San Francisco Earthquake Proposal free essay sample

The objectives of this review is to explain three commonly monitored geophysical precursors: ground uplift and tilt, increases in radon emissions, and changes in the electrical resistivity of rocks; show what happens to each of these precursors during the five stages of an earthquake; and discuss how each of these precursors is used for short-term earthquake predictions. Scientist depend on geophysical precursors to predict changes in the physical state of the earth that are precursory to earthquakes, with this information scientist can make medium and short term prediction for an earthquake. The stages start with how the rock particles compressed together, then the dilatancy and development of cracks this occurs because the rocks are packed so tightly. Then follows the influx of water and unstable deformation in the fault zone, then the rock can no longer resist the strain which causes the fault suddenly rupture and the final stage where aftershock takes place because of the sudden drop in pressure. We will write a custom essay sample on San Francisco Earthquake Proposal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The map below shows the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 and the areas that were affected. In the final paper all the objectives will be review in detailed, the three commonly monitored geophysical precursors: ground uplift and tilt, increases in radon emissions, and changes in the electrical resistivity of rocks; and how each of these precursors affect the five stages of an earthquake; and how each of these precursors is used for short-term earthquake predictions. References A review of two methods of predicting earthquakes. (1996). Retrieved July 8, 2012, from http://tc. engr. wisc. du/UER/uer96/author3/index. html A virtual tour of the 1906 earthquake in Google Earth. (2009). Retrieved July 8, 2012, from http://earthquake. usgs. gov/regional/nca/virtualtour/ Modified mercalli intensity maps for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake plotted in shake map format. (2005). Retrieved July 8, 2012, from http://images. search. yahoo. com/search/images New science and products April 18, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. (2012). Retrieved July 8, 2012, from http://earthquake. usgs. gov/ regional/nca/1906/

Dispicable thats all you can decribe it. You look around and its like the population of man has been wiped out. Essays

Dispicable thats all you can decribe it. You look around and its like the population of man has been wiped out. Essays Dispicable thats all you can decribe it. You look around and its like the population of man has been wiped out. Essay Dispicable thats all you can decribe it. You look around and its like the population of man has been wiped out. Essay Essay Topic: As You Like it Dispicable thats all you can decribe it. You look around and its like the population of man has been wiped out. News papers blowing in the wind glass bottles struned about, needles and everything you can thing of just left on the floor. Not a persons footstep can be hurd. Not a childs lafter. Slience thats all, complete silence, And the reason for the deadly silence is that its 6.30. No one dare go out or make a sound after this time. Six months ago the place would have been buzzin with life on a warm day like this but now that cannot be. To explain why we would have to go back about a year to 2020, when things were just starting to look bright. Carla applyed a last coat of mascara and looked in the mirro t check her jeans were fiting right, her top wasnt creased and that she was looking fine. It was a tippical friday night and she was goin out with her friends, the wind was blowing and it was drisseling out side but that didnt bother her. She shouted goodbye to her mum as she shut the door and headed down the road to the park were they all met. There was about 20 of them that met up every friday, She waled down the bumpy path to the darkened park were there was alredy about 10 people laffing and gigleing. hey, anyone got anything yet? shouted carla. Not yet, we are goin for sum now someone out of the group. The group set off down to the offlicence and hung about outside asking general people if they would go in for them. This was an anoying thing for older people who did not like to be asked, it took about fithteen minutes before a reluctant peron who felt threatened but the every growing gang to agree to go in the shop for them. Once the gang had all there alcohol they set off back down to the park to get completly drunk and wait for Sip to come down. They called the tall dark man Sip as they didnt know his name or anythign about him, Sip stood for someone inparticular. They hung about the park being noisy and getin ever more drunk as they consumed deadly ammount of spirits mixed with numerous ammounts of other things. Then about nine thirty SIP came down everyone rushed to greet him and buy some stuff of him Carla bought some new pills he had and took them on top of the huge ammout of vodka and wkd she had drunk. soon she was starting to feel ill and didnt like what was happeneing. The next thing she remebers was waking up in hospital. Her friend Pippa was there and explained the poliece has come down and Broke up there fun, (noting usual there they seemed to spend every friday night just breaking up groups of underage drinkers) they had found Carla slumped on a bench semi conshious and has rushed her to hospital. This kind of thing was happeneing to so many teens each week that the government was getin anchious and needed to do something about it. They decided that there would be no way to stop it and they actually go quite alot of tax off it. They decided to legalise underage drinking and certain drugs but they would make safe places for the teens to do it in. A few months later the first UADC (under age drinking club) was opened near to wear Carla lived. All the group that usually went on the park was now goin to go there with parental permission. Again Carla took one last look at herself in the mirror and shouted goodbye as she went throught the door. There group headed off up the road all buzzing with excitment at what it would be like. they got there and there was tvs, dvds all sorts of things and most important a bar. They enjoyed it the first cuppleof times then th novelty started to wear off but they still contined to go, the only problem was that they were only allowed so much and on the streets they were alowed what they wanted. The people who run the place soon saw the lack ofinterest and how some of the teens wernt coming anymore so they decide to up the ammout they could have and thought opening it on a saturday as well as a friday would help. As it was not proving to be a sucsess they opened it on a wednestday in the hope more teens would come and they did moreand more were sending all there money they had on drink. This came with its problems. It was thursday and Carla and Pippa had no money for the next night at the UADC neither did alot of her friends. Carla and pippa decided to pinch some money from a dish in Carals kitchen were her mum kept the shopping money. This was just were things started to go wrong. At the club they allowed the teens to smoke marajuana. Carla needed money for this as well. Some of the group decided to get some stronger drugs off Sip and then go to the club; this soom cought on and all most everyone from the group that hung about on the park was doing it. If they couldnt have as much alchol as they used to they would compremise they would have srong drugs befor and then go to the club have marajuana and drink beer. As more teens came the club added some more days so now it was open friday,saturday,monday,wednesday. Caral and her friends had no money they had been going to the club for about 3 months and had spent all there saving. One day Carla and Pippa went into the town and stole some thing ou t of the shops and then sold them at school to get money for the drugs and alchol. They didnt see them selfs as addicted but actuallt there was about 100 teens that were all addicted to drungs and alchol the crime level was soring. The governmet had to do somethign they closed down the UADC emmidiatly but didnt knwo what else to do. Carla and her friends were skipping school as there hangovers were to bad in a moring to go. After they had recoved from there hangovers they went out into town to stal some things to sell on for dung and beer money it was a vishios circle and when the club was closed they just went back to goin ot the park and anywere on the streets. Soon everyone moved on from shops to houses were there was gold and jewls worth alot more. People were terrifed to go out the teens were out of controle people were mugged and if they had nothin beeten up. There cravings drove them to do the lowest of things. Reversing the legisation made thigns worse as they just went out on to the streets in houseing ares left bottles and needles. People learnt that about 6pm the teens (that has squatted in peoples houses removing the families) came out of there comatosed states and were craving for more alchol and drugs. people didnt wak around or draw attention to there houses throught fear of attack. the government now has to pay the price of a contry living in fear and teens ever more growing to controle the areas they lived in.

British Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Stereotypes - Essay Example There goes the old ethnic joke which clearly depicts stereotyping among different cultures. Stereotype denotes simplified and fixed image of all members of a culture or group. Stereotypes are often based on race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, and national origins (Stereotypes 2006). It is irrefutable that the world is filled with stereotypes as each one of us often tries to associate a certain trait or characteristics in an individual based on the common stereotype placed on the culture and race a person belongs to. For example, people always tend to characterize Americans as people who are superficial and with no fashion sense. This paper will look at the common stereotypes linked with British and how these stereotypes are justified. The next section of the paper will show the negative and the positive stereotypes given by foreigners. The report will conclude with its findings. Negative Stereotypes One of the most common stereotypes about British is their having bad teeth. The concept of â€Å"bad British teeth† can be traced as American’s perception on Britons. This concept is even worsened when Lisa Simpson was shown by her orthodontist as â€Å"The Big Book of British Teeth (Guardian Unlimited 2006).† British recognize that their teeth are relatively worse than their counterparts for a lot of reasons. Firstly, the structure of American teeth is really whiter and straighter than Britons. Aside from that, it was also recognized that Americans invests money on their dental health while British think that cosmetic surgery and self manipulation is vanity. It should also be noted that only a few number of British over the age of 35, regardless of income and social status have had orthodontia. In America, there is an overwhelming social pressure to have aligned and white teeth. Orthodontia has been a social necessity in the United States since 1970 (Why do Americans 2005). British are also regarded as unemotional. This is supported by the idiom "British stiff upper lip" which means displaying courage in times of difficulties. In British stereotype however, the stiff upper lip connotes their exercise of self-restraint in expressing their emotion. By some means, the formal demeanor of the ruling class of Britain gives rise to this stereotype. Another significant connotation of the stiff upper lip is feeling of superiority and proud. One of the reasons why people see this is the fact that British have never been colonized by any other nation. Other British stereotypes branded them as snob and reserved (Stiff Upper Lip 2006). British are also classified as shy individuals especially when it comes to financial aspects. British are not likely to divulge how much money they have and find it socially offensive to chat about how much they got according to the recruitment organization Jonathan Wren. It was also found out that eight out of ten feel embarrassed when discussing the size of their "pay pocket (Dunn 2005)." British art is very reserved and grey, avant-garde, eccentric and mad. Saudi Arabians also commented on the lack of British artist (How the World Sees 1999). British media is seen to be unreliable (How the World Sees 1999). Positive Stereotypes In a survey was conducted by MORI, the most prominent British public opinion research agencies to determine how the world sees Britain, the following positive stereotypes are derived. The survey was answered by 200 successor generation in thirteen countries which include Brazil, China, Egypt, France,

