will be done in more professional manner. After I have master this language I will be able to get my masters off accounting and work as a CPA, a certify public account, but in order to achieve this result I will to re-take some classes and get new credits, since law changes , as law changes, taxes and other issues are handle different between countries. For many of the other classes I will be able to transfer the credits form my degree in Colombia. Since number does not change, the mathematical problems stay the same. The second quality I have I am friendly person, sometimes when the people come into the my life I know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach me a lesson, or to help me figure out who I am or who I want to become. You never know who these people may be become to be possibly my neighbor, worker , good friend , lover, or even a complete stranger, when I met some people I sow beyond their physical appearance (poor or rich , black or white , educate or not ) , but I am sure all human being bring to my life positive aspects to learn even though some people are unfriendly and include impolite , but I try to be kind and laid-back to them. A third quality I am prudent for example, I have learned through my many errors in life no to duplicate my unfortunate actions. All my life I have been taught before I act, in order to prevent myself from making mistakes I need to consider the consequences of my actions prior to acting. I guess sometimes I am not spontaneous but I avoid possible future problems for bad actions or decisions. Finally, I recognize I am not perfect, but these qualities as persistent, friendly and prudent brought to my life happiness effect the way I feel about myself and my life and constantly seek to improve myself to become better.

How to Write a Memorable Author Bio (with Template)

How to Write a Memorable Author Bio (with Template) How to Write a Killer Author Bio It’s important for indie authors to know how to write an author bio that tells readers: who you are, what you write, why readers should trust you, and how you stand out from other writers.Your bio is like your calling card. â€Å"It's something that will let readers get a sense of who you are, and is an important part for pitching media and book proposals,† sums up marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham, formerly of Penguin Random House.This step-by-step guide dives into the four main components of a killer author bio and provides tips from our talented marketers for nailing each section.Why your author bio mattersFor non-fiction authors, the author bio is a critical marketing tool as who are you are is often as (or more!) important than what your book is about. If readers enjoy your books, they will likely want to get to know you better, summarizes Rob. â€Å"Use your bio as a tool to confirm your credibility, display your personality, and cross-promote other titles. By taking those steps, you can help transform readers into fans.†What are some of the best author bios you’ve seen on an Amazon page or on a back cover? Share them in the comments below and tell us why you like them.

Explain how the twenties were and were not so roaring Essay

Explain how the twenties were and were not so roaring - Essay Example s facilitated by influx of money in to the economies by soldiers from US and Canada who had just returned from War hence the production industry was forced to expand to meet the increased demand of goods. In 1921, President Harding signed the Emergency Tariff of 1921 which was aimed at reducing the tax rates, reducing the national debt and protecting the interests of the farmers. Overconfidence in the boom economy contributed to stock price speculation and excessive credit in the economy which led to the stock market crash and the Great Depression. The federal expenditure was increased in order to create new job opportunities and help the industries which were collapsing. The roaring twenties saw the development of transport system and other communication technology advancements (Kenney 115). There was development of electricity manufacturing power and by 1929 all the main industries relied on electricity. Steam power provided much of the energy needs at the onset of 1920s but this was overtaken by electricity power as the decade progressed. Mechanization of manufacturing industries progressed through the roaring twenties where new processes and methods of production were implemented. The roaring twenties also experienced mass production in the automobile industry and mass broadcasting medium invention like the radio and television. Sound recording was later invented hence businesses conducted mass advertisements through these new mediums (Kenney 116). Massive government expenditure was invested in railway construction, electrification and upgrading the highways in the hope that these new infrastructure was reap benefits in future. Most of the local governments were in huge debts. Urbanization increased in cities and demand of white collar jobs was high. Most of the States ratified Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote thus further sparking a series of women movements who demanded more rights for women and Blacks. The twenties also were marked

Identify the artifacts produced on the images during CT scans Essay

Identify the artifacts produced on the images during CT scans. Describe the - Essay Example Several strategies have been developed to prevent artifacts. In this article, different artifacts in CT imaging and various techniques to prevent then will be elaborated. Different researchers have classified artifacts in different manner. While some experts have classified artifacts based on appearance, like ring artifacts, shading artifacts and streak artifacts (Goldman, 2007, 222), others have classified them based on the causes (Yazdi and Beaulieu, 2008, 135). In this articles, classification by Yazdi and Beaulieu (2008, 135) will be used. Patient-based artifacts occur because of some attributes in the body of the patients. The most common patient-based artifacts are metallic artifacts. These artifacts occur due to presence of irremovable metals in the body of the patient like hip prosthesis, dental filling, fracture fixation rods, cardiac prosthesis, chemotherapy ports and surgical clips. Metallic artifacts appear like streaks on images. They occur because of improper and inaccurate correction of beam hardening within the back projection that is filtered. As such, metals absorb photons heavily and cause overestimation of activity in the metallic region. This is the reason why patients are asked to remove all metallic objects in their body prior to entering the scan room. Several techniques have been developed to prevent on minimize metallic artifacts in CT images (Yazdi and Beaulieu, 2008, 136). One such strategy is to disregard data related to projections from metal objects and reconstruct image only based on projec tion data from non-corrupted regions. However, this method is very costly for regular scans and convergence problems occur frequently. Another strategy is to reconstruct images by manually identifying the missing projections and replacing them with non-missing projections of the surrounding areas. This method is known as projection-interpolation method. Other strategies to