Work place discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Work place discrimination - Essay Example Workplaces have generally accepted language of communication among the workforce. The working unit of an entity employs a uniform mode and means of communication across the staff. The reason behind the uniformity of language of communication is to cater for the entire workforce that in most cases is made up of diverse groups of people, who are probably from different origins and social setting (Gavin265). When the working unit is made up of diverse individuals and the formal language of communication is not observed, then language discrimination results. Language discrimination emerges in the event that the communication medium in the workplace does not provide for the individual differences in that place. Individuals associated with a given language are treated indifferently by others of a different language. This may even encompass communication by individuals in a language that particular colleagues cannot understand. Language discrimination in the workplace is therefore primarily based on the communication interaction of the entire staff unit in places of work. This form of discrimination is based on race, color, nationality, ethnic or national origin (Gavin 253). Individuals or groups of people discriminated against are treated less favorably based on the above factors. Basically, the discriminated against individuals are deemed to of lesser importance than others. This is a persistent form of discrimination in places of work. A clear-cut example on this is the discrimination against whites or blacks. Depending on whether one is back or white, different workplaces treat individuals from either of the two differently prior to the black-white social context. Workplaces employ different people from diverse social setups. Individual workers are expected to coherently relate with one another across the working units in the realization of the set objectives in the place of work. However, this is not always the case.

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

No topic - Essay Example The cytoskeleton is composed of three kinds of connective fibers, the smallest of which are microfilaments, then followed by intermediate filaments, and the largest kind of fiber are the microtubules. Of these three, the microtubules have the most involvement in the cellular processes within the cell, which can be attributed to the composition as well as the mode by which the network expands or retracts within the eukaryotic cell. Microtubules are made up of ?- and ?-tubulin dimers arranged in a lattice to create a series of protofilaments (Figure 1). 13 of these filaments are laid side-by-side to form 25nm tubes. Due to the head-tail arrangement ?- and ?-tubulin dimers, the whole microtubule network is considered to be polarized, with some of the tubules growing towards the nucleus (minus end) and some shrinking away from the nucleus and elongating towards the cytoplasm (plus end), making the tubules act like polarized particles (Galjart, 2010). The plus end of the microtubules cont ains a guanosine-triphosphate (GTP) cap that attracts tubulin dimers connected to GTP to expand as needed (Maurer et al., 2012). The expansion or contraction of the tubes is called dynamic instability, occurring through the hydrolysis of GTP to guanosine-diphosphate (GDP), which allows the tubules to alternate between elongating (called rescue) and shrinking (called catastrophe) even if the amount of tubulin dimers available in the cell is constant (Curriea et al., 2011). Figure 2 shows the head-and-tail arrangement of the dimers, as well as to how the hydrolysis of GTP to GDP causes the microtubule fibers to undergo rescue or catastrophe. Figure 1. Arrangement of the ?- and ?-tubulin dimers within the lattice of a protofilament, with the red arrow showing the direction of growth (Maurer et al., 2012). Figure 2. The formation of a microtubule fiber consists of a dimer bound with either GTP (straight) or GDP (curved), depending on whether the plus end undergoes shrinkage (catastrophe ) or elongation (rescue) (Galjart, 2010). As shown in figure 2, the plus end of an elongating microtubule fiber contains a GTP cap which attracts dimers with GTP. The straight arrangement of the GTP-containing dimers ensures that the elongating or rescuing tubules are stable enough while expanding. On the other hand, as the tubule shrinks or becomes catastrophic, the GTP-dimers undergo hydrolysis, forming GDP-dimers which curve backwards due to the dimers’ curved conformation from the loss of a water molecule. The de-polymerization of the tubule by reduction of GDP-dimers completes the shrinking process, allowing the free dimers to convert into GTP to be later used in tubule elongation processes in other parts of the cell. The polarized nature of the microtubules and the strong affinity of the GTP-caps to GTP-dimes help the microtubule-ends to actively select GTP-dimers instead of GDP-bound ones. Elongation or shrinkage of the microtubule fibers due to polymerization or addit ion of dimers, or de-polymerization or the reduction of dimers are able to generate forces that could push or pull the organelles within the eukaryotic cell. This alternate shrinking and elongating action by the tubules is an essential task especially during the stages of cell division when the organelles and the chromosomes are pulled towards the opposite sides of the dividing cell (Curriea et al.,

The Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir Whorf Hypothesis Sapir argued that : We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir 1958 [1929], p. 69). Looking at the statement above, that inferred that thoughts and behavior are mostly influenced by language. From this statement, first we have to look back the root of the language itself. Saussure (Saussure, 1966, pp. 7 9) wrote a question about how to define a language, and gave an answer to this as social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty. From his writing, it is clear that language is a part of internalization of a community, and including the function itself as a communication media. So, it is clear that words, sentence, and eventually language act as a bridge for the interaction of the human in a community. Another question that arise in this is that in which community can we use a language. We can say that the community is a form of interaction between language, culture, and mind. Language is a fundamental form of the culture, and vice versa. After looking at the definition of the language itself, we can go back to the hypothesis from Sapir. How far can we understand different interpretation of an object and how we communicate its definition with the world. It comes to the conclusion of the need of interpretation of communication and culture. So we have to do a reverse thinking about the definition of a culture, community, and the socio activities that human can use inside it. Take a case of the community that I belong to. A study community in Germany, that the people inside it use a same language, which is German. How a person can interact with the solid community that use a same language, and how a person could blend into this community. Some difficulties will eventually arise, because of the background from different communities that is forced to be merged into one bowl that we call an education port. Different people from different cultures want to fit in this bowl, and expected to share a same vision, which is eventu ally to get a degree. Back to the definition of a community : A community is a collection of people (or animals) who interact together with the same environment, and it exist everywhere in the nature. From people to penguins, monkeys to meerkats. Grouping is a touch of simplicity as a means of describing community (Bacon, 2009, p. 4). From the previous definitions, we can say that language is an important part of building a culture and community. What if the language differ in a community, would the translation of a language will become a problem, and would the different interpretation because the difference of language would build different interpretation and feels of an occasion that occurred? Rumana Quazi, from Media Culture and Mind class of RWTH-Aachen, mentioned that Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis is to some extent correct. She said that it would probably correct for some cases only. She think that Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis would be correct, but if it is implemented on the previous years when the hypothesis was created. It is not relevant if it is implemented now. I also agree to her opinion. Thomas L. Friedman wrote about his opinion about three different term of globalization, 1.0, in which countries and governments were the main protagonists, the globalization 2.0, in which multinational companie s led the way in driving global integration, and eventually globalization 3.0, the era of convergence (Friedman, 2005). If the need of communication between different cultural people is not possible as Sapir had said, which is in fact is easily enabled by the high speed data transfer communication, how come the development of the world itself nowadays goes exponentially. Nowadays, because of the introduction of Internet and personal computer, we can talk to people in different time, different language with a very small delays. We indeed can still deliver the message although the difference of the language itself. With technologies, we can even have an online dictionaries that we can easily carry everyday. So if we have a difficulty in expressing our idea, we can use these online dictionaries. However, I also think that for some particular objects and occasion, we cannot use the translation. For instance, Sharad, also from the Media Culture and Mind class, give an example of the nami ng of a specific year that only exist in India. He thinks that he cannot translate it, so he has to give a direct definition for this without doing any translation of it. Sharad think that the difference of language does not give any problems to the communication as long as there is a bridge between these two languages. He mentioned an example of the most popular language in the world, which is English. If the speaker is fluent, they can still express particular things and to share the same thoughts. This is the case of Sharad, who I think also used English in his daily live in India. Nevertheless, this language bridge still give a big hole for me, because I come from Indonesia. The Indonesian people only use Indonesian language everyday, and English (or even German) are only popular for those who have a proper education. So for me, the language bridge is not fully build, because of the fluency level that differs between one country and another. So in my opinion, Sapir is not fully correct in observing this problem. To this extent, we can say that indeed Sapirs hypothesis can only be implemented in some things. Now for the view of realities that construct the language. So what if the problem of differences in the language can be solved by using a bridge language, like English. According to Sapir-Whorf, language is an integral part of human, and language shape a humans way of thinking (sloan.stanford.edu). I could not fully agree with this statement, because we have to realize that the way we think is not fully determined by language, or vice-versa, but instead, it influence each other. Take an example of different interpretation of language itself, and eventually how people interpret the meaning behind the words. For instance, the Germans have different meaning for ein Freund von mir and mein Freund. If we translate this word by word to other language, such as English, both have the same meaning, which is my friend. However, this is actually different meaning. It is used in different context, on e for our couple, and the other is just regular friend. In Indonesia, we use different verb to describe this condition. If we see also the context of culture itself, we would have different interpretation of sentences. For instance, once I had an experience using different language (in this case German) to get a package in post office. After thinking that I have done all procedure, I took the package on the table. However, the lady which was in charge on me, suddenly said nicht so schnell! which means in English not so fast. This is for some reason , I considered as rude because in my culture, people donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸t say not so fast but instead please wait for a moment. Different language make different interpretation and meaning. This is support Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis, because the way that she speak, does not support the way I perceive because of the difference in language. This question also asked by Anna Wierzbicka, who found out the relation between emotion and cult ure (Wierzbicka, 1992). Emotion is a point that support by Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis. Anna Wierzbicka also mentioned an example from Australian Aborigin language, Gidjingali, that does not distinguish à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Obviouslly, in different cultures and different societies, people talk with different ways. If we observe these differences, we can take the value which is kept inside a specific community, that has different social-values. However, of course that there are some ways of expressing emotions that is cross-cultural, and we can express exactly our feeling in other language. This is showing a minor flaw of Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis. According to Donald Davidson, the utility of referring to meanings of an expression e that we expressed by using e1 will make an ambiguous definition. To focus on the the mind as the representation of language, we have to think whether thoughts is relevance with language. Devitt and Sterelny think that thoughts is a form of Inner representations (Devitt Sterelny, 1999). If language is a form of thought, how can we define the thoughts itself. Does that mean, that children who started to speak several words, or even some people who have difficulties in articulating the words does not have the same way of perceiving reality? Does that mean that they do not have a normal way of expressing thoughts and also to express their inner self? I think that is true. If we look back again to the words of Devitt and Sterelny, that thoughts is a form of inner representations, it makes a simple relationship between thoughts and perception. The reason for this is that because a person having a difficu lty in expressing the words, that means that the brain also having a difficulty to work optimally. In other word, the way these people perceive reality is not the same like the normal people. For example, some people who is diagnosed with slow learning ability, that means that for specific stage, they could not understand the definitions of words and sentences, and also eventually, perceiving reality. Still according to Devitt and Sterelny, who use the term of :Mentalese, a person tends to translate Mentalese into English and they understands English by doing the reverse. So Sapir should have taken into account how the brain works. How the brain consider of how different language would effect the meaning of an entity (object or occasion). This opinion is also proved by Aubrey L. Gilbert, Terry Regier, Paul Kay, and Richard B. Ivry, who did an experiment and conclude that Whorf hypothesis is supported in the right visual field but not the left. Another point that I want to share rega rding the language and the brain, according to Rumana Quazi, who contradict with the basic idea of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, think that language is just a small part of mean that drive our thoughts. In this case, she thinks that language can be achieved by a process, and procedures. I agree with her idea, especially after she gave a brilliant example for an infant who still not learned to talk. Indeed, as the time goes by, a children could learn to talk, and they do a process of thinking to achieve the goal, which is talking. Again, this is a minor flaw of Saphirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis, that a person could point out one by one. The relations between culture, language, and societies is very complicated, because these things bond one and another. So as conclusion, we can say that there is a strong connection between language, culture, and societies. These relations occurred in a long period of time, and it occurred not just two ways, but multiple ways. Saphir theorem is not fully correct for todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s societies, because of the technologies and other languages that solve the communication problems, although we have to admit that for some specific objects and also for some specific occations Saphirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis still occurres. 4

Jealousy in Julius Caesar :: Julius Caesar Essays

Jealousy in Julius Caesar Jealousy causes many of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to commit dangerous and foolish acts. Cassius' jealousy drives him to kill Caesar. All the conspirators, except the noble Brutus, kill Caesar because they feel threatened by his power. Brutus is the only conspirator who murders Caesar for more honorable reasons. Jealousy is a very important theme in this play. Cassius feels very threatened by Caesar's power. He remembers when he was an equal to Caesar, and doesn't think that Caesar deserves this much power. He comments to Brutus, "I was born free as Caesar; so were you: / We both have fed as well, and we can both / Endure the winter's cold as well as he" (Act I, sc. II, 97-99). Cassius is also enraged because Caesar doesn't like him. Caesar suggests, "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much: such men are dangerous" (Act I, sc. II, 194-195). Cassius thinks that Caesar's temper is dangerous. He declares, "Ye gods! It doth amaze me, / A man of such a feeble temper should / So get the start of the majestic world, / And bear the palm alone" (Act I, sc. II, 128-131). Casca also is jealous of Caesar. He is disgusted by Caesar's manipulation of the commoners. He describes it as "mere foolery" (Act I, sc. II, 235). Casca agrees with Cassius that Brutus is an essential part the conspiracy. He says, "O, he sits high in all the people's hearts; / And that which would appear offense in us, / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness" (Act I, sc. III, 157-160). Brutus is the only conspirator who does not act out of jealousy and envy. He is Caesar's friend, and holds a powerful position in Rome. Therefore, he has no reason to feel jealous of Caesar. Brutus makes his decision based on what is the best for Rome, and is tricked into believing that the other conspirators feel the same way. He comments, "What need we any spur but our own cause / To prick us to redress? What other bond / Than the secret Romans that