Creation of Snow and Jack Frost Essay Example for Free

Creation of Snow and Jack Frost Essay Long ago, the weather was just warm and the grass was just green. Every person on earth was happy the way they were, and the way everything was. God was always trying to bring new things into Earth, to complete its perfectness. One day God had this big feeling that he needed to create something for Earth and his people. But what could it be? Everything was already so perfect. So God asked and angel named Jack to go down to Earth and figure out what was missing. Jack went down and searched and searched, he disguised himself as a human and asked many children and adults, â€Å"If you could add something to our earth, what would it be? everybody’s answers were the same. They all said that there was no needed change. Jack reported back to God and told him everything, but God still didn’t agree. He thought and thought of different ideas every day. One day, He caught a cold, and He couldn’t stop coughing or sneezing. Even when He had this cold, he still looked over Earth every single day and tried to improve it. But right when God was just about to give up and say the Earth was perfect enough, He let out the biggest strongest sneeze anyone could imagine. His sneeze was so powerful that it blew all the clouds onto the ground onto Earth and made them stay over top of the grass and cover every single thing on Earth in soft white stuff. When God seen this, He was appalled. He thought he ruined everything. But then a bright idea came into Angel Jack’s head. He said â€Å"Well since Earth has only warm weather and green grass, what if these clouds turn into cold soft ice and the weather becomes cold for half the year? † God thought this was a brilliant idea, so He did what Jack suggested. He turned the clouds and weather cold. He decided to call the clouds snow. He then told Jack to go check it out and see how the humans reacted. Jack once again went down to Earth and disguised himself. He asked all the children and adults what they thought of this snow. They all said the same thing, that they don’t know what to do or how to have fun in this snow. Jack thought to himself, â€Å"what if I think of fun games the children could play in this snow? † So he did, he lied on top of the snow, and started to move his hands up and down and his feet in and out. All the children saw what he was doing and did the same. They asked him what he was doing. Jack answered quickly, â€Å"I’m making, uh, snow angels! See these are the wings and these are their white long clothes! † The children’s faces lit up and asked Jack if he could show them any other fun stuff to do. So he thought quickly and started forming balls to throw and blocks of snow to make little forts. The children seen what he did and all said, â€Å"Let’s make snow balls and snow forts like Jack is! I love the snow! † Once Jack heard this, he was on his way back to God. He came back and when God asked how everyone liked it, he told him all this stories and God was exceeded. God then asked Jack, â€Å"Do you like this snow? † Jack answered, â€Å"I love this snow, so much! † So then God asked if he would like to become in charge of when snow falls, and in charge of making games and keeping the snow to the humans’ likings. Jack answered with a yes, so God said, â€Å"Well then Angel Jack, you are now named Jack Frost! † Jack was happy with that, he made his home at the North Pole and kept track of the snow and made sure everyone was happy ever since.

Macbeth Notes :: essays research papers

Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned king of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare's great villains, such as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is unable to bear the psychic consequences of his atrocities. Click here for In-Depth Analysis. Lady Macbeth - Macbeth's wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth's speeches imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to one another. Click here for In-Depth Analysis. The Three Witches - Three "black and midnight hags" who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms, spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves the witches' true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are servants of Hecate, we know little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who impersonally wove the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.