Electoral college Essay

Who’s voting for the president? Not you. We live in a society where your vote doesn’t directly count during a presidential election. This is due to an antiquated system called the electoral college. The electoral college (EC) was founded in 1787. The founding fathers set up the system so that the president is chosen indirectly. This was done so that â€Å"popular passion,† wouldn’t factor in as much. Basically they didn’t want presidential campaigns to become purely advertisement campaigns. (third party times) But there are a few serious flaws in the electoral college that need to be dealt with. For example, the well known Democratic motto â€Å"one man, one vote,† (which means every vote counts) doesn’t apply to presidential elections because of the EC. The electoral college makes it possible for a candidate who wins the popular vote of the people to lose the presidency. (electoral college) This has happened exactly 3 times in the pas t. Once in 1876, and once in 1888, and most recently during the 2000 elections. President Bush lost the popular vote to candidate Al Gore by over 500,000 votes. Bush still won the presidency because Florida (a key state in elections) had a last minute change in the electoral votes. This threw the entire state into a republican vote. â€Å"On two other occasions (1800 and 1824), the House of Representatives 2 picked the president when nobody won an electoral-college majority. Thomas Jefferson once described this circumstance as ‘the most dangerous blot on our Constitution.’ † (electoral college) Lawrence P. Longley and Neal R. Pierce, two experts on the electoral college and Harvard teachers, agree wholeheartedly with Jefferson’s statement. They know full well the weaknesses of the EC. They did some calculations to illustrate this point further. Californians have over two times as much voting power as do people in Montana because of the population differences. Even worse than that is, if even a few votes change in some key states it can change the whole outcome of an election. e.g. the 2000 Florida elections. There have been 22 razor close elections in our history one of which was † the 1960 race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon–if 8,971 votes in Illinois and Missouri had switched from Kennedy to Nixon that year, the result would have been an electoral college deadlock.† (electoral college) Longley and Peirce argue that â€Å"it’s only a matter of time before it breaks down completely. The President of the United States is elected indirectly by the electoral college — an archaic and quirky system that threatens every four years to overturn popular will.† (electoral college) To top it all off, the people we choose to vote for the president aren’t even required to keep their pledges. â€Å"In 24 states and the district of Columbia, electors are 3 not bound by any state law or regulation that they vote for the states popular vote winner.† (civic values) For example in 1988 an elector pledged to Michael Dukakis changed his pledge to Lloyd Bentsen. Also it happened in 1976 when an elector pledged to Gerald Ford voted for Ronald Reagan instead. These are just a few of the instances involving â€Å"faithless electors† a term used for electors who change their pledge. The question is what do we do about these problems? The answer is simple, we change the EC. (civic values) There are three basic plans for changing the way the EC works. The first is called the proportional method. This particular option hasn’t been researched as much as the others. Basically if a candidate receives 58 percent of the popular vote then they also receive 58 percent of the electoral vote. This reflects popular will and lets the electors keep their jobs. The problem with this method is that it would require support from every state. (election reform) The second is the plan to abolish the electoral college completely. This is a very simple plan which is becoming increasingly popular. If you were to eliminate the EC it would better reflect th e popular vote, get rid of the possibility of â€Å"faithless electors,† and it might increase voter turnout. (election reform) In order to get rid of the EC entirely you would need two thirds of the house of Representatives and the Senate and 38 states to agree that it needs to be changed. 4 and though abolishing the EC is fast becoming a popular idea (especially since the 2000 elections) there is still not enough support for the idea. The harsh reality is that there probably will never be enough support. This is because the very people who’s jobs depend on the existence of the electoral college are the ones making a substantial amount of the decision whether or not to keep it. (civic values) Luckily there’s a solution. Instead of getting rid of the electoral college just alter it a little bit. The third plan is called the District Method. This could be a good option, because instead of having the entire state swing towards one political party for the electoral vote, now a state could be divided into smaller parts . This would better represent the popular vote and therefore the people. Another reason that the District Method may work is that you don’t need a constitutional amendment. Even if only a few states adopted this method it would be effective. Also it’s a good compromise . The electoral college is still in play, so supporters of it wouldn’t protest. In addition the people would have more of a say in who their president is . And that’s what really matters. (election reform) Now you can see that the popular vote, which our country was founded on as a democracy , can be thwarted to fit the whims of the electoral college. Our basic rights of choosing the people who govern us do not apply in the case of presidential elections which are the most important elections. This cannot stand. When our forefathers wrote the constitution, the United States was much 5 smaller and the people were better represented because they were in smaller groups. That isn’t the case today. Things have changed and we as a society must change with the times. If not, any self appointed dictator could pay or persuade him or herself into power with potentially detrimental results. Make your vote count. Petition to change the electoral college. 6 Work Cited Page â€Å"Electoral College.† Web News: Product reviews. 11/9/2003. Harvard Electoral College Experts. Dec. 2000 http://www.webdesk.com/electoral-college/ Third Party Times. The Electoral College System. 1992, League of Womens Voters of California Education fund. http://www.ksg.harvard.edu./case/3pt/electoral.html Electionreform.org. 2001. Election Reform. http://www.electionreform.org.ERMain/priorities/ec/reform.htm Civic-Values State Lawmakers Mull Electoral College. Nov.2000. http://civic.net/civic-values.archive/200011/msg00181.html

Causes of the American Revolution Essay

The American Revolution began in 1755 as an open conflict between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris had ended that war in 1783, giving the colonies their own independence. There are many factors contributing to the start of the Revolution, but the war began as the way The Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. For example, the French and Indian War, Salutary Neglect, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, smuggling, etc. are some of the starters to the American Revolution. This problem is provided in one of the most rallying cries of the Revolution: No Taxation Without Representation. I believe that the American Revolution was a radical revolutionary war because similarities between American government and British Parliament and the fact that those in positions of power and leadership in the colonies were the same men who led the revolution. Events like the Boston Tea Party were acts of civil disobedience. They intentionally broke a law to showcase the unjustness of said law. Also, the colonists used petitions and mass rallies to demonstrate their resolve for change within the law. The colonists wanted westward expansion, which Parliament was limiting. The only way to continue expanding at the current rate would mean taking the land. Whether or not this was right, it demonstrates the Colonists willingness to abandon their parent country in favor of their own desires. If the revolution was a ‘conservative protest’, then the colonists would have dispersed after events like the closing of Boston Harbor and Lexington and Concord. Instead the colonists rallied, supply Boston through massive wagon trains after Boston harbor was closed, and created an army after Lexington and Concord. The final colonial war was the French and Indian war (1689-1763). During this war, England lost a lot of money and felt that the Americans should pay for the â€Å"protection† they gave us. T his was also solidified America as America. Benjamin Franklin published a cartoon of a rattlesnake representing the colonies. The phrase â€Å"join or die† was added, sending a clear signal that this was a new nation in the â€Å"New World.† The cost of the French and Indian War caused the Britain the need for getting more money, and to do this, they made the Americans pay more taxes. This lead to the rebellion and revolution of America. From 1603 to 1763, the British policy for governing the American colonies was called Salutary Neglect. Under Salutary Neglect, enforcement of parliament law was not strict enough for the colonists. According to the law of the days, trade between American colonists and other nations were very restricted. Colonists were only allowed to trade with England, Scotland, and Ireland. Salutary Neglect allowed Great Britain to turn a blind eye to illegal trade activities with other countries, which were difficult and expensive to enforce. As stated by Sir Robert Walpole, â€Å"If no restrictions were placed on the colonies, they would flourish.† In 1764, Parliame nt passed an the Sugar and Molasses act. The British placed tax on sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, and other important things. They did this because they wanted more money to help provide security for the colonies. The Sugar Act made colonists very upset because if they only traded with Britain, they would not be able to sell their goods for much. These taxes only affected a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted to say how much they were taxed. This act, and the Currency Act, set the stage for the revolt of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on 1765. The new tax required all American colonists to pay a tax on every piece of paper they used. For example, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, ship’s papers, newspapers, and even playing cards. The money collected from the Stamp Act would be used to help pay for the cost of defending and protecting the American frontiersmen. With this act, the colonists’ anger reached the boiling point. The frustration was now to take the form of rebellion. The previous Molasses Act, Navigation Acts, and Sugar Act suddenly were seen as a prelude to this final blow. During the revolution, the Declaration of Independence served as a motivational document for the revolutionaries. King George III dismissed it, and it carried no political patch. The signitaries did risk their lives by signing it, and therefore the Declaration lifted moral, or at least the decision to overthrow British rule. The document gave a clarity to the American cause that it had previously lacked, and that the British were never to gain. The Declaration of Independence also made any hopes of a peaceful settlement much less likely – Independence once declared could not easily be surrendered. Each colony declared itself an independent state and replaced the king’s governor. Citizens, including women and slaves, plunged into the War under the command of General Washington. In the end, the American Revolution grew out of their restrictions placed upon their colonies by the British. The treaty signed in Paris on September 3rd, 1783 brings the American Revolution to its successful conclusion. The causes of the American Revolution were both economical and political. Each action by the colonists or Parliament seemed to bring about an effect by the other side. It was a progress changing the colonies from dependent to independent states, from monarchy to republic, but in the end, we succeeded. Individuals and groups drastically changed the course of history.