How College Students Use Wikipedia for Course-Related Essay

Why then are academics so wary about the use of Wikipedia within universities? There are a number of related reasons. Before outlining them we should acknowledge that there may be differences according to academic discipline in attitudes towards Wikipedia. Speaking to academics from the natural and medical sciences over the last year, it seems that those subjects are less concerned with issues of originality of source than the arts and social sciences. It also may be [pic] and this is genuine speculation [pic] that academics in the English speaking world, where most of the academic controversy over Wikipedia use has been, are more sensitive to the source than in other parts of the world. These qualifications aside, there are definite reasons why Wikipedia use is, at the very least, contentious in universities. First, it is the product of anonymous individuals rather than known authorities, Wales is quite explicit on this: One of the fastest things we’re beginning to lose is the view of the world that there are a handful of thoughtful, intelligent people that should be broadcasting their views to everyone. And then the public is some sort of crazed rabble, easily swayed by rhetoric and so forth. Now we have to have a more nuanced understanding. Wikipedia is not necessarily anti-academic but it is anti-elitist as evidenced by the short shrift given to eminent academics in debates when they expected deference (see Keen 2007, 43[pic]4). Second, the non-proprietary nature of Wikipedia cuts against academic culture which valorises the rights of the author and publisher. Third, the anonymity of Wikipedia articles is alien to the cache of the named writer of the journal article or book. Fourth, the collaborative process challenges the norm of individual creation, prevalent in the arts and social sciences. Fifth, as intimated, Wikipedia departs from the standard mode of vetting by peer review. It is not true that articles are not reviewed. On the contrary, they are scrutinised by far more editors than for any journal. However, as the contributor is generally not an academic expert, so the reviewer is not generally an academic expert. So Wikipedia rejects academic custom in the compilation of knowledge. In addition, there are a number of what might be termed ‘learning and teaching’ issues pertaining to its use within universities. First, there is the issue of the accuracy of Teaching in Higher Education 651 Downloaded by [University of Glasgow] at 05:27 12 December 2012 Wikipedia entries, something that relates to the lack of formal expertise and peer review. Reviews of the accuracy of Wikipedia entries by formal expert(s) have actually been generally positive (for natural sciences see Giles 2005; American history Meier 2008). Despite this, the suspicion still surrounds Wikipedia that it cannot be trusted. O’Sullivan’s (2009, 119) assertion that ‘most people probably have an ambivalent attitude toward Wikipedia, thankful for its existence, using it frequently, but with reservations about its total reliability’ seems valid. Some academics would no doubt sympathise with the sardonic observation of comedian Frankie Boyle that Wikipedia entries should begin with ‘I reckon’. Second, some have questioned whether Wikipedia’s determination for studied neutrality is convincing. O’Sullivan (2010) complains that as Wikipedia only displays one voice, diversity is not incorporated and therefore articles become bland. Wales’s response is unapologetic: ‘Guilty as charged, we’re an encyclopedia’ (in Read 2006). Not that his approach to knowledge is without theory, it derives rather from his admiration for the convoluted ‘objectivist philosophy’ of Aryan Rand, the Russian e?migre? philosopher and novelist (Younkins 2007). A third learning and teaching concern is that, regardless of the reliability of Wikipedia, it is in itself an illegitimate form of research. Here the thinking would be that a student who culls Wikipedia for assignments does not understand scholarship. This consists of the consideration of various sources: a judicious sifting and ordering of knowledge, rather than lifting bite sized chunks of text that purport to capture a subject. On this Wales concurs, telling students: ‘For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia’ (in Young 2006). Some universities in the US have banned Wikipedia use, whilst others recommend a more discriminating approach (Jaschik 2007; Murley 2008). The latter is what Wales and others within Wikipedia advise: it should be used only as a starting place in academic research, a references source and a revision aid. What, however, is the evidence on Wikipedia use by students and academics at universities?

Checkpoint: Evaluating Communication Strategies

Resources: pp. 195–210, 214–220, & 223–226 in Ch. 5 of Human Services in Contemporary America Answer the following questions in 200 to 300 words:†¢ What would you need to learn or know about each of your clients in order to communicate effectively with them? The text explains that culture/religion should be on a human service workers list of things to know. There are many different types of cultures and beliefs that go along with those cultures. For instance, there are cultures that believe it is ok to abuse the woman and while as human service workers, we do not agree, that is their culture and it is our job to help them see that it is not acceptable in the United States and there are consequences for violence against any human being especially domestic violence. I also believe that a human service worker should know what kind of lifestyle the person was raised in or where they grew up (i.e. the projects, ghetto, wealthy area, a different country etc).†¢ What strategies or techniques do you believe would be the best approach to take when communicating with each of these clients? I believe that being compassionate, empathetic, and genuineness is good approaches to communicating with clients. I also feel that being able to communicate well and listening are also good approaches to clients.†¢ How might you need to adapt your communication approach from one individual to the next? Every single person is different which means there are different personalities, cultures, religions and beliefs. While we may not always agree with the person we are trying to help, we need to be able to put ourselves in their shoes or at least know something about the person so that we can decide what the best way to help the person is.There are also different situations in which the worker should be able to adapt to. For example, one day I may work with a child who has serious mental health issues in which they may have a serious personality disorder and the next day I may work with a rape victim and my approach will change from case to case.

The Water System Rivers, Streams and Lakes

The Water System Rivers, Streams and Lakes The amount of water flowing in a river system forms a tiny percentage of the total water. Oceans hold approximately 1370 million cubic kilometers of water, which reflect to about 97% of the Earth’s total water.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Water System: Rivers, Streams and Lakes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Seventy five percent of the Earth’s fresh water is in the form of land ice while most of the remaining percentage is found in ground water. The lakes constitute about 125,000 cubic kilometers of the Earth’s water while the rest is found in soil moisture, the atmosphere and rivers, with the biosphere containing the least amount of water on the Earth’s surface. Rivers, streams and Lakes The words river and stream are used interchangeably in technical writing though they mean different things. While a river refers to a surface flow of water in a channel, the concept of a stream does not involve flow in a channel. Other terms used to signify small natural watercourses include creek, branch, burn and brook. Rivers are subjected to water loss through seepage and percolation into nearby aquifers. They also lose water through evaporation. As a result, the ability of a river or a stream to survive is dependent on the balance between water input and water loss. This paper looks at the various geographical elements of rivers, as well as, their relation to other water bodies and particulate matter. Water is in a constant cycle through various systems including river channels, ground water, lakes, soil and land ice. Oceans experience more evaporation than precipitation. As a result, the net difference of water vapor is conveyed over land, where it precipitates as rain. About 30% of the rainwater finds its way back to the ocean through river runoff and another 6% as direct discharge from ground water. Some of the rainfall is stored in other water bodies like lakes and rivers. The techniques used to compare rivers in the world involve an analysis of the size of the drainage area, the length of the main stem and the mean discharge. Research suggests that the global mean of the external runoff is approximately 0.01m3/s/km2.Advertising Looking for research paper on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The biggest rivers in the world are also known to have high discharges. They get their water from convectional rainfall in the equatorial region, or monsoon rains that are influenced by altitude. Streams are classified as perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral. Intermittent streams can be either temporal or spatial and are mostly found in karstic areas. The ephemeral streams only flow when the ground water table is raised by episodes of heavy rainfall. During this period, they reactivate various existing outlets that are located above ground, causing heavy erosion, as wel l as, deposition of large amounts of soil and rock materials. Particulate matter in rivers Rivers run through different courses between their source and discharge. The upper course refers to the highest section of a river, which is marked by hills or mountains. The water flows steeply into the middle course, where the gradient is less steep, allowing meanders to form. The lower course is characterized by level ground, meanders, oxbow lakes and deltas as the river reaches open water for discharge. The flow of a river can be either laminar, where the water flows at low velocity, or turbulent, where the water flows at high velocity. Rivers are characterized into perennial and nons of rivers around the world Rivers have many uses to human beings and other living organisms. They also serve a significant purpose in the ecology of wetlands. Some of the most prominent rivers in the world include the Sepik River, Mississippi River, Volga River, Zambezi and Mekong River. The Sepik River is th e longest river in Guinea, with a length of 1126 km. It originates in the central highlands and drains in the sea, without forming a delta. The Mississippi River is about 3730 km long and is the largest river in North America, passing through 31 US states. It originates at Lake Itasca and drains in the Gulf of Mexico. The Volga River is the longest river in Europe with a length of 3645 km. It is a crucial river in Russia as it serves 11 of its biggest cities. The Volga River has its source in the Valday Hills and drains in the Caspian Sea. River Zambezi is the fourth largest river in Africa, extending for 3540 km from the black wetland in Zambia through Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, before draining in the Indian Ocean from Mozambique. River Zambezi is a significant wildlife habitat for various animals including crocodiles and hippopotamuses. The Mekong River has a length of 4350 km, which makes it the 12th largest river in the world. The river originates in the Tibetan Pla teau and flows through China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It has many rapids and waterfall, which limit navigation. The Ganges River is 2510 km long. It starts in the Himalayas, in India, and discharges its water in the Sunderbans delta. It serves a religious purpose for the Hindus. Danube is a significant river in Europe. It is the second longest river after Volga, flowing for a length of 2850 km. Danube marks the border of 10 European countries starting in Germany and draining in the black Sea.Advertising Looking for research paper on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Yangtze River is about 6300 km long, which makes it the third largest river in the world, and the longest river in china. It flows from a glacier in the Tibetan plateau to the East China Sea. It serves the three gorges Dam, which is the world’s biggest hydroelectric power plant. The Nile is the longest river in the World. It extends for a length of 6650 km from east Africa to the Mediterranean. The river is a vital source of water in Egypt, which depends on the annual silt depositions for farming wheat and other crops. Amazon River is the second longest river in the world. It is also regarded as largest river in the world on the basis of its volume. The river is 6400 km long and flows through various countries in South America including Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. It then discharges into the Atlantic Ocean.

SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission

SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission The well known and widely scorned court case Citizens United has been credited with paving the way for the creation of super PACs, the hybrid political groups  that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations and unions  to influence American elections. But there would be no super PACs without a lesser known, companion court challenge to Federal Election Commission fundraising laws,  SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission. The nonprofit political group, organized under Internal Revenue Service Section 527, is just as instrumental in the creation of super PACs as Citizens United.   Summary of SpeechNow.org v. FEC SpeechNow.org sued the FEC in February 2008 claiming the $5,000  federal limit  on how much individuals can give to a political committee such as its own, which therefore limited how much it could spend supporting candidates,  represented a violation of the Constitutions First Amendment guarantee to freedom of speech.   In May of 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of SpeechNow.org, meaning the FEC could not longer enforce the contribution limits to independent groups.   Argument in Support of SpeechNow.org The Institute for Justice and the Center for Competitive Politics, which represented  SpeechNow.org, argued that the fundraising limits were a violation of free speech, but also that the FECs rules requiring it and similar groups to  organize, register, and report as a â€Å"political committee† in order to advocate for or against candidates was too burdensome. That means that while Bill Gates one his own could spend as much of his money as he wanted on political speech, he could contribute only $ 5,000 to a similar group effort.  But since the First Amendment guarantees individuals the right to speak without limit, it should be common sense that groups of individuals have the same rights.  It turns out that these limits and red tape made it virtually impossible for new independent citizen groups to raise start-up funding and effectively reach voters.   Argument Against SpeechNow.org The governments argument against SpeechNow.org was that allowing contributions of more than $5,000 from individuals  could â€Å"lead to preferential access for donors and undue influence over officeholders.† The government was taking the tack that its ruled are designed to prevent corruption. The court rejected that argument, though, in the wake of the January 2010 decision in Citizens United, writing:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Whatever the merits of those arguments before  Citizens United, they plainly have no merit after  Citizens United†¦.Contributions to groups that make only independent expenditures cannot corrupt or create the appearance of corruption.† Difference Between SpeechNow.org and Citizens United Cases Though the two cases are similar and deal with independent  expenditure-only committees, the SpeechNow court challenge focus on federal  fundraising caps. Citizen United successfully challenged the  spending limit on corporations,  unions, and  associations. In other words, SpeechNow focused on raising money and Citizens United focused on spending money to influence elections. Impact of  SpeechNow.org v. FEC The  U.S. District Court for the District of Columbias ruling the case, combined with the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Citizens United, together paved the way for the creation of super PACs. Writes Lyle Denniston on SCOTUSblog: While the  Citizens United  decision dealt with the spending side of federal campaign finance, theSpeechNow  case was on the other side - raising funds. Thus, as a result of the two decisions put together, independent advocacy groups can raise as much and spend as much as they can and wish to do to support or oppose candidates for federal office.   What is SpeechNow.org? According to SCOTUSblog, SpeechNow was created specifically to spend money advocating for the election or defeat of federal political candidates. It was  founded  by  David Keating, who at the time headed the conservative, anti-tax  group  Club for Growth.

Politics of development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Politics of development - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of population growth on development, and to show that overpopulation is closely linked to gender politics. Thomas Malthus, a British demographer and political economist, developed a theory of overpopulation warning humanity of the dangers of swelling numbers. In his work, An Essay on the Principle of Population (1999), Malthus argued about the negative effects of population growth. He claimed that the multiplication of humanity over time would lead to disease and famine by making natural resources scarcer, and provisions and remedies more costly. Malthus argued that because of the relative growth of different classes within society (primarily English society) and an increase in poverty, the moral order of society would be tested. Malthus used two overlapping axioms to explain his ideas. He argued that it was easier for populations to grow than for natural resources to support this growth; population, for Malthus, increased in a geometric progression, while resources increased in an arithmetic progression. However, he maintained, there is a strong tendency in society towards population growth. This tendency upsets the balance between the number of people and the amount of food available to feed them. This situation worsens poverty and increased the worries of the poor. As a result development is hindered. The Malthusian model explains, just by simple supply and demand logic, that when population increases, the labor market becomes more competitive. This drives wages down. As the proportion of food per person decreases, the price of food also increases. Therefore, overpopulation hurts both poverty alleviation and overall development of society. There were two solutions to this problem according to Malthus: positive checks and preventive checks. Positive checks were natural and historical speed breakers to population growth and came in the form of war, global pandemics, and famines. These checks had

Why did President Lyndon Johnson decide to send combat troops to Essay

Why did President Lyndon Johnson decide to send combat troops to Vietnam in 1965 - Essay Example Because it served as a buffer against the further spread of communism in the region, the West, especially the United States made serious efforts in supporting the South. However, South Vietnam’s government apparently failed in living up to the expectations of its people when it comes to uplifting them from poverty and landlessness. In the midst of worse economic disparities between the government bureaucrats and the majority of the people, the National Liberation Front or the Viet Cong began to advance an insurgency with ample support from the North. During the term of Pres. John F. Kennedy, the policy of the U.S. was still that of extreme caution. In treating the Vietnam issue, the Kennedy administration practiced the minimum requirement of the policy of containment, which is to provide logistical support and training to the South Vietnamese Army in order to make it capable in fighting the Viet Cong. By the time of his death, Kennedy had already sent more than 15,000 U.S. mil itary advisors to Vietnam. Even with the presence of that many troops already in a foreign country, the demand for more continued to rise as South Vietnam’s security problems continued to grow worse. ... Just like his predecessors, it was obvious that Johnson was very concerned with how one piece of the domino is about to fall, South Vietnam. It was the domino theory that inspired Kennedy to let the U.S. take an active role in South Vietnam by providing advisors and war materiel to the South Vietnamese Army. It was also this theory that would eventually prompt Johnson to send ground troops to the country. However, the orientation of the large numbers of U.S. troops sent to South Vietnam was not really to strike at the most potential source of support for the insurgency, which is the North. Although the ground troops were utilized to hit the local insurgents, the Viet Cong, they were instructed to take defensive posture against the North Vietnamese Army. This was apparently guided by a political and military response to the domino effect: containment. Containment is essentially defensive posture against the further spread of communism. For politicians who would not want to be labeled as too soft on the communists and who also do not wish to be considered as militarists or hawks, standing for policy of containment would seem to be the viable option. Pres. Johnson was an advocate of containment and this could be seen in the years immediately after he took over when Kennedy died. This policy, however, was constantly criticized by the political right in the U.S. as a sign of weakness, or of the unwillingness to venture into an escalated war that would achieve a quick and decisive victory against the enemy. Johnson defended his policy of containment well during the 1964 elections. His rival, Sen. Barry Goldwater often raised the issue of Vietnam just to portray him as a weak president at a time when the U.S.