HDTV essays

HDTV essays High Definition Television (HDTV) is quite an example of an international topic that has far reaching effects on the world wide electronics marketplace. HDTV is not simply a new standard for color televisions; it is in fact a doorway to becoming the world leader in setting the standards for; computer screens, laptop flat panel displays, medical imaging displays, automobile interactive displays and of course high definition wide screens. HDTV is as much about sound quality improvements as it is about clarity of the visual screen. However the quest for leadership in the HDTV market has become a saga of near successes, failures and potential winners. The stakes are tremendous. Even if we only concentrate on the television market the expected revenues are in the billions. Today there are an estimated 600 million TV sets in the world. With so much at risk it is not surprising that the interest of many multinational corporations and governments set their sights on capturing the lead in thi s emerging technological race. The alarming fact is that this race has been going on for more than 30 years. The consumer electronics industry entered into the 90s eagerly waiting for a new growth stimulus. U.S. annual sales in 1992 for consumer electronics were 33 billion, which only trailed that of Japan (35 billion) and Europe (42 billion). In fact in 1991 television sales accounted for only 7 billion of new sales for the consumer electronics market. Historically, the industry has been driven by major innovations and life cycles of the radio, television, hi-fi and the VCR. The recent introductions of CDs, DAT and camcorders have not measured up to yesteryears major technological breakthroughs. But first lets go back in history to understand some of what transpired in the early adoption of television standards. The 1920s saw the introduction of commercial radio broadcasting. This media form grew consistently right into the 40s when t...

TESCO Marketing and Healthy Living Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

TESCO Marketing and Healthy Living - Essay Example In 1979, TESCO attained a landmark by having sales of up to one billion pounds. In 1982, the sales of the business doubled, and it had sales of up to two billion pounds. In the same year, the company put up some of the computerized checkouts. The company also was the first to initiate nutritional value of its brand through an initiative referred to as ‘Healthy Eating’. The initiative made the company obtain more consumers because people were interested in the services that it offered. As a result, in 1991, it became one of the biggest independent and petrol retail sellers in Britain. Within few years, the company launched new services and products that included computers for schools, ‘Every little Helps’, and TESCO Organic range. Within a year, TESCO was in a position to improve its customer services through the customer champion’s policy stores. Through the policy, the company became an organic retailer in the UK market (Kingd, Lannon & Baskin 2007, p.90). Healthy brandIn 1985, TESCO launched the healthy eating initiative. The aim of the initiative was to provide customers with information on nutrition and health and the foods that are made for a healthier diet. The company was classified as the leading food retailer in Britain. TESCO also obtained a unique position to communicate with its customers and receive feedback. The customers gave feedback on their current needs and attitudes. TESCO provided information on the food that they eat and where they shop.

Injury and violence free living Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Injury and violence free living - Research Paper Example The rate of unintentional injury deaths were noted to be 40.0 deaths per 100,000 population with 2007 as the baseline year and as much as 60.6% of children have been exposed and affected by violence, either directly or indirectly (National Prevention Strategy Indicators, n.d.). In this regard, the current discourse aims to investigate and explore this priority area in terms of providing details on evidence-based approaches to address injuries and violence in identified populations and communities. Evidence-Based Approaches to Addressing the Priority Area o Healthy and Safe Community Environments In a study written by Merzel & D'Affliti (2003), the authors have delved into evaluating 20 years of community-based programs to determine effectiveness in promoting healthy and safe community environments. According to their findings, â€Å"the evidence from the past 20 years indicates, however, that many community-based programs have had only modest impact, with the notable exception of a number of HIV prevention programs† (Merzel & D'Affliti, 2003, p. 557). ... Negative health and developmental outcomes are concentrated among children living within high-poverty and disadvantaged neighborhoods† (Komro, Flay, Biglan, & Consortium: Summary, 2011, par. 1). It was therefore aptly recommended that collaborative efforts among community members are needed to design integrated strategies which would address physical and social factors that influence the well-being and development of children. These efforts are therefore consistent with the thrust of addresssing the priority area of injury and violence free living, as prescribed. o Clinical and Community Preventive Services The research study written by McElwaine, et al., (2013) identified behavioral risk factors that allegedly contribute to increased preponderance for mortality and morbidity. These factors included poor nutrition, smoking, physical inactivity and risky alcohol use. The findings revealed that despite efforts instituted in community settings, â€Å"preventive care was not provi ded opportunistically to all, and was preferentially provided to select groups. This suggests a need for practice change strategies to enhance preventive care provision to achieve adherence to clinical guidelines† (McElwaine, et al., 2013, p. 1). The information disclosed herein could be used by policymakers to focus on improving strategies to effectively provide preventive services that would ultimately address injuries and violence in the various communities. o Empowering People The facet of empowering people was specifically explored in the study conducted by Samoocha, Bruinvels, Elbers, Anema, & van der Beek (2010). Due to technological advancements in contemporary times, the authors explored patient empowerment through the provision of accessible information through