Plato or dubois Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plato or dubois - Essay Example Between the fire and those who are shackle that is behind their backs there runs a walkway at a certain height. Imagine that a low wall has been built the length of the walkway, like the low curtain that puppeteers put up, over which they show their puppets. The images carried before the fire (Griffith, 2003). So now imagine that all along this low wall people are carrying all sorts of things that reach up higher than the wall: statues and other carvings made of stone or wood and many other artifacts that people have made. As you would expect, some are talking to each other as they walk along and some are silent (Griffith, 2003). This clearly opens up to us that these prisoners are viewing shadows of the objects and that what’s they believe in not the really objects. Latter on one of the prisoners is released and what he encounters is the fire whose light hurts his eyes, the same happens when he is dragged out of the cave the sun’s rays do only intensify his pain. This indicates change of environment. He still doesn’t believe in what he sees but with time he adapts and this is a result of gradual interaction with the new environment that he was introduced. He comes to the realisation that all that what he has been seeing during his stay in the cave were mere shadows and the echoes didn’t necessary signify the projection of what the passing shadows were engaging in; actions such as footsteps and the conversations they held as they passed by. Finally the prisoner has come to this realization that the reality is based on frequent and deep exposure to the environment. According to the Allegory of the Cave by Plato this freed man should go back to the cave and shade light that they truly lack; those prisoned in the cave. In today’s life the Allegory of the Cave actually is a true reflection of man’s life, and the way he does carry out himself out in his daily activities. We are very stubborn and don’t want to let in the reality, we do claim that we

A Cause For Concern

A Cause For Concern Subject of language and identity, which leads to the death of a language, if language dies. Language and identity comes under my course, part 1, under language and cultural context. On the 4th of February 2010, while browsing through BBCs website I stumbled upon a captivating and according to me a very sad article. It read last speaker of ancient language of Bo dies in India, Boa sr.s story saddened me, she died at the age of 85 and for almost thirty years she didnt have anyone to converse with in her native language. Imagine not being able to use English for thirty years, you loose the freedom to express in your first language. As a journalist I knew what it meant for the world to loose a language, its disheartening, in essence a piece of history and culture is lost, I believe it is as important to preserve and save a language as it is to save and preserve the environment, but everyone is not aware of the adverse affects language death can cause. As a journalist, I thought of it as my moral responsibility to throw light on language death and its adverse effects. Thus, I wrote this article and decided on publishing it in a newspaper as it would reach a larger gr oup of people and educate them on why they should preserve their native language. Language death Approximately 7000 languages exist in todays world and this number is rapidly dwindling, is it a cause for concern? As globalization spreads around the world, it is natural that smaller communities would like to move out of their seclusion and seek interaction with the rest of the world. The number of languages dying is sorrowful. People naturally tend to shift their language use due to globalization and they leave behind their native language if it is not spoken by a lot of people. Asking them to hold onto a language they do not want anymore and preserve it, just for the sake of linguists and not the community itself, it is a bit too much to ask for, isnt it?But theres actually more to it than what meets the eye. Why fight this? A national geographic study states that every 14 days a language dies. By 2100 more than half of the languages spoken on the earth may disappear, taking away with them a wealth of knowledge on world history, culture and natural environment. Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. Rita Mae Brown This quote by the American writer Rita Mae Brown gives us an insight into why preserving a language is of importance. A language defines a culture, through the communities who speak it. Every language has words that portray a particular cultural practice or idea, when translated into another language, the precise meaning might not come across. What we essentially lose is cultural heritage. The way of expressing the relationship with nature, with the world, it is also the way in which people express humor, their love, their life; most importantly communicating effectively with family is lost. Languages are living, breathing organisms holding connections that define a culture. When a language dies a culture is lost. Because of the close links language and identity share, if an individual or group thinks of their language as useless, they think of their identity as the same. This could have adverse effects; it could lead to depression, drug abuse and social disruption. And as parents no longer pass on their language to their children the connection between grandparents and children is lost which leads to traditional values not being handed on and theres a vacuum that remains where people for generations realize they have lost something. Many languages are in danger of extinction that have rich oral cultures with stories, songs, and histories passed on from generation to generation, but with no particular written form. Much of what us humans know about nature is encoded in oral languages. For thousands of years now native groups have interacted closely with the natural world and have insightful understanding on local lands, plants, animals, and ecosystems. Many still are not documented by science itself. Therefore studying indigenous languages proves to be beneficial while learning about the environment and conservation. Sanskrit is one such ancient language that is loosing its prominence and its speakers decreasing everyday. It was said to be the mother of all languages. Sanskrit is not practically used and maybe that is one of reasons of its decline but I believe it should be conserved because of the traditional values it possesses and because of its richness in culture. Take for instance Arthashastra, it is an Indian treatise written in Sanskrit which deals with statecraft, economic policy and military strategy it was written all the way back in 4th century BC. These concepts are not new and modern, they have been around for a long time now, if we do not conserve Sanskrit we will loose all of this valuable knowledge and also lose a piece of history. Another such language dying out is Palenquero. Palenquero is thought to the one and only Spanish-based Creole language in Latin America. Fewer than half of the community speaks it. It is spoken in the village of San Basilio De Palenque. Many children and young adults understand the language and pronounce a few phrases, which is a great sign as the village of San Basilio De Palenque is trying to preserve its language and spread it, the villages resilience is commendable. Looking at the village of San Basilio De Palenque other communities whose languages are endangered, should take inspiration and not loose hope in their endeavor to save their language. Why do languages die out though? Throughout history, the languages of powerful groups and imperial countries have spread while the languages of the smaller cultures and groups have become extinct. This happens due to official language policies and also the allure of speaking a highly prestigious global language such as English. These trends explain why a small country like Bolivia would have more of language diversity rather than a big country like the USA. As big languages spread, children whose parents speak a comparatively smaller language tend to grow up learning the more dominant language. Those children may never learn the smaller language, or they may just fail to recall it as it falls out of use. These trends have occurred throughout history, but what is alarming and worrying is the rate at which languages are disappearing, it has significantly accelerated over the recent years. Associations and initiatives such as Enduring voices, Living tongue, and the endangered languages project by Google are trying to preserve language and that is a sign of hope. The organizations that are involved and that have come up with these ideas are national geographic and Google. The death of a language is an indication of a human crisis: the loss of a store of wisdom, the sense of a community being thrown away. As we try to stop global warming and save the environment, we should also try and save our languages, as they are an integral part of our heritage.

Matthew Hopkins - An English Witchfinder :: essays research papers

Matthew Hopkins - An English Witchfinder "Thou must not suffer a witch to live." This single phrase justified the death of thousands of victims throughout Europe and North America. Matthew Hopkins was an English witchfinder who was responsible for the ruthless persecution of scores of alleged witches during the witchcraft mania that swept parts of England under the Puritans. Born in c.1621 Hopkins was a son of a minister and raised in Essex, which had a long tradition persecuting witches. Hopkins studied law and had a variety of careers before he hit upon the idea of establishing his career as a witchfinder in the Essex parish of Manningtree and Mistley around 1644. It must be noted that his timing was brilliant. The Civil War was wreaking havoc on England and creating tension throughout Puritan society. Anyone who suggested a reason for the nation's trouble was going to get a hearing. Hopkins at the age of 24 made his first charge against a one-legged crone called Elizabeth Clarke, claiming she was a member of a coven in the Manningtree area. Clarke was arrested and questioned in Chelmsford. As a result of her "confessions" roughly 31 other women were brought before the Assizes, nineteen of whom were hanged. This was the beginning of Hopkins' "reign of terror." After adopting the self-styled title of Witchfinder-General Hopkins acquired two assistants, John Stearne and Mary Phillips, who searched for the "Devil's Mark" on the accused. Apparently obsessed by his mission to obtain confessions of witchcraft, the three began a tour of the eastern counties of England. To those who questioned his qualifications for such work, pointing out that he had never studied the subject, he replied that his expertise issued "from experience, which though it be meanly esteemed of, yet surest and safest way to judge by." Such was the demand of his services that he made an extraordinary profit from his work considering that the average daily wages of the time was as little as 2.5 pence. Hopkins charged 40 shillings for each investigation that he was asked to undertake and 9 pence for each witch he found. When the proceeding from a single town was over, the bill was usually between  £15 and  £23. In the space of little more than a year Hopkins brought over a hundred women, typically old, poor and unattractive, to the gallows in Essex alone. He extracted his confessions by various means such as `pricking', `swimming', and `watching and waking'.

How to Encourage More People to Donate Their Organs

1) Many of the people who receive organs have self-damaged their own organs such as by drug use or other irresponsible behaviors (eating patterns, sexual activity patterns, etc. ). There are measures taken by the medical community to ensure that they're not engaged in these behaviors while they're waiting for an organ but that doesn't change the history of the behaviors or how the damage was done. 2) Most of the people will have shortened lifespans anyway even if they receive the organ. ) Most of the people who receive organs will experience an array of complications which will reduce their quality of life and impose ongoing, often lifelong, financial costs. 4) The immediate and ongoing costs of transplanting organs is very high and that cost can often be spent better in other ways such as by improving health education and prevention, drug addiction treatment, neonatal care, nutrition, genetic research, artificial tissue research, etc. 5) Because of the high costs involved, organ tra nsplants are sometimes received via a black market in which you have the very rich benefiting and the very poor selling their organs. This discrepancy in access would, to some extent, remain even if everyone were an organ donor. 6) Some people are afraid that less than full efforts might be made to resuscitate them if they are a known organ donor. For example, they're involved in an accident and then after brief efforts are made to resuscitate them they are left to die and their organs harvested even though if someone had tried a little harder they'd be alive. Although this fear is basically unfounded at least in the majority of the developed world, it is not entirely an unreasonable fear and it would have some legitimacy in some parts of the world. ) Many people regard the body as sacred in such a way that we can never be morally obligated to part with any part of it or to receive any part of anothers. In fact some people strengthen this view from â€Å"not obligated† to â€Å"obligated to not†, and there are a range of views in between. This sense of the â€Å"sacredness† of the body need not manifest in any specifically religious way but simply as a visceral repugnance at the thought of disrupting ones ordinary bodily organization even after death. However it may manifest in religious ways as well and is why so many cultures have engaged in ritual entombment, mummification and embalming, and frown upon things like grave-robbing, cremation, etc. The intuition is, more or less, that when you violate the body, even in death, you show a disrespect both for the life of the person whose body it was and for life in general by making us all merely potential commodities for one another. This ties in with point 5. The converse of this comes at the beginning rather than the end of life and involves not the action of selling organs but of selling children and of conceiving children specifically for the purpose of harvesting their organs. These things actually do and have happened and, quite reasonably, they repulse many people. 8) The donater is usually unable to exercise any discretion as to who receives the organ or judge their merit to receive it. 9) The donater is usually totally unaware of the recipient and feels no obligation to them. This lack of felt obligation is, of course, reciprocated. 0) Although, just as with vaccination programs, the costs of donation could be lowered by making it mandatory, this is very unlikely to happen (see 7) and, if it did happen, would be very likely to be abused (see 5). Together these all provide formidable reasons to not donate. Although there may remain some cases to which some of the arguments don't equally apply, such as cornea transplants and skin grafts and transplants for the young and otherwise healthy and donations to those you know, the arguments against many forms of donation and many cases thereof are still weightier than you might think.

Educating Slum Children

There are colours and vibrancies in the world of children. Their activities are full of energies and attract attention of others. The mischiefs, dream world, away from worries are very dear memories of childhood that have lasting impact on one’s life. Such happiness doesn’t play its part for some children. Slum children have to face the life’s hardships during early age. These children are compelled to work and have to struggle for their existence. They are easily manipulated because of their docile nature. The plight of slum children is they are forced to do work i. e. to act as slaves, picked up for domestic help, involved in hazardous work, trafficked and even compelled to be part of illegal transactions. For survival they are put into shameless act such as pornography and prostitution. These tortures at an early age not only affect their mental and physical health but they are even exposed to harmful disease such as HIV AIDS. Slum children appearances are deformed, and are enforced to beg to earn for their survival. Cruelties faced during tender years affect their natural growth and they become indifferent towards life. Government and local bodies are running many programmes to raise the status of such children but its outcomes are very less. There is need to do lot of work. To educate slum children many educational institutions and NGOs have shown interest. These institutes face lot of problems in educating slum children and also to cut down the dropout rates. Present requirement is to not only to make the education interesting but also to give basic skills training required for earning. Right to education is now the basic right, according to Article 29 of Indian Constitution. An education cannot be denied to child on caste or creed basis or due to lack of funds. Studies are done by government organisations and NGOs to know the cause of unwillingness towards education and high dropouts from schools by slum children. The studies show that parent’s ignorance and discouragement towards education, fight to meet their basic ends meet and children helping hand in running the household of lower socio income group act as a catalyst in not joining educational process. These people face discrimination of the society which discourages them to be a part of growth factor of society. Various innovative ideas and creative approach developed by government, NGOs, and educational institutions are streamlined to bring about these slum children as an enterprising people. The meaning of education is not only to make them accustomed to 3 R’s but also to give training in basic skills needed for earning a living. Computer education is also provided to prepare them to stand high with the fierce competition of the world. NGO’s and educational institutions assist the slum children in getting enrolled with nearby government schools and help in giving tuitions to cope up with school work. Schools are even run on wheels i. e. mobile schools to educate slum children in various states â€Å"Education for all† is the movement which is spreading with the help of media to educate deprived children. This has inspired lot of citizens to work for the good cause. Right direction is required to trace the slum children potentials